Wrapping It Up

Ok my self imposed one week of doing nothing is over. I have yet to unpack, unpacking is always the least favorite thing to do when you get back from a trip. Also due to the fact that I basically wore the same few shirts and jeans for 11 weeks many of these items are going to be retired for good. Sadly my white USA soccer jersey, that didnt get much wear during the world cup, due to the USA speedy exit, it got some wear afterwards as I couldnt let it goto waste, it has a few unknown stains on it, so it too might be retired. No worries as with the poor performance of the USA team, I'm almost embarassed to wear it outside of a match. I will NOT be buying a 4 star Italian jersey whenever they come out as I am still digusted at the way the Italians played,and while they are the champions, and I went to 3 of their games, a fan I am NOT.

Just a few interesting overall stats that I sorta compiled on my trip

Total Countries Visited 22. In Order. England, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Norway

Total Cities Visited or at least drank a beer in. 43. London, Oxford, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Jurmala, Vilnius, Kanaus, Warsaw, Krakow, Essen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Mainz, Mannheim, Nuremberg, Kaiserslautern, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Luxembourg City, Barcelona, Prague, Salzburg, Budapest, Bratislava, Bucharest, Brasov, Constant, Varna, Sofia, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Pula, Rovinj, Ljubljana, Bled, Oslo

Different Currencies Handled. 16. British Pound, Euro, Estonian Kroon, Latvian Lat, Lithuanian Lita, Polish Zloty, Czech Kourna, Hungarian Forint, Slovakian Kouran, Romanian Leu, Bulgarian Lev, Serbian Dinar, Bosnian Marka, Croatian Kuna, Slovenian Tolar, Norwegian Krone

Cheapest Beer by far was in Bratislava at the 1 Slovak Pub. Homemade good beer for 18 SKK(currently 29 SKK to 1 USD), so it was about .60 cents. Most expensive Beer was in Oslo, where it was 60 NOK(currently 6.28NOK to 1 USD), making that beer cost $9.75, and it was only .4L(about 13.5 Oz).

Total Money spent.. well I didnt keep an IRS audit count, but it was about $4000 to $5000 for the lodging and transportation for the 11 weeks. I was able to keep an avg budget of about $400 per week. My World Cup tickets were paid before I left, and airfare back and forth over the pond was paid using Frequent Flier miles.

Total Beers drank. I dont even want to think about it, still letting my liver slowly recover!!!

Overall the trip was great, I did get a bit homesick in the last 2 weeks, and hurting my knee and hobbling around like an old man during the last week was no fun. Also towards the end dwindling bank account funds made things tough especially when I was in expensive countries like Norway and England. Overall I am addicted to the backpacing lifestyle where you have no schedules, no plans, you just wander like a rolling stone.... I will be coming back next year if plans work out and i will be hitting those far off countries that seemed out of reach to me, but now after doing the trip once, I realize nothing is really off limits, unless its Kosovo with landmines buried in the ground.

Pictures are being added to my Fotki site each day, I am about 75% done, so check some of those out. Also videos will be slowly added to my YouTube site, so check with out. In the next few weeks I am going to go thru my diary and try to give you a country by country recap of places, and I have a few other posts, so thanks for reading and if you stick around, more props to ya!!

Home Sweet Home

Those words have never been so good to say. I write this to you from my own computer in my own home with my cat fighting for chair space. The last 2 weeks of the trip I was feeling some bits of homesickness, but it didnt really get back till I got to London. I had a minor injury back in Riga, and by London my knee had swollen to the size of a grapefruit, with pain.. it made for walking difficult, i was moving slow.. VERY SLOW.. Now after spending a night in my own bed having crazy dreams any pain or difficulty i have in walking doesnt matter.. Anyway due to lack of good constant internet access while overseas I still have many more posts, tons more pictures and videos to post.. so stick around this blog is far from over..

The Ryanair Ripoff...

I am currently someone in Norway, i cant even say Oslo, cause it was a 1hr 40 minute bus ride to the airport. I am flying on Ryanair, the main English based discount airline for the 2nd time on this trip. Previously I went from Germany to Barcelona on them, and at that time realized the little scam they have. They offer tickets at really cheap prices, in fact I think my Germany ticket was about 40Euros roundtrip, in Germany you cant even go 3hrs on the Train for 40 Euros. But the airports they use are not connected to the main rail system, so you have to take these airport busses to the airports. Well as it turns out the airport busses cost about as much as the flights. Same case with this Oslo trip, the bus to the Norway airport was 140Kr, or about 24USD, once I get to London I will be in Stansted where its another 25US or so to get into central London. I know that Ryanair has to have some sort of deal with the bus companies to get a kickback from them..

I have totally enjoyed my time in Oslo, for near the end of the trip my Host was amazing, and I got to goto the Football match yesterday totally VIP. Sitting in seats on the 50yd line, with free beer and hotdogs. In fact you cant get beer at the stadiums here, but if you are VIP the beer flows and flows freely. In no other country do the words FREE BEER mean so much as Norway. Over the course of my time, the avg price of a beer at a bar was 9 or 10 USD. And that wasnt even for a full half liter, but for .4L. London is a great city, but honestly this time of year not looking forward to it. I have some crappy arrival and departure times and with the whole terror threat at the airport I know its going to be a tough ride home. But I will be home before weeks end, sleeping in my own bed and that sounds appealing in itself.. See you from London

still here.. but ready to be home

sorry for lack of posts, but been busy in Oslo.. went to a football game yesterday and the home team won, it was a great time.. now worried about london and trying to get my itinery detials and learn what i can and cant take on the plane.. sorry for short post, but i really really am ready to come home...

Black People invade Norway!!!!

