Happy Birthday from Romania!

In Romanian: fericit ziua de nastere

Getting from Bulgaria to Romania wasn't so straightforward. We had to cross the Danube River - the second longest river in Europe. And the big problem is that the ship bringing us across has no fixed timing, we had to wait till it comes (when? well, it will come when it comes!). Not only that, because the nearest bridge to cross over is far away, the shuttle service over the river is extremely overpriced. But here I am, waiting to cross the river and preparing a sign so that we can hitch a ride to the nearest town once we get to Romania. :)

The five days spent in Romania was pretty adventurous. This is taken in a defunct mining town of Lupeni, we arrived in this mountain town a little too late and missed the connection to the next place. Luckily we met a nice family who took us into their home and in the morning, we took a walk in the forest. The father of the family used to be a coal miner, he pointed out to us where the coal in the forest were and how to mine it! 

Happy Birthday from Bulgaria!

In Bulgarian: Честит рожден ден

The first Eastern European country that I'm visiting, Bulgaria is a surprise! Bulgarian is a member of the Slavic linguistic group, where the writings would remind you immediately of it's Balkan roots. I visited only the capital of Bulgaria - Sofia.

The streets of Sofia are really beautiful with interesting architecture lining the them.

Sofia is also one of the best-value places. Having a beer in a nice cafe in the park cost just one euro (approximately S$2).

Happy Birthday from Turkey!

A beautiful mix of the East and the West. Geographically located on both Asian and European soil, Turkey's interesting culture could be felt once you step into the country. It's a pity that I didn't have enough time to see most of Turkey this time round but what I've seen tells me that this is an amazing country.

Traditional agriculture is still one of the major pillars of the Turkish economy. Turkey is one of the few countries that produce not only enough for their own consumption but for exports as well. As I travelled across the country, you could see these really fresh produce in the shops and markets.

Istanbul is one of my favourite cities! It's the only city that I've visited on this trip that I said "WOW! I would really love to live here!" This is the centre of Istanbul - Taksim Square. I felt really safe in Istanbul while I was there. You guys have probably read/seen it on the news,this is the exact location of the bomb that exploded on 31 Oct 2010.

I spent a few days at the very beautiful Mediterranean Sea to rest and recuperate for the journey ahead. If you guys could recall, I was skyping with you guys and trying to show you how clear the sea is! :)

Happy Birthday from Warzone?

In Arabic: عيد ميلاد سعيد

The Iraqi region of Kurdistan (also known as Land of Kurds) is located in Northern Iraq. Research has been done to ensure that the region is safe and stable before the getting onto the bus. After Jordan and Syria, Iraq didn't excite me as much. Prices were also much higher than in the previous two countries and most times the quality didn't reflect in the prices at all. But still, it is an adventure visiting this 'warzone' country! You would feel really safe in this part of the country and there was never a time that I felt any danger (from terrorists). The only dangerous issue would be the way the taxi drivers sped through the weaving roads in the valleys.

I thought this would make an interesting photo...Have you ever seen anything 'Made in Iraq'? :)

You just need to make a left turn to get into warzone...or if you would like to get yourself on the news maybe! Turn left to Baghdad.

Happy Birthday from Syria!

In Arabic: عيد ميلاد سعيد

It's not what you think! For many, images of overflowing terrorists would first come to mind at the mention of Syria. On contrary, you could only meet the friendliest people! Syrians are very welcoming to everyone! Food is amazing in this country. It is here that I had the best schwarma (kebab), ice-cream and so much more! With so much to do, friendly people and good food, Syria is one of my favourite countries to visit!

I'm not kidding when I say the best Souqs (markets) you could find in Middle East is in Damascus! Of course, that being said, I have to admit that I've only been to Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq. But I'm sure nowhere would be able to beat this - the best nuts-coated ice-cream at this unbelievable price found in the Souq in Damascus!

Ruins unlimited - There are just so so many ruins site that you can visit in Syria. This is just one of the sites that I visited - Palmyra. Palmyra is an important ancient city in central Syria. And yes, mummy, see? I'm drinking lots of water! :)

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