Trandsniestr

Of course, I'm already planning where I'll travel. Gives me something to do while waiting in supermarket checkout lines.

I'll probably stay away from the Ukraine as a sweet, innocent Canadian girl like me (my coworker just laughed and said "yeah, right") will probably be a prime target. I *do* want to go to Moldova though. 99% of the population can't even find it on a map (it's east of Romania) and it's Europe's poorest country. I need a visa, but think of the postcards I can send! And the wine I can drink/bring back (their two big exports are wine and watermelons).

And the coolest part of Moldova is...
...Trandsniestr.
It's basically a semi-autonomous breakaway region in the east that still claims allegiance to the USSR. It's here that you'll find busts of Lenin in every courtyard. They have a military, postal system and currency (worthless). No other nation will acknowledge it or confirm its existance. I need a visa as well, which can cost $0.03, $3.00 or maybe just a bottle of alcohol and a few cigarettes.

"The type of separatist government of Transnistria is largely a dictatorship and the personal rights record of the people is very poor. The 2001 presidential elections were not free, parties and publications being banned just before the elections. The results were rigged, as in some regions it was reported that Igor Smirnov collected 103.6 percent of the votes."

Besides...they have a city called 'Bender'. How cool is that?
If any Futurama fans want a postcard, let me know.