D16 - Cara

26JUN - Day16 - Kishinev - Km1434

Ahir no vaig fer massa coses, descansar, llegir i escriure en el meu diari personal. De tant en tant ja toca descansar, aixo no son unes vacances de 2 setmanes, aixo ha de durar mes de tres mesos i no puc seguir un ritme del 100% dia i nit.
Avui dilluns es el meu ultim dia a Moldavia, he de tornar les claus del pis abans de les 3 pero el tren no surt fins les 10 del vespre.
Quedo amb Cara (Carolina) un cop deixades les claus. Ella ha estat ocupada tot el mati amb la seva primera classe de massatge. Anem a dinar junts prop de l'agencia i em regala una ferradura de fusta amb la paraula "norod" inscrita que vol dir "sort" en moldau. Cara parla be l'angles, te un bon sentit de l'humor i es molt facil passar-s'ho be amb ella. Va passar 2 anys vivint a Dinamarca pero va arribar un punt que no hi volia estar mes i va tornar cap a casa amb la familia. M'explica que ara el seu xicot belga esta preparant el papers perque ella pugui marxar del pais i anar a viure junts a Belgica. La majoria dels seus amics tambe han marxat, la majoria al Canada... l'emigracio es molt comu entre la gent jove de Moldavia
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Yesterday Sunday was a relaxing day. Some days like this are necessary, it's impossible to keep the high rythm every day when travelling. This is not a holiday, this is a long journey and some days must be quiet. I was writing memories, reading books, walking around the city parks and sleeping long.
Today is my last day in Moldova, I have to check out from the apartment before 3pm but my train leaves at 10pm. I meet Cara (Carolina), she had the first massage lesson in the morning. Cara was the first and my main contact in Kishinev. One week before my arrival she had to leave to Bucarest for personal reasons, she is back only since Friday so we had little time to meet. She lived in Denmark for over 2 years, her english is perfect, has good sense of humour and is a very easy person to get along with. We stop to have lunch at Gambrinus, she has bought a present for me that will bring me luck during my trip, with the moldovan word for luck written on it "NOROD". Most of Cara's friends emigrated to Canada or somewhere else, this is a common situation in Moldova, many young people left the country in the recent years. She is planning to move soon to Belgium with his boyfriend too.
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D14 - Flamingo

24JUN - Day 14 - Kishinev - Km1434

Arribo a l'hotel Edeman a mitjanit, just en el mateix moment veig una parella que surt d'un taxi. Ell es voluminos, samarreta negre sense manigues, tatuatjes per tot el cos, fort i cara de pocs amics. Ella va vestida de vermell, faldilla molt curta, figura esbelta, sabates de talo alt. Tothom es gira a mirar-los, jo intento dissimular, no voldria tenir problemes. M'imagino que es un esportista famos amb la seva xicota top model.
Espero 15 minuts pero Romy no arriba. El truco, em diu que es alla... ni tan sols se m'havia passat pel cap, Romy es el musculos tatuat que anava amb la noia espectacular de vermell.
Pugem els 3 al taxi i anem a Flamingo. A la porta hi ha un Rolls Royce, Romy em diu que es del propietari de la discoteca, amic seu. A la porta tothom el coneix, no m'extranya, no es facil passar desapercebut. Em demana diners per entrar, em diu que normalment el deixen entrar gratis, que ja em tornara els diners a dins. La discoteca es al aire lliure, una piscina al mig, un sushi bar a un costat i la pista de ball a l'altre. Tothom es gira i ens mira, o millor dit "els" mira a ells. No para de demanar-me el telefon per fer trucades, al cap de mitja hora rebo un parell de trucades preguntant que qui soc, una d'elles em sembla una veu modificada electronicament. Li ho explico a Romy i em diu que eren per ell. Li pregunto si la noia de vermell es la seva xicota, em diu que esta casat pero que la seva dona esta de viatge. Veig que parla amb un home gras d'uns 50 anys, camisa de flors i sabates de cocodril, es l'amo de la discoteca. Vaig a ballar rodejat de noies espectaculars, no intento establir cap tipus de comunicacio, se que qualsevol tipus de conversa acabara amb un preu en dolars. De sobte recordo una conversacio del dimecres a la nit entre Andy i Sean, deien que tenien un amic que sempre els demanava diners, un america que havia estat a la preso de Nova York tancat 10 anys i que ara estava a Moldavia des de feia 1 any i no sabien exactament que hi feia aqui. Tot encaixa. Li pregunto a Romy quina feina fa aqui, em contesta vagament dient que ja porta un any vivint a Moldavia. Truco a Valery, el taxista, i desapareixo de la discoteca sense dir adeu. El diumenge pel mati encara rebo trucades de numeros desconeguts, no contesto. Un dia mes i ja sere fora d'aquest pais.
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I arrive in front of Hotel Edeman at midnight. I see a couple getting off the taxi. A fit tattooed big guy, with a top-model-looking sexy-dressed young girl. I try not to look to much to avoid problems with the unfriendly-looking guy. Everybody in the street notice them, the guys turn their head to look at the red girl, the girls turn their head to see the fit big guy.
Nobody comes to meet me, after waiting for 15 minutes I decide to call Romy to his mobile phone, he says he didn't see me. I realise now, the tattooed guy with the red girl is Romy!
We take a taxi to Flamingo, is not in the centre, it looks like a residential area. When we arrive I see all the people and taxis waiting outside. A big Rolls-Royce parked in front of the entrance. "This is the owner's car, he is my friend" says Romy. Everybody welcomes him in the door, he is a popular guy, for sure he is not unnoticed wherever he goes.
Romy takes my phone to make some calls and ask me for money to get in. He promises to give me back the money when somebody pays him some debts. I pay my entrance as well, there is no price, I give 100Lei, I get no change back, that was the price (6EUR).
The place is very nice, open air swimming pool, a sushi bar on one side, on the other side the dancing floor.
Romy talks to a fat guy, probably the owner, he has a shirt with flowers and crocodile shoes. I get a drink for all 3, they take a shot of cognac. He keeps asking again and again for my phone to make calls, he seems nervous tonight but when I ask he says that everything is cool. At some point I get calls back to my phone, strange voices asking who am I, one of the voices seem to be electronically modified. When I explain this to Romy, he takes my phone again and tells me that the calls are for him. I ask if the red girl is his girlfriend, he replies with another question: "do you fancy her?" I don't reply, I go dancing surrounded by female beauty, more top-model-looking sexy-dressed girls everywhere, even some of them dancing inside the pool. I do not feel too comfortable in this place, too poshy, I don't even try to make friends, I know that any conversation with those girls will end up with a price in dolars, so I decide to call Valery, the taxi driver. On the way home I tell him that I will write a "nightlife report" of Kishinev in Internet, if I can put his name and phone as a reference taxi driver that speaks english. I can see his happy face, he doesn't accept my money this time and says thanks 3 times.
On Sunday I still get unknown calls, I don't answer any of them unless I know the number.
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D14 - Capriana

