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Hostel
Great place to stay, great staff, what more can you want from a hostel. Getting to Moldova from Manchester is not easy or cheap as I was soon going to find out. I had 2 options to get there. Plan A: was take a flight via Stanstead Airport (near London) to Chisinau, easy eh?
But expensive £400 plus for a return flight.
Plan B: Take a flight to Romania via Frankfurt and then take an over night train to Chisinau. Flight would cost £188 and price of the Train Journey was about 40 Euros.
So I did the Maths and the travel romantic stirred inside me which told me to take an over night train journey and it would be exciting.
So I took flight B…..
A week before the flight I changed my mind and I bought a flight to Chisinau from Bucharest (£86) and I was to fly there on the Saturday night instead of taking the overnight train. I changed Hostels and booked in at Vila Gabriela Hostel which is very close to the Airport. This was good so I could avoid downtown Bucharest traffic which is a total nightmare.
A few days before my flight I was in Waterstones bookshop and I was flicking though the Lonely planet guide
chess
A game of chess in Pannie Petes.. to Romania and Moldova which said “Don’t change money at Bucharest airport as the rate is a total rip off, better to draw your money from one the many ATMs” Good advice I thought.. I needed money to get to my hostel and pay for the hostel.
I landed in Bucharest at 5:30 collected my case and emerged in the arrival hall of the airport which is always full of taxi drivers touting for business. I went to the Info booth and asked for the ATM, he pointed to his left and it was right there. I put in my card and entered my pin but no money came out. I asked the guy in the info booth, if there was another one he pointed to the far end of the terminal; I tried that one but no luck. The ATM said “no funds available contact you bank” I was starting to get worried now. I went back to the info booth and explained to the guy what had happened he told me to try the money exchange counter.
I found my way there and ask the lady for £50 on my Visa card, she swiped my card but it
Lisa
It was good to see Lisa again. did not work, then she tried the old fashion way on sliding in one of them machines and made a phone call. She put down the phone and gave my card back and said “No”
Now I was seriously panicking cos the only money I had me was £2.50...Shit Shit If only I had not spent £15 in Manchester Airport on a breakfast and some magazines. I went back to guy at the info booth. He had sympathy for me but all he could suggest was to try the Departures hall as they have bank and maybe they can help you. He said if you go now it may still be open. It was past six and I didn’t think it would be opened but what choose did I have. If anyone knows Bucharest Airport they know that you have to go out on the main road and walk about 5 minutes to get the departures.
I was right the fucking bank was closed..shit shit….What can I do…Why did my card not work? I had funds in my account, I had used my card in Asda Supermarket the day before, unless that overnight someone had hacked into my back account
shop
Fancy doing shopping, make sure you can go in first and stole all money (you read about this all the time in newspapers and mags in the uk)
I need inspiration; I looked up at the departure board and saw that there was a flight to Chisinau at 8pm…
Then I had a brainwave, I know I will fly to Chisinau this evening instead of tomorrow I went over to the check in and handed over my ticket and passport and then the lady told me that my flight was tomorrow, so I told her that I wanted to fly tonight.
So she sent me over to the “Tarom” airline desk. They told me that the flight was booked up but I may get on the “standby list” but I had to go back over to check in to do this. I went back to check in, who then told me that there one seat available on the plane. And I had to go back to the desk again to change my ticket. I went and told them there is one seat still available and they checked and unbelievably there was one still available…
Fantastic…I handed over my ticket and passport..oh boy I was so happy, I was now going
Take a bus
We should take a bus to somewhere new thank god we're alive and bite off me than we can chew to get to see my wife and baby a day earlier, every cloud has silver lining, as they say.
She taped away on her computer and then she said “Ok sir that will be 25 euros how would you like to pay?”
Errr I gulped hard and said “credit card” she took my card and swiped it, and yeah you guess it, it did not work.
“Please please my wife is about to give birth (she was not really but she does want to have another baby) I need to make this flight tonight” I begged them. “Please please help me” but it was all to no avail. I put my head on the counter and when I looked up they had all gone into the back room. So I was going to get no help here then.
