I apologize for the long gap in continuing with the travelogue. As I mentioned before, I am in the middle of a move, but I am trying to finish it in the next few days before I move.
I am trying to furiously type the text and format the photos. So here goes.
Day 5 (Dec 27, 2011):
I was woken up by the Chinese fellow at 5:30 am as I had promised to drop him at the bus stop. It was very cold outside. Bundled up and went to the car to find that my right front tire had a flat.
There was no time to change the tire as the fellow would again miss his bus. So after spending 10 minutes scraping the windshield and windows to get rid of the hard ice, drove the 2 kms slowly on the flat tire itself to the bus stop.
After dropping him, I inspected the tire to find out there was a nail embedded in it. So I had no option but to change to the spare one.
Let me tell you, it is NO FUN changing a tire at 6 am in the morning when the temperature is -5.5 degrees C. I had to work without my gloves. The whole process was slow, and by the end of 30 minutes, I feared my hands were frost-bitten perhaps. They were absolutely numb with no feeling, and all dirty and greasy.
Luckily there was s coffee shop open on the opposite side of the road by then. I quickly hopped over there, got into the rest room and ran hot water over my hands for a minute before I got back the circulation and could move my fingers.
After that I had some coffee, a leisurely breakfast, and filled up gas. I had a long drive ahead.
Today the plan was to drive to Split, a small city on the Adriatic (also called the Dalmatian) coast, go to the Split airport to return the car, and spend the rest of the day in Split. From now on, all travel would be done by public transport. After Split, my next stop would be in Bosnia, where I didn't want to take the car, mostly for insurance coverage reasons.
After a long drive mostly through the countryside, I reached Split airport around 2 pm. SiXT was bitching about the punctured tire, and wanted me to pay for repairing the flat or cost of new tire. After some argument, the guy at the counter asked for 50 Kuna in cash and said he'd take care of it. So, reluctantly I paid the umm.. convenience charge, settled the bill, and got into the airport bus which takes you to Split town center.
The bus stop at the center of town, right next to the harbor.
The Split railway station is right next to it.
I started looking for the address where I had booked an apartment for the night. I knew it was close by but there were many small roads, lane and bylines and even though I had written directions, finding it was difficult. Something like this.
The lodging was called Nirvana Apartments. The room was decent. It was called the 'Orange Room', not surprisingly. The charge was 220 Kuna for the night.
This is the neighborhood (photo taken when I was returning back to room at night).
After dumping my luggage and freshening up, went for a walk. It was getting close to evening. The temperature was a mild 6 degrees, and there were a lot of people on the streets and along the harbor promenade. There were a lot of shops and restaurants there.
Oh, BTW, the former tennis ace GORAN IVANISEVIC is a Split native.
The Diocletian Palace, built by Roman emperor Diocletian (yeah, as if he would name it something else!!!) was also in the neighborhood.
They say Split has the most beautiful women in the world concentrated in one place. Don't believe me? Google it.
It is attributed to a curious mix of Mediterranean, Italian, German and Balkan breeding. The end result is near perfect. Katrina types are dime-a-dozen there. Trust me, I can attest to it :-)
Some photos of Split in the evening.
One side of the Diocletian palace where the lower floor has been turned into shops and businesses.
Inside the Palace.
That statue in the middle with the tilted head would be Diocletian, I presumed.
More photos along the harbor and the walking promenade.
That concluded my short tour of Split.
Next stop: Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Day 6 (Dec 28, 2011):
The day started early for me. I had tickets on the 6 AM bus to Mostar, a journey which takes about 3.5 hours. Mostar is a little bit into Bosnia after crossing the border.
I woke up at 4:30am and reached the bus stop. Had a quick croissant and coffee there. The bus was right on schedule.
Today was also my son's birthday, so using my international sim, I called India from the bus. The charge was a ridiculous $3.49/min, but I guess it was worth it.
The bus journey to Mostar is really beautiful. About half the way, the route travels along the Adriatic coast with great views of the ocean, going through small towns like Makarska, Podgora in Croatia. Then it crosses the Bosnian border at a place called Ploce, from where it starts the inland journey through the Balkan mountains.
Didn't take any photos - I was catching up on my sleep a little bit.
Getting into Bosnia was a breeze. There are two check posts, first on the Croatia side, the next about 100 feet away on the Bosnian side. We didn't have to get down from the bus. The bus driver collected all our passports and submitted them at both check posts, and returned them back to us after the formalities were done.
The first rest stop was a small town inside Bosnia called Medugorje.
Now a bit about the local terms. I noticed that both in Croatia and Bosnia, bus stops and small bus stations are either called AUTOBUSKA STANICA or AUTOBUSNO STAJALISTE. The 'C' in STANICA is pronounced as 's-k-a-w'.
If the 'C' has an accent mark on top, it is pronounced as 'c-h-a-w' (as in Bengali: chaw, chhaw, jaw..).
'J' is pronounced as 'y-a-w' (like in Duetsch).
The main bus station for a town or city is called AUTOBUSNI KOLODVOR.
The main train station is called ZELJEZNICKA STANICA (pronounced Zel-y-ez-ni-sk-a Stani-sk-a).
At least thats what I gathered. People living in Easter Europe, please correct me if I got it wrong.
Petrol is BENZIN. Bakery is called PEKARA.
As the bus travelled along into interior Bosnia, you could tell that Bosnia is indeed a poor and war-ravaged country. The signs of the decade long Bosnian conflict are abound. Saw quite a few mass graves with head-stones along the side of the highway.
We reached Mostar around 9:30 am. There are two bus stops in Mostar. One is right next to the main railway station, the other is about 15 minutes walk away through the center of the town.
I had arranged with the owner of the apartment where I was booked, to have me pick up from the bus station. Unfortunately, he was waiting at the main bus station.
After realizing the mistake, I took directions and started walking to the main bus station. I only had a rucksack (big one though) and a camera bag, so it was not too bad. In the middle, also exchanged some $ into Bosnian currency: BAM - Bosnian Convertible Mark. Even though they call it convertible, I don't think its convertible anywhere outside Bosnia.
I reached the main bus station and called the hotel, and the owner sent her son again to pick me up. I was impressed by their service and politeness. The apartment was only about 10 minutes walking distance from the bus and railway station.
It was called the Pansion Behar. 'Pansion' is what they call in the Bosniak language for these little apartments for rent, much like the 'Sobe' in Slovenia and Croatia.
The apartment was really good, with a single room, a kitchen with basic supplies, free soft drinks, some beer, a washer and dryer, and the bathroom.
The charge was Euro 30 for 1 night = 60 BAM.
Mostar, being located at the cross-roads of the current border among Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia bore the brunt of the war. There are a lot of old mosques in Mostar. Many building were in ruins after getting bombed. They are still trying to renovate and reconstruct the city. I could see many buildings pock-marked with large holes from shells and bullets. Even the mosques were not spared.
Ruins like these buildings are plenty.
See the bullet holes on the outside of the mosque. This is the Koski Mehmed Pasha mosque, built in 1617, now a historical site.
And on the outside of this building.
(To be continued)