24JUN - Day 14- Kishinev - Km1434

Aquest mati he quedat de nou amb Olesea. A les 11 del mati ens trobem al centre de la ciutat, sota l'estatua de Stefan cel Mare. Passarem el dia junts fora de la ciutat, a Capriana, a 30km de la ciutat, un poblet famos pel seu monestir. Agafem una furgoneta, que es com un taxi gran o un autobus petit. A Moldavia, Ucraina i Bielorusia es el transport public mes popular. L'anomenen maxi-taxi, mashrutka (rus) o routiere (romanes). Dins de la ciutat, qualsevol distancia val 2Lei (15cent), pero per anar a Capriana paguem 9Lei cadascu (65cent). El conductor ens diu que quan s'hagi omplert marxarem, hi caben unes 12 persones. Pel cami Olesea m'explica coses de la vida els pobles, de quan era petita i anava a visitar els seus avis fora de la ciutat. Els pobles no tenen aigua corrent i per aixo hi ha pous a tot arreu, sempre pintats de blau. Tambe hi ha moltes creus de fusta a les entrades i sortides dels pobles, la gent es molt religiosa a Moldavia. El monestir no esta reconstruit del tot, nomes un edifici i la catedral (a la foto), entrem i encenem dues veles mentre pensem un desig i les posem juntes. Mengem a la sombra d'un arbre i ens tombem a l'herba mentre contemplem les vistes del poble i les muntanyes verdes. Tornem aviat perque ella ha de ser a casa a les 5. No ens tornarem a veure, es trist dir-se adeu pero dins nostre sabem que potser ens retrobem un altre dia en un futur no molt llunya.
Quan arribo a casa truco a Cara (Carolina, 25) que esta amb la seva germana Kristina (17) mirant el partit de futbol del mundial. Ens trobem al centre de la ciutat, la germana ha de marxar a casa pero nosaltres seiem a prendre una cervesa mentre mirem com Suecia perd contra Alemanya. Decidim anar al parc botanic abans que es faci fosc, es prop de casa seva. A l'entrada li preguntem al vigilant a quina hora tanca, ell ens diu que tancara quan els mosquits ens facin marxar. En el nostre cas son uns 30 minuts de passejar i xerrar sobre les nostres vides. Quedem pel dilluns.
Quan arribo a casa em truca Romy (US) amic de Sean i Andrew, els altres dos americans amb qui vaig sortir el dimecres. Em diu que aquesta nit anira a Flamingo, al discoteca mes exclusiva de Kishinev, quedem per les 12... pero aixo es una altra historia pel proper blog.
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Today Olesea and I go to Capriana, a village 30km from Kishinev. Is my first trip to the countryside. To get there we took a mini van, like a small bus or big taxi, some people call it maxi-taxi, marshrutka (russian) or routiere (romanian). This type of transportation is the most popular in the cities of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. They go to the countryside but also across the city, the price within the city is 2Lei ( 0.15EUR) no matter the distance. We pay 9Lei each to go to Capriana and wait until the maxitaxi is full for the departure. Luckily it doesn't take long to fill up. On the way, Olesea explains me how things work in the villages. I ask why there are so many wells in the main street of the cities. They don't have water in the houses.
The main attraction in Capriana is the monastery. The main building and the main church have been reconstructed already. They are beautiful, specially the church (see picture). We light 2 candles, ask for a wish and put them together. After the visit we eat something, go for a walk and lay on the grass watching the spectacular view of the town and the hills. She has to go home at 5pm, we won't meet again before I go to Kiev. Is sad to say goodbye but we know deep inside that we will meet again in the future somewhere.
Back to Kishinev I meet Cara (Carolina, 25). She is watching a WorlCup match with her sister Kristina (17) in the city centre. Kristina goes home but we stay for a drink. She lived in Denmark for 2 years, back to Moldova 6 months ago. Before it gets too dark we decide to go to the botanical garden near her place. We walk and talk until the mosquitos scare us away.
When I get home I receive a call from Romy (US) a friend of Sean and Andy, the other two americans guys that I know in the city. He proposes me to meet at midnight and go to Flamingo, the most exclusive disco in Kishinev... but this story requires a complete new post...
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D13 - La Taifa

