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travel stories and current affairs discussion

Albania: coastal development scandal, 2005 trip memories, and safety

Office Audio ยท 2026-08-04 14:09:51 to 2026-08-04 14:15:28

Review: Pending Review

Summary

Behnam described Albania's coast as wealthy, safe and touristic, but mentioned a scandal involving Donald Trump's son-in-law building a nature reserve/resorts on protected beach areas where dolphins and turtles nest, leading to nightly protests against the Prime Minister. He then recounted a 2005 day trip from Corfu to Saranda, describing open sewers, old Mercedes cars, a guarded hotel, a restaurant bill paid with five euros, and missing the ferry due to a time-zone difference; they caught a later boat full of Albanians heading to the EU. The conversation ended with safety comparisons between Albania and Morocco/Tunisia/Egypt, with Behnam saying Albania is still Europe and resorts are safe.

Facts

  • The coast has protected beaches where dolphins and turtles lay eggs; development plans are controversial.
  • From Corfu to Saranda by boat takes about one hour.
  • In 2005, Albania had poor infrastructure and many very old Mercedes cars.
  • The restaurant bill in Albania in 2005 was in millions of Albanian lek; five euros was accepted.
  • Albania and Greece are in different time zones; the group missed their ferry because of this.
  • There are now tourist quotas from Turkey, Balkans, Ukraine; Albania is safer than North Africa/Egypt according to Behnam.

Tasks

No tasks extracted.

Issues

  • Planned development threatens protected coastline and environment
  • Protests every night; Prime Minister under pressure
  • Albania perceived as not very safe, though less risky than some non-European countries