Observations and thoughts

In all of my years traveling I've stumbled across countless people who rave endlessly about Asia. They all claim they fell for Bangkok the second they got out of the airport. I've met others that use Bangkok as their home base for every trip to Asia, some who have visited over eight times throughout the years. Most people that have been to Asia fall hard for this continent, they're excited about the people, the cities, the experiences and the food. 

So far that is not me. I did not fall hard for Bangkok, in fact some of my first thoughts were "oh my gosh, I'm not an Asia person. Why am I here?" Bangkok is terrifying. The streets are five, six or seven lanes wide with no cross walks. The taxi drivers sometimes will refuse to turn on the meter, or won't give you a ride if you're trying to go somewhere they don't want to go. They jack up the prices for westerners and try to get you to buy everything in site. The alphabet is insane, and even after a semester of Thai I still have zero understanding of a single letter. I previously thought that I would take every weekend to travel, I pictured myself having short vacations to the islands of Thailand or to the caves of Vietnam. I can guarantee that will not be happening anytime soon, it's enough of an adventure stepping out the front door. So no, right now I am not an Asia person, I have not fallen hard for this continent. But that does not mean that I won't change, and it in no way means that I'm not enjoying myself. This city is so far outside of my comfort zone that I really can't even bother to question or worry about anything anymore. I've made myself a fool endless times this week, and will continue to do so until I figure it all out. I'm so grateful that the other teachers are around to help each other out and together we've all gained a lot of confidence even in the smallest of situations. I now confidently say "hello" and "thank you", and I've even managed to cross the street a few times. I know how to take a taxi, and know to refuse the driver if they try to make up a price instead of turn on the meter. It's all of these little things combined that already make me so much more confident than when I first arrived, and I'm excited for each new thing that I'm going to learn in my time here.

For every scary thing there's also a good thing to make up for it. As annoying as the taxis can be, they're incredibly cheap. We're staying about 45 minutes outside the heart of Bangkok, but go into the city for night life. An hour taxi ride through the city costs less than $10, which we then split four ways. I've had a huge filling meal of pad thai and curry for $3. I recently got a cell phone plan which is going to cost me a whopping $9 a month. Their currency is still extremely confusing to me and the conversion is hard to do in my head. Their $500 bill is equivalent to about $15 USD, so all these large bills make me feel rich until I spend 500 stocking up on chocolate and candy. 

Observations/Info

- The tap water in Thailand is not drinkable, and that's something that I was rather concerned about before arriving. In the states I drink plenty of water each day and most people can recognize my water bottle in a room and know that I've got to be somewhere nearby. I was delighted to find that there are numerous options for hydrating in Thailand. I'm learning that most hostels, hotels and schools have filtered water tanks available to everyone around, so while I'm in my school I'll be able to fill up my water bottle all day for free. The store offers bottles in a range of sizes which we stocked up on before finding the free water in the hotel. A small bottle of water is usually around 6 or 7 baht, which is about 20 cents. A larger bottle of 6 liters (1.5 gallons) is about 43 baht which is around $1.22. But wait, there's cheaper! Stationed on just about every block is a water refilling machine, where you pay 1 baht to get 1 liter. That's less than a penny! The only downside to these machines is that the instructions are all in Thai, so add that to the list of tasks I still have to conquer. For now I think I can handle paying $1.22 for 6 liters. 

- Thailand is 95% Buddhist so in my short six days here I've already managed to learn a lot about this culture. I've discovered that the majority of westerners who buy a Buddha as a symbol of peace or good luck are actual being extremely disrespectful towards the Buddhist religion without even knowing. ABuddha is never meant to be used as any form of display in your home. It should be kept above head level and should never be placed near anything that you use on a daily basis. Flaunting your Buddha by having it out in plain view is disrespectful and bad luck, instead it should be kept in a room/location that isn't visited often. Being a true Buddhist takes a lot of effort and basically requires you to always have a positive thought about every single situation. It's a very strenuous and serious religion for those who practice it.

