Disappointing Tour Coupled with Unsafe Driving

It was promoted as a three day tour. It turned out to be only two.

Gabby was our tour guide and driver rolled into one.

As a tour guide, Gabby provided detailed information on the sights and history as we passed them. He also gave a rather lengthy insight into the two main religions of the country.

We suffered information overload and could not take it all in. Perhaps if he spread the details over the outward and return trips it would be easier to process.

We do not know what the driving standards are acceptable in Romania but he performed in a manner which in Australia would have been deemed as dangerous.

While driving he spoke for lengthy periods on the phone, sorted dockets into a plastic bag/sleeve, drank a cup of coffee and tipped it up to drain the last drops. Reached across the dashboard to get a pad and biro from the glove box. Twice looked down at the floor for approximately five seconds to retrieve something. Passed other vehicles as a formula one driver would and at times overtook up to four cars at once. Reached speeds slightly in excess of 130km an hour.

The above driving occurred on the outward and return journeys.

One of the highlights of the tour was to climb a tower in the citadel. We arrived too late to do this.

The hotel we stayed in would not be rated as one star. We have travelled extensively and it was the worst hotel we have ever stayed in.

From one cupboard to the floor there was a big cobweb which looked as though it had been there for a long time. We shifted the two single beds together to form a double. This revealed a thick layer of dirt. Fortunately
a check of the bed did not reveal any bed bugs.

In the bedroom it looked as though an electrical wire and been repaired/lengthened. At the joint it was covered by duct tape. There was only one power point for the refrigerator, fan or TV. This meant only one appliance could be in use.

The bath did not have grip handles nor did it have a clothesline over it. The hand basin did not have a plug and the shelf above it was about to fall off.