Budva turned out to be a great place for a couple of days by the beach, although I think both Sally and Lizzie were surprised by how many tourists managed to sandwich themselves together on the small beach. (Crazy to think that this is their first abroad beach- ever!) The first night we were desperate for a swim so headed to what seemed to be the nearest and ended up being the dirtiest and ugliest that budva had to offer. At least there was water. That was the main thing. We had a supermarket dinner as it turns out Montenegro is basically english prices for food- unacceptable. We also bought casual drinks, but weren't sure whether we were feeling it or not. A crucial decision came at around 10.30- bed or party. Lizzie stood, vodka and lemonade in hand dubious over whether to throw it away or add more vodka. She added more and then downed it- it was decided we were heading out.
There are some weird rules in Budva which state that loud music outside is prohibited after 1 but bars stay open until 2 which means that all of a sudden the happening place we were in went quiet and everyone wondered off to find a better party. Half an hour later we were drinking cider and playing air hockey in an arcade- not quite how I had pictured the evening. We eventually found a club which seemed to be open... 5 euros entry... we looked disgusted... he added.... but girls get in for free.... thats more like it. Girls also apparently get through the metal detectors at the entry for free to, as all of us beeped but everyone was waved straight through. Inside the clientele seemed like some kind of russian mafia stronghold which made for an interesting evening. But there were some people dancing and some songs we recognized and we made it until almost 4 before we tried not to get lost finding the hostel back in the old town.
The next day was clearly beach day. So, after the most dubious crepes of my life... weird mixture, half a pig of ham and another of cheese, we squeezed ourselves into the smallest opening of sand and chilled for a few hours. Turned out this beach was a lot nicer than the other one. Shame our spot went into the shade fairly soon after our arrival. We gave up when the sun went in altogether around 6.
So, 4 girls and only one shampoo and conditioner means shower time takes a long time, generally long enough for a 2 hour nap, a good few chapters of a book or some music. Pretty sure I managed all three of these by the time we were ready to go out for the dinner at 9. We found a cheap chinese restaurant, apparently the first chinese in Montenegro. I went for noodles with pork and veg, which turned out to be tagliatelle with pork and veg with a slight tang of a tomato sauce. How authentic! But still nice. One of the things that is annoying with travelling is that the unhealthy food is the cheapest and also, in eastern europe, everything is SO meaty... I think we are all getting to the point of craving a lettuce leaf or just some greens in general.
After an unceremonious kicking out of the hostel- what time do we need to check -out? Now. Can we leave our bags for the day ? NO. ideal, we headed to the bus station (which we had definitely arrived into but had no idea how to find again) and spent the afternoon in Podgorica the capital of Montenegro and the newest capital in Europe. To be fair, I can see why most montenegrins live at the coast. I mean, the mountain scenery on the way was fantastic but... the town itself left a bit to be desired. We gave up on sightseeing and spent the afternoon eating ice cream and trying to watch derren brown on the kindle with bad wifi.
That night was our first ever NIGHT train can't believe of all my travels they have never included a single train! We were not sure whether to make seat reservations or not but we went for it and this turned out to be a good choice as sleeping in the aisle getting trampled by smokers the whole night did not seem ideal. We got excited when we boarded and found our seats. It was like a hogwarts train with huge reclining seat and a compartment door and light switch and everything. We then got a little less excited when the woman opposite decided that extra people could fit on her side-not ideal when you sleep and there are extra limbs flying everywhere. I think I got the lucky side of the cabin as the others apparently barely slept at all. Lizzie decided that the aisle was better at one point. Oh and I almost had a border nightmare when the passport checkers just ignored my outstretched hand with a passport so i didn't get a stamp. By the time I had clambered over everyone in the compartment they were almost of the train and I had to yell at them to give me a stamp. I then had to put out with 5 mins of rude comments... what... you think border control is a good time to sleep... the british are always like this... where are your friends.... blah blah blah. Finally I got a stamp and squished back into my allotted 10 cm of sleeping space.
We arrived in Belgrade all feeling worse for wear at 8am, and trecked in the pouring rain to our hostel, which turns out to be basically an apartment with one dorm- we were the only guests! We napped our way into the afternoon (i swear there is more napping than living on this trip!) and then headed out for some lacklustre sightseeing. I dont think the rain helped/ or the night train but I think we were all feeling a bit travelled out. So we got in some cider, used the hostel computer to watch more derren brown and bake-off and chilled until tea time. Had a nice meal ... slightly tainted by the fact that they chased us down the street at the end when apparently Sally had accidentally paid her part in Albanian money- nightmare. That killed the mood and we got back for an early night- well 1am, which seems early these days.
Another day of exploring Belgrade (although cinema has been mentioned more than once so not sure how much exploring will actually get done) and then night train (dubious ) tonight to BUDAPEST!
No comments:
Post a Comment