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Sad yet true, I couldn’t even make it an entire two months back in my home town. And no, it’s definitely not because I hate it there; quite the contraire. I actually had one of the best times ever reuniting with my friends and family and went to two of my best friends’ weddings. One of them was even in Mexico which turned into a ten day party on the beach! So why did I leave if things were so great? The reason- my grave travel addiction.

If it wasn’t confirmed before, let it be now. I’m a travel addict. It’s all I think about and it encompasses everything I do. Even when I’m traveling I’m thinking of past trips and/or cool trips I can do in the future. While the vacation to Mexico indeed gave me a quick fix, it only intensified my craving to go and get more. Now, less than two weeks after my return from Mexico, I find myself in Hong Kong.

Screech! Hong Kong??? You hate Hong Kong, Trey! Don’t you remember writing a blog called “Hating Hong Kong” several months ago? Haven’t you placed this city at 3rd on the all time worst places list? Right behind Hell and the Battle of Stalingrad?

Yes, all this is true. But I found myself here merely as a stepping stone into Mainland China. Here, in HK, I can get my Chinese visa quickly and hassle free; a factor that keeps bringing me back year after year.

That brings me to my next point- Why am I going to Mainland China? The usual response to this is to start work and follow the same ole path of writing and teaching. However, there’s a twist to this trip. And while I’ll still be writing (as I always will) another job will occupy my schedule.

This summer, I’ll be living at a hostel in the small town of Dengfeng. This village located deep in the impoverished interior of China also just so happens to be 5km away from the world famous Shaolin Monastery, home to the kung fu fighting Shaolin Monks.

In the 5th century CE, Batuo, a Buddhist teacher from India, left his motherland and headed east. He eventually arrived in Shaolin and started the first Buddhist Mahayana monastery in the Middle Kingdom. The disciples of Batuo, despite being isolated in the woods, were constant targets of bandits and raids. Buddhist monks always practiced a strong doctrine of nonviolence and nonaggression, but something had to be done in the name of self defense to protect their livelihood. Thus, kung fu was born.

The monks invented and incorporated fighting into their every day routine. Hours a day were dedicated to mastering hand to hand combat, weapons and meditation. The monks progressed and eventually became masters in the art. The next time looters arrived, they were fatally defeated. The reputation on the monks spread and the bandits laid off. However, the crooks weren’t the only ones who got the memo.

Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, perhaps the greatest, richest and most powerful dynasty in Chinese history, heard about this new Buddhist doctrine and converted. Not only did the emperor use his power to protect his favorite monks at Shaolin, Buddhism spread throughout the empire from the shores of Shanghai to the Hindu Kush.

Martial arts and Shaolin Kung Fu also flooded the land like the Yangtze in June. China, from that moment on, was changed forever. It became a mixed land of Buddhism and martial arts, a notion that’s still associated with China today and portrayed in books, Hollywood films and media throughout the entire planet. It’s amazing how this small temple in the middle Nowhere, China altered the universe.

Pretty cool, huh? If you keep up with my blogs like the good reader you are, you’ll remember that I visited the temple in October during my Silk Road adventure. I met the owner of the only hostel in town and, the next thing I knew, she offered me a job. Basically, I’m the middle man between the guests and monks, which is great because I get to work directly with the legends themselves. That also gives me free kunf fu, tai chi and meditation classes! Since I’m presented with this wonderful opportunity, I’m going to approach it right and try to live a pure, Buddhist lifestyle to the best of my ability.

And that brings me to the challenge: For the next three months, out of respect for the religion, I will not drink, smoke, eat crap food, have a girlfriend or be concerned with anything occurring in the rest of the world. My time, rather, will be spent meditating, working and writing. The reason? As mentioned, I myself practice a very light form of Buddhism, but I respect the religion and those following it… like the monks I’m working with. Furthermore, I want a challenge; and putting so many limits on life is indeed a major hurdle (could you do it?). But perhaps the main reason is because I want to find the question. After my South East Asian trip, before going home, I moved to Bangkok and practiced Muay Thai (Thai Kickboxing) eight hours per day for a month straight. When I wasn’t at the gym, I’d be at the temple meditating. Sure enough, after three weeks into the spiritual/physical journey, I found the answer I was looking for. The only problem was I didn’t have the question (that’s some deep shit, right?). This trip, I seek to find the grand question to the answer.

And what’s the answer, you may ask? I’d love to tell ya, but you’re going to have to have your own spiritual journey to find out yourself!

Continuing, respecting the religion is only half of my summer challenge. I’m a Buddhist just as much as I am a martial artists, therefore I must respect the martial arts as well. So, on top of the strict limitations I’ve placed over my soul, a rigorous routine of kung fu training will also be undertaken. I’ll be up before sunrise for tai chi, the afternoons will be dedicated for training/working out, and the evening for meditation- a mental work out. And just to make sure I don’t slack off, I’ve decided to step in the ring (or should I say octagon) in August after the ordeal is over to have my first MMA fight.

MMA (or cage fighting) is the world’s most physically and mentally demanding sport hands down. It brings every style of martial arts from around the globe into one arena. The main goal is to knock out your opponent. My opponent’s goal is to knock me out. It’s hand to hand combat. It’s war. It’s meditation. It’s martial arts at its best! Now there’s really a heavy weight anchoring me down while I train this summer. If I don’t put my heart, soul, sweat and mind into it, I’ll be left unconscious on the floor with thousands to bare witness.

As you can see, this ain’t the summer of 1969. It’s probably actually the polar opposite of it! As different as Jesus and Satan, Ghandi and Hitler, and Rio de Janeiro and, you guessed it, Hong Kong!

Tomorrow, I leave Hong Kong and head for the country side. I’m leaving the lights, buildings and traffic behind. The injustice of the city will be hundreds of miles away. The bums, addicts, prostitutes, along with the CEOs, mistresses and models, will roam the streets as they do every day in Hong Kong, but not me. I’ll be out of here soon enough. I’ll be in a better place. I’ll be at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, away from this “wonderful” society we live in to undertake one of the greatest challenges of my life.

“This is the end, my only friend, the end.”

- Jim Morrison

I love this quotation. Apart from being a fantastic song, the words are powerful. If you think about it, the end should be our friend; and if it’s not, then you should at least learn to accept it. Every start has and end, just like we are born to die. It’s a hard fact to accept and one that frightens many. But it shouldn’t be like that. Learn to love the end and appreciate everything that has happened before it. With this mindset, we can live happily and strong with no fear of the future coming to an end.

It was my last week of traveling six months with no house, hardly any possessions and zero companions. From Beijing to Helsinki via ancient China, the unknown paths of Central Asia, the perilous Stans, the bizarre Balkans, the frozen Eastern Bloc and the crumbled relics of the USSR. It was by far the longest journey of my life, the most mentally and physically challenging, and one I’ll remember on my death bed. Naturally, with anything that had such an impact your life, you will sad when it’s all over.

But I didn’t let the sadness get to me. Instead, I promised I’d live it up my last seven days in the Baltics. And I did. Good thing I chose the Baltics as my final destination because that part of the world is like Cancun on an ice berg. Apparently, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (the three Baltic nations) are where many backpackers and tourists from around the world come to drink and party. Despite being the off season, the bars were packed every night of the week and it was impossible not to find a pub crawl. I had good reason to celebrate and I’m glad I found the right place and people to assist me.

