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Eat, Sleep, Play - Albania

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Remember, these are only the places I managed to get to, representing not a splash in the ocean, a fart in a hot tub, a mullet in a trailer park, a…you get the idea. Consult your Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Lets Go, Fodors, Local Shaman for dozens of other options. Sometimes, I wish I had.

EAT

Tirana

OA Club - Ilir’s funky joint is away from the Block zone, but serves up traditional tasty treats in a funky atmosphere, topped with some gut-burning raki moonshine.
ERA Pizzeria & Restaurant - In the Block zone, an exhaustive menu will make pizza the last thing you want to order, which I did anyway, and wished I had ordered something else.
Subway One - There are tons of fast food donor places around Tirane, but Subway One, complete with its rip-off Subway logo, offers a killer donor for $1, with fries, salad, tzatziki and all the right condiments. Have one, have two. Don’t call the real Subway. Just down the road from Backpackers.

Dhermi

Playa de Luna - With host Endri’s laugh and chef Marc’s ideas (”the best ingredient is love”), Playa has scrumptious seafood dishes made with fresh, local ingredients right on the beach. The music is hip, the vibe chill, and the honey raki delicious. Along the beach, past the Havana Bar.

SLEEP

Tirana

Tirana Backpacker Hostel - Tirane’s first backpackers hostel recently opened, in an old house close to the trendy Block district and sandwiched between the Swiss and Italian Embassies. More of a home than a hostel, it’s the cheapest, and probably most social place to stay in Tirane, with fantastic hospitality. Call when you arrive, as trying to find it by foot is almost impossible. Email tiranabackpacker@hotmail.com. Tel: 0682222304. Rruga e Elbasnit 85.

Dhermi

Private Accommodation - Walk along the beach, there are a couple of private rooms, although they can set you back a bundle. Just past Havana Bar is a rustic little spot with wood cabins belonging to an Albanian family who now live in the States. Great hospitality and location, and for 20 Euros a night for the cabin, even with its standing toilet, it’s still a deal. Mind the enormous spiders though.

Saranda

Hotel Star - I found this place with the help of a young Gypsy kid who disappeared, so I think he might have been an angel or something, because our apartment was big, light, quiet, air conditioned, cheap, and with a great view. Just what I needed after an insane 2 hour drive through the pot-holed mountains. Perballe Gjykates. Tel: 085 25089.

PLAY

Tirana

The Block - Originally an off-limits area guarded by the communist regime, the Block (Bllk) pumps with dozens of bars and restuarants, most of them stylish and upmarket. It’s where the action is. I ended up at a bar called The Canon, which was cooking into the wee hours, full of beautiful girls, all accompanied by meathead boyfriends, or in some cases, bodyguards.

Dhemi

Havana Bar - This is probably the most perfect setting for a club bar I have ever seen. On the beach, against the turquoise waters, white, flowy furnishings, open plan, under the stars, great sound, lots of seating, lots of space, and a boarded walk to the sea. If only there were people in it. Still, if you find yourself in Dhemi, you will find yourself at the Havana.



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