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Bulgaria - Sofia (Final Part)

On my second day in Sofia, after travelling to the outskirts such as Rila, I decided to go southeast of Sofia to venture into their mountain. Their mountain is called Vitosha mountain and it has been the city's natural barrier against intruders. The mountain is around 2290m above sea level and after having breakfast in the hostel, we got the directions on how to get to the Vitosha mountains.
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Halfway the journey we got LOST!!! We have no idea how and where we were and we couldn't ask anyone due to the language barrier or people just had no clue on how can we get to the mountain. The hostel reception gave us the wrong directions as there was upgrading of roads and the bus service had ceased operation from the bus terminal that was pointed out by our hostel. We walked aimlessly and was lucky enough to meet 2 grandmas at the bus terminal who spoke english and told us about the situation and told us that there was another bus for us to take which will bring us 3/4 up to the mountain. THANK GOD for those grandmas if not we would not have known what to do.
Stranded at the bus terminal 
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Bus Ticket 
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Bus that bring us up the mountain
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After alighting the bus, we wanted to climbed to the peak of the mountain but decided to hike down all the way and then catch a bus back to the hostel. 
The highest point the bus could bring us 
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We met Maya who's a Bulgarian and spoke decent English and she offered to be our "guide" since she often hiked down the mountain. The whole journey took us about 2 hours and we walked a total of 12km, that is crazy stuff and I was not even well equipped. 
Maya our "guide"
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Having Lunch halfway down *Mushroom soup was oily*
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Shots on the way down the mountain
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Eventually, we got back to our place and had dinner at an authentic Bulgarian restaurant before I decided to venture out to the city at night to take photos of the famous Alexander Nevski cathedral which has been the symbol of Sofia. 
The restaurant
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Our food Mixed Grill (top), Pork fillet with Blueberry sauce (bottom) and the locally brewed beer Zagorka
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Night shot of the city while walking to the cathedral
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The cathedral that has been the symbol of Sofia at night
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Night shot of a Russian church
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The next morning, I felt that its time to explore the city as I have been spending most of my time outside of the city and I couldn't possibly tell everyone I have been in Sofia and not walked around the city right? We went to our hostel for our breakfast and met Kat (from Slovenia) while munching on our breakfast. We decided to go together to the famous Lady's market where there are tons of food and fresh fruits on sales. 
Lady's Market from far behind those trees
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Didn't not snap much photos of the market cause I don't want to attract attention from pickpockets and after which, we walked to the Nevski cathedral again for a morning shot. 
Nevski cathedral in the morning
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There was a Russian market near the cathedral  and Kat bought like so many stuff. 
The Russian market
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The weather wasn't really kind to us as there was showers now and then which made our walking trip around the city kinda sucky, and also we were feeling so tired so we decided to chill in the hostel while I wait for my train to Bucharest which was leaving at 6pm. Kat found a bottle of Jamesons (Irish Whiskey) so we took it and have our last toast (Kat is a whiskey lover and we both love CHIVAS REGAL!!!) 
Kat and my friend (Westerner using chopstick while Asian using fork) -.-
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JAMESONS!!!
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CHEERS!!!
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YUCKU something is Jamesons in their language (totally don't understand *shrugs*)
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Last shot before leaving
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Time past so fast when you meet new people but it was time to leave and I set off to the train station and Bucharest HERE I COME!!!
Train to Bucharest
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My sleeping cabin
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Good Night people~ 
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So what do you guys think about Sofia after reading my post? Please comment as I would love to hear from you guys :)
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Bulgaria - Sofia (Part 1)

So finally I left Dublin and started on my Graduation trip to Eastern Europe. Started my journey with RyanAir to London then from there to Sofia (the capital of Bulgaria).
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Up in the Air
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Landed in London Gatwick Airport and went to the airport restaurant to have lunch
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Our food (I am travelling with a friend)
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I had the lasagna and it was quite awful, c'mon how wrong can u go with lasagna and this is unacceptable standard, my friend also said his pasta is not nice at all -verdict: DON'T eat in Gatwick Airport unless necessary.
After our meal, Sofia HERE I COME!!!
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Landed in the airport about 2hours 45mins later
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Had problems at the customs as they never seen Singapore passport before and they are not sure if I need a Visa to enter the country. (-.-) 
At least they sorted things out and let us pass but that is after they cleared everyone in the airport and I felt like a 2nd class citizen but anyway things turned out better afterwards, the hostel arranged someone to pick us up from the airport and this is where I am staying.
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Found out that we are not staying in the hostel residence itself as we booked a private room so we had to walk like 5mins away from the hostel to like a service apartment. This is our room for 3 nights.
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The next day we decided to venture out of the city to this place called Rila and it is like a 2 hour drive from the city. 
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We reached a place that is like a forest where a monk used to stay and there is a cave where he stayed in there for like 7 years. It is also said in Sofia that if you are able to pass through the cave and come out from the other side, you are like cleanse spiritually. 
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A small church near the cave 
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Inside the church 
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Coming out from the cave *YEAH I'M CLEANSE!!!*
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After that our guide brought us to the Rila Monastery where we had our lunch at a small restaurant beside the Monastery. 
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The entrance of the Monastery 
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Inside of the Monastery
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Outside the Monastery where there is a small shop for tourist to dine and shop for some snacks
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A MUST try from the hostel but I think it was so so
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What do your think of this monastery? 
Comment below :)