So I crossed the border from Belarus into Lithuania and spent two nights there, then crossed into Latvia and passed two nights there, then into Estonia for three nights to finish up strong. They were all interesting countries with quaint down-towns in the capital cities, icy cobble stone roads, thick snow covered forests, hearty food and classic old school communist bloc apartment complexes in the suburbs.

On my second to last day of the trip, I crossed the Baltic Sea by ferry to Helsinki, Finland- the place where I’d catch the flight home back to the USA. I knew absolutely nothing about Finnish culture but sure got a shot of it in the 24 hours I spent there.

The three hour long ferry ride is basically a booze cruise. The Finnish cross the sea to Estonia and purchase mass amounts of alcohol because liquor (along with everything else) is extremely expensive in Finland. After the alcoholic shopping spree, they load everything up into bags or, yes, even shopping carts, and bring them aboard.

Well, I guess they get a little board during the journey because they tap into their vodka and engage in some serious binge drinking. Within an hour 75% of men and woman between the age of 16 to 60 are obliterated. Many are throwing up, elder woman with smeared make up sling pick up lines at you, younger guys shout and smoke cigarettes, and others pass out in the aisles. After having my week long going away party, the last thing I wanted to do was drink. And believe me, there’s nothing worse than being sober watching a bunch of drunkards.

After the booze cruise, I walked around Helsinki and discovered that Finland is one of the weirdest places ever. For one, it’s an extremely wealthy country. Two, its insanely cold 8 months out of the year. Three, you either get too much sunlight or not enough. Four, suicide rates are amongst the highest in the world. Five, death metal is by far the most popular genre of music. Six, everyone has blond hair and blue eyes except for the Somali immigrants. Seven, the food is as bland as the snow on the ground. Eight, tattoos and piercings aren’t frowned upon and are quite normal. Nine, they stick to their socialist economic and political systems causing wealth and gender equality to be very high. Ten, the majority of people are wasted 24/7 while being openly drunk in public is normal, accepted and at times encouraged.

As you can see, the Finnish are extremists in almost every way shape and form. Who would think one of the richest and most equal countries in the world would also be suicidal, drunk and death metal rockers? To clarify, I’m not degrading Finland in the slightest. In fact, based off the 24 hours I spent there, I loved it! It was by far one of the most interesting places I’ve ever seen. A country with that many strange combos certainly makes every step of the day a WTF experience.

As I sat in Helsinki International Airport waiting for my flight across the Atlantic, I watched the Finnish pound alcohol at 8am in the morning, thinking how weird and unique every country in the world is. I thought about all the other nations I’d visited and remembered the good times and bad times. I felt glorious for conquering the Silk Road and laughed about the stuggles endured along the way.

I sat there wishing that the trip could last forever but realized that that’s not how life works. The end arrived, and I experienced my Finnish Finish right then and there. My flight number announced through the loud speaker, so I grabbed my backpack for the last time and walked through the terminal. It was a sad ending. It was a great ending. It was my only friend, the end.

February is perhaps the coldest and darkest month of Europe. Temperatures stay well below freezing, the wind howls like a wolf and the sun is on vacation in the southern hemisphere. Attitudes are short and everyone is dead tired from the months of snowfall and chilled blood. Yes, Europe is oh so bitter the month of February, but that’s why I chose to do this trip during the off-season, to experience a different side of life.

Luckily, where there’s darkness there’s light, and every ying has a yang, because with weather this cold it gives you an excuse to pop into a nice heated restaurant and fill your tank up with delicious food-vital energy needed to keep on trekking through the odd ends of Eastern Europe. Here’s just an appetizer of the things I’ve eaten during the gray month of February.

Berlin Kebab. Berlin, Germany. I’ve heard from numerous sources that the kebabs of Berlin were by far the best in the world. I was skeptic. I argued that nothing could beet an Istanbul or Georgian one. For all those that told me otherwise, please allow me to apologize. Berlin has the world’s best kebabs, period. In fact, the kebab is as German as Jagermeister. It was invented by a Turkish immigrant in Germany as a way to eat good, cheap and fast. It grew in popularity over the years and now is as common as wiener schnitzel. Kebab stands line the streets of every city in Germany and they always seemed to be packed to the brim with people. This gold medal kebab was a monster- slow roasted meat, three different types of spicy and cool white sauces, a medley of at least five different kinds of vegetables, loads of cheese and soft yet crunchy flat bread. This one for sure gets the thumbs up as the best kebab on planet earth! Ranking: 10 out of 10. Cost: 3 USD.

German Feast. Berlin, Germany. Though the kebab has Turkish influences, it has made its way into mainline German cuisine. Although I would be happy eating kebabs everyday, I decided to indulge in something even more traditional, and here it is- Blood sausage (a Berliner specialty), chunks of boiled potatoes and sauerkraut (marinated cabbage). My friend, Ana, took me to this place near her house in northwestern Berlin to sample some traditional eats. Funny enough, she knew all the best kebab places in town, but struggled finding a good cheap restaurant with classic Germanic food. So while the kebab may be Germany’s favorite, we still can’t forget its culinary past, especially since this meal loaded with protein and carbs was top notch and kept we warm the entire day. Ranking: 7 out of 10. Cost: 7 USD.

Pierogie. Warsaw, Poland. Pierogie is the national dish of Poland. They are small dumplings, either stuffed with meat, cheese, mushrooms, or a combination of the three, pan fried and topped with chives, sour cream or a meat sauce. It’s even the tradition to serve them iupthe pan they were cooked in (as seen in this picture above). I made the argument several months ago in one of my other food blogs that just about every country out there has their own variation of dumpling dishes. Apparently, Poland is no exception to the rule. I suffered a minor addiction in Poland where I ate pierogie everyday for a week straight. It took control of my every day thoughts and actions! Yeah, it’s that good. Ranking: 8 out of 10. Cost: 5 USD for 10 pierogies.

Borsch. Lviv, Ukraine. Borsch sounds like a curse word and looks like a greasy banshee blood soup. No wonder many people have a bad perception of it. However, it’s actually quite good and is one of the national dishes of Russia and found all over the former USSR. Borsch in a nutshell is beet root soup and every place has their own special method of preparing it. This one had beets (of course), diced onions and meat balls. You can also add a glob of sour cream, or smetana in Russian, to make it more creamy. Ranking: 6 out of 10. Cost: 2 USD.

Moldovan Pride. Chisinau, Moldova. Presented here are some of the most famous courses of Moldova. The meat is roasted pork in a bland, brown sauce. Below lies some shredded white farmer’s cheese. The yellow blob is polenta, otherwise known as mama liga in Moldovan. There’s even a red pepper for some extra torque. It was OK at best, but it gets points for having a little bit of flavor in a land that’s stranger to good food. Ranking: 4 out of 10. Cost: 4 USD.

