Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Day 12 
Our train departed from Zagreb at 9.30pm that day so whatever we did, we had to make our way to Zagreb in time for our train. Afif and I felt like we've come so far to miss out on Plitvice (I think he also had vivid memories of how I cried after missing the cable car in Dubrovnik) so we called our cab driver friend Peter to negotiate a price. He agreed to our budget and off we went.
The lakes are truly stunning, a national gem.

Scenes from paradise.

Zadar, Croatia

Day 11
Our last day in Dubrovnik and I thought of squeezing another trip to old town before our bus across Croatia to Zadar. I so badly wanted to make the trip up the cable car for an awesome panoramic view, unfortunately, it ran every 30 minutes and I would've missed my bus. I actually teared on our bus back. Completely heartbroken I had to miss this view:

It was such a clear lovely day. Bye bye Dubrovnik.

The bus ride to Zadar took almost 8 hours. Apart from almost being left behind at a rest stop in Bosnia and the American lady in front of us who just could NOT stop talking, the bus ride was rather uneventful.
The sun was setting when we reached Zadar and we met a young energetic cab driver who offered us a ride to the hotel. He also told us the only bus to Plitvice Lake is at 2.30pm, making our original day trip plan not possible, and offered to drive us instead. We took his card and said we'd think about it. The villa we stayed in was amazing and we stumbled upon a grogeous Thai restaurant for dinner. I have a video of the villa that I'll upload later if I can find it but we took no photos.

Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina

Day 10

Since I was determined to see Mostar, we joined a private tour that picked us up from our hotel and showed us around a few places in Bosnia. The car was a Mercedes minivan which reminded me of a party stretch limo- it had lights that flashed different colors inside. We had to cross Bosnian border twice as there's a short stretch of Bosnian coast within Croatia's coastline and just our luck, border patrol was on strike. Thankfully we were still able to enter the country.

Bosnia is a place that means a lot to many. Its the first horrific war my generation was introduced to; first siege, first genocide, first ethnic cleansing. Though the country has rebuilt (with the help of many UN nations) the scars and memories are as visible and haunting as ever, a constant reminder of their tragic past. Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosnians live together once again and are moving forward, but for those who have lost their whole families, who have lost all their children, moving on isn't so easy. It's heartbreaking; the war ruins sprayed with bullet holes juxtaposed against Mostar's intense natural and historical beauty. 

Medjugorje- one of the more popular Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, where the Virgin Mary was believed to have made apparitions.

So utterly picture perfect.

The muslim cemetery is beautiful. Heavy and sobering reading the names of the young men who were murdered or went missing forever, almost all were my age or younger.

What a well traveled ring.

War reminders are everywhere.

A multicultural, multiethnic community that was the gold standard for religious tolerance. All changed overnight due to- political greed.

Drinking fresh natural water from the stream.

Another UNESCO world heritage site. Stunning stone village propped on one side of a mountain, castle on one end and mosque on the other.

Orange orchard. Stunning view from atop the hill.