Thursday, September 14, 2006

Part 14: A Really Long Wait to Cross the Border

A really long wait

Date: Tuesday, Aug 01, 2006
Place: Polish-Ukrainian Border, Ukraine

It took more than 2 hours to pass the Polish-Ukrainian border. Leaving Poland was relatively fast. No questions were asked. They took your passports, stamped it, and gave it back about 20 minutes later. It was getting into Ukraine that took a lot of time. The bus had parked in the custom area for more than 30 minutes before anybody came up to collect passports. However, it took more than an hour to get our passports. Most passengers just sat on the bus and did not walk around (This border area is no man's land so they do not welcome people just wandering around.)

I know Ukraine used to be just like Russia: most travelers from non-former USSR countries required visas to get in and it is full of hassle to apply the visa. Now the new Yuschenko government want to "looking west" and welcome more tourists into the country, so the visa requirement were repealed in 2005. Great decision! But, can they make it more efficient for travelers to pass through the border control. This is the longest time ever for me to get into a country.... :(

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Part 13: Back to the (City of) Glory - Krakow, Poland

Back to the (City of) Glory

Date: Sunday, Jul 30, 2006
Place: Krakow, Poland

So I am back to Krakow again. Last time I visited it was in winter, 2 weeks before Christmas. The temperature was low (about minus 3) but the city still beautiful. And its Chrsitmas Market is full of fun. (seehttp://travel.saricie.com/Eurotrip_Winter/Krakow.htm for pictures)

Due to that last visit was short (and the day is even shorter, it turns dark around 3:45 pm in December), I did not travel to some outskirt attraction, like the Wieliczka Salt Mine, or the famous Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Now this time, summer is in full swing when I arrived (and the sun usually doesn't go down until 9:30pm), so I hoped to see more of this city of glory.

Unlike last time that I stayed in a regular hotel (it cost only 47 US$ in December but cost more than $80 this summer), this time I stay in a youth hostel. Checking on both www.hostelz.com and www.hostelworld.com websites, I found there are dozens of youth hostels in this very touristed city and the number seems to increase every week. Checking on some reviews, I chose a very new hostel called "Good Bye Lenin" (http://www.goodbyelenin.pl/). I chose this place partly because it uses the name of one of my favorite movies.

Also, it is near the Kazimierz, a old Jewish neighborhood recently turning very trendy. Actually, this neighborhood has gone through a huge cultural revival after it was featured in Spielber's "Schindler's List."

Well, the hostel is in a nice single house (unlike many Eastern European hostels are located in an apartment building) and has a courtyard for sitting, drinking, and even barbecue (they did host a barbecue the first night I arrived). Strangely, there are very huge presence of Dutches: some of them got drunk quite often...Okay, I ended up in another party hostel...

Walking past the Main Market Square (Rynek Glowny) several times in my stay. I still remember this is the location where two Veronicas briefly encountered in Kielowski's 1991 masterpiece "The Double Life of Veronica." Krakow looked much quainter in that movie. It was from the time when Krakow wasn't discovered yet by mass tourism. Now Rynek Glowny is swarmed with tourists and most storefronts in the Square have long converted into expensive restaurants, coffeeshops, or souvenir stores.

I planned to stay three days here in Krakow. So two afternoons here I could travel out of town to see other famous sites in the outskirt area (both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites). I went to see Wieliczka Salt Mine (www.kopalnia.pl) on Friday afternoon. Deciding doing it myself, I was able to get there by a suburban train. However, it took awhile for me to find the entrance to the Mine and took me even longer to find a right bus back to Krakow. Charging 65 Zloty (16 Euro) for foreigners, it was not actually cheap to get in. After getting in, it is much cooler than above ground (which was great because there was still heat wave going on in Poland that afternoon). It is a little Disneyland like but at least the Salt Mine Cathedral is impressive. There is a wall cameo of "The Last Supper" and a sculpture of the late Pope John Paul II. And everything is made of salt rocks.

The next afternoon, I paid 99 zloty (and then I found I was overcharged!) to join a tour to get to Auschwitz, to see possibly the most (in)famous Nazi concentration camp in history. The experience definitely is depressing. Strangely, it started to rain midway through our tour. It did not only rain but was pouring. Since few of us actually brought umbrella with us, we had to brave the rain to finish the tour. By the time we finished Auschwitz II-Birkenau, I was soaking wet and felt quite miserable. It was eerie to compare to what people had been through right at this same site.

