No Chow Mein in Albania

Despite Albania having close ties with Communist China (after breaking away from the Russian Soviets)from 1961 until Mao Zedong's death in 1978, there are no Chinese restaurants here. I get plenty of stares walking around and the occasional kid yelling "Cheena" or "Jackie Chan!!!" or kung-fu motions. There are not many tourists here and probably even less Asian ones as many of the Greek tourists simply fly or ferry to and from Greece.

Even though there is a lot garbage around, the streets are dustier, potholes every where, and the water and electricity keep cutting in and out (I asked a store keeper why and he simply rolled his eyes and answered "It's Albania!"), I like it here. In many ways it reminds me of the Middle East with the calling to prayers at the mosque, friendly locals asking you to sit down to chat with them and sip coffee and the locals playing dominos and backgammon. I do notice it is only men in cafes and bars but as the sunsets, families and people in general, walk around and shop, chat and generally hang out. The locals are very hospital for example, an Albanian doctor riding the ferry gave me her home number and to call her if I got in trouble or getting invited into someone's garden for coffee and yogurt. However, I have been avoiding the police here as a few of the crooked ones have been known hassle tourists to extort money from them.

I spent a day in the seaside city of Saranda and paid for a balcony ocean facing room with air-con for what I was paying for a dorm bed in Greece. Very relaxing there and the ancient ruin city of Butrint is nearby. Spent yesterday at Gjirokastra which you can skip despite what the Lonely Planet Guide book describes as "the traveller will be enchanted by the magic... [of this town]" Forget it as it's a steep town with unpleasant center and lots of abandoned housing. If you want a town with a pleasant atmosphere head to Berat (which is not even mentioned in my guidebook). Very cool old town of Moslem and Christain quaters with a river running through, decent amendities, friendly people and a hilltop citadel that still has people living in it. They have these great little court yards and grape vines growing over the winding cobbled stone lanes.

Off to grab some dinner, hope you are all doing well.

Stuck in Athens with Pamela

I arrived this morning by ferry into Athens and could not catch the morning bus to Corfu as it had already left. The night ferry was hillarious as thei were no assigned seating and it was a free for all and they turned on the air-con so much, I had to layered by clothing. Plus, it and a shower and a DISCO !!!!! Yes, a disco on the ferry blasting Greek Pop all night for your listening pleasure with lasers and smoke straight from the 80's. Love it.

Unfortunately, I rode the transit for two hours this morning trying to find the right bus and then the right bus stop. Apparently, there is a difference between number 15 bus and number 015 bus. Crazy but true in this sprawling, sticky city.

At least I know another Canadian is staying in the city as I was walking down the street a crowd had gathered infront of a Mac store. Apparently, Pamela Anderson was making an appearance to promote something. Sure enough she came with her body guards, albeit late and there I was with pushy, Greek photographers, screaming fans yelling "we love you, Pamela!" and some Pamela look alikes.

I noticed the Greeks are really proud about being Greek. I remember this businessman was praising how innovative the Greeks were because of their black economy. He stated the black market was between gentlemen and not like the crooks in Bulgaria. He claimed the mafia in Greece only worked with big business. Here the black market makes people rich as it is undeclared income and on paper it looks like it is a poor country but in reality, alot of people are rich and own property. He declared when you have a poor government, you have a rich population and it is the Black market that is keeping Greece rich. Plus, by being poorer country in the EU, Greece can benefit from the EU. That way, everybody is happy in Greece.

Off to catch the bus now and hoping to be in Albania tomorrow.

Greased out in Greece

In an attempt to save a little bit off money, I've been eating at least one greasy Gyro a day as a meal from one of the corner. Tasty and cheap for about $2.00 Cdn.


I'm in Greece now and have spent the past three days in the Greek Island of Santorini where a volcano had exploded to form the island and the towns are those white washed buildings and blue domed churches you see in "Visit Greece Ads you see". Very pictureque. The beaches are OK as they are a bit rocky but the sun is hot and water cool. There are three beaches with different clours here. Black beach due to the lava, red beach due to the iron oxide and white beach due to the sulfur.