23JUN - Day 13- Kishinev - Km1434

A les 6 de la tarda he quedat amb Olesea per sopar, ella ha de ser a casa a les 8, per aixo hi anem tant aviat. La Taifa es el restaurant tradicional mes tipic de la ciutat. Arriba gairebe una hora tard a la cita. Demanem una ampolla de vi negre moldau del 1990. Molt bo i no gaire car. Ella, sense mirar el menu, pregunta als camarers i em demana menjar tipic de moldavia. Una mena de pure fet de massa de blat de moro, carn picada enrotllada amb verdures i formatge fresc de cabra. Tot molt bo.
Despres del sopar vaig a veure el final del partit de futbol, tothom anima Espanya, no entenc la rao, pregunto encuriosit per si tenen alguna mena d'hispanofilia. Em diuen que animen Espanya perque han apostat diners. Ara ho entenc.
Busco un pub que m'havien recomanat pero no el trobo, entro en un altre que sembla bastant alternatiu, no te gaire bona pinta pero m'hi quedo una estona a veure si s'anima. La gent comenca a beure begudes "flambejades", cada cop van mes beguts i alguns em miren no se si amb curiositat o amb ganes de bronca. La persona mes amable del local, curiosament, era l'encarregat de seguretat. Truco Valery, el taxista que vaig coneixer el dilluns i em porta a People, una discoteca molt prop del pis. A l'entrada hi veig 2 preus. People:60, Caligula:180. Pregunto que es Caligula, es un strip club. Pago 60 i entro a la discoteca. Es gran i ben decorada, la musica esta be pero no hi ha massa gent.
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Today I go for dinner with Olesea to "La Taifa" the most popular restaurant with traditional moldovan food. She arrives late and have to leave early but we have enough time to enjoy one bottle of red moldovan wine, 15 year old cabernet sauvignon. She orders traditional food for both of us. Everything tastes very good. The musicians are playing next to us traditional moldovan music, too loud for me.
At night I decide to go to the Black Elephant, "Chorney Slon", a sort of alternative pub that plays jazz and other life music events. I walk and walk but I don't find it. 2 days later I was told that is closed nowadays. Tired of walking I enter to another pub, underground, nobody speaks any english, this makes me feel better, I don't want any touristic place for tonight. Mostly guys in the dancing floor, drinking hard drinks after burning them for a few seconds. Some of them look at me with curiosity or probably they don't like me. I don't care, is boring anyway. Only the security guy seems friendly in this place. I call Valery, the taxi driver that speaks english and we go to People (ex-Soho) a disco near my place. There are 2 prices for the entrance: People - 60MDL, Caligula - 180MDL. I ask what is Caligula, "a strip-club" they say. I pay 60 and go to People. The place is nice decorated, big and the music good, not very full though.
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D12 - Kishinev II

22JUN - Day 12 - Kishinev - Km1434

Ahir dimecres va ser un dia tranquil, pel mati vaig a l'estacio de tren a comprar el bitllet a Kiev de la setmana que ve. Abans d'anar a l'estacio miro els horaris de tots els trens, la millor opcio es el que va a Moscu i que para a Kiev a les 2 de la tarda, l'altra opcio seria arribar a Kiev a les 3 de la matinada, que no es la millor hora per estar a una estacio de tren perdut i amb una motxil.la. Apunto totes les dades en un paper i l'ensenyo a la noia que ven els bitllets, parla una mica d'angles, tot i aixi no fa falta parlar perque el paper que porto explica clarament el que vull, el numero de tren els horaris i el desti.
Dono una volta per la ciutat i rento roba per guanyar temps abans que arribi Svetlana per les classes de rus. Arriba puntual, tindra un 35/40 anys, es professora professional, ensenya forca be tot i que continuo pensant que 6 dolars per hora es massa car.
A la nit he quedat amb la parella que vaig coneixer el dilluns, Andrew i Olesea. Anem a casa d'un amic d'ells, Sean, tambe america que esta treballant aqui com a auditor d'empreses americanes. Bebem una cervesa en el seu apartament del dese pis d''un edifici bastant precari i anem a City, una discoteca del centre. Tothom sembla coneixer a Sean, especialment les noies, agafem una taula amb una botella de vodka, mirem el show, ballem i a les 4 del mati tornem a casa.
Avui m'aixeco tard i quedo de nou amb Olesea, la noia que vaig coneixer el dimarts, anem a passejar per un parc de la ciutat amb un llac gran on la gent es banya, cosa que jo no recomanaria veient el color de l'aigua. Nosaltres ens asseiem en un banc i xerrem de les nostres vides, families i plans de futur. M'explica histories del pobles de de Moldavia, de la violencia domestica encara socialment acceptada i el seu viatge a Polonia ara fara un any.
A la nit tinc la segona llico de rus amb Svetlana, em queixo pel preu i em proposa 5 dolars en comptes de 6, li dic que avui si pero que es l'ultim dia.
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Yesterday was a quiet day. I went to buy the train ticket to Kiev for next week. Since I don't speak much russian, everytime I want to buy a train ticket I check the schedules first. Then I write in a piece of paper the origin and destination cities in cirylic and latin letters, below I write the train number, the departure time and the full date. With this paper I go to the train station and generally I have no problems.
In the afternoon I go for a walk alone in the city center before the 2-hour russian lesson with Svetlana. She comes to my place at 7pm, I would say she is around 35 years old, she is professional teacher for english tourists, she can speak some spanish too but most of the time we talk in rusian and english.
At night I meet Andrew and Olesea again (the moldovan-american couple), we go to Sean place. Sean (USA) works in Moldova as an auditor for american institutions. We have a drink in his new flat in the 10th floor of an old building, he explains that the elevator gets blocked often but walking up and down 10 floors is too much, so we take the risk. Nothing wrong happens this time. We head towards City, a disco near Pushkin Street. Many people knows him there, specially the girls. We stayed all 4 until 4am in the morning, is wednesday night but the place is crowded.
Today I meet Olesea again and go to the park with a big lake. Is a hot day again, over 30 degrees. Some people swim in the lake but looking at the color of the water I wouldn't recommend it. We seat in a bench and have a drink while talking about our families and future plans. She explains me about life in the countryside, she has her grandparents there and also a summer house. We decide to do a 1-day trip outside the city on Saturday.
2 more russian lessons this evening with Svetlana, I tell her that 6USD/h is over my budget, she offers to do the same for 5USD/h. I tell her to do it one more day but the last.
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D10 - Kishinev

20JUN - Day10 - Kishinev - Km1434

Chisinau es el nom romanes i Kishinev el nom rus de la capital de la Republica de Moldavia. Pais poc conegut i un dels mes pobres d'Europa. Amb 4.5 milions d'habitants i sense sortida la mar. 3 llengues son oficials, el moldau (basicament romanes escrit en lletres llatines), rus (cirilic) i gagauz (dialecte turc que es parla al sud del pais i que tambe te una escriptura especial). A Chisinau la majoria de cartells estan escrits en rus i en moldau.

