Saturday, 7 May 2011
SJJ-TDG
Cornflake Girl
Couldn’t sleep well last night. Had neighbours who kept on chatting and then there was this middle-aged man who sat behind me. Suddenly I felt his hand protruding in the dark and trying to grasp my arm. I swatted at the hand before changing seats. On hindsight, I should have screamed; that’d embarrass the hell out of him and serve him right.
I had missed my stop sometime during the night (I really thought Podgorica was the bus’ final destination) so it was with some shock when I woke up to find myself the sole remaining passenger and that we were in Herceg Novi. WTH?! I had to take another minibus to Podgorica. Thankfully it only cost €8 and it was still only 5.45 am.
Reached Podgorica at around 8 am and bought ticket to the next destination later that evening (cost €16.50). After freshening up (cost €0.40) and storing my bag in the left luggage (cost €2), I headed to the city. I bought some bread and buns along the way and had to force myself to eat it. I dislike bread but it’s the easiest thing to find and eat on trips. Give me cereal and muesli any morning.
SJJ-TDG
Cornflake Girl
Couldn’t sleep well last night. Had neighbours who kept on chatting and then there was this middle-aged man who sat behind me. Suddenly I felt his hand protruding in the dark and trying to grasp my arm. I swatted at the hand before changing seats. On hindsight, I should have screamed; that’d embarrass the hell out of him and serve him right.
I had missed my stop sometime during the night (I really thought Podgorica was the bus’ final destination) so it was with some shock when I woke up to find myself the sole remaining passenger and that we were in Herceg Novi. WTH?! I had to take another minibus to Podgorica. Thankfully it only cost €8 and it was still only 5.45 am.
Reached Podgorica at around 8 am and bought ticket to the next destination later that evening (cost €16.50). After freshening up (cost €0.40) and storing my bag in the left luggage (cost €2), I headed to the city. I bought some bread and buns along the way and had to force myself to eat it. I dislike bread but it’s the easiest thing to find and eat on trips. Give me cereal and muesli any morning.
No, I’m not touching bread/bun for the next few weeks ;P
There wasn’t much to attract me in the Nova Varos (New Town) so I returned back to the station, passing Stara Varos (Old Town) with some Ottoman remains. Back at the station, I bought bus ticket to Kotor. Kotor is only 80 km away from Podgorica in the Bay of Kotor but to get there, vehicles need to climb high mountains hence the journey takes an average of two hours at best.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, Kotor’s Old Town consists of medieval stone churches and houses which huddle together within a small triangle of mighty fortress Walls, and squeezed between the waterfront and the 1400-metre high mountains raising sheer up behind it. It was a bright, hot sunny day in Kotor and I enjoyed my trip. I also walked at the waterfront before going to a mall nearby to buy water where I met some Indonesian ship crew.
I returned back to Podgorica and went off to find dinner. At this stage, I was already sick of bread and buns. Had vegetarian pizza for dinner at a pizza place a few minutes’ walk from the bus station. Boarded the bus at 9 pm for my next destination. This time, I wasn’t charged for storing my bag.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
TDG-PRN; PRN-SKP
I slept slightly better last night despite the border crossing (I even had to go down the bus in the freezing cold as the border police wanted to know - of all things - my first name and surname. Duh!) and the few cigarette stops. My, these Balkan men sure love their nicotine.
Reached Pristina bus station at 4.45 am. Stayed in the station waiting for it to get light. After freshening up (cost €0.30), I walked to the city, hauling my suitcase with me because the left luggage was closed on Sundays. WTF.
There wasn’t much I could see and feeling disappointed, I turned back and returned to the station. I decided to take a bus out to Prizren instead, about 75 km southwest to Pristina and 2-hour bus journey away. We made it in 1 hour and 45 minutes. The ticket cost €4 each way.
Prizren had a charming city centre and apparently the best-preserved and most picturesque in Kosovo. The city’s long tradition of religious and ethnic tolerance is evident in the close proximity of Catholic and Orthodox churches (including Church of Our Lady of Ljeviš, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Danger List) and Ottoman mosques. However, the cobbled city centre, dust, and the fact that I had to drag my suitcase started to get at me and I returned to the bus station less than 100 minutes later and took the bus back to Pristina (there are buses from Prizren to Skopje but they are both in the morning - at 0530 and 0900). This time, the journey took longer (2.5 hours). I caught the next bus out to Skopje (€5.50). It had begun to drizzle by now and it continued throughout the journey and way until I reached Skopje.
