And finally… the Xania/Chania Old Town and Venetian Port today…. Restoration works on the old fort wall.


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Xania Airport wifi really speeds….👍

Next stop : To mainland Thermopylae….


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Back at Athina/Athens…trting out the Greek ‘version’ of KFC…


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Good morning all…. We put up a night here and are abt to leave….

We will make 2 stops to enjoy the attractions along the way before crossing the border into Albania. Nothing much to talk ant this place except that the host has been very welcoming and lots of street-parking.…


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The challenges at the border-crossing today. We will probably reach the border late tonight and it’s a Sunday today :-
1) What time will the border-crossing close this evening ?
2) Will there still be border-insurance representatives for us to buy car insurance from ?

Albania is neither an EU ctry nor a Schengen state, hence, border guards might be strict to a Serbian number-plated car driven by 2 Asians.

We will see this evening… this is what we are here for.

We have decided to choose the Kakavije crossing out of 4 crossings between Greece and Albania.

Loved challenges like this….😂


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To Thermopylae to see the battleground.

This post has been edited by Hansel: Oct 19 2025, 02:01 PM


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Approaching….


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At the Exit Station at Kakavije on the Greece side yesterday…. It was just a very dmall checkpoint with minimal staff on-duty. No cars too except for ours and another pickup truck in front.


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Subsequently, drove for less two minutes and reached the Albania Entry Point… some questions were asked….

And we were inside Albania. Zero traffic jams….


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Upon arrival, decided to tour The Blue Eye, a natural spring…. The drive was spectacular up the mountain and over 2 peaks.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t upload the video clip of the water rushing to the surface from underground. I have attached a snapshot of the clip here.


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Near to Gjirocaster this morning… hotel is great and cheap.

Will be touring the countryside landscape on horseback this afternoon.


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Will go for an Albanian hotel breakfast now.

There were great views in the tour to Thermopylae and Meteora yesterday…. Shall upload later.

Eggs, sunny-side up, were made fresh later. Plus some goat-cheese cubes and Greek bread..

Tried uoafing again the natiral sring called The Blue Eye, it was duccesful this time.

Bathroom is big and flashy here for a border hotel…

Next : Countryside tour on horseback….


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An unlikely tourist destinatoon ?? 😂 But it is one !!

This post has been edited by Hansel: Oct 20 2025, 07:03 PM


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🙂


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The ride was good…. But I got a slow and weak horse….😕

Will upload shots later….

Travelled to the Berat to sight the Mangalem & Gorica Quarters…. Hotel Room is big at only EUR 35 per night….😳

At central Albania now… taking in sights & experiences on the way north to Montenegro….

This post has been edited by Hansel: Oct 21 2025, 02:15 PM


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By the way, we encountered our first ‘problem’ with the car when the tyres were low on air-pressure. Unlike us in Msia & SG, the airpumps are not at the fuel stations. We had to go to a tyre-workshop in Gjirocaster near the border with Greece.

I managed to get help from some Albanian chaps. Good people…we communicated in Arabic.

Subsequently… we had to withdraw cash for many merchants here at the border do not have card machines.


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The Renault vehicle then flashed a warning signal. We referred to the manual in Serbian language and discovered that after pumping air into the tyres, the Tyre Pressure Monitoring Gauge (TPMS) needs to be reset to reflect the new pressure.

We just left it be.


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The quarters at Berat, and other sights…


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