KEMBARA BALKAN - BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA | 01 MOSTAR : Menuju Mostar

Kembara Balkan bersambung ke negara seterusnya. Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Perjalanan merentas sempadan bermula dari Dubrovnik di Croatia menuju ke Mostar. Mostar memang dalam list perjalanan aku tapi sepatutnya aku tuju ke Plitvice Lake dan Zagreb dulu. Last minit aku terpaksa dropped 2 destinasi ni dari list sebab kekangan masa. Maybe next time je lah !

View di Croatia

Kawasan pesisiran pantai

Kawasan pedalaman menuju ke Mostar

Untuk sampai ke Mostar, kena masuk sempadan Bosnia dan keluar balik ke sempadan Croatia sebelum merentas kawasan dan sekali lagi akan melalui sempadan negara Bosnia.

Masa kat boarder tu kami semua tak turun, seperti biasa driver collect passport etc. So sepanjang jalan tu passport memang dengan driver lah. Dan perjalanan bas ada gangguan sikit sebab driver tu silap masuk jalan dan bas terpaksa berpusing di laluan sempit untuk cari jalan keluar balik semula.

Buang masa jer.

Masa tiba di sempadan Bosnia yang ke 2, sekali lagi urusan imigration di selesaikan dan lepas tu driver pass passport kat semua penumpang. Malangnya sorang penumpang kehilangan passport dia, so bas terpaksa berhenti sebab dia tak di benarkan masuk ke Bosnia.

Lama gak la menunggu. Rupanya passport dia tertinggal di sempadan Croatia yang mula mula.

Tak tau nak salahkan sapa tapi minah tu bengang gak lah dan penumpang lain pun terpaksa akur bas menunggu lama untuk ada orang bawa passport tu dan hantar ke sempadan tempat kami menunggu ni.

Perjalanan di teruskan. Sepatutnya waktu perjalanan 3 jam setengah, tapi kami melaluinya hampir 5 jam ! Aku cuma risau kalau malam sangat payah nak cari penginapan sebab aku belum booking mana mana tempat lagi ni.

Bas memasuki kawasan Mostar

Bas sampai di bus main station di Mostar. Station bas ni terletak sebelah train station.

Masa turun dari bas tu aku perasan sorang makcik ni bawak signage dan letak atas dada dia. Board tu tulis Hostel Dada.

Elok sangat la Dada di atas dada. Aku pegi toilet dulu dan cari tempat nak tukar duit sebab aku tak de currency Bosnia lagi.

Tak jumpa proper currency exc, tanya orang katanya boleh tukar kat kedai ni. Malangnya aku tak de duit Euro kecik.. Dia tak accept 50 Euro sebab aku nak pecahkan 10 Euro je ke BAM. Pasrah !

Berjalan keluar dari bus terminal tu aku terserempak lagi dengan makcik tadi tu.

"You looking for hostel?"

Aku angguk. Then dia tunjuk phamplets yang dia pegang, keadaan bilik dan dia bagitau lokasi penginapan dia tu sebelah bus station tu je. Harga untuk single room cuma 10 Euro ! Murah gila la bagi aku so pantas je aku setuju..................

Jalan kaki tak sampai 10 minit, kami tiba di penginapan Hostel Dada ni. 

Hostel ni adalah rumah yang sama dia duduki. Ada few rooms. Ada shared room dan private jugak. Dia pun duduk di kediaman yang sama. Agak friendly orangnya...

Bilik aku pun bersih dan agak selesa.

Ambik masa dan bersihkan diri dan buat apa yang patut, then aku melangkah keluar menuju ke bandar Mostar. Nak usha usha kawasan di sini sebelum gelap malam.

Juga misi nak tukar duit dan cari makanan ! Lapar.

Jalan kaki

Nampak jelas binaan binaan bekas perang yang melanda di sini satu ketika dulu

Gereja

Bangunan di sekitar bandar lama

Singgah maghrib jap di masjid ni

Dan usha usha kawasan sekitar Old Town ni.