- Although we're far away from the main center of Bangkok we're still staying in a decent sized region where we interact with plenty of different people throughout the day, but we're still outsiders. I spend the majority of my time with the six other girls who are at orientation with me and many Thais that we come across know what hotel we're staying at, and they know how long we've been here. Even in what I thought was a large town we still stand out and are known as the westerners. After this week ends we'll each be moving to our new teaching location, which will be cities and villages much smaller than Bangkok. If they already know us here, imagine the amount of people that will know exactly who we are in our tiny towns throughout the country. The idea is a little daunting and makes me nervous for the impression I'll make on my new home.

- By the time I get out of bed each morning the day is already soaring into the mid 80s with humidity even higher. This weather not only brings dehydration and a strong need for deodorant, but it also brings the mosquitos. I'm being eaten alive every time I step outside and have already gone through so much bug spray. Another issue that I'm fighting is the constant change from AC to the heat. Our hotel rooms and the classroom for orientation both have AC blasting throughout the day, keeping the room at a chilly temperature. But then we go outside to eat lunch, where I'm hit dead on by a heat wave. The change back and forth has given me some sort of cold/flu situation which has been slowing me down a bit. I'm hoping my body will get used to these drastic temperature changes and I'm also hoping that at some point I'll become immune to the constant itch of bug bites. Until then, I've loaded up on some of the best remedies I could find. Tiger Balm is an ointment developed in Burma which uses menthol and essential oils to sooth bug bites, headaches and sore muscles. With this new cold I've developed I've practically been rubbing my entire head and neck with tiger balm and it's making a huge difference. I also brought Bag Balm from home which can be used for just about anything, but I use it on bug bites and scrapes because it's an antiseptic which helps everything heal faster.

Our hostel has an awesome roof patio where we've caught some lovely sunsets

The first of many of my delicious Thai meals. Today was green
curry with rice and a Chang beer

Ronald McDonald doing the traditional Thai "wai" greeting

Week One in Bangkok

Hello all! I've been in Bangkok now for 5 days and a lot of the culture shock is already wearing off. Day one was a bit of a struggle, everything on the outside looks a little run down or sketchy, so it's hard to know what's actual a shop or restaurant (especially because we can't read the sign), but once you get over that initial fear you just walk in and realize you're about to be served a huge Thai meal.
We landed on Saturday and had the weekend to get to know the other teachers here and to explore the area, but then Monday morning we started our first day of our five day orientation.
Following our orientation we get transferred to our new cities, which will be happening on Saturday. We have the weekend to get settled and then Monday morning we start teaching! It's all happening a bit fast, but I'm very excited to move and get started learning my new city!

Placement

We were able to request a certain area, but Emily and I put our focus on being placed together, so we basically said we would go in the middle of nowhere if it meant we got to live/teach together. Somehow a miracle happened and we got one of the best placements out of the whole group. We will be living in Chonburi and teaching at the same school. Although most people imagine blue water and white beaches when they think of Thailand, I never allowed myself to hope for that because I knew that the majority of teachers get placed out in the mountains or in small villages. But where did we get placed? Right next to the blue water and white beaches, I couldn't be happier! And on top of that, we're under two hours from Bangkok which is basically a miracle because most teachers are at least six hours out of the city. The cherry on top is that there are two other teachers coming with us to Chonburi. They won't be at our school, but we'll all live within 20-30 minutes of each other so we'll have our own small expat community. It currently all sounds a little too good to be true, so we'll see if the good luck continues.

Orientation

The agency that I'm hired through (AYC) provides a free week long orientation with all of the teachers. We have 11 of us total who are new, and then two guys who have been here since the spring also came to orientation to help out a little. So everyday it's the 13 of us in a classroom for about eight hours going over Thai etiquette, school rules, cultural training and lesson planning. Some of it has been extremely useful, especially the cultural training and etiquette lessons; but a lot of it has been way too repetitive and boring. I came over nervous that I wouldn't know how to teach a class or provide the right structure and activities, but now it has been drilled into my head one too many times. We get homework assignments like building lesson plans which we then present to the class, and although it was useful the first time I would much rather we got Thailand lessons such as getting a Thai SIM card or opening up a bank account. 