Blini. Kiev, Ukraine. Blinis kick ass and make me regret some of the horrible things I’ve written about Russian cuisine. Blini is a pancake similar to the French equivalent of a crepe. And the cool thing about blinis are that you can stuff them with just about anything- Cheese blinis, meat blinis, mushroom blinis, vegetable blinis, fruit blinis, Nutella blinis, chocolate blinis, vanilla blinis, caviar blinis, whipped cream blinis, mixed blinis… ANYTHING! Hell, I sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump when he goes on his 5 day long shrimp recipe rampage. Therefore, with more personalities than Sacha Baron Cohen, blinis can satisfy any craving you have at any time of the day; whether it be a snack, meal or dessert. Ranking: 8 out of 10. Cost: 2 USD.

Belarusian Sausages. Minsk, Belarus. The state of Belarus only came into existence in the year 1991 and has never been seen on a European map until then. It’s a new country creating a new identity. Despite the hundreds of years of Russian dominance, and the Russian language being the lingua franca, Belarus does have some other influences from its western borders. Take these, the Belarusian sausages; they’re almost identical to German sausages but have a unique flavor different from anything I’ve ever encountered. So while Belarus struggles with inventing a new identity and Russian food dominates the kitchen, you can see that they’re slowly creating something unique. And hey, let’s face it. Food, along with language and religion, are some of the most defining attributes of cultures and national identities. Keep up the good work, Belarus, you’re almost there. Ranking: 6 out of 10. Cost: 4 USD.

Baltic Home Cooking. Tallinn, Estonia. Remember my blogs from the Caususes way back in December? Probably not. But if you do, You’ll remember that I went to the bombed out and depleted city of Agdam in Nagorno Karabakh with an Aussie guy named Yanush. You may also remember that he was traveling with his Estonian girlfriend named Kerli. Well, after months of tearing up the Silk Road, I contacted Yanush and Kerli in Estonia to meet up. Showing the true hospitality of the Baltics, Kerli cooked up a traditional feast to show me how her country grubs. The top picture has square pieces of black bread with a spread of sour cream on top. Then a piece of Baltic fish similar to an anchovy and half of a mini boiled egg are speared with a toothpick through the middle. Next, in the middle picture, a dish of herring topped with raw onions and a load of sour cream is presented. And last but not least, more food! Blood sausage, potatoes and Estonian sauerkraut (similar to my meal in Berlin) hit the table. It’s hard to come by some good ole fashion home cooking while on the road, especially food that is as traditional and delicious as this! Thanks Kerli and Yanush for an awesome meal, it truly was incredible. Ranking 10 out of 10. Cost: 0 USD (Again, thanks to my Estonian hosts).

Belarus roughly translates into “White Russian,” the preferred alcoholic drink of Vegas Black Jack losers, LA pornographic film directors and the Dude. Vodka mixed with milk and sugar doesn’t sound that appealing to me, so I decided to go to the country instead; a place that, like its drink counterpart, doesn’t really follow the rules of society.

Belarus is known to be Europe’s last dictatorship. This may be true, but after Putin’s election in neighboring Russia we might have to reconsider its ranking. Belarus has been ruled by Lukashenko for more than two decades, is cut off from the international community, seeks ties with Moscow and hasn’t changed much since the Soviet days. As a matter of fact it’s still a socialist republic with no freedom of speech and still has the KGB intact.

For these reasons coupled with the fact that not many foreigners visit this distant land made me want to go like a fat kid to McDonald’s. I paid the EXTREMELY expensive visa fee, filled out the bureaucratic paper work, issued an LOI from a hole in the wall across the street from the embassy in Kiev, and waited hours just for the stupid little 4X3 card to be stamped into my passport. The ridiculous things I do for travel; it’d make an economist commit suicide.

To make a long story short, yeah, I got in with no problem or bribes wich was astonishing. Walking down the broad concrete streets of downtown made me feel like it was the year 1981 while the mass block goverment structures flexed it muscles and flashed their red stars. The people wore dull dark colors, either gray or black, with their faces locked downward away from the gloomy skies which shielded every molecule of sunlight entering the atmosphere. It’s a pretty grim place to say the least and there’s not much to do or see around town since no tourists or backpackers care to visit.

But saying that, that’s what makes it cool. Apart from Russians, CIS member state nationals or embassy staff, I’d bet a White Russian that there weren’t too many other foreigners in the city.

The majority of the locals weren’t accommodating or friendly, but I was used to that. That’s just how Eastern Europe (more specifically the former USSR) is. However, while having a beer that Friday evening, a few locals approached me and offered me vodka (again, another common occurrence in this part of the world). They amazingly spoke English and were very keen to know many aspects about my personal life- where I worked, where I lived and, most importantly, what did I think about Belarus.

“Hmm,” I said to myself, “These guys are digging deep. Could they be the KGB?” I took no chances and responded, “Oh yeah, I love Belarus! The best country in the world! Way better than all the other countries out there, yes sir!” I also made it a strong point not to mention anything about my writing career. For all they knew I’d never even dotted a lower case j in my entire life!

Once they figured out I wasn’t a reporter or CIA the convo went smoothly from there. As the shots continued and the hour hand ticked later into the night, I popped the question I’d been wanting to know the entire time I’d been in Belarus. I asked with a quite voice, “Do you actually drink White Russians here?”

One of the men looked at me with a snarl and responded with a bit of sarcasm, “No, we don’t drink our people here.”

I laughed, I little relieved that I didn’t upset him. Then he continued, “Actually no, we don’t. We only shoot vodka here. No need to mix it with other things.” He scratched his head then returned the question, “Why do you Americans mix vodka with milk and sugar???”

And there you have it, the age old question. Why does one country do one thing and another do the opposite. Why do we have democracy in the West and dictatorships elsewhere? Why do some shoot vodka ad others mix it with milk? And why do some tourists go to Belarus and others to France?

There’s no real answer except that’s just the way it is. If it were any other way, the world would an awfully dull, boring and homogenized place. A world that, in my opinion, isn’t that far away. In decades from now, globalization will eventually equal the playing field, all countries will adopt the same rules, universal norms will replace ancient values and everywhere from Boston to Bangkok will look and feel the same. It’ll essentially be Friedman’s flat world. To debate whether this is good or bad is not my thesis, rather to state that the few unique places left on Earth are becoming extinct like the dinosaurs. 

What I will suggest, on the contrary, is to go out and explore these lands before it’s too late because they aren’t going to be here for much longer. Go now, think later, travel hard; you’ll never regret it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zqReJR9-sg&feature=youtu.be

Click the link above to take a tour of the old Soviet block apartment complexes in Minsk, Belarus.

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By far the best thing about the old Soviet world is taking the overnight train. In fact, I’d declare that if you visited the former Soviet Union and didn’t take a long distance train ride, you really didn’t visit the former Soviet Union.

I can speak about this from experience. I lived in Moscow for three months in the fall of 2008. Saying that, it was the most miserable  three months of my life. Before moving to Moscow I spent several weeks on a beach in Mexico teaching orphans to play soccer, meaning the culture shock of stereotypical Russian rudeness, bland food, lackluster music and cold weather were amplified since thoughts of Isla Mujeres constantly reminded me of what I left behind.