I walked over to the info booth and said to the 2 ladies sitting in this little cubicle and said “I have a big problem”.
I explained to them my dilemma and ask them “What can I do?” they both looked back at me blankly; the one on the left did seem a little a more compassionate than the other had face
Main square
In the city there a thousand things i wanna say to you.. cow. I ask her if she knew anyone I could stay with for the night but she told that I could stay in the airport as it opened 24 hours, it anyone who is reading this has and has spent anytime in Henry Coanda Airport will know that it is a piss poor airport with just a few bars and no comfy seating, no where to stretch out and have a sleep, plus the thought of being the only passenger hanging around at 3am in the morning when all the flights have long left and being at the mercy of the airport security guards who would take an obvious interest in me. I stood at their counter for about 10 minutes hoping that the nice one would say “if you like you can home with me when I finish work and sleep on my sofa. But she never did so I took a seat opposite the booth. I put my head in my hands and thought to myself “Oh Edgeman you have you really fucked up this time” “Think edge their must be a way out of this situation” but the more I thought the more my brain hurt, I
McDonalds
Doing a bit of people watching... looked at the clock it said 7pm..Oh well only 23 hours to wait for my flight with no money or food or drink.
I took my mobile out and texted Marina:
“I am fucked, at Airport can’t get no money
From ATM. Will have to stay at Airport
All fucking night.
She replied back asking if I had any money at all and not to panic, I replied to her that I had nothing and I was panicking, and I had very little credit left on my phone.
The nice woman kept standing up looking over at me, so I was trying to look as pathetic as possible. After awhile she exited the booth, I thought this is it, she coming to get me but instead she walked out of the Airport, probably going home to her loving husband and family.
I needed some money to get to hostel and pay for hostel, I could sell my digital camera for 30 euros and this would cover everything. I thought I would ask the guy in the info booth at the arrivals (who seemed a decent guy)
So I walked back out of the airport again with some
Crashed out
That walk in Ivancea was very tiring i need a rest.. hope and some kind of plan.
When I got to the Arrival info booth, the nice lady was in with the guy and someone else
I told him about my plan to sell my camera and he told not to it, because you will be cheated.
The lady then said. “Stay at the airport all night it wont be so bad” I told her I had nothing “No water, no food, nothing, I need a drink of water right now”. Then they gave me a drink from the water cooler and then they filled a big bottle, and gave me a carrier bag with had a couple of oranges and some biscuits. I was so grateful that they were helping me, I walked to the end of the airport and took a seat and resigned myself to the fact this where I well be staying the night, unless a good Samaritan looks after, well they were in the info booth and they had done there bit.
So I was truly alone and stranded in an international airport, I felt like Tom hanks in that crap Movie where he has to live at the Airport for months.
Bleep bleep went my
Daydreaming
Marina working in the front garden of new hostel, while i sit and watch and dream mobile and the text from Marina read:
Go to Arrivals info booth now
I have rung the hostel and a man is coming for you
I will send money by western union tomorrow
Let me know you at hostel and I will ring you.
Wow I was amazed, oh Marina you have saved me, oh my clever wife...
The man came and picked me up. Near his hostel there about 3 banks, I tried all the ATMs
But had no luck. I got into my room and he offered me a pizza but I what I needed was drink so I ask for a beer. Then I spoke to Marina and tried to explain what had happened. She told me not worry and go to the western union office in the morning and collect some euros which she was going to send me.
That night I lay on my bed and tried to watch TV and drink my warm beer but I could not concentrate all I could think about “What the fuck has happened to my money, if it is just a mistake by the bank why has this never happened to me before, and
what if I don’t get the money from western union tomorrow, how will I pay for the hostel. I had a very sleepless night as you can imagine.
The next day I woke up early, yesterday seemed like a nightmare, I just lay in bed until I got the text of Marina telling me the number of the money waiting for me in Western Union. I went down for breakfast; I skipped the cornflakes and drank black coffee. Then the man came down and we went to western union, and rather surprisingly I got the money easy enough then we went and bought a phone card, then I made the call to my bank. I found out the mystery of why I could draw no money or use it to buy anything.
