Agonizing Albania

Albania sucked. No two ways about it. I was there for two days, and I was miserable for both of them. There are probably quite a few ways I could have made things better for myself, but at the time I was much too hot to think of them, so I just suffered through my 48 hours and nearly wept for joy when I landed in Athens and knew I didn't need to deal with Tirana anymore. 

Why did it suck so much? Let me tell you the ways:

- did I mention it was hot? I think maybe I've told some of you... Regardless, it was pushing 40 both days. And the aircon in my room was broken. It was like existing in a sauna, only there was no relief. There was nowhere I could go for any reasonable length of time to cool down. I also basically couldn't bear to be outside for more than 15 minutes at a time. I have never in my life been so consistently hot, and I hated it. 

- there wasn't really anything to do. Maybe I should have done more research, but between hiding in shady spots and drinking litre after litre of water, I did head to most of the tourist spots outlined in my Lonely Planet and online and... They were just really really underwhelming. 

- Albania has its own currency (leke, at about 100 to the dollar) and since I was only there for two days I didn't want to be stuck with a tonne of leke when I left. So maybe it's my fault for being such a cheapo but still... I never really found anything to spend the money on anyway! 

- the roads were insane. Worse than anywhere but Morocco, and honestly quite a lot like Morocco in fact. Lights and stop signs were really just suggestions, parking was wherever looked handy (in the middle of the road at times!) and even one-way streets were really just formalities. And even if things looked clear, there were never any guarantees that a moped wouldn't zoom down the road just as you stepped out. 

- there weren't very many women there. Of course, there were some women - working in shops, driving cars, occasionally walking down the street. But anywhere groups converged? Places I might sit for a drink or to read my book? Not one. Large groups of men sat in parks, in cafes, in restaurants and on benches. But there were never any women in those groups. It made me feel uncomfortable. The men would stare at me as I passed by, and while no one ever said anything, I couldn't help but feel like I was not supposed to be there. It really added to my unhappiness there. 

So... Yeah. Tirana sucked, and while I have heard good things about Albania from loads of places, my experience there was really just awful. I was so glad to get out of there. I did manage to snap a photo or two though...

This is a fountain. Do you see the line of wet footprints on the cement at the front of the fountain? As I was getting ready to take this, some dude stripped down, hopped the fence, dove in, swam around for a minute or two, then hopped out and went back to his bench like nothing at all had ever happened. It was bizarre. 

This was the one and only half interesting thing I found in Tirana. The segment of wall is from the Berlin Wall, the bunker guarded the entrance to the communist leaders' section of Tirana, and the arches are from a gulag enemies of the state were sent to during the Soviet regime. It's just at the corner of a park, for some reason. 

Listen I have no idea what this building is but I'm pretty sure it's a UFO. There are like twenty satellites down the right hand side. 

Horseman statue! Actually fairly nice. If there had been a lick of shade anywhere nearby I would have bee happy to sit there for a bit. Assuming there was a corner where I could hide from all the staring dudes. But of course, there was not. 

The museum and a mural, which actually depicts a female leader from an earlier time. I think. 

Annnnd... That's all. No joke. So glad to get out of there.