A les 3 de la tarda quedo amb Olesea (21), parla molt be l'angles i una mica d'espanyol, li agradaria poder viatjar i vol que li expliqui les meves aventures, parlem de la situacio politica i economica de Moldavia. M'explica que un dels problemes mes grans es el trafic de noies moldaves a paisos de l'Europa Occidental i a Turquia. Passegem pel centre de la ciutat i visitem una catedral ortodoxa, el parlament i el parc del centre de la ciutat, creuat pel carrer principal que rep el nom de Stefan Cel Mare, rei de Moldavia del segle XV, contemporani i amic de Vlad III Dracula de Transilvania.

Truco a Svetlana per posar-nos d'acord per el curs de rus. Vol 6 dolars per hora, una mica car per Moldavia pero accepto 2h al vespre cada dia comencant dema dimecres.

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Kishinev in russian, Chisinau in romanian, is the capital of the Republic of Moldova, a landlocked country with 4.5 million inhabitants. One of the poorest and most unknown countries in Europe. Visa is still required for EU citizens, althought they are talking about releasing it from summer 2007. Nowadays tourists can enter without visa during 3 weeks in autumn for the wine festivals. The official language is moldovan, basically the same as romanian, russian and gagauz (a turkish dialect spoken in the southern part of the country).

In the afternoon I meet Olesea (21), she speaks very good english. We walk around the city and talk about religion and politics of the country. She explains me the problem with trafficking human beings, specially young girls to Turkey and western Europe.

In the evening I call Svetlana, she will be my russian language teacher, she wants 6USD for 45 minute lesson, this is very expensive for Moldova, we arrange 2 lessons every evening in my appartment starting tomorrow. I found her through Marisha www.marisha.net

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10 Days

D9 - Moldova

19JUN - Day9 - Kishinev - Km1434

Entrem a Moldavia despres d'haver creuat 2 fronteres i perdut prop de 2 hores entre els 4 controls. Arribem a Chisinau, la capital de Moldavia, a les 4 de la tarda. Trec diners del caixer i agafo un taxi per anar a l'oficina que em llogara el pis al centre de la ciutat. La moneda de Moldavia es diu Lei, aproximadament 1 Euro son 16 Lei.

Vaig a comprar una tarjeta pel mobil i truco a Andrew (Estats Units). Quedem per la nit i ve amb la seva dona Olesea (Moldavia). Es van coneixer a Florida on ella estaba amb una beca en un projecte de recerca. Ara se li ha acabat el visat i per obtenir-ne un de nou s'ha de passar dos anys a Moldavia. D'aquesta manera s'intenta evitar l'emigracio de cientifics. Andrew te intencio de quedar-se aqui amb ella durant aquests dos anys i despres marxar junts de nou cap a Florida.

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We enter Moldova, after crossing 4 border stops. I arrive to Kishinev in the afternoon, take money from the ATM and get a taxi to the agency that rents me an appartment in the city centre. The local currency is "Lei", 1 Euro is 16 Lei.

In the afternoon I call Andrew (US). We meet in the evening, he comes with her wife Olesea (Moldova). They met in the US where she was doing a research funded by the government. Now her US visa has expired, in order to get a new one she has to spend 2 full years in Moldova. Andrew moved here with her 1 month ago, they plan to spend those 2 years here together and then move back to Florida.

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D9 - Trans Dniestr

19JUN - Day 9 - Kishinev - Km1434

Avui fa calor, l'autocar surt a les 10:20 del mati, no te aire condicionat, per sort la porta no tanca be i entra una mica d'aire mentre es mou. Anem plens. Natalia, la noia del meu costat parla una mica d'angles i m'ofereix una xocolatina per esmorzar. M'explica que passarem per Transnistria, lloc que volia evitar pero al comprar el bitllet no vaig saber-me fer entendre.
Transnistria es una republica no reconeguda internacionalment. Tenen parlament, aduanes i exercit pero els seus habitants tenen passaport de Moldavia. El pais esta dirigit per Igor Smirnof, ex-alcalde de Tiraspol, la capital. Es segurament la regio mes corrupta d'Europa, plagada de crim organitzat i contraban d'armes http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnístria Es recomana als turistes no entrar-hi. Alla es on es dirigeix el bus on soc jo ara.
Arribem a la frontera, la sortida de Ucrania es lenta pero sense problemes. A l'entrada de Transnistria l'oficial de les aduanes es posa el meu passaport a la butxaca i em demana que el segueixi. Fan pagar a tothom l'equivalent a mig euro per un visat de transit, excepte els ciutadans de la republica. Quan ja ha pagat tothom demano el meu passaport i em porten en una oficina nova. Tothom esta al bus esperant-me. Alla m'aten un oficial que parla una mica d'angles i en un paper en blanc hi escriu: 35$, em volen per pagar 60 vegades mes que als demes. Se que m'estan enganyant i em queixo. Em diu que si vull puc tornar enrere i entrar Moldavia per un altre lloc. Pago i marxo de l'oficina sense dir absolutament res, enfadat.
A l'autobus veig que el rebut que m'ham donat es de mig euro. Ho explico a Natalia i durant la seguent mitja hora soc el centre de les conversacions de tot l'autocar.
El pais sembla realment pobre, les cases en mal estat, tot gris, carreteres amples sense cotxes. M'expliquen que just avui es l'aniversari del comencament de la guerra amb Moldavia l'any 1992, veig flors en alguns monuments i poca gent pels carrers.
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I have the seat number 2 in the bus, just behind the driver. Next to me seats Natalia, she can speak some english. The bus is full, the air conditioning does not work, fortunately the door doesn't close very well and I get some air when the bus moves.
Before buying the ticket to Kishinev (Chisinau in romanian) I was told to avoid Trans-Dniester, now I find that this bus goes through Tiraspol, which is the capital. Natalia says that my Moldova visa should be OK to cross the new republic.
Transnistria had a 2-month war in 1992 against Moldova, since then they claim the independence of this Republic, lead by Igor Smirnov, pro russian ex major of Tiraspol. According to one BBC article "The region is plagued by corruption, organised crime and smuggling. It has been accused of conducting illegal arms sales and of money laundering. Poverty is widespread" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3641826.stm
When we leave Ukraine, the custom officials take everybody's passport to a closed room and gave them back to us slowly first the ukrainian ones, then the moldova, one russian and mine are the last to come. No problems but we spent 45 minutes stopped there.
20 more meters and we stop again in the Transnistria border. The official enters the bus, checks all the passports and takes only mine to his pocket. I follow him apart from the rest of the passengers. Everybody is asked to pay 3UAH ( 0.50EUR) for a "transit visa", everybody except me. Everybody is back to the bus but I don't have my passport, the bus driver tries to help me. 15 minutes later one of the officials start talking english to me. They want 35USD (30EUR) for a "transit visa", I know this is not legal, I complain about the high price, he says that I can go back to Ukraine and cross the border somewhere else avoiding Transnistria. When I pay he tries to be nice with me and talk about Spain and the World Cup. I take my passport, I don't even look at his face, neither say goodbye and I go back to the bus. In my passport I find a piece of paper which is supposed to be the transit visa and a receipt. The receipt says 3UAH ( 0.50EUR), I have paid 60 times that price. Probably they are still drinking vodka with my money.
In the bus I explain what happened, I am the subject of the conversation of everybody for about half an hour.
The place looks poor, wide roads, no cars, all grey. We stopped for a while at the train station, some passengers leave. As a souvenir one of them give me a local coin: 25 copecs of a Transnistrian Ruble.
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D8 - Odessa II