I also traveled to a suburban district of Krakow, called Nowa Huta ("New Steelwork" in Polish see http://www.nh.pl). It was one of only two full-scale Soviet planned communities ever realized, with blocks of monotonous buildings and large boulevards. It was actually nicer than I expected. The buildings are monotonous but not ugly (compared to those I saw in St. Petersburg, Russia). Also, there is quite a lot of green space around and a nice park. Ironically, the Central Square is renamed "Ronald Reagan Square." Yes, the communism has long dead, even in the heart of a Soviet-style community.

After staying in Krakow for more than 3 days, I thought it is really time for me to continue my trip. I did know the next countries I plan to travel to are more difficult to travel around. They are not as developed as Poland definitely (they are not even in E.U. yet) and somewhat feels a little scary to travel there. But the journey has to go on...

Next stop: Ukraine.

Downloadable "In Your Pocket: Krakow" Guide

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Part 12: Heat Exhaustion in Warsaw, Poland

Heat Exhaustion in Warsaw

Date: Wednesday, Jul 26, 2006
Place: Warsaw, Poland

Now I know how hot it can turn out in Central Europe.

When I traveled in the Baltics, the weather was nice. The weather in Tallinn was especially cool. Though I did hear the heat wave in Western and Central Europe, I did not feel much about it. Until I reached Warsaw, Poland.

I stayed in a youth hostel called "Oki Doki" (http://www.okidoki.pl), which is a quite cool hostel (though the staff tends to act a little aloof). However, the room was feeling hotter and hotter and it got closer to the dusk.

The second day in Warsaw, I just did not feel well at all. I think the temperature was maybe 35 (Celsius) degree or higher that day. Whichever bus or tram I jumped on, there was no air-condition. What worse was, most of those buses have the windows sealed off or make them very difficult to open. That makes those buses like toasting ovens! After walking under the scorching sun and sitting in some "ovens" for two hours. I decided to head somewhere cooler. Why not a nice museum? At least from my experience in Taipei and New York, big museums usually have quite powerful air-condition. And it is nice to have these artworks around.

Not at the Poland's largest museum. The Polish National Museum (www.mnw.art.pl) mostly is not an air-conditioned place. It is enormously huge but again, with most windows sealed off. Only two special exhibition rooms have air-condition, so I came back again and again (one is the Chinese bronze vessels exhibition, which is quite nothing compared to the collection in Taipei). After seeing the museums for 1 hours, I felt more exhausted.

Originally, I planned to stay in Warsaw for 2 nights. Because the exhaustion in the second day, I had to take it slow and prolonged my stay for another night. Not that Warsaw is that beautiful or interesting that I wanted to stay longer, I told the people I met in the youth hostel. I was just tired.

Warsaw is actually an interesting city to visit. It is definitely not very beautiful (the most beautiful city in Poland will always be Krakow). Its old town is small and looks fake (all the old town was destroyed in world war II, so the current "old town" was rebuilt after the War and merely 50 something old). But there are some interesting museums to visit. The third day I was there. I went to the relatively new (opened in 2004) Warsaw Uprising Museum (www.1944.pl). The whole museum is dedicated to the heroic and tragic (they failed eventually) uprising against Nazi regime in 1944. The exhibition is quite inspiring and part of it, touching. Of course, one of the great things about the museum is: it is air-conditioned.

The most famous building in Warsaw is actually built after the WWII - the Stalinist style "wedding cake" Palace of Culture and Science. It is an enormous building right in the center of Warsaw's central business. I can see it from the windows of Oki Doki Hostel actually. After the communism fell in Poland, this building still serves its purposes for cultural activities. However, its kinoteca (cinema) now features movies from Hollywood. I saw the huge banner of the upcoming attraction "Garfield: The Tales of Two Kittes" hanging high up at the entrance. Poland has definitely long left its communism past behind.

If they can put air-condition in their national museum....

Downloadable "In Your Pocket: Warsaw" Guide

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Part 11: The New Prague - Riga, Latvia

Riga: The New Prague

Date: Saturday, Jul 22, 2006
Place: Riga, Latvia

Though Tallinn is a nice city (with cool sea breeze), it is also quite small. Actually, I was sort of feeling bored quickly. Off I headed to the third Baltic country.

Latvia is only the 2nd largest country of the Baltics (it has about 2.5 million people, fewer than Lithuania's 3.6 million). However, its capital, Riga, is the largest city in the whole region (though still with fewer than 1 million). You can feel it is more cosmopolitan than Vilnius and Tallinn.

