We amble We babble

Tai O: Where time stands still... for now

2016-04-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

When we talk about Hong Kong, the first thing that comes to mind is their tourism board’s memorable televised advertisement made many years ago. It marketed Hong Kong to us so well that we remembered it ever since. Hong Kong is about shop, eat, shop, eat and then shop and eat some more (买东西,吃东西). We certainly enjoyed Hong Kong for its shopping and eating. If you have only a few days, exploration is usually limited to the city area which is a concrete jungle. We made sure to get out from the hustle and bustle and enjoy some slow life.

Southwest of Lantau Island, at the river fork lies Tai O island. It’s well-known for its traditional fishing culture but it’s slowly and surely dying out – common reality in developed countries. The village consists of some dilapidated stilt houses which add character but no doubt, the government will sweep in one day and develop it into cleaned-up tourist attraction. Come now or you’ll miss this nostalgic village. We came here twice, 3 years apart and did not detect much change yet. The tourist crowd is building which is a good thing really. We hope Tai O’s fishing village atmosphere will not disappear and become another residence estates or hotel resorts. We mourned the demise of Sveti Stefan in Montenegro which has turned from a quaint village to a keep-out-the-public upscale hotel resort. We certainly do not want it to happen to Tai O. Other than fishing, Tai O also used to produce salt. We don’t see evidence of it now. Focus is on seafood – fresh and dried. There are abundant restaurants and stores catering to tourists. Live seafood for sale abounds and you can take your pick from the array of choices available. Then choose a restaurant to cook them for you. You can certainly eat and shop to your heart’s content here. Be prepared for the fishy smells that permeate the air as the locals dry their catches and made bricks of their famous shrimp paste. Some travellers may not appreciate the quaintness of this fishing village and deemed it too boring as there’s nothing exciting to catch their attention. For us, we revel in the old-fashioned way of life and hope it’ll stay amid the fast-paced development in Hong Kong.

Scenic ride on Bus 11

Fishing boats anchored at the village

Dried seafood in abundance for sale

Take your pick of fresh seafood for a sumptuous meal

Cross this bridge to start exploring the rest of Tai O

Photograph take in 2011

Fast forward to 2014 and you don't see much change

General Rock – at the correct angle, you can spy a general taking a rest against the rock.

On our first visit, we took a boat excursion to try to spot the Chinese white dolphins. We were fortunate and managed to see some playful dolphins. However it was a bad experience due to a tourist on board with us. She started moaning her fears the moment the boat started off into the calm waters to see the stilt houses. When we went out to the open sea, she moaned louder, begging to be brought back to shore as she felt giddy. It was a memorable bad experience.

Wondered if this is the forgotten salt fields that has been taken over by mangrove swamps. It looks beautiful anyway.

Make your way to Tai O:

1) Cheapest and mountainous scenic route. Take the MTR to Tung Chung station. Take bus 11 from the bus terminus next to the MTR station. It’s about 50 min to Tai O bus terminus.

2) Take the MTR to Tung Chung station. Take Ngong Ping cable car to Ngong Ping Village (about 25min) and then take bus 21 to Tai O bus terminus (about 20min).

3) Longest route. Take ferry from Central Ferry Pier no. 6 in front of IFC Mall to Mui Wo (fast ferry services take 35 - 40 minutes and ordinary ferry services take 50 - 55 minutes). Take bus 1 from the bus terminus to Tai O bus terminus (50min).

Meteora: You gotta come here once in your lifetime

2016-04-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

When you find yourself in Greece, don't stop your exploration at Athens and Santorini. Greece is so much more than these obvious destinations. Try Meteora. You won’t be unmoved even if you are a seasoned traveler. From the moment we set eyes on the cliffhanging monasteries, we’ve been “wow”ing all the way from the bottom of the stone pillars to the monastery’s doorstep. It’s staggering to envisage how they did it at a time when there was no road access. The monks have to carry their building materials in baskets on their backs or hauled them up with some kind of pulley system. When tourism started in the area, only then was stairs built for visitors. Meteora means "middle of the sky" or "in the heavens above". It’s really an awesome sight. There were originally twenty-four monasteries built and 6 remains today. You can go crazy and hike to all of them. We didn’t. It was scorching hot and we were not inspired enough to move in the heat. We visited 2 monasteries and lingered in one of them till we were chased out for their lunch break. Strict dress code is enforced: all shoulders must be covered, men must wear long trousers and women must wear long skirts. There’s wrap around skirt, shawl and shirt to borrow at the entrance if you are not in the right attire.