Mostar is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, formerly one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country, and today suffering geographical division of ethnic groups. The city was the most heavily bombed of any Bosnian city during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the breakup of Yugoslavia. At the beginning of the war, air strikes destroyed many important buildings and structures, damaging the city historical core. The Old Bridge, a symbol of Mostar was damaged first by JNA forces during 1992, and on 9th November 1993 utterly destroyed by Croatian Defence Council tanks positioned on Hum hill after two days of heavy shelling.

Mostar has been most famous for this beautiful historic Ottoman-style bridge, which spanned the Neretva river in what is considered the historic center of the city. Through combined efforts with the international community, rebuilding of The Old Bridge was completed in 2004, almost 11 years after its destruction, using some of its original pieces recovered from the Neretva river. A significant portion of the city has been rebuilt and visitors might be surprised to see that this formerly war-torn city is a lively and beautiful destination once again, particularly the area within and around the old town. However, many visible signs of Mostar's troubled recent history remain

Rasa sangat best dapat tengok Old Bridge di Mostar ni. Walaupun dari jauh sebab aku memang plan esok baru nak explore habis habisan tempat ni.

Bergerak ke area Old Town.. Nak cari money exchange tapi tak jumpa. Jumpa kedai makan, tapi dia tak terima Euro note besar !

Kecewa !

Last sekali usha usha kedai dan tengok souvenir je. Tak boleh nak beli lagi... 

Dua tiga restaurant aku tanya tapi semuanya tak terima. Aku memang tak de note kecik Euro. Last sekali balik ke hostel, nampak kedai roti dengan harapan dapat beli roti.. Dah la roti nampak sedap. Tapi bila tanya jawapan memang hampa !

Macam nak menangis je rasa.

Jalan balik ke Dada's Hostel

Jarak pun tak de lah jauh mana. Jalan kaki dalam 15 minit je. 

Sampai hostel nasib aku ada bekalan maggie, masak maggie dan makan untuk alas perut. Memang lapar betul rasa. Lepak kat hostel malam tu borak borak dengan sorang minah NZ yang sama sama menginap.

Then aku guna internet untuk study perjalanan aku seterusnya. Sebab ada masa, aku planned nak stay di Mostar dulu seharian esok untuk explore tour yang ada di sini. Dan selepas menimbal balik, aku beli flight tiket dari Belgrade nanti balik ke Istanbul. Trip ke Bucharest terpaksa aku lupakan.

Ada sedikit lagi perubahan dalam itinerary aku lepas ni tapi aku rasa doable dan aku agak OK.

Malam tu tidur lena di Mostar menanti hari esok untuk merayap rayap dan usha kawasan bekas perang.

bersambung.................

KEMBARA BALKAN - CROATIA | 02 DUBROVNIK : Part 02

Aku memang letak expectation yang tinggi especially bila nak melawat area Old Town Dubrovnik di Croatia ni.

Tapi orang kata, dugaan mendatang, cuaca panas menyengat plus orang punya lah ramai kat dalam tempat ni buat aku hilang mood. Too touristy !

Boleh tak korang semua blah kasik aman damai tempat ni untuk aku sorang je lawati? * confirm aku kena tembak lepas tu...

Orang berjual jualan pun ramai tapi aku tak de mood nak gi usha apa benda pun

Tapi aku tak nafikan tempat ni memang menarik

Dengan senibina lamanya masih utuh terjaga, memang menjadi tarikan sesiapa pun untuk datang melawat Dubrovnik ni..

Dubrovnik is a stunningly intact walled city on the Adriatic Sea coast of the extreme south of Croatia. Although its population barely exceeds 40,000, it's one of the most prominent tourist resorts of the Mediterranean and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

Dubrovnik was heavily bombed during the Croatian War of Independence from 1991 to 1995. Almost all of the damage has been repaired; however, if you look closely around the old town, mortar damage in the cobblestone streets and bullet marks in the stone houses are visible.