Well i made it here to Oslo, my 22nd and last unique country. I will be flying to London on the 14th for a quick stopover before coming back to the USA. Saw the news yesterday and not exactly the best time to be flying from Heathrow back to the USA. Hopefully in a week things will have calmed down, or else I guess I will have to get on the plane basically butt nekkid to avoid extra security screening, especially with all the stamps in my passport from this trip. So far Oslo has been lovely, strange to think this city only have 550,000 people, less than Riga, but i am sure more people know where Oslo is than Riga..

As for the title of this post, within 2hrs of arrival last night, I saw more black people in Oslo than I honestly did in all of the last 4 weeks in Eastern Europe. I counted at least 8 folks from the guy at the airport cleaning the toilets, to folks walking on the street. I think combined in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania I might have seen a total of 8 folks. I guess the high standard of living draws peeps to Norway. And a high standard of living is needed as this is an expensive city. In fact its ranked this year as the Most Expensive City in the world, and I can attest to this fact after only 12 hours here. Dont believe the stuff about Moscow being the most expensive city, that survey was based on a business traveler and what sort of per diem he gets from his company. For a backpacker or other traveler dont come to Oslo unless you have a nice trust fund. thankfully my friend who I am staying with has a lovely apartment in center olso with a great kitchen that I will be using ALOT over the next few days. Also she has connections and managed to get free tickets for this big music festival on Saturday, some of the performers include Beck, so hopefully will get to see that and I belive that Nikkas husband, Justin Stanley is playing guitar with Becks band, so that should be nice to see..

Prices, ok this is no joke, the bank machine the smallest amount you can take out is 200Kr, and at 6 to the dollar, that is like 33 bucks. I am in the downtown tourist area for sure, but should a Greek Salad cost 20bucks.. should an omlette cost 15bucks, even subway seems high at 8bucks for a footlong sandwich. This is total sticker shock, fruit at the open market is expensive.. I have had my first beer in Norway last night at the apartment, but going out to buy one, I am sure its going to be the most expensive beer of the trip, probably clocking in around 8 to 10 bucks.. coming from Bratislava where I had a beer for 66 cents, this is the total other end of the spectrum. This is going to make England seem damn cheap. But the city is lovely and very walkable with lots of parks, green space, flowers. I have been snapping away pictures filing up the last of my memory card... Ok actually at a place with 30 minutes of free internet use, so let me make the most of it, as at the cafe it would have been 30 Kr, or about 5bucks for half an hour... Bring your wallet to Oslo for sure..

7 More Days..

Whoa just typed a short post and it disappeared. I guess free internet at the airport isnt the most reliable, so let me try again. \Yep only 7 more days before I head back to the USA. Only one more country left, which is Norway and I am at the Riga airport right now about to head off to Oslo. Norway is crazy expensive so not the best choice for the last country on your trip, but thankfully I have a free place to stay and I am bringing as much duty free alchie as I can carry from Riga. Last night I was planning on staying in, but all of a sudden folks showed up in the common room, beer was served, stories of other travels told and then we possed up and headed off to the bars. Went to a place called Casablanca where I had never been. Cool joint with a live band in the basement, small stage but managed to cram 8 people up on there. 2 sax players, 1 trombone, keyboards, drummer, bass, guitar and DJ. Only caught about 30 minutes of the set, but its always nice to hear live music. Then it turned into a Dance party and they played some good stuff, Mikey Jackson, Stevie Wonder.. I asked for Prince, but no luck.. i guess I would have had to go back to my favorite strip club under the Hostel for Prince.. ALright dont want to stay on here too long, gotta go raid the duty free store of Vodka.. See u from Oslo.

Riga Redux

Ok so back in Riga, Latvia. I must say its strange to be in a city for a 2nd time on this trip, but due to the cheap flights and just overall beauty of Riga, it was an easy choice to spend a few days here. Didnt post yesterday as it was a long day, I went to Jurmala, which is a beach town about 30 minutes away, I must say the beach was very nice and despite the not exactly burning up temps people were out. It is a SAND beach, something I was longing for in Croatia and never found. The Baltic sea was actually not too cold, but the only problem with going in to swim is that the water is very shallow until far far out, so I only soaked my feet in. After that met a few cool British dudes and their Latvian tour guide, and went to the Water Park. I must say I felt like a 12 year old kid again, going on water slides, it was a total fun time. Didnt get back to Riga until late and then went out to party. Riga is really a great party city, while I feel it has changed a bit in the 2 months since I have been here, regardless still a good time can be had. During the week, more of the lovely local ladies are out, as they avoid the Brit stag parties on the weekend, yet in August it seems that the street pimps are being alot more aggressive about trying to get you into the strip clubs and stuff. Also the locals seem a bit restless as 2 girls were fighting over who knows what, maybe someone bumped each other. I gotta give the Latvian girls credit, or they watch alot of black films, as one girl went straight for the hair pull and grabbed on tight. Yet unlike Black girls, they dont have weaves here, so no hair was pulled out and thrown on the ground.

Tomorrow I am off to Olso, Norway, the last unique country on my trip and it will be number 22. Things are winding down, less than 10 days left before I arrive back in the states. While in many ways I am ready to come home, I do love this backpacking just wandering like a rolling stone lifestyle.

Another All Nighter!!

