Hotel VisPas Chisinau

... that’s worth- probably not much- though in South Africa that’d be gold. Actually it’s about the most sullen bunch of people I’ve seen in ages. Is it just me, or are these some unfriendly mother-flippers? It’s not the staff, mind you, but the travelers mostly. The staff are almost TOO friendly, in the Turkish or Thai way, such that you might doubt their sincerity, though I don’t. I doubt ...

... I even bargained - first they wanted 15 €) again. That´s what I call a rogue nation. I was happy to be out of Transnistria, but there was the next problem. The "border" Transnistria-Moldowa is not a real border cause "Transnistria" doesn´t exist, so it is not allowed to enter Moldowa at the "border", I didn´t get a stamp in my passport. When I arrived Chisinau (at Gara Auto Nord, the ugliest place I have EVER seen in my life) first thing I did was ...

... on 1 place<br> &gt; connection broadband Wireless Internet with modem<br> &gt; connection 2 Satellite dishes for Hotbird, Astra, Sirius &amp; LMI on 1 receiver <br> <br> Ø Fully modern furnished <br> Hall: open space wooden floor and black tiles <br> Kitchen: small but complete with large fridge/freeze ...

... traditions; you can feel the sunshine and the power of the earth in every drop of it. The tour included an unique lunch with live music and wine tasting session with a sample five different wines. As a present Ian even gave us a couple of bottles to take home. It's not just about quantity, either. The winery is also proud of its quality. As we sipped several vintages of whites, reds and sparkling wine, Lily, our tour guide, told us of ...

... to pay the 30 Lei (£1.50) taxi fare. We were joined by Marco's host of last night Alex, President of Chisinau Rotaract. We met outside the Universitatea De Stat De Medecina Si Pharmacie "Nicolae Testemitanu" and werte greeted by Elena Platon.. Elena's father is a Urologist - so happy discussion on lost Prostates. Elena is a lecturer in Molecular Biology &amp; Human Genetics. We went around the university departments and met the team Elena works with ...

... was handy as well. Every time I meet someone old enough to remember the Soviet era I ask them how they remember the changes. Aleksander was concise in summing up "we had no idea it was all failing, just one day, it was all gone". These two clearly adapted fast, opening a steel trading business in 1991. Interestingly, he did look back fondly to an era when the trains were much cheaper and it was easier to go anywhere within the Soviet Union. The snowy ...

... various amounts of money from us. Being rather tight with the old purse strings, I refused the first few times and walked out. But they kept calling me back in. I finally relented and got my extortion fee down from 20 Euros to 80 Moldovan lei, which is about 7 bucks. the Japanese guy refused to pay anything and I was shocked as I was ushered back on the bus and saw the Japaense guy still standing by the side of the road as we drove away. There are many things I want to do in ...

... taking in Moldova's few attractions. Here's hoping I get a little luckier from tomorrow. The Russian visa is getting to be more of a pain in the tail to procure. Chisinau's embassy requires all originals for the application, which would mean I'd have to be here well into next week to actually get one (and I'd have to pay through the nose for it all). The one in Kyiv only grants two week visas, which would basically force me to scrap most of my intended plans. That ...

... as mine for 35 U.S.D. per month) and we had a lovely lunch and chatted Soviet Union. Spent about six days in Moldova. Dave's town is pretty small, but nice (no pigs though). Woke up most mornings to roosters crowing and dogs barking. Took a couple of day trips. Went to a fantastic underground winery, Milestii Mici. It's tunnels are something like 50 kilometers long. We got picked up in a van, at the entrance, and drove around the wine town for about 20 ...

... which is amply stocked and once the milk was organised hey I was off and running. I even have my camomile tea bags in my room I'm still trying to organise the hot water though - but c'est la vie as they say. Moldova is an upgraded African country. If it was not situated in Europe one would recognise it by the antiquity of its vehicles (Russian Ladas of all descriptions - hardy and built to last), really bad unpaved roads and my nemesis - the hole in the ...