Riga is also the city feeling more of that "Old Soviet Union" than other Baltic cities. In Vilnius and Tallinns, taking bus is more like "honor system" (German style I guess):you punch and cancel your tickets when getting on a bus or tram. There may be an inspector but usually you don't run into one. In Riga, there is actually a 'conductor' on almost each bus. They comes to ask for your fare right after you get on the bus. Well, it's good way to offer more job opportunities, I guess...

Riga does have a very large Russian population (who may or may not speaking Latvian language), so Russian (or at least those Cyrillic alphabet) signs are more prominent than other Baltic states. That sort of adding a little more "old Soviet feeling." Though I used to read that the relationship between local Latvian and Russian population were not that well. Now they are in E.U. and the economics is doing very well, so hopefully the ethnic relationship also has improved.

Riga's old town (called "Vecriga") is bigger than Tallinn's but it is not hilly. There are some very nice cobblestone streets around old town. One square, the Cathedral Square, is especially beautiful. This cathedral is the largest in the Baltic Region. However, the most visible church is St. Peter's Church. With the tallest spire in the city, you can see that wherever you go in Vecriga (so you won't get lost easily). I had the pleasure to go to an organ concert in the Cathedral.

Riga is also fast becoming "the New Prague." (a certified one, since our family friend from Prague also thought so) After Latvia joined EU, several Western European budget airlines (including easyJet, which I have flown a few times) started their routes to Riga. Latvia's expanding airline, Air Baltic, also started many new routes. Now there are organized "stag party" or "hen party" coming all the way from U.K. Many new bars and nightclubs have opened (some of them are strip joints). It is quite common to see a group of drunk English speaking people in the streets of Vecriga now.

Actually, the hostel I stayed, Friendly Fun Frank's, is also a famous party hostel. I did try to save money (and this time I did make reservation, instead of just walking in just like I did in Tallinn and Vilnius, Riga is more popular!) and ended up in a 16-bed room (!). Fortunately, there is a 24 hours bar downstairs, so the party hostel guests can stay as late (or as early) as they want and don't come up to bother people already asleep. Also, it does helps that they offers 6 computer terminals with high-speed connection (and for free).
I saw a lot of new building rising up both inside and outside Vecriga. Many of them will become luxury hotels. It is foreseeable that this city will become very touristy, just like what Prague, Budapest, and Krakow have become.

Go there fast if you can.

Downloadable "In Your Pocket: Riga" Guide

Saturday, September 9, 2006

Part X: The Little Country That Can ...Sort of - Estonia

The Little Country That Can...Sort of

Date: Thursday, Jul 20, 2006
Place: Tallinn, Estonia

After 10 hours' bus ride, I arrived at the capital of Estonia, Tallinn (even past the country of Latvia, but I would return to Latvia later in this trip anyway).

First time in this trip, I had to take out my light jacket. Yes, it is that cool here (though not chilly), but I think it is good since I had too much sun in Greece earlier in this trip.

Unfortunately, comparing to Vilnius and Riga, Tallinn's long distance bus terminal is much further away from the center of the town (I should have gotten off at the ferry terminals). It is 2 km from the old town and I ended up walking all the way there with my huge backpack because I was not able to find a bus (and have no local currency).

There are a few (great, choices!) youth hostels in Tallinn old town. 'Let's Go' recommends both 'Tallinn Old Town Backpackers' (the cheaper one) and 'Oldhouse Guesthouse' (http://www.oldhouse.ee , a slightly more upscale one). I decided to go for the latter.

When the blonde lady looked at the computer screen and said "Yes, we still have beds available. You want a single room? It's 450 Estonian Kron (about 30 Euro)" Think about my experience in Vilnius hostel, I immediately said "Yes." Well, the bathroom is still shared and it seems that my next door is a room full of fraternity girls, but I should still have better sleep that night.

Estonia is the smallest country in the Baltics (with only 1.4 million people, though its land area is still bigger than Taiwan) and the capital city, Tallinn, has only about 400,000 people. It is located on the south side of Gulf of Finland, which makes it less than 100 km from Helsinki, Finland. Actually, there seems tons of ferries connecting Helsinki and Tallinn. I guess many Finns come here for a shopping daytrip.

In fact, Estonian language looks so odd, the only other one reads like it is Finnish. I am not sure how well Estonians and Finns can communicate with each others in their own language.

