Things to be aware of:

1.   The train station for Moldova at Iași is not the main one but out at Socola.  The carpark entrance is furthest away from the city centre (over the road bridge.)
2.   The journey does not involve a wheel change at the border (Ungeny) but expect to be held there for at least an hour for passport / customs check.
3.   Sim cards bought in Romania may not have coverage in Moldova, ensure you have a back up plan.
4.   If arriving in Chișinău late at night, don’t rely on taxis being available at the station.  Ensure you have a transport  plan .
5.   Enjoy Chișinău, it is an amazing, unique place. 

Leaving Iasi was a bit of a wrench, but of course I need to move on or I am not a full-time traveller.  I knew where the station was and how hard it was to get to by bus, (at least two and a long walk) so I booked a Bolt (similar to Uber) and sat in comfort for the supposed 10 minute ride … except it was more like 30 minutes because it was rush hour.   The driver took me to the other side of the tracks from the station, so I had to lug my heavy case over about 10 sets of railway lines, keeping a sharp look out for approaching trains.  I felt both exhausted and proud that I had achieved this and went to the platform to wait the 30 minutes before the departure.  There were only a few men on the platform and one, bare-chested and drinking a bottle of beer, asked me something in Romanian.   When he got no response, he rolled off a list of countries and so I said Irlanda, which seemed to satisfy him and I thought no more of it as it seems a common question from locals (see my post from Austria here.)

The platform soon filled up and some of the locals were opening the doors and putting their luggage on, though the going back outside as they wanted to smoke.   When it got to within 10 minutes of leaving, I thought I’d better make a move, so walked to my 1^st class carriage and tried to get my bag up the 4-5 steps from the platform to the train.  I was helped by Mr Bare-chest and I thanked him and went to find my seat.   I moved my bag to the other end of the carriage because it was the only place with room and waited to move off, as I did so I saw Mr Bare-chest transform by first putting on a clean white shirt, then donning the Moldovan train jacket and cap.  He was the guard for the journey. 

We set off just a few minutes late and painfully slowly.  It was a pretty uneventful journey up to the border and I was pleased that we arrived in daylight so that I could see all that was going on.  The guard (Mr B-c) had taken all the passenger’s passports and got off the train to take them to control at a small station.  I have got used to this happening on trains and buses in the area now, but I still am grateful that I have two passports, so I have one to fall back on if for some reason my Irish one doesn’t come back.  It did.   After about an hours’ wait we slowly moved forwards and over the Eiffel Bridge (yes he designed it!) and into Moldova.  We soon pulled into a larger station and my passport was taken again, this time by the Moldovan authorities.

Then the customs official came round and started to interview people … where am I going to (Chisinau) how long am I staying for (10 days – it was actually 9) and the purpose of my journey.  Then he decided to search my rucksack.  In particular he kept feeling along the side of the compartment where my laptop is … not sure what he was expecting to find … but all was good, though I was worried about my big suitcase at the end of the carriage.   I needn’t have been.  He asked the guard who owned the suitcase and he pointed at me.  I got up off my seat to be there whilst my dirty washing was flung out, but the customs man motioned for me to sit down and that was that.

The whole process took about an hour and we slowly pulled out of the station and into a darkening Moldova.  It was good to see some of the countryside before dark but it was obvious that it was getting murky, not just because of the hour of the day, but also because of the weather.  Soon I couldn’t see out of the window for rain and it felt a journey into hell.  

On arrival at Chisinau it was like a scene out of a horror movie with the dark skies illuminated by lightning flashes and then the clap of thunder not far behind.  As I slowly made my way outside I could see pools of water where a carpark should be and people phoning for lifts or taxis because there were none outside – not one.  I had thought beforehand to make a note of the bus route for the airbnb but did not know the direction and of course without Google maps that made things pretty impossible.  

I set off into the night and soon found myself up to the ankles in water.  On the main road I found a bus stop – but I wasn’t sure if it would take me in the right direction or not and the few people around did not speak English.  It was on a 6 lane highway and I could see no way to cross (I later found out there was an underpass) so reluctantly I trudged back to the station.   By now there were few people around but two young women were looking anxiously at their phone, obviously waiting for an UBER or something.  I asked if they spoke English and one did.   She ordered an UBER for me and said it would arrive in 10 minutes, just then their car arrived and they disappeared into the night, but I will always be grateful to them.   After a 20 minute wait my car came by and I jumped in.   It felt like a VERY long journey (I think I was taken the long way round) but I arrived at a forbidding block of flats and stepped out into a river … not that that mattered as I was soaking from mid calf down anyway.   I knew I was in block two, but couldn’t see the numbers in the dark.   The driver was concerned about leaving me there, but I insisted I’d be okay  … and I was.  Miraculously the next block I walked to was the right one.  I found the lockbox, got the key and within a few minutes I was drying myself off with a towel.   I had wifi and I messaged my host (after midnight to say I had arrived … not expecting to hear anything back until the morning) but she messaged to say she was pleased to hear it and to let me know if I needed anything.   Nothing more than a hot shower and then bed. 

It is strange to wake up in the morning and not know where you are.  When I arrived in the pitch darkness, it was difficult to gauge what the neighbourhood was like, so I was a bit surprised to open the curtains to a MacDonald’s sign.  Yes my nearest café sold Big Macs!  I was in the thick of things and that included an Orange shop to purchase a much needed SIM card.   But more of Chișinău and its delights in the next post.

NLS

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