18JUN - Day 8 - Odessa - Km1251

Ahir dissabte, ens vam aixecar cansats de la nit anterior. No fa gaire bon temps pero hem quedat amb Kristina i Oksana a la platja de Fontana 10, a uns 15km al sud de la ciutat. Quan arribem es posa a ploure i elles ens diuen d'anar a dinar prop de la seva "dacha", o casa de vacances, les convidem a dinar amb vi moldau bastant dolent i elles ens proposen que anem amb elles a la dacha. La casa on viuen no te mobles, nomes matalassos al terra per dormir, acaben de llogar la casa. Alla coneixem Nasdia, la filla d'Oksana i Mikhail, el fill de Kristina, 13 i 9 anys respectivament. La mare de Kristina ens prepara borsch, la tipica sopa ucraniana i ens quedem al pati de la casa xerrant i tocant la guitarra fins les 8 del vespre. Aquesta es la darrera nit per Arnaud. Tornem a casa i ens preparem per una altra llarga nit a Arcadia.

Avui diumenge la ciutat esta mig buida, fa bon temps i decideixo provar una altra platja una mica mes lluny del centre... aprofito per llegir, dormir i remullar-me una altra vegada al Mar Negre. A la tornada el taxista m'explica que la gent jove d'avui en dia no te voluntat per estudiar i nomes busquen el diner facil, m'explica que quan ell era jove les universitats ruses eren molt bones i s'hi aprenia molt. Em pregunta si la situacio a Espanya es la mateixa.

Dema a les 10 del mati surt el meu bus a Moldavia, decideixo no anar enlloc aquesta nit, em troba Rock pel carrer i m'intenta convencer inutilment qu evagi amb ells a Arcadia un altre cop.

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Yesterday we woke up late, the weather is very changeable but we decide to meet Kristina and Oksana in Fontan 10, a beach about 15km south of the centre. When we arrive starts the rain, they propose to eat something near their "dacha" (summer house), we invite them for lunch with a horrible bottle of moldavian wine. After the lunch we go together to their appartment without furniture. Nasdia (13), Oksana's daughter, and the mother of Kristina are in the house. We prepare some chairs in the garden and eat a delicious home-made borsch. Some more friends of them join us, Arnaud plays the guitar while I lay in a bench and the ladies talk in russian. We finally leave at 8pm back home. We will meet them tonight in Itaca, the disco in Arcadia. Is the last night for Arnaud

Today sunday the city is less crowded, most of the people went to the beach, is even difficult to get a taxi ride to the seaside resorts. I decide to go to Fontana 13, Riviera Beach, 20km from the center. I stay there until 6pm, swimming, reading and sleeping. After the weekend I needed a full day of relax before leaving tomorrow morning to Moldova.

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D6 - Arcadia

16JUN - Day 6 - Odessa - Km1251

 

Arcadia, a uns 10km al sud de la ciutat i a la vora del Mar Negre, es un complexe ludic amb multitud de bars i restaurants. A l'estiu es on es troben tots els turistes amb ganes de festa, de Kiev, Moscu, San Petesburg i arreu dels paisos de la ex Unio Sovietica. Tambe s'hi poden trobar alguns europeus i americans pero no gaires encara. Ibiza i Itaca son les dues discoteques mes famoses, les dues a l'aire lliure i amb vistes espectaculars del Mar Negre, sobretot pel mati quan surt el sol.

Hi anem Arnaud, Rock, Xavier i jo. Rock (EUA) esta viatjant des de fa mes d'un any i te intencio de quedar-se a Odessa 3 mesos abans d'anar a Estambul, Paris i de tornada a Nova York a finals d'any. Xavier (Franca) viu a Odessa amb la seva xicota i te una feina en un bar-restaurant de la ciutat.

No es dificil veure entre les taules mes ben situades de la discoteca (i per tant les mes cares) americans de mes de 50 anys rodejats de xampany i noies de 18-20 anys.

