Motorcycle Tour - Problems at North Macedonia and Bulgaria Border Ep. 19
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TravelTranscript
00:00Can I ask my insurance to send me an email?
00:03Is it possible also by email?
00:24Assalam Alekum and Good Morning Everyone from Albania.
00:28After avoiding yesterday's scam, I am finally ready to cross the Albanian border.
00:33Hopefully it won't be a problem today.
00:35I am about 30 km away from the North Macedonian border.
00:39I have been following the situation in North Macedonia for the past 2-3 days.
00:42They have opened their borders.
00:44They have opened 5 borders with each country.
00:46Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania.
00:51The borders with each country are open only at specific locations.
00:54The rest are closed.
00:56I have decided to go to Bulgaria.
00:58The border with Bulgaria is right at the top of Serbia.
01:01So I will have to come all the way down.
01:04But I don't have any other option.
01:06Unfortunately, I can't enter Greece from here.
01:08Because Greece has closed its borders with Albania and North Macedonia.
01:13The only open border with Greece is with Bulgaria.
01:17So I am going to Bulgaria and will try to enter Turkey from there.
01:22According to today's plan, the total distance to the Bulgarian border is 350 km.
01:29Mostly highway.
01:31Because the rule of North Macedonia is that European nationals can only cross by highway.
01:37And they can stay at their petrol pumps on the highway.
01:41There is no other option.
01:43That means I will have 5 hours.
01:45I have to cross North Macedonia in 5 hours.
01:48And if I can't cross in 5 hours, there may be a penalty.
01:53But we will talk about that later.
01:55We will get to know about the situation when we reach the border.
01:59I am here to have breakfast.
02:01I am starving.
02:03I am starving to death.
02:05I have just ordered an omelette.
02:07Oh there's a fly.
02:09Local yogurt and a cappuccino.
02:13Let's have our breakfast and then get ready for Rangeeli and leave.
02:27So this is my room.
02:29We are ready to leave.
02:31This was my room.
02:33It was a nice place with a washroom and a balcony.
02:38But the balcony has a highway view.
02:40It was a simple motel.
02:42Bismillah... In the name of Allah...
02:44Ameen... Ameen... Ameen...
02:48May Allah make this a pleasant day for us.
02:51There is no petrol in the bike.
02:54It's just 12 liters.
02:56There was a small staircase here.
02:58But it's not a problem.
03:00I think we will get it filled on the way.
03:03Let's see how long it takes to get to the petrol station.
03:08Normally, you will find a petrol station every 2 to 10 km.
03:14Because there are so many petrol stations.
03:17I think this is their main job.
03:19It's right in front of us.
03:21Let's get it filled from here.
03:23The price is relatively reasonable.
03:29Hello my friend.
03:31Full?
03:38I am good. Thank you. And you?
03:40Yeah.
03:43So have you been to Pakistan?
03:45No?
03:46No. No. No.
03:48Pakistan? Internet?
03:50Internet?
03:52No discount?
03:54No discount.
03:56No problem. Coronavirus.
04:00The bike is full now.
04:02I didn't check how much money I have.
04:05Thank God he had an ATM with him.
04:08I am saying ATM.
04:10Otherwise, I would have given him Euro.
04:35There are mountains in Albania.
04:38And the best part is that as soon as you come up,
04:41you feel the cool breeze.
04:43It's quite warm down in the valley.
04:47It's 32 to 33 degrees.
04:49But as I am coming up, I can feel the cool breeze.
04:53It's very relaxing.
05:05North Macedonia
05:19North Macedonia
05:21Over. Sorry?
05:23Over Macedonia. Yeah.
05:25Okay. Thank you.
05:30The name of this border is Kayafasan.
05:33Let's see what the Macedonians have to say.
05:35The first one must be an Albanian.
05:38He shouldn't have any problem.
05:41Hello Sir.
05:46Green card?
