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Pristina Kosovo 1
I lived in Pristina, Kosovo for around 10 months and spent every spare minute visiting the country and surrounding area. It’s a fascinating place for a variety of reasons which I will cover in other videos and on my other sites, but include economics, culture, geographic location, politics and history. The war that gripped the country in the 1990s was still evident everywhere and I went on many tours of battle sites on my own and with groups.
Depending on who you ask and what interest they may have in the area, Kosovo occupies a unique place. Surrounded and landlocked by divergent cultures, religions and geography it is still gripped by the remnants of war and and processes set in place by Western European forces to set it up as an independent nation. The results of these processes remain to be seen, but during my time in the country I found the people to be generally friendly, accommodating and willing to share and inform you of their country and culture.
There is much to see in Kosovo as it has a rich history due to its location and has been controlled, governed or overrun by outside forces for centuries. The breakup of what was Yugoslavia thrust the entire region into economic and political chaos that eventually deteriorated into war. The area eventually broke up into its constituent parts along with their linguisitic and cultural boundaries as best they could as you can see while traveling. But, human nature, greed, politics the general myopic tendencies of humans have create borders that are or will be forever in dispute depending on which side of the cultural line you stand. These issues make the entire region a fascinating place to visit as each area struggles to define itself, safeguard what it sees as its domain and attempts to build an economy.
I think I mentioned I lived in Pristina for around 9 months and had quite a good time learning about the country, its people and cultures. What a fascinating place I learned quickly. As a whole it is quite conservative and although friendly I found it a challenge to walk up and start a conversation with a female. Seems that although it is possible depending on where you are, say a public place it is possible it ask questions but quite often there are language barriers as English doesn’t seem to be as prevalent as elsewhere although there are pockets within the population where this is possible.
Like I said earlier, the people are generally friendly and accommodating the location and surrounding activity will influence whether or how helpful they area. Nevetheless, I quite enjoyed my attempts to communicate and except for a few exceptions, the people would at least point to someone who could help me.
I spent time, from several hours to a day or more in many of the cities within Kosovo like Ivanijica, Ferizaj, Leposavic, Skenkeraj, Mitrovice, Prizren and Peje to name a few of the major ones. Each city was somewhat unique in the level of activity and diversity of cultures (Albanian and Serbian) and I found the whole experience unique and quite interesting. Many of the little villages are suspicious of outsiders but welcoming of Americans or Westerners if you’re in an Albanian area. If you find yourself in a Serbian controlled area they were generally distant and not all that interested in helping although they would sell me things when I was shopping.
I saw mosques, churches, museums, cathedrals, wineries and liquor production facilities that seem to be popular I think the drink is called Rakia which is a fruit brandy popular in the Balkans. There was a variety of types made out of everything from honey to prunes or basically whatever was locally available.
I visited a few of the battle sites from the events that took place during the 1990s making sure I was sensitive to all the sites and did not disrespect the locals as I felt I should. The entire country still bears the scars of war and I found quite a number of buildings and houses that had been destroyed.
As the country continues to develop and loosen the grip of outsiders it will be fascinating to see what transpires and this landlocked country evolves into independence.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and if given the chance I would spend more time touring the area and becoming more acquainted with the people and their cultures.
Anyhow, this is one of many videos, watch them all and visit my Travel sites: https://steemit.com/@wizardofwhere, My website:http://www.wizardofwhere.com Instagram and Pinterest @wizardofwhere as I develop them. Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
If you can donate some LBRY coin that would be great
Wizard of Where
Depending on who you ask and what interest they may have in the area, Kosovo occupies a unique place. Surrounded and landlocked by divergent cultures, religions and geography it is still gripped by the remnants of war and and processes set in place by Western European forces to set it up as an independent nation. The results of these processes remain to be seen, but during my time in the country I found the people to be generally friendly, accommodating and willing to share and inform you of their country and culture.
There is much to see in Kosovo as it has a rich history due to its location and has been controlled, governed or overrun by outside forces for centuries. The breakup of what was Yugoslavia thrust the entire region into economic and political chaos that eventually deteriorated into war. The area eventually broke up into its constituent parts along with their linguisitic and cultural boundaries as best they could as you can see while traveling. But, human nature, greed, politics the general myopic tendencies of humans have create borders that are or will be forever in dispute depending on which side of the cultural line you stand. These issues make the entire region a fascinating place to visit as each area struggles to define itself, safeguard what it sees as its domain and attempts to build an economy.
