My Europe trips

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) is a young nation with a rich but sad history. The assassination of Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 was the curtain raiser for the First World War. Bosnia’s declaration of independence from Yugoslavia 20 years ago led to a most gruesome and devastating war from March 1992 … Continue reading »

I first learnt about Yugoslavia, Tito and political turmoil in the Balkan Peninsula when studying world history in 1970s. Yugoslavia disintegrated following wars and bloodshed in 1990s. After having visited Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia more than five years ago, I have longed to see other parts of the former Yugoslavia namely Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, … Continue reading »

After spending 37 days in four countries in Central Asia, I continued to explore countries in the Balkan Peninsula. My original plan was to visit Bulgaria and Romania. At the end, I spent eight days in Bulgaria and 12 days in Serbia, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia.

For a tourist on his/her first visit to Istanbul, he/she will rush around and barely cover all the must-do things. For a fourth time visitor, I have opted for a restful holiday to recuperate from my 11-day trip in Iraq. I took two cruises and discovered (or rediscovered) the beauty of the Golden Horn and … Continue reading »