Waiting for the public bus in town centre and our excitement mounted even as we look at the rock pillars here.

Our first glimpse of the monastery from the bus. Great Meteoron Monastery - Largest monastery among the 6 remaining monasteries.

Motorized cable cart for quick access

The interior of the monastery is all modern and pretty, not what we expected of a monastery built on top of a rock pillar. There must have been vast renovations and additions over the years to make it into such a complex. We couldn't imagine the monks having the energy to hoist or carry up so much building materials centuries ago.

Varlaam Monastery which is nearest to Great Meteoron Monastery, literally just down the road.

St. Stephen’s Monastery

Beautiful grounds which was serene till different busloads of tour groups came in. The ladies were busy hitching up their borrowed wraparound skirts and posing for photo. Then they rushed for the toilets and gift shops. We watched all these brief flurry of activity, willing them to board their buses soon. Peace descended again. The monks and nuns must be resigned to all these tourism madness. They certainly stayed clear as much as they could.

Take note of opening hours for each monastery that you want to visit on a particular day. A different monastery is closed each day and lunch break hours are different. One great resource: Visit Meteora

Getting there from Athens:

Bus

Find your way to Liossion Bus Station. Take a direct bus to Trikala (about 4hrs and that excludes a 30min pit stop break). Connect to Kalampaka if you choose to stay in this town. Do note the last bus to Kalampaka from Trikala is 10.30pm. We reached Trikala at 10.45pm and had to take a taxi to Kalampaka. At least the taxi is metered, so we do not have to go through the hassle of haggling when we were already drooping with tiredness.

Train

Easiest way to get to Meteora as there’s direct train between Athens and Kalambaka. However, take care to take the correct train as you have to make a transfer if it's not the direct train.

Oberndorf: Salzburg’s off the beaten track

2016-03-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

We’ve been to Salzburg once many years ago when we were still toddler-level travelers. We arrived on Christmas evening and when we ambled into Old Town early the next morning, everything was closed. We pranced around Altstadt’s empty street, peering into gorgeously decorated shop windows. We visited Mozart’s birthplace at no. 9 Getreidegasse and of course, bought lots of Mozart’s chocolates when the shops opened. Those were our hazy memories of Salzburg. For our recent Balkans travel, we had to fly off from Zurich, so we took the opportunity to revisit Salzburg by staying in a couchsurf home. We were unable to find any host in Salzburg itself and thus, we ended up in Oberndorf bei Salzburg which was really a godsend blessing. We would never ever have discovered this obscure town if not for our generous hosts who decided to accept our couchsurf request.

Oberndorf bei Salzburg is 17km from Salzburg city and is famous worldwide as the birthplace of the carol ‘Silent Night’. The carol was first performed at the former St. Nikola parish church by schoolmaster Franz Xaver Gruber and young priest Joseph Mohr on Christmas Eve 1818. Each Christmas Eve, a memorial service in honor of the creators of the ‘Silent Night’ carol would be held in front of the chapel. People from around the world attend the ceremony and sing "Silent Night" in many languages at the conclusion of the ceremony. Going by our hosts’ sheepish confession, this is the only attraction in town and thus, the town only sees busloads of visitors on Christmas Eve. Kudos to our hosts, Oliver and Barbara, for doing their bit to host visitors. If not, this town would really be off the radar for most travellers. Come with us, as we show you what Oberndorf has to offer.

Oberndorf can be reached from Salzburg by S-Bahn rapid transit railway

Long flight of stairs that leads to the bridge which connects to Laufen, Germany just across the river. Like Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia but this is so much shorter in distance.

Pedestrian traffic only. There is another bridge for vehicle.

Salzach River is tranquil and beautiful now. Don’t be fooled though. The high river bank bears testament to dangerous floods that threatens the town every year. Our host’s parents abandoned their house by this river and moved elsewhere after the last flood.

Demarcation of Austrian and German border on the bridge.

We arrived in Laufen, looking back at Oberndorf!

Colourful cheerful buildings in Laufen but this area seemed to be on decline. Lots of empty shop lots. However, Oberndorf's residents come over to German side often to do their shopping as things are cheaper.