When I first tried to draw money at the airport, I got a security check on my card which cancelled my card straight away; she put though to the fraud dept and after waiting for about 20 minutes I spoke to them and they lifted my security check and now I could draw money and use it to buy stuff, I was so happy. I texted marina the
good news and then my phone ran out of credit. I went to my room and watched TV, until the maid told me I had leave the room as a new guest was checking in. I went for a meal and found a internet café and watched the first half on the Man United game on the BBC website ( well it was not the game, just text update of the action) it was not looking too good for the reds we was behind by 2 goals to Everton.
While I was waiting for my flight to Moldova I got a text saying United had 2-4..Wow things were looking up for me, the flight went smoothly and my luggage was first out the carousal. I walked out of the Airport and there was my great wife waiting for me.
It was great to back in my Moldova it was my 10th trip here, I first came here in May 2005 when I met Marina and fell in love with her and Moldova too.
I woke up early the following day and there was our 6 month baby girl Lisa smiling at me, “hello little girl”…
I sent the next
Milesti Mici wine celler2
Bottles in a rack..give me wine 2 weeks enjoy the company the of my wife and baby and getting used to Chisinau again I discovered getting around was not easy with a buggy, the Ciocana area where Marina lives has very difficult terrain indeed, holes in the road and the pavements too and sometimes the Pavements just disappear all together, all the shops have steps and no ramps, a off road 4 wheel drive buggy is what you need on this landscape.
The centre is 25 minute bus ride away, basically we 2 options to get there: A: take the Trolleybus but with its steps and over crowding it was a fucking nightmare, but at a cost of only 1 lei, is was very cheap.
Option B... Take a taxi, cost was 25 lei
We took the bus a few times but after I found out that 24 lei = £1 there was no competition really.
Taxi drivers in Moldova are strange breed, they never speak, “To the Centre” Da and that’s it, no chat, nothing. In England Taxi drivers never shut the fuck up, yap yap fucking yap, the conversation I dread the most is when I am going to/or back from the airport. “ere
mate where you going?” Moldova I would answer honestly, “Where’s that mate? Is it Russia? What for” etc I become very bored by these conversation so I started lying I would say “I am going on a stag party weekend to Amsterdam” this would keep them quiet and no more boring questions.
Marina has a new hostel opened close to her apartment, and we make the trek up the big hill each day and while she would change the linen, I would watch BBC world. It is a very nice hostel, with cable TV, a great selection of English/American movies to watch on video (taken from my own personal collection) it is close to the bus stop which will take you to the centre.
After she finished her work and sorted out the guests that were arriving or leaving we would make the short walk to “Andy Pizza’s” for an English breakfast, what I hear you say an English Breakfast in a suburb of Chisinau surely not! Well that was the name it was advertise under and it consisted of chips, 2 fried eggs and chipolata sausages.
A real (full) English breakfast is bacon, large sausage, baked beans, fried
Milesti Mici wine celler3
Drink drink where ever you may we are the drunk and disorderly, and we dont give a damn and we dont give f..k we coming home with Europe cup tomato, fried mushrooms, fried bread, black pudding, at least 2 fried eggs and toast and pot of tea.
I am not o one to complain as this breakfast is the nearest you get to a decent breakkie in Chisinau but the only slight grumble I have that is that the staff have the radio turned up to the max (always playing rave music) it is like dining a disco. After eating you could always pop an “E” and get up dancing and have it large…er or maybe not……………..
Chisinau has some nice restaurants, I think have tried all of them in the centre, the better ones are The Robin pub, Pani-Pit, and Coffee and beans is good for a snack, sometimes The Robin Hood has some English magazines to read, but this time they had none. While dining in these restaurants I notice they were full of usually of groups of women in 2’s and 3’s, I asked Marina why there are never any men with them and she told me that most Moldovan men go working in Moscow (mostly working on building sites) where they can earn good money and then they can send some back home to
Milesti Mici wine celler4
Is it really wine? ermm how many people ask this question i wonder there wives and families. I thought this was rather sad for them to be working so far away from their loved ones and it made me think about myself I was in the same boat I suppose, working in UK while my wife was here all alone.
