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Border crossing into Serbia. We lost a passenger there. Our Colombian. Unfortunately his visa didnt allow him into Serbia (unbeknown to him until the border crossing). We were refused entry at the border and had to go to a small town in Bosnia to drop him off so he could get a bus to Sarajevo and then fly to Hungary.
We then had to attempt the border crossing again. It took hours. And bribes (bottle of wine to get out, book to get in). The Bosnian border guards were conspiring to see how much money they could get off us, but that received short shift from our driver who could understand them. Instead they got a bottle of wine and a bottle of water. During the Serbian crossing two guards came onto the bus to check we werent taking drugs, alcohol or cigarettes across the border. Bear in mind there are actually no restrictions on taking alcohol or cigarettes for personal use-he was trying to 'confiscate' items for himself. He had no luck with that as no one would admit to having a stash of alcohol (including me). On the way off the bus the second guard saw the pile of fiction books on the bus that people had been swapping and mentioned that his daughter needed the books. So he obtained a few chick lit books. Ah, good to see corruption is still rife.
Due to the extra time needed to turn around, go to a nearby town and then cross the border again, our driver, due to strict EU driving regulations, required a break. We had to stop at a Serbian petrol station to wait 30 mins so he could drive the final hour and a half to Belgrade. We arrived close to 10pm. It was a long long day.
Serbia's currency is the dinar. Its approx 1€ equals 100 dinar (its got some weird symbol that is not on my phone). Kristen meant to get out 2000 dinar-about 15 or 20€. She accidently withdrew 20000 dinar (the exact conversion was 169€). Easy mistake when you are tired and they use a decimal point where we use a comma and vice versa. Dinar is virtually impossible to exchange outside Serbia. And we were leaving Serbia too early for most currency exchanges to be open.
To assist this situation, Kristen became the bank for everyone on the bus. She still had a s***load left though. So at our last stop at a petrol station in Serbia we went on a spending spree. Water, razor blades, deodarant, chocolates, wine, coffee etc. A shopping spree in a petrol station. Interesting. Luckily at the border crossing there was an opportunity for her to exchange it for euros which was a huge relief.
I saw very little of Belgrade. Mostly it was from a bus early in the morning. I recall a river, a couple of nice buildings and a building that had the s*** bombed out of it which has yet to be repaired. Yip, in 1999 I believe it was NATO who bombed tge daylights out of Belgrade. The Serbians' response to the Kosovo situation may have had something to do with it (the genocide perhaps....). Dont mention Kosovo to anyone in Serbia. They dont recognise it as a separte country. And dont enter the border through that region.
Belgrade is supposed to be one of the most up and coming cities in Europe. Would be good if they sorted out the corruption. A couple of people on the tour went out and were seriously ripped off by a taxi (actually that happens everywhere) and you get the vibe that bribes grease many of the wheels. It is a shame that ciecumstances surroundibg our journey to, and into, Serbia have coloured my view as I wanted to give Belgrade a chance. Perhaps a place to go back to to see it properly. Although I wouldnt go in the near future.
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