Morning breakfast was complimentary in the hostel. 4 Bread slices, butter, honey, jam, cottage cheese and two pieces of ham with a cup of tea or coffee. It was more than sufficient. I had good night sleep. I also met the owner of the hostel who was here when I came in. He is a surgeon in a local hospital and his son who has done management course, has started this hostel 4 months back. He told me that economy is still not developed here. People don’t find jobs. Kosovo has uranium as the mineral to export. Everything is imported here. Despite of that I found people cheerful. There are some who talk of a few years back war.
There is no hard Islamic religion feeling particularly among young people. I checked on the internet about Greece. It is also a schengen state and so I need not worry of crossing it from Macedonia.
9.50 p.m.: I am sitting in a restaurant which I just found out. It is run by American missionaries and I’ve asked for Mexican Quesadillas. Before this I had Reika (strong plum brandy) in another bar.
I came close to the Bus Stand around 2.30 p.m. leaving the hostel where I was sitting comfortably in air-conditioned Reception. I came to a restaurant which I saw in the morning and asked for veg. salad and bread only. Salad plate was quite large with boiled pasta. It was quite filling. I walked near the Bus Stand and found one travel agency Kiosk. I asked the woman managing, for ticket to Tirana and she gave me one for 10 Euro. Bus would reach here at 4.10 p.m. There was some place for sitting and keeping the Rucksack. Bus was to come from Pristina and it stopped in front of the kiosk. The person who was sitting by my side and smartly dressed with tie, he was a Roma. He asked me if I am also Roma. I smiled and said no.
The journey is good through mountains and lake. This is a highway. After 10 minutes and so, bus stopped and
one officer came most probably from Kosovo and took passports and then returned after a few minutes. There were many young boys and girls sitting opposite side from Holland. They were chatting with me all the time.
This is their first travel and they were very much organized booking accommodation everywhere. I thought the Albanian immigration will come now. The Bus stopped at a restaurant and I found it was Kukes in Albania.
There was no check in Albania. I am a bit worried from my past experience. There is no entry stamp of Albania.
The journey is scenic. The highway has finished after 2.30 hrs and road has become narrower. Tirana is a big city as the capital. Bus stopped at Eskender Square.
I could see Minaret of a mosque and walked towards that side as given in the directions of the brochures of Hostel Albania. I asked a Policeman for directions and then one shop keeper. I reached the vegetable market.
There were few shops that were open at this moment. Hostel is located in one big house. It was hot even at this time. I had no local money of ‘Lek’ as money changers are closed. One bed in a 6-bedded dormitory is of E 12.. There was already a woman on one bed in the room. I asked for a Pedestal fan and it was better now. I also met Lira who is the owner. She had not seen or remembered the mail from Martina, YHA President in Albania.
She saw it just now. I borrowed 1000 lek from her and came out to the market. There are no restaurants on this side.
A bar was there and I drank a small glass of Reika, a grape brandy here. Then walked further and there was a good restaurant run by American missionaries. Quesadillas was quite big and good. The bearer was in fact a qualified teacher who was working during his vacations. I walked back and slept.
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