Nice area, if you ignore the town
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2005
1
64
248
Trip End
Aug 15, 2008
Saranda,
Albania
Friday, July 21, 2006
The only reason for stopping here was to use it as a base for visiting the Hellenic/Roman ruins at Butrint, in the very south of the country and right on the border with Greece. Very impressive they were, too. Some well preserved mosaics and all that sort of thing. Hmmm, history. Not my strong point.
My main memory of Saranda is irritation. I had been travelling with a few people for the past couple of days, and by the time we got here, they had really begun to annoy me. I had intended to spend a night in Saranda, then go to Butrint the next morning and head on to Gjirokastra in the afternoon. Because they couldn't be bothered to get out of bed, and then spent so long dawdling around doing nothing in particular once we reached Butrint (not that I'm the most active person in the world, and I like to take my time, but even I have my limits) that it was gone 5 by the time we got back to Saranda, and past time the last furgons and buses had left, so I was forced to spend another night here. In possibly my least favourite place in the country. Did I say these people annoyed me?
In the hopes of avoiding any more contact with them, I moved to a different hotel for my second night. This turned out to be a mistake. Anyone going to Saranda, please avoid the Hotel Gjini, it has to be the sketchiest place I have stayed. It was cheap (5 euro for the night), but not worth the money. I repeatedly found other people using the shower in my room (no way of locking it from the outside). I had an early bus to catch in the morning, so got a very early night, yet was disturbed by the owner walking into the room several times, for no apparent reason. He hadn't mentioned when negotiating that I would be sharing the room with an elderly Kosova Albanian, who turned out to be the most incontinent man in the world - I swear he had to use the toilet (waking me each time) 5 or 6 times throughout the night. For once, I'm glad I had to get up early. Catching the 5 o'clock bus out, I had set my alarm for 4.30. Minutes before it went off and not knowing I was plannin an early departure, the old man got up, switched the telly on and started making a cup of coffee!
I was so glad to leave.
