“Oh look a drug-dealer”… was one of many phrases we threw around whilst in Albania. It joined other brilliant lines such as “that Merc was stolen from Germany”, and “that BMW was stolen from Switzerland…”
My god, I thought, what on earth had our Lonely Planet guide gotten us into now? 
After an amazing four days in London, it certainly didn’t turn for the worst when we ended up in the Balkans… but it was by far the biggest eye-opener.
First stop was an overnight in Corfu, Greece, with a view from our hotel, The Pink Palace, that looked a little something like this:
Apart from arriving at 10 o’clock at night, having a street post that blocked our stunning view and being fed sandwiches as a replacement dinner, I had a good night. I met a few lovely gals from Sydney and even discovered an old school friend was working there… small world.
We woke up early the next day and headed for the port where we then set off to infamous Albania by ferry (apparently you can hear gunshots at night from Corfu). This was the sight we saw on arrival:
Looking slightly nicer than one would expect, this coastal city of Saranda was certainly the jewel along Albania’s coastline. Looking like a slightly under-developed French Riviera, the city left an impression I won’t easily forget.
After we got off the ferry, we located our tour bus (that would take us to Dubrovnik) and were informed just how young Albania was… they only got cars in the early 1990′s… and everything there is dirt cheap. Goes to show that their economy is a little out of whack… clearly aren’t aware of inflation.