Estonia is also a great success story for a country from former Soviet Union. They do not only join E.U. in May 2004. This year, they just had whopping 12% GNP growth rate (based on annual projection) in the first quarter (now Taiwan must envy that...). Their recent big news is that the ferry liner, Tallink, just purchase another ferry line from Sweden, to become the first Baltic company actually buying a Scandinavian company (usually it is the other way around). That seems to make Estonians very proud.

Tallinn's old town " Vanallinn" is quite small. You can walk around and finished them in 3 hours (and there are a lot of daytripper from cruiselines doing just that). Their central town hall square, Raekoja Plats, is nice looking but too touristy (there are even Irish bars and Texan steak house). However, just taking a few turns and walking uphill along Pikk Jaig, you can get to Toompea, the "uptown" of the old town area. In that small and quaint neighborhood, you can find Toompea Castle (now the seat of Estonian parliament) and the orthodox Nevsky Cathedral. Some vintage point gives a great Paronamic view of the lower town below. Beautiful.

With e-mails from some of you, I know that both North America and Europe are experiencing a severe heat wave. Here, right next to the Gulf of Finland, I was glad that I could enjoy such soothing cool summer, even just for a day or two.

For more info about Tallinn, you can click the following links:

In Your Pocket Guide Tallinn

Friday, September 8, 2006

Part IX: Fun and Frustration of Independent Travel

Fun and Frustration of Independent Travel

Date: Tuesday, Jul 18, 2006
Place: European Park (Center of Europe), Lithuania

It was a nearly sleepless night at the Old Town Hostel in Vilnius. The room is already very cramped with 8 beds. Some of my 'roommates' came back , like, 4am and very drunk. They obviously forgot there are other travelers would have a long way to go next day and need a good sleep...

Sometimes I wonder why at my age, why am I still staying in 'youth' hostels? Oh, yes, it is much cheaper than a regular hotel. Also, as a single traveler, I would need to pay (sometimes much) more for a single room. It is much more economic to stay in a youth hostel. Also, traveling alone, all by myself, it is better to stay in a hostel since I will have opportunities to meet other travelers, exchanging travel stories, and maybe receive some emotional support and feeling less lonely. Well, not that I love to travel alone...just none of you, my friends, are available, damn....

Of course, I can try to join a tour group like Intrepid, GAP, or Dragoman. But I just did not find any itinerary I wanted this time. And yes, there is a lot of more freedom to travel independently. And freedom has its price.

I decided to check out the youth hostel and take a overnight bus to Tallinn, Estonia. Because it is a 10 hours drive, I should have enough time to sleep on the bus. And no, I don't think there will be many noisy Spanish teenage girls like that bus from Athens to Corfu.

So I still had a full day in Vilnius. After seeing some more churches and museums, I decided to take a trip out of town. Where can I go for destinations just outside of Vilnius? Trakai Castle, just 29 km west of Vilnius. It is built on an island in the middle of a lake. But no, too much castle viewing in Europe already...Panerial Memorial, a touching and haunting memorial where 100,000 Lithuanians and Jews were murdered by Nazi. It is meaningful, but no...too depressing. One Dachau was enough for me.

So I decided to go to Europos Parkas, or translated as European Park. Which is said to be the 'geographical center of Europe'. Wait?! The center of Europe is not in Berlin? Okay, I forgot Russia is a part of Europe and it occupies a huge chunk of Eastern Europe. Not only a park with some boring geographical monuments, Europos Parkas is also a sculpture park with works by many famous sculptors. The most famous one is called 'InfoTree,' which is a labyrinth made of nearly 3000 TV sets (It is certified by the Guiness Book of World Record as the largest structure made from TV sets).

Okay, so I needed to make my own way there (again, something you usually need to do as an independent traveler). Referencing both 『Let's Go East Europ』 and 『In Your Pocket Guide』, I managed to take a trolley bus to north suburb and immediately found a small 'private' bus to the Park. Just as the books says, the fare is still 2 Lithuanian Leveta. As I was making my way to the Park, I found I was obviously the only non-Lithuanian on the bus.

The park is sort of fun, with a lot odd sculptures and artworks. There were not many tourists there and it was just nice to wander around. But oop, where is the TV-set labyrinth? Only 20% of the labyrinth still has some TV sets around. Most of TV are gone. There were many broken screens scattering on the ground. With only Lithuanian posting, I was not sure if it was under renovation or permanently gone. Damn...I guess the clerk at the entrance was actually trying to warn me about it when I bought the ticket. But she spoke in Lithuanian, so...

So, that was just some frustration you get to encounter when traveling independently. If I was with a tour operator, maybe I would be forewarned by our guide.

