Albania travel info
6 days, April 06
ALBANIA
INTRO
Kind of travel:
a wholly independent travel
When:
21st- 26th April 06
How I moved:
Vans that leave when full (furgons) have been the main means
of transport. Sometimes by taxi (expensive!!) and once by a
private car
Freezing
or baking?
Apart two chilly rainy days, it has been a wonderfull
sunny spring weather (20C)
Where
I slept:
small hotels but not so cheap (10-20 euro)
What I liked:
the unexpectated not-annoying people, the Ersek- Permet road
and the unmissable Berat
What I disliked:
the rubbish thrown everywhere, the half-built houses,
the bumpy dusty roads and the furgons/ buses stinking of vomit
How
much daily:
albania it's not so cheap. Furgons or buses: 1.2 euro/ hour
of travel (2- 6 euro). Taxis are very expensive: 30 km=
20 euro (Tirana-
airport, ufficial fare: 21 euro = 2500 lek) Hotels: 10-30
euro for a double. Restaurants: 4-9 euro. Final daily
expenses: 35 euro/day
Dangers/
hassles:
believe me or not, I seriously risked to break my leg in one
of the several opened sewers in the walk side!!! For the rest
I found Albania a safe country
What you
do need:
some motion sickness medicines in the mountainy roads,
since, even if you don't normally suffer them, the stink of
vomit in the buses won't help you :-)
IMPRESSIONS
ABOUT ALBANIA
Travelling in Albania I was surprised
both in positive and negative. In fact since I didn’t expect
to find so nice people compared to the unfair stereotype but
at the same time I was impressed by the "undevelopment"
of the country.
Few hundreds meters driving from
the airport are enough to realise about the terrible condition
of the roads in Albania. The amounts of holes and unpaved parts
make each travel so bumpy and slow. That’s probably why
there are almost only the solid Mercedes cars, apart of the
furgons, on the roads of the whole country.
In addition it’s a pity to see
such amount of rubbish thrown down the cliffs in wonderful mountain
areas, where the people seem to have no respect of the environment.
Some aspects of the country like the railway system (don’t
miss the station in Tirana) or the open sewers in the streets
(I really risked to break my leg!!) are so far from belonging
to Europe.
I wondered about the Albanian incomes,
since I didn’t see factories, the agriculture doesn’t
seem systematically exploited and the cost of the life is not
really peanuts.
On the other hand I met so helpful
people, who never took advantage of me, even when they clearly
had the chances. The country is safe and travelling turned out
a pleasure.
Alby
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