Bulgarian Motoring Observations

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Thu 2 Jul 2009 18:33
Bulgarian Motoring Observations - BobbyG
I am in Bulgaria for holiday, and thought would share some observations.

I was last here 3 years ago when it was touch and go whether I would make flight home from Bourgas airport due to a severe head on smash blocking the main road to the airport but we made it in the nick of time. Arrived here last Friday, picked up hire car and then found that the main (and only) road between Bourgas and Obzor (where we are staying) was blocked by a severe head on crash! Some things don't change!

Had hired a 5 door Corsa through Economy Car Rentals for £202 all inclusive for 10 days. However when I collected car from Thrifty, I had been upgraded to a 5 door Polo! Woman made a big song and dance about this upgrade but I am still not sure how much better than a Corsa a Polo is!

Due to the road closure we had to stop off in Sunny Beach for a few hours and my first observation was the quality of the cars now. There is a total abundance of BMWs, Mercs, Audis, Range Rovers etc. whether this is from the property market or the renowned Bulgarian crimelords who knows! Also saw a Maybach, and Orange Lambo and a White Ferrari soft top! All the Bms are 7 series, have only saw one 5 series and no 3 or 1s. Mercs, large numbers of AMG 63 etc. And absolutely loads of 4x4s, RR, Q7, X5 etc.

Three years ago there were very few of these types of cars but the large variety of cars still exist - some cars dating back to Trabby times, many looking unroadworthy but saw normal average cars, Astras, Daewoos etc. Saw a pristine looking Mark 1 Fiesta in that cream colour with not a hint of rust or any of the scrapes and dents that are normal here.

Driving is still as bad as ever in particular the road from Sunny Beach to Obzor, this is the main road but would struggle to qualify for a B-Classification back home. Very hilly, windy roads and sometimes you will come up against a lorry filled with logs, pulling a trailer filled with logs, struggling to do 5 mph up these hills and the same down due to lack of brakes! Meanwhile every one is overtaking on blind bends.......

Fuel is about 2 lev a litre, approx 90p. LPG is available for approx 40p a litre.
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