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Macedonian mess

In May 2024 I spent a few days in the Isle of Man, where I was born. My trip to Pamplona had already been booked, via Madrid and train from there. Most of you know that booking flights well ahead can save you a lot of money, so I needed somewhere outside of Europe before my time there expired. It was one of those spur of the moment things and Skopje, North Macedonia looked the most likely. Trouble is most airlines websites kept breaking and a local travel agent did it all for me. Three months in Macedonia followed by winter in Agadir, Morocco were booked for a very decent price.

A taxi took me from Skopje's airport to a budget hotel. It cost 20 Euro, but I gave him 50 and got change in Macedonian Denar. What followed was not my idea of a good time. I avoided the touristy areas like the plague and after asking a number of people found out the they consider the whole country as a tourist place. Evidently this is new and only the last 10 to 20 years has it grown so.
macedonia.jpg
I found the Macedonian people very friendly and helpful but, as a couple of them put it, becoming greedy and into money big time. A suggestion to go to Ohrid, which is very much a tourist city, but cheaper than Skopje, saw me head there and only stayed one night, the place just didn't sit on me right. Trains are something which need a lot of work on and so you have to use intercity buses.

I took a walk, once back in Skopje, had a good think and decided to leave. There is an hotel near the airport named Mirror was told it would be 2000 Denar a night, not true it was over 5500 Denar (bit of a rip off I'd say) and I decided to have a room anyways, got online and booked a flight to London. Five nights in four hotels, on hardish beds and I was done in. The whole trip had been one big mess and I won't bother again with anywhere that was once part of the Soviet Union. Now I have to change my agenda.


Got better things to do.

Sep 09, 2024




My old Simian Circles blog here for reference

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