Sometimes in life you have to grin and bear it and not feel sorry for yourselves and get on with things
Chisinau City Centre is nice and compact, with large main square and green parks to chill out when things get to much out on the streets.
The best place for people watching is McDonalds on the main street. Take a seat on the sliver seats outside and watch the world go by. Best time is rush hour, when everyone is hustling and bustling about. Check out the glamorous woman who look they on the way to a nightclub, but in reality they have just popped out to get some milk.
One Evening, Marina’s friend Virginia came round to visit, she was with her Dutch boyfriend. She now lives in France and was only in Moldova for a week, they was going on a tour of Milestii Mici wine cellar and there was
Tiraspol May day
Cmon Marina we are miss the great parade one place left in the mini bus, and I was invited to go with them, I jumped at the chance having missed out on the Cricova tour a couple of years ago when we went and there it was closed. Virginia told me that this was the mother of all wine tours much better than the Crivova wine cellar.
Milstii Mici has massive underground labyrinth of cellar space, carved into limestone, extending for over 200 kilometres of gallery space, 55 of which are being used as storage and tour space, burrowed to a depth of up to 85 metres below ground. This is the largest wine cellar space in the world and they’ve used that space well, having a collection recognized by Guinness as the largest in the world, over 1.5 million bottles of wine. They’ve built a fancy restaurant at its deepest point, you go down countless ‘streets’ lined with house-sized barrels and tourist oriented attractions. The whole tour was executed in a very pleasing and interesting way.
On the tour with us was a Danish journalist called Kristoffer who Virginia was working with. He was in Moldova to make a documentary on Moldovan Football and was in town
for a week or so interviewing players and scouting out locations. He was a FC Copenhagen fan who was quick to remind me that they had beaten us last year in the Champions league group game ( I had forgotten that they was even in our group)
After the tour of racks and racks of wine bottles we was all ready for the good bit, the wine tasting, and a nice 2 course meal. I really like wine but to honest it all tastes the same to me especially red wine which I like the best, I was trying to drink as much I could to get pissed.( get my money’s worth) I was sat next to Kris and I ask him “So a documentary on Moldovan Football, I expect that is going to be a very short documentary” I am not sure if got the joke but he went to explain about FC Zimbru and Sheriff (Tiraspol) being the main 2 teams and other stuff, but to honest I wasn’t really listening as I feeling quite pissed. We exchange numbers as he was going to Transdniestr the same day as Marina and I.
After a walk around the gift
shop we boarded the mini bus and traveled back to Chisinau on there bumpy roads. They dropped me at home, I was very drunk, I fell in the door and then slumped on the bed and I was asleep in seconds.
The next day worse for wear, with a mild hangover we had to up early as we was going to
Visit Marina’s parents who live in Ivancea which is a sleepy little village located about 45 km from Chisinau. They live and work on a farm; they grow mostly fruit and veg and keep chickens. In August when the Watermelons are almost ripe Boris (Marina’s stepfather) has to stand guide all night and watch the field, which sometimes gets visited by thieves. The Watermelons are very tasty indeed; Marina reckons they are the tastiest watermelons in the whole of Moldova.
Boris is a very interesting character who never shuts up yapping, the problem is that my Russian is not great and he speaks just a few English words. When is speaking to me I am just saying “Da” not really understanding what he is saying.
It was good to get away from the big city, away from the
Tiraspol May day
Walk tall and very slow dust and grime, here in the nice peaceful countryside we spent our days going for long walks. Marina told me of her child hood days growing up here, we walked along the lake shore where she used to swim in the summer and she showed the Tractor factory where her grandfather worked, it was now abandoned save for a few broken down wrecks, we saw other buildings too which were in the same state of disrepair. Marina explained to that when communism collapsed and Moldova became independent, the public swimming baths closed and like the tractor factory, people scrambled to get what they could from them, and who can blame them, they were lawless times when freedom gave people urge to loot and steal from their old communism masters.
