Overnight Train VI: The Undiscovered Country

Well, I've arrived safely in Kiev. I'll be here tonight and tomorrow night, after which I'm catching an overnight train to Moscow. Today is cloudless and clear, and it's starting to feel decidedly northern. "Crisp" is the word.

I planned a morning train out of Timisoara that would get me to Bucharest by about 3:00PM. The ride over was beautiful. It was the nicest train I've ever seen, and the journey began with green hills and rivers that gave way to flat expanses of farmland. Traveling by train in the daylight is very nice.

I was told that there was an 8:00 PM train out of Bucharest to Kiev, but this turned out not to be the case. There was a 6:30 AM train the next day, but then I would have to stay a night in Bucharest, and I just didn't feel like finding accomodation. Given the choice between catching the train in the morning and catching an 8:00 PM train out of Bucharest to Chisinau, Moldova, I decided on the latter.

I arrived in Chisinau in the morning and spent the day bumming around the train station part of the city. I think I was coming down with a 24-hour bug of some sort, probably caused by not enough sleep on the overnight trains. I have no trouble sleeping on the train...it's the 2:00AM passport check on one side of the border followed by the passport check on the other side (about 45 minutes later) that does you in. Chisinau seemed like a sleepy sort of place. I spent the majority of my time in an internet cafe trying to catch up on emails and the rest of my online self-projections. I found a little monastery in the center of the city that was interesting as well.

My train left Chisinau at 11:00. I was prepared, of course, for the double passport check. I was cleared out of Moldova just fine, and we stopped for the second - I was glad it was almost over so I could get to sleep. This was not to be. Just when you thought my travel was about to be boring, I did what we've all been wanting to do since we were children: I discovered a new country.

Transnistria technically doesn't exist. This makes it very easy to dismiss for you, reader - it's not even on the map - but the problem with such an ethereal country is that it suddenly becomes very real when you try to take a train through it.

It took a few moments for me to understand, in my tired state, what was going on. The young border guard came in. He saw that I was American. We had a problem, he said. He closed the cabin door, leaving just the two of us inside. You see, I needed to go through central customs in Chisinau. Did I understand? No...I did not. I needed to go through central customs, he explained. I could not pass through this country without going through central customs. "This is not Ukraine," he said. What? "This is not Ukraine."

A light bulb flickered on in my head. I had heard about this with trains from Chisinau. Had I not accidentally thrown away the Moldova section of Lonely Planet I might've checked before leaving. I would have to go back, he explained. Get off the train and go back to Chisinau. Did I understand? "Yes," I said, "but I still don't understand the problem."

He sighed. Did I have any bags? One? Ok. Was I carrying guns? Drugs?
"No, of course not."
Was I carrying pornographic magazines?
"No." I suppressed an amused grin.
Did I have a camera? Did I photograph the border?
"No, I did not."
Hmm...this was a big problem. But perhaps...perhaps I could pay a fine. You know. A fine for me not to be seen. Um...$100?

I thought of the cash I had on me...about 120 Euro and $25 USD - almost $200 USD altogether. I always split my money up, you see. Most of my cash hides in my bag, in my journal, and a little bit of it lives in my wallet. I have an ok head for numbers, and I remembered where it all was.

"Oh, no." I said. "I don't have $100!" I gave him a very sad look. "I have some euro?"
"Ok," he said. "50 euro."
I took out my wallet and emptied it on the seat next to me. I acted sort of distressed (I'm really not sure what came over me). "I only have 20 euro!" I showed him the empty wallet, and patted my empty pockets down, hoping to find more cash.
He looked at it for a moment. "Ok," he said. 20 euro would be enough. He was sorry for the problem - he really wished it wasn't a problem. I told him it was fine...I was disappointed, but I thanked him for being so kind. He walked out and closed the door. I laughed for a couple of minutes inside.

Crossing into Ukraine an hour later was no problem. I feel like I got a fun story out of it - well worth 20 euro, at any rate. :) And just when I thought things were getting boring.