Also as an independent traveler, there would be no coach waiting outside just to take me back to my hotel. But maybe, if with a tour group, I would have never even made it to this park. I might have ended up in Trakai Castle, like most other tourists do.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Part VIII: Arrived in the Baltics - Vilnius, Lithuania

Arrived in the Baltics

Date: Monday, Jul 17, 2006
Place: Vilnius, Lithuania

Taking an airBaltic flight at 8:40 am, I left for the Baltics.

This time, I left from Berlin Tegel Airport, instead of the usual Shoenefeld Airport I used (which is easyJet's hub in Berlin). Tegel is in the (former) West Berlin and fairly easy to get to (a S-Bahn then a bus ride, which took me amazingly less than 30 minutes). The airport also does not have the scruffy impression the Shoenefeld Airport gives. However, I do think this airport also needs some upgrade. I found selection of restaurants are few and expensive (so I could only settle for Burger King). Both Delta and Continental flights to Berlin end up in Tegel (I identified them by finding the gates with the longest security lines!).

Arriving at Vilnius shortly after noon, I immediately found my way to the bus stop. This is a very small airport, with only one terminal and two baggage claim belts. Even so,I still had a little hard time to find the bus stop (which is at the left of arrival hall entrance, not at the right, thanks for not telling me, "Let's Go East Europe"!).

To save time and money, I stayed at Old Town Hostel, a hostel very near the Vilnius bus/train station. It is also just a few hundred meters south of Vilnius old town's 'Gate of Dawn'. Though location is great, however, this hostel is a little crappy looking, hidden in a courtyard of an old building. "Let's Go" does warn about it is quite cramped and no lockers are offered. However, Vilnius seems not to have good selection of budget accommodation so this may be the best I could find. I decided to just pay for one night...

Before even eating anything,I started my sightseeing right away. Walking through 'Gate of Dawn,' I was immediately in the old town. The Gate is more than 400 years old and the only surviving portal of the city wall. It has been a pilgrimage site for Eastern European Catholics. Above the Gate, a gold-laced portrait of the Virgin Mary is located on the second floor. This portrait is said to have miraculous power. The late Pope John Paul II visited here in 1993 and there is a plaque commemorate his visit.

Walking deeper into the old town, I found more nice churches and old houses (many of them now are turned into jewelry shop selling amber). Not particularly looking for some specifuic attraction, I was just happy to walk in streets of a new city I visited for the first time. Maybe too happy I later found I forgot to eat lunch that day!

Vilnius' sights are relatively spread out, so it takes a while to see most of places that interest me (including the only Frank Zappa bust statue in the world, but it turns out to be overrated). I did not finish sightseeing until around 7pm.

Finding a vegetarian place called "White Elephant," in which some interesting Indian food is on the menu. With some Indian trance music playing in the background, this is actually quite nice meal. I found Vilnius is more sophisticated than I expected. I started to think about staying longer here.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Part VII: You're Still the One (I Run to) - Berlin, Germany

You're Still the One (I Run to)

Date: Sunday, Jul 16, 2006
Place: Berlin, Germany

So I have returned to Berlin, once again, to this city that I rank my No. 1 in the world.

I mainly came here to see what 'Love Parade' is like. Love Parade is said to be the largest street rave party in the world. Due to some financial issues and problems with Berlin municipal government, this party was canceled in the past 2 years. So this is the first time it was held since 2003. To celebrate the return of "Love Parade," they use the slogan "The Love Is Back and Alive!"

After a long S-Bahn ride from Berlin Shonenfeld Airport, I checked in at "Hotel4Youth" in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood. I could not get a cheaper room but a single room. And since it is a 'super-peak' period (the World Cup was just over and there was Love Parade on that day), I was charged 47 Euro rather than regular 30 something Euro. It was actually a very nice room and I did have my own en-suite bathroom. There is also a TV in the room.

After a short break, I took the U2 (underground train) to Potsdamer Platz, the walked to nearby Brandenburger Gate and the Strasse des 17 Juni (June 17th Street), the thoroughfare that the "Parade" takes place.