Bridge for vehicle. The original link between the 2 countries with immigration checkpoint.Checkpoint now converted to ice-cream parlour

Bridge with the demarcation of the border. Our hosts were sharing with us about the Syrian refugees situation in Austria. If only the refugees knew about this border, they could easily cross over with no hassle. When the exodus first started, border guards were sent here to prevent unauthorized entry. When no refugees appeared, it's now free for all. C'mon! How could the refugees know about this small town's connection to Germany?

Back in Oberndorf and walking along the river. Look at this scenic path! Autumn is beautiful!

Leopold Kohr grew up in this small town. He was an economist, jurist and political scientist but was best known for his small is beautiful movement.

Turning to the right, away from the river, we walked down a short flight of stairs. Where’s the chapel?

This is the one! Looks like a pavilion from far.

The original church was damaged by flood, and thus demolished and replaced with this chapel. Our hosts already warned us in advance not to expect much. We were still taken aback by this miniscule chapel that is visited by thousands yearly on Christmas Eve. Who gets to sit inside?

Schoolmaster Franz Xaver Gruber and priest Joseph Mohr being remembered on 2 walls

Oberndorf is really a gem for off the beaten track travelers. We appreciate our hosts who showered us with their warm Austrian hospitality. Without them, we would have missed this gem.

Jajce: You won’t believe this is in Bosnia

2016-03-18T09:06:00.001-07:00

We didn’t. We could not connect this beautiful place to siege-scarred Sarajevo we just left. We took a 4-hour coach ride from Sarajevo and meander round mountains with turquoise colour river running endlessly beside us. The leaves on the trees were turning fiery red and it made our ride all the more appreciative. We enjoyed the journey more than the town itself which is small and with limited attractions. The truth is we did not even visit the main attractions (fortress, catacomb, museum). We were recommended by the tourist office to get the pass for all the attractions. We debated for a while and decided not to as we were not impressed with the attractions. On hindsight, we should have just gone for it since we travelled halfway round the globe already. Don’t know what we were thinking. Since we planned this as a 2.5 hour stopover en-route to Zagreb, we did not have much time to spare. We dropped our luggage at the bus terminal and did a cursory tour which did not do Jajce justice.

Jajce waterfall is near the main bus station, so it’s literally the first thing you’ll see once you start your town exploration. As we crossed the bridge, we took time to admire the river and greenery below us.

Part of the fortress wall

Look at the battlement details. We could imagine people up there shooting arrows to defend their town.

Residential houses that are built into the defensive wall

One last lingering look before we left

Don't make the same mistakes as us. Take time to visit the main attractions. It's a small town and half a day is more than sufficient. It's a quiet place and compared to Mostar and Sarajevo, it's not glamorous enough for tourists. We discovered this town by accident as it was not on our original itinerary. We were moving on to Croatia but decided to google and check if there is anything more to offer other than the 2 cities we've been. We were glad we took the detour. We loved the atmosphere and could have easily stayed the night to relax. On top of that, the journey here was beautiful. There is also a not-to-be-missed attraction nearby - medieval water mills on River Pliva which is about 5 km from Jajce. It's totally worth a visit based on the photographs we've seen and we are so sorry to have missed that!

Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

2016-03-12T07:59:00.001-08:00

Mention Budva and the famed small islet known as Sveti Stefan inevitably pops up. Now exclusively called Aman Sveti Stefan as it has been converted to an upscale hotel resort for the rich. Formerly a village, all of the buildings were acquired by the Yugoslav government and turned into an upscale hotel during the communist period. However, in the 1990s, the break-up of Yugoslavia saw the decline of this resort. The Government of Montenegro proposed to recreate the old charm of the island by inviting international bids for the revitalization project. The contract was awarded to Aman Resorts in 2007. The refurbished resort, completed in 2009, retains the old world charm of its exterior view, with interior facilities to contemporary modern standards. (source: Wikipedia)

It’s annoying that such a historic islet is shut off to the general public unless you stay there as a guest or dined at the fancy restaurant. It would have been great if it remains as a down-to-earth village. If you are desperate to explore the islet, fork out €20 for a guided tour. We saw numerous individuals balked at the price and turned away. Sveti Stefan mainland consists of lots of quiet residential. There wasn’t any touristy feel which was great. The beach was quiet and pebbly with small groups of sunbathers. Maybe it was the start of low season. We make do by taking lots of photo of the islet but seriously, we were bummed out. If you want to have a swim, it’ll be all right to drop by here. Other than that, it’s not worth coming all the way here.