Regardless, I'm so grateful that I've had this time in Bangkok to really get settled and get to know people. Our boss is amazing, very nice and understanding of everything that's going on. He explained our contract in detail and answered all of our questions regarding our salary and health insurance. On top of that, I came over knowing just a handful of contacts scattered throughout the country, but now I know the rest of our AYC group and feel like I'm already a part of a huge support system. We spend the majority of our waking time together: all of our meals, eight hours in the classroom and long nights up on the hotel roof drinking beers and sharing stories. I'm grateful that I chose AYC, because although most of us are about to go our separate ways we've already been through some of the hard stuff together and will continue to lean on each other despite our distance. 

The view from our hotel roof

Krka Falls and Croatian Thoughts

On our last full day in Croatia we took a journey to Krka National Park which is located about 1.5 hours away from our current city of Split. We originally intended to have 5-6 hours to explore the park but the day turned into somewhat of a transportation disaster which involved a lot of missed buses and long hours waiting around. We eventually made it to the park about three hours later than intended to find out that the only bus to get us back would be leaving in two short hours. So we nixed our original plans of exploration and stuck close to the outskirts of the park in order to get us back on time.
Although we only got to see a tiny portion of the park it was still worth the stress and headache that the public transportation caused. I will definitely be back and next time will probably rent a car to make sure I get out to the park on my own schedule, as opposed to following the schedule of public transportation.

The little bit that we did get to see was well worth our time. The park built catwalks over all of the running water, in many areas without guard rails, which amazed me. In high season this place gets completely packed, and people are walking shoulder to shoulder. Fortunately most people had other places to be on a random Thursday in October than Krka, and we often went several minutes without passing another group of people.

Croatia has been a joy, and I fell for it harder than I thought I would. The atmosphere is always relaxing and it seems that the people have nowhere to be, instead they just linger all day sipping coffee near the water. I personally enjoyed my time in Dubrovnik a bit more than Split, because it had a slower and more old time feel to it. Split is still very much an old city, but they've modernized themselves well and the streets are filled with brand name shops, bars and night clubs.
Coming in the off season was a fortunate accident because it saved us a lot of headaches. Normally the streets are flooded with tourists from about April to September, and there are constantly cruise ships coming into port, letting out hundreds of people at one time. We just barely missed this season and as a result got much cheaper prices and quieter days.

Fun facts and random observations

- Croatia is known for producing some of the best olive oil in the world, they're also home to the oldest olive tree.
- The Croatian climate is ideal for growing lavender and as a result they are one of the largest lavender producers in the world.
- Croatian limestone is world-known, and it was used during the construction of the White House
- Both Dubrovnik and Split are home to hundreds, possibly thousands, of stray cats. You can't go more than a minute or two without running into one, and they're often found roaming outdoor restaurants or napping in cafes.
- I don't think I've ever seen such a large population of dog owners in such a small area, and they're all so well trained! We've seen shop owners bring their dogs to work, and the dog just wanders the streets nearby and comes back every once in a while to check in with their human. Split especially seems to be huge on dogs, it seems that every other person is taking their furry friend to the cafe or for a walk along the water.
- There's supposedly a large population of Croatians in Ohio and the largest hotel in the capital city of Zagreb is owned by a Croatian who used to live in good ol' Cleveland.
- Dubrovnik was very welcoming towards credit cards, but I don't think I was able to use my card once in Split which got obnoxious very quickly. Fortunately they have an absurd amount of ATMs throughout the city, one is basically always in site.
- I often appreciate the slow paced lifestyle of most Europeans, but sometimes they might take it a little too far. While traveling to Montenegro our bus stopped at a rest stop for a 10 minute break. I immediately went to the cafe to get a to-go coffee and was shocked when they told me they only do sit down, no take away cups. No take away cups at a rest stop!? It's nice to see people sitting and enjoying the place they're in, even when that's a rest stop on the side of the highway, but really? Not everyone has time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee while traveling.