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Arcadia is a place south of Odessa where all nightlife happens during the summer. A resort near the beach with restaurants, bars and discos. The most famous discos are Ibiza and Itaca, both open air where you can dance looking at the sunrise in the Black Sea.

I go there with Arnaud, Rock and Xavier, we take a table for all four with a bottle of vodka. Once you get a table in a disco is all night for you, if somebody else tries to seat there, the waiters will move them away. Rock (USA) has been travelling long time in Ukraine and other countries, now is in Odessa for 3 months. Xavier (France) moved to Odessa with his girlfriend and got a job in a bar-restaurant in the city centre.

In these discos you can also meet people like http://www.buzzle.com/boards.asp?board=227&message=147641

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D5 - The Black Sea

15JUN - Day 5 - Odessa - Km1251

 

Quan arribo a l'estacio de tren els taxistes em demanen 30UAH pel trajecte al centre, jo se que el preu normal es 10UAH pero com que no parlo rus intento negociar per 20UAH. No accepten. Vaig a la carretera i paro un cotxe normal que accepta els meus 20UAH a la primera (aproximadament 3EUR). Els taxis oficials son sempre els mes cars a Ucraina. La manera mes barata de moure's es anar parant cotxes normals que passen pel carrer, donar-los l'adreca i el preu que estas disposat a pagar. El millor es parar cotxes vells i, per raons de seguretat, mai agafar-ne un on hi ha mes d'una persona.

Al pis m'espera Arnaud (Franca) que compartia pis amb un amic pero que ara esta sol. Conec Arnaud d'un viatge anterior i quan vaig saber que estaria a Odessa la mateixa setmana que jo vaig trucar-lo i vam acordar compartir un pis amb dues habitacions.

M'explica que durant el principi de la setmana ha fet mal temps, pero avui fa sol i anem a la platja, a Otrada Beach, no gaire lluny del centre, alla em banyo. L'aigua es freda pero em senta be la remullada despres d'una nit llarga de viatge.

A la nit em truca Svetlana (30), amiga de la filla d'un dels meus contactes a la ciutat: Galina (49). Parla forca be l'angles i decidim que passare a recollir-la a casa seva, als afores de la ciutat. Svetlana es mare soltera, amb una filla de 11 anys i divorciada dues vegades, primer del seu marit ucraines, el pare de la seva filla, i despres d'un bulgar. Ara viu sola i treballa dur per poder pujar la seva filla. M'ensenya una mica el centre de la ciutat i cami de casa seva de tornada em porta a un bar-restaurant amb Karaoke i una pista de ball on hi posen musica dels anys 80. Ballem tots barrejats amb la resta de clients fins les 3 de la matinada. Ha estat un dia llarg

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At the train station I am the target of all the taxi drivers, they ask for too much money, I smile and keep walking. In general, in Odessa, the official taxis are expensive, specially if you don't speak russian. It is very common to go to the road and stop normal cars, give them the adress you want to go and the money you want to pay, if happens to be in the same way they will take you, otherwise you stop the next one. It is recommended for safety not to get into a car with more than one person. The older the car the cheaper the price you can ask.

Before planning the trip to Odessa, Arnaud (France) told me that he will be there on holidays around the same dates. I called him yesterday from Uzhgorod before taking the train. He was sharing a 2-bedroom flat with a friend in the city center but now he is alone, so I decide to move in to the appartment with him during the rest of the week. The weather was awful in Odessa the last days but today the sun is shining, that's why we decide to go to Otrada Beach, not far from Schevchenko Park. The water is cold but I swim, after the long journey last night, the cold water makes me feel good again.

At night I got a call from Svetlana (30), a friend of the daughter of one of my contacts in Odessa: Galina (49). She wants to meet and show me around the city. I collect her in the outskirts of the city. Single mother of a 11 year old girl, divorced twice first from ucrainian guy and second from a bulgarian one. We go to a local pub with restaurant and karaoke, near her house. We dance music from the 80s until late at night.

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D5 - Odessa

15JUN - Day 5 - Odessa - Km1251

 

El tren blau es el que em portara a Odessa. 19 hores de cami, 892 quilometres per 15EUR amb llitera. Aixo ens dona una velocitat mitjana de menys de 50km/h que es mes o menys la dels trens que em trobare durant tot el cami.

Al tren conec Rita, de la minoria hongaresa de Ucraina, marit i dos fills viuen a Budapest pero ella esta passant una temporada a Mukasheva, una ciutat prop d'Uzhgorod. M'explica, mig en alemany i mig en hongares/rus que va a Odessa amb una parella amiga que tenen un fill de 18 anys a l'exercit que va ser agredit sexualment per un oficial. El noi esta a l'hospital militar en tractament psicologic i els pares no tenen recursos per viatjar a veure'l. Ella els paga el viatge en tren i alla es posara en contacte amb una periodista per anar tots junts de visita a l'hospital. Tambe em parla molt de la seva filla de 22 anys que viu a Budapest i que anira aquest estiu a Londres, quan li dic que jo tinc amics a la capital anglesa, insisteix en donar-me el seu numero de telefon.

A la nit no dormo gaire, el meu unic vei del compartiment del tren rep trucades al telefon fins les 2 del mati, em poso els taps a les orelles i no sento res mes que les sotregades del tren sobre les vies.

Pel mati, quan el tren para mitja hora, pugen dones del poble oferint begudes i menjar, moltes maduixes i cireres que ara es el temps. El vago esta ple de botelles buides de cervesa i de vodka, com si durant la nit hi hagues hagut una gran festa.

Arribem a Odessa al migdia, fa bon temps.

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The train from Uzhgorod to Odessa takes 19h for 892km, an average speed of less than 50km/h which is about the average speed I will get in all the normal trains in the CIS countries. The price is 15EUR for "coupe" class, which means a compartment with 4 beds.

I meet Rita, ukrainian from hungarian roots, she leaves now in Mukasheva, a city not far from Uzhgorod but her husband and 2 kids live in Budapest. She cannot speak english so we mix german, hungarian and russian in our conversation.

