LAND BORDER SCAM IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE - Driving the world #Overland in a Toyota Landcruiser 4x4
This is the Kulata border... the first thing to do is to buy the "vignette" which is basically something that shows you that you paid for the toll roads... at first I thought 15 cents but no he really wanted 15 euros for two for two photocopies (in Russian language) So this is the receipt and basically she said if the police would stop us we have to present this We cannot continue without coming here for a little walk around because it's really incredible Do you speak a bit English? We decided for tonight to stop in a campsite and check what kind of facilities they have, how it looks like, the prices and so on... We're very excited it's always nice to do a border crossing you know: you check out of the country and check in into another... We are Aldo, Vera and Toto'. For over five years we have been driving around the world with
our self-converted tiny home on wheels and we visited more than 50 countries on five continents, next destination - Africa! Through our videos we show how beautiful but at the same time how fragile our planet is, hoping to raise awareness about environmental concerns and inspire people to take action. Subscribe to our channel and join our adventure! In the previous episode These are the last few kilometers here in Greece, very soon in about half an hour we will leave the country and we decided to make a detour... Customs Hi guys we're today in Greece! Well our plan didn't go as we thought because basically what was the idea? Tell them... The idea was to enter in North Macedonia, to stay for few days and then enter Bulgaria for a week and then finally enter Turkey but unfortunately well I checked with the insurance, the car insurance and we are not covered for North Macedonia because it's outside of the European Union and we asked what was the price if they could do like a weekly cover for example but they said that minimum was 30 days for 50 euros. Now the price for a temporary insurance it's more or less
the standard, that's the average about 50 euros, however the fact we had to stay only for a few days it wasn't convenient for us and also when we asked to make two photocopies, like literally two pages, the guy said okay it's 15 euros... At first I asked: 15 cents? But no, he really wanted 15 euros for two for two photocopies. So it was not the case and we decided to make a U-turn and come back in Greece. Also it's a bad weather so we wouldn't have enjoyed it. We wanted to see a lake and a waterfall
so it's not the best weather to do it and we skipped it. Instead today we're gonna go to Bulgaria, hopefully we won't encounter any problems and everything would go smoothly. Let's go! So guys for the second time these are the last few kilometers in Greece, let's hope so! Shortly after! All done, sorted, we are in Bulgaria! All the documents, everything is checked and here we go - that's Bulgaria! Disinfection So guys we just passed the border, now the first thing to do is to buy the vignette, which is basically something that shows you that you paid for the toll roads. Whether or not you will drive on toll roads or not, in Bulgaria it's obligatory to have this vignette. So it's important to do it, it's about 7 euros for a week, 15 euros for a month and then I think there is a yearly one. That's the first thing to do otherwise you're going to get a fine. Let's go buy one! So guys this is the Kulata border, this is the name of this
little town at the border in Bulgaria and it looks like any of the border, so you have here coffee shops, rest areas, there is even a casino and an exchange office. I checked what the rate is good, we checked last night, it was 1 euro to 1.96 Lev; they give 1 euro to 1.93 so we're gonna exchange about 20 euros to be able to buy the vignette and then continue, let's do this! For the first time on screen: Vera in her original language (Exchanging Euro in Lev) 20 Euro - 38.60 Lev
It's 15 Lev So we just wrote the registration number down and we are going to buy the vignette for one week, it's 15 Lev, that's it. Do you speak a bit English? Okay, how does it work with this vignette, what we have to do? So basically if we buy this vignette we will be covered when driving on motorways... Thank you! So this is the receipt and she said if the police would stop us we have to present this paper and we can drive freely on highways, motorways. Everything it's already in the system so we don't have to do anything... We are very excited, it's always nice to do a
border crossing: you check out from a country then you check in into another... We're very happy this is still Europe, we missed this feeling and very soon there will be Turkey, Middle East, Africa is going to be great, fantastic let's go! So now next stop - a fuel station. We need to fill up the tank... I can make a full video just about how to refuel in other countries but for now we will limit in telling you that in Bulgaria the fuel is cheaper. Exit then turn right. So guys we just stopped at the fuel station, it's a Lukoil a big Russian company, it's very reputable so it's always a good idea to stop and refill in stations like this. We're now gonna to put some fuel before proceeding further Discovery... So that's very good, we fill up almost three-quarters of a tank for less than 50 euros and also we got the discount card, the girl basically passed this card then we got a one Lev discount, so we took it and she also gave us this crackers for a snack. Amore how is the crackers from Bulgaria? How's the taste? Crunchy!