Ok made it to Berlin, as nice as the ICE trains are, it sucks when they are late, and my train from Munich was about 40 minutes late. Since it got in a little before Midnight and my flight tomorrow to Riga, Latvia is at 7am, there was only one decent option.. F the Hostel and pull and all nighter. I couldnt think of a better city then Berlin. Why I have neglected this city amazes me. Right now I am at a place called HOE, to call it a bar or club would be wrong, its more like an experience. Its a 5 level building with each floor a different type of Vibe. Right now I am on the top floor on a damn iMAC using free internet while other people smoke up and get high at the coffee shope. On the 3rd floor is an art gallery with some pretty cool stuff, on the 4th floor a red tinted lounge, I would have hung there but it was all guys.. On the 2nd floor is a pretty decent sized bar-club with music.. and to top it off outside like all german places there is sand, so they probablz call that the beach... ok on my first becks, going to hang till at least 4am, not sure what time the sun comes up but i would like to get a few picture of the berlin wall and some other sights, but who knows how i will feel then... more from Riga tomorrow, as I will be at my favorite hostel with free internet, maybe even a few pics of the recent time..

Kidnapped!!!!!

Ok.. well that is a dramatic title, it should be more like Stowaway. Sorry I havent posted the last few days, but I found 2 cool american girls who were driving in a big typical american SUV and I became a stowaway. We were staying at a house in croatia, in Zagreb up in the hills/mountains, and they didnt have internet access there. But they did have their own working farm, complete with Chickens whose eggs we ate each morning, remind me to get tested for bird flu when I get back, apple tree, grape vines which produced a cheap but deadly white wine, also fresh strawberry and grape jam. Overall it was a great 2 days, getting out of the Hostel lifesytle and to see how Croatian people live. So while I didnt enjoy Pula, Croatia much at all, when given the chance to spend a few days speaking english, telling all my stories from this trip and past trips and seeing how the real Croatian people lives, I jumped at the chance and stowedaway in the backseat of the Jeep for a few days..

Right now spending a few hours in Munich, Germany, its been alot of travel over the past few days. A 7hr trip from Zagreb to Salzburg, Austria which has the honor of being the first of a few repeat cities. Got to Salzburg last night late at night and the hostel I wanted to stay at reception was closed, found an internet cafe and looked up another one with 24hr reception and managed to get a dorm bed there. It was raining, in fact for the 3 days in a row, and now 4th country it rained yesterday, after pretty much great weather all summer this has been a downer. It rained in Croatia, it rained in Slovenia, then Austria and even today in Munich for a bit it rained. So in my 3hrs here in Munich went to the BeerGarden and had some bratwrust, sauerkraut and a liter of Hofbrauhaus beer.. now walking around and finally found cheap internet, 1.20Euros for 1Hr.. very good price, but I have a train to catch in 30 minutes, so I wont even be on for an hour. Last night it cost me freaking 2.20euros for 10 minutes just enough time to find a hostel to sleep in. WHile its great to be back in Western Europe, no more passport checks, back to 1 currency the Euro, at the same time the prices are steep and the Euros just disappear from the wallet.

Alright going to be on a 6hr train ride, but it will be the ICE, which is probably better than coach class on a US Airline. Going to Berlin and then have an early ass 7am flight to Riga, Latvia.. Riga will be the 2nd city that I have a return visit to, its just a 2 day drinking pitstop on the way to Oslo, where I will spent 4 days.. and then the trip is over.. in someways I am definately ready to come home, but in otherways if I had the money I would definately stay here another month and try to hit the few countries that I missed.. But watch out Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Iceland, Greece as DrinkingAcrossEurope the 2007 edition will hit you and hopefully hit you hard... Talk to you from Lativa!!!

I am alive..

i know no posts for a few days over the weekend, but i am alive.. trying to find a room right now as its late and raining.. more later

Blackjack....

Yep.. today currently in Slovenia, in fact in Ljubljana and this is country 21. My initial goal was 20 countries and now I managed to pass that, and in the end will be adding one more Norway to the list. The countries that I have missed, watch out as I am addicted to the backpacking lifestyle. Next year the countries that I have not hit, watch out as I am coming to drink your beer.

Ok Pula, Croatia was a total bust, but Ljubljana is amazing, I wish I had spent the last 2 days here. Pula was not really a backpackers destination, as it was more families and really a car city. Where the hostel was you had to take the bus into town and the bus stopped running at about 11pm, and taxis were hard to find and like everything else expensive. I basically drank beer at the hostel, on the beach looking at the stars each night.. yeah I know sounds tough, as it totally could have been worse, I could have been bored and stranded in Bucharest, the sheete-whole that is was and will be for years.

So far it was raining all day in Ljubljana(pronounced LOO'Be'yanah). Yet on arrival I didnt have culture shock, as I had a reservation, a Map, and it said it was only 10 minute away. I missed the first turn off, but doubled back and found the place. Very chariming Hostel, with free Internet(YAY), sadly only 1 bathroom, so I must make sure to drain the snake before I come home from partying tonight. I have just learned the places dont really get going till 1am almost, so its 10pm and probablz for a beer and power nap.. Catch ya later

I am a Drama Queen

No way around it, I am a big time Drama King-Queen whatever. In the end naturally things turn out well, why I was so frazzled yesterday could have been sheer exhaustion. Anyway I have to give the city of Rovinj a chance, as when I was walking around waiting on my bus, I realized it was very beautiful. Also overrun by tourists, cars in the parking lot from every country including some from Croatia, but mostly from other places. this is a vacation spot for families, not really for backpackers. I do feel a bit out of place here, and plan to escape to Slovenia tomorrow depending on train schedules.

Pula itself is also overrun with tourists, yet the Hostel is cool. Its located right on the water, in a rather secluted bay, while it is a good 300m from the main road and at nighttime that walk can be trecherous its all good. The water is about the cleanest water I have seen in a while, U can easily see down to 7 or 8 feet. Its not too cold either. Today has been a bad weather rainy and cloudy day, so the beach idea is wiped out. The other beach problem is no sand, there is no sand here in almost all of Croatia, its rocky beaches, not comfortable at all on your feet, a pair of Acqa Socks is essential and I dont have any, so it will be just watching the water, dont plan on going in and twisting an ankle or something.. No idea why this side of the Adratic Sea doesnt have sandy beaches, as the Italian side definately does.

