Balkans Experience - 2

6^th december

It is 4 am and I am wide awake. Go online to catch up on the news back home. After the usual stuff, at quarter to 8, we leave for Albania.

The temperature this morning is -3c. nak amik gambo kt luar hotel pun terketar2, dan tak payah hisap rokok pun dh berasap jee.. ahaks! After half an hour we reach the border. All the way to Tirana the view is magnificent. Hills surround us. At 12 pm, we reach the capital and straight away head to the mosque for prayer. Pastu ronda2 bandar Tirana and for lunch at Sufra Turke we eat kebab sort of. Kedai makan tu memang rare, siap ada pokok kt dalam yang keluar ikut siling terus menjulang ke langit. Seme barang2 dalam kedai tu old skool punya. Layan.. pas lunch beli souveniers sikit sebelum bergerak ke Skodjer. It is dark when we finally reach the hotel. The hotel is new and fabulous especially the room. The food is finally something to enjoy; fried chicken with fries and salad, and as dessert we are served ice-cream.

7^th december Skodjer has nothing much to offer but we still go to its town for a while. Buat syarat la, katakan. Then we leave for Montenegro. Today is the day where we are having breakfast in Macedonia, lunch in Montenegro and dinner in Bosnia. Ada berani? hahaa. After leaving Skodjer and being in the bus for 20 minutes, we reach the border. Then we stop at Bar, an old town by the coast and what makes it awesome is because Bar is situated on a hill with an old fort and very few people living there. The view from the fort is spectacular.

Bar

After exploring the ruins, we have lunch at one of the few cafes there. The rest of the journey to Bosnia is along the seaside on the left and the mountains on the right. The panorama is breathtaking. Memang happening la. We stop at Budva, a coastal town, and by the look of it, this place is frequented by the elites je kot. There’s another fort there which has been turned into a hotel, and there’s a marina where fleets of vessels are docked. The weather is sunny that we manage to snap pics. A lot!! Hahaa

Then we head to Kotor, a town famous with tourists. It’s almost dusk when we reach the old town of Kotor. It is surrounded by a fortress and situated at the mouth of a river, and the river is so wide and deep that a cruise liner is parked by the bank when we reach the place. The old town of Kotor is medieval, I must say.

Budva

Kotor

 

The fort was built during the Venetian period from what I have gathered. As usual my wife buys some mementos. And then we proceed for Bosnia and stop at Hotel Nar in Trebinje. The hotel is beautiful but the food is lousy hahaa

8^th december

This morning, we are going to Dubrovnik. I’ve heard of this place before and it is located in Crotia, by the Adriatic sea. Dubrovnic offers a fortress so beautiful and huge and rustic. 

 

Not many locals live there anymore since the authority turns it into a tourist spot. We walk around the fort after paying 150 kuna, which is equivalent to20 euro. Mahal tuu sekadar untuk berjalan je, kann. But this is something totally different and the experience is actually priceless. The view from the top of the fort looking out towards the Adriatic is incredible. We have our lunch at a mediterranean restaurant by the marina. Sandwich, spaghetti and ice-cream. All in all, we spend the whole day in Dubrovnik, exploring the place, buying stuffs, chilling by the marina, having lunch and later hot coffee and definitely Dubrovnik is not easily forgotten. At 4 we leave for the hotel and I am thankful for the extra rest because I can feel that I am about to have a fever.