Bucharest, Romania, Dracula and Best Friends

Here is a link to more of my photos of Romania.http://picasaweb.google.com/Iamgoingplaces2/Romania#
Use the slide show feature.

 So while hanging out in my Orange hotel Suite in Bulgaria
I looked at a map. I realized that Romania is not that far away. I checked on the price of a plane...$234 one way. Checked on the price of a bus it was $32 so the bus it would be. Good bye to my Orange room in Plodiv and the next day I was back in Sofia to catch a bus to Bucharest, Romania.

 I like the sound of Bucharest and I didn't know any thing about it except that Dracula lives there. I also believe that Natasha and Boris from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show were born there. So after stocking up on fruits and nuts and bread and cheese I spent one more night in Sofia. The next morning I took a cab to the bus terminal and hopped on the bus for a six hour ride to Bucharest.

The long distance buses in Bulgaria are very nice and comfortable but don't have toilets and the the bus does not make a lot of stops for the toilet so I drink very little water. I keep my legs crossed. The bus was not crowded and the time passed quickly.

 The bus driver spoke no English. I made friends with a Japanese guy and an Australian couple as well as a woman who spoke the same language as the bus driver so she kept me informed of what ever pronouncement he would make.
 We crossed the border we were all looked at suspiciously by the border guard. Our passports checked and stamped and we were on our way.


Hello Romania.

I did not have a Lonely Planet Guide book for Romania. The Australian Couple had an outdated Lonely Planet for Europe. I got a quick look at it for some hotel ideas. At the bus terminal in Bucharest the first thing I did was get some Romanian Money out of an ATM machine. I still did not know the rate of exchange but I did have enough money to get a cab and pay for a night in a hotel.

I was immediately approached by a guy who asked me if I needed a cab. I said yes. I told him of a hotel I wanted to go to it was the "Hanul Luc Manuc" Hotel in the city center. *I had gotten it out of the Australian couple's Lonely Planet guide book. The cab driver spoken almost no English but indicated that he knew the hotel. I asked him how much he made a hand gesture of 10 fingers. I showed him Romanian money he shook his head yes and off we went.

The Taxi driver dropped me off in the city center which by the way looks very much like Times Square in New York. I did not see a hotel. He gesture that it was up a pedestrian walk way and he could not drive there. I was suspicious. He then clearly let me know it was 10 Euros that he wanted. I shook my head NO WAY. I insisted that we agree on 10 Lei Romanian Money. We argued and I would not leave his cab. We got people walking by involved. I had no idea how much a Lei was worth but we finally agreed on 20 Lei.

I grabbed my bags and started walking. The driver left in a huff. It seems Romanian Taxi drivers do not discriminate they will cheat any one. Young, Old, Romanian or Tourist Male or Female all are fair game. It turns out one Romanian Lei is worth about 30 cent so I ended up giving the driver about $6 U.S.
I walk up the Pedestrian walk way and I don't see a hotel.

I ask a waitress in a near by restaurant. She says that hotel closed two years ago. Stay calm I tell my self. I ask her if she knew of a hotel in the area. She said yes there is one on the other side of the park but she didn't know any thing else about it. So off I went in the Romanian version of Times Square.

I walked and kept a good attitude in my head. When I got around to the hotel Horoscop I did not care what the price for a room was I was taking it.

The Woman at the front desk was very nice and pleasant to me. Her name is Valentina. She owns the hotel. She showed me a room and told me the price in Lei. I still was not clear of the value of a Lei but I took the room right in the heart of the city. Nice room, small but Nice.

Fast Forward 10 Days
I have had a great time in Romania.
It turns out the price of the hotel room is reasonable.
I have great relationship with the hotel owner and she has since moved me into a 1 bed room apartment for the same price as the smaller room.

 It also turns out that I am right down the street from the  Palace of the Parliament...The house that Nicolae Ceauşescu Built at great expense. It is suppose to be the second largest building in the World next to the Pentagon.

Bram Castle, Transylvania

I met two guys from Spain and we became best friends for a few days. Jorge and Alfonso. We rented a car together and took a trip to Transylvania to Dracula's Castle and to see a couple other cities. When we got to Bram Castle it was still day so Dracula was sleeping and would not come out in the light of day.
I sure wanted to meet him.

Romania has been a surprisingly diverse and sophisticated country from its big cities to the Carpathian mountain range and small towns like Brasov. The people are friendly enough and most of them speak some English. It has been a good adventure here.

Now I am heading to Israel I will be there on my birthday.