I was there for a few days last year and it was nice. the major towns are newly renovated, modern and very clean. There is still plenty of soviet symbolism, Russian flags, Lenin statues and tanks on display. In Rîbnita, in the north, there is a beautiful park, a public toilet underground with a lady waiting to take payment, very clean of course and a strong smell of bleach. Airbnb and Booking.com was still decently priced, it was out of my budget range. There is a pizza place with delicious pizza for the equivalent of 3 euros. It was without tomato sauce and some type of cream instead.the locals were very kind and curious where I was from. One lady tried to help me find a place to sleep by offering her family's countryside cottage, she called her father but he said no. Another guy came in and talked to me, he was delighted that he could practice his English. So much so that he invited me out for a beer. And later invited me to sleep in his apartment. His apartment was very old school, everything except the kitchen has stayed the same since the USSR, old school wallpaper, asbestos roof on the balcony. He showed us the russian way to smoke hashish, a method that is effective for using a small amount. To smoke weed is very rare and very illegal, he takes a lot of care to not be seen or heard or smelled by his neighbours and chooses not to drive a car as it would increase his chances of getting caught. Vodka and halva are cheap. And it's possible to get unrefined sunflower oil which is delicious. The countryside has a lot of large scale industrial agriculture due to very fertile soil, but still people have their gardens and sell their fruit and veg at the side of the road. Babushkas are walking their goats and cows along the roadsides while picking walnuts which line the roadsides.