Skopje

Kate, Robert and I went to met Gayle and Ken in Skopje. We got lost finding the hotel but a Serbian man hopped in the car (Kate and I thought he might have been leading us down an alley to rob and rape us but we should be more trusting of our fellow man J). The Serbian lead us to the hotel and we had a beer to celebrate our arrival and meeting Ken and Gayle. Never stay at the Hotel Ani if you visit Skopje-it’s the worst hotel I have ever stayed in-dirty and stinking of smoke.
The Lonely Planet says of Skopje:
1. Walk across the ancient Stone Bridge
2. Look at the shopping bazaar in the old Turkish town
3. Leave
The Stone Bridge was covered with graffiti and FILTHY with rubbish, smelled like urine and was infested with Gypsies begging – real in-your-face pushy beggars who pulled at your clothes and followed you.It’s hard to be objective but the Gypsies and the little kids that they hold in their arms when begging are very dirty. The Turkish bazaar was interesting and we did some shopping, had a nice meal and left to go back to Bitola to meet Igor’s other Aunty, Uncle and cousins.