Tomorrow morning we have a 6am flight to Bangkok where we'll start the adventure of teaching English! More updates from Asia will be coming your way.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Logistical Info

During off season, adult tickets to Krka cost about $14 USD, cheaper if you have a student ID. 

The simplest and most stress free way to visit Krka National Park would be through a booked tour. There are a handful of companies to choose from that can pick you up from your hotel in Split or the city bus station. This would handle the transportation and will often provide you with a guide to lead you through the falls, pointing out the most interesting features. Most tours start at around $60 USD and last about 10 hours

A cheaper method is public transportation. In general it's a relatively direct concept, simply take a bus from Split --> Sibenik --> Skradin. The problem comes when you're at the mercy of the bus schedule. The buses between Split and Sibenik leave on a very regular basis, but those between Sibenik and Skradin are what cause the issue. I wasn't able to find accurate times online, so I had to wait until we were at the park to ask about a bus to take us back, we were then informed that "one will most likely come at 5, and then perhaps one near 8 or 9, but we don't really know." WHAT? The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the dark after the park closes, waiting for a bus that may or may not come. We aimed for the 5pm bus, which came 15 minutes late and made us late for our second bus back to Split. 

I would advise those taking public transportation to start their day early in order to account for the crazy bus schedule. Another option would be to bus to Sibenik and then rent a car or scooter to get to the park.

Round trip bus tickets from Split --> Skradin cost about $18 

There are five entrances to the park, with the most popular and easily accessible being Skradin. The parking lot of Skradin is actually still 1.5 kilometers away from the entrance to the falls which is walkable, but there is also a free shuttle that runs every 20 minutes. 

As mentioned above, Split was not a fan of credit cards. Everything from coffee, to dinner to bus tickets had to be cash only. It was an extra challenge for me because the currency is so high. I would take out 300 kuna thinking that that was sufficient for a few days, but 300 kuna is only $43. But as I also mentioned, ATMs are everywhere in this city so it was never too much of an issue. 

Day trips from Dubrovnik

Croatia's proximity to nearby countries makes for awesome day trips, especially out of Dubrovnik. Because we were staying a full week in Dubrovnik we decided we had some time to adventure around the Balkans and see the beauty this area has to offer. Maneuvering this area with a car is easy, and many people opt to rent a car. We didn't choose that option and instead booked day tours through the excursion company Super Tours

Montenegro

Our trip to Montenegro started with a pickup at 7:40am where we got to meet our guide and the other people on our tour. I was skeptical about joining in on a day long tour where you're essentially stuck doing whatever they have planned, but I'm very happy with this company and their tours. 

Our first stop was in the city of Budva, which is also where our only spot of sunshine appeared. The pictured island is a luxury resort popular among celebrities, with rooms starting at $1000 USD/night. We then drove closer into the city where we had two hours of free time. Budva has an old town, which we wandered through and found a nice restaurant for lunch. This city is located right on the water and had it not been raining it seemed that there were options to rent boats and jet skis.

Next stop was Kotor, which is one of the more popular cities of Montenegro. The city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. We had an organized walking tour that was about 45 minutes and took us through the center of town, teaching the history of the area. On a clear day there are some great hikes available up the side of the mountain that offer views of Kotor and the surrounding water.

Cathedral of Saint Tryphon

Church of Sveti Luka, which has both an
 Orthodox and a Catholic altar inside

Fortification systems built from Venetian inspiration 

Our last stop was Perast, which is a very small village known for it's proximity to the islands of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks which you can visit by boat when it's not pouring down rain. The first island contains a monastery and the second is a man made island that has a Roman Catholic church. The town of Perast has just over 300 inhabitants and isn't up to speed with tourism, but they have an intricate history and stunning views of the water and mountains.

