moldova day 1 2nd attempt

Because this trip is a little different to my usual jaunts I thought I'd get all technical and start a blog, feel free to laugh and accuse me of having delusions of grandeur but it's the frustrated author in me that will never be released professionally so this will have to do!

I had an afternoon in Bucharest yesterday as I flew to there, flying direct to Moldova would've cost an arm and a leg. Didn't do much but i did meet a friend from my previous trip there, Colin who runs the hostel I stayed at in 2007. I just popped into the hostel to say hi and see if he wanted to go for a drink while I'm here. I left my mark on the place, I didn't realise you had to close the lift door once I'd got to the top so I didn't and left it stranded at the top forcing all the residents in the building to use the stairs until I left. Oops.
I caught my train in the evening to Chisinau and shared my compartment with a very friendly Moldovan guy called Bumbu. he actually came in useful as he translated the interrogation I got when we hit the border with Moldova.

I was met at the station by a lady who's name I still don't know, her English was bad but she managed to explain she was the mother of the woman who owned the flat and she just takes confused people like me to it, good job too as I'd never have found it. I was surprised to see I was the only person staying at the apartment although a group of Americans are expected later. I wasn't too happy to see my 'room' was a camp bed in the living room. The other bigger room being reserved for the yanks I presume.
The woman although nice had served her purpose by this point but insisted on dragging me to the bus stop and pointing out every hotel and building on the way. As nice as she was when I finally got onto the antiquated trolley bus ( fare 1 lei, about 4pence) I was relieved.
Th bus dropped me at the central, tree lined Boulevard Stefan Cel Mare, kind of a poor mans Champs Elysee. It had an nice ambiance with the calm sedate vibe of people relaxing at street cafes contrasting with some of the worst driving I have ever seen. I ambled through the two parks and looked at Chisinau's own Arc du Triomphe, a much smaller version of the more famous Paris original then had a peek inside the very impressive orthodox Church. I just took a few moments to sit and watch the strange ritual of the locals who went to each statue and religious icon in order and crossed themselves and actually kissed each statue and icon in an identical and ritualistic manner. Quite an unusual sight.
With my planned trip to the Transniestra region tomorrow I had to go and register my presence at the British Embassy here so that was my next Port of call. The worst that has happened to westerners visiting this region recently is harassment for not paying enough in bribes or taking photos of inappropriate places, still i thought better to be safe than sorry. I may not be even going, which would be a shame as it's one of the main reasons for being here. A contact of the lady who brought me to the flat takes curious tourists like me over to Transniestra but he hasn't got back to me yet and I'm not going alone.
Chisinau isn't blessed with sights so I went to the one most rated by Lonely Planet, the Moldovan History Museum. It was disappointing to be honest but they did have the photo Nazi's on patrol to make sure people don't take illicit photos without having paid the photo tax first! I'm glad I didn't as there wasn't much worth taking a photo of anyway.
With the heat and poor nights sleep on the train taking it's toll I found my way to the trolley bus stop and came back to the apartment where I am now. Going to a restaurant called Beer House soon. Despite it's tacky name it's meant to have great authentic local food and beers, although I'll be keeping the beers to a minimum as the local corrupt police like to pick on tipsy foreigners to extract money or 'fines' from them. Don't fancy a night in a Moldovan clink so I'll watch my step!