Well, it was fun. There are so many people along Strasse des 17 Juni, drinking and dancing. About 40 floats marched along the Boulevard, from Brandenburger Gate to somewhere near Siegessaule (also called "Victory Column") and turn around. Each float has a DJ spinning dance music and many dancers twisting on the float. I heard internationally acclaimed DJ Paul van Dyk (who is originally from Berlin) and Tiesto were on some of floats but I was not able to identify which ones. many people, clad in their own national flags (there seemed a huge Polish crowds), moved and danced next to the moving floats. Even many people seemed quite drunk, it was great that nobody got violent or even disordered. Most people just kept dancing and twisting. And everybody was having great time there.
It was getting hot into late afternoon, so I only stay there for about 2 hours. I know after the float parade was over, the stage area at Siegessaule would start another dance party with all those famous DJ spinning for the following few hours. It was getting too crowded, so I just left, planning maybe coming back later that night.

Walking away from Siegessaule towards Nollendorf Platz, I accidentally ran into a street fair. It is not related to the Love Parade but Christopher Street Day celebration. Several stages around street corners were set up. On separate stages, singers performed and DJ sinned dance music from different era. Numerous food vendors sold food and drinks from all corners of the world: doener kebap, pad thai, crepes, tandoori chicken, currywurst, caipirinhia, and mojito. And everybody was having great time there.

By the time I finished sampling those food and drink (and listened to 3 different bands playing), I was so tired and had almost no energy to head back to Siegessaule for the last DJs.

It was such fun-filled day in Berlin, now a real party capital and a multi-cultural metropolis. I knew that already a few years ago. However, after the most watched World Cup Game, the world also learned that.

Even though I have visited here many times, Berlin always holds some pleasant surprise for me. Even just with some short stay or stopover, I can have enormous good time. There are endless parties and cultural activities. It is sort of like New York City, but has a lower price tag, cleaner streets, and more disciplined crowd (well, they are Germans, so...).

So far in my trip, I haven't got opportunities to rough it up yet. Every place I stayed I all ended having my own room and bath facilities (including that one night in Sofitel Athens Airport). But the hardcore backpacking experience is just about to begin. I will stay in shared dorm rooms most of time after Berlin. I will also start to travel to countries that are completely new to me. All of them are in former Eastern Bloc (Mmm... the area in Berlin I stayed is also in former Eastern Bloc - East Berlin).

So off I go to the Baltics.

Monday, September 4, 2006

Part VI: Trapped in Athens

Trapped in Athens

Date: Friday, Jul 14, 2006
Place: Athens, Greece

I decided not taking Pink Palace's shuttle bus to go back to Athens. Partly because it is an overnight bus (I preferred to sleep in a comfy bed). Partly because I didn't want to be in a same bus again with a bunch of drunk party animals...

So I had to wake up very early today to take the earliest bus to go back to Athens. It was like, 12 hours' bus ride (including an one hour ferry ride back to mainland). The bus is not very comfortable. Even the air condition is not powerful enough to handle Greece's afternoon heat. I felt completely exhausted when I arrived at Athens bus terminal around 5:30 pm.

I took the local bus to airport immediately (great that now they offer direct bus between Athens long distance bus terminal and international airport and the bus map is relatively clear to decipher). But unfortunately, after arriving at the airport, easyJet told me the flight to Berlin was canceled. They changed to leave at tomorrow morning at 10:20 am.

At first, I was quite upset. I would need to change hotel reservation in Berlin. And I might miss part of Love Parade on Saturday. But later it dawned on me that this might be actually a blessing.

Unlike many US based airlines (as the very unpleasant experience I had with United Airline a few years back), easyJet did pay for our hotel stay and even dinner that night. And it was Sofitel! (one of the higher end hotel chain, owned by French)...Well, this turns to be the best hotel I would stay in this whole trip.

After 5 nights in a "low-budget" party hostel in Corfu, it was a welcomed change.

Sunday, September 3, 2006

Part V: (I don't want to) Party All the Time - Corfu, Greece

(I don't want to) Party All the Time

Date: Thursday, Jul 13, 2006
Place: Agio Gordis, Corfu Island, Greece

So I ended up staying on Corfu Island for 5 nights.

After the long daytrip to Albania, I thought I needed a full day's rest before I took another very long bus ride back to Athens, to catch a flight to Berlin. So after returning from Albania, I paid for two more nights in Corfu. Then I started to regret, maybe I wasted too much of my precious vacation time in a same boring place. I should have at least traveled to other Ionian islands nearby.

