INSIDE MY MIND WITH ZIL

Stepping out of the airport, she could feel her heart beating faster. This was it! Another big tick mark on her bucket list. She had finally made it to her first solo trip! As she searched through the small crowd for a familiar face, she could feel the excitement trickle down her spine. “Yay!, I am finally here”, her heart did a mini victory dance.

It was the start of September and the weather was warmer than she had expected. It was 2 am in the morning and the city was fast asleep, unaware of her arrival. The airport had been rather small and dingy – nothing compared to flashy and glorious Dubai Airport she had left behind. Her journey from immigration to exit was rather uneventful.

Once outside the airport, she could see a small crowd of foreign faces gathered outside the airport to pick up their friends and families. People were greeting their near and dear ones with happy hugs and kisses, chattering away in an unfamiliar language. The trunks of the cars were getting loaded and the taxi drivers were ushering the passengers inside.

Amidst all the chaos, she finally spotted her host for the trip to the city center. “How was flight?”, he asked in broken English, guiding her towards the car. “Not bad! Thank you!”. After all, a delayed flight could not dampen her excitement! Slowly, they loaded her baggage into the trunk of the car and started off towards the city where she was to spend the night.

“My English, not good” – was the reason given by her host to keep talking to the cab driver in the native language the whole way. She could have easily pointed out that it was rude to not include the guest in the conversation. But, she was too happy to be ignored.

All she wanted to do was to drink in the city, it’s empty streets, stare out into the night and breath in the feel of the place. She probably even wanted to pinch herself to make sure she was really here! She had finally arrived in Sofia – Capital of Bulgaria!

Bulgaria is a little lesser known country in eastern Europe. Sandwiched between Asia and the European counterparts, it is situated on the coast of Black sea in the Balkans. It has been inhabited since the 7,000 BC and yet it still cannot match its flashy western counterparts. However, like any other European country, it has unparalleled natural beauty – the gorgeous blue lakes scattered all over the terrain, the mountain ranges lazily stretching from east to west, the abundant forest cover and its walking trails, and the numerous caves home to 33 species of bats, out of a total of 35 for the whole of Europe!

Well, it wasn’t really her first destination of choice. But at this moment, she couldn’t care less. All she could think of was the adventure that awaits her for the next coming week…

Well, this is just the start of the journey. The rest of the trip is yet to follow!

This is a continuation of the post - Getting Lost only to Find!
To read the next post -   A Trip Down The Memory Lane (Bulgaria Trip) – Day 1