Duress - Tirana (Albania)

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We got into Durres at about 7 am and joined the mob trying to push throught he one door to customs. Pushing did not help the situation at all, it was hot and sweaty and everyone was frustrated. I did feel like giving a lecture on appropriate ways to queue, as their system is all shove if some one gets in your way, floor them so as they are merely something to trample on.

Marvelling at the begging children who could tell a foreigner at 50 paces we edged our way towards customs, where eventually a stressed sweaty bloke stamped my passport, right over my Ghana visa (despite there being every other sodding page in the passport totally empty), I was not impressed. It felt so much cooler outside in the hot air than inside with the mingling bodies. After what was probably an illegal money exchange we got into a Taxi and headed to our hostel. Our taxi driver didn't know where he was going but bless him he tried to call the hostel and eventually got out of the taxi to go and ask, some friendly elderly travelers complete with a Bradt guide helped us on our way to the hostel and eventually with a little more help we arrived and met Edwin, who showed us to our dorm.

In the garden we met Callum (who shall be known as Sandy from this point on, all will become clear in the Montenegro Blog) and some half naked Welshmen. We headed down to change money and find something to nibble on before passing out for the hottest part of the day trying to catch up on some sleep. We headed off to have a nosey around albania in the cooler hours of the day before arranging with the Welshmen to go off to a beer festival that evening, we didn't go. Finding a roast chicken instead and popping off to sleep.

Next morning Cat was up with the sun letting another cat into the room who curled up on my bed and feel asleep, I think I probably squashed it was next morning I couldn't see it...

We got up and went for a stroll about town, Albania isn't really geared up for travellers yet, there isn't to much to see, apart from a mosque which doesn't feel like you should visit and a museum that is apparently a waste of money, there are the markets where we spent the morning wandering through then had a lemonade by a water fountain and headed off towards the park. We don't think we found the park more some abandoned wasteland where we were eaten alive and after less than an hour gave up and went back to the hostel,

After talking to some Kiwi's we solved our travelling between Albania and Montenegro (they aren't the most harmoneous pair) and rushed off hoping that a private ticket office was still open to get tickets for a mini bus straight to Budva was still available, luckily it was and we got our tickets and headed off for some Albanian food.

Albanian Grub is interesting, Cat really enjoyed hers though we can't remember what it was called, a beef and cheese stew of some form, I chose mine based on its name Yoguhurt-and-Lamb-in-a-baking-pan, which just rolled of the tongue so well... It was disgusting, but the local wine which went directly to my head was really nice.

Then it was back to the hostel where our plans to just pack so as we could leave at 6 were ruined by people asleep in the dorm so we gave in and slept to, resigned to the fact that we'd have to get up far earlier to pack and leave than we hoped.

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