05:48Yes, I do have.
05:50You want to see?
05:54The insurance card is called a green card.
05:58This is my international driving license.
06:01This is the one.
06:11I have a problem.
06:14This was an imaginary card.
06:17I have to pick it up.
06:20Sir, there is a problem with this one.
06:23Can I ask them to send me by email or something?
06:29This is the same insurance card.
06:32But the number is changed of the bike.
06:36Now they are checking the bike.
06:57Deutsch?
06:59Deutsch, yes.
07:01Deutsch, English, Espanol.
07:05This bike?
07:07Okay, just a second.
07:17They have checked everything.
07:19They have unloaded everything.
07:21It took some time.
07:24Let's see if they mess it up again.
07:32Now let's see what the Macedonians have to say.
07:36I made a mistake.
07:38When I took the bike insurance,
07:40in Germany, you need to have insurance to register your bike.
07:44At that time, my insurance company gave me an imaginary number
07:48to take the insurance.
07:50Because you get the number after that.
07:52Unless you have already reserved the number.
07:55But I didn't.
07:57The insurance company had already sent me the documents.
08:00Then I got the number changed.
08:03The documents were also at home.
08:05Both are the same documents.
08:07So I couldn't remember that I took the wrong document.
08:11They had checked the last border.
08:14But they didn't check it.
08:17Let's see what the Macedonians have to say.
08:20If they mess it up again,
08:22then I will be in trouble.
08:24I might have to buy the insurance from here.
08:29I can get the new documents through email.
08:32I will ask the insurance company.
08:34As soon as I get the internet today,
08:36I will ask them to send it to me.
08:38Let's see what they have to say.
08:49Bulgaria.
08:50Can you tell me which border of Bulgaria is open?
09:15Is it possible to buy it here?
09:19Can I ask my insurance to send me an email?
09:22Is it possible also by email?
09:28Okay.
09:29One question. Do you have internet here?
09:32We don't.
09:36Go park and come here.
09:38Okay.
09:40We have crossed the border after 2 hours.
09:45Due to a small mistake,
09:48I had to pay 50 euros extra.
09:52I am only allowed to cross the border in Macedonia for 5 hours.
09:56And I have to cross the border in 5 hours.
10:00That's the time limit set by the scoundrel
10:04when I entered here.
10:06So I will have 4 hours now.
10:09The interesting thing is that I have entered in Albania.
10:12The insurance company has taken my green card.
10:15But they didn't see it.
10:18They took it from me in Montenegro.
10:21They didn't say anything there either.
10:23They didn't even check the numbers on this card.
10:29They made a mistake with me.
10:32If they had told me in Montenegro,
10:35I would have asked them to send it to me.
10:38I have just told my friend that he will go home
10:41and send me his photo.
10:44We will try in the future.
10:46I think they can stop me at the Bulgarian border
10:50and ask for my green card.
10:53Although Bulgaria is a part of Europe.
10:55They don't ask for green cards there.
10:58So let's see.
11:01This guy was nice.
11:03He asked me to show him my email.
11:07But the guy from inside was a scoundrel.
11:10He said that he didn't want to ask for my email.
11:12He asked for my card.
11:14I told him that I wanted to stay for a day.
11:16He asked me to give him my card for a day.
11:18Minimum is 15 days.
11:20And he will have to pay me 50 Euros.
11:22But that's okay.
11:24Such things happen.
11:26I don't want to cry over it.
11:28It's 240 km.
11:31And the time is 3 hours and 20 minutes.
11:35If I take a couple of breaks in between,
11:37it will be 5 hours.
11:40That means we will reach Bulgaria around 6 pm.
11:56So this is North Macedonia.
12:00Before 2018, it was called Macedonia.
12:03But since 2018, it has become North Macedonia.
12:06Because it's a province of Greece,
12:08they call it Macedonia.
12:10There was a long fight between them.