I came in to Athens and spent the perfect amount of time there... 15 hours. Came in by night train, saw the Acropolis and some archelogical site, grabbed two gyros and left by night ferry. Perfect!!! Personally, the Acropolis was OK... and I know it's important and all but personally I thought it would be more impressive. You can't walk through any of the buildings and there are cranes everywhere as they aretrying to clean and fix it up. The sites in Syria, Egypt and Turkey were more impressive for roman or ancient type ruins. Athens is loud, hot, humid, traffic congested, crowded and plenty of graffiti though not as dirty as I had anticipated.


I'm off to the night ferry tonight, sleeping on the deck or econo class and hoping to getting the heck out of Athens to Corfu or maybe Albania as soon as possible. Time to grab something to eat... maybe another Gyro?

Aiya Sofia !

In the capital city of Sofia now (got to love that name)and trying to make some plans about going to Greece. Miss the night bus today as it took longer to visit the Rila Monastary than I thought. Planning to catch the night train to Athens tomorrow. As for Sofia, it's a compact, easy city to walk around and all the main sights on one street. I had gotten a tip from some Japanese to sign up at the local big Casino for some free food and drinks and decided to give it a go. Sure enough I went down with some Koreans and we registered our names and got free food and drinks. Unfortunately, we missed dinner but got some cheese toasts instead.

It's also pretty cheap here compared to the other European countries as I have been spending about $35.00 Canadian for eating out, lodging in hostels or cheap private rooms and travel. I haven't used the Euros yet but expecting Greece to be much more so I suspect I'll start to lose a little weight.

It's good to see the sun and wear shorts again. Too bad about Edmonton losing the Stanley Cup though. Got to bring the cup home to Canada.

Say What...?

Almost everything in Bulgaria is written in Cryllic so walking around and trying to read the street signs, menu, etc. can be a bit tough. Even the McDonalds sign is in Cryllic which puts a smile to my face. "I'm loving it!" Not too many Bulgarians speak English so asking for direction is a return to the hand signs & head shaking and map pointing. Which means yesterday afternoon took about two hours to find this hostel in Plovdiv walking around the streets and getting the wrong directions or maybe I should say, the right directions to the wrong places.

Plovdiv is a city in southern Bulgaria known for it's old town and Roman ruins. There are plenty of old cobbled stone streets and wooden buildings to explore, plus a Roman Theatre smack right in the center of town. The old part sits on top of hill and overlooks the pedestrain walkway and the town is pleasant to walk around especially now with the sun.

I think traveling is odd at times and you can get extreme highs and lows. Each city or town, you can take in a new identity each time and nobody knows you... social and talkative one time or introspective and wanting to be alone the next. It really depends on you and the situation. Plus, there is a very good chance you will never see any of these people ever again. You have these short, concentrated and transitory relationships with fellow backpackers and then go on your own separate ways. And what easier way to start conversations with travelers than by asking where the're from or where their coming from or going to? Easy as pie, and usually throw in some funny stories about past travels from say, India or China.

Traveling solo has it's pros and cons. On the one hand, it's extremely flexible, you tend to be more social 'cause talking with yourself only gets you so far and you become more approachable by others, plus, no one complains if you miss a train, get off at the wrong stop or simply get lost (which you unevitably will do). On the other hand, someone to watch your bag when you need to go to the washroom, sharing in all the right and wrong decisions and talking and laughing with someone about these experiences and sights (re-living these moments) would be nice. Often, telling other people about it and showing them pictures doesn't bring out the smell, sound and feel of that moment except if you were there. I guess you can't have both worlds. "Dovizhdane." I'm off wandering again.......

Arg....... Bed Bugs

I repeat, I hate bed bugs. Still scratching my body from sleeping in the hostel in Bucharist with the bed bugs. Nice red spots all over which means the tiny critters had a little feast courtesy of moi.

