Bulgaria Ski discussion board

If you read the earlier postings you will see that ive travelled to a lot "worse" places than Bulgaria. a fake item will contribute nothing to Bulgarian ecconomy only to the black market operators. By buying drugs or £2 designer perfume etc. you will give money to support gun running or trafficing of human lives. I enjoyed the welcoming nature of the Bulgarian people and i wish them well but without a responsable attitude as a tourist you will only add to the worlds pooorest countries problems. Iam aware that many countries in the so called western econnimies have problems with prostitution and drugs but i dont add to that either.

As I am going to Bulgaria for the first time in a few weeks I have found this posting very informative. Most of the posting on here mainly say the same things over and over again. I see mike f's point and it is a valid one and has helped to balance the opinion of Bulgaia out a little. Personnally I see all of the problems witnessed by Mike F, happening each and every day in the UK. (Prossies, 'The Mafia', ever decreasing cost of drugs, Piracy) These are problems that will exist in Bulgaria until the poeple have earned enough revenue from illegal operation to consider a straight life. I believe the Bulgarian people will come out of this period in time and it will be a popular holiday destination for tourists around the globe in years to come - but as they say Rome wasn't built in a day. Give it time.

I for one am really looking forward to going as I think the point of a holiday is to experience different peole and cultures. If I went on holiday and found that the place was basically another boring EU copy country (lets face it thats the way its going) I would be very disappointed.

Dan on the main we had an wonderful time but we would of anywhere its more about attitude than location. Bulgaria has problems for sure as do many other places. There is crime and levels of racism in Bulgaria that i have never seen mentioned on this site i hope that people will find some benefit of what ive said as i believe the more info you have the more youll get from your trip. The people over there are very hospitable and im sure you will have a fantastic time just dont be as blind as some.
I think youre right in what you say i dont want to live in a sanitised world but i dont the poorest people of a very poor nation to be ignored or forgoten. We left the main tourist areas on several occasions and the sites would bring tears to the eyes.

Mike F your right but try to consider that Bulgaria has been a communist country for many years now and to a lot of these people the sight of a black man is something they have not seen before in their history. Remeber what the UK was like not so long ago. I think the most racist country I have had the displeasure of travelling to was Italy but then Holland isn't much better either.

I applaud you for going 'Off the Beaten track' as this is something that many people avaoid doing on their holidays and can be quite an insight if you try it. Its a shame the scenes you saw were so disturbing.

I have found this thread interesting and would welcome more of the same genre so we can paint a balanced picture of the resorts/country. I am really looking forward to going and will report back on my experiences when I return. I think I can safely say I will; have a good time as I tend to make the most of even the worse situations.

Thanks everyone

Dan

I have read your comments with great interest.

We were in Sunny Beach last year and unfortunately my son had an accident resulting in a 7 day stay in Bourgas hospital. This opened our eyes to the real Bulgaria. This was the main state hospital and no amount of insurance gave us any special priveledges. Because my son had a skull fracure he had to remain in this hospital as they have the best trained neuro surgeons in Bulgaria apparently.
We had to share a 3 bed room with another bulgarian family. Luckily they were a "well off" family and could manage a few english words. When they left we shared with a poor family who could not speak english and only had the clothes they arrived in. You had to provide your own food in the hospital and there were no bathroom facilities. This is the "state" hospital that the Bulgarians have to use. Although there was a language barrier we received absolute wonderful care from the staff and other patients. They had little to give but one even gave my son a bar of chocolate every morning. (We bought him some cigarettes before we left).

So, they may be poor but have a wonderful caring nature and I cant wait to visit again this May to meet the wonderful friends we made last year.