It's a good cracker then... Delicious, very good, it passed the cracker test. Let me hear! Guys we're at the supermarket - this is the Bulgarian Kaufland! So it's a big chain, but we just want to have a look what do they sell... What did you buy amore? Bulgarian food, what is it? Yes, this is kind of "burek" so when I went to the pastry department they were still warm and this is like a cheese burek and the price was around one euro for one piece so I couldn't resist! Then I bought... Windy... yeah it's a bit windy. Amore you are so beautiful with the wind going through your hair... This is a local beer, I know it's in plastic but unfortunately the International beer is sold in cans and the local beers are sold in in plastic and two liters so we will recycle it... yeah. We wanted to try the local Bulgarian beer so "Shumensko" and the price actually it's less than one euro so around 80 cents for 2 liters. Then I bought "Ayran" which is a liquid yogurt,
a bit salty to eat with burek together and this is also like around 50-60 cents. very good. Some coffee, we cannot have breakfast without a coffee, this is not made in here it says Brasilia, so it's imported and some chocolates because I like sweets and I wanted to try one so I bought this. Very good, how much you paid for everything? A little more than five euros, so like 10 Lev, yes and few cents. In Greece for all of this we would have paid at least 8-10 euros, it's a good start. Wow it's big, it reminds me of Moldavian dish "placinta" the one you make round so that's right.
Very good, a bit crunchy, you can taste the cheese, very oily, it reminds me of the burek the Greek one you were right. So yeah, it's good... fantastic. It's like placinta in Moldavia, actually it is very similar only we make it bigger and puffier... we make it crunchy as well but puffed up. This I like it a lot, it's made in here, that's a Bulgarian flag, Tetra Pak, so we can recycle it and it tastes really good. No comment. 35 cents of a Lev, so that's how much you paid for it. Yes, how is it? It's good? It's very good, actually I think this is one of the best wafer I ever had... Yeah, yeah whatever... No, no, try it on. Okay! This road is really beautiful, we are driving through a gorge, little canyon next to a beautiful river it's really nice. We've noticed that the autumn is already here, there are quite few
brown yellow leaves, it's actually colder than in Greece, it's 16 degrees now. We are going to see a beautiful monastery, it's the most beautiful monastery in Bulgaria, Vera found it, it's on our way so we're gonna to visit it, tonight probably we're gonna reach zero degrees so I think the t-shirt is not very much appropriate. I will have to look into some clothes, a bit warmer. It's very beautiful here, we are really impressed and the road conditions are really well kept. That's why I think paying this little vignette, everybody pays but the money are spent maintaining the roads and I have to say that is cleaner than I thought, there is not rubbish/trash around, not a lot of plastic like we've seen in Greece so far...
Well guys, we were just driving and we ended up in this showroom of retro/ antiques. There's some very old beetles, wooden wheels, it's incredible we couldn't continue without coming here for a little walk through around because it's really amazing in here. Wow So that's where all the stuff that people don't need anymore ends up. It's fantastic to think that there are still places that keep things like this, I thought nowadays were already all trashed away, incredible. I'm wondering how much is worth this place, because you see some stuff in here could be pretty valuable... Guys yesterday afternoon we were in Greece and it was 35 degrees Celsius...
Today we're in Bulgaria, it's 6 p.m and it's 8 degrees Celsius, quite a big of a difference in temperature and we checked the weather forecast it will be zero this night, so we got our jackets on and for tonight i'm gonna get our wool covers. After visiting tomorrow Rila Monastery we will head South for a warmer temperature because it's too cold in here. We're inside the walls of a famous Rila Monastery, which is considered the biggest complex of Orthodox religion in Bulgaria. This is a bit like the Jerusalem of the nation because it's the orthodox religion started from here. In the 800 there was this monk, now a Saint John of Rila that came to live here in a cave nearby for 12 years and of which 7 basically he was on a bare stone just praying to God. It's a holy place and still nowadays miracles happen,
some people come here blind and they get healed there and they start to see again. The church in the center have got all these nice paintings outside, beautiful frescos, inside it's prohibited to film and when we entered what caught our attention were the columns that basically were of a smoky color, all in ash black and we thought that this was due to fires that took place over the years but no, this is caused by the millions of candles that all the pilgrims lighted inside the church in the monastery. All around there is the residence of the monks and also people are able to stay for the night if they wish. Yes, the pilgrims. All around there are very famous treks and one of these is "seven lakes" people go there for a few days to trek and see the nature and Rila Mountains, which are considered to be sacred in Bulgaria. We're gonna go now for a walk around to show you better all of the area. I want to try Mekitsi - which is a Bulgarian donut made in the old tradition of monks. This is how it looks like....
Delicious! So obviously outside the monastery there is all little stores, souvenir cafes, bars, little restaurants, hotels, it's on a small scale so it's quite pleasant to walk around here, it's very nice. It's beautiful, surrounded by mountains all around, very good. Guys we just woke up...sorry for my hair I'm still a bit sleepy, to the sound of this turkeys roaming freely all around here these hills. It's something I never saw before, because obviously you imagine a turkey to stay in cage but at least here in Bulgaria they got the chance to walk every morning all around these hills, very unusual. Guys it's hot again, we're now going to a Bulgarian tavern where they sell their traditional dishes. Let's go check the menu, luckily I got Vera she's going to be the translator of the lingo, so I'm sorted...I'll just do the eating, let's go. Typical Bulgarian decor, I think...
