[ALBSA-Info] Rrefimet e nje te huaji !!!!!

[Endri Leno]

Megjithe opinionet pozitive qe ky "gjeolog" amerikan
jep per Shqiperine, nje gje nuk mund ta kuptoj: Cfare
kerkon ne Shqiperi, ne "fshatrat qe nuk ekzistojne ne
harta", ky "gjeolog" ne "udhetim pune"?
C'jane keto fshatra qe s'jane neper harta dhe pse
pikerisht ky person duhet te shkonte atje?  Nje
udhetim i tille nuk me le shume pershtypje pozitive,
duke ditur edhe histori te disa amerikane te cilet
jetonin ne fshatrat e Lezhes neper shtepite e
fshatareve duke pyetur, vizatur dhe studiuar cdo
pasuri natyrore dhe pike strategjike?



--- ardian kanina <albanianpride at hotmail.com> wrote:
>           ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List
> ---------
>           - ALBSA Web Site:
> http://www.albstudent.org -
>  Me poshte do te lexoni pershtypjet e nje vizitori
> te huaj qe gjendej ne 
> Shqiperi kete muaj .Marre nga Epinions.com
>
......................................................
> 
> Adventures in Albania
> 
> by: karst [Austin ,Texas] Member since: Aug 12, 2000
> for Epinions.com
> (Wed Aug 23 '00)
> 
> Pros:  incredibly beautiful mountains and beaches,
> friendly people
> Cons:  Albania is still not easy to tour; lots of
> pollution
> 
> 
> Introduction
> I have just finished a one-month trip to Albania.
> This was a business trip 
> for me, but my business is geology. Because of this,
> I visited many parts of 
> the country, mostly in the south, and often traveled
> through small villages 
> in remote areas. I wasn't there as a tourist, so I
> was only able to visit 
> one Orthodox monastery, and the Skanderbeg Castle.
> There is much that I 
> can't tell you, because many of my accomodations
> were arranged by others, 
> but I learned a lot about the country and saw people
> and places where few 
> outsiders ever go. My review will be useful if you
> want to explore the 
> less-visited places, and will probably cover things
> that only the rare 
> traveler to this country has seen, but I am limited
> by the nature of my 
> travel.
> 
> I found the country to be charming, beautiful, and
> full of potential. In 
> some ways, I felt as if I had traveled backwards in
> time, to a period when 
> small-scale agriculture dominated life. A time when
> fields were plowed with 
> an ox; when hay was cut and raked by hand, and piled
> in tall haystacks. I 
> shared the road with donkeys, sheep, goats, and
> horses, as well as the 
> ubiquitos Mercedes-Benz sedans that everyone seems
> to drive. I was welcomed 
> by everyone, and always treated well. The food was
> often basic, but always 
> good: the highlights were kos (sheep's yogurt), fish
> soup, salata Greka 
> (Greek salad), fresh trout, calamari, lamb shish
> kebab, and more. 
> Accomodations in various hotels varied from
> luxurious, to quite basic. Of 
> course, when I am working I am accustomed to
> camping, so having a hotel 
> room, even without water, is a treat for me. I
> visited Tirana, Durres, 
> Vlore, Elbasan, Fier, Berat, Gjirokaster, Delvine,
> Sarande, Kruja, Permet, 
> and my favorite place, Çorovode. Many of the smaller
> villages I visited are 
> not on any map I have found, and so are only known
> to Albanians. I traveled 
> from the breath-takingly beautiful southern Adriatic
> coastline to the flanks 
> of Mali Tomor, one of the highest mountains in
> Albania.
> The country has a wonderful range of naturally
> beautiful mountains, wide 
> white beaches, broad shallow rivers, and patchworks
> of corn, wheat, and 
> vegetable fields covering low-lying hills and
> valleys. However, the saddest 
> thing I saw in Albania were piles of trash, rusted
> cars, and polluted 
> rivers. There have been many years of trash
> accumulation with little effort 
> to clean it up, and often trash is still dumped
> along roads and riverbanks 
> and burnt. Rusted cars sit in the middle of rivers,
> and the small waterways 
> that wind through towns and cities sometimes smell
> of raw sewage. This is a 
> country in transition.
> 
> Roads:
> Roads in Albania range from two-lane asphalt-paved
> roads, to streets paved 
> with smooth limestone blocks, and dirt tracks barely
> suitable for a donkey 
> cart. I was always accompanied by an Albanian
> driver, and even though I 
> drive in Mexico, I think I would have had difficulty
> adapting to Albanian 
> driving. Major roads are often only two-lane roads
> (more like one and 
> one-half lanes) and traffic varies from huge
> double-trailer semi-tractors, 
> to buses, cars, WIDE hay-wagons pulled by donkeys,
> shepherds following 
> flocks of sheep and goats, and small children
> leading cows to pasture. In 
> some small mountain towns even the main road is not
> wide enough for two 
> large vehicles to pass, so it is not rare to be
> forced to back-up to a place 
> where the road is wider. Small roadside stands sell
> fruit, vegetables, olive 
> oil, fire-roasted sweet corn, and even two-liter
> bottles of diesel fuel, and 
> often cars must stop in the road to make a purchase.