To make a long story short, I quit my job, hating Russia and her culture. I bought a train ticket on the Trans Siberian Express to Irkutsk- a town in the middle of Siberia- and fled the capital city. That train ride changed everything, though. I met some amazing Russians ranging in everything from Air Force pilots, amateur soccer players, Christian missionaries, diamond miners, retired communist officials, young lovers and criminals. Most of them only wanted to eat and drink the entire five day train ride. In fact, looking back on it, that’s all I did was drink vodka for five days straight with random groups of passengers entering the cabins.

My Trans Siberian experience completely changed the way I perceived Russia. I went from loathing it to loving it. Therefore, Russian trains (the longer the better) in my eyes are the best way to learn about their local culture all while having a blast with some fascinating individuals.

The Ukraine is no exception since the passengers aboard my route from Chisinau, Moldova to Kiev, Ukraine were just as festive as the ones from my Trans Siberian trip.

Serghey, a Russian guy living in Moldova, was one of my cabin mates. He had suitcases packed with cognac, vodka, beer and homemade Moldovan wine. The minute he found out I was a foreigner, the never ending waterfall of alcohol began flooding the scene. Others in nearby cabins caught on and joined to help me, the American, get as drunk as possible. Everybody began whipping out their stashes of booze and popped the caps. I couldn’t say no. Saying no is forbidden and an insult in this part of the world. The only thing you can do is suck it up and roll with the punches.

The good news is for every ounce of potent liquor there is and equal amount of food. The common snacks found of old Soviet trains are roasted chickens, loaves of bread, mineral water and more vodka. The food is a must when consuming this much alcohol. If not, you might as well be sleeping in the bathroom for the entire night (and believe me, spending the night on the train’s bathroom floor would be worst than spending the night in Russia’s natorious Black Dolphin Prison).

After long hours of drinking and eating, sleep catches a hold of your body and the lights go out. Sleep doesn’t last long though. Early in the morning, Serghey was pushing my shoulder with a bottle of cognac, ringing the bells for breakfast. A few minutes later, other passengers awoke and grabbed their bottles to start another long day of traveling and drinking.

For better or worst, most of my drinking partners were heading to Moscow- another day’s ride away. Me, I was departing in Kiev, just another 3 hours from the time I woke up. Before I knew it, I grabbed my backpack and was saying my goodbyes to my new friends. Two of the passengers (whom I’m pretty sure were convicts) even jumped out of the train while I was already outside to give me another shot! I tried taking one last pic with them, but the guard rushed them back on right as the train engines started roaring. Take a look at the caught in action shot below.

I arrived in Kiev a little tipsy from my breakfast of cognac, vodka, wine and bread (aka the breakfast of champions). I didn’t care that much though since it was Saturday afternoon and it seemed that everyone else in the Ukraine was drunk as well. I showed up at the hostel and met a group of crazy travelers from France, Sweden, Lebanon, Palestine, Finland, Belarus and Ukraine. The party had already started before I had arrived because all of them were ready to go out.

We spent the rest of the day smoking hooka at Lebanese cafe then sped off to a classic Ukrainian “discoteka” that night. There, someone tried stealing my wallet, the Vietnamese mafia told me “kindly” to quit talking with his girlfriend and we were all served a plate of sushi at 2am in the morning. Oddly enough, these people are obsessed with sushi! it’s everywhere! Even in the discos.

It was an interesting time in Ukraine to say the least. In fact, it was a little bizarre. Kiev is a great city but it’s got a quirky feeling to it that separates itself from other stiff European capitals. Maybe it’s the people dressed in animal outfits who pop out of corners to scare you, or the drunks always having a laugh, or the old timers dancing the night away every evening inside the metro stations, or the slandering protests of “Free Yulia Tymoshenko?” (Tymoshenko is Ukraine’s former president who was jailed by the opposition for getting to close to the West. Take a look of some of the protests below. And I though US presidents got it bad back in my home country…).

Whatever it is, Kiev always keep you on you toes (guess it’s easy to be on your toes when it’s -20 C and you’re wearing high heels over a 3 inch layer of ice!). Whether it be good, bad, drunk, or just plain out weird, Kiev’s a pretty nice place to chill in for several days and I’ll definitely be back!

Ahh, February. Valentines Day. Chocolate. Flowers. Cupids. Discounts at the local Applebees. Blah blah blah. Personally, I think V-day is quite lame and just another excuse to make people buy buy buy! Don’t we know for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction? If that’s so, why doesn’t there exists “Singles Day?” A day where all the single people get a chance to go out and meet other singles? Sounds a bit radical, yeah? Well, not really. Singles Day actually exists in China. It falls on November 11 (11-11). Get it, 1-1-1-1. It’s a day for all the “table for one” folk to go out, meet, greet and hook up (clearly showing that the Sexual Revolution has clouded the Cultural Revolution in the Middle Kingdom). Why don’t we implement this in the rest of the world? This November 11th, let’s rise up and celebrate Singles Day!

Anyway, in the name of Saint Valentines Day, I’ll present you with the story of not two, but three “star-crossed lovers.” Below is the tale of Moldova- a small, x-Soviet republic in southeastern Europe who just can’t seem to hold a relationship together. (Sounds like Moldova should ask Dr. Dale about this one…). Moldova is also the poorest country in all of Europe, something that might become apparent after looking at some of these photos from Moldova, Transdniester and Gagauzia below.

Despite the hardships of the past under Soviet rule, Moldova declared its independence in 1991. It was a happy time, a union of the majority Moldavians (who are nearly identical with Romanians in regards to history, language and culture), the Russian Slavs, minority Bulgarians, and the Gagauzians (a very tiny ethnic group who resemble the Turks. The Gagauzians fled the Ottoman Empire during the war with Czarist Russia in the 19th century to seek peace in Moldova). But shortly after unification in holy matrimony, until death to us part, a nasty divorce crumbled poor Moldova.

Transdniester (even the name sounds like an antagonist), a region only 50 km long and roughly 30 km wide between the east banks of the Dniester River and border with Ukraine, revolted and went to war. The inhabitants of Transdniester (who are predominately Slavic and Russian speaking) wanted their own independent state. And get this, not only did they want independence, they wanted the government to maintain a Soviet style, communist system. Fighting continued throughout the early 1990s until a truce was drawn. Transdniester created their own government (which is considered the last and only remaining Soviet nation left in the world today), police force, currency and flag (which has the traditional Soviet hammer, sickle and yellow star on it). However, no countries recognize Transdniester, meaning it remains part of Moldova on just about every map.

This divorce was brutal, just like so many real divorces are in the real world today. But Moldova moved on and strengthened its relationship with the Gagauzians in the south. Things were good between them in the beginning (just like they always are), until again, like deja-vu, another dirty divorce quaked the region.

Gagauzia, with the population of roughly 100,000 inhabitants scattered throughout three non-connected provinces in southern Moldova, signed the papers and began fighting for independence. Moldova was at war again! The Transdniestrians, seeing an opportunity to throw some punches at her X, joined the armed struggle on the side of the Gagauzians.

In the end, Gagauzia didn’t quite separate itself like the Transdniestrians and eventually opted to remain part of Moldova but maintain much autonomy. They still use the Moldovan Lei for money and you don’t have to cross a military checkpoint to enter (like I did for Transdniester). However, they still teach many classes in Gagauzian (which is basically a dialect of Turkish) in the local University, but Russian and Moldovan are still in widespread use.

