Travel Ideas

For 5 decades since the second world war, Albania was an island unto itself, cut off from both the capitalistic and the communist world. Workers on oil rigs used to sail unmanned rafts with sails towards the Albanian coast just to watch the coastguard open fire on it.

Of course with the massive regime changes in Europe in the 90’s, Albania couldn’t hang on for long. In fact, after the various blood factions grew tired of slaughtering one another, they embraced the free market with such enthusiasm that the entire country (including the government) went broke as a result of a pyramid scheme scam.

Since then, Albania has become famous for exporting the worst criminals Europe has seen. Apparently, though, there are none left in Albania and travelers ought to be swift in striking out for the Albanian hills to find out what’s been going on in one of the strangest countries in the world.

It’s not necessarily very safe but once you make one Albanian friend then he’s honour-bound to protect you. We advise you a buy a large round of drinks as soon as you arrive at the first bar…

Tom has been traveling non-stop since the age of 18 and co-founded Road Junky in 2004. Follow him @tomglaister

He’s the author of Hand to Mouth to India, an account of hitchhiking from England to India with no money and which will soon be rereleased by Road Junky Books.

Tales of a Road Junky featuring tales of breaking people out of jail in Delhi, selling fake Rolexes in Japan and other adventures in Israel and Brazil will be out later this year.

He also writes fiction for anyone who never really grew up and his latest novel is Bozo and the Storyteller – download the audio book for free or even buy a copy…

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