> All of this mixes on 
> narrow, winding roads, often with limited
> visibility, few warning signs, and 
> very few directional signs. Some of the roads we
> traveled on were along 
> mountainsides, with no barrier between us and a 500
> meter drop-off on the 
> roadside. Roadside monuments to people killed on
> these roads are common 
> sights. We never drove at night for these reasons.
> There is major road construction between Durres and
> Lushnje; apparently the 
> road is being widened to 4 lanes(July, 2000). The
> construction often blocks 
> the road and results in considerable traffic.
> Short distances in Albania take considerable time to
> drive, due to the 
> roads. It's one to two hours from Tirana to Durres.
> It takes at least 3 
> hours to reach Fier from Tirana. It takes almost a
> full day to drive from 
> Tirana to Sarande, on the southern coast. The road
> between these two cities 
> is over 250 kilometers, yet in a straight line,
> Sarande is only about 100 
> kilometers.
> To further complicate the driving, there are police
> roadblocks at almost 
> random locations, between most large towns, and at
> many intersections. My 
> driver was never asked to stop, but at these stops
> the driver can be asked 
> to show a driver's license, papers for the car, and
> often I saw cars with 
> the trunk open being searched by the police. The
> police commonly carry 
> Kalishnikovs, automatic rifles. At one stop, the
> police wore black ski masks 
> as protection for their identity. Apparently there
> had been some problems 
> with criminals in that area and the police felt it
> necessary to be 
> unrecognizable. Yet at one stop, my driver greeted
> the gun-toting police 
> like old friends and they kissed each other on the
> cheek, as is customary 
> among friends here. All the Albanians I asked were
> happy about having the 
> police out in the road like this, as they felt it
> created order in a country 
> where anarchy has dominated in some areas. Sometimes
> the police fine drivers 
> arbitrarily, as one driver told me he was fined 2000
> lek, for driving with 
> his headlights on during the day. His protest was
> met with the simple reply: 
> "if you don't agree you can take it up with my
> supervisor" and of course, 
> probably spend the rest of the day doing it.
> I know there is bus service throughout the country
> but I can't tell you much 
> about it. I saw buses in every major town I visited,
> and I met Albanians who 
> lived in places as distant as Fier, and Durres, who
> commute by bus to Tirana 
> to work. Even more remote villages are serviced by
> local, smaller vans, 
> although they appeared to only run once or twice a
> day. Taxis are common in 
> every town, but again, I never had the opportunity
> to use one.
> 
> Tirana Airport:
> I flew in on Alitalia, which I have found is an
> excellent airline. The 
> airport is an experience if you are not used to
> visiting the simpler places 
> of the world. Albania charges an entry fee based on
> the corresponding fee to 
> enter your own country. Americans must pay $45; my
> Romanian friend paid 
> nothing. The entry window becomes quite chaotic, and
> many people try to 
> ignore the line. Everyone must pay $10 as an exit
> fee as you leave the 
> country.
> Getting your bags is even more chaotic, unless you
> are fortunate enough to 
> speak some Albanian. The bags are brought into an
> area that is cordoned off 
> by ropes, and you must identify your bag to the men
> standing inside this 
> area so they can bring it to you. Unable to
> communicate well, I resorted to 
> stepping over the barricade and grabbing one bag at
> a time, each time being 
> hastily chased out as soon as I was noticed. The
> baggage claim area is 
> inside a restricted area, so if you are being met at
> the airport, your party 
> may or may not be allowed to meet you there. More
> than likely, anyone 
> waiting for you will be outside the building. It
> takes about an hour to 
> drive from the airport to downtown Tirane.
> 
> Tirane:
> It's a fairly large city, that I enjoyed, but didn't
> really spend much time 
> exploring. The main square is the site of an
> impressive statue of 
> Skanderbeg, who is famous for defending Albania from
> the Turks in the 
> 1400's. His castle is found in the town of Kruja, in
> the mountains to the 
> north of Tirane. I walked around the square,
> visiting the bazaar in the 
> narrow streets to the southwest of the square.
> Everything household good you 
> can imagine is for sale here, unless you want to buy
> commercial souvenirs. 
> This is the market for the locals, and even finding
> souvenir t-shirts (which 
> few Albanians wear) is difficult. All I could find
> to buy were postcards, 
> which were half the price charged by my hotel shop.
> The Rogner Hotel:
> I stayed at the Rogner while in Tirane. This
> Austrian hotel is probably the 
> best in town, and charges $200 per night. Meals are
> equally expensive, but 
> excellent, and the chef's specialty is Thai food.
> The room price includes 
> breakfast which is a wonderful buffet with a huge
> variety of meats, breads, 
> pastry, fresh fruit, antipasto, cereals, and fresh
> sheep yogurt. The hotel 
> was full of United Nations soldiers most of the
> times I was there, wearing 
> uniforms from all over the world. At first this was
> disconcerting, not 
> realizing that they were mostly beaureaucratic
> types.
