If Liam Neeson has taught me anything and he has taught me a
lot is when dealing with Albanians you should say stuff like:
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you
are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have
are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long
career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you give me a
free beer right now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will
not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I
will kill you.
And by gum it worked. Free beer, hotel and food for the
entire trip.
I was in Iraq for two weeks and then out for two weeks so I
didn't really want to go too far on this hitch out so I decided on Albanian and
a few days in Greece.
Tirana the capital is a city in transition where you can see
the old bland architecture and life of the communist days and the new trendy
shops, bars and restaurants of most European cities. Cheap as borsch. 4 start
hotel rooms of 30 euros, good meals are 10 and a beer is one. Times that by a factor of 20,000 for Western Europe.
There is not tons to do in Tirana but there is a main square, church, mosques, and a good
museum. I was more or less here to see Sarande and the south. So I hoped on a
van without AC or opened windows and went on a 8 hour trip to Sarande.
Sarande is 30 minutes from Corfu, Greece by high speed ferry
and very close to Italy. You can see the influences in the language, cuisine and
culture in general. I am a bit spoiled for beached but a 4 star hotel on the beach
was 28 euros a night and it was of decent quality. Albania is one of the hot
spots for investment properties now with beach front really cheap. Property is
expected to spike if Albania joins the EU.
Nice people that are looking for new future after so many
years of communists dictatorship and being the poorest country in Europe. I worked a lot on this vacation so I really
didn't do much.
I did go to an ancient city called Butrint. A 2500 year old
history with various occupiers and rules.
I did cross over into Greece a couple of times. The first
time there were two cruise ships in so it was really crowded and very expensive
and extremely touristy. The second time I went to a smaller town and it was
pretty much the same. I did a 1100 cc motorbike for the day so I could tour the
rest of the island and break neck speeds. Ok, it was a 50 cc scooter and didn't
leave the town.
And yes, I am going back to Iraq. There is trouble there and
I was the youngest Master Cadet in Canada in 1982 and I can help and here is
how.
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you
are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have
are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long
career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you give me a
free beer right now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will
not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I
will kill you.
