29 December 2021 | At the moment, I am in the midst of a 10-hour overnight FLiX bus, bound to Zagreb. Writing using phone which is a bit challenging. I still feel ecstatic over the Dubrovnik hangover and the underlying after-effects of my farewell Dubrovnik beer. I could not catch some sleep probably because of that cheap coffee I had in the bus station prior to departure or possibly due to the fact that I am not exactly sober after drinking more alcohol than water in the last 7 days.
Undoubtedly, Dubrovnik stands out as the most remarkable destination I have visited during my recent five-month exploration of various cities beyond Tartu. In addition to the famed Game of Thrones badge forever etched into this village being a key filming location i.e., King's Landing, the city was effortlessly stunning. Enduring extra-long hours of bus ride is definitely worth it, to which our Dubrovnik cab driver couldn't agree more – Dubrovnik is beautiful just the way it is, with GOT or GOT without.
Small talk necessities, the man behind the wheel learned that I was from the Philippines. Unsolicitedly, he delved into a heated Philippine politics discussion; so doomed and deep that he somewhat played the seniority/territorial card, bombarding and lecturing me about things like fairness and the justice system, concluding horribly how good it is to have a Du30 kind of president, in an expectedly themed, familiarly patterned, patented broken DDS record of the same old narratives.
Frankly speaking, I never anticipated such an uncomfortable exchange on such a repugnant topic in such a delightful setting. It was completely unwarranted and utterly unnecessary. Moreover, there was no valid reason to make a fuss over it for several reasons. Firstly, he doesn't even have the right to vote in the upcoming elections. Secondly, he had the audacity to talk shit about Game of Thrones, a television series he knew nothing about and never bothered to watch at all. This alone speaks volumes about the twisted workings of his mind. Though, at that point, it felt dreadful the same way the Starks feared the coming winter,the most sensible course of action was to remain silent, let it pass, and simply move on, regardless of how unsettling the feeling was.
Too bad of a Croatia travel experience it was, but that disappointing local encounter was erased, fast-forward to this very moment. Right on this very bus back to Zagreb, a Croatian seatmate keeps on insisting to share his food, even filled me up with a cup of drink, despite my declining the generous offer at least more than twice already. I was not thirsty nor hungry, but the gesture calmed my bothered soul and dreary heart.