Island of St. George on the left and Our Lady of the Rocks on the right

Despite the heavy rain that left us soaked and cold, I still fell hard for Montenegro. Each stop we made was filled with charming people and beautiful views of both water and mountains. Even though we only stopped in three cities, Montenegro is so small that we still managed to see about 20% of the entire country. This wasn't enough for me though, so I hope to go back some day soon and spend more time exploring this charming place. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)

St. James Church with people outside listening to the 11:00 service

Our first stop was a city called Medjugorje where I learned about the strong religious associations affiliated with BiH, especially within this area. Starting in the 1980s there were numerous reports of the Virgin Mary appearing to people in this city, and since then it has grown to be a huge pilgrimage site for Catholics, attracting over one million people every year. The city itself is relatively small with a population of about 2300, but when it comes to 'go big or go home' they definitely go big. The streets were lined with tourist shops where you could buy any religious souvenir you could think of including rosary beads, playing cards with Jesus on them, and life size models of Mary. 

We arrived in Medjugorje just in time to catch the 11:00 service at the Christian church in town. I have never seen anything like this before; as we were driving through the streets people came flocking towards the church. It felt like the entire city was coming out to attend. Moms walked with strollers and people of all ages were carrying chairs, because although the church fills up quickly, the outside can hold the whole town. The service was performed through a microphone which could be heard clearly from outside, and that's where many chose to sit, especially those with children. 

In this small town there were basically two options, either attend the church service or go to a cafe for some snacks and coffee. 

Once church was done the town's population dispersed and it

 was time for us to head to our next location of Mostar. 

Minarets of the Mosques rising above the city of Mostar

Besides the capital of Sarajevo, Mostar is probably the most well known city within BiH. Mostar reflects it's history well by being a mixed population of Bosnians, Croats and Serbs; all whom settled there after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Religion in this area (and majority of BiH) is a strong mix of Islam, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism, with Islam being the most prevalent because of the long history of Ottoman ruling. The city itself is home to many churches, and we were lucky enough to be there during the call to prayer, which I haven't heard since my visit to Turkey five years ago. 

The Old Bridge of Mostar

Mostar is most known for The Old Bridge, which was built during Ottoman ruling in the 16th century. It was known then and now as one of the most impeccable examples of Islamic architecture in the Balkans. The bridge that we see now is not the original; after standing for over 400 years it was destroyed during the Bosnian war and was later rebuilt in the exact same way in 2004 and is now protected by UNESCO. 
The bridge carries an odd tradition of 'divers'. These are professionals who stand on the top of the bridge asking for collections from tourists. Once they reach a certain sum (usually something around 25 euros) they jump off of the bridge for viewers. This is a dangerous task because not only does the bridge stand at a tall height of 60 feet, the water comes straight from the mountains and rarely makes it above the 40s. Pair that with a hot summer day reaching the hundreds and you'll give your heart quite a shock. There is an endless history of tourists jumping from the bridge and dying or seriously harming themselves; just a few days before we arrived a tourist jumped and landed wrong on the water, resulting in him still being unconscious in the hospital. The divers are looked highly upon in this town and tourists should think twice before jumping. 

A smaller version of The Old Bridge, which was
constructed as a test to make sure the architect
could build a stable and lasting bridge.

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 90s, Bosnia and Herzegovina became the center of the Bosnian War, which led the country through four years of destruction. I was very well aware of this fact, but was shocked to see that 20 years after the war, there is still evidence of this time written all over the country. In each city we went to there were still buildings in shambles, destroyed by bombs and missiles. Many functioning stores and apartment buildings were scarred from bullet holes still showing on the siding. Our tour guide in Mostar explained that they don't rebuild by neighborhood, instead they decide to fix each building separately. This created an odd contrast around the cities, especially Mostar, because you would pass one newly refurbished apartment building followed by a building too destroyed to function. Many people never recovered from the war and Mostar is home to many gypsies and homeless families who roam the streets. The photos I had seen previous to my visit show BiH as a beautiful country, filled with bridges, rivers and mountains. What these photos neglected to show is the poverty and destruction that is still strong in this country. Fortunately, tourism is becoming a booming industry in the Balkans and slowly the country is able to rebuild to it's former glory. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Logistical Info

Both tours were run through Super Tours and they provided very knowledgable, friendly and helpful guides. They were featured on Expedia which is where I booked them, but you can also book through their personal website or visit their office in Dubrovnik. Although I had booked a month in advance there was a girl on our Montenegro trip that had just booked the night before at their office.