Sarajevo: City of heartaches

2016-03-10T05:56:00.000-08:00

We left Sarajevo with mixed feelings. It captured our hearts with its sad history but also gave us the worst experience in our Balkans travel. We shall not give you a history lesson on the 1992-96 Siege of Sarajevo; it’s all readily available online with in-depth details. Best preparation you can do before you visit this city is to read up on its rich history. It’ll help you to appreciate this city’s charm as you do your exploration. We signed up for a free walking tour which gave us a good base to understand Sarajevo. Then we followed Rick Steve's suggested walking trail which took us to other parts of the city. Follow us on this photo tour of Sarajevo:

A world-changing event that started from this spot. We were shown where and how Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in 1914. The place is marked by plaques and a small museum.

Inat kuća – House of Spite. Interesting bit of history. After Austro-Hungarian defeated the Ottomans in 1878, there were plans to rebuild Sarajevo. On the spot where the foreign architects wanted to build the City Hall was a house of an old Bosnian named Bendevijia, who refused to give up his home. After many negotiations he requested for a bag of gold and his house to be moved piece by piece to the other side of the river. It’s a restaurant now offering traditional Bosnian food.

The afore-mentioned City Hall, which became the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1949. During the Siege of Sarajevo the library was completely destroyed. Our heart twinged when we heard our tour guide mentioned the loss of precious manuscripts and a unique collection of Bosnian serial publications, some from the mid-19th century. Before the attack, the library held 1.5 million volumes and over 155,000 rare books and manuscripts.

Baščaršija - Sarajevo's old bazaar. Lots of character. Do some souvenir shopping on this pretty cobblestone street, full of small artisans' shops and touristy shops. Take your pick from among copper wares, shawls, trinkets and even pens made of spent shells and bullets. We would love to get a bullet pen but we realized we might get an eventful custom clearance in Singapore. You can enjoy some spots of lunch at the small restaurants and drink delicious Bosnian coffee in cafes.

Sarajevo's only intact caravanserai, Morica Han. Reminded us of Chinese period drama where travelers could find lodging, fodder for horses, exchange money, do some business and repair their carts. Currently occupied by restaurant, market stalls and offices which marred the exotic atmosphere considerably.

Multicultural Man statue in Liberation Square

Group of elderly gentlemen playing a game of chess. Apparently, they are always there, no matter the weather conditions or time. They would have played out there during the siege if they could.

Sarajevo Roses which can be seen throughout the city. Explosion marks have been filled with red resin to mark where mortar explosions resulted in one or more deaths. They are disappearing as the asphalt is replaced or due to foot and car traffic.

Gazi Husrev Bey’s Bezistan (covered bazaar)

The vaulted ceiling architectural details inside the bezistan which is worth an admire. The stalls sold knock-off fashion apparels if you are interested.

Ruins of Taslihan, used to serve as caravanserai. Located in Hotel Europa grounds near Gazi Husrev-bey bezistan. It was destroyed by fire several times, the last time in 1879.

Marker on the ground, near Gazi Husrev Bey’s Bezistan. “Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures” - with one step, you can cross from one culture to another. The East is considered Ottoman and Islamic while the West is seen as Austro-Hungarian and Christian.

Sarajevo’s main market. It was bombed during the siege when the locals were busy doing their grocery shopping. Seasonal vegetables and fruits grown by sellers are sold here. We came late noon, so most of the stalls were closed. We managed to get some corns for our dinner and our favourite snacks – walnut and raspberries. It was a novelty for us to get them fresh and we gobbled lots of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries whenever we see them in markets in the Balkans.

Eternal flame, a memorial to the military and civilian victims of the Second World War in Sarajevo. It is located in the center of Sarajevo at the corner of the Marshal Tito street and Ferhadija Pedestrian Street.

Memorial to children of Sarajevo. The monument consists of an unfinished sand castle in the shape of a pyramid. It symbolizes the play of children being cut short by death. The pyramid was partially made from spent cartridges that were found in the city after the war. There’s several small columns engraved with the names of 521 children who were killed during the siege.

Painting on the ground in front of the memorial

Food court! We chanced upon it in a mall.

Bosnian food which we bought from an “economic rice” stall. We had high expectation but of course, it differ a lot in taste to our Singapore’s version.

