Best Western Hotel Royal Plovdiv

... whole process is starting again. The website took our credit card number and issued a receipt which we had to pass onto the guesthouse!<br><br>2. When someone tells you to catch a bus from Sofia to Plovdiv stick with your convictions and use the train!<br><br>NOW FOR THE GOOD BITS<br><br>The travel from Sofia to Plovdiv was pleasant and the scenery lovely. Our only regret was that we did not catch the train!<br><br>Plovdiv was always one of those places ...

... in Plovdiv and Vienna, and M. Jackson, because his death was the biggest news and she is a musician.<br><br>When I went back to the station to catch the train at 2130, I was happily surprised: I expected to spend the next 12 hours sitting up, but I found out that got a sleeper! And besides that, the whole car was filled with jolly and friendly international travelers. It was not a boring night.

... Prison Breaks; on the laptop - it really is a bonus to have it in times like these. For diner we splashed out eating at a restaurant although Bulgaria is so cheap that it wasn't much of a splash! We had beer, pasta and a gigantic greek salad for NZ$20, Cesca says its the best salad she has had outside Greece itself. On the way to the station we spent our remaining Lev on huge ice creams. Our train arrived on time and we crammed into our tight sleeper cabin for the hop over the border into Turkey.

Hi Everyone, <br>I am organizing a weekend trip from Istanbul to Plovdiv (Bulgaria) leaving once a week staring from March. <br>Numbers are limited to 14 (we have a small mini-van) <br>The trip will be a lot of fun and is a great escape for a weekend. It is also the perfect opportunity to ...

The journey was pretty uneventful although we did pass a burnt out train on the way into Sofia. I met some English girls at the hostel in Plovdiv who said they were on that train! They were at the front just sitting there while the Bulgarians were getting off until an English speaker came along and said erm you probably want to get off now, the back of the train is on fire! It was totally gutted at the back so they are lucky it didn't spread! Apparently it was the second train ...

... More shops and a quick email stop, then some more wandering around Plovdiv. After a few more hours, we went back to the hotel to meet everyone else for dinner. Tonight some of the group was splitting up so we went for one big last meal. Tasty cabbage rolls and fish. I think I'm finally better, didn't feel sick at all after supper. Good thing too, we're spending tonight on a train to Turkey! Those of us who were taking ...

... tea. The damage was only $6! I also had my hair cut and a dye job here. OK, I have to confess that I started to color my hair again (the first dye job outside of US was in Turkmenistan). If I am sharing a dorm with boys and girls half my age, I might as well try to look more like them. One unique thing about the Bulgarians is that they shake their heads to mean yes but nod to mean no. Just imagine trying to pick up someone who doesn't speak English! (Pictures to follow!)

... Diyan was deeply entranced by the spinning colours of the Colombian dancers, and I thought to myself, this is guy is all right. Moments later, a bearded elvish fellow arrived, who looked like a Bulgarian Devendra Banhart, and we set off into the streets. Soon the cobblestones became noticeably more broken up and the street lights progressively dimming. Diyan pointed out in a whisper that we were in the Roma quarter, a place he ...

... word and then start back down the hill - their quarry gone so further ascent pointless. That was the last I saw of them fortunately, ducking into a bomb shelter restaurant I'd been thinking of having dinner at later on. I don't exactly know whether they would have mugged me in the end but they looked pretty shady so I'm glad I didn't stick around to find ...

... entry visa stamps. He didn´t compare the passport photos with the faces of the travelers that carried them. He didn´t even bother to look at the fronts of the passports to see in what countries they were issued. If the drug carrying kid Billy Hayes from Midnight Express had been on this train he´d have gotten through with no difficulty. Hell, we all could have gone through; bags filled with drugs, guns or anything else we´d chosen to smuggle out. The fast stamping ...