Hi, We are now in Sandanski, about 25km from the Greek border. Tomorrow we will cross the border and arrive to Thessaloniki. The big question now is if to do it by train or by bus, anyhow, it is about 3 hours. Since Greece should be much more expensive then Bulgaria (that what we have heard...), at least we found a coach in Thessaloniki for 2 nights. On our route west, however, in the Greek Macedonia, in towns such as Edessa and Kastoria (each has population of about 20k) there are very few couches to select from (maybe 4 in each) [View Full Entry]

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I had planned after Turkey to head East not West, but unfortunately the government of a certain 'Axis of Evil' country decided to ignore my visa application - 2 months no yes / no no! So visa limbo meant I had to turn my travels in another direction - west through Eastern Europe, first stop Bulgaria! As there are 3 weeks before I have to be back in London it's given me a lot of flexibility to make it up as I go along and so far my plans are changing on a daily basis dependent on what other people recommend [View Full Entry]

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Life in a small southwest Bulgarian village is a novel concept for me. My host parents are both retired, collecting pension and have the largest house in the town. There is something to be said for this, for there is a sense of antagonism between others and my host mother, who was an art teacher and now does not work despite the measly sum of pension in this country. She also lives with my host dad though is not married to him. In Bulgaria, family relations are extremely important. For my host mom to fail in three marriages and currently attempt [View Full Entry]

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The first true Eastern European stop on my trip, beautiful Plovdiv, home of the best street kebabs in the world. And I don't feel that comment is an exaggeration - wait until you try them! Tania, Emma and I have had a great time here. The crossing to Bulgaria was smooth, which was nice, and we arrived in Plovdiv and and found our hostel with little drama. We were staying handily on the main pedestrian street in town. The mall is basically made up of clothes shops, it seems Bulgarians are keen on their fashion. Though their taste in clothing may [View Full Entry]

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hi everyone :) i have been in bulgaria , in plovdiv it was so nice city ... i think you should see immediatelly bulgaria before using euro :) becouse its a cheap country and there are many historical places to see ... especially ottoman heritage is still living there .. maybe some bulgarians dont like about this sentences but ist true i think:) the houses at plovdiv are so nice they made from wood and like other ottoman cities that smoll and wood houses are sweet and tell you the lifestyle of ottoman people ... humble life effective ... and balkans [View Full Entry]

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We were woken suddenly by the lights being turned on inside the bus. It was five thirty so an hour earlier than we were supposed to arrive in Plovdiv. We asked the steward if this was our stop and she nodded so we jumped off. We just got our bags and the coach drove off leaving us at a station without a name. My instructions from Hikers hostel said to get bus no. 7,20 from the right of the station which we did. We paid the driver and settled down to look out for our stop. It didn't come. After consulting [View Full Entry]

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....and one still won't eat his veggies! Woohoo! Third Intrepid tour in a row! I'm quite the adventurer now aren't I? This last tour was through Eastern Europe, crossing four countries and only on one continent this time. I tell you what though, Budapest was a bit of a shock after six weeks in the Middle East. It's definitely Eastern Europe - it's more industrial, a bit less colourful and a bit cooler. Those judgements made we picked up the airport shuttle direct to the hotel (it seemed a bit of a pain to try and do it by public transport [View Full Entry]

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As you can tell, all my previous entries ALL GONE!!!! AHHHHHHH ><" I have short memories ma..that's why i write this freakin blog..... and my writing journal isn't as detailed in words as this blog....damnit. Anyways, got a lot to backtrack..haaa.. I think I wrote stuff about Odessa? but its not here....maybe they can recover those ones...which will be great.. anyways, in Bulgaria still...Great Place!!! This was the town I went after Sofia. Very beautiful old town!! The hostel I went in was wonderful with the best hostel staff I have met so far!!!! They informed us about th [View Full Entry]

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We have a whirlwind seven weeks to hightail back to Paris. We are going via a few more Eastern European nations with plans for all the IA countries, the Slovakias, Romanias, Bulgarias and Hungarias. First up, Bulgaria, proudly boasting "the oldest survived state in Europe which has kept its original name". You suspect a country's tourism is in its infanacy when the customs official at the border asks with a look of resignation if we are just transitting in Bulgaria. It's as if that's all he thinks foreigners do here. A nation that must be crossed enroute to somewhere else. [View Full Entry]

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Hello again everyone, Really nice to get loads of messages and emails from you all, keep um coming. Well since my last blog we have been in 3 different countries - though one, serbia, was just on the train. We left Istanbul at 10pm on monday and took the night train to Plovdiv. Wow. For those who have never been on one before, it is quite an experience. Very different indeed to british trains. The windows are all open so you can stick your head and and watch the countryside go (usually very slowly) by. The combination of this, our [View Full Entry]

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