12:12They used to say that we are Macedonia,
12:14but you are not Macedonia.
12:16That's why they had to change their name.
12:23The birthplace of Alexander the Great
12:28is the city of North Macedonia.
12:31It's a village right next to Greece.
12:34Maybe the people of Greece don't believe
12:36that he was born here.
12:38I can't say for sure.
12:40But according to the internet,
12:42it's the first village in North Macedonia
12:44where he was born.
12:48So there is a strong connection
12:50between them and the people of Greece.
13:00I have just taken a break at a petrol station.
13:02I must have driven for 20 minutes.
13:04But I don't have much time.
13:06I have found the internet here.
13:08I am trying to figure out
13:10whether I should take a photo
13:12and send it to someone
13:14from outside.
13:16I am trying to figure out
13:18whether I should take a photo
13:20and send it to someone
13:22from outside.
13:24I don't think he will ask for it.
13:26But if I had this catalyst,
13:28I would have shown it to him
13:30in the beginning.
13:32He didn't have to tell me anything.
13:34He didn't have to let me go.
13:36But the guy behind me
13:38ruined my plan.
13:40Let's sit here and wait.
13:42And then we will leave.
13:44I will send you a scanned copy.
13:46Please send me a scanned copy.
13:48I am afraid that
13:50I will have to stay here
13:52in quarantine for 14 days.
13:56I will send it to you in a couple of hours.
13:58I will send it to you as soon as I reach home.
14:00Okay. Thank you very much.
14:02Okay.
14:04Allah Hafiz.
14:06We have got the card.
14:08And now...
14:10Ismail bhai...
14:12I had made a small entry
14:14in one of my vlogs.
14:16He lives near my house.
14:18I had given him the keys of my house.
14:20He is a nice guy from Multan.
14:22All the people from Multan are nice.
14:24He has just
14:26gone to my house
14:28and found the card.
14:30That's what I am telling you.
14:32He might stop me at the next border.
14:34Then he will send me
14:36a scanned copy.
14:38I tried to contact
14:40the insurance guy for 20 minutes.
14:42But he is not picking up the call.
14:46I have 3 to 3.5 hours.
14:50I have to exit in those hours.
14:52If I don't exit,
14:54I will be in quarantine for 14 days.
14:56And I have no plans
14:58to go to North Macedonia in quarantine.
15:00You can see
15:02the mosque here.
15:04There are a lot of Muslims here.
15:06Not a lot but
15:08the main religion here is Serbian Orthodox.
15:10This is the border with Albania.
15:12There are a lot of Albanians here.
15:14The people of Albanian origin
15:16who live here,
15:18they and Macedonians
15:20have a lot of conflicts.
15:22In this region,
15:24there are a lot of Muslims.
15:48We just took a coffee break
15:50in a village called
15:52Trapčindol.
15:54I think I am pronouncing it right.
15:56It's a predominantly Muslim village.
16:00It's not a big village.
16:02But I have seen 3 or 4 mosques here.
16:04I asked him
16:06if I can pay by card.
16:08Because he is asking for money
16:10and I haven't taken out his currency yet.
16:12I don't want to take it out
16:14because I have to go out.
16:16He was a nice guy and gave me free coffee.
16:18I greeted him.
16:20He said,
16:22I will give it to you for free.
16:24I said, you must be joking.
16:26I just asked for coffee.
16:28I didn't ask for lunch.
16:30But people are nice
16:32and they don't want to take advantage of kindness.
16:34We will continue after a cup of coffee.
16:36I have 2 more hours.
16:38We still have 160 km to go.
16:50I think
16:52there is a tool booth.
16:54The highway will start soon.
16:56Let's check how expensive it is
16:58and whether they accept credit card or not.
17:21This is the Macedonian Highway.
17:25Not sure if this is all the way.
17:27But the distance is still 120 km.
17:32The last 15-20 km took half an hour
17:36because the speed was very slow.
