It was a nice surprise to see that Albania is one of the top 10 countries suggested by LonelyPlanet.com as your visiting location for 2010.
This is what the article says:
“Picture a place where rulers have names like King Zog, Enver Hoxha and Bamir Topi. Set the scene with coastal cliffs, snow-capped mountains and jungle-wrapped ruins. Cast some female ‘sworn virgins’ to fill the roles of men who have been lost in ancient blood feuds. Let the spoken dialects be known as Tosk and Gheg. Make it that daily life is governed by a code of conduct with 1262 instructions including 38 on hospitality towards guests.
It may seem like you’ve just conjured a medieval fantasy novel rather than an up-and-coming travel destination, but this is Albania in all its epic, eclectic glory.
The defining Albanian experience
If you are a journey-over-destination kind of traveller, take the road (and a sick bag) from Korça to Gjirokastra. The road climbs along the Greek border to the highlands, slices through pine forests along the edge of the Gramoz mountains before crossing the Barmash Pass (1759m) and descending dramatically into the narrow valley of the Vjosa River and up the Drinos valley. Recover down south on the beach at Dhërmi or take the ferry from Saranda across the Ionian sea to the Greek Islands – just because you can.”