Currently, lonely Moldova remains shaky after two bad break-ups. Transdniester still sees itself as independent; though the rest of the world merely thinks it’s nothing but a rebellious, socialist teenager seeking freedom and personal liberty. Moldova sees its Transdniester X as nothing but a “mistake” and a real thorn in the ass. Gagauzia has moved on but still remains on good terms with Moldova. They have coffee on the weekends and still ponder about a “future” between eachother.

So if you were single this Valentines Day, don’t worry. As you can see from our friend Moldova, sometimes relationships can cause more harm that good. And keep your head up. November 11 is only 9 months away. It’ll soon be Singles Day and all those involved in relationships will be the ones sitting at home looking at the green grass on the other side of the other side!

Well, not exactly. It should be titled “Back in the ‘Former’ USSR” since the Soviet Union broke up two decades ago. But I’m leaving it as is because 1. It’s a cool song 2. It rings better and 3. Things here in the x-Soviet Republics really haven’t changed that much since the good ole days of socialism.

I’m officially out of the EU, uber developed, first world nations of Western and Central Europe and am back in the ‘former’ USSR (the first time I’ve been back since the Caucuses and Stans more than 2 months ago). Therefore, I’ve gone through a huge cultural shock, or should I say “cultural freeze,” these past few days after traveling through the Ukraine and Moldova. I almost forgot what the old Soviets were like:

1. Double digit negative temperatures

2. Blizzards

3. Poor infrastructure

4. Aggressive drunks haggling you on the street

5. The non-existence of the English Language

6. Cyrillic Alphabet

7. Beautiful women wearing short skirts in – 20 degrees Celsius and high heels over a three inch layer of ice

8. The never ending “Ibiza 2006 Party Mix” combined with the “Russian Techno” and “Greatest American Pop Hits from 1991″ playing everywhere! (I swear to God if I hear “Love Generation” one more time I’ll go in to a such a rage it’ll make Stalin look like Oprah).

9. Not a single smile in sight

10. Food that taste like Kruschev’s leather shoe

11. Corrupt, bribe hungry police

12. Packs of stray dogs

13. Old, run down steel factories

14. Massive concrete block apartment complexes

15. The feeling that everyone single person around hates you and themselves

16. Only seeing the color gray for days on end

17. Statues of some heroe from some past war every 3 blocks

18. The homeless person missing a leg. You see him on average 1.3 times per day in every city you visit

19. Fur hats, clothes, boots, ect…

20. Vodka. Lots and lots of vodka.

Damn it’s good to be back!

But why, Trey? The adjectives you used to describe this region would place it 4th on the all time most undesirable destinations ever! Right behind the Battle of Stalingrad, Hell and Hong Kong, respectively. How could you ever possibly like, much less tolerate, such a desolate atmosphere?

For the record, yes, I know I’m crazy. But to be honest, I have no idea why I actually enjoy this place. The only response I can provide is that it’s just more adventurous here. Life, and especially travel, is more of a challenge. Everyday you wake up and the first words that come to mind are, “What in God’s name is going to happen to me today?” I’m also forced to use Russian and read Cyrillic, which is always fun, being obsessed with languages and all.

Life in the developed nations of the EU is nice, don’t get me wrong, but they rank between a 2-3 on the Xtreme Travel Meter (1 being Luxembourg, 10 being Somalia). Now, I’m not saying I hate Europe, I really don’t hate any countries. I had a great time in the European heartland, learned a lot, explored new cultures I knew nothing about, met some great people and partied quite a bit. No complaints of regrets whatsoever. But it’s damn good to be back off the beaten track in the former USSR for the next three weeks to finish my trip off strong.

Nonetheless, I know after struggling with all the pains and hardships from the Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and maybe even to some extent the Baltics, I’ll look back on the EU leg of my trip and miss it. Saying that, I’ll leave you with a few memories from my experiences through some of the EU’s and world’s most famous cities below, ones that I’ll most certainly yearn for while I’m getting robed by the cops on an icy alley way in Transdniester. Enjoy!

Vienna, Austria

Budapest, Hungary

(The pic above is just funny. It’s a traditional Hungarian/Ottoman styled bathhouse from the 15th century. It was a cold day outside and I decided to go to get a bit of culture and warm up. However, I had no idea it would be a San Francisco Gay Pride Parade at Water World. It’s basically just a bunch of old, overweight, retired men walking around in loin cloths. There’s a big hot tub in the middle where they all sit around and chat, while there are several other pools ranging from very cold to very hot circling the perimeter. In some other rooms, there are saunas and steam rooms, again ranging in all different temperatures. I also spotted one device that had a bucket filled with water with a rope tied at the end. I saw people pulling the rope, causing the bucket to poor all over them. I decided to try it myself, though I had no idea whether the water was cold or hot. I guessed hot, pulled the cord, then got shocked by the coldest water I’ve ever touched in my life. Ouch! So there I was, me in a white loin cloth, soaking wet and surrounded by 100s of grumpy, half naked guys at the Rudas Bathhouse. I still don’t know why I put myself in situations like these… All in the name of travel).

Bratislava, Slovakia

No pics available for Bratislava. First of all, there’s really not too many glamor shots around town. Second, I met a group of Slovakians and ended up drinking and talking with them both nights I stayed there. Therefore, my sightseeing days were reserved for sleeping. Usually I hate sleeping the day away, but I learned more from chatting with them about their country and culture than I could from any museum. No regrets, none at all.

Prague, Czech Republic

Berlin, Germany

(Original sign at Checkpoint Charlie. I’ve always wanted to see this!)

(The original Berlin Wall- the true division of East and West and a symbol of the Cold War. Again, another thing I’ve always wanted to see).

(The Fuhrer’s final resting place. The site of Hitler’s bunker and where he shot himself in the head amidst the Soviets invading Berlin. I think it’s funny how it’s a parking lot now. Personally, I think it should be a public restroom facility, but that’s just me…).

Warsaw, Poland

(Looks like the co-host of Euro Cup 2012 is ready!)

And there you go, a few cliche images from Europe’s great capitals. Berlin and Budapest were my favorite, the former due to having a great history and the latter for being a bit bizarre (and not because of the bathhouse!). Prague gets the award for having the best architecture, though it was a little too touristy for my liking. Slovakia gets the wittiest people of Europe trophy. Vienna was the most boring and Warsaw had the prettiest girls and best food.

Stay tuned to the blog for pics from the former USSR. As mentioned, I want to end this amazing trip well, so I’m going to some really strange/odd/interesting places around here that not too many tourists have seen, much less know about. Now, I need to get to sleep, I have a long, oh so long, day ahead of me. Good night.

Feel free to leave any comments or questions you may have. Also be sure to check out Xtremetravelstories.com now for news, information, city guides, social networking and the craziest travel stories on the net! Submit your adventurous stories from abroad today to get published and share them with the world!

