Anywho, so as stated previously, Brasov, Romania was pretty darn neato.. I find that the people you meet is what really makes the experience tho.
Some of the neatest guys we met in Brasov (Jason and I with Lucas- Canada- and James -London)
When we left via train for Bulgaria (yeah, we decided to break up our trip a little and "see" one more country before Turkey) we ended up having the "time of our lives".. in a bad way.. but it was so ridiculous that we couldnt help but laugh! You know what I mean..
So our total trip to Bulgaria consisted of 3 stops... Round one was from Bulgaria, Romania to Bucurest, Romania (NOTHING TO SEE IN BUCUREST... it might be Romania's capitol, but its dirty!.. lots of stray dogs (and people), and .. yeah.. the 3 hours spent there are 3 hours of my life I wish I could get back)
Anywho, so from our layover there, we caught an 8pm train from there to Varna, Bulgaria.. yeah.. supposed to be a 2 hour layover stop to transfter trains once passed the Bulgarian border.. but no... nothing is easy on this trip.
When we arrived in the first Bulgarian city (can't remember the name but it starts with a "G".. I think so Ill call it that) we were supposed to have a 2 hour layover before actually taking our final 4hr ride to Varna.. well, luckily we befriended a Bulgarian lady (our translator) as well as a New Zealand couple (Debbie and Damien) and 2 other guys (Peter and Reuben- Hungary and England) who had the same destination as us.
Long story short: Bulgaria decided to cancel the 2am train and make it for 6am.. so our choices: sleep at the station and wait til 6, catch a taxi into Varna (Taxi drives.. in for the BIGGEST rip off ever! Like flies to a carcus, so are taxi drivers to travelers... ANNOYING!), or lastly, pay extra to take a train to a random city, and then catch another train to Varna (which would keep us on schedule).. Of course the train conductor wouldnt give us a price until we told him how much we had (we said 5 euro a piece.. it was a lie, but he was basing his prices off of our wallets) so tho he attempted to swindle us all, we stuck together, and decided to camp at the station. This meant no sleep really.. all night it had been no real sleep. No bueno.
Damien, Debbie, me, Jason, Reuben and Peter... our "Varna Crew"
Finally 6am came as well as the train.. so on we went, and to Varna, Bulgaria we arrived. NOTHING TO SEE HERE EITHER. Im sorry, but a lot of Eastern Europe is not much to write home about.. We found our bus tickets (which would be our 10hr ride through to Istanbul, Turkey) then found the Bulgarian beach. 3 letters: ick. Ca beaches make theirs look like a swamp. Either way tho, we were sorta able to cool off... then we found a little rest in the park in the shade. At this point I was miserably sick.. still sorta am.. but its always worse when you're uncomfortable, sticky, hot, and forced to carry your 25lbs of life on your back for miles.. I made it alive tho.
**Note... my opinions on some of these places are not shared by everyone.. Im just stating what I experiences... and of course my illness impacted my views.. sooooooooo **
We left Bulgaria (and there was no kicking or screaming on my part) and headed for Turkey on a bus.... busses... never again. Cramped. no leg room.. AND we stopped mid way at a station to get our visas.. this alone was at least a 1 1/2 hour stop. **Mind you I had taken my Tylenol pm once on the train (great suggestion Neen!.. I woulndt have gotten half the shut eye on this entire trip without it).. well... 2 pills makes for a heavy dose.. for me at least. So on top of being sick and cold while at this stop, I was dizzy as Ill get out and barely able to stand. I had to put on my "healthy face" bc they were checking for sick people too at the border.. luckily I passed :P)
Aaaaaaaanyway, we got here into Turkey, both of us low on sleep, disoriented, fuzzy-headed and me sick.. eventually we made it to our hostel (Jason has been sooooo on top of things btw.. I would probably be a gonner by now if not for him) and once 12 noon hit for check in, I was on it like white on rice! Showered and in bed.. 4 solid hours later, I was a bit refreshed and we toured Istanbul a bit! Not too bad actually... I give it 10 stars in comparison to Bulgaria!
We are now getting ready to head out with a couple of Australians.. see the night life a little. (Dont worry mom, my health is important to me too.. I wont be out late! Trust me.. I know my limits...)
So thats our nutshell for now.
Again, I dont know if Ill be lucky again to get WiFi at our later stops, but if so, Ill keep a post. If not, like stated before, youll get the live version when I return!
This is me signing out!
Lovelovelove!
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