Suada and Olga Bridge, however the signage still indicates its old name “Vrbanja Bridge”. New name is to commemorate Suada Dilberović and Olga Sučić, first victims shot at the beginning of the Siege of Sarajevo. On 19 May 1993, Admira Ismić and Boško Brkić, a Bosniak and a Bosnian Serb were also shot while trying to cross the bridge to escape the besieged city. They died in each other's arms and their bodies lay together for eight days as nobody was able to retrieve them safely. The bridge is nicknamed “Romeo and Juliet” bridge.

Turn right from "Romeo and Juliet" Bridge and amble along River Miljacka (Vilsonovo Ave which is pedestrians only after 5pm and on weekends) with its path lined with trees which were not fell for fuel during the siege as it was in the direct line of fire from the Bosnian Serb snipers holding fort in the surrounding hill on the left.

Apartments with scars of the siege.

1-metre-high ICAR Canned Beef Monument to ridicule donors for the humanitarian aid during the siege. Inscription reads "Monument to the International Community by the grateful citizens of Sarajevo". Bosnians accused the international community of not allowing them to defend themselves after imposing an arms embargo in the 1990s, and then feeding them outdated canned food.

Why not cash in on war? Café Tito serves drinks only and attracts tourists interested in memorabilia from old Socialist Yugoslavia. There were tanks outside the café which makes for great photo.

A stone block with the text carved in four languages: “Under this stone there is a monument to the victims of the war and the Cold War.” By Bosnian artist Braco Dimitrijevic.

We enjoyed Sarajevo and had a memorable time due to our horrible experience with rancid flat bread and the rickety place we stayed in. We left with regrets that we did not managed to delve deeper into Sarajevo. It’s a city still full of sadness as the bullets scars were conspicuous on lots of residential buildings. Bombed buildings were also left abandoned. BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina) has the world's most complicated and strained system of government. The Chair of the Presidency rotates amongst three members (a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat) every 8 months within their 4-year term. With conflicting views on a large number of issues and problems, it’s impossible to rebuild the country. Unemployment is an unimaginably high 43.9% in 2014. We can’t see the light at the end of the long dark tunnel for BiH. It’s heartbreakingly sad. The people are trying their best to make ends meet. They rent out their homes to tourists and became tour guides earning tips. We can only hope our visit have help someone in one way or another as we sleep in their home and took up their tour.

Europe refugee crisis: how travelers can cope

2016-03-02T09:27:00.000-08:00

With the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe, you may be asking how it’ll affect your travel. A lot, in fact. The refugees are flooding into Greece and they want to move on to settle in Germany. Thus, all the routes from Greece to Germany are somehow affected, whether you are travelling by train, bus or car. When we were in Europe from mid-September to mid-October 2015, the policy in each country seemed to change from day to day. Germany said they welcome all refugees, suddenly they want to limit the asylum applications processing and shut the border. All trains could not be booked for an unspecified period. Buses were limited. We arrived in Munich on bus from Ljubljana after experiencing heavy traffic due to security checks on the highways. We wanted to go to Salzburg and had to connect in Munich. We were nervous with the identification checks on the highway as we do not know what to expect.

It was hilarious in a way as the police officers doing the security checks had no idea what they were doing. We noticed that for most of the security checks on board the buses, they’ll usually gave both of us a cursory look as we are Asians. On the bus to Munich, one of the officers suddenly demanded to know where was the visa on one of our passports. We were confused. One of us is Malaysian while the other is Singaporean. We knew we do not need visa to Germany or Austria. Has the regulation changed while we were on the road? Stupefied, we gaped at the officer. The officer pointed at the other passport, stabbing at a visa sticker on one of the pages. “This, this! Why you don’t have?” We took a closer look. It was an expired visa for Egypt, a work trip long time ago -_- Losing confidence, in ourselves and the officer, we explained hesitantly we do not need visa; the visa on the passport was for Egypt. The officer gave us back our passports and turned away -_-

When we were back in Salzburg Hauptbahnhof a few days later to make our way to Zurich, we came across large presence of police and soldiers. They were standing around waiting. There were Red Cross tents set up outside the station. We were trying our luck for a coach to take us to Zurich at 9pm. It never came but we managed to score a BlaBlaCar to take us the following morning. We decided not to look for a bed already and just hang around the station overnight. It was 1^°C but felt colder. We were shuffling our feet trying to get warm and suddenly saw refugees being escorted by the police and soldiers. We guess they just arrived by train and were being taken to an asylum application processing centre. They were dressed in winter wear, most of them carrying small backpacks, duffel bags and plastic bags. They lined up in twos or threes and walked hurriedly from one end of the station to the other end where a bus was waiting. We felt ashamed for moaning about the transport disruption and forgetting there were people losing their homes.