After all this walking I was very thirsty and we found a corner shop which doubled up as bar. We sat outside in the shade and I demanded a cold beer but alas they had no cans in the fridge, so I got the nice shopkeeper to put one in the freezer for me. As I sat there waiting for my nice ice cold beer, I thought about last year when
Marina and I was Traveling around Belarus, we arrived in Brest late in the evening, and after checking into Hotel Intourist, we grabbed a taxi and told him to take us to the best restaurant in town we were so hungry, anyway instead of heading downtown we headed into the dark countryside, the restaurant looked decent enough, we told him to wait for us and then went in and ordered our meals and drinks. Our drinks came and my pint of Lager was warm, there is nothing worse than warm beer (ask any Aussie) Usually I don’t complain, but I was in bad mood, probably because I was so fucking hungry. So I got Marina to complain to the waitress, she took my beer away. 15 minutes later I was still waiting for my new beer, I was moaning to Marina who was now pissed off about my moaning and would not ask the waitress where the fuck was my beer was. So I got up and went to the bar and I was just about to speak when out of the corner of eye I saw my original beer in the fucking fridge. I stammered “can I have my
drink please” I went and sat back down with Marina and we both had a good laugh about it. It was a funny moment, I got my cold beer even if was a little flat, the food was ok, I didn’t both having another beer.
The next day we visited Marina’s new Hostel which will be hopefully opened later this year (2007) The outside is completed but there is still a lot of work to done on the inside, Boris is an excellent, builder, electrician, plumber and is busy working on it at the moment.
Marina got busy pulling up some weeds in the front yard and I took a seat on a tree stump and I Imagined Marina and I was running this hostel together. I would like it to be a theme Hostel, the theme being “Soviet Union”; I would fill it with a load of soviet kitsch, paint slogans on the wall, hammer and sickles everywhere, posters of Lenin. Each room would have a name: the Lenin Lounge, the Stalin Shower room, the Kremlin kitchen and of course the Trotsky Toilet (for when you have the trots) it was a nice dream, I think that Lonely
Planet would give it a glowing review: “this is a must stay for travelers who want to get away from boring hostels, this family run hostel: a lovely Moldovan lady and an eccentric Englishman who go out of there way to transport you back to the good old days of the Soviet era”
After a couple of days in Ivancea is was good to be going back to Chisinau, I was looking forward to watching Man utd v AC Milan that evening, I got a load of cans in (only 50p per can) to watch the big game, it was a very bad game and we ended getting beat 3 nil which put us out of the Champions league, it was made worse by Boris ringing up and gloating on the phone (he reckons he is a AC Milan Fan).
The next day we went to Transdniestr the breakaway republic of Moldova, the country that does not official exist. It has close ties to Russia and still has Russian soldiers based there
We were picked up by Marina’s Cousin Lena and we drove to Tiraspol (the Capital city)
In the Lonely Planet guide Leif Petterson states that if you
have any curiosity about life in Soviet times go to Tiraspol it is a living museum, to read more about Transdniestr check out this link http://www.lonelyplanet.com/journeys/feature/tiraspol06.cfm
At the time of writing a foreigner needs an invitation to stay overnight in Transdniestr if you don’t have an invitation you are only allowed to stay for 10 hours.
Lena’s apartment is slap bang in the middle of town; on the 7th floor, it has great views of the centre, the T34 tank and Lenin’s statue.
The next day I woke up early, I was so excited because it was the 9th of May Victory day! And that meant a victory day parade, I turned on the TV and the one in red square had all ready started, I rushed Marina to get Lisa ready and herself I did not want to miss this great occasion.
