Albania's public transport system is random at best. A combination of different capacity mini buses travel predetermined routes across the country and you can be picked up or dropped off anywhere along a particular route. And then you have furgons which are basically just people movers that are driven between A and B - a similar concept to grand taxis in Morocco. In recent years furgons have been semi-outlawed because any one could decide to hop in a dodgy old van and become Albania's newest small business owner. Minimal regulation and drivers driving like madmen to make a quick buck have resulted in regular accidents on the regular. They also lend themselves as the perfect vessel for dodgy dealings.
We needed to go from Himarë to Sarandë, an hour down the coast. We were told to wait out the front of our accommodation and by 930am a minibus should come past that we could flag down. We waited and at 20 past a small unmarked van pulled up with two passengers and shouted 'Sarandë!' Must be us we thought... So in we squeezed. We asked how much but were told we pay later. This is how it worked in our previous experiences so nothing suss there.
The first sign of trouble was when a passenger got out and handed over money but the driver wouldn't take it. I wonder where he was expecting to make up that income from?! Then as we went past a random cafe a man shouted out 'Sarandë!', obviously wanting a lift but the driver ignored him. Our driver also turned off the engine every time we went down a hill and cruised with the momentum in order to maximise his profit... Let me tell you there were a lot of hills!
So when we finally arrived he asked for a huge amount of money which we thought we'd misunderstood initially, then laughed when he was actually being serious. He tried to say he was a taxi so we forcefully took our packs from the car and paid him half what he was asking. The moral of the story, don't take a furgon in Albania!
Matt's mistakes.
When Matt met us last October we gave him a few packing tips to make his life easier. One of those tips was to put his toiletries in a zip lock bag. Now a normal person would take that tip to mean that you put all your stuff in one zip lock bag, keeping your shiz together and cutting down on space and weight.
Matt rocked up with his large leather sponge bag and inside that each item was then inside its own zip lock bag. Well done Matt...
Sympathy Kanelbullar.
On leaving Stockholm for Copenhagen we had 8 or 9 krona left and I'd been hanging out for one last kanelbullar (cinnamon bun) before we said goodbye to Sweden. I squeezed into a bakery with my pack and asked how much one would be only to discover I was a few krona short (about 50c). I obviously looked like a pretty pathetic case because as I was leaving the lady started tapping on the window and called me back in to give me the delicious treat for the handful of change that I had left... Thank you Sweden!!!!
We were also given the wifi password once because on being told we needed to buy a coffee we left and the man took pity on us thinking we couldn't afford it, so brought us someone else's receipt with the information.
And the best was when a lady in Norway took us home and paid for the $60 taxi because it was a public holiday and the buses were running abnormally. That was a $60 taxi to go ten minutes up the road, Norway is that expensive!
The gift that keeps on giving...
The comparison that people make between Brim and Johnny Depp is this gift. From a random kid on the street in Morocco, to hostel staff in Latvia, to a waitress in Bulgaria... every country it's the same story. Greece however took it one step further with our apartment's owner actually insisting on a photo together. I tried to get out of it saying I wasn't the famous one but it didn't work!
Why you don't take accommodation tips from a guy at the bus stop who doesn't speak any English.
OK, so most of you are probably thinking der.... Not really a hard thing to work out, and yet we still learnt the hard way. Whilst stuck in the Sahara due to snow (read here!) we needed to find another nights accommodation and couldn't go back where we had stayed the night before because we couldn't afford it plus it wasn't within walking distance. Long story short we went with our new "friend" to his "friend's hotel" and agreed to stay. We were exhausted after two nights of sleeping in the desert then being up for a 6am bus that never came, how bad could it really be?
Well, the windows had been open for the previous nights sand storm so the whole bathroom was full of red dirt. The bed was suspicious at best with insect faeces and other unknown debris, so the sleep sacks got a use in order not to touch the sheets. The best part was that the water turned on and off intermittently all day and then didn't come back on after 5pm so there were no showers for us. It also meant no flush for the toilet...let's just say we left them some treats in thanks for our stay.
Well, the windows had been open for the previous nights sand storm so the whole bathroom was full of red dirt. The bed was suspicious at best with insect faeces and other unknown debris, so the sleep sacks got a use in order not to touch the sheets. The best part was that the water turned on and off intermittently all day and then didn't come back on after 5pm so there were no showers for us. It also meant no flush for the toilet...let's just say we left them some treats in thanks for our stay.
Nicola, that's a boys name.
Yes, I get it, Nicola is a man's name in Europe... But I am clearly female. The amount of chuckles, confused stares and pointing out the obvious when I introduce myself is ridiculous! There was even a bartender in Kotor who was excited to be meeting a girl with the same name as him.
Then we met a man called Titi.... How is Nicola funny but a man called Titi is not?!