To be fair, Corfu is a very beautiful island (that is why it is so touristy, all right?) with many nice sandy beaches. It is relatively green compared to other Greek islands (On the Adriatic side of the Balkan there is higher average rainfall). The old center of Corfu Town has some nice buildings and squares. It feels partly Italian (used to be ruled by Venetians for hundreds of years), partly French (Napolean occupied Corfu in the early 19th century), and even a little bit British with its cricket court (Great Britain took it over after defeating Napolean but returned it after Greek independence). However, I did not stay in Corfu Town and it usually took some time to get there. I did not have many opportunities to appreciate Corfu Town. There are only 6 buses a day between Agio Gordis and Corfu Town. I do not even had chance to sample Corfu Town nightlife: The last bus returns to Agio Gordis before 8 pm.

Agio Gordis, where the Pink Palace Hostel/Resort is located, is a nice small town itself. There is a sandy cove, some parts of it with very clear and turquois water. However, it is the hotel I stayed that I eventually got so tired of.

As I mentioned in the earlier blogs, Pink Palace is a "party complex for 20-something backpackers." They are mostly (very) young and not sophisticated. There are surprisingly huge number of Spaniards. When the Spaniards get drunk, they become very, very loud. My room is right next to a small swimming pool (or actually a large Jacuzzi?). Every night around 3 to 4 am, after the complex's disco closes, there is always a lot of noise outside of my room. Some drunk kids just jumped into the pool (possibly naked) for the last fun before heading to bed. And then, there are some American guys working at the resort (well, they are not E.U citizens, how can they work in Greece? I meant, legally?) who act like Casanova, constantly trying to pick up female guests....A reserved, sophisticated (heh), and quiet Asian boy (boy?) like me somewhat felt I was completely out of places...

The disco does play some decent dance music. Sitting there for an hour also helped me to know what are the hottest dance songs this summer in Europe (now I think Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" should be this summer's biggest hit in Europe). In addition, the drinks they serve are cheap and tasty (at happy hour, Singapore Sling and Tequila Sunrise cost only 1.5 Euro). Actually by the last night, I started to like their disco and hanging around there. I even started to enjoy hanging out with these Spaniards. They are less reserved and fun to be with indeed. However, it is time to go, to go back to 'civilization'.

To go back to Athens.

Part IV: A Less Mysterious Country - Saranda, Albania

A Less Mysterious Country

Date: Wednesday, Jul 12, 2006
Place: Saranda, Albania

So yes...you guess it! I eventually make only "daytrip" to Albania.

But looking at a brighter side, I have a few extra days to rest my sore back before I continue the second leg of my trip. It is so hot here in the afternoon, so I am not sure if I am able to handle the hassle of finding the bus station in Saranda, buying a ticket to Tirana, then trying to find my way around Tirana (and Tirana is dusty and signs are bad , I heard). And by the way, I may need to accomplish all these without understanding a word of Albanian (well, two words I know, "yes" and "no").

25Euros for a daytrip is not really that bad either. Adding another 5 Euros, they will pick you up at your hotel (it is important since I stay at a resort 45 minutes' drive from the port and local bus is not frequent). However, there are other extra charges, such as £á9 for a same-day Albanian port tax and if I want to visit the ancient site Butrinti, another 18.5 Euros.

As the boat got closer to the Albanian shore, I started to feel of visiting a complete new country. Albania is actually a quite intriguing and mysterious place. It is so close to Corfu yet feels so remote. Nobody I talked to in the Pink Palace plans to travel to Albania, not even for a day. Almost all of them continue their trip to Italy, which is an overnight ferry away, or continue to Athens and other Greek islands. Few people even show vague interest in visiting Albania.

Before 1992, when communists were still in power (more than two years after all other communist regime collapsed in other Eastern Bloc countries), Albania is the most sealed off country in Europe (as they said, "North Korea of Europe"). However, this country has opened up for almost 15 years now. Still, there seems not much interest for people to travel there. While Corfu is one of the most touristy islands in Europe, a few kilometers away on the other side of Corfu Straight. Albania remains the less traveled country in Europe. "Let's Go East Europe" did not even send any travel researcher to Albania for their newest edition and thus this country is not included in this famous budget travel guide. The only information I can use is from "Lonely Planet Western Balkan" (mainly about republics from former Yugoslavia) and "In Your Pocket Tirana" (http://www.inyourpocket.com). The former makes traveling to Albania inspiring but a little daunting, the latter just makes it so depressing.

I eventually decided to pay that 18.5 Euro extra to see Butrinti (even after last year's trip to Turkey, I have been quite tired of the ancient Greek/Roman sites). However, Butrinti is actually nicer than I thought. The site is relative huge, beautifully situated next to a salt lake. The signs are bilingual in both Albanian and English. Exhibition is well organized. Albania does try hard to attract tourists. With a lot of young people brave the sun and work on the site, it seems the excavation is still ongoing.