I think I mentioned I lived in Pristina for around 9 months and had quite a good time learning about the country, its people and cultures. What a fascinating place I learned quickly. As a whole it is quite conservative and although friendly I found it a challenge to walk up and start a conversation with a female. Seems that although it is possible depending on where you are, say a public place it is possible it ask questions but quite often there are language barriers as English doesn’t seem to be as prevalent as elsewhere although there are pockets within the population where this is possible.
Like I said earlier, the people are generally friendly and accommodating the location and surrounding activity will influence whether or how helpful they area. Nevetheless, I quite enjoyed my attempts to communicate and except for a few exceptions, the people would at least point to someone who could help me.
I spent time, from several hours to a day or more in many of the cities within Kosovo like Ivanijica, Ferizaj, Leposavic, Skenkeraj, Mitrovice, Prizren and Peje to name a few of the major ones. Each city was somewhat unique in the level of activity and diversity of cultures (Albanian and Serbian) and I found the whole experience unique and quite interesting. Many of the little villages are suspicious of outsiders but welcoming of Americans or Westerners if you’re in an Albanian area. If you find yourself in a Serbian controlled area they were generally distant and not all that interested in helping although they would sell me things when I was shopping.
I saw mosques, churches, museums, cathedrals, wineries and liquor production facilities that seem to be popular I think the drink is called Rakia which is a fruit brandy popular in the Balkans. There was a variety of types made out of everything from honey to prunes or basically whatever was locally available.
I visited a few of the battle sites from the events that took place during the 1990s making sure I was sensitive to all the sites and did not disrespect the locals as I felt I should. The entire country still bears the scars of war and I found quite a number of buildings and houses that had been destroyed.
As the country continues to develop and loosen the grip of outsiders it will be fascinating to see what transpires and this landlocked country evolves into independence.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and if given the chance I would spend more time touring the area and becoming more acquainted with the people and their cultures.
Anyhow, this is one of many videos, watch them all and visit my Travel sites: https://steemit.com/@wizardofwhere, My website:http://www.wizardofwhere.com Instagram and Pinterest @wizardofwhere as I develop them. Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
If you can donate some LBRY coin that would be great
Wizard of Where
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Another video from my road trip through Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Beautiful country, great people, rural and rugged more often than not. I loved it.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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Another video from my road trip through Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Beautiful country, great people, rural and rugged more often than not. I loved it.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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Another video from my road trip through Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Beautiful country, great people, rural and rugged more often than not. I loved it.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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I was browsing through some tourist brochures and saw an advertisement for a weekend market in Chatuchak. So, I hopped on the public transportation system and off I went. I have plenty of pictures I took while wandering around the Chatuchak Weekend market but more on that later; remember it’s a weekend market. It’s quite large with hundreds of vendors selling everything you can imagine. Most of the products are quite inexpensive compared to what we pay in the west and I saw a more than a few great deals. The clothes are also remarkably inexpensive and there’s quite a variety as well. As you can imagine, it was filled with women shopping for clothes and jewelry. To find it just look for the drop off point at the Mo Chit BTS, the last stop on the Bangkok Transit System in the north. I was there several hours and did end up purchasing a few things to give as gifts when I returned to the US. I should mention there were also many food vendors selling authentic Thai food and of course, I tried some of it.
I was told the Chatuchak Weekend Market was at one time popular only with wholesalers and traders. It has though become somewhat of a landmark and a must-visit place for tourists. It’s enormous and contains a seeming endless collections of merchandise. If you have the time the sheer volume of items available should exhaust even seasoned shoppers and you can quite literally shop ‘till you drop’.
It covers about 35-acres (68-rai) and is home to more than 8,000 market stalls. The place was packed every time I visited and I learned that a typical weekend, more than 200,000 visitors come here to sift through the goods. Experienced shoppers will no doubt agree that just about everything is on sale here. Be careful though as not everything is sold at the best bargain rates. But if you have one weekend in Bangkok, squeeze in a day trip to Chatuchak Weekend Market and you will not be disappointed.
Finding your way in the Chatuchak Weekend Market
As you approach you should look for a map as navigating the labrynth called Chatuchak may seem like an impossible task. Fortunately if you pay attention and grab map, there is a system to help you navigate your way through Chatuchak. There is a primary route that encircles the entire market, and it branches off into a series of numbered alleyways called Soi 1, Soi 2, Soi 3, and so on.
These alleyways or shopping corridors are grouped into sections, with 27 sections in all. There are many categories of goods contained in one section, and the same category of goods will appear again in the other sections. As far as locating your category of goods, it may seem quite ineffective; but it is handy when you try to locate your particular stall or where your exact location is on the Chatuchak map.
You can also find your way around Chatuchak using points of reference as you proceed through the maze, that’s what I did. The BTS and MRT stations as well as banks and numbered entrance gates are good points of references, as you will come across them as you turn corners. But, you can also use the map to locate these references to find your correct orientation.