I've spent the last two days in Varna by the Black Sea. Unfortunately, the weather continues to be very unpredictable, sunny one moment and then rain the next few minutes. The hostel I stayed at was very funny as the owners were never there and we would offer empty beds to new comers, give a tour of the kitchen and bath and tell them where to get the bed sheets. I like to call it a "self catering" hostel.

As for Varna, it's a resort town but the beach itself is OK. The water is cold and the beach is a bit polluted with garbage. The beaches in the Caribean far surpass these ones but then again, you don't get the Balkan feel here. Lots of very good ice cream shops and as you enter the beach, you are greeted with a concrete slab of bars, resturants and kabab shops. As you walk along, you pass some open air restaurants and then have a chance to finally see the ocean. Lots of British here too and even two at the hostel were looking to buy property. The city itself is easy to walk around and not too bad as there is a beautiful basilica there and the feel ocean breeze and view and seafood is always good. Tried some marinated smelts but passed on the one and only Sushi resturant aptly named Timbuktu.

I have booked my flight from Italy to Spain in mid-July 2006 for .99 Euros !!!! With taxes and baggage fees, this came ou to be about $23 Euros. Now comes finding a route to Milan....

Busting a Gut in Bulgaria

I'm in a small town of Veliko Tarnovo which is surrounded by a deep gorge and a huge fortress nearby. The town itself is situated along this gorge and reminds me a little like Shimla in India. Best of all, they like to eat big here in Bulgaria. Note to self, don't order flat bread, salad and main of mushroom pork chops. Each is practically a meal. The flat bread turned out to a medium pizza and the main was three prok chops, mushrooms and enough dripping cheese to feed a pack of rats. The Bulgarians make exceptional pizzas for about 3 or 4 bucks, all fresh dough in wood oven. Their indiviual pizza is like a medium back home and about 30 to choose from and yes, you can get tuna fish with pepperoni.

The English have invaded Bulgaria. Apparently, they are heavily buying property in Bulgaria as you can pick up a house for about 4500 Euros!!!!! But you need to fix that house. The English seem to like to retire, sell their property and get the heck out of England. Bulgaria is there number one spot to go as it is cheap and Spain and France are too expensive. They are also hoping to invest as they anticipate once Bulgaria enters the EU, house prices will jump. Some of these English a buying multiple houses just for this reason alone. It's funny here but it's not the seller who pays the 3% commission to real estate agent for the sale but the buyer. Unfortunately, this is causing the housing price market to shoot up and the average Bulgarian only makes just over $100 a month and way over their budget. Sound familiar?

The Bulgarians seem to love the Russians here and view them as liberating them from the Turks (although they still love eating kebabs here). Apparently, Bulgaria even had a vote to join the USSR. Hardly anyone speaks English here so not having much contact with the locals but plenty of the English here and there is the love of footbul. The World cup is on every restaurant and bar. Go Brazil Go.

Roaming in Romania (Last Days)

I'm off to Ruse, a border town in Bulgaria by the 1:30 p.m. train and then busing to a small town that has the best citadel ruins in the country (as a couple of Frenchmen have informed me). Heading off to see the People's Parliament Palace, a huge eleven floor, over 1000 room building that is modeled after Versailes Palace (but of'course a little bigger) that is the second biggest building in the world (next to the Pentagon which the Romanians don't count as it is has a hole in the middle). Now why does this country (or any other country) need to have such a building this big for it's parliament. Ah yes, nothing like a little dictatorship and a big ego. Ironically, Ceausescu never got to use it as he was shot before it was completed.

I spent the last two days going to the washroom every one to two hours but happy to report the storm is over and I'm ready to eat again. I should have told the hostel reception that I'll have my room in the toilet (so much for my "Indian hardened" stomach).

