Dubrovnik

There was only one bus that went from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik and it was at 6:30am. now, mornings and i are a little bit like a knife and a toaster, you probably shouldn't put the two together. but after some struggle to get up on time, i finally make it to the bus station and headed off to Croatia. i slept for a fair bit of it, which i think is a skill i have acquired over the past 6 months, getting sleep on the bus is not that easy. but i still manage to see some of the country side to, as we were getting closer to Croatia i noticed it got a lot greener which was quite nice. after a 6 hours on the bus, oh and this i packed some lunch so i didn't starve, i finally made it to Dubrovnik. i heard that people from hostels will hang around the station trying to get you to go to there place, i had a place in mind but i had to get a bus there and wasn't really in the mood. this old guy said he had a hostel and said he'd drive me there, he showed me photos and stuff and looked pretty legit so i figured why not, he was pretty old so if he attacked me i was pretty sure i would be fine. it ended up being fine but i was just cautious. the hostel was really nice, really cheap and i got a room to my self which was nice. the old guy was really friendly and one night even gave me some dinner that his wife had made, Mussel's in a sauce, it was delicious, i'd hit the jack pot!

i think everyone in Australia is aware of Brit Lapthorne, the Australian girl that was murdered here in Dubrovnik recently, because I've been away i have found it a little hard to keep up with the news and this story in particular, but I'll be honest, it did make me a little bit wary. The guy at the hostel mentioned her to me and was very clear that Dubrovnik is very safe, saying that unfortunately that was a one off incident and that 'he is a 70 year old man and has never had a problem' and i have to say i kind of agree with him, i felt really safe here. but the guy that worked in the hostel in Sarajevo told me that there have been problems here in the past with a group of guys posing as Police harassing girls. its very hard to know who to believe, either way, you've got to be careful wherever you go and be aware of whats happening around you. but for the old guy to tell me that, it must be crippling the tourism industry here.

Dubrovnik is more of a summer destination, i knew that before i planned to come here, because i probably wasnt going to see it in summer and it was on the way. too bad for me it poured pretty much the whole time i was here, i got totally drenched, but when it wasnt raining i had a good look around. Dubrovnik has a really pretty old town, i totally understand why its world heritage listed. the tiny little streets are so beautiful i didnt mind getting lost down them at all. the old town has a giant wall around it which was built in, something like, 1450 to keep other countries from invading it, you can you walk around it these days, i had some great views from up there of bell towers punching through the canopy of terracotta roofs, very pretty. also you get some really nice ocean views from up there. Dubrovnik is known for its beaches, but unfortunately for me no nude sun baking, as i said, way too cold. but there is not only beaches here, as i said earlier, it got greener as i came closer to croatia and there are plenty of forest around, i sometimes forget how nice it is to have trees until i come to a place like this.

just a few observations I've had. since I've been in eastern Europe i keep getting told by people 'there are lots of pretty women in ' i got it here, and from a taxi driver in Sarajevo. either, the woman are a tourist attraction or i must look like I'm in the market for a mail order bride! oh, and I've decided i wouldn't want to be an old person and live in Croatia. from what i can understand, they don't get a pension at all and so its not uncommon to see them around town collecting bottles to exchange them for money, its pretty sad to see.

i brought a couple of books while i was here, because I'm beginning to go brain dead, also because I'll be doing some long trips too, but mainly its because i found a shop that sold books in English. i brought George Orwell's classic 'Animal Farm' which I've wanted to read for years but have never got around to it, i think the concept for the book is brilliant. and the other book is on the life of Pink Floyd founder and former front man Syd Barrett. I'm not a massive fan of Pink Floyd, but i like a couple of there songs, anyway, I've been intrigued with Syd Barrett for a while, he went totally mad from taking drugs and became a totally recluse, and ended living with his Mum (you know you've lost your mind when your end up living with your mum at 40 years of age), i know that he died a couple of years ago and the author of this book supposedly tracked him down and had one last interview with him. should be a good read. best part of it all i got them cheaper for some reason, the guy told me that tourists get certain things cheaper this time of year, i wasn't complaining.

i liked Dubrovnik, but it was actually a bit strange being here after being in Sarajevo and Belgrade, it seemed too nice, if that makes sense? i dunno, i found it really boring compared to the other places i've been. i think i kind of got used to seeing blown up buildings and began to get excited by them. i'm pretty sure this place was bombed during the war, but have done quite a bit to repair the city. supposedly there are markers where the bombs were dropped but i didnt see any. also, as i said earlier i came at the wrong time of of year so I'd like to come back either this summer or another summer to get a real feel for the place, i think this place would be heaving if it was hotter. i think i would make more of an effort to visit some of the islands if it were hotter too, i heard they are pretty dead this time of year. next stop, Split.