I’m sure most of you out there are familiar with the Holocaust and the genocide at Nazi concentration camps. I’m not going to reiterate what you already know, rather show you some fascinating pictures with explanations from my trip there. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, I didn’t know if it was morally right to be a tourist in the world’s number one genocide hot-spot. But I went and felt better after reading a sign at the entrance that stated, “Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.” It’s true. Even though I’ve studied the Holocaust throughout elementary school, high school and college, it still doesn’t compare to going there first hand and feeling it in your heart. So without further ado, here is just a little bit of the two concentration camps I visited in southern Poland- Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (aka Birkenau).

“Arbeit Macht Frei” in German means “Work Makes You Free.” This is written at the entrance gate to Auschwitz I and was the first thing many prisoners saw upon exiting the train carts. The Nazis were fond of using deception to trick the prisoners (but I personally think they did it just to torment them even more). They used this slogan to make them believe they were only going to work for several months then be freed. In reality, 90% of those who arrived in Auschwitz were sent to the gas chambers immediately and exterminated. The remaining 10% worked in treacherous conditions everyday for 12 hours a day. Some were worked to death and the others who were strong enough to survive months of hard labor were eventually murdered anyway.

Guard Tower

Some of the victims; men, women and children alike. Upon arrival, most woman with children and/or pregnant woman were separated from their husbands, sons and brothers and sent immediately to the gas chambers. The men and some woman, if healthy, lived and worked in the camps. If unhealthy, they two were stripped naked of all there personal belongings and gassed.

Childrens’ shoes. The Nazis took everything from the executed prisoners to be used as “resources” for the country at war. There was also another exhibit of human hair (but we weren’t allowed to take photos there). The hair was used for stuffing and rope. When I stepped into the room and saw a lake of real human hair I became sick to my stomach and felt like vomiting. This is saying a lot for me too since I claim to bare the world’s strongest stomach.

The Death Line. If you crossed this line, you were automatically shot on spot. Many prisoners took advantage of this and intentionally passed it to commit suicide. They believed it was better that way than the gas.

Firing Wall. If you acted up, tried escaping or were suspicious for “plotting” an escape, you would be dragged here and shot in the head. If one prisoner tried to escape and was caught, he and two other randomly selected inmates were killed. You may also notice the building to the left. That is where scientist tested scientific experiments (ie. sterilization) on women. They boarded the windows up so the “patients” couldn’t witness the executions.

Electric Fences. Prisoners had to walk between these electric barbed wire fences to get from one side of the camp to the other.

Top pic is the chimney to the gas chamber of Auschwitz I. The bottom pic is the actual gas chamber used. Once doctors separated the fit from from the unfit, the latter was instantly stripped naked and told they needed to take a shower. Again, deception. They were then loaded into this chamber while Nazi guards poured the gas on top of them. It took 20-30 minutes for everyone to perish. What a terrifying death it must have been with hundreds of nude individuals screaming their last breath of horror.

The Crematorium. The crematorium was connected to the gas chamber. Once everyone died, they cremated their bodies here. You may ask, what type of jobs did the “fit” prisoners perform? Well, here’s one of them- loading dead bodies into a furnace. The Nazis didn’t want to do it themselves.

Complete view of gas chamber and crematorium.

The entrance of Auschwitz II (aka Birkenau). The Nazis built Birkenau next to Auschwitz I to increase the number of killings. It was their first step in carrying out the “Final Solution.” Birkenau is much bigger than Auschwitz I. It also housed more prisoners and performed more executions per day. They even built the train tracks (shown here) directly into the gas chamber to not waste any time. How’s that for German efficiency?

An actual train cart used to transport prisoners from all around Europe to the concentration camps. We all know that Jews were public enemy number one of the Holocaust, but others who perished with them were Romas (aka gypsies), homosexuals, Slavs, people of color, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the mentally and physically retarded and any conspirators/enemies to the Third Reich.

Living Quarters. Prisoners were stacked on top of eachother like chickens in a Nebraska barn. During the summer some would have heat strokes. In the winter, some would freeze to death. As cold as I was with my 1000 layers on, I don’t know how any of them could have survived a Polish February wearing only one black and white striped uniform; that’s the only garment they were allowed to have. In fact, they also weren’t allowed to wash them or get new ones, making it awfully grim in the sweaty summer months.

Toilets. You could only use the bathroom once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Bunk Beds

So that’s just about all from my experience at Auschwitz. Pretty freaky, right? It put a tear in my eye I must admit, how could it not? I’ve said it once and trust me, I’ll keep saying it for as long as I live- This is why we travel, to learn about the world we live in, both the good and the bad, and to learn from it to better ourselves. So despite the depression and negativity energy surrounding the concentration camps, I walked away from it feeling more informed about this horrible tragedy.

I have this pet peeve about complainers. I meet so many people out there who tend to complain about everything. “It’s too cold outside,” “My food isn’t hot enough,” “Oh my God there’s dirt on the floor,” “I can’t believe this shirt doesn’t fit me,” “Why is the bus 5 minutes late?” As much as I hate to complain, I’m not perfect and even find myself bitching about some minuscule things every once in a while. However, why should we complain about anything? Maybe we should just be happy with what we got and be satisfied with just having clothes, a floor to walk on, eating a square meal and thankful that we are still alive to breath the cold air outside. How have humans evolved into such spoiled and pampered animals? Why do we believe life is perfect and everything around us should be catered to our own personal needs? The more I travel, the more I’m becoming aware of this. So much in fact that I’m trying to cut complaining completely out of my life and just be happy with whatever the situation may be.

I bring this up to make a point. Life, like the prisoners at Auschwitz and for billions of souls around the Earth, isn’t good. Life can be tough and agonizing. So, next time we (I’m talking to you and myself alike) complain, sit back, analyze and ask- is it really that bad? Then think about the hardships so many others have gone through and realize that hey, maybe it ain’t that bad after all. Trust me on this one, it could be a Hell of a lot worse. Ask the 1.5 to 2 million people gassed or worked to death at Auschwitz, they’ll really tell you something to bitch about.

Be sure to check out Xtremetravelstories.com now for news, information, city guides, social networking and the craziest travel stories on the net! Submit your adventurous stories from abroad today to get published and share them with the world!

New year, new continent, NEW FOOD! Europe, to begin with, is a small continent. All of Europe can easily fit within the continental USA. Continuing, there’s 47 independent countries all tucked within this small area. To put this in comparison, Asia, by far the largest continent, has 48 independent nation-states. Every country in Europe has their own traditional food and drinks, but this number far outreaches 47 since most of these countries have more than one specialty, have regional specialties, and sometimes have other ethnicities within the borders cooking their own cuisine (take the United Kingdom with England, Scotland, Whales and Northern Ireland for example).

So know you know why Europe is the land of eating and drinking- because there’s so much damn good food jammed packed into one tiny morsel. I take a train ride for one or two hours and I’m in an entirely different country with a new language, new people and new grub. Below are a few of these eats from the month of January: Romania through the Balkans ending in Hungary.

Sarmale with Fries and a Patty of Fried Pork. Bucharest, Romania. This is a thick, hearty meal that will pack on the pounds to keep you warm through the winter. Just what I needed! Sarmale (the national dish of Romania) at 12 o’clock in the picture, is a roll of cabbage stuffed with meat. It’s all over Romania and it’s delicious. Common sides with sarmale are fries, a salad, a wedge of cheese or (as seen here) a slab of fried pork! You already saw the sides I chose, and with good reason- I need the calories to get me through this rough European Winter! Cost: 5 USD. Ranking: 7 out of 10.