My last thoughts of Romania sitting here in the captial city of Bucharist is that:

1) I love this country. However, the lonely planet described Bucharist by stating "Forget Prague, Forget Budapest." This city is the Paris of the East. What was this guy thinking? This city is big, noisy, dirty and blocks and blocks of commmunist apartment style ugly square buildings. Although their are some helpful locals, they don't look happy in this drab city. Spend one day here if you must, take a picture of the parliment building and Arc the Triump and leave. As a Brazilian and American best put it, "Bucharist is like an ugly woman who needs a wash."

2) There are no buskers here. Yes, this is the first country where the Peruian Flute guys would not cut it. People simply don't have money to give.

3) They love crossword puzzles here.

4) There are loads of stray dogs running around.

5) Romania seemed to have a commie dictator style government and the Russian communism never really left a ugly impression on the people as in Czech, Hungary or Poland.

6) A lot of people make the sign of the cross when ever they pass a church, cementary or religious sight.

7) Come here before it joins the E.U. and hence, gets expensive. I really hope when they join the EU it gets better for the locals.


All the best.

No Room at the Inn

Hmm... I really should phone ahead but I'm in Cluj Napoca back In Transylvania and after wandering around the streets without a map and finding the hostel, only to find out there's a film festival and no room in any cheap acccomdations. Change of plans and looks like I'm to Sighisoara on the 7:15 p.m. train. Came in this after noon from a 6 hour train from Suceava and off again. I was in a train cabin with a friendly local and family and he showed me all his pictures of his wife, home and dog on his phone. All 329 of them. It helped passed the time.

As for Suceava, went up to see the Monasteries which are essentially fresco painted churches surrounded by fortified walls built about 500-600 years ago. Surprisingly, many of the paintings have remained and the monasteries continue to thrive. I ended staying the night in a farmer's home which was very comfortable (there was hot well water!) and the food hearty (bacon slices slaughted from their barn, fried potatoes and fresh vegetables grown in their back yard, jam made by quishing it and adding sugar, etc.) but I may have caught some stomach flu from eating it as my stomach is rumbling and I've gotten to know the Romanian washrooms very well lately. The hike on this "trail" turned out to be literally a logging road except they still pull the logs by horses and later by wagons. Unfortunately, it was also very muddy and the weather has not been the best. Still it was nice to walk in the woods and get some fresh air.

Hope you are all doing well....

Monastery Bound...

Thanks to my good friend Dewey and Susie who set this Blog up which is going to be easier to put some photos up (when I get to a computer that has a USB Key).

Heading off north tonight by night train to the Monasteries in Suceava (Northern Romania). Apparently there are these beautiful Gothic churches there with painted inside and out. A local highly recommended it as a "must see" in Romania. Hoping to see three or four Monastaries and then stay overnight in one, and hike over to the next one the next day.

I have stayed in Brasov longer than I had intended and despite some mixed reports, have found Romania and especially this town to be extremely pleasant. The old part of town is in this valley surrounded by forrests and mountains which I find comforting as it reminds me of home. There is also Day trips to take to Dracula (Bram) Castle and the beautiful monastery and castle at Siniai. Picking up some Romanian and hanging out with the locals and people from the hostel.

The locals are really friendly and make the effort to communicate with you. I think not being in the EU and limited number tourists have resulted in the people still curious about travellers. They especially like it when you use some of their phrases. Like today, helped a little old lady pick her bags along a muddy road and she pointed to herself and said "mama" and I said "Me no baba." Guess what? She started to call me "me no baba". I love it !!!!! She went rambling on and I just kept saying "dah (yes)" and "Bee Na (good)."

I have also spent some time with a jean shop manager along with some of the hostel guys and it was great to get a little aspect of the work conditions (At 21, she works seven days a week/ 12 hour days for $100 - 300 Euros. Crazy !!!), Orthodox Church (they also bury dead with a coin)and the recent history in Romania. Apparently their dictator(Ceausescu)and wife for the past fourty years was only executed on Christmas Day 1989 after a two hour "trial." She remembered being young and her mother crying as she had to go out of the house during the 1989 revolution to buy food and risk getting shot by the police and army, who would shoot anybody that even looked suspicious. The revolution came on suddenly and in the towns outside the cities were not prepared. You can also go the capital to look at all the citizens secret files and her grandfather was shocked to find out about his friend infoirming the police he bought gold here or made a comment about the president there.

