It's Greece and Macedonia
Bus ride to Thessaloniki from Istanbul was awful. They had so many stops and the stop at immigration office was so long. Thessaloniki was very hot, reaching 36 degree. A huge transition to me actually. The hostel I went to wasn't very comfortable and there're a lot of mosquitosssss. However, the hostel staffs are very nice. The home-cook squid is very delicious! I went to the old city. Some Roman and Greek cities. Nothing much and I don't think it's worth the time. But well, I went because I needed a night of good rest before embarking to the Balkans.
I think Macedonia deserves a blog by itself. It's a superb country. People are nice, things are cheap and everything is perfect.
Bitola
The taxi from Florina, Greece to Bitola, Macedonia costs me freaking 27€!! But it's actually considered quite cheap since the Greece taxi driver would charge 40€ for the same route. The passport control wasn't that strict. Taxi driver took my passport and got it stamped for me, I didn't even get out from the car!
It took 30 mins to reach Bitola, a very small town.
It has some influence from the Turks, mainly from Ottoman Empire, and not forgetting Atartuk was born and schooled in Bitola. Another cool thing about this place is the ancient city. I mean really long long fine ago, "ancient city" built by Alexandra the Great and also the museum. It's good to know about the history of a place.
The Main Street called Tito boulevard is the most happening place in Bitola, full of bars and gift shops. Things are pretty cheap here. I had this awesome cheese in oven with hams and a pint of Skopso lager which cost me 160 Denars, that like RM12! Great food!
There's a Turkish bazaar there but nothing attractive.
I'd recommend to do a one day trip in Bitola, that's more than enough. Spent a night there and left the next morning.
To reach Ohrid, there are public bus which cost 200 Denars or 4-person taxi which cost 300 Denars. Just 100 Denars difference, a taxi is definitely a wiser choice, since it can drop you at your hostel. It took 1 hour to reach Ohrid by taxi and this is probably the best part of my solo trip so far.
Ohrid is 580m above sea level, so the weather is pretty cool but the downside is the extremely high ultraviolet radiation. The readings goes up to 10. Sun screen of SPF 30+ is highly recommended. I checked in this Art Hostel, Ohrid. It's run by a family, the brother's the manager. Great hospitality, comfortable room and bathroom too! Some nights we backpackers get homemade pizza from the hostel. Eating with the family did give me a feeling of home :)
Well, so much to talk about Ohrid. I shall start with the hill.
So that's the main attraction of the town. It's 5 mins walk from my hostel. You'd reach a tourist street first, then the main port. Walk to the right direction and you'll see a lot of beaches. Oh did I mention that it's a lake?! So all the beaches are not sandy and the water is not sea water! Something very unique to me. Walk to the end of last beach and there's this old city before reaching Kaneo church.
From there, I continued hiking to the hill and yea, I got the secluded beach where only locals go and also the castle!
I don't like to swim in this cooling weather but chilling there with beer or coffee is undoubtedly the best thing to do!
St Naum, is a must go! It's part of the Galacica national park. The boat ride which costs 10€ for return tickets is really worth it. The view is magnificent. And after 90 mins of exhilarating orgasmic scenery, I reached St Naum, where crystal clear spring water is found. Like so clear and clam, you feel like literally floating! That place though is touristy, things aren't that expensive. Got a 400 Denars lunch but it's worth it, dining next to the spring. A boat ride at the spring cost 150 Denar, please, ride it!
I did paragliding there too! 49€ exclusive the GoPro. 30 mins in the sky, awesome! But damn it my GoPro wasn't working so I had to rent theirs, which costs me 15€! That's the worst part of the entire trip in Ohrid. If you have a GoPro, make sure it's working and bring it there. They allow you to use yours.
There's one day I woke up at 6am and went cycling at 7. The quietness and serenity you get, presence, was the feeling I had.
And hiking at night to the wild beach, for some beers and stargazing. Awesome!
People in Macedonia are very friendly. Although the English proficiency is not very high, you can feel the hospitality from the very welcoming smile. Initiate conversation with them, and they get very happy to talk about the country, introducing one place after another.
I spent time walking around, cycling to some places and slacking at the hostel. Met quite a lot of people and it did make me feel very good!
I will be back! AWESOME AWESOME PLACE!
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