We joined the parade and marched to the Eternal flame (I think we was the only ones with a buggy) it was great day, they had a band playing and there was many ex soldiers milling around wearing lots of war medals. It was a great occasion for the brave soldiers who gave up there lives in
the great patriotic war. We walked around for awhile taking in the atmosphere and then I remembered that Krisoffer was supposed to here for the parade as well, I rang him but he was still at the border, and he would surly miss the parade. We met up later and drank a coffee with him and he explained why he was so late for the parade was that his taxi driver had forgotten his passport and had to go back and get it. I had to laugh but hey shit happens. In the evening they had a firework display which we only got a caught a little bit of because we was having a nice meal in a great restaurant called "Kumanyok"
, I had a few too many beers and I decided to sing some Man Utd songs on the way back to the apartment, Marina was convinced we was going to get arrested but we was fine.
After 2 days in Tiraspol it was good to be going back to Chisinau as I had to sleep on the floor as there was only enough room in the bed for Marina and Lisa. I was looking forward to
Tiraspol May day
Probably the best rock n roll in the whole of Tiraspol sleeping in a comfy bed.
We went to Spiderman 3; I was so looking forward to see this movie as being a great comic fan. The Cinema in Chisinau centre is great, the tickets are cheap, popcorn is cheap and you can take beer in with you. The only drawback is that the movies in Moldova are dubbed into Russia. But what the hell, Spiderman 3 is not a movie you need to understand the dialogue. In the past when we had been there to see other movies Marina would whisper in my ear what was happening but I think the people behind us got pissed off with this so I told her to stop doing it.
Come the time to go home and I had to take a taxi to the airport on my own, Marina did not want to risk taking Lisa out.
The drive to the airport was very emotional, and when the song “it’s a wonderful life” by Black came on the radio, the words hit me hard:
Here I go out to sea again
The sunshine fills my hair
And dreams hang in the air
Gulls in the sky and in my blue eye
You know it feels unfair
There's magic everywhere
Look at me standing
Here on my own again
Up straight in the sunshine
No need to run and hide
It's a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to laugh and cry
It's a wonderful, wonderful life
This song was booming out aloud in the car, and it made me feel so very sad as I was leaving behind my wife and kid and Moldova. I had to try and block this out of mind as had to focus on getting home.
When if arrived at the Airport the driver did not have changed of 100 lei note, so he got a nice tip. I was preying that this journey home would be better than the one going but I had good reason to be worried about my flight home because I had bought a flight to Bucharest, which would get me there at 3:40pm, I had very little time to make my Luthansa flight home which left at 5pm, I was traveling light with only hand luggage so I thought I could make it but If I was delayed by an hour I would be fucked because the flight to Bucharest was with Tarom, different airlines. I checked on the internet and all other flights that day to Manchester were full. It would mean probably spending another night in Bucharest and missing a day at work and paying £200 for a flight home.
The check in was no problem, I asked if the flight was on time and she confirmed it was, I cleared passport control and the last x-ray machine, the guard decided he wanted to look in my bag, he pulled out a £1 coin and say to me “Gift for me”, I shrugged my shoulders and say yeah sure, maybe he was a coin collector.
Departure time was 2.30pm but nothing happened, no bus to take us to plane nothing, I was seriously worried, I wanted to drink a beer but as I got scammed by the taxi driver I had no money left so I just paced up and down the terminal, preying, hoping...
Eventually a bus and took us to our plane and we took off at 3pm, only 30minutes delayed, but I was enough to make me very nervous about not making my next flight.
We landed at 4pm, and after clearing passport control I had to dash out the Airport and run on to main road and in to the departures hall. I got to the check in at 4:15pm, handed over passport and the woman thought I was checking in Frankfurt and I said no Munich ( Frankfurt flight was the flight at 6pm) She checked me in and told me to hurry as they were boarding, well I had to go pass all the x-ray machines again and passport control. I got to the gate just in time and boarded the plane, oh I was so relieved, now I could relax, and I sat there on the plane with a big smile on my face. I had done it, the edgeman got lucky in the end.
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MarishayourWife
non-member comment
Love you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was a nice time for me and Lisa to be with you again! I wish you can come more often to Moldova and be with your family xxxxxxx We love you xxxxxxxxxx