Bulgarian Cheese Fries, Bulgarian Salad and Beef Patty. Sofia, Bulgaria. The cheese fries are the highlight of this dish and by far my favorite Bulgarian speciality. They’re crsipy fries cooked in pig fat then topped with snow white cheese straight from the farmlands. The salad resembles a Greek salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, but my Bulgarian friend insisted it’s different (and I’m still not sure how or why, must be a rivalry thing…). Oh yeah, there’s a few pieces of hamburger patties for “garnish.” (To be honest, I only ordered this for the fries, so yeah, everything else on the plate was in fact garnish for me). Cost: 4.50 USD. Ranking (only the cheese fries because everything on this particular plate wasn’t that good) 9 out of 10.

Orthodox Christmas Dinner. Belgrade, Serbia. I mentioned in my last blog that I got to celebrate Christmas twice since the Orthodox of Serbia recognize January 7th as Christ’s birthday. I met a group of 10 insane Belgian guys looking to party at every corner. Naturally, we became friends, and we decided to splurge and have a nice meal that Christmas night. This is what we got- An entire baby roast pig, sausages, chicken breasts, steamed potatoes and a few massive slabs of beef. What you can’t see in this picture is the tray of breads and local cheeses and plethora of pickled vegetables. And everything I just mentioned, which is mostly seen in the pic above, was only one of the plates they gave us. There were two in total. We washed all this down with local Serbian beer and shots of rakia- local alcohol resembling schnapps that’s as strong as a left hook from Satan. Awesome meal with great company, what a way to bring down my first Orthodox Christmas. Cost (per person including all drinks and food) 15 USD. Ranking 9 out of 10.

Chevapi. Skopje, Macedonia. Chevapi are the small, finger like sausages that are found all over the Balkans, making it the most popular dish of the region. They’re usually served with diced raw onions and a salad of pickled vegetables, peppers, cabbage and/or cucumbers. However, what made this chevapi extra good was the clay pot of spicy, baked beans seen at the upper left of this photo. So, out of all the chevapi I ate in each of the Balkan Republics, this meal takes home the gold. Cost: 4.50 USD. Ranking 9 out of 10.

Burek. Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Burek is the bomb, and I’m not talking about the war of the 1990s. Burek is basically a pie/wrap stuffed with either meat, cheese, spinach and cheese, or something else that tastes good. In this pic, I’ve got all three! They’re traditional all throughout the Balkan Peninsula and is the number one quick/cheap eat in town. They can also come in different sizes and shapes. Here, they resemble a roll, but sometimes it’s like a pizza slice, or a square, or a circle, ect… However, I found Bosnia and Herzegovina to have the best burek of the Balkans. Cost (for all the ones in the photo above) 2 USD. Ranking 6 out of 10.

Sausage Fest. Zagreb, Croatia. I’ve never seen so many sausages together in my life! Apparently here in Croatia it’s not illegal to have a bunch of sausages of all different shapes, sizes and colors out in the open on a public street. Count them, there’s 10 different kinds! What you do is go up to this street vendor in Croatia and pick which sausage you want to put in between your buns. You can choose to have a horse one, veal one, venison one, wild boar one, pig one, cow one, mixed meat one, Hell, you can even put two in there if your into that type of stuff!!! Anything, this guy’s got’em all. He dunks the sausage in the hot liquid for a moment then puts it on a French style baguette with a little mustard. One of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had (FYI, I chose the wild boar one). Cost: 3 USD. Ranking: 7 out of 10.

Kremsnita. Bled, Slovenia. I met Janez and Lena (a Slovenian couple my age) in the fall of 2008 in Puerto Princesa, the Philippines. We made friends and kept in touch all this time and even exchanged some words during the USA vs. Slovenian World Cup game. Anyway, when I told them I was passing through their country, they offered me a place to stay, a snowboard and a tour of nearly their entire country. This was one meal they said I couldn’t miss out on- a typical pastry from the small town of Bled. It’s got a hard, cookie crunch upper and bottom layer, thick whipped cream and an egg yoke cake sandwiched in the middle. How do you say phenomenal in Slovenian? Cost: 4 USD. Ranking: 9 out of 10.

The Terminator. Vienna, Austria. Arnold would be proud. I’m sure he ate this a lot growing up because this is by far the most Austrian meal you can get. First, a wiener schnitzel- a thin piece of marinated pork that’s fried to perfection. Second, a massive Austrian beer. Third, apple strudel (a pastry with apples in the middle) accompanied with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Holy Governor of California, this was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten in my life. Plus, the 80 year old female owner of the restaurant was one of the nicest people I’ve ever encountered. I sat there in amazement for what seemed like hours after the meal and said, “I’ll be back!” Then I got the bill, then said, “I won’t be back.” Cost (entire meal with schnitzel, 2 beers and apple strudel dessert) 25 USD!. Ranking: Heaven… worth the price.

Gulash. Budapest, Hungary. Gulash always scared me even though I didn’t quite understand what it really was. Maybe it sounded a bit too much like “Gulag.” Anyway, I went to Hungary and discovered that it’s meat (usually veal) in a thick, heavy brown paprika sauce. In Hungary, they like to serve it with fried potatoes and sour cream, but just like some other dishes in Europe, this one can be found all around the central part of the continent. It’s good and filling enough to ensure you won’t go hungry in Hungary! Cost: 6 USD. Ranking 7.5 out of 10.

Imagine going to sleep one night under the banner of one country, and waking up the next day living in an entirely different one. Sounds crazy, right? Well, not for the people of the Balkans. In fact, this scenario has played out dozens of times throughout their history; so much in fact that it has became a common occurrence.

After WWII, the nation of Yugoslavia (now present day Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo) came under the dictatorship of Josep Broz (better known as Tito). Fighting between all these rival groups halted under Tito’s term and Yugoslavia was even considered the most open of the communist republics by reaching a fairly high standard of living. Tito also sought neutrality in the two sided game of Cold War politics and made allies with both the USSR and USA. Life was good in the Balkan Peninsula for the next four decades.

Then, in 1980, Tito (the only entity gluing this fragile ethnic-religious mosaic together, died and Yugoslavia slowly began to deteriorate into a fiery blaze. In the early 1990s, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia and Montenegro were all separated and at each other’s throats again. Then shit really hit the fan and Tito flipped three times in his grave.

(Bombed buildings, Pristina, Kosovo)

Slobadan Milosivic of Serbia began speaking of a greater Serbian nation, one that would incorporate Serbs from all surrounding republics into one big nation. Milosivic started moving into neighboring countries and even started the process of ethnic cleansing local Muslims to “make room” for the Serbs. Soon, full out war broke loose: Serbia vs. Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(Bombed buildings in downtown Belgrade, Serbia)

The alliance of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina didn’t last long, however. They eventually turned on eachother as well, creating a three way war between the Bosniak Muslims (who wanted to create a multi-ethnic/multi-religious union) the Croats (who wanted more land for a greater Croatia) and the Serbs (who were mass murdering innocent Muslims under Milosivic to make a sort of lebensraum for Serbia). The situation incinerated like a cigarette in gasoline, causing US President Bill Clinton to lead a NATO intervention on the side of the Bosniak Muslims.