Both trips lasted from about 7:30am-7pm. Montenegro was $58 USD and BiH was $62 USD.

Croatian currency is the Kuna, something I neglected to account for before leaving the country. Montenegro is on the Euro and we were told that some areas might accept the kuna, but we were advised to use euros. I found that credit cards were relatively accepted in Montenegro and I had no issues buying lunch and a postcard with my Visa. Next time I would bring along a few euros if I was planning on buying anything, just in case. 

BiH has their own currency of the Mark but they were much more accepting of both euros and kuna. I was able to purchase lunch on my card and then used kunas to purchase a few souvenirs. Keep in mind that less touristy areas of BiH might not be as accepting of the kuna or euros.  

Dubrovnik in Pictures

Spending a week and a half in Croatia was a decision made on a whim, but one that I am so grateful we made. Croatia has been on my list for a while, but it always intimidated me because unlike the majority of Western Europe it's not an easy place to travel by train. However, I conquered this apprehension and finally booked a ticket with much delight. So far I've found Croatia to be cheaper than Western Europe, and I feel extremely safe here, especially staying in the old town of Dubrovnik.




We started our stay in Dubrovnik, which is in Southern Croatia right on the Adriatic Coast. Because of it's proximity to Italy, there are a lot of Italian influences throughout Croatia, especially with their food. We've definitely enjoyed our fair share of pasta, pizza and fresh shellfish. We've spent some time traveling and doing a few tours, but because we have a full week in Dubrovnik we've also had plenty of down time that has let us truly enjoy the calm atmosphere and laid back lifestyle of Dubrovnik.
Although I love the cheap prices and socialization available at hostels, it was time for our own place where we could spread out and have a little privacy. We booked a one bedroom apartment through Airbnb which was cheaper than a hotel, provided us with our own kitchen, and had a spectacular view of Old Town, Dubrovnik.

View from our AirBnb apartment overlooking The Adriatic and Old Town

View from our bedroom window

Our days have consisted of wandering the streets of Old Town, drinking coffee while people watching, and eating some of the best sea food and pasta we can find.

Our porch view along with the cable car
that goes to the top of Dubrovnik

 The Old Town of Dubrovnik has been an important city for over a thousand years, mainly because of it's proximity to the water and other Balkan countries. However, as a result of that, Dubrovnik has been the target of destruction for centuries and has had a hard history of tragedy. Today the Old Town of Dubrovnik is protected with UNESCO and is part of many restoration projects.

Today the city is surrounded by defensive walls, which were originally built and modified throughout the 12th-17th centuries. These walls were built to keep intruders out, whether they came from land or sea. Because there is no longer a threat of attack, the walls are now open for tourist to walk on, providing a spectacular view of Old Town.
It costs 100 Kuna ($15 USD) to walk the 2 kilometers along the walls.

Overlooking the south end of Old Town and Lokrum island

Minceta Tower in the northwest corner of the walls

View of Old Harbor from the walls

Another great activity to do in Dubrovnik is take the cable car (or hike) to the top of Srd Hill, which overlooks Dubrovnik. We rode the cable car up, but decided to hike down while the sun was setting. 

Dubrovnik from above, with Lokrum island off the coast. 

Sunset over a few of Croatia's hundreds of islands

One of our favorite restaurants where we've camped out all week,
overlooking Old Harbor 

Minus our day trips outside the country, our time in Dubrovnik has been very low key and relaxed. Restaurants offer blankets and heat lamps as the sun sets, and you're welcome to sit all day long, just sipping on drinks and slowly trying all the foods on the menu.

