Lonely no more

Welsh journalist Nicola Williams made her first trip to Romania in 1991, on an international aid convoy to Transylvania with 10 Welsh police officers.
Her visit inspired her to give up her job on the North Wales Weekly News and head off to work at the Baltic Observer in Riga.


Welsh journalist Nicola Williams made her first trip to Romania in 1991, on an international aid convoy to Transylvania with 10 Welsh police officers.


Her visit inspired her to give up her job on the North Wales Weekly News and head off to work at the Baltic Observer in Riga. From there she gradually worked her way through Central Europe, ending up as the Lonely Planet author for Romania and Moldova, the second edition of which was published in May 2001 and provided us with many useful tips on a recent trip to Transylvania.


Williams bussed her way around the Baltics to write the Lonely Planet guide to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and, having followed in her tyretracks this spring, I send her eternal admiration for such stamina. Williams is also the author of Lonely Planet guides to Milan, Turin and Genoa, Provence and the Cote d?Azur and, lucky devil, the Loire.


As with all Lonely Planet guide books, the opening chapters give good background information and advice for the visitor. The history sections are always concise and interesting and this version will make sober reading for Hungarians as it tells of a "Ruthless Magyarization" (page 20) in Transylvania after 1848 when Romanians were punished for not learning Hungarian.


The front cover tells how this book includes a guide to exploring the Carpathians and a special section, introduced by a gorgeous color photo, provides more than 20 pages of details on the flora and fauna found in the region, hiking routes and details of cabins and chalets, plus telephone numbers for mountain rescue, which hopefully you won?t need but are comforting to have around. There are helpful hints for those who want to go skiing or snowboarding, plus details of caving, biking, horse-riding and even mountain railway information.


As Williams writes, "Romania is a paradise for rail enthusiasts," and visitors will soon discover it is by far the most convenient, consistent method of seeing the countryside.


Fact boxes give fascinating details of things like the birthplace of Tarzan of Timisoara, Bucovina?s monasteries and the Warrior Queen (Marie) of whom one French diplomat said, "There is only one man in Romania and that is the Queen." There is fascinating trivia also: How the Romanians adore the French actor Gérard Depardieu and the lofty local basketball player Gheorghe Muresan.


As regards safety for individual travelers, there are some useful tips on which street scams to watch out for, how to avoid stray dogs and other nuisances. On health matters, with the benefit of hindsight, I found the statement: "You won?t die if you drink tap water" a bit reckless. A friend from Bucharest tells me that no Romanian ever drinks tap water and I also contracted a nasty intestinal parasite in the "Black pit of Copsa Mica," but that?s an avenue I?m sure we don?t want to go down again...





....That Holiday Moment: However, on that note, here is the winner of our anecdote competition (Style issue 37, Sept 12). David Day wins a copy of Zoe Bran?s travel book Enduring Cuba, published by Lonely Planet.


Competition: Send us a (150-word max) holiday anecdote and you could win a Lonely Planet travel guide of your choice. Entries by email to lucy@bpsun.hu or by mail: Lucy Mallows, Style Editor, The Budapest Sun, 1122 Budapest, Maros utca 12.





Caught Short


By David Day


Caught short after a kebab dinner in Turkey I was forced to run from the beach and find a suitable receptacle to urgently... Well I think you get the picture. I was lucky enough to find a nearby café with a small bathroom sporting two cubicles. Inside the first was a French style latrine, which would clearly not do. Thankfully, the second offered a more comfortable seating arrangement. Unfortunately its door not only lacked a lock, but was also missing its upper panel, leaving me sitting there like a horse in its box. However the café was secluded and I felt comfortable enough to relax fully into my holiday trouble. The only problem with the old holiday tummy is that when it starts it?s hard to stop. Even when three coach loads of German tourists arrived at the café and insisted on washing their hands before eating. There I was sitting like a news reader behind my desk whilst a seemingly never ending queue of sunburnt tourists walked by. Could it be worse? I should also mention there weren?t separate facilities for ladies or gents.

21.11.2002