Day 15 (ish) from a bed outside of Dubrovnik

Morning folks from outside of Dubrovnik, which is my last stop on this trip.

 I got up early to catch the train from Sarajevo to Mostar. My grandparents were singing Mostar's praises when they visited 30 plus years ago, so I felt that it would make for a good stop off prior to getting the bus to Dubrovnik.

I only had about 2 hours to spend in Mostar, so headed to the rebuilt bridge that was destroyed during the Bosnian war. I was told that people would pay men on the bridge to jump off (in a diving sense, of course!), but I didn't see any of that this time around (health and safety gone mad! 😂). Getting through the bazaar was a bit of a squeeze due to large tour groups simultaneously trying to get to the main sites.
 This did bother me, to be honest, but then I realised that I too am a tourist so I'm probably adding to the problem for locals. 

After seeing much of the same as what I'd seen in Sarajevo in terms of the bazaars, I managed to do something that I previously hadn't been able to do in Sarajevo- go inside a mosque. I'd packed for the weather, but not in terms of suitable clothing for Sarajevo's mosques. Anyways, I went up the minaret of the Pasha mosque and saw some great views of the city. 
 it was very narrow going up and at the top- and for someone who isn't particularly vertically challenged, knowing that the protective barrier was below my hip wasn't the most reassuring. 

I headed back to the bus station, with 30 minutes to spare. After having to pay to enter the platform (?), and use their subpar loos (no wonder the streets smell of urine out here!), I waited for my bus. However, I received notification of a 45-minute delay. " Great", I thought, having confined myself to the station platform due to the entrance fee. That wait was extended, extended and extended. Myself and fellow tourists were lamenting about our various bus delays, unsure of when we would arrive in Dubrovnik, Sarajevo and Split. 

3 1/2 hours after the original departure time, we officially set off. We stopped at Capljina in Bosnia before Dubrovnik, where a party from Essex had been waiting 7 hours due to delays- so in reality, I'd gotten off lightly. 

The bus party all had a laugh at everyone's misfortunes, but, after three and a bit hours, we arrived in Dubrovnik. For me, a 30 minute bus journey beckoned, and the nearest restaurant was closing, so frustrations and fatigue were high and the want to have food and sleep was something I couldn't get a hold on. 

But, I arrived, burnt out, yet discovering a microwave, thus thanking myself for bringing a microwavable chow mein with me. It was underdone, but it never tasted so good. 

Til next time!
(probably this evening)
Tom :)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 7- Bratislava Train Station

 Hi all, I begin this piece from Bratislava Central Station, awaiting my delayed train to Budapest, city number 4 of the trip. Travelling- it all has its ups and downs but I've got to say, having started my "30 countries before 30" ambition (albeit probably prematurely) at the beginning of the year, the phrase "quality over quantity" really rings true on th is trip I've been doing. 18 nights, (excluding two stopovers if we're being pedantic), in 9 countries, all of which I have never visited before. It all sounds a bit like a condensed version of Race Across The World- and to be honest, the stress of getting from one place to another within a set amount of time does feel comparable with what I'm experiencing now- even with pre-booked accommodation and flights! Because in hindsight, I haven't really given myself much time to rest, because it's go, go go! The need to make the most of seeing countries I've never visited versus trying to not ...
Read more

Day 8- Budapest

Image
 Hi all- I think it's safe to say that it's been a tale of two halves today. We'll go in chronological order, so that we will finish on where I am at now. When I arrived in Budapest last night, I was struck by the excitement of being somewhere I've wanted to go to for years, and that in itself, was enough to pique my interest come this morning. Waking up and realising that I was a 5 minute walk away from the city's main food hall led me to have some lovely "kifli"- a croissant-like pastry with a poppy seed filling. Whilst devouring my kifli, I took some Rescue Remedy to try and prevent the nerves and anxiety from previous days from being so prevalent- something I'd neglected to do beforehand. I proceeded to the wondrous St. Stephen's Basilica, where I took the lift up to the terrace (instead of ascending 340-odd steps according to Google!) For those that know me, I have a big fear of heights-be it being on a plane or up a big building. It simultane...
Read more

Trip Reflections

 Hello from chez moi, where I have intentions to do sod all, after arriving home on Saturday. Since starting these entries, I knew that I wanted to do some sort of reflection of how things have been from my perspective. Like every trip, some things go to plans, whilst other things do not, and I think coming into the trip, my mental health was in such a good place (in comparison to previous years), that I had finished therapy (which I had been in for for the past seven years). I had- perhaps overconfidently, thought that the issues that used to affect my anxiety and mood levels could all be dealt with a toolbox of techniques. So, when I began to experience that panic (probably on Day 2 of the trip), and couldn't get my usual strategies to work, the panic exaggerated itself even more. I did experience similar in Latvia on my 2nd night of the solo trip I did at the beginning of the year. The symptoms I experienced then were comparatively more heightened, but that was the first time I ...
Read more