So our suggestion is this: if you’re traveling in the Balkans, Germany and Austria, plan your route with back up arrangement. If you expect to connect a train or bus, be prepared to miss it as the train might be cancelled or there may be heavy traffic due to security checks. You may have to stay extra days waiting for the next transport or just change the mode – from train to bus, or from bus to car. When we took BlaBlaCar from Salzburg to Zurich, our driver knew which highway to take to avoid the heavy traffic. With all the disruption, it was a bit of inconvenience but we wouldn’t mind doing it again. Europe is worth it!

Kotor – Go now before it gets discovered by the world

2016-03-01T02:30:00.001-08:00

Our first impression of a quiet town before the cruise visitors swoop down

We trudged into Bay of Kotor old town area from the main bus station, weary from an overnight coach from Skopje. We were lost, not knowing where to take the local bus to our guesthouse. We found the morning market instead and were tempted to browse immediately, luggage and all with us. Practicalities prevailed. We asked the traders for directions and they pointed us to the bus-stop just opposite the market. We dithered at the bus stop, not knowing what bus to take. We saw a taxi approaching and gave up trying to be money-conscious backpackers. We asked how much and scrambled in. That was how we started our magical exploration of this medieval coastal town in Montenegro.

Beauty
The bay is often known as Europe's southernmost fjord, but it's actually a submerged river canyon. Hike up via the more than 1,000 stairs to the top of the fortress near Old Town and be swept away by the panoramic view of the bay. After that, take a well-deserved rest in the carefully-preserved Old Town with its heavily fortified wall. It’s pedestrians only within the walled town. Amble around and get delightfully lost within its multitude of narrow streets and squares. Souvenir shops, boutique shops and restaurants abound and you’ll be spoilt for choices. Look beyond the touristy side of it and just admire the ancient buildings full of architecture details and soak in the medieval atmosphere.

Town hopping
After awhile, we felt stampede by tourists from the cruise ships docked nearby. Waves after waves of tourists flocked into the Old Town. We escaped to Perast which was quieter and is a UNESCO World heritage site. We took a motor boat out to Our Lady of the Rocks, one of the two islets off the coast. According to legend, the islet was formed due to an oath taken by local sailors in the 15^th century. After every successful voyage they would lay a rock in the Bay till the islet emerged and the church was built on it. This tradition continued and becomes an annual festival on 22^nd July where local residents take their boats out and throw rocks into the sea. We might come back one day to a bigger islet. The other islet is Sveti Dorde (Island of Saint George). It contains the Benedictine monastery of Saint George, which dates from the 12th century and an old graveyard for the old nobility from Perast. It’s not open to public though. You can also continue your town hop to Risan, Morinj, Tivat, Herceg Novi and many more which are located along the coastline of the bay.

Inexpensive
Balkans is generally inexpensive with the exception of Croatia. When you are in Bay of Kotor, stay outside of the Old Town as expensive boutique hotels abound inside the walled town and you won’t get a good night sleep anyway with the partying atmosphere and loud music from the numerous pubs. Price of food and accommodation drops dramatically as you move away from the Old Town. You can get a studio room with kitchenette and terrace plus a view of the bay. Cost? €40 a night during peak season. Not even per person, that’s the nett price for the room.

Easy navigation
It’s easy to explore Bay of Kotor. You have majestic mountain view on one side and the deep blue bay water on the other side as you travel along the winding coast. The road is narrow and seems to be single lane but don’t faint as you see another car coming from the other direction. The bus barreled around the corners, surprising you with new vistas at every turn. Take the public bus service (Blue Line bus) plying the coast, from town to town. It leaves from the Old Town at every hour. It’s quite on time, so depending on where your guesthouse is located, you can easily finish your morning coffee and run out to catch it. The locals should have no problem advising you of the bus schedule.

In short, Bay of Kotor has lots of potential. Visitors will grow exponentially soon. With such natural beauty at easy access from other parts of Europe, it won’t remain undiscovered for long.

