Yesterday, I took the bus to Iasi-or Yosh is it pronounced. I was not sure what was in Iasi but it was on the way to Chasineau, Moldova-where I wanted to go next. (The bus from Brasov to Iasi was about 7 hours-long enough for one day!)
Brasov has a large bus station that looks like a bus station-with a ticket office, platforms, etc-but as happens in Eastern Europe, at least on my travels-that's not where the bus left from. I was told to look for a hotel next to the bus station, and a gas station next to the hotel-and that is where the bus left from.
The ride was 6 hours long, and for the first 5 hours, the bus was full. Two folks we're actually sitting in the stairwell since the bus was so crowded.
Apart from the agony of a crowded bus for 5 hours with my camera bag at my feet, the ride was pretty much uneventful. We stopped for breaks every so often. At one point, we stopped for a break at a spot with a field at one side of the road and a small restaurant on the other side. In the field, I saw horse about 50 feet away or so, so I decided to walk in that direction, as I saw others do. After walking about 15 feet, a 60ish looking woman signaled to me frantically to turn away. At that point, I saw her 60ish female friend in the tall grass with her pants around her knees. I guess she decided to do her business on the side of the field.
Eventually the bus made it to Iasi at about 6:00 pm. The directions to the hostel we'e from the train station. In many Eastern European cities I have visited (if not all)-the train station and the bus station we're one in the same-not here! So I asked directions to the train station, (which was about one kilometer away according to someone I asked directions from, but seemed longer) and took a cheap cab from there (it was more expensive from the bus station-so I am glad I waited). Ordinarily, I either walk or take public transportation, but the directions to the hostel we're very vague (just take the bus to the 5th stop, and go from there)-so I decided to take a cab.
The hostel is quite nice and quiet. It is located in an area with a large
University. The unfortunate thing is that there we're no maps to see the town, and other then the large university buildings, it is hard to see what is here.
I walked and went to dinner at a Romanian Restaurant, and walked back to the hostel.
