ORGENETNOM

When we initially planned our trip last fall we decided that we would work our way down the Croatian coast to Dubrovnik with the next stop being a Greek Isle. As this would be near the end of our trip we focused our attention on more pressing details, mostly in Southeast Asia and Australia assuming we would figure out how to get from Croatia to Greece at a later time. When that time finally arrived to plan our travel several weeks ago, we realized that it would be more difficult than we originally thought. We decided to go to Corfu in Greece, but despite its proximity to Croatia there is no direct means to get there from Dubrovnik. Ferry travel would involve going first to Italy and then back across the Adriatic to Corfu. Flights were equally difficult, consisting of a minimum of one stop in Athens and exorbitant prices. Looking at the map, this left only one practical option -- travel over land through Montenegro and Albania. We had done little research into these two countries but quickly learned that the border crossing between Montenegro and Albania was complicated and would pretty much require an overnight stay in Ulcinj, a coastal city at the southern tip of Montenegro.

Saying goodbye to the wonderful city of Dubrovnik, we took two different buses down the Montenegran coast. The scenery was quite nice at the beginning of the trip with many sun-drenched coastal towns surrounded by tall cliffs. There was an amazing looking medieval city named Kotor located within a large fjord. It included a castle with huge walls snaking up the mountains behind the city. This was however, not our final destination and we continued down the coast for another hour or two before arriving in Ulcinj.

The Lonely Planet guidebook described Ulcinj as a nice beach town popular with holiday travelers in Montenegro. The beach was also purportedly sand (which is a rarity in this part of the world). It ended up being one of the more bizarre places we have stayed. When we pulled into the bus station, we were three of only about five people left on the bus and definitely the only tourists. A few people descended on us with the usual offer of rooms/apartments and taxi rides. We chose one taxi to take us to our hotel and set off. This is where things became strange.

The taxi dropped us off in front of our hotel. The “resort” consisted of a huge dilapidated, white main building and multiple smaller adjacent buildings that housed the rooms. The complex was big and I estimated there were at least 100 rooms. There was a swimming pool which was completely drained and in a state of disrepair. There was also a large conference hall and a business area with several old computers that were either unplugged or switched off. It was not hard to imagine that in the distant past this must have been a luxurious resort.

What was bizarre was there was no one around. The parking lot was essentially deserted except for a car with an Illinois license plate…strange. We walked inside the cavernous main building and again saw no one. Finally there was some movement and a man came running down the stairs. “Ah Mr. Brandon” he said knowing immediately who we were even though we hadn’t introduced ourselves. “I am sorry, I am the only one here, let me show you to your room.” (How could he be the only person here, this resort is not small?). Behind the reception desk he reached into the slot for our room and retrieved our key, TV remote, and air condition control. I quickly noted that the slots for nearly every other room still contained these items and realized that we were probably the only people staying in this hotel. I began to feel like I was in a scene from The Shining.

The room was actually nice, clean and had new furniture. Parts of the reception area also had been recently redone with flat screen TVs, wireless Internet and fairly new furniture. Staying there turned out to be enjoyable as we literally had the whole hotel to ourselves. The caretaker also seemed happy to have us, sharing his wine with us and bringing us coffee and juice -- all at no charge. There was just no one else staying there and we could never figure out why.

The rest of Ulcinj was also a bit strange. The beach turned out to be a bit of a disappointment especially after Croatia. The sand was more akin to fine dirt and not alluring at all. Also strange was that the people at the beach seemed to love the sand. They sprawled out directly on it (not on towels) and smeared it all over their bodies, some even walked around town with it all over them. We thought this might be for protection from the sun, but it remains unlcear.

Kat and Brandon also were an attraction. We had heard that Asian people were a bit of a novelty in Albania and would often get lots of stares, but were not quite prepared for this to happen in Montenegro. Pretty much the whole time we were in public we could literally feel everyone staring at them. The people who we spoke with were all perfectly friendly and helpful however. Needless to say, we got the impression that the main reason foreigners stayed in Ulcinj was to cross into Albania and after two strange nights we set out early in the morning in a taxi for the border.

-AA