(Bombed buildings in downtown Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

After much bombings and heavy fighting, by 1996 everything cooled down for the time being. The Bosniak Muslims with the help of NATO achieved their aim of a multi-ethnic/multi-religious country by having sizeable groups of Bosniak Muslims, Croat Catholics and Serbian Orthodox, forming the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia were also then independent. Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo at the time during 1997 were all united under the Serbian flag.

Things heated up again in 1999 when the predominately Muslim region of Kosovo tried breaking away from mother Serbia. Serbia intervened and war broke out again. With the help of the US and Bill Clinton to the rescue once again, Kosovo got independence… kind of (only half of the world’s countries see Kosovo as truly independent). Serbia obviously doesn’t recognize Kosovo and the two every few years seem to clash.

(More bombed buildings in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Amazingly, in 2006, Serbia allowed Montenegro to have a referendum for independence. Montenegro voted “Yes,” and Serbia peacefully let them go, officially land-locking Serbia. It’s funny, why would Serbia put up such a fight for Kosovo, a region full of ethnic Albanians who are Muslim (meaning they’re very different from the Serbs), and let Montenegro, a place full of Orthodox Serbians (a place with obvious cultural and historic ties to Serbia), go with ease? Politics is a dirty game.

There’s a brief history of the Balkans for ya, but let me state that I have barley scratched the surface. There’s much more to this conflict than a few paragraphs scribbled down on this blog.

Anyway, I traveled to each of the former Yugoslavian nations to see how they were doing two decades after the conflict, and this is what I noted:

Slovenia

I had a unique time in Slovenia because I stayed at my friends’ house. Since they were locals, they showed me an entirely different side to the country and even took me snowboarding. Apart from that, it seems that Slovenia is doing the best out of the Balkans. The economy is booming and they’re the only country of Former Yugoslavia who uses the Euro. It also seemed to be a very clean, quaint, quiet, organized and enjoyable place to live in. The natural scenery is pristine and the architecture of down town Ljubljana tops European standards.

Croatia

Croatia seems to be doing the second best out of the Former Yugoslavia. Though they haven’t started using the Euro yet, it seems like that days is coming soon; especially with all the wealth that’s pouring in from it’s tourism industry on the Adriatic Coast. The Adriatic Coast is gorgeous and it attracts holiday sun bathers, rich businessmen with private yachts and party goers from around Europe during the summer months. Too bad it was below zero when I was there, a beach sounds mighty nice right now…

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina, unlike Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia, was the center of the wars of the 1990s. Many of their buildings were destroyed, best friends from highschool turned on eachother, the economy plummeted and the nation was almost wiped clean off the map of Europe like Prussia. Nonetheless, they survived and are kickin’ it like never before. The Bosnians are having a cultural renaissance while people eat and drink all night to celebrate the joy of just being alive. People from different religions and ethnicities are friends again, just like the good ole days.

(Above is a pic of the Mostar Old Bridge. The original one was hundreds of years old, but it was destroyed during the war. This is the renovated one. There’s a mountain of tradition here. A group of locals jump off this bridge to 1. save the name of tradition 2. make cash and 3. impress the ladies. Bridge jumpers are town idols and each one has a tattoo of the bridge and their name written in a special book. I met a bridge jumper one night and chatted with him about the proud bridge jumping heritage for a bit and the horrors of a gruesome war for the other bit. He’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met).

Serbia

Serbia’s capital Belgrade was the most important city and capital of Yugoslavia. Apart from being the economic hub and capital of new Serbia, it’s the largest city of the Balkans with over 2 million people and seen as kind of a regional cultural hub. Plus, Belgrade was rated by Lonely Planet as Europe’s number one party city of 2010. Like the Bosnians, the country suffered a lot from the war and suffered even more from Milosivic, the genocidal mad man. But they seem to have put the past behind them and are enjoying life to its fullest.

(I was in Belgrade the eve of January 7th, the same day the Orthodox celebrate Christmas! So, I got to celebrate Christmas twice this year! I met a group of Belgian guys and partied with them and the locals the entire night. Everyone was bar hopping and drinking warm, herbal red wine. After everyone got a strong buzz, they went to the church (shown here and in the below pic) to pray. After a good drunk prayer, they hit the streets again. Why can’t all Christmases be like this?).

Montenegro

The people of Montenegro are nearly exactly like the people from Serbia- Serb and Orthodox. Which makes me question, why did Serbia let a region with similar beliefs, race and history go with a referendum while they fought brutal wars with a tiny Albanian Muslim region known as Kosovo, one that has no cultural ties to Serbia. Apart from crazy politics, Montenegro is one of the most boring places I’ve ever been to. I hear that things pick up during the summer on the Adriatic shores, making it a kind of mini-Croatia, but that doesn’t help my opinion much. I stayed one day then bounced.

Kosovo

What’s up with all the US/Bill Clinton propaganda? I’ll get to that in a second. The region at the souther tip of Serbia has definitely got the blunt end of the stick. Serbia refuses to let it go and stomps its foot to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Saying that, only 50% of the world recognizes tiny Kosovo as an independent nation. Furthermore, every once in a while, Serbia and Kosovo skirmish. In fact, there was one 3 days after I left the country! It was a close one. But perhaps the most interesting thing about Kosovo is their passionate love for Americans. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it myself. Many countries have a strong anti-American sentiment, but Kosovo hasn’t forgot the help Bill Clinton provided them. In fact, the main street in Pristina is called Bill Clinton Ave and there’s a statue of him in the center of town. I told people I was American and was instantly bombarded like bombs over Belgrade with free food and discounts. I can get used to a country like this!

Note: Many say the US is raging a war against Muslims around the world. Let me remind you again, however, that the residents of Kosovo are predominately Muslim. So disconcerning whatever mess George W Bush has started, it just goes to show that not all American presidents and Americans have had anti-Muslim sentiments.

Macedonia

Macedonia is the quiet guy of the Balkans. It’s shy, the economy is puttering a long and it stayed clear of the major wars. Despite being a bit introverted, it gets the sash of “Miss Balkan” due to its incredible natural scenery. I guess nothing is always that easy though. While the Balkan nations were fighting it out, Macedonia was having its problems with Greece. Greece apparently got mad that this newly independent country was called Macedonia (the same name of a Greek Province where Alexander the Great’s from). Greece flipped out and forced poor Macedonia to change its name to the FYR Macedonia- The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia! Again, politics is ridiculous sometimes…

Albania

This one came out of left field since I haven’t mentioned Albania all blog! And why should I? It was never part of Yugoslavia. Instead, while Tito was practicing a very open and tolerant form of Socialism, Albania’s Enver Hoxa introduced one of the world’s most radical branches of communism. The country was closed off from the rest of the world, military bunkers were constructed all around the country and Albania sunk into a hole of international isolationism. They didn’t want relations with anyone, not even the Soviets. Now, Albania is opening up very slowly like a heated clam shell. But despite the bleak rays of internationalism shining through, there’s still hardly any trace of Western influence, giving the country a very unique feel and culture that can’t be seen in too many other countries today. I really enjoy odd places like this one!