I went on a ‘dream’ trip to Albania and these are the grim things I wish I knew before I arrived: ‘Truly traumatic’

•  Anna Shatilova descrobes ‘traumatic’ trip to the Balkans
• READ MORE:  I visited Egypt for a ‘dream’ holiday and it turned out to be the worst trip ever: ‘I’ve never felt so uncomfortable’

A young woman has described her ‘dream trip’ to Albania, Italy and Greece as ‘chaotic’ and ‘traumatic’. 

Anna Shatilova from Sydney admitted she was mentally unprepared as a solo traveller as she recapped her first month abroad in Europe.

The young woman made a list of the ‘chaotic AF things that altered her brain chemistry’ as she travelled through Albania and landed in Italy.

The first picture shows a very crowded mini bus in Albania, filled with young travellers.

The second shows a very unimpressed Anna standing above a grimy squat toilet which set her back two Euros or $3.30 to use.

Anna was socked to pay equivalent to $3.30AUD to use this toilet

And in the third she showed off her bunk bed in Hvar.

‘Literally two beds stacked on one another,’ she wrote, on top of a picture of the mismatched legs.

‘I was too scared to move and I was on the top bunk, imagine how the guy below me felt,’ she said. 

The young woman showed off photos of mosquito bites, and one mystery bug bite which saw her leg swell up ‘the size of a balloon’ overnight.

In the post she also shared a few more pictures of horror bus rides – labelling them ‘truly traumatic experiences’. One showed a driver on the phone as he steered the bus with his elbow through a tunnel, while another involved a bus speeding down a highway with the door open. 

She also complained about the lack of aircon on buses and shared a picture which showed her sweating through her clothes.

‘That’s why they keep the door open, because there’s no aircon,’ one woman commented on the post.

She was also traumatised by the state of bus travel in the Balkans

And she agreed. ‘Yep, driver said “nice breeze”.’ 

Despite the negative post the young woman said she wouldn’t have had the first month of her solo travel adventure any other way.

‘Best month of my life, here’s to many more months of chaotic travel adventures,’ she said.

The grim slideshow also showed off some questionable accommodation in Italy and Greece – at one hostel she had to share a couple’s room because they had overbooked.

She was also disturbed to find the ‘women only’ hostel she booked in Corfu was run by an old man. 

Anna bought a one-way ticket to Europe after a tough few years and plans to travel for 12 months

In another picture her friend chose to use a hair tie around her bread roll to stop it coming apart while she ate.

Most people who commented on the video encouraged the young woman to keep travelling despite some of the uncomfortable moments.

‘I have have travelled too and love that you had those experiences. Your mind is open, changed for the better. Keep on exploring,’ one woman said. 

‘The true Balkan experience,’ said anther. 

Others criticised her.

‘You get what you pay for,’ one said. 

‘Sounds absolutely miserable,’ said another. 

‘These videos make me not want to go to Europe,’ a third man chimed in.

 Anna said she would head back to the Balkans ‘in a heartbeat’ despite the chaos.

‘The Balkans was equally traumatic and incredible,’ she said.

READ MORE: Traveller left ‘traumatised’ after rough and rocky journey on a ferry in Greece: ‘Now I understand what people warned me about’

American traveller Nikki (pictured) has retold her ‘traumatising’ experience on a Greek ferry saying it was a ‘miracle’ she wasn’t sick among passengers vomiting around her for two hours

 

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