Let's continue our journey from the previous travel review ROMANIA #8 : Brasov https://th.readme.me/p/5247

It's time to say goodbye to Brasov. I again come back to the hostel and find out that the taxi driver the hostel contacted is waiting for us. When we are ready, we start our trip to our next destination, Bucharest. On the way to the town, we stop by a castle called "Peles Castle"

It takes about one hour to get to the castle from Bucharest. We have lunch at the restaurant situated at the entrance of the castle. Our lunch is roast chicken and fried chicken.

From the entrance, we have to walk for another 20 minutes to get into the castle.

Nestled at the foot of Bucegi mountains and surrounded by pine woods on the Carpathian Mountains, Peles Castle is said to be one of the most stunning castles in Eastern Europe.

The castle was commissioned by King Carol I in 1875 to serve as the summer residence of the royal family. It took a decade to be completed by craftsmen from different countries around the world. Externally, this castle show the variety of worldwide arts but we can say it is a masterpiece of Garman new Renaissance architecture.

To take a peek inside the castle, you can choose to enjoy some of interesting matters or walking around to enjoy all of them. Since I don't have much time here, I choose the first choice, costing 20 Romanian lei. If you would like to take photos, you need to pay more.

Internally, it is even more beautiful. There are 168 rooms in the castle but 35 rooms are opened for visitors. Each room shows its own unique style but all rooms are adorned with finest works of European art. Moreover, the castle offered modern facilities in the last century such as elevators and electricity.

Next to the Peles Castle, there is another interesting castle I have no time to visit. Pity me.

We leave the castle to Bucharest which is our last destination for this journey. Firstly, let us unpack our luggage before going somewhere else. Tonight we are going to stay at Doors Hostel.

The lobby looks simple with a living room next to it.

Our room is in average size with a shared bathroom . Its room rate is 27 Euro a night.

After a short rest, we go out for a meal. The restaurant we are going is a place I'd like to come on the first day I got here. We take quite a long walk from our accommodation.

The restaurant is called "Caru' cu Bere" next to CEC Bank and our room for the first night in Bucharest. I recommend you to book a table in advance. The restaurant is so crowded and they may not have seats available for you without a reservation. Last time I had the hostel reserve a table but I didn't come because I was so full from another place called "Hanuberarilor". So, this time I haven't booked a table as I am afraid that they may recognize r my name. Luckily, there is a table for us when we arrive at the restaurant at 6.30 p.m.

The restaurant is nicely decorated with relaxing atmosphere.

A waiter takes us to a table on downstairs where is prepared for walk-in guests. It has a little bit different ambience from upstairs but it is also well-decorated.

Start with some cool drinks.

These are the starters we order.

This is Chicken BBQ

This is ham and pork served with mushroom sauce.

This one looks similar to fried pork in hot pan.

Cheese balls are served with slices of pickled cabbage.

This dish comes with small piece of pork leg and sausages served with toddy palm cake.

The toddy palm cake is served with yogurt and cheese.

After a while, there is a singer singing beautiful songs. Another good thing is the table we are sitting is next to the singer. It is such a nice time having dinner with such lovely songs.

This is the last good meal in Romania, so we order more dishes. Good food with nice music make it one of the wonderful nights in Romania.

On the way back, we walk along a road called " Bulevardul Unirii" leading to the State House. There are some colorful dancing fountains along the way. I haven't bought my tripod with me, so I cannot take any pictures to show you. I'm so sorry.

Next morning, I pack my belongings and be ready to leave Romania. I am kind of sad while I am walking to the lobby. I really have to say goodbye to this country. I get the hostel to call a taxi for me. The fare costs 30 Romanian lei to the airport (30 kilometers) which I think it is pretty cheaper than that in Thailand.

When I reach the airport, I walk to the check-in desk. I really like the check-in process here. They have a board showing what time we can check in and which check-in desk we have to go. These make us save much time in line.

After Checking in, it is the time to spend the rest of the Romanian money. Now I have 15 Romanian lei left in my pocket for a piece of strawberry cheese cake. Inside the airport, there are a great number of duty free stores. I buy some more goods for my family and friends in Thailand. It's good that we can pay in Euro because I have spent all of Romanian lei for the cake.

It's time to leave Romania.

Goodbye.

A while after the plan has taken off, the food is served.

We stop by at Doha to change the flight to go back home.

I have three hours on flight connection, so I spend time taking a stroll inside the airport. My flight to Bangkok is A380. I always want to take this flight but I just have a chance to do so. I am so lucky this time.

It completely looks luxurious and modern. The seats are so comfortable and I can stretch my legs. Both breakfast and snacks are served for this flight.

We are flying into Thailand territory.

Finally, we arrive safely at the Suwannabhumi Airport.

The total expenses for this trip is 50,000 Thai baht including:

a flight ticket: 22,000 Thai baht

Accommodation

Transportation

Entrance fare

This price excludes meals, we spend about 4,200 Thai baht each (we go Dutch on every meal.). We also pay for our drinks and some other snacks in our own.

There is another 2,400 Thai baht for a visa.

This is one of the most impressive journeys I have experienced. I fall in love with the people, tourist attractions and the food I don't even have to force myself to eat it like I did in some other trips. I really want to go back there for some interesting places I haven't been to. In autumn when all leaves are changing their colors must be a real good time to visit Romania again. I hope I will have a chance soon to visit this country which is full of good memories.

Some information about Romania

Romanian lei is the currency of Romania. One Romanian lei is about 10 Thai baht. It is recommended to exchange the money in cities for better rate.

It is 4 hours slower compared to Thailand

Drinking water costs the same as that in Thailand, about 20-30 Thai baht depending on where you buy it. You can get cheaper price in supermarkets. There are 2 types of drinking water: water with gas and the other without gas. You must pay close attention to this because, even me, I bought the wrong one twice. I prefer one without gas since I feel fresher drinking it.

You should prepare the exact amount of money to pay when you buy goods since sometimes they don't give you the change. They think it is just a small amount of money in their currency, but it can be a lot in Thai currency.

There is no plastic bag when you buy groceries like we do in Thailand. So, you'd better have a small bags with you if you don't want to waste your money on a bag every time you go to a shop.

If you want your photographs without any other people, you ought to get to tourist spots before 8.00 a.m.

In Romania, how much you are going to pay for taxi depends on how far you go. Mostly, the first kilometer costs 1.39 Romanian lei.

If you want to rent a car, you can contact your hostel. The rate relies on how far you go.

Last but not least, you can support me and follow my journey by visiting my Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/unclegreenshirt

For references:

http://romaniatourism.com/

http://www.nainokhook.com/category/travelogue/romania/

https://plus.google.com/115562175858471921365