In this latest series, I will be going through all the countries I’ve travelled to on my mission to visit every single country in the world. In this article, we will be covering country #86: Moldova. If you haven’t gotten a chance already, read this story first to find out why I’m trying to visit all 193 UN-recognized countries.
VIDEO – Country #86: Moldova
Blog post on Moldova
- My Spending Breakdown While Travelling In Russia, Malta, Cyprus, Ireland
- How I Ended Up Visiting Chisinau Moldova With Just 15 Cents
Arriving in Chisinau
I had a pleasant arrival in the capital city of Moldova. As soon as I went through immigration, I was welcomed by the friendly staff before I proceeded to exit the gate.
Finally, I made it to my country #86! With much excitement, I went outside the airport to take some selfies.
After taking a picture, I paused and said to myself “now what?”.
Pulling the trigger to leave the airport and take the bus to the Chisinau city centre
While standing outside the airport, I glanced at the bus schedule and a lightbulb popped up on my head.
“What if I take the bus around the city and back to the airport again” is what I was thinking in my head. I reached down my pocket and found some Turkish Lira.
After inquiring with a bus driver to confirm that the bus does indeed loop back to the airport, I quickly ran inside towards the airport currency exchange. I gave them whatever Turkish Lira I have left and in return, they gave me 7 Moldovan Lei.
I went out of the airport again and asked how much is it for a round-trip bus ride back to the airport. A young woman was kind enough to guide me and said it’s 2 Moldovan Lei. This is perfect because I’ll have a little bit of Moldovan Lei left as a souvenir.
The young woman guided me on the bus and explained to me how the bus system works in Moldova. The people in this country as very friendly!
Two-hour bus ride experience going to Chisinau
Shortly after, the bus left the airport terminal. The friendly woman looked at my clothes and noticed I was wearing an UnderArmour v-neck, pants, and shoes. She then asked me if I was a fan of Dwayne the Rock Johnson since he represents the brand. I laughed and she told me her brother loves Dwayne Johnson and also wears all UnderArmour clothes.
The woman also told me what life is like in Moldova and how many Italian companies outsource their labour to this country because of cheap labour.
Before long, the woman got off her stop and I bid her goodbye as I continued on my little side adventure into Chisinau.
Woman faints inside the bus
On the drive back to the airport, a woman inside the bus suddenly passed out. These Moldovan buses are very stuffy so I was not surprised when it happened.
Several passengers quickly took her outside to get some fresh air. The bus driver then takes a big container of water and splashes it on her face and gets her to drink some. Before long, she was revived and we arrived at the airport.
Talk about a close call for this woman.
Flying out of Chisinau
I went through the airport security and got ready for my flight out of the country. After some delays, my flight departed as I made my way towards my next destination which is Cyprus.
Conclusion
I had a very pleasant experience in Moldova. In general, I have a good experience of travelling to former Soviet countries. It’s a bit out of the way to go to Moldova so I don’t know if I will ever go back here ever again. But during my very short time here, I did like the place despite Moldova being one of those forgotten European countries.
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