Interesting conversation once I got settled, being the only american here, lots of questions about NYC and america. it was a group of Croats, Slovenians, Germans, Greeks, French, the usual mix of people. One Croat was getting on my nerves telling me how there are 200,000 gangster in NYC, and how he wouldnt be able to walk thru the bronx without being killed. I guess watching too many of those hollywood movies, I tried to talk to him, but when he started going on lumping all Americans into the policies of G. W and our Govt, it was time for me to move on, it was a helpless case..

Well I am normal for today, i have alot of travel coming up between now and the 8th when I have to be in Berlin for a flight, so we might have a few more days of arrival shock and drama queen, so stay tuned and wish me luck

Ayan needs your support and thoughts

no one ever said travel was easy, but today has been simply horrible.. after the overnight bus 8hrs from Sarajevo to Zagreb was not ideal, i arrived fairly refreshed and happy. Two other americans who i had been seeing on and off since Belgrade were on the bus, so we walked around and had coffee in the morning.. then I took the 130pm bus to Pula, all along it was going well, the view was just fablous passing thru little towns on the adratic coast, going up and down in the mountains.. well it all went down hill when at the last bus stop I asked, is this Pula.. and the bus driver laughed and was like hahaha Pula was 2 stops ago.. U are in Rovinj, now I am sure Rovinj is a nice town, and it has to be since its damn packed..I even asked about a private room, or some sort of accomidation here and it was all full up... anyway so the bus back to Pula is not for another 3hrs at 10pm, once I get to Pula, no idea if the youth hostel will still have rooms available.. i am tired, hungry, been in same clothes for about 24hrs and if it wasnt for finding this internet cafe i was about to sit in the town square and have a good cry... i guess now i will have some food and definately some beer and hope when I get to Pula, if they freaking tell me I am in Pula that I will be able to get a bed.. I hope Pula and the roman ruins rock... I go thru ups and downs all the time when I am traveling, and mostly on arrival I have shock about the new surrounding and stuff.. but i think i just have been on a bus too damn long in the last 24hrs.. also worrying about wasting every extra penny doesnt help.. mom get back from montreal and save your son..

Doesn't feel like a Million..

the title refers to the number of people here in Zagreb, definatly not my bank account, which as I near the end of the trip is getting closer to Zero, too close in fact.. so if you havent bought me a beer or donated and were thinking of doing so, this would be a perfect time. I have a flight back to NYC on the 17th of August, and I would prefer to avoid sleeping in parks or bus stations until then, so while I dont want to get down and beg, or worse call out folks who have been reading everyday and not donated.. but the choice between the street and calling folks out, I will be hollering.. ok enough about the costs of traveling, how about the stress..

The bus ride overnight was 8Hrs, honestly 6 of that was spend weaving thru side streets and down residential streets, dirt roads and what not in Bosnia to get to the Border. Once across the Border into Croatia, we were on a nice smooth paved 2 lane highway and it was a breeze. I guess this is the difference when countries receive tourists dollars. Zagreb is a very nice city, I tried to do the city walk tour as given out by the tourist office, but there is so much construction going on here, it was tough to see everything.. Had lunch at a straight up Croatian place, the little mama lady was cooking and no english menus, so it was point and nod.. The first pot she opened up didnt look too good, so I was hoping what was behind door nubmer 2 was better, it was, an awesome beef stew with potatoes and fresh soft bread.. All for 20Kn(about 6 bucks, its 5.6KN to the dollar), definately it hit the spot.. havent had my first beer yet, but I am rushing off for another 6hr bus ride to Pula..Pula is on the water, when I get there I am going to want to jump in, after being on buses for some 14hrs in the last 24hrs... ok I am tough, I am off.. sorry for short post, but i need to get my bag from luggage storage and buy a ticket..

Inside the Mind of Ayan...

Its a scary place to be, inside my mind that is. First off I am leaving Sarajevo and its been a really lovely city, I know you would all like to see pictures, but as is the case with alot of places Internet access is iffy at best, so its like log on, post and move on, no time to loiter. Hopefully I'll get to another cool Hostel with a computer or access. I am about to get on a nightbus to Zagreb, Croatia then spend the day there before moving on to Pula croatia on the coast.

