CHISINAU, MOLDOVA
2016-01-27, 20:20, THORIN
STAY: TAPOK HOSTEL
After finally arriving in Chisinau after the bizarre bus journey from Bucharest it was early morning. We got into the bus station, had some bread from a local bakery, and walked through the streets of Chisinau to the hostel. Moldova, and Chisinau specifically is a strange place. Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, not least because someone nicked 1/10 of their GDP two years ago and they still haven't nabbed him yet. Like they withdrew 1/10 of Moldova's GDP out of the bank -- so much for the company credit card...
Chisinau itself doesn't feel wildly like a capital city. But in a country of less than 3 million that perhaps isn't a huge surprise. What is suprising is how 'regular' everything felt. The city isn't kept up particularly well, although it isn't terribly kept up either. Broken sidewalks and exposed wires, but nothing you wouldn't see in Kuala Lumpur. What is most striking is how 'forgotten' it feels, like the rest of Europe just couldn't be arsed to hang out there anymore. It feels like the west forgot about them, romania forgot about them, the russians got Transnistria and forgot about them too.
That being said, there was some charm to the city. They have the biggest outdoor market in Europe (apparently) which was a sight to behold. Curiously, all the butchering (which is very graphic) is done by women, and all the cheese selling is done by men. Nice to see a little change in gendered professions! Chisinau also has a couple of cool buildings and stuff, but everything just seems a little desolate.
We did a day of sightseeing, looking around the big market and the various buildings and monuments. There is one famous bloke in Moldovan history called King Stephen I and they absolutely love him. Like, he is on their money, a huge statue of him is in their park, etc. Seems like a pretty cool guy, with a wonderful moustache.
We chatted to the hostel owner, asking for a lunch suggestion. He pointed us in the direction of a cafe which turned out to be a burger joint run by a chap from NY and his Moldovan wife. It seemed to be the local congregation point for U.S. immigrants, as one or two more American guys showed up, Moldovan wives in tow. He chatted to us for a while, but we eventually excused ourselves as we had come to Moldova to see Moldova, not a NY deli. All the same, thanks for the free doughnuts NY man! And, predictably, the next day was an early morning bus to Tiraspol, Transnistria!