In this latest series, I will be going through all the countries I’ve travelled to on my mission to visit every single country in the world. In this article, we will be covering countries #67, 68, and 69: Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia. If you haven’t gotten a chance already, read this story first to find out why I’m trying to visit all 193 UN-recognized countries.
VIDEO – Country #67, 68, and 69: Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia
Blog post on Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia
- My Complete Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia Spending Breakdown
- My Impressions of Slovenian, Serbian, Montenegrin, and Macedonian People
- Albania – The Worst Time to Get Food Poisoning
- My Complete Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Greece Spending Breakdown
Podgorica
After a long train ride from Belgrade in Serbia, I finally made it to Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro. It was getting late by the time I checked in my hostel so I decided to find a restaurant that was still open to grab a quick dinner.
The next day, before going to the bus station to continue my journey east towards Bulgaria, I went to a local restaurant to eat some fish. The fish was so delicious! Without a doubt, this is the best fish I have ever eaten in Europe.
After lunch, I made my way to the bus station to get ready for the long journey through Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
After purchasing tickets, it wasn’t long before I boarded the extremely full bus. I was unlucky and sat at the very back with awkward sitting arrangements.
Albania
The bus ride through Montenegro and Albania was surprisingly pleasant. Unfortunately, this will be the last moments of comfort for me on this trip.
We eventually arrived at a food stop in Albania.
As I was glancing over the limited food options in Albania, I happen to purchase some cold sausage. Little did I know that this piece of meat would make my life a living hell in just a few hours.
After eating and hanging out and making friends with a Turkish and Mexican passenger, we were now off to Kosovo.
Kosovo
When we got to Kosovo for the final rest stop, my stomach started churning. It didn’t quite hurt yet but I did feel off.
The longer we waited at the rest stop, the more my stomach started rumbling.
Eventually, the bus departed. 30 minutes later, my life would be a living hell. My stomach started having sharp pains and I was feeling chills. The bus also didn’t have a working toilet. At first, I thought I could hold it until we reach Skopje. But, it was so painful that I ran to the front of the bus and started begging the bus driver to find me a toilet.
After seemingly forever, we stopped at a gas station where I quickly ran in and did my business. I glanced in the toilet after and noticed there’s no toilet paper. Great…I ended up using a faucet nearby to clean up.
Soon after, I got back on the bus still feeling sick despite just using the toilet.
Macedonia
When we arrived in Macedonia, I quickly made my way to my hostel and checked in. Throughout the night, I had to use the toilet several times as the food poisoning bout continued its course. What a horrible chain of events.
The next day, the hostel owner wouldn’t let me stay in the hostel when I asked if I can still longer. When I told him about getting food poisoned in Albania, he finally let me rest up in the hostel lobby.
When it was time to leave, I made my way to the bus station going to Bulgaria. The bus station in Macedonia is pretty rough with unfriendly people and aggressive salespeople. Regardless, I was glad to get going towards my last stop, which is Sofia, Bulgaria.
Bus to Bulgaria
I am eternally grateful that the bus from Macedonia to Bulgaria was uneventful. It also seemed that my stomach was starting to recover from my food poisoning bout.
There was one rest stop on the way to Sofia. The rest stop also had a nice view of the county side.
After a few hours, I finally made it to Sofia, Bulgaria where I would be meeting up with my girlfriend the following day.
Conclusion
My transit adventure from Montenegro to Albania to Kosovo to Macedonia is the roughest part of my trip to Europe. After travelling through so many countries and recovering from food poisoning in Myanmar, I thought my stomach would be very strong by then.
But I guess Albania is also a developing country and food safety is still a work in progress there. With the exception of Montenegro, I don’t see myself returning back to any of these countries. I think my transit experience was so horrible that I never want to travel to the places where it happened ever again.
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2 thoughts on “Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia – Country #67, 68, 69 to Visit All Countries”
Man, thank you for being so honest and genuine in your articles. As a reader you really make me feel as if I am there with you on every ride, I love reading the greasy details please don’t leave those out. Personally I would never stay at a hostel as I am in my 40s now but my man you are a true warrior, keep at it!
Hi Josh, glad you enjoyed reading this blog post! I thought those details might be “too much information” but authenticity is my #1 focus so I’m glad you actually loved that part! And I’ve met people in their 60s still staying at hostels, you can get a nice private room in hostels nowadays and there are hostels specifically tailored to people who are not in their 20s. I would hate to stay in a dorm room now but staying in a private room in a hostel is always a good experience.