Despite only having voting and democracy since 1990,Romania feels safe but the police presence is all around. At least they don't hassle you for bribes and seem friendly enough. I don't really see the Gypsies except at the rainway and bus stations and walking around the outskirts of town. They really are a separate culture here as the Hungarian, Latin or Germain descended Romanians don't really mix with them and they get a bad rap here.

They are spraying for Avain Flu here but chicken continues to be served in the resturants here. However, Romania loves pork and the food has been extremely tasty and cheap. They have this hot cast iron plate dish with savory stew, corn meal, egg and cheese that is quite tasty. I haven't cooked at the hostels for a while and will wait until I start getting into the expensive countries again.

The Hostel life is very transitory and you meet people for very concentrated time and then you or they move on. So far I've met a diplomat in training, a couple of bankers, a photo journalist, two retired profs, loads of college party kids,one inventor and one paranoid conspiratist. This American believed he was "the most wanted man in Europe" and looked at me funny when I pulled my collar and asked him to speak louder into the microphone. Luckily, he wasn't sleeping in my dorm.

Hope all is well with you and off to catch the bus to the train station....

Prague, Budapest and Romania

In Romania now and loving it. Despite one of the guys at the hostel unfortunately getting pick pocketed and losing all his wallet at the bus station, the people seem honest here. I love the friendly people and the country is kind of rough edges around it. It's definitely not as western as what I've seen so far and more of a hint of the Middle East. Plus it's much cheaper which makes everything seem so much better.

I found Prague had the beautiful buildings and streets but I was a bit disappointed with the huge build up. There were tons of package tourists, travellers, English stag parties and college students. I swear half the people walking around the old town were carrying maps and the locals were not as understandly patient or wanting to engage in conversation. Walking around St. Charles Bridge and the Palace was cool. I went to another Czech town of Olomuc and found it extremelz relaxing. Plenty of sights and green space and the people friendly. The town also had this funky bar that was a converted Russian Airplane. Apparently, it use to be for Russian elite in the 1980s. Notice the seats are converted plane seats.

I liked Budapest and wished I stayed for another day. If you ever go, you must go to the thermal spas. Very, very relaxing and nothing like jumping in and out of ten or so heated pools in this huge complex. Plenty of things to see including the Hazza Terror or House of Terror. It is the old Nazi Arrow Cross and the AVI or Hungarian Communist Secret Police. Definitely, not a place zou want to be at those times as the cells and execution sites can attest. The palace was OK as it has been converted to museums but gives a good view of the city. Found eating out a bit expensive, so it was back to grocery shopping. Stayed at an appartment for cheap from a local who I met on the street. It is quite common to rent rooms to make extra money and this was a great deal.

All Aboard.....

I'm off to Prague tomorrow morning by train after a buffet breakfast at the cheap hotel I'm staying at in Wroclaw. I tried to find a hostel for a hours wandering the streets only to find all three were full. On the bright side, the traffic is right outside my window which will be helpful in waking me up. Tonight is my last night in Poland and I have been surprised to have found the country to be more pleasant than I anticipated.

Unfortunately, gone are the days of East Europe been uncharted and hence, cheap travel option. Poland was more expensive than I thought it would be (approx $50 a day) and from what my fellow travellers are telling me, Luthania. Estonia, Ukraine, Belaruis, Russia (especially Moscow) is more expensive with their acceptance in the EU and flood of travelers. Oh well, I think I'm planning to head south to Bosnia and Slovania and maybe take boat to Italy. I'll see how that goes.

