CHISINAU

Upon arrival in the predawn hours in Chisinau, Moldova my first thoughts were that I needed to get out! It was quite terrifying with packs of street dogs, broken glass and syringes littering the ground, and right in the city center I came across a pile of freshly blood soaked newspapers and bloody hand prints crawling away from the scene. Horrified I found the hostel and dropped my bag off and began my tour.

While walking around for the day there are not too many sights in the city and the level of poverty and homeless people is a bit overwhelming, considering it is a European capital city. It is a very green city with parks throughout, and containing some cheap and interesting museums. The central market removes you from the sense of being in Europe and feels more like a Latin American or South East Asian chaotic market, packed with beggars and people selling everything and anything. It is a bargain shoppers dream and a claustrophobic's nightmare.

Beyond it's rough exterior, poverty and corruption; Chisinau makes for an interesting experience that cannot be had anywhere else in Europe. It also makes for the perfect base camp for day trips to other parts of Moldova, namely Europe's largest wine cellars, mountain monasteries and the renegade nation Transnistria.