Day 2: Cluj-Napoca to Abu Dhabi

After touching down in Cluj-Napoca at 01:15 am and with nowhere in particular planned to stay, we were in no particular rush to leave the warmth of the airport for the bitter Romanian night. It also wasn't long before being reminded of what an absolute silly goose of a man I am, as I soon discovered I'd *already* lost my hat, less than a day into the trip. (Don't ask, I'm not over it yet). So after staying up all night, revising an academic paper on seal populations (Thomas) and reading about Joan of Arc (JJ), we took the opportunity at first light to get a glimpse of the real Romania, hopping onto a packed bus in the freezing conditions. My first impression of Cluj was of this: Eastern, concrete, brutalist, high-rise Soviet style apartment blocks which lined the wide boulevards jammed with loud Dacias. But as we strolled into the centre, the run down bits made way for the beautiful ornate architecture and grand religious buildings of the old town. Following a gander of the city's main sites, we then spent the mighty sum of 21 LEU (£3.62) between the two of us to buy enough food to get us through to Nepal, before hopping on a bus back to the airport, where I apparently asked the driver "are you going to Cluj?", the very place we were in (his confused look reflecting the lack of sleep getting to me I think). Upon our return to departures, we saw the magnificent workings of a Romanian airport, such as a local worker using power tools which spewed glowing embers down onto members of the public from above (very safe), the questionable mire of tangled power lines on practically every utility pole, and boarding gates made out of essentially makeshift shipping containers, before boarding our flight to Abu Dhabi (this time no issues). 5hr of intermittent sleep and views over Iraq later, and we're here, in my first ever experience of a Premier Inn (so this trip is clearly worth it now). 😎Read more