In hindsight, Budapest was summed up in a list of boxes that can be ticked off. So here we go:

Pretty city – [ tick ]
Another city bicycle ride – [ tick ]
Local tourist trap market – [ tick ]
Visited cheap rooftop bar – [ tick ]
Visit to local strip club by the boys – [ tick ]
Boys charged USD$50 per beer in the strip club – [ tick ]
Visit to Budapest spa – [ tick ]
Saw Budapest locals in various stages of undress in all shapes and sizes [ tick tick tick...oh god I think I just went blind.. ]

Plitvice National Park was really spectacular though. I have never seen such blue and clear water. It was actually, BLUE because of mineral deposits in the water. Fishes, lakes, green, waterfalls, waterfalls and more waterfalls everywhere. Having grown up in the tropics, I’ve seen waterfalls, but never anything like these. I just went around everywhere slack-jawed.. Definitely deserving of UNESCO Heritage status.

Finally arrived in Split, last port before the start of the Split-Dubrovnik cruise. We celebrated with the most exquisite cuisine USD$2 can buy you in a harbourside location. That’s right, the finest slice of pizza margherita on a recycled paper napkin. I splurged and had TWO slices. Oh the luxury.

Split has the Diocletian Palace that like many other treasured pieces of architecture in the world, has been turned into a shopping mall. The city itself is small but many people don’t notice mostly because of the number of bars crammed into one square km.

That’s it for now. Weather in sydney is getting really nice and warm. The beach was packed today!

Shi