> I will add that the cost of this hotel seemed almost
> offensive to me. I was 
> told by my Albanian friends that the average salary
> in Albania is about $100 
> per month. The idea that the Rogner could charge
> twice this amount for one 
> night, seemed very inequitable. I was able to eat
> entire meals for less than 
> $2 in Tirane, at kiosks on the street, while the
> Rogner easily charged me 
> $30 to $40 for dinner.
> There is an excellent French restaurant located in
> the same building as the 
> Swedish Embassy, about one block east of the Palace
> of Culture on Rruga Jul 
> Variboba (not that I saw any street signs).
> There is a huge park to the south of the Rogner,
> south of the main square 
> which has several excellent restaurants in it. I'm
> told this park used to be 
> full of kiosks and buildings that were built
> illegally, but recently they 
> were all removed and torn down. Land ownership isn't
> a completely 
> established concept in Albania, and so many
> businesses have located 
> themselves on what may be government land. I was
> never quite sure who was 
> right about this, as I suspect the Albanians also
> wonder.
> 
> The American Embassy:
> God help you if you need help from the American
> embassy. We had reason to 
> visit it, and discovered the well-armed Albanian
> guards surrounding the 
> fenced building at the end of a barricaded road,
> spoke no English. Since we 
> could not produce a letter to show we had an
> appointment, we were not 
> allowed near anyone who could speak English. The
> embassy does not answer the 
> phone, instead you will only get a busy signal. We
> finally got the attention 
> of an English speaking guard and after several hours
> waiting got into the 
> compound. The moral to the story: Don't count on the
> embassy if you get in 
> trouble. You're on your own. (And if you're Albanian
> trying to get an 
> American visa, I can only apologize)
> 
> Promenade:
> On of the most delightful customs I found in Albania
> was the evening 
> promenade. Everyone in the town, including cities as
> large as Tirane, puts 
> on nice clothes and goes to the town square, or main
> street, strolling along 
> visiting with everyone they see. This lasts from
> early evening until dark. 
> Teenage girls are dressed in their most attractive
> clothes obviously hoping 
> to impress the boys, while elderly men and women
> visit with each other, and 
> married couples walk hand in hand pushing strollers
> or walking with their 
> children. It is a family, community affair, that
> takes place every day. In 
> Berat they even close several streets for promenade.
> 
> Durres:
> Durres is the beach resort destination of most of
> the city of Tirana on 
> weekends. The beaches are white sand, wide, and many
> kilometers long. 
> Restaurants and bars line the beach, and on weekends
> the parts of the beach 
> I could see looked quite crowded. Albanians are
> fairly modest at the beach- 
> you won't see any topless women or thong bikinis.
> 
> Fier:
> In Fier I stayed at the Hotel Fieri (phone 06422394)
> which was US$40 per 
> night for a single. The accomodations were good,
> although I won't recommend 
> the restaurant. Instead, there is a restaurant down
> the street towards the 
> square that is below street level under another
> hotel. Sorry, I don't know 
> the name. This restaurant is built to resemble a
> cave, using beautiful 
> travertine rock from the north of Albania. The walls
> and ceiling are made of 
> rock, with stalagtite like shapes hanging from the
> ceilings. The food was 
> excellent and the prices moderate.
> Because Fier is the heart of the oil industry in
> Albania, with oil fields to 
> the east and south, it sometimes has a telltale
> smell of oil and hydrogen 
> sulfide. The oil industry here uses outdated
> technology and has little or no 
> environmental control, but this is a major resource
> for this country. Oil 
> derricks usually are left standing whenever a well
> is drilled, so many areas 
> are dotted with these rusting towers.
> 
> Vlore:
> Vlore was one of my favorite towns. The sea coast is
> beautiful here, and 
> Vlore is both a harbor and beach town. The road from
> Fier to Vlore is lined 
> with old olive trees and Vlore impressed me as a
> more cosmopolitan town. We 
> stayed at a new hotel, the International Hotel,
> being among the first guests 
> to stay ever stay here. It is located next to the
> beach, and is next to the 
> area where promenade took place each night. The
> rooms were very nice. The 
> hotel is owned by an Albanian couple who returned
> from Germany after many 
> years to build this business. The owner speaks
> english. As yet, the hotel 
> only has a coffee shop, but there are several
> excellent restaurants within 
> walking distance.
> 
> To be continued:
> Forgive me- I'm going to continue work on this
> later. I will cover the 
> following:
> Sarande
> Llogara
> Berat
> Tepelene
> Gjirokaster
> Permet
> Elbasan
> Corovode
> Kruja and Skanderbegs castle
> Balsh
> Mali Tomor
> 
> 
> Type of Travel: Business Travel
> Length of Visit: Month-long or more
> Cost of Trip: Budget (less than $100/day)
> Size of Your Group: Less than five
> Best Suited For: Students
> Time of Year You Went: Jun - Aug
> Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
> 
>
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