'When the majority of your friends were met through travels, you have somewhere to stay in almost every country.' Because of that, I chose to end my Balkans journey here in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Back in a year, I met my upper bunkbed-mate in Casa Caracol in Cadiz, Spain. 'de Bulgaria.' The word sounds so untouchable to me, but who would have thought that I will be visiting Bulgaria a year later. Pavel, the guy who told me that he jumped off from a train and hitchhiked in his own country became my best mate in the hostel.

V W

S T U

Birthday Blast in

Bulgaria

Belgrade

Continue on my overnight train journey from ,

I arrived Sofia on the morning of 14 June 2015 (a.k.a. my birthdayyy!!!) After settling myself in a comfy hotel that he booked for me (how pleasant was that being a backpacker), we headed off for a walk in the city centre. Funny enough, that was his first time to join a free walking tour in his hometown. I should probably try some touristic activities when I got back HK.

How could a birthday in Sofia without a proper Bulgarian meal? There we were in one of the oldest restaurant in Sofia.

We ordered...

1. Shopska salata (Loads of cheese!!!)

2. Shishcheta (Barbecue meat)

3. Tarator (A yogurt-base soup which taste weirdly good and refreshing)

Anchor 1

28 days in Balkans

The next item I had on my check list would be going to a Pub crawl in Sofia. We joined the 20BGN tour recommended by Free Sofia Tour. The bars that we went too were quite underground and edgy. If you fansy to perform some music, get you butt on the piano chair in a mystery bar where it was used to be a secret meeting place for the communist party.

The tour guide even got me a birthday sponge soaked with alcohol! #livingthedream

DAY TWO | A hangover hike to the Boyana waterfall

You shouldn't leave a city without seeing the countryside and thats the reason we went on a city getaway on the second day.

Boyana waterfall is only an hr train away from the city. From there, you hike for another 30-45mins to get to the waterfall. If you are a bouldering expert, you might be able to climb all the way to the top and have a better view.

p.s. Dont forget to give your train ticket in a safe place (which is a small receipt), or not, you will have to pay 50 BGN like me!

Once again, big shout out to Pavel for celebrating my birthday (though partially being forced by me).