BlaBlaCar - City hopping in Europe cheaply

2016-02-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

We love the rail network in Europe. It’s one of the reasons why we go back to Europe again and again. There are so many countries to explore in this continent. We tend to be greedy and want to explore a few countries each time. Eurail pass has been the best option for us. Having been to Europe twice, the first thing to come to mind when preparing for our third trip is to ask ourselves what kind of Eurail pass to get. We thought of getting the Balkan Flexipass which covers the places we were going - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Macedonia and Montenegro. BUT! What about Slovenia, Croatia, Austria and lastly, Switzerland where we have to fly back home? So we researched and researched, trying to get the best combination of Eurail pass. We had to concede we cannot take the train if we want to be economical. We have to rely on intercity coaches! This was our itinerary: Athens – Greek Islands – Meteora – Thessaloniki – Skopje – Bay of Kotor - Mostar – Sarajevo – Zagreb – Plitviče Lakes National Park – Split – Zadar – Rovinj – Ljubljana – Salzburg – Zurich. It doesn’t include all the side trips we took from these places which was another round of transport we have to take.

It was a challenge to find connecting coaches to all the cities. Every evening after all the sightseeing, we have to buckle down and search for transport. The Balkans is not very visitor-friendly for travelers who want to do cities hop. Information is all over the place due to the numerous coach companies operating in Europe and we have to scroll through websites after websites and the coach schedules were not even accurate. It was only towards the end of our trip that we discovered a super cool app – BlaBlaCar.

Started first in France and it’s slowly rolling out to other countries outside of Europe. You just have to key in your point of departure and destination. Voila! The app will match you up with a driver who’s headed in the same direction. We were surprised at how cheap it was compared to taking the coach or train. We traveled from Salzburg to Zurich for €30. That was for two of us! Taking the train would have been €40 - €100+ per person. Via coach was around €35 - €100+ per person. We want to slap ourselves for not trying it earlier in our trip. We saw it coming up in our research and brushed it off because the name is just too funky to be a serious mode of transport. We never heard of it and we were looking for coaches with dogged determination. We had great experiences with the rides we took and it saved us a lot of time as we do not have to make pit stops at various cities/towns. There’s even option for ladies only. So for lone female travelers, this is a safe way to travel too.

However there are always pros and cons to everything. Consider the following when you’re trying to decide between the train, bus and BlaBlaCar.

Pros:

1) Cost. If you’re not traveling with a tour operator, chances are you’re a backpacker or fake backpackers like us. You definitely do not want transport cost to take up a huge chunk of your travelling budget. For us, we want to travel fast but in the most economical way. So, do your homework. Firm up the cities you’re going, check the prices to travel via the 3 options and you won’t have to slap yourself like us. We find BlaBlaCar to be the cheapest. Since we only used it twice (slap ourselves again), do let us know if your BlaBlaCar ride costs more.

2) Time. Time is precious. Most of us are not on a 6-month backpacking trip in Europe. We want to pack in as much sightseeing as we could and then scurry back to dreary life back home. BlaBlaCar uses private cars. You go from Point A to B without all the meandering in trains and coaches. This leaves you with more time to explore the city rather than being stuck in the train or coach for 2 to 4 hours more.

3) New friend. You get a local guide instantly! Our drivers were friendly and since we are obviously travelers, they recommended places to go and things to eat. We also got to know the local culture better as we chatted about their lives and even politics. Just keep things light because you don’t want atmosphere in the car to become ominous when the drive is 3 hours more.

Cons:

1) Safety. This could be the deal breaker if you are trying this for the first time. You never know who you’re going to get and in this crazy world, be prepared for anything. However, since you have already stepped out of your home for an adventure (travelling is always an adventure!), try it! BlaBlaCar does its best to make it safe by having Experience Level of both drivers and passengers (safety works both ways). The higher level you are, the more trusted you are in the BlaBlaCar community. So read up on the driver’s profile and passengers’ rating before you decide whether you want to take the ride.

2) Reliability. If you are time bound and inflexible with your travelling arrangement, BlaBlaCar is a risk. There may not be anyone driving to your intended destination in the date/time you want. Drivers on this app are not doing it full time like Uber. They just happen to be driving to your destination for work, family/ friends visit or whatever reasons. It’s definitely a game of waiting for the right ride to come along. Works the same way as sticking your thumb out by the roadside. So if you plan to get to a destination by certain time, start your search early. Popular destinations should have no lack of drivers going that way but don’t bank on drivers going to small towns. Just drop at the nearest big town and take the local bus there.