                                                                                                                                                                                               

Logistical Info

Dubrovnik is split between Old Town and New Town, with Old Town being much more popular. This is a UNESCO site, where more hotels are located and where most tours depart from. New Town holds the new port, which is where cruise ships dock. It is also where the main bus terminal is where you can find buses to other cities throughout Croatia and The Balkans. About half of the buses in Dubrovnik head towards New Town, just check the schedule at Pile, the main bus stop in Old Town.

Dubrovnik Airport (Cilipi) is about 22 kilometers from the center of Dubrovnik. Whenever flights are scheduled to land they have a shuttle waiting at the airport to take people into the center of town. Tickets can be purchased just outside of baggage claim for around $6 USD. The ride takes about 25 minutes to Pile (pronounced 'Peel-ey') which is the main bus station for Old Town. It then continues onto New Town.

The Cable Car ride to the top of Srd Hill costs 60 kuna ($9 USD) and 108 kuna ($16 USD) for a single and roundtrip ticket, respectively. The cable car and top of the mountain can be seen from most parts of the town and therefore is easy to find, just follow the cables to their station. Tickets can be bought either at the station or at tourism information shops throughout the city.
If you've rented a car there is also an option to drive up the hill for free, which saves you a hike or the cost of the ticket.
We opted to walk down the path for our way down, which started out well, but we didn't realized how long it would take. For starters, the path itself isn't a smooth walk. It was filled in with rocks that were hard to walk on and kind of awkward and large, I would definitely advise hiking boots or at least tennis shoes for this walk down. We also started our walk during the sunset, so after an hour of walking we were in the woods with just moonlight. I'm still glad we did it, but I just wish we would've been a little more prepared with the right shoes and perhaps a flashlight.

I needed more cash than expected for Dubrovnik. Many tourism shops had a minimum on cards, the post office only accepted cash, walking the walls was cash only and buying a bus ticket to either the other side of town or all the way to Split required cash, no plastic accepted. ATMs and exchange offices are scattered throughout the city so it's never too hard to find money, but I suggest carrying at least $50 USD at all times, just in case.

Our accommodations with Airbnb can be found here. Our host was very accommodating and lived just upstairs so we were able to communicate with him throughout the week. Our listing is just a one room studio apartment which fits one or two people max, but it includes a kitchenette, a private bathroom, shower and washing machine. He also supplied towels, a hair dryer and basic kitchen supplies. Despite the small room, the view from the porch was amazing and very much worth it. In general old town Dubrovnik doesn't seem like a rowdy place at night, but either way our location was extremely quiet throughout the day and night.

New to Airbnb? Sign up here and get $20 off your first stay!

A one way bus ticket to Split was 125 kuna ($19 USD) and we bought ours a day in advance from the central bus station, which is located near the New Port (about 15 minutes on bus from Old Town.) I found our bus ticket online, but after speaking with locals they advised actually going to the bus station itself to purchase the ticket in person.

Dubrovnik itself is a small area and can easily be explored within two or three days. However, it's relatively cheap ($2-3 for coffee, $10-15 for a nice meal) and is a good place to settle down if you need a break from being on the road. There are also numerous day trip options and adventure trips to take out of Dubrovnik such as trips to surrounding countries, ferry rides to the islands, bike trips and kayaking trips around the Adriatic.

The Best of London

To start off our whirlwind adventure, Emily and I spent 5 days in London where we did our best to  hit everything on our wish list and pack in all of the stereotypical sites. Jet lag hit us hard on day one, so it was a pretty slow day with our biggest excursion being Piccadilly Circus. This is essentially London's own Time Square, with neon signs, shops and street performers. (It's also where Harry, Ron and Hermione hide out during the 7th book when death eaters crash Bill and Fleur's wedding.)

