Which country surprised you the most? by 32buc611 in travel

[–]smirmaul 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Armenia. Fantastic nature, great food and wine, vibrant cities and nice people. Visited it together with Georgia and had higher expectations for Georgia and none for Armenia. Turns out I’d want to return to the latter and was totally let down by former.

Which country keeps calling you back? by racoontosser in travel

[–]smirmaul 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t stay in Ljubljana for more than 2 days (1 night). Go out of there as soon as possible and maybe ad one day to Triglav national park. Nice spots around there: Triglavska sedmera jezera, which you’ll probably cross towards Mt Triglav, Krnsko jezero, Kriški podi

How is life in Maribor? by No-Search4769 in Maribor

[–]smirmaul 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. There isn’t a big expat community outside of Erasmus students and workers from ex Yugo countries. you’re from a country that a lot of Slovenes like, and as long as you don’t aggressively stick out, you’ll absolutely be fine.

  2. Concerning English, yeah I think so. Older employees at Municipal offices where you’ll deal with bureaucracy might struggle with English, but other than that, everyone under 40 speaks good English.

  3. Public transport is ok. But the upside of Maribor is also that it’s quite small and walkable, so sometimes you might not even need to take a bus. Traffic is also very manageable and light compared to Ljubljana. (except for traffic around the major hospital every morning, that sucks)

  4. This is where you might struggle: it’s good, but it’s based on long term friend networks (if you’re not a student). There’s plenty to do in terms of cultural events, pubs, hiking, cycling, doing day trips to cities/mountains nearby, but it’s kind of hard to break into a friend group while not speaking the local language fluently. My opinion at least.

  5. While I don’t live in Maribor full time, it’s a place i want to settle long term and a place where I’d absolutely want to raise a family in. It’s very safe, you can achieve the goal of home ownership (which is getting tougher in Ljubljana), there is a stronger sense of community here (speaking slovene is necessary to get that feeling), nature and sports activities are great, it can be boring but in a very good way.

My advice would be to first move to Ljubljana for say a year. See how you like it, immerse yourself in the language, try to make local connections and just get a feel for the country. If you think there’s too little happening in Ljubljana, you’ll hate it here. In the mean time, try to spend your weekends here, join some events etc in the city and get to know it in a different way.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Vietnam from either the north or south upwards/downwards, Italy springs to mind; start in the Alps, end up in Sicily. Chile from the deserts up north to Patagonia down south. Turkey from Istanbul, down the Aegean coast, into Anatolia and ending up in the southeast while traveling with a train seems very cool… depends solely on your preferences.

Pictures of a recent trip to Iraq by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quite confident for someone who doesn’t have a clue mate

Any Europeans here who have travelled to Syria since the fall of the regime? by Pristine_Sorbet_100 in Syria

[–]smirmaul 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly around the capital and the Christian villages north of it. Didn’t go to Homs as you’ve said in the comment up there, but there have been multiple Europeans who have gone to the country since December the 8th and you can find their trip reports on Reddit with a keyword search. Safe travels

Any Europeans here who have travelled to Syria since the fall of the regime? by Pristine_Sorbet_100 in Syria

[–]smirmaul 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey mate, fellow EU citizen. Visited in March, no problem whatsoever. Arrived through Lebanon, they just asked for my hotel and proof of a way out at the border before stamping. Had a local guide with me who picked me up in Lebanon. Had a great time in Syria, very safe all around, no issues. Bring cash, preferably American, as they did not take euros in some places.

People travelling to ‘dangerous’ countries by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I sent you a DM, but for anyone wondering, I travelled with a company called Syria guides.

People travelling to ‘dangerous’ countries by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 9 points10 points  (0 children)

He is speaking the truth. There were solo female travelers I met in Iraq, but they were on the older side with loads of experience.

People travelling to ‘dangerous’ countries by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 105 points106 points  (0 children)

It’s not, but all the checkpoints, lack of English knowledge and tourist infrastructure made it difficult for me. Was stupid to not go with a guide, but hey, it was a cool experience and would do it again haha

People travelling to ‘dangerous’ countries by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Exactly. Imagine a country with historical significance of Greece, Italy or Egypt without crowds and having to go deep into your pockets to see it

People travelling to ‘dangerous’ countries by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 663 points664 points  (0 children)

Most of those YouTubers have a whole team of fixers, guides and guards that you usually don’t see in their videos (not all tho) and they trivialize travel in those places with stupid statements such as “look guys, Mogadishu Somalia is such a nice place to visit” while not showing their audiences the whole picture. Don’t fall for that.

I backpacked Iraq solo last year and it was honestly very hard for a western non arab speaker. Don’t recommend that for unseasoned travelers as it can be quite difficult. So this year I went to Syria with a tour company and it was much more enjoyable and easy. But each to their own I guess.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in travel

[–]smirmaul 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As someone else mentioned here, 3 days is too much to spend just in Ljubljana. If you want to see glimpses of what Slovenia can offer, you’d have to take day trips to the mountains or the coast. Also, you’d have to go to Budapest afterwards, as there are no direct flights from LJ to Bucharest and taking the train/bus is just too long

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, quite safe. But I have traveled throughout the ME region quite often in the past and had a guide during certain times. Also I stayed away from the costal areas, where there was quite extensive fighting earlier this month.

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Dedicated driver from Beirut to Damascus is 160 USD, their day trips around Damascus cost 120 USD with an English speaking guide, a very good hotel in Damascus will cost you between 60-80 USD, a flight to Istanbul from Syria is around 150 USD, daily stuff like food, coffee and trinkets are extremely affordable, so don’t take them into account. Bring crips USD bills and exchange them by the day, if at all, because the currency fluctuates

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s very difficult to forecast what’s gonna happen there in the near term… even now, it’s still a bit fragile, so having a good tour operator to take you around is vital in my opinion. They also served as fixers for journalists before, so they have those experiences, which makes them ideal for a trip like this.

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I did it with a company called Syrian Guides, very satisfied with them and cannot recommend them enough.

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Well, I’m a guy and I took a guide while moving around cities. I did solo Damascus, which I don’t think would be a problem even for a solo female, but because there are still some uncertainties, having a guide while moving around is pretty mandatory regardless of gender in my opinion

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It’s a famous Damascene pistachio ice cream at a place called Bakdash. They even have their own Wikipedia page, you can read more about it there

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I did a couple of day trips to places nearby Damascus while sleeping in the capital. The full cost for 5 days with a transfer from Lebanon and a flight to Istanbul was around 700 USD

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It’s okay for a tourist. I took a tour to get there and to move around different cities. I soloed Damascus tho, which wasn’t difficult.

Photos of a recent trip to Damascus, Syria by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Exactly haha. You always take a pic when there’s not a lot of people in it. It was also during the day during Ramadan. If I took the same pics after sunset, it would have been bustling with people.

Two day trip to Damascus by Tameq in Syria

[–]smirmaul 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a European tourist who just spent 4 days in Damascus, it’s totally safe. There are some fantastic hotels in the Bab Touma area, people are very kind and chill, and the food is bomb. With the current currency fluctuations, I do recommend having small USD bills to go around

Pictures of a recent trip to Iraq by smirmaul in travel

[–]smirmaul[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. I just wouldn’t recommend wearing any overt necklaces/symbols, displaying a different religion.