Slept well in our suite.
Checked out as late as we could because the
flight wasn't until 01:35, then walked around the corner to a shopping
mall. Walked out of the hotel into a sauna, a big difference from
yesterday. We'd stayed at the same hotel in 2014 and walked past a
building that still wasn't finished from last time.
The shopping
mall had a bakery called Paul's, a French chain we like so headed there
and had brunch. I had a camembert sandwich, Song had a tuna roll. With a
coffee and bottle of water came to $49 - a bit pricey really.
Wandered
around a bit more, thought to see a movie but there was nothing we
fancied. The shopping mall just wasn't big enough so got the metro to
the Dubai Mall, THE LARGEST SHOPPING MALL IN THE WORLD!
We went
there last time - it has a dinosaur fossil, an ice skating rink, a
waterfall, aquarium and watches that cost the same as a house - not just
any house, but a house in Melbourne.
Had a wander and a sit down,
just chilled out watching all the people. I have to say, most of the
shops seemed to be empty of customers but full of staff. Song bought
some shoes in a small shop that had 6 assistants.
Found another Paul's and had afternoon tea - a selection of canapes and small rolls and desserts.
Carried
on marvelling at the extent of the place, then hopped back onto the
metro to go back to the hotel to pick up the bags. We'd discovered that
the metro went to the airport and was a lot cheaper than a cab so just
did that. Had plenty of time, breezed through passport control and
security and found another Paul's in the airport. Song had a salmon roll
but I was a bit over their stuff and wasn't hungry so didn't bother.
Flight went surprisingly quickly considering it was 13 hours - I didn't sleep much but watched TV.
Got
to Melbourne airport, and my passport couldn't be read by the machine. I
tried it three times, then the woman who was there to help tried it
three times but was then stumped and didn't know what to do so told me
to join another queue, which took 20 minutes, which meant by the time I
got through everyone had collected their bags and there was another 20
minute queue to get through customs, and another queue to get on the
skybus and there weren't enough seats so I had to sit in the luggage
area which was a bit undignified. On top of this the driver said there
were delays and the trip would be a bit longer. Welcome home.
So
that was it for our 2017 Balkans extravaganza. It went a lot more
smoothly than I expected, especially the travel in Albania, Kosovo and
Macedonia, all due to Song's research and planning.
The overall
impression for me is that the Balkan landscape is stunning, views to
rival Canada. But a lot of the places are poor and underdeveloped and in
need of basic amenities. Most of the public toilets are the 'squat and
drop' design and BYO toilet paper, and smoking in restaurants and cafes
is still allowed.
I can't see us going back. The highlights for me I
think were the drive from Dubrovnik to Kotor, Lake Koman and Lake Como,
and I did like Ljubljana.
Next year we're thinking of a cruise around South East Asia or South America, or a foodie trip around Western France and Spain.
We think this was our last trip where we visit so many countries and hop on and off buses, and our last month-long trip, it's a bit exhausting. We stayed at 17 hotels over about 25 days.
