Silk Route

Day 74 - Wed 28 May 08

Bucharest

Breakfast at the hostel, more bread, cheese and pancakes! It's supposed to ht 37° today! Walk up to the Triumphal Arch which is a) short and b) covered in scaffolding. Oh well. Walk back, so a bit of Interneting, and then head back to the Hostel to chill out, as it is pretty hot. Get chatting to an American who has been to, and lost his wallet in Trans-Dniester.

Time flies and it soon time to head over to the station for the 18:50 departure to Budapest. I'm sad to say goodbye to the hostel and it's strange collection of people. The Welshman with the Thai bride who has visited as many countries as I have. The timid English guy who is teaching English. The Indian man from Mumbai who is over here on business. An eclectic mix.

My cabin mate on the train is a bug guy with two HUGE cases. He pays the conductor a bung, and moves next door into an empty cabin - I'm quite glad as I bet he snores! The first bit of the journey out of Bucharest isn't that interesting, but then we start to climb into hills and the hills then turn into mountains. Snowcapped and covered in trees with some beautiful villages all with steep pitched roofs to throw off the snow. The clouds are so low that they are enveloping the hill - great scenery. Tonight we travel through Transylvania - I'll make sure that the door is shut!

My friend who moved next door turns out to be a bit of a talker and is amazed at my journey and can't get his head around how I've managed to get across all these countries. He then proceeds to tell me all about Romania.