Nak jalan jalan area Old town ni tak susah mana. Jalan utama dia cukup besar dan walaupun nampak packed tapi kebarangkalian untuk sesat tu agak kurang lah.

Memang ramai gila orang.

Aku riki riki nak cari tempat makan. Di balik laluan lorong lorong kecil tu ada resto resto yang agak terpinggir tapi memang ada orang jugak duduk makan. 

Jenuh aku cari tempat yang free sikit dan kedai yang provide makanan yang boleh aku makan dan harga pun tak de lah tikam leher.

Pusing punya pusing jumpa la cafe kecik ni

Makan cheese pizza sekeping, 20 Kuna. Jadi lah nak hidupkan roh kasi semangat skit berjalan panas panas hari ni.

"Kebakaran !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" agak agak dia orang semua bertempiaran lari ke tak?

Ramai yang ambik kesempatan panjat city walls yang mengelilingi oldcity ni. View memang lawa kot tapi cuaca memang bagi aku tak mengizinkan.

Tapi kalau nak naik city wall tu kena bayar 150 Kuna.

Walk on the walls around the old town, great views. It may be best to visit the walls during the early morning or the late afternoon during mid-summer months as it can become very hot. It takes roughly an hour to walk the entire wall, so make sure that you leave yourself enough time before purchasing a ticket.

Dubrovnik is surrounded by its city walls which are 2km long and famous all around the world. There are 3 entrances: on Stradun by the Pile gate, by Fort Saint John’s and at the Custom’s House gate.

Within the city walls you will see Fort Minceta and Fort Saint John’s on the south-eastern side. Also, within the city walls are Fort Lawrence at Pile and Fort Revelin at Ploce. The main entrance is by the Inner Pile Gates. Minceta Fort is one of the most beautiful cultural attractions in Dubrovnik. It's on the northwest side of the city inside the city walls and was built according to the design of renaissance builder Juraj Dalmatinac. St. Luke’s Tower can be seen by walking along the landward side of the city walls up to Ploce Gate. St. Luke’s Tower has protected the entrance to the Dubrovnik harbour throughout the history of the city.

St. John’s Fort was constructed in the 16th century and it is really worth visiting; on its ground floor you can visit the Aquarium, and on the first and second floors you can visit the Maritime Museum (see below).

Bokar Fort is on the seaward of the city walls. It was designed by Florentine architect Michelozzi in the 15th century.

Jalan ikut lorong lorong sempit naik atas bukit. Ada banyak kedai kedai jual cenderamata kat lorong ni. Terpongeh gak la nak memanjat.

Jumpa kedai Game of Thrones ni. Official. Dalam tu ada kerusi besar, kalau nak bergambar kena bayar or kena beli barang baru dapat.

Memang area Dubrovnik ni terkenal sebagai lokasi Game of Thrones dan beberapa filem lain.

The HBO series Game of Thrones used Dubrovnik as a filming location, representing the cities of King's Landing and Qarth. Locations used in filming include Arboretum Trsteno, St. Dominic Street, Lokrum Island, The Knežev dvor and Sponza palaces, Lovrijenac, the abandoned Hotel Belvedere, Fort Bokar, and the Minčeta tower. Parts of Star Wars: The Last Jedi were filmed in Dubrovnik in March 2016, in which the Dubrovnik was used as the setting for the casino city of Canto Bight. Dubrovnik was one of the European sites used in the Bollywood movie Fan (2016), starring Shah Rukh Khan. In early 2017, Robin Hood was filmed on locations in Dubrovnik.

In Kander and Ebb's song "Ring Them Bells," the protagonist, Shirley Devore, goes to Dubrovnik to look for a husband and meets her neighbor from New York. The text-based video game Quarantine Circular is set aboard a ship off the coast of Dubrovnik, and a few references to the city are made throughout the course of the game.

Kawasan atas bukit


Boleh sesapa nak naik ke puncak dengan cable car

Few of Dubrovnik's Renaissance buildings survived the earthquake of 1667 but fortunately enough remained to give an idea of the city's architectural heritage. The finest Renaissance highlight is the Sponza Palace which dates from the 16th century and is currently used to house the National Archives. 