Kosovo is still a young country and the poorest of all ex-Yugoslavia republics - of course I’ve not been to Serbia (and not sure if I would or want to, not after what they did to the Bosnians and Kosovans and Croats) - so after the efficiency, beauty and higher standard of living in Croatia, Slovenia, even Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, it was a bit disappointing and saddening to see that Kosovo is still lacking. But what was I expecting anyway. It is, after all, still a relatively young country.
We reached Skopje at 1650. I bought bus ticket for tomorrow evening (midnight, rather) before setting off for my hostel. Some idiot at the station pointed me to the wrong direction and I had to return back to the station and set off for the right direction. Grrrr!!! I kind of lost my way after a while (no road name as far as I could sight and even if there was, it’s all in Cyrillic) but thank God, some kind girl helped to call the hostel to find out the exact address. Finally got to the hostel, knackered and a tad wet.
It was cold in the hostel, much too cold for comfort.
To be continued
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, Kotor’s Old Town consists of medieval stone churches and houses which huddle together within a small triangle of mighty fortress Walls, and squeezed between the waterfront and the 1400-metre high mountains raising sheer up behind it. It was a bright, hot sunny day in Kotor and I enjoyed my trip. I also walked at the waterfront before going to a mall nearby to buy water where I met some Indonesian ship crew.
I returned back to Podgorica and went off to find dinner. At this stage, I was already sick of bread and buns. Had vegetarian pizza for dinner at a pizza place a few minutes’ walk from the bus station. Boarded the bus at 9 pm for my next destination. This time, I wasn’t charged for storing my bag.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
TDG-PRN; PRN-SKP
I slept slightly better last night despite the border crossing (I even had to go down the bus in the freezing cold as the border police wanted to know - of all things - my first name and surname. Duh!) and the few cigarette stops. My, these Balkan men sure love their nicotine.
Reached Pristina bus station at 4.45 am. Stayed in the station waiting for it to get light. After freshening up (cost €0.30), I walked to the city, hauling my suitcase with me because the left luggage was closed on Sundays. WTF.
There wasn’t much I could see and feeling disappointed, I turned back and returned to the station. I decided to take a bus out to Prizren instead, about 75 km southwest to Pristina and 2-hour bus journey away. We made it in 1 hour and 45 minutes. The ticket cost €4 each way.
Prizren had a charming city centre and apparently the best-preserved and most picturesque in Kosovo. The city’s long tradition of religious and ethnic tolerance is evident in the close proximity of Catholic and Orthodox churches (including Church of Our Lady of Ljeviš, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Danger List) and Ottoman mosques. However, the cobbled city centre, dust, and the fact that I had to drag my suitcase started to get at me and I returned to the bus station less than 100 minutes later and took the bus back to Pristina (there are buses from Prizren to Skopje but they are both in the morning - at 0530 and 0900). This time, the journey took longer (2.5 hours). I caught the next bus out to Skopje (€5.50). It had begun to drizzle by now and it continued throughout the journey and way until I reached Skopje.
Kosovo is still a young country and the poorest of all ex-Yugoslavia republics - of course I’ve not been to Serbia (and not sure if I would or want to, not after what they did to the Bosnians and Kosovans and Croats) - so after the efficiency, beauty and higher standard of living in Croatia, Slovenia, even Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, it was a bit disappointing and saddening to see that Kosovo is still lacking. But what was I expecting anyway. It is, after all, still a relatively young country.
We reached Skopje at 1650. I bought bus ticket for tomorrow evening (midnight, rather) before setting off for my hostel. Some idiot at the station pointed me to the wrong direction and I had to return back to the station and set off for the right direction. Grrrr!!! I kind of lost my way after a while (no road name as far as I could sight and even if there was, it’s all in Cyrillic) but thank God, some kind girl helped to call the hostel to find out the exact address. Finally got to the hostel, knackered and a tad wet.
It was cold in the hostel, much too cold for comfort.
To be continued
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