I really like Krakow and Warsaw. Karkow was a nice little city with the compact old town, city square and castle all sitting in a hill. I visited Schnindler's factory and Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps and I found it quite moving. I never realized how big the Birkenau camp was and when the guide explained the whole process of transporting and gasing the victims, it was such an awful way to die. Looking at the pictures of the victims, empty suitcases, glasses, cut hair (to be used for textiles) was really sad. I ended talking with a Auschwitz survivor at the factory as he showed me his tatooed arm and spoke a little about how his experience affected his life. Apparrently, one of his friends was on Schindler's List.

Warsaw is their capital city but despite it's wide streets and skyscrappers, I found it likeable city and easy to find your way. Plus, the Pope was in town and I got a chance to attend mass with about 100 000 people. The feel of anticipation along the streets was infectious as people were lined along the closed streets and groups of people were singing. Apparently, when the Pope visits a Polish city, no alcohol is served or sold in that city. The English and Australians I was with at a bar were in utter shock when they stopped selling acohol at 1 a.m. for the next two days.

People are friendly and polite in Poland when you approach them but they rarely come to you, all their vegatables and fruits are organic (onions don't look this small at home) and they have rough toilet paper here,.

All the best whereever you are

Last days in England

Hope you are all doing well. I hear it is sunny again in Vancouver. The weather here in England has been very erratic and constantly changes from rain to sun to rain again. I don't know whether to keep my flip flops on or off. I'm staying with an ex-coworker for a few days on the outskirts of London before flying off to Poland on Sunday. They actually have dedicated living compounds for foreign social workers here as there is such a shortage of them. There are social workers from Romania, Pakistan, etc. The place remaind me of a university dorm except it cost over $1000 cdn for a single room appartment despite being subsidized and the pay is basically the same as back home.

It was great staying with Ed and Mary and they were very hospitable. I have clean clothes, a full belly and an insight into parenting that I would never have had. Sleep is priceless and with two babies and two kids that adds up to whole lot of crying and attention. I'm amazed at what you parents do. Still I did enjoy holding Isabelle (Missy) and playing with Matthew. And the home cooked meals were as fantastic as always.

From what I've seen of England this time around from ten years ago, these are my top ten observations:

1) The people here are a hardy lot. I noticed people just learn to get by with a lot less here. The big pimped out fancy SUVs, constant shopping of clothes, big screen TVs, etc. just doesn't exist here. People don't make a lot and things cost alot which equals to little spending (except drinking at the pubs). Doing you basic things like opening a bank account, getting a phone line or finding a parking stall is simply more difficult. Plus you have to be to tough to eat the typical diet of fried food and potatoes. Fried bread, Fried sauages and chips on a bun anyone?

2) Coffee has come to Britannia !!!! I gave up drinking coffee here ten years as it was usually the instant nescafe coffee. The Englsh seem to have taken to brewed coffee and I'm happy to report it's much better.

3) Never, never, never order Mexican food. I've tried twice. Stop making the Nachos with flavored chips !!!!!

4) They love signs. There are signs for just about anything and caution signs about CCTVs, eldery people, ducks (See Photo)

5) I noticed the English end their conversations abruptly. There's no transition, lead out sentence. No "what are doing tonight or tomorrow?", "I've got to be going", or "let's meet later at", etc. The conversation just ends.

6) I love saying "cheers", "brilliant" and "lovely" here. Mind the gap please.

7) Remember chips=french fries and crisp=chips and pants= underwear and tousers=pants (good thing to know in a clothing store). Roads = carriage ways.

8) Don't convert to canadian dollars. Almost everything is double what you pay back home and it will only depress you that you just paid $8.00 for a roasted potatoe and canned tuna at a pub.

9) Space is a premium which explains why everybody drives like a maniac weaving in and out and everybody parks anyway they can in both direction.

10) The public toilets are suprisingly clean and found everywhere !!!!!

The pictures are of Isle of Wight, Stratford Upon Avon (Shakespere's Home), Oxford (the rich or smart) and Stonehenge.

All the best

Hello World!

The first post of Louis's Travels and Rambles - hello world!