17:50It will take another hour and a minute
17:52and we are already late.
17:54I was afraid that
17:56we might not be able to make it on time.
17:58But I could have crossed the Serbian border.
18:00We are close to the Serbian border now.
18:02I think the navigation
18:04did not tell us
18:06what to do
18:08in the middle of the road.
18:10I don't know.
18:12I am not sure.
18:14I am not sure.
18:16I am not sure.
18:18I hope we have not missed any place.
18:22Otherwise, we would have reached on time.
18:25It was either taking me to Serbia
18:27or when the navigation stopped
18:29at some point later,
18:31I entered the wrong address.
18:33Maybe I entered the wrong border.
18:35Both are close and not that far.
18:37Let's see. Hopefully the guys are nice
18:39and don't cause any trouble.
18:48So, finally we have reached.
18:50When we left from there,
18:52we are an hour late.
18:56But according to the time
18:58they gave us,
19:00we are an hour and a half late.
19:02Let's see if they let us go or not.
19:04May Allah have mercy on us.
19:08Hello Sir. Good evening.
19:10Good evening.
19:12How are you?
19:14Good evening.
19:16Good evening.
19:18This is my passport.
19:24I think this...
19:26This is also...
19:28I had to buy the insurance.
19:32Thank you very much Sir.
19:36Bye.
19:41So, bye bye Macedonia.
19:44We are in Bulgaria now.
19:46Let's see.
19:48I hope they don't cause any trouble.
19:50This border has been ruined.
20:00Hello Ma'am.
20:04Sorry?
20:06Sorry?
20:08I will stay a couple of days in Bulgaria
20:11then to Turkey.
20:13Turkey.
20:17No, no. Turkey.
20:25Sorry?
20:44So, we are free now.
20:46They have checked our body temperature.
20:51Signed the declaration.
20:54And now they have allowed us to enter.
21:09This is such a strange time to travel.
21:12Literally.
21:14I don't understand anything.
21:16But finally...
21:18We have entered another country.
21:24I have made Rangeeli run today.
21:28Now...
21:30Let's go to a petrol pump and get some fresh air.
21:34Let's have a drink.
21:36And then we'll see what to do next.
21:42Bulgaria
21:52Finally I have entered Bulgaria.
21:54It's a very different situation.
21:56I just gave them my number.
21:58And I have received a message.
22:00In case I have any flu like symptoms,
22:04I should let them know.
22:06It was very strict there.
22:08This is the first village I visited
22:10where the internet facility was available.
22:12I saw the sign and came here.
22:14This is the shop behind me.
22:16This one.
22:18I asked them for internet.
22:22I have booked my room now.
22:24There is a small city nearby.
22:26My bike is parked there.
22:28Let's go.
22:30It's almost 8 pm.
22:32I will talk to you there.
22:34Bye bye Miko.
22:36Goodbye.
22:50This is Hotel Balkan.
22:52This is it.
22:54Today was a long day.
22:56But the best part is that
22:58I have crossed two borders today.
23:00Even though there were some problems
23:02on the border of North Macedonia.
23:04Because of the 5 hour policy,
23:06unfortunately I could not go to Skopje.
23:08My plan was to go to the centre.
23:10Because the centre is a small old town.
23:12There are 30 Ottoman mosques
23:14in the region of 1 square kilometer.
23:16And that was my plan.
23:18I wanted to spend some time there.
23:20But by law,
23:22I was not allowed to travel
23:24beyond the highway zone.
23:26Because if a police officer sees me,
23:28it will be a problem for me.
23:30That is why I did not go there.
23:32I have completed my journey
23:34in just 6 hours.
23:36Now I am in Bulgaria.
23:38Inshallah,
23:40I will explore it
23:42for the next few days.
23:44Hopefully you liked today's vlog.
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23:54Thank you so much for watching.
23:56See you in the next vlog.
23:58Allah Hafiz.