Ok this is some of my thoughts as I wrote them down on paper from Friday the 29th while in Belgrade, Serbia.. just for exchange purposed 66DIN to the Dollar
6pm.. at Insomnia Cafe, located on Strahibjica Bana which is a street with 20 something bars, this place looks very nice and trendy with a full english menu. The interior is fancy, comfy couches outside on the street and cool jazz playing, good place for a happy hour beer. the Pivo is the MB brand, and at 150DIN a little pricy for this town, but still cheap in the overall realm of things. Ok just went inside and only 1 toilet so that is a bit of a drawback. Watching the crazy drivers park any and everywhere they want, these people honestly must not need a license or have to pass a test to drive.
6:25pm. talk to the girls next to me, they speak good english YEAH. Olja is the name of one of them and she tells me a bit about Serbia and the people, good conversation. Typically offer to buy them a drink, beer or otherwise but as seems to be the case here in eastern europe its not done, and they politely refuse. Ok lets ask for the number.. She gives me the cell phone number and says, yeah sure I'll hang at the barge parties tonight, even tho she says at age 25, her best party days are behind her..
7pm. leave after 3 beers and walk back to the Hostel, we will see if this pans out tonight.
8pm.. Making steak and potatoes for dinner at the Hostel, damn this hits the spot, offer up extra food to roomates, they enjoy. I should have cooked more often on this trip as it gives me a feeling of being back home, very cool.
10:45pm Showered and ready to hit the town for my last nights, its friday night should be a good night. Text Olja simple message and decide to hang out at the bar around the corner Bar Central for a bit
11pm. Arrive at Bar Central.. this is the only bar i have been to that has reserved bar stools, but I managed to find a seat and order my beer. This is the LAV beer, cost is 120DIN, good price for a place this swanky and nice. The music is typical american fare, the bar is nicely decorated I like this place.
11:20pm Oh yeah my theme song from europe, "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclair comes on, I swear I have heard this in every of the 17 countries so far, without a doubt. Gosh the glasses at the bar break easily, the bartender lights taps and it broken glass everywhere..
11:35pm.. Wow 2 total birds just walk in, dressed to the 9's and sit down. Interesting to see what they order. Gosh this place will make you feel like an old man as one is not looking even 18 years old. Ok now the 3rd miniskirted girl comes and joins them, this should be interesting. Yet these must be good girls as they are wearing catholic crosses around their neck..yeah right...
11:42pm.. Ok now some boy shows up for the 3 girls, typical double cheek kisses are exchanged. Gosh what a bad buzz cut this guy has, I guess male hair salons have not made it to Serbia yet.. Ok drinks up, looks like champagne and cranberry juice?? and then something red in a tumbler glass for the other girl..
11:48pm Ok just ordered my 3rd beer, and I havent been to bathroom yet, this is not a good sign knowing your bladder, you are going to end up having to rush somewhere to pee, lets go to bathroom now and piss a pint out.
11:52pm Ok last beer is here, this is an Lasko, guess they ran out of the other one, damn I am drinking this place dry. Hmm the girls are looking tasty and the miniskirt is so mini you can see who goes commando and who likes vicki secrets, she goes for the match red undies with the red dress, nice fashion choice.
12:03am No idea what song is playing but its a tight soul/house music groove
12:05... Ok another bathroom trip, the seal is broken now its going to be constant trips
12:20.. time to leave and hit the barges, no SMS message back from Olja yet, I guess being stood up, oh well
12:25am waiting on tram, it does run this late???
12:35am.. ok no tram, wait music coming from the fortress, maybe I'll stay close to the hostel tonight..
12:37am.. wow that was easy, just follow the people into the park and found one of the underground bars in the park. This one is called Basement, very nice right next to the tennis courts. too bad the music is crap, wonder where the bathroom is... Ok suppose to be some celebrity DJ playing tonight Marko Nastic, but I am not impressed, maybe I will goto barges.
12:50am Got a cab, hopefully he knows where I want to go and doesnt rip me off..
1:10am hey text message, ok its the message of being stood up, she was sleeping and didnt hear the phone, now her friends are gone and she is staying in, oh well win some lose some, there is still beer to be consumed
1:45am At the Exile Barge on the Sava river. I dont like this place, didnt like it the night before, just went to pay for my beer with a 1000DIN note and they look at me like its a gold brick, its 10 freakin euros, what do you mean you dont have change??? what kind of bar is this. The music is so so, the LAV was 150DIN, standard price I guess, alright find some change... Gosh this place is pretty laid back, dudes just smoking weed out in the open.. ok bathroom time.. Damn how can I place only have 2 bathroom and one of them has 2 people in there doing whatever.. ok they are done with their sex act, damn that girl is staff here, what a slut.. let goto the next barge as it looks like they are letting people in...
1:55am back at Freestlyer for the 3rd time in 4 nights, at least the music is decent, I dont like the beer choices with no local beers, Becks is 180DIN.
2:20am People keep on throwing shit in the river?? Why??? Its already the dirtiest river in europe probably try to keep it clean...
2:35am Ok now the staff guy just emptied an ashtray into the river, does anyone care??I am not saying I am mr. greenpeace cause I have peed in all sorts of places, but damn its your country keep the river clean. Dont anyone tell me America is the worst pollutor in the world, its these Serbians..
2:48am Girls asks me, what they hell are you writing down all the time, I explain to her, I wouldnt remember all these lovely thoughts if not. Nice girl, speaks english, whoa she has 3 kids and is out on a Friday night??? what gives?? ahh divorced, doesnt get child support, i wonder who is at home taking care of the kids..
3:10am Ok getting less crowded, now I can move around freely without worrying about starting a riot by stepping on somesones shoes...

Hey gotta pause here as I need to eat and internet time is running out.. to be continued till 5am...

Sarajevo Comes alive..

Today was going to be the post, inside Ayan's mind, which I thought would be funny, but last night was a fun night here in Sarajevo so I thought I would post a few observations about it. Like other towns on Saturday in the daytime, it was sleepy here in Sarajevo, but when the sun goes down the people come out and the party starts. Sadly I couldnt get into the party mood as I was still dead tired from the all nighter and then straight to the bus ride from Belgrade. I had to quit at 2am, despite trying to IV myself with 3 straight Red Bulls.. First off Sarajevo Women are probably the best dressed I have seen yet in Europe, they are all dressed to the 9's for sure, but more importantly they have nice, in fact super nice shoes. I have learned you can tell over here what class girls are from the types of shoes they wear, and definately was around the higher class last night. Went to 2 very popular places, the City Pub, and Central Cafe, Central Cafe might be a cafe by day, but at night its an all out bar. City Pub was more like a normal bar but with good music, heard from TTD and others. Funny as fly as the Sarajevo women are, the men arent up to their standards, I swear there must be no male hair salons here, cause everyone has the same buzz/crew cut for their hair. I guess its better than the NJ Mullet action, but still its not the most flattering. The French and Italian men have these Bosnian men beat, and that really isnt too good of a thing

Another strange thing here in Bosnia is that you cant order drinks directly from the bartender, at least when I do i get bad stares and while he will give me the drink, I have to pay a waiter. I would go by their rules but with the slow service and not speaking the language to shout out at the waiter, I just goto the bar and deal with the wrath that way. The people out at the bars are young, probably too young for the bar, but they are there smoking away and drinking tonics and soft drinks. Makes it hard to try to hit on women, as anyone over 25 already has kids, but they are still out on saturday nights and still looking fly.

