“You don’t know how lucky you boys are...”

So, it’s my first full day in Moldova, and I’ve spent the day somewhere unusual. It’s easier to tell the story than to explain, so I’ll hope that all will become clear as I go along...

Body clocks are odd things, and with Moldova being two hours ahead, I expected a struggle getting up at a reasonable hour, but I came too at about 6.30, leaving time for a leisurely breakfast before I took a brisk stroll to the Central Bus Station. There seemed to be plenty of people willing to rip me off, but I eventually found the ticket office and bought my ticket on the 10.00 departure for the princely sum of 36.50 Lei (about £1.50).

My destination? Tiraspol, south-east of the capital, but also the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Transnistria, which covers broadly the territory of Moldova east of the Dnieper, plus Bendery on the west bank. And yes, they have a flag, a currency and, most important, border control. It is a bit of a conceit, and I guess that they tacitly acknowledge that by not stamping your passport - a bit like the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. Instead, just like the TRNC, you get an official looking piece of paper which you must keep.

My twenty seat minibus was full to capacity, and we set off pretty much on time, through the cluttered streets of downtown Chisinau, towards the main highway south. This being Moldova, the poorest country in Europe, it’s not in great shape, although they do try. What that means is that we slalomed our way south, past the airport and out into the countryside.

After an hour or so, things got a bit more serious. There were soldiers around, and barriers, and a definite sense that hanging around wasn’t advised. And then, different soldiers, in different uniforms. We stopped for passport checks, at which point it became clear that I wasn’t the only foreigner on the bus. But there were no dramas, and we all piled back on the bus and headed into Transnistria.

The bus station is conveniently located next to the railway station in Tiraspol, giving me the opportunity to have a look around. There aren’t many trains, as Transnistria doesn’t have a lot of railway, but trains between Chisinau and Odessa/Kiev currently have to run that way, and the European Union has kept up the general pretence that everything is normal, funding a new three days a week train service between Chisinau and Odessa, which stops at Bendery and Tiraspol en route.

So, I was on Transnistria soil, and Moldovan soil at the same time, and the adventure was underway...