The St. Saviour Church is another remnant of the Renaissance period, next to the much-visited Franciscan Church and Monastery.

The Franciscan monastery's library possesses 30,000 volumes, 216 incunabula, 1,500 valuable handwritten documents. Exhibits include a 15th-century silver-gilt cross and silver thurible, and an 18th-century crucifix from Jerusalem, a martyrology (1541) by Bemardin Gucetic and illuminated psalters.

Church and bell tower of the Franciscan church

Dubrovnik's most beloved church is St Blaise's church, built in the 18th century in honour of Dubrovnik's patron saint. 

Dubrovnik's Baroque Cathedral was built in the 18th century and houses an impressive Treasury with relics of Saint Blaise. The city's Dominican Monastery resembles a fortress on the outside but the interior contains an art museum and a Gothic-Romanesque church. A special treasure of the Dominican monastery is its library with 216 incunabula, numerous illustrated manuscripts, a rich archive with precious manuscripts and documents and an extensive art collection

The Rector's Palace is a Gothic-Renaissance structure that displays finely carved capitals and an ornate staircase. It now houses a museum. Its façade is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 50 kuna banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.

Aku sebenarnya kurang ambik pot dah bangunan bangunan yang ada ni. Banyak churches, museums dan library. Tapi aku lebih rasa macam nak cari tempat berteduh dan berlindung je dari panas matahari.

Pusing punya pusing, last sekali aku sampai dia area luar compound Old City Dubrovnik. Area ni lebih tenang dan kurang orang.

Pusing punya pusing punya pusing area Old Town ni, aku rasa macam dah cukup lah. Aku pun dah penat. Rasa dah tak leh nak appreciate tempat ni lagi.

Frust dan give up. Masa pun tak banyak. Aku kembali ke tempat tunggu bas dan nak ambik bas balik ke main bus terminal.

Tunggu dan menunggu

Orang ramai, bas asyik penuh jer..

Bengang pulak aku rasanya. Last sekali, aku cuba cuba gak menyentil masuk. Lepas la naik bas. 

Dan bertambah bangang ke apa ntah, masa dalam bas tu, aku boleh berangan dan hilang punca dan sedar sedar aku rasa macam aku dah terlepas stop kat main bus terminal tu !

Argh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tidak.............................................

Memang confirm terlepas. Aku tekan loceng bas dan mintak dia berhenti kat next stop. 

Satu hal lak aku kena menapak

Lalu tepi tepi tasik ni

Nasib view lawa tapi cuaca lak panas

Dekat 2 KM lebih gak lah menapak. Dengan panasnya. Berlari lari jugak sebab kejar masa takut bas ke Mostar dah sampai.

Ikut laluan suka suka hati

Bawah jambatan

Tepi pelabuhan. Nasib tak naik cruise jer.

Fuh.... berlari lari anak dari Safa ke Marwah, Berpeluh peluh tok sah citer lah. Lencun.

Nasib baik bas tak gerak lagi. Sedang sedang elok. Kalau tak, meraung aku kat situ.

Ntah apa silapnya, bangang lak rasa boleh ralit duduk dalam bas tadi tu. Otak menerawang tak puas hati dengan apa yang aku alami kat Dubrovnik ni.

Aku salahkan diri sendiri lah. Tapi bagi aku tempat ni memang menarik. Wajib datang dan spend more time explore lagi.

Tapi bukan untuk aku dah lah.

Bas bergerak meninggalkan Dubrovnik

Remang remang petang bas bergerak membelah laluan...

Aku akan tiba di Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina kurang lebih 3 jam lagi dari sekarang ni. Harap hari tak gelap lagi dan aku mudah nak cari penginapan untuk malam nanti.

Bersambung di Mostar.

Road To Balkan - Highlight 2017

BALKAN - Budget & Itinerary - Part 01

BALKAN - Budget & Itinerary - Part 02

BALKAN - Budget & Itinerary - Part 03

CROATIA