What Can you Buy?
Imagine the world’s biggest marketplace and imagine what you would buy if you could, that’s Chatuchak. I was amazed at the sheer variety of merchandise, whether a Moroccan lamp, an antique wooden chest, a pair of vintage Levi’s jeans, or, on the exotic side, a python.
I don’t believe it’s reasonable to identify everything for sale but the information available seemed to divided everything into 11 categories:
Clothing & Accessories (sections 2-6, 10-26)
Handicrafts (sections 8-11)
Ceramics (sections 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 25)
Furniture and Home Decoration (sections 1,3,4,7,8)
Food and Beverage (sections 2, 3, 4, 23, 24, 26, 27)
Plants and Gardening tools (sections 3, 4)
Art and Gallery (section 7)
Pets and Pet Accessories (sections 8, 9, 11, 13)
Books (sections 1, 27)
Antiques and Collectibles (sections 1, 26)
Miscellaneous and Used Clothing (sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 22, 25, 26)
As when shopping anywhere else be wise, look the merchandise over thoroughly and remember that the word ‘antique’ is used generously. Here are some precautions. Check your goods thoroughly for damage, as many vendors sell factory rejects. Again, when you purchase ‘antiques’, don’t trust the vendor regardless how honest he appears. It’s better to bring along an expert, unless you are happy with what you are paying for.
Bargaining Tips
Chatuchak Weekend Market is a great place for bargain hunting, although whatever you buy here is probably no longer the best deal you can find. If you aren’t comfortable with negotiating or don’t speak Thai, be prepared to walk away when the deal fails to go your way. If you’re a tough negotiator, you’ll either be offered a lower price or simply find the same merchandise at another stall. You may find it helpful to practice your negotiating skills beforehand. Something else I learned is that a friendly attitude and big smile are your biggest allies in securing the best possible deal.
Enjoy Your Shopping Experience
Map of Chatuchak Market
If you are like most people I saw, they don’t know exactly what they want or which stall to go to. Many it seemed were surprised and let the sights of all the goods take them through a journey down the maze of stalls. If you’re like me you arrive with a rough idea of what you want, then are mesmorized by what you see and end up going home with more than a few extra shopping items.
My advice is, if this is your first trip, pick a starting point and go with it, enjoy the experience and bring home your exciting new finds.
Before Your Arrival at Chatuchak
It is very likely you’ll end up spending a significant amount of time there. If I were you I would be prepared to ensure that your shopping experience at Chatuchak is an enjoyable one.
Wear light and comfortable clothing, e.g. shorts and a t-shirt/tank-top
Wear comfortable shoes, e.g. a pair of sneakers or sandals
Protect yourself against the sun, by wearing sunglasses, a hat and use sunscreen
Bring a backpack for storing your new-found treasures. It is recommended that you wear your backpack on the front rather than on your back
Always have bottled drinking water handy
Bring enough cash. Most vendors do not accept credit cards, and it can be a long walk to the next ATM
Beware of pickpockets and watch your belongings
Plan to go in the morning, as it can get very hot and crowded in the afternoon
Free maps are available from one of the information kiosks
Ok, once more. Where is Chatuchak?
Hop on the Skytrain (BTS) to Mo Chit station, take exit no. 1 and follow the crowd until you see rows of canvas stalls selling clothes. Turn right while continuing to follow the crowd and you will see a small entrance that leads into the market (clothing section).
Another option is to take the subway (MRT) to Chatuchak Park station (exit no.1), then follow the crowd until you arrive at the small entrance that leads into the market (clothing section). For the plant and flower section, get off at Kampheng Phet MRT station (exit no. 1).
The weekend market is open on Saturdays and Sundays, 09:00 – 18:00, and Fridays 18:00 – 24:00. Plant sections are also open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 07:00 – 18:00.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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Watch all the videos I took while walking on Jomtien Beach. It's an interesting place. During the morning the Thai people are hanging out and there are a few early morning riser tourists. As the day advances and moves into the evening a whole other type of us “interesting people crawl out of the woodwork”
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
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I shot a bunch of videos during the Detroit Jazz Festival. You can read more in the first video.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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I can hardly believe my luck, I was offered a flight over Kosovo out of the blue and of course I accepted. It was a helicopter flight in December and it was a bit cool but the view was incredible. We left from Pristina and I’m pretty sure the direction was north although I didn’t ask. I assume we started out in that direction as we landed in the north for a look at the Kosovo/Serbia border.