This city is just the right size, after coming from 2 million population of Belgrade. We are set in a valley that is lush green, with tons of houses up in the hills, this makes malibu or the hollywood hills look tiny in terms of number of houses but naturally those Cali houses are bigger and more expensive.. Had some amazing food here, so Curtis dont worry no McDonalds here, had a Cevapi, basically a plate of grilled sausage with bread and onions. It was amazing and that plus a beer was only 4 KM, or about 3 USD. This makes those donor kebabs seem like total crap, more Cevapi!! The trams are a bit expensive here with a ride being 1.60Km or about 1USD, still cheap, but coming from belgrade where it was a few cents, this is more expensive. But I still buy the tickets, all the trams over in europe are on the honor system and you get on and are expected to validate your ticket. I have been a very good boy, with the exception of a night bus in Budapest. Its a good thing cause today the inspectors were on the tram. The only city with a protected public transport is BUcharest where you need to go thru a turnstyle, even in german its on the honor system and assume you punch your ticket.

As for a history lesson I went to the Franz Fernindad plaque where the arch duke was shot and killed back in 1914 that eventually led to the start of World War I.. are we at World War 3 yet?? I read something about a bunch of kids dying in an isreali attack, ahh better i guess not to read the news... Alright at a cool internet cafe, not the cheapest, but they have Skype and IM, and since 2morrow I have tons of time to kill before my night bus to Zagreb, Croatia I will be able to do my inside my head post and maybe even a few pictures. Its not the cheapest place, but for a good computer with normal keyboard its worth it.

Arrival Shock...

Ok here in Sarajevo and todays arrival shock could have been the worst. I stayed out all night last night till 5am and partied figuring I would just sleep on the bus, it worked out fine, as I thought I was going to take an 8am bus, but there was a 6:15am bus that was leaving, so I got there just in time and got my seat. For the first 3 hours slept peacefully, then it was the border crossing, this was actually one of the easier ones, only taking a total of 30 minutes to get out of Serbia and then seperate border guards to let you into Bosnia. In Bosnia the ride was lovely, when I could keep my eyes open, it was lush green mountains and valleys, the bus went thru a few mountain in tunnels and even did one harrowing mountain climb that reminded me of the tour de france.. speaking of which, damn how damanged is cycling as a sport, you thought baseball was bad with the roids, cycling is just filthy dirty... Anyway the ride was great, went thru some small bosnian towns, and eventually got to Sarajevo, now upon arrival I asked the only english speaking person on the bus, an Aussie if this was the last stop, he was like yeah.. To call where we were a bus station was being nice, it was more like a dust bowl, with a roof and a few buildings. It was total arrival shock, no tourist information office, no money exchange, but naturally lots of shady cab drivers waiting to take you..

I fended off the cab drivers, it was burning hot and I was wearing my same jeans from the night before, threw the backpack on and started off walking.. After about 1km, I saw to the right something to resembled civilazation, found both a bank machine and internet, used the internet to check location of Hostel and in talking to girl at Internet Cafe realized the bus station we were in was in New Saraejo, everything else is in old.. it was so far so I had to take a taxi, I asked how much it would be and she was like oh about 8 USD, I was like damn.. my ticket for a 7hr trip from Belgrade was only 20USD, my accomidations for the night is going to be 12USD, and the damn taxi is 7 freakin bucks.. I asked if there was anyway to take the bus/tram and they seemed to explain in bad english, no you would have to transfer too much..

Thought of other ways of getting to the old town, and even after seeing a Police car, figured if I got arrested I could get a free ride to jail, maybe even a meal, shower, or whatever.. thought about what it would take to get arrested but not deported, figured if I pulled out my dick and peeded on a statue that might do it, and I did have to got the bathroom, but then again this is europe and after going to the beaches and seeing what some people are wearing, public nudity might not be enough to get arrested.. So just dealt with the damn budget busting cab ride and took it all the way across town..

Finally at the main old town square and walked around in a circle for apparently no reason, as the tourist office that books hostels was like 10 feet away in the direction I did not look. Their website was really nice and slick, but this was basically an office where they book you in other hostels, not a hostel itself. anyway handed over my last 20 Euro note and paid for 2 nights, then was told its 5 minutes by foot.. everything in europe is 5 minutes away, its like people in LA who say oh it only takes 30 minutes with no traffic, but when the hell is there no traffic in LA??? So after a hike up the steepest steps ever and down what looked like abondonded and bomed out building, came to a shack that serves as my hostel, at least I have a key and the door locks, so some decent security, but I think I should be worried more about stray animals up in the hills than about robbers.

I was sweated out like a pig, and after the shower and change of clothes I felt human, then the weather changes and the afternoon thunderstorm rolls in.. I have actually learned to expect this of any city located in a valley, and this is the same, the valley is lovely but you pay the price with bad weather in the middle of the day.. ran inside to eat Pizza.. yeah I know Curt eat the locals.. but after not having eating in over 15hrs and being on a 7hr bus ride I was in no mood for mystery meat.. Then walked about the town a bit and felt more human..