Back to Saranda, a seaside resort now undergone a building boom, I found it also much nicer and cleaner than I expected. Though there seems not too many foreign tourists around (unlike that island just across the Straight). Build it, then they will come. Maybe.
I also found Saranda's bus stop. It is just a small lot and no bus was there when I dropped by. The last bus to Tirana might have already gone. But that's fine, I'm going back to Corfu today, not continuing to Tirana.

Of course, I'm still feeling a little at loss to stop by this mysterious country for only a few hours. It doesn't seem as mysterious as what I had read. If judging only by the appearances of both Butrinti and Saranda, I would say Albania is no less developed than other Balkan countries. Maybe other parts of Albania are still not as developed and still quite challenging for independent travelers? Who knows if you don't travel around and experience that yourself?

I will still have opportunities to travel to Tirana before I return to Athens for my returning flight in mid-August if I travel from Bulgaria to Macedonia. We will see..

At least for now, I can claim that I have been to Albania. And by ever having traveling to Albania, I have been to every single European country with a Mediterranean coastline (well, I guess Malta and Cyprus are not a part of Europe?)

Friday, September 1, 2006

Part III: To Alba or Not to...

To Alba or Not to...

Date: Monday, Jul 10, 2006
Place: Agio Gordis, Corfu Island, Greece

To Alba, or not to Alba, that is my current question.

No, I'm not talking about Jessica Alba (if it's her, then the answer is definitely yes, si, da!), I'm talking about Albania.
This is my second day in the Greek Island of Corfu and I am not even ready to leave yet. Even though Corfu is not located in the Aegean Sea (as most Greek islands are), it is one of the most popular Island destinations in Europe. Since it is on Greece's northwest coast (Ionian Sea), not too far from southeastern end of Italy (the heel of the "Boot"), many backpackers make a stop here on their way to Italy or to Athens.

I am staying at "Pink Palace," the famous 20-something backpackers' party hostel/resort complex (unfortunately for me) at Agio Gordis, at the west coast of Corfu Island. After a long night's bus from Athens, with a bus full of horny Spanish teenage girls (who, I doubt, understand much English), I arrived at the Hostel on Sunday morning around 7am. There are still drunk people, wearing pink toga, (later I found, they have "toga party" every Saturday night), wandering around the 24-hours bar and reception area.
I was sort of lucky. They assigned me a single room, with a double bed (instead of dorm room with other guys) for 25 Euros/day. Dinner and breakfast are included. The room is also next to the swimming pool and not far from the beach.

I went to take a nap and did not wake up until 4pm! I was supposed to travel to Corfu Town (the main town of the Island) to find out
ferry schedule to Saranda, Albania. But now it was too late to make a trip into town. The last bus had gone. (A taxi would cost 20 Euro). And I did not want to go to town early in the morning, with all my heavy belongings, and find out that there is no ferry to Albania on the next day.

So I decided to stay for another night.

Sunday night (July 9th) was also the night for the FIFA world Cup Final in Berlin, Germany. I watched the Final with a huge group of backpackers in the Hostel's TV room. The game felt quite lackluster to me since neither team scored in the whole 120 minutes' game and the winner had to be determined by penalty kicks. Italy won. Whatever. It was an anti-climax match anyway since both my favorite team, Brazil and Germany, were already eliminated in earlier stages.

Well, at least for years to come, I can tell people that I was in Europe, watching the World Cup Final with a group of European youths when it was held in Europe (heh) in 2006...

Today (Monday) I went to Corfu Town and found out, yes, there are two companies operating ferries to Saranda every morning. It is as expensive as I read, 15 Euro, each way (plus 10 Euro entry visa fee for everybody). I also found that Ionian Cruise company operates a daytrip to Albania everyday for only 25 to 28 Euro (cheaper than roundtrip ferry fare). With the daytrip, you can choose to go to a ancient Greek site at Butrinti (a UNESCO site), possibly the best archeological site in Albania. Now this daytrip sounds appealing.

I know a "daytrip" is absolutely not a good way to know a country. With a daytrip to Albania, I will be also not able to make it to Albanian capital, Tirana. With my LP Guide, Tirana is 8 hours' bus ride from Saranda. It is a long drive (even it is only 290 km), and I heard Albanian highway is among the most bumpy in Europe (wow, the bumpy memory of Cambodian highway now come back to haunt me...) Tirana is not a very pretty city anyway. So...

Should I just stay longer for Corfu's beach and sun?