Traveling in Moldova

At Chisinau International Airport in Moldova, I bought a very cheap SIM card from Orange: 15 days with 20 GB of data plus 250 minutes of calls for 29 MDL (Lei) (56 THB). I took my YouTrip card to an ATM and was charged a fee of 40 Lei.

I got three 500-lei notes and wondered whether that would be enough for 5 days. I used a 500 note to buy water so I could get smaller bills back. A bottle of water costs 30 MDL (still water, no gas, while a Coke of the same size is only 20). With small notes in hand, I took bus No. 30 (the only line) into the city center (just 15 km, and the fare is only 6 Lei, paid to the conductor on board just like in Thailand). The bus stops right in front of the terminal.


Chisinau, the capital of Moldova

My original plan was to go overland from Vilnius (Lithuania) across the border to Minsk (Belarus), then on to Kyiv and from there to Moldova. But because of the war I had to fly, and even then the flight had to detour via Poland and then loop back through Romania.

There isn't much in this city and you can walk around it quickly. The whole city uses buses as public transport; you pay the conductor who comes down the aisle collecting fares. The city is clean and tidy and people are rather reserved. They look just like Romanians, which is what they are, and they speak Romanian. Most people are Orthodox Christians.

On my walk I took the chance to scout out the supermarkets and the intercity bus station at the same time. From what I can see so far, this country is more expensive than Romania. Accommodation costs about the same and so does transport, but food is much pricier, even more than in the Baltic states.


Tiraspol, Transnistria

This territory broke away from Moldova and is not recognized by the United Nations (like several other places in the former Soviet Union and Africa, such as South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, Western Sahara or Somaliland).

People here speak Russian and use the ruble.

From the central station in Chisinau, minibuses run several times a day. I paid 66 lei and it took about an hour and a half.
Don't forget to bring your passport. When you pass the border post (only the Moldovan one exists), they will issue a transit slip that is valid for only 10 hours. If you want to stay longer, you need to register at the OVIR office in the city.

The bus passes through the city center and stops at the bus station in front of the train station. There is a money exchange here, and buses to Odesa, Ukraine also leave from this spot.
By the way, if you plan to cross the border from Ukraine into Moldova, don't enter through this territory, because you will be arrested if you continue on to Moldova.
Cross via the town of Soroca in the north of the country instead. But if you are leaving Moldova for Ukraine, you can go through here without any problem.

Delicious grapes

Moldova is one of the world's top wine exporters, and much of its GDP comes from wine. They make a lot of wine here, and good quality too, so I had to try some grapes. I bought this half-kilo bunch at the market (supermarkets are too expensive) for just 6 lei (12 baht).
If you are in Chisinau, there are tours nearby that take you to see wineries where wine is made and stored. The famous ones are Cricova (https://cricova.md/) and Milestii Mici (https://www.milestii-mici.md/ro/).

You can go to both on your own, as there is public transport, but you need to email ahead to request a visit because they have to schedule a coordinator to take you around, and visits run in set time slots. If you request English, you have to join the English-speaking coordinator's slot.

I recommend the second one. It's the real deal and not expensive, while the first is better known and tours love to bring groups there, so it's rather pricey.

P.S. The grapes are delicious, truly delicious. Tomorrow I must try the white grapes; locals set up plenty of roadside stalls selling them.

Text by Tony Thinnakorn Poonvasin