Doesnt look like its going to be a big social town on a saturday night, but then again Bratislava was sleepy by daytime and came alive at night. Prices are about the same as the last 3 countries I have been, so that is good considering my dwindling bank account.. shout out to CMG who even without pictures left a very generous donation... you should have your pictures now, after all this anticpation I know they can only disappoint, so sorry about that..

One thing I have noticed is this is the most muslim, almost downright turkish country I have been to. Many turkish mosques, turkish music, more damn donar kebabs, I swear I never want another kebab in my life.. Also seen alot of people with headscarfs and vails, first time in this region for me. Not sure where I am going to next, but probably to Croatia, but not the beaches, too expensive for me, but a stop over in the big city of Zagreb. So far after the arrival shock, its been decent, we will see what the night has to offer... upcoming assuming I have decent internet access a few good posts, stay tuned...

the NSFW Post.. in demand and its here now..

OK F it.. no password.. if you cant see them now, something is wrong with your machine.. just goto my main album page, last photo album.. i hope fotki doesnt cancel my account..

EDIT.. as of 205pm EST the album is fixed.. sorry my bad, i made it private and you have to be a fotki member to view them.. now its changed so any perv out there can see.. after all this anticipation, i hope you enjoy them... password is name of this website.. EDIT again.. its 530am here, just in from another drunken night.. password is name of website with no dot com.. so its D R I N K I N G A C R O S S E U R O P E if that doesnt work for you CMG, your playa card is going to be revoked!!!!!

Ok for all the people specifically CMG who have been bugging me, it took forever, the upload speed here is slow, but the pictures are up 15 of them. It should have been more, but I didnt want to be arrested as a dirty perv in Bulgaria. The last thing I need is a woman going to the police saying "uhhhh there was a guy taking pictures of me topless.." "well what did he look like.." "oh he was black and skinny.." "yeah we have seen him around town, we'll find him ma'am no problem.." I guess next year I'll be more bold..

These are NSFW, if you are looking at them at work and get fired, dont blame me, but since I dont have a job when I get back to the states, I guess it might be good, I can take your job.. oh yeah the password on Fotki is just the name is this blog, you shuold be able to figure it out.. The NSFW pictures

Enjoy and remember good porn isnt free, so if you want click on the Buy Ayan a Beer button and help out the cause!!!

Giving Props Where Props are Due!!!

Spent yesterday getting a good walking tour of Belgrade. When I get home I am definately going to need a foot massage or two for sure as these dogs have walked a long time. One of the best museums I have been to was the one to honor Nikola Tesla. Now I almost dont want to call myself an Engineer, despite laboring for 5 years to get a piece of paper saying I have a degree. In school we learned that some laws and units are named after people, Volt, Ampere, etc. I knew of Tesla's name but honestly had no idea to scope of his work. The fact that I am typing this and you are reading this, while he did not invent the computer, nor did he have the idea for the Internet before Al Gore, the work that Tesla did at the turn of the century simply changed the face of society. For a good background on him check out his Wikipedia entry here Nikola Tesla

Basically to give you a rundown, he has patents for modern AC electric current, power distribution, AC motors, Radio Transmission and even the basis for remote controls. So just think about all those things you do in your life from the time you wake up, and basically Tesla's work helps it. From taking that first piss in the morning and being able to flush the toilet and get running water to brush your teeth, that is due to the fact pumping stations have motors.. And trust me after pissing in some holes in the ground here they call bathrooms, I respect the ability to flush. From turning on your TV with the remote control, those are high frequency waves shooting across the room. Starting up your car, that is a motor.. Anyway the depth of his work was amazing, and like most genius he was a bit crazy, or you can say eccentric. And for all that he only got the 100 Dinar Note(worth about a buck fifty)

Later in the day, I did something that might keep me in Belgrade longer than I should.. I bought a book, in English.. The Day of the Jackel, went to the city park/lake/beach and read it. While the lake here is nice, the beach itself is made of tiny rocks, so not comfortable to lay out on, there are some lounge chairs on one side, and people were going in the water. I might go back there today and just chill out.. So far 5 chapters done in the book, probably the best $1 I have spent here, as now on those 7hr bus rides, I have something to take my mind off of things, other than worrying if there will be street signs in the next city I arrive in. Naturally had a few beers, there is a beer called Jelen Pivo here, that has the logo of a dear head, very good stuff and naturally cheap.

In taking the bus across town to the beach you see some sights that just make you in awe. On the main avenue, the same avenue the US Embassy is on, there are about 4 building that are totally bombed out. The structure of the building is still standing but there are bomb/rocket holes. These are from the 1999 NATO/USA Bombing of Belgrade, its almost like instead of tearing the building down they are leaving them up for a F U, we are still here despite your efforts. It was a really striking sight, I have never been to a true war zone, but just seeing these buildings I cant imagine what Baghdad or anywhere in the middle east looks like now.. When you see on TV the pictures of a building in rubble after being hit by a 2000lb USA bomb, it is one thing, when you see it in person it is surely another thing..


Last night was a sort of chill night, instead of heading to the barges for raging parties, we went to a small bar near the Hostel with a few people and they were playing live music. Nothing to write home about but a simple 5 piece cover band, fronted by a women singing. It was nice for a change from the eurotrash Techno music to actually hear something live. Tried then to goto one of these famous Underground bars I read about in the NY Times piece a year ago, but nothing was open, summer is really not the best time here to party. Its hot and locals manage to get away to the coast so while the town isnt deserted like NYC, it surely is more empty.