She is in the train to help a couple that have a son in the army in Odessa. The 18 years old son was sexually agressed by a 50 year old superior of him. Now their son is in psychological treatment in the army hospital in Odessa but the parents could not afford to travel there, so Rita is paying for the tickets and also getting a journalist to go with them to hospital and publish an article about it. She talks all the time about her 22 years old daughter that leaves in Budapest, speaks 5 languages, plays piano and is going to work in London for the summer. She offers me the mobile number of her daughter.

The only other guy in my compartment goes to Odessa for holidays to meet her wife and daughter that are already there. We talk again in Hungarian and russian, very little because of my poor skills. He is truck driver with a 100EUR/month salary, he says is average salary in Ukraine

In the morning, after hardly any sleep, what brings my attention is the bin full of bottles of beer and vodka. I didn't hear any big party last night, it seems to be a normal night train trip. Some old ladies (babushkas) enter the train in the morning offering food and drinks... Vodka is officially forbidden in the platforms but I saw one getting to my neighbours.

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D4 - Uzhgorod

14JUN - Day 4 - Uzhgorod - Km359

 

Ahir hi va haver canvi de plans, en comptes de marxar el mateix dia cap a Odessa, decideixo quedar-me a Uzhgorod, la capital de Transcarpatia, que vol dir "mes enlla dels Carpats", si es mira des de Kiev o Moscu es aixi, pero per mi es la regio abans de creuar els Carpats. Vaig canviar d'opinio perque feia bon dia i la gent semblava amable i oberta, a mes estava cansat del cap de setmana a Budapest i tenia ganes de passar un dia tranquil. Em quedo a l'Hotel Atlant on conec Kate (Ekaterina), la unica persona de l'hotel que es pot comunicar fluent en angles i que treballa a l'agencia de viatges, no a recepcio tot i que la hi criden sovint. M'ajuda amb el bitllet de tren i m'explica coses de la ciutat mentre passegem per la ciutat. Nascuda a Moscu va emigrar a Uzhgorod amb els seus pares fa 10 anys quan ella en tenia 10. No parla ni hongares ni ucrania i em diu que de vegades la gent no es amable amb els ciutadans que nomes parlen rus. Em parla molt dels Estats Units on hi te un munt d'amics i on sembla que ella tambe te ganes d'emigrar aviat.

La ciutat es petita i la part vella peatonal podria ser qualsevol altre ciutat hongaresa si no fos pels cartells en cirilic per tot arreu. M'assec a sopar i soc la victima persistent dels nens del carrer mal vestits i bruts que els pares m'envien demanant diners... Hrivna es la moneda de Ucraina. Aproximadament 6UAH equivalen a 1EUR.

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Yesterday, when I left the train station in Tchop, was a sunny day, I felt happy to be again in Ukraine, good mood. I wanted to eat something in Uzhgorod, a much nicer city 15km north of Tchop, which is basically a hub for trains and little else. The plan was to buy the ticket to Odessa for 5pm and eat something in the city while waiting. Talking to the taxi driver that brings me to the city and looking around I decide to spend one night in this lovely town and delay my arrival to Odessa by one day.

Uzhgorod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzhgorod) is the capital of the Transcarpatia region, still looks like a hungarian village, the taxi driver says that 99% of the people speaks hungarian. I had the feeling that he exagerated after I talked to some locals and heard the coinversations in the street.

I check-in at Hotel Atlant for 30EUR. Kate, 20 year old from the travel agency comes with me to buy the ticket to Odessa. Born in Russia she arrived with her parents to Uzhgorod 10 years ago, she teaches dancing on weekends, study to be book-keeper and work in the hotel travel agency but she is the only one that can speak fluent english in the hotel, so she does "reception" work as well. I hear american-english in the street, its a turistic town full of terraces along the river, small shops in pedestrian streets and people walking on the old town all day. Brazil was playing that night in the WorlCup, I watched the match with a bunch of teenagers on the street.

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D3 - Ukraine

13JUN - Day 3 - Tchop - Km345

 

Ucraina, desconegut gran pais a l'Est d'Europa, gran en extensio i amb aproximadament els mateixos habitants que Espanya: 45 milions. Pais independent de la Unio Sovietica des del 1991 que ha abolit visats per als europeus per tal d'incrementar el turisme i per tant, dinamitzar l'economia que ja no esta sustentada pel gegant rus. Kiev i la costa del Mar Negre son les dues grans destinacions turistiques que els turistes dels ex paisos de la Unio Sovietica coneixen be i que el europeus comencem a descobrir.

Ja hi tornem a ser, per cuarta vegada en menys de dos anys torno a entrar a Ucraina, per primera vegada ho faig en tren i no hi ha cap problema. A mida que ens hem anat acostant a la frontera el tren s'ha anat dividint i al final ens hem quedat amb nomes dos vagons que son els que arribaran finalment a Tchop, on els oficials s'asseguren que del tren anem a l'aduana on em controlen el passaport em fan algunes preguntes i em deixen entrar sense complicacions.

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Ukraine, one of my favourite countries in Europe. Still very much unknown in the west. With its 600 thousand square kilometers, makes it the largest country of Europe, followed by France. In terms of population is similar to Spain and Poland, around 45 million. In 1991 became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 2004 people pretested on the freezing streets of Kiev, in what is today know the "Orange Revolution" which gave power to Viktor Yuschenko with the help of the photogenic Yulia Tymoschenko More pro European than his predecessor, the government abolished the visa in summer 2005 for EU citizens and other nationalities.

I left Budapest at 7am, arrived to Ukraine at 12:30 local time, +1h from Hungary. The train staton in Tchop is the custom border. No problem, easy questions and I put my feet in this country for the 4th time in my life.