This is the menu, it's in Bulgarian, luckily it's in cyrillic alphabet so I will try to understand what does it mean. The prices are pretty good, you know if it's 6 Lev it's around 3 euros. (Speaking in Russian: asking if they have some vegetarian dishes) I understood just the word salad. This is a local Bulgarian beer, it's called "zagorka" Let's try it and find out if it's good or not. What's the alcohol percentage? It's a 4.5%, so it's not so strong, it's a lager - "pivo zagorka" "Nazdorovie" - Cheers! and we get tipsy right away...especially Vera
This is a chopska salad, this is a typical Bulgarian salad, it's similar to the Greek one and it has tomatoes, cucumbers, a bit of olives, onions, some cheese which is similar to feta cheese. The origins of Bulgarian cuisine, gastronomy is a mix of Turkish, some Greek and Russian dishes. The food is similar to the Moldavian so I'm familiar with this cuisine, let's say. Parlenka- this is a typical Bulgarian bread. It is delicious with butter, very good and this is Mish-Mash: grilled bell peppers with eggs and cheese, it's very good... actually better than I expected and freshly made.
Vera burner her tongue... It's getting dark in here, the battery of Gopro is dying also so we will continue drinking and eating and enjoying our evening. More Bulgarian than this... it can't be...this is a real typical place so yeah, see you tomorrow! Next day It's useless to hide behind a finger...(or the drone) Good morning; morning guys! what beautiful day today, it's hot again. When we enter Bulgaria it was really cold the first night, almost zero degrees. But we're closer to Turkey now so
you can feel the hot weather again. Yeah that's why we're in t-shirts, shorts...we came near this beautiful river here and it's a bit dirty you know the fishermen that come here and leave always something behind, like plastic bags, bottles. It's it's not very nice but overall the
Bulgaria it's a little bit cleaner than Greece. We just wanted to point something out, basically when we entered Bulgaria last week, we said that the Bulgaria was part of the USSR but this thing is only in part true, because they were part of the Soviet Union but just for about 20 years. Yes, Vera was talking to people in Russian language thinking they understand her but they were replying in Bulgarian. So she was continuing in Russian and they were continuing in Bulgarian and I didn't understand because normally you know in post-soviet country people can speak good Russian, it was obligatory to know as the main language. So I didn't get how come they don't speak Russian as good as I am, let's say. They were able to understand each other... so we did some research and realized why now and you know
this is a bit like Italian and French, so some words are similar, the root is similar but the termination is different. So overall you can understand the meaning. We always find a way to let people understand us. This was easy, much easier than in China or Japan. Okay, well we finished our breakfast and then we will be on the road again. Today our Toto' earned another flag - Bulgaria!
Unexpected A little surprise this morning, we found a screw inside the tire thread, luckily it didn't perforate it because probably the steel carcass stopped the tip from entering inside, so that's good. Again good choice with our tires, this is not the first time that we're removing a screw out of the tire and drive without a problem... So glad we didn't get a puncture! If everything goes according to plan tomorrow we should leave Bulgaria, so we decided for tonight to stop in a campsite and check what kind of facilities they have, how do they look like, the prices and so on. We would also like to take a good shower and organize Toto' for tomorrow, for the border: the paperwork and everything.
Bulgarian Campite Well guys, this place it is really good, it's very clean, quiet, nice. open field, there is another two campers two Germans - a sprinter overland style and then there is a red one that arrived just now. There is nobody at the reception, they just said on a note: "welcome, just find your place and park" So maybe later on someone will come... I've seen a sign on the window saying: "number one in Bulgaria - Sakar Hills campsite" There is a beautiful sitting area there, some tabs for washing. Ah in the price they also include one washing machine. The price varies from 5 euros if you are with the motorbike up to 14 euros if you got a camper. We fit in the range of the 10 euros because it's a 4x4 vehicle with two people.
Vera clean toilets, showers, fast wifi internet, electricity, it's really nice the only downside I think is the railway there. So I hope in the middle of the night, there is not gonna be a loud train passing, one of those kilometer long trains because it won't be a good sleep than, but for the rest I think it's a really good place to stay. We're happy to be here, so let's relax a little bit and sort out all the papers for tomorrow's border crossing. Spoiler - Next Episode Hi guys, so all is good, we are ready, we had a pleasant stay here at the Sakar Hills in this campsite in Bulgaria. Basically we got our the passports, the car documents, a bit of cash because we are heading to the border with Turkey. So we would like to say bye, if you plan on visiting Bulgaria do so because it's a really nice country.
Don't miss out the next video because we will tell you how to do a border crossing in general and the more specific how to leave Europe and enter Turkey with your own vehicle, so visas permits, insurance, documents and so on. Thank you for watching! Bye for now and see you in Turkey! Guys we are officially in Turkey and it has been one of the easiest, quickest and most honest border crossings of all our trip!
2021-10-30 16:27