Kosovo is a beautiful country from above and the landscape is filled with rolling and rugged terrain. We were at a rather low elevation so the cars, cities and villages were quite visible throughout the entire trip. Each of the villages and small cities we flew over appeared quite active with plenty of foot and vehicle traffic. One feature I thought was quite interesting were the number of half built structures and although I heard a few explanations as to why, I’m not sure which was correct. It seemed to be quite common to see a three story structure with only the bottom and perhaps part of the second story finished to a state in which someone could live. The explanation I heard repeatedly was due to taxes of some sort which seemed plausible as it is a new country and possibly grappling with income sources. The other story I heard was that people were working in Western Europe and sending money home to build the structures but the money dried up or jobs were lost which also seemed reasonable. I’m not sure but there sure were quite a number of partially built buildings.
Another thing I noticed was the roof structures, rounded or traditional angular as I see in the west. Although I’m not sure, I did hear one explanation, that is was due to religion with the Islamic community having one roof shape and the christian community another. Its possible but again, I’m not sure. The whole thing makes the country interesting when you combine it with location, culture and past events. The divergent cultures which are tied to their specific religions self segregate for various reasons which I can only speculate at. But, I should mention that in my travels this habit seems to be quite common as the old saying goes, “Birds of a Feather Flock Together”. Not that this is a bad thing, people generally seek out others with common interests, cultures, religions for various reasons, safety and familiarity being high on the list.
We ended up landing at a site in the north close to the border area and we then stepped off the flight for a brief period and walked to the border. Not to the checkpoint but on an overlook where we could see both countries. Its difficult for me to understand the deep seated suspicion and mistrust the locals must have for each other and it is evident in their efforts to live in areas where everyone has similar religious or cultural beliefs. The area where we landed was hilly, rugged and covered with trees making for difficult movement on foot should one try to cross the border over land. After stopping at a store on the border we hopped on the flight and headed back through what appeared to be a different route. This time we passed over a reservoir, quite large actually and the surrounding area was beautiful. I think I heard mentioned that this was a water supply for the country although I can’t say for sure. I was able to see quite a few little cities along the way as I mentioned earlier and I couldn’t wait to perhaps drive the route up to the north to see the place on the ground. That was to come later but I thoroughly enjoyed the view from above and would do it again if given the chance.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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This and the following videos were shot as I walked and rode around the Jomtien and Pattaya Thailand area. It is alive with activity and full of tourists and locals. It appears if the city planners wanted to cram as many souvenir shops, bars and restaurants as humanly possible into one area, they succeeded. Watch all the videos I took while walking/riding around in Pattaya and Jomtien as it's an interesting place. During the morning the Thai people are hanging out and there are a few early morning riser tourists. As the day advances and moves into the evening a whole other type of lets say “interesting people crawl out of the woodwork” The main narrative is in the first post.
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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So, are you looking for an interesting way to get from Bangkok to Pattaya? There doesn't appear to be any meaningful driving laws or speed limits other than try not to run people down or smash into anything. I took a bus from Bangkok’s Ekamai station to Pattaya so I could wander around one of the primary tourist meccas.
I spent several weeks tramping around the area, eating, talking to the locals and basically enjoying myself. It's busy most of the day throughout the city and especially on the walking street. There are taxis running around the clock so getting up and down the beach is easy. There are also busses that run from the Jomtien bus station to the airport in Bangkok. It’s inexpensive as well, something like $4 from the airport to Jomtien bus station. There is quite a bit to see in the area, some of it reasonable and some not. If you’re into Buddhist culture and temples there are more than a few to visit. The whole area is designed to keep tourist busy with indoor and outdoor shopping, eating and drinking, hanging out on the beach and other creative ways to burn up time.
Although the area isn’t terribly expensive, especially during the off season, if you get out of the tourist areas it’s very reasonable, even cheap. I would go to Pattaya at least once so you can say you went. Here are a few things I'll elaborate on in other videos.
Anek Kusala Sala – An elaborate temple you really should see
Big Buddha Mountain – A huge image of Buddha on a mountainside
Pattaya floating market – an elaborate floating market in pattaya
Halloween – a celebration in Pattaya
Ko Larn – a tourist mecca off the coast of Pattaya
Pattaya flat– where I stayed in Pattaya
Jomtien Condo – Another place I stayed and although I referred to it as Pattaya, it was actually in Jomtien
Floods in Pattaya – Pattaya flooded while I was there
Pattaya street performers – everyone is trying to make a living in Pattaya
Pattaya – the city itself
This is just one of the many short videos I took while driving around. Watch them all and visit my other Social Media and Travel sites as I develop them.
https://wp.me/P3CC9J-6vq
Stay tuned for the others. Please take a minute and donate even a small amount to help me make more videos.
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