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Today is the last day of our 20 day trip to Croatia, Slovenia and Budapest. We spent 11 days in Croatia, we flew from Singapore - Paris - Zagreb, stayed in Zagreb Buzz Backpackers Hostel, and took the overnight train to Split. Then we hop on the huge Jadrolinija ferry from Split down to Korcula island, thereafter we missed our bus and took a taxi-van down from Korcula to Dubrovnik where we spent the most wonderful 4 nights in the beautiful apartment overlooking Gruz Harbour, thanks to lovely Danka and Marija. We then flew from Dubrovnik up to Zagreb, and hop on the intercity train to Ljubljana, capital city of Slovenia.
It is a hectic 11 days for us in Croatia, we travelled using every mode of transport available, be it tram, bus, coach, taxi, train, boat, ferry or plane. As you go further down the Croatian coast, there is no train service, and you have to take the ferry. You have to study the schedule of the Jadrolinija ferry carefully, and plan your trip around it, since it only visits islands such as Korcula and Hvar 2 times a week during offpeak season.
All in all, Croatia is
all coastal towns for us (except for Zagreb), since we are travelling along the coastal region. The highlight of our trip was Plitvice Lake and Dubrovnik. Plitvice Lake is so huge you can spend 7-8 hours walking round the lake. But if you only plan to go on a daytrip, be sure not to miss the last bus back or you have to spend your night there at one of the hotels in the park.
If you climb up the townwalls of Dubrovnik (50 Kuna per entry), you can enjoy a magnificent view of the the old town. Pay special attention to the "patchwork" rooftops, many of which were bombed during the 1991-1992 civil war but most have been replaced by new tiles. If you happen to stay in one of the apartments on the hills (like we do), you can even enjoy a spectacular view of the Gruz Harbour for free. And dont forget to catch the War Photo exhibition in the old town. You may also choose to climb up the mountain where the big cross is, but you will risk losing a hand or leg as it is full of landmines planted by the Serbians who
bombed the city from the mountain. Dubrovnik is a good base to make day-trips to surrounding islands and countries, so dont miss the opportunity to go to Mljet, Kolocep, Lopud and Sipan island, or even to Mostar and Montenegro.
Our trip to Slovenia was more leisurely and relaxed since we only stayed in 1 place throughout. In Ljubljana, we stayed 5 nights and 4 days, in this lovely hostel called Fluxus Hostel in Tomislav street, it was the most expensive hostel for our trip, but it was good value though and very central. While we were there, the owner Miran had the walls of the common room painted with a fresh coat of paint, and the furniture rearranged. He drove all the way to the IKEA store in Austria (there is no IKEA store in Ljubljana), to shop for new furniture and new pillows. And on the last night when i was about to fall to sleep, he came into the dorm and changed the pillow for me.....so touched, Miran and Igor really take a lot of care for the hostel and for the backpackers sleeping there.
Slovenia is all hills and castles. The capital city Ljubljana is a neat, clean and efficient city, which looks no different from Austria or Switzerland. It is compact and the major sights and attractions are all within walking distance. Apart from Ljubljana, you should pay a visit to Bled, Skocjan caves, Triglav National Park and Bohinj. If you have time, you should visit Piran as well. Ljubljana is famous for its handicraft, we saw some beautiful wooden, clay and glass souvenirs in the open-air market, unfortunately we cant bring them back in our backpacks.
We spent the last 3 days of our trip in Budapest. I have not seen much of Budapest, there is so much to see, but so little time and money. The hostel we stayed in, called Enter Hostel at Raday Street, is close to Kalvin Ter (Metro) and the Central Market.
We actually walked most of the time, instead of taking the metro, cos we figured it is not economical for us to buy the 3-day Budapest Card since we are there for only less than 3 days, so we walked whenever we can, as the hostel is close to everywhere else. The metro system is quite efficient, though a bit confusing to the firstcomer. There are 3 colour coded lines, red, blue and yellow. You need to buy the right ticket (single, metro section, or metro transfer ticket whatever that means) and validate it at the little orange box. The inspector will check your ticket once they see that you are a tourist. I have no idea how they know if we are using the right ticket, cos only the date time is stamped on the ticket when it is validated, but I am sure the inspectors have a way of knowing. If they had installed automated doors and used cash cards instead, they can do away with this loophole and all the inspectors will lose their jobs !!!
I think I will visit Budapest again, there are so many interesting museums and spa baths that I have yet to visit. I must say that the city needs a bit of sprucing up though, it is dusty and strewn with grafitti, but it has this "old world" charm ....
So when is my next trip going to be? Hmmph, maybe Vietnam and Cambodia ?
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