3) Surprise factor. You turn up on time at the departure point and expect to go to your destination immediately. No, wait! The driver is picking up another passenger on the way, so it’s a bit of detour. Or wait! Another passenger is supposed to turn up at the same meeting point, he’s late, everyone waits. Worst, this passenger is a no-show, wasted 30 minutes waiting. That’s what happened to us. You just have to go along with the driver's plan. It's his car, right? However, all in, the journey time was still shorter than the other 2 options, so we have no complaints.

4) Accident liability. Common sense is that the driver should have third party liability insurance policy which covers all passengers travelling in their vehicle but do they have it? If you want to be safe or kiasu (not losing out), check with the driver before you take the ride.

5) Inconvenience. You may have to turn up at designated meeting point not to your convenience. However, it’s a moot point as it depends on how you negotiate with the driver. Once you booked the ride, the driver’s contact will be made known to you and you can discuss further on the exact location to be picked up. The driver may state a certain place as a passenger who booked a seat earlier may have made the request, so it’s up to you whether you want to convenient yourself or the driver.

As their motto says “Connecting people who need to travel with drivers who have empty seats”. It’s a good car-sharing platform which benefits both the drivers and travelers. BlaBlaCar is supposedly a community-minded enterprise. Drivers are not allowed to profit from the service, so the Euro we paid is for defraying their petrol cost. In addition, think of it as saving the earth, green environment and all, ya know, bla bla bla.

We used these to find our way in Europe:

Go Euro (BlaBlarCar will appear in search if available)

Bus Radar(BlaBlarCar will appear in search if available)

Help Greece by holidaying there!

2016-02-25T06:05:00.000-08:00

When we first floated the idea of visiting Europe in early 2015, our first desired destination was Greece. We’ve been to Europe twice but have not travel to the Balkans yet. We looked forward to seeing the beautiful white and blue domed houses depicted in travel photo. When we put Greece as the first country to touch down as part of our Europe tour, anxieties trickled in about the situation in Greece. We were bombarded with news about the financial crisis and the refugees. When news came about the ATM withdrawal limit, we questioned our sanity in going there. Athens seemed chaotic on news but when we googled about the situation, it didn’t seems so bad. Travelers raved that the chaotic news depicted was overrated and it was still safe. It was true! Been there in September 2015 and loved it!

Oia on Santorini

We did not encounter anything out of the ordinary. Travelers still throng the Acropolis and we have to jostle with the busloads of tourists for the best position to take selfies in Oia, Santorini. Of course, locals living there would be affected by the situation but as travelers, we can do our part for Greece’s economy by not avoiding Greece. To some extent, the tourism industry is affected. We believed it should have been more crowded at the tourist attractions we visited. We were gleeful not to have to elbow anyone to take photo in some places. However, on hindsight, we realized the hardships the locals must be experiencing. Restaurant owners, guesthouses, gift shops, taxi drivers, all tourism related businesses were affected by the drop in visitors. It’s a sobering fact. Think of their families who are depending on tourists as livelihood. We couchsurfed in Athens (Oops! We should have supported local guesthouse) and got to talk to our hosts about how they were coping. We also chatted with our tour guide when we signed on for a free walking tour. The amazing part through all these craziness in Greece is the unbreakable spirit of the Greek. They still carry on with their daily lives and showed us their best hospitality. The scenery is still as breathtaking and you’ll miss out a lot by bypassing this great destination.

Changing of guards at Syntagma Square, Athens

Parthenon, Athens

Santorini

Lefkes, Paros

Here’s what you can do to be prepared:

1) Read up on the news before traveling there. When you’re there, keep abreast of any new development. Check the internet for news whenever you’re connected. Or do it the lazy way, ask the staffs of your guesthouse, the shopkeepers or even the locals.

2) Find out the contact and address of your embassy. You’ll be surprised when you might need their assistance. We did! However, it was not due to being stuck in a protest or because we can’t withdraw money from the ATM. Athens was safe, really! It was due to the spirit of Greek hospitality that caused the Singapore Embassy to offer their assistance to us! That’s another story.

3) Have enough cash. It’s actually not a problem for foreigners to withdraw cash from ATM but since regulations can change anytime due to the political turmoil, we made sure to have enough anyway. Credit cards are still accepted but don’t expect to use them in small souvenir shops or cafes as they do not have such service in the first place!

4) Get travel insurance. We usually get one when we travel, hoping that the airline will bump us to the next flight and we can indulge during our holiday on the airline’s and insurance’s compensation. Alas, it has not happen yet.

So with these, just enjoy your Greek holiday. The worst you might encounter in Greece is the shock of finding out you can’t flush toilet paper!