Inside the M&M store, dressed as a Queen's Guard

China Town

M&M's at Abbey Road

Day 2 consisted of a full day of site seeing. We started with a visit to Buckingham Palace where we imagined the royal family was inside doing really sophisticated things. We then followed the River Thames towards Big Ben and The London Eye. This walk is known as "The Birdcage Walk" named after a march composed in 1951, but I like to believe it's given that title because there were a multitude of birds everywhere. It got overwhelming despite the quick one mile walk.
We popped out behind Big Ben (formally known as Elizabeth Tower) and made our way south towards The London Eye. Riding this ferris wheel provides a 30 minute rotation with stunning and vast views of London. For more info on the best way to buy tickets, read here.

Buckingham Palace

Classic phone booth shot ft. Big Ben

View from the top of The London Eye

We then followed the river east and got to see the majority of the things on our list. Next was The Millennium Bridge. Originally built in 2000 as a footbridge, it was later destroyed by dementors during the sixth Harry Potter (and then was miraculously fixed the same day because magic is the best.)

Millennium Bridge

Emily is a Shakespeare fanatic, so we stopped off at The Globe, which was originally built in 1599 and was the old stomping grounds of William Shakespeare himself. Once inside you can pay to visit the museum, but it was about to close when we arrived so instead we just spent our time in the gift shop, which had plenty of souvenirs for every Shakespeare lover.
Our last stop was the classic Tower Bridge. Built in the 1890's, this bridge is a functioning passage for both pedestrians and cars, and still opens for ships passing through the River Thames.

The sun was setting and the night was getting chilly as we set out on our last quest for the evening: Platform 9 3/4. I previously visited the platform at King's Cross Station five years ago with my cousin and we spent at least 15 minutes running around the train station just trying to track down the platform, and then once we were there we had the whole thing to ourselves. A lot has changed in the last five years. They've now devoted an entire corner to Platform 9 3/4 that's complete with a queue, a photographer and an employee who gives you the scarf of your choice and a wand to hold during pictures. It will basically make all of your dreams come true, so you should go.











The next day we joined the masses at Camden Markets. In Camden Town there is an area set up overflowing with both indoor and outdoor markets, filled to the brim with clothes, jewelry, souvenirs and food. Even if you're not there to buy anything it's a great place to wander around to check out all of the amazing things on display. Just make sure you bring cash, plastic is not widely accepted. 

Dumbledore's office and costume 

Lastly, the most magical experience ever: The Making of Harry Potter. All eight Harry Potter movies were filmed just outside the city of London, and the makers probably realized that Harry Potter will go down in history for eternity, and they should profit even more off of it! or they just wanted to share the love. Either way, they left behind majority of the sets, props and costumes that were used throughout the various movies and it's all there for paying costumers to gawk over throughout a studio tour. You enter in clumps and then go at your own pace, so it can be as long or short of an experience that you want. If you're interested, here's an entire post dedicated to the beauty of this tour.

The Mirror of Erised and the Fat Lady

Hogwarts model used for overhead and distance shots

London was once again a joy to visit but of course, some weird things happened as they always do when abroad. Following are some random observations.

- Traffic lights turn yellow before turning green, and apparently the Brits take a yellow light to mean go, and they immediately start honking at the cars in front of them. I know this well, because I slept next to a window that looked out onto an intersection. Through all hours of the night as soon as the light turned yellow there was a herd of honking cars ready to drive. 

- There is no pattern to walking in London. It could be the mass amounts of tourists doing their own thing, it could be because Brits drive/walk on the left side whereas most others walk on the right, or it could be a clustered mix of both. Regardless, I have never gotten so frustrated trying to walk down a sidewalk. I walked in zigzags trying to dodge the people coming at me from all angles but still got bumped every few seconds in crowded areas. 

- In a moment of ignorance I used a random ATM at the Camden Markets, which resulted in a $26 fee for taking out money. Lesson learned. 

- They call a bachelorette party a 'hen do'

- We went to a concert at a large indoor arena and upon entering they take off all lids to drink bottles. Supposedly there have been past issues of people throwing full bottles and harming others, so they take the lids to allow liquids to spill before hitting it's target. Makes sense, but it was still rather annoying to have to hold my water bottle all evening.