I am staying one more night here, things are cheap and at this point of my budget, cheap is good. I am thinking of traveling with some other american folks to Sarajevo, Bosnia. If so that would be one more country visited, if not then I'll be off to Zagreb, Croatia and then Slovenia. Trip is almost coming to an end, i just counted to days and while I have been telling people its a 10 week trip, in reality it will be 77 days in the end, so 11 weeks.. Have a good weekend everyone

Hit the button... no not that button!!!!

Well thankfully last night at 4am when I hit the wrong button, I was not in a bunker in North Korea and starting a war, it was just the night tram. But lets start at the beginning of the day. It was hot again in Belgrade, after my first day of wandering around in the heat, yesterday I decided to chill out at the hostel for most of the day. I did take a 2hr walk around the fortress near where we are staying and it was a good walk, including time at the Belgrade War/MIlitary Museum. But it was about 34 degrees, so I lasted only 2hrs before running back inside. Thankfully the hostel has AC, one of the first and few ones I have been in that has AC. It also has a huge mp3 collection, huge DVD and Video CD collection, so sitting around drinking beer and watching the best of South Park episodes is not a bad way to waste time, with a group that includes Aussies, another American from NYC, Dutch, French girls who have walked from Sarajevo to here, Italians who cooked spaghetti alla carabonara, and what not. Definately one of the better hostels in terms of staff and fun crowd, I am already done with my 2 nights I booked in advance and with the cheap prices here I might stay another 2 nights.

The Belgrade War Museum was eye opening, basically this region of the world has been constantly at war for 4000 years and has been conquered by EVERYONE. Currently the people are very happy that they are their own country, even recently kicking off Montengero into their own country. I was not suppose to take pictures, but since I was the only person there I did and some are really cool showing weapons from all the way back to now. I now have a better understanding of the city, the nation and how much conflict it has endured over the years. The fortress is very cool, its is a lush park and just walking around you find things you didnt know where there including a Cinema Cafe that shows movies and films on a big screen with a simply amazing view of the city from up high. Managed to have an afternoon beer there. Also food-wise yesterday was good, between the Italian guy here cooking everyone a meal, and also going out to buy basically a heart attack on a plate, it was ham, pork and cheese melted inside of a crusty bread bun, delicious for sure. Hopefully I will put back the belt size I have lost since traveling around here..

Nighttime was the righttime, at first it looked like it was going to be another missed night. Tuesday night we went out in a posse of 9, and the first place we went to was empty, only stayed 1 round. Then walked over to another of the barges parked on the Saba river where all the fun is, it was starting to get crowded about 1am, and some of the people were having fun.. I guess I was in a cranky mood, cause when I ordered a beer and payed with a 1000 DINER note(about 15 USD), they told me they didnt have change and wanted to charge me more for the beer since they were short, finally they got the extra change, but again the principal of that pissed me off. I couldnt imagine going out in the city and paying with a 20 only to be told sorry you drink will cost twice as much cause we dont have change.. Around 1:30am I decided to leave on my own to search out some places I had written down, well I struck out, walking all the way across the old bridge to the city only to find all the places closed.. In the summer Belgrade nightlife is very hit or miss, alot of people are on vacation and away, so places that are rocking in the fall/winter are vacent and close up. So last night knowing what I knew, after we struck out the first time and it was pushing 1am, the posse had dwindled in size and I just wanted to goto the Sava barges. Took a cab over there and thankfully met a cool Serbian guy, at first I was reclultant to go with him, but the place was playing good hip-hop and it was packed they werent letting anyone in. He managed to talk to the staff and got our posse of 6 in. AN hour later, when I was getting into my groove listening to Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, Tribe, and assorted Hip-Hop, the other 5 wanted to leave well I knew my lesson, when you find something good stuck with it.. So I stuck with it till closing time at 4am. Definately had fun, and the local guy has my email, so maybe he will contact me and let me know where the good party is, cause you simply cant trust the guides or internet sites, everything changes on a daily basis and having a local is the most helpful.

Trying to figure out my next destination, I really do want to goto Croatia, but with the prices here so good and already after 7 days in Varna, I am the 3 shades darker that I wanted I might just hit Zagreb for a day, but hostel availabilty is tough and then head to Slovenia. My italian friend is away and having problem with his dads health and in Silicy, so he might not be able to meet me in Trieste which is tough as I wanted to see him after 2 years, but naturally his family is more important than just having a coffee and drink with me.. But if Belgrade heats up on Thursday night, I really have no reason to leave as I am at a cool hostel and the cheap prices is helping my budget, as I am dreading just the 1 day in Germany, and while in Oslo I have a place to stay, knowing a beer at a pub is 9 bucks versus the 2 or 3 bucks here, the longer here is better. Alright enjoy your day, I got in at 4:30am and its 9am, so its back to sleep for me...

Oh yeah as for the button story, so after leaving the club/barge I knew I could walk home, but I saw the trams running on the bridge so I went to the tram stop. After about 4 empty ones passed by without stopping I asked the guys at the stop what the deal was, they said the main depot was close and the trams were just leaving to goto their first stop to start their routes later on. I asked if anything was running and they were like its hit or miss.. so as I start to walk off to go over the bridge the tram stops, we all pile on. Now this was not the number 11 that would have dropped me off right in front of my hostel, but this was the number 7. I asked where it went and they said well for me, just cross the river and then get off.. So it crosses the river and I am standing at the door waiting for it to make a stop, I guess since only 5 of us were on it, the driver wasnt stopping unless it was requested.. so I asked the guys how to get off, they said push the button, well in most other cities pushing the red button is to ask for a stop. So I push the red button the guys scream no not that button the black button well its too late, turns out the red is the emergency stop button, the tram screeches to a stop, the lights go out, and then the door opens.. I am like oh damn I broke it, but thankfully after I stumble off, the tram keeps on going.. So its not broke and I have learned my lesson...