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D2 - Moldova Visa

12JUN - Day 2 - Budapest - Km0

 

Dilluns pel mati, he d'aprofitar avui per comprar el visat de Moldavia. Segons m'havien informat, es pot aconseguir el visat a l'ambaixada el matex dia pagant 60USD. Vaig a l'adreca que em donen amb els meus dolars acabats de treure del banc, resulta que son 60 mes 5 per la feina d'oficina :-( Una feina que, tot sigui dit, mal feta perque hi ha un error en les dates del visat que el consul arregla amb una correcio amb boligraf a sobre del visat mateix... espero que la setmana que ve a la frontera no em posin problemes.

Despres de l'ambaixada vaig a veure Irene (Barcerlona) i David (Budapest) que porten vivint aqui junts mes de 4 anys. Dinem junts i m'acompanyen a l'estacio de tren a buscar el bitllet per marxar dema cap a Ucraina. Els horaris que em donen de Budapest a Odessa no m'agraden i acabo comprant nomes el bitllet fins a Tchop, a la frontera, dins ja d'Ucraina. Si tot va be, alla mateix podre comprar el bitllet fins a Odessa.

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Today is Monday. In the morning I went to the Moldovan Embassy to get the visa. The building is situated in the District II, on the Buda side, the same street where I lived my first month in Budapest, back in April 2004. Easy to find but the door is locked :-( I know today is bank holiday in Russia, I am wondering if they close too... I ring the bell the second time, no answer. I have their phone number in my agenda, I call from outside, they are in, they work but the bell doesn't. The consul goes outside and opens the door for me. He has an office on the back of the house, dark wood furniture, lots of moldovan passports on the table, a big picture of a man in the wall, probably the Moldovan president or prime minister... Skype "peeps" constantly in his computer. I fill the papers, he prepares the Visa very quick for 65USD... There is a mistake, is a 30-day visa but the entry date is 12/ 06/06 valid until 11/06/06, he put June instead of July. I complain. He smiles and write a side note with pen correcting the mistake... I am wondering if the customs police will accept it. I have been told that Moldova is open to tourism more and more but I also heard that police is corrupt and ask for bribes at any excuse. I will find out in 1 week time.
I met David and Irene in the afternoon, their little dog "Luna" likes new visitors, for the first half an hour she was requiring my attention with plenty of energy. We had lunch together and they came with me to Keleti, the train station on the East part of the city. We asked for tickets to Odessa (Ukraine), the lady at the information counter could not give me a good schedule, the one I found myself in internet doesn't seem to exist anymore. Finally I buy the ticket only until Tchop, at the ukrainian border and I will try to get luckier there. Unfortunately is not possible to buy a one-way ticket, only return. 30EUR for less than 300km.
Everything is done, not perfectly but ready to take the train tomorrow at 7am to go to Ukraine.

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D1 - Budapest

11JUN - Day 1 - Km 0 - Budapest

Hongria, pais de 10 milions d'habitants que va ingressar a la UE l'1 de Maig del 2004. Aquí vaig viure durant 8 mesos quan encara treballava per Duolog. Budapest, ciutat imperial amb arquitectura semblant a la de Viena, travessada de nord a sud pel Danubi, que divideix la ciutat en dues parts. Buda amb el castell i les zones residencials i els parcs, i Pest amb les zones comercials i més densa.
Vaig arribar Dissabte procedent de Barcelona amb un vol d'SkyEurope. Els dies que estigui a la ciutat em quedaré amb Anna i Colm en el seu renovat pis del centre, parets altes, distribució curiosa i pati interior compartit amb la resta de veïns.
Gràcies als partits de futbol del Mundial puc quedar amb la resta de companys de Duolog i xerrar envoltats d'un ambient distès.
A la tarda quedo amb Tünde per passejar per la ciutat, avui fa sol i certa xafogor, anem a Margit, una illa del Danubi dins de la ciutat, plena de parcs i complexos esportius, ens estirem a la gespa i parlem de la situació política i econòmica d'Hongria i també del seu pais natal, de Romania que, si tot va bé, l'any que ve també entrarà a formar part de la UE juntament amb Bulgària.
Demà dilluns toca burocràcia.
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Arrived yesterday to Budapest from Barcelona with SkyEurope, big temperature drop, from 25C to 12C. Anna and Colm were waiting in their flat in the city Centre, I will stay with them while in Budapest. Anna, Environmental Engineer from Hungary and Colm, Electronic Engineer from Ireland. We had a birthday party at Dave's place, overlooking the Danube, the same night. I could meet again most of my ex-colleagues from Duolog Budapest office.
This morning Anna prepared a lovely FULL IRISH BREAKFAST, which contained all hte energy for the rest of the day :-) Today is Sunday, day for relax. I met with Tünde in the afternoon, we went for a walk along the Danube and to Margit Island. She moved to Budapest a few years ago from the hungarian speaking part of Romania, in Transilvania. She is happy with her job, the company is growing and she is getting more responsabilities. We talked about the economic problems in Hungary at the moment, right after the elections, the government is planning to increase direct and indirect taxes due to the growing annual deficit. The entrance to the Euro Zone was scheduled 2008-09, probably will need to be delayed if the economics don't get more stable.
Tomorrow will be a day for paperwork.
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D-5 Getting the Russian Visa

Finalment avui he pogut anar al consulat de Barcelona (ahir dilluns era festa) a demanar el visat de "negocis" per 3 mesos, l'empresa fictícia rusa que em convida es diu Dizar (invitació a la foto). Poques paraules intercanviades amb el cònsul, una factura de 114EUR i d'aquí a dos dies he de tornar a recollir el passaport, esperem que amb el visat i sense problemes. El consulat està situat a la part alta de Barcelona, Avinguda Pearson, rodejada de grans mansions i escoles de negocis. De moment tot sembla que està en marxa per poder agafar l'avió a Budapest aquest dissabte sense problemes.
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Yesterday was some sort of religious holiday in Barcelona, today was the first day I could go to the russian consulate, placed in one of the most expensive areas of the city. Mr Roman, with who I talked several times in the past, accepted all the papers and told me to collect back my passport with the "business" visa in 2 days. 114EUR was the bill. All the rest is running on time, Saturday I should be on the plane via Budapest without problems.
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