Jaunted - bg

Where Should Rambo Go?

egw — 2009-02-17T08:46:06-05:00

So much for capping off the franchise. After Sylvester Stallone survived the lashings of critics and made a decent amount of money off last year's "Rambo" reboot, he apparently couldn't help going back for more: Stallone confirmed last week that "Rambo V" is in the works and should be released sometime this year.

We know thanks to a few strategic leaks that "Rambo V: A New Brawn" (not its real title) will be filming in Bulgaria, but what should the country stand in for? Marina Hyde of the Guardian (U.K.) newspaper believes he will return to Afghanistan, the setting of 1988's "Rambo III," in which Rambo helps the Mujahideen battle the Soviets. (Spoiler: Stallone drives a tank into a helicopter!)

Then again, his foray last year into Burma didn't solve that country's humanitarian crisis, so maybe he should go back? Other rumors place the movie in Africa, a continent in which he has not yet attacked, or right here in the good ol' USA. (Since the plot may involve John Rambo saving the daughter he never knew he had, she could be among us right now!)

Our pick: Unwinnable war? Unsolvable problem? Please. We need John Rambo taking care of business in Iraq. If he does it right, the film could even double as a 90-minute ad for the Army (with the appropriate endorsement deals). Special cameo by President Obama at the end?

[Photo: dunechaser]

Where the Hipsters Hang Out in Sofia

Omri — 2009-02-10T16:30:42-05:00

For years the weak dollar had people looking to Eastern Europe for affordable travel opportunities. Now that the dollar is on the upswing and oil prices are plummeting, you'd think that cities like Sofia in Bulgaria would fall off the radar. Which might make sense, minus the whole "nobody has any money" part.

So people are probably still looking to go to Sofia - and, just as importantly, they're still looking to find affordable bars and restaurants once they get there.

Sofia has enough overpriced restaurants in the city center to trap tourists aplenty. But the late-night bars where the cool kids congregate are distributed throughout the city's winding roads and alleys. If the latter is more your taste you should make a point of checking out The Apartment.

EU May Oust Bulgaria and Romania

ced138 — 2008-10-28T11:00:03-05:00

EU residents: Get thee to Bulgaria and Romania quickly--before the union boots the new members out. Since their acceptance last year, neither country has managed to stamp out corruption and fraud to an acceptable degree, a commission found, and now Bulgaria is on the brink of losing a good chunk of funding because of it.

It came to light earlier this year that millions in EU aid had poured into the pockets of high-ranking thieves. The funding was frozen, and a deadline for Bulgaria to fix the problems causing the corruption expires this month.

Experts say that if the trend continues, there's no way the Union will continue to keep the countries inside the circle. Originally, it was thought Bulgaria and Romania's membership would represent the emergence of former Soviet Bloc countries into the Western sphere. Instead, it's come to show the trouble transforming Communist strongholds into functioning democracies.

So unless you're a thick-neck former body builder with a defective conscience or a travel writer, these two countries might not be the vacation destination for you.

Related Stories:
· Bulgaria Risks Becoming EU Cautionary Tale [IHT]
· Sofia Soft Porn [Jaunted]

[Photo: mbell1975]

Finding a Bed in Bulgaria

amandak — 2007-12-04T09:30:02-05:00

We're getting the message from all directions this week: Bulgaria is the new place to ski. Whether it's an EasyJet flight tip or a recommendation for the ski resort at Bansko, we're not surprised that an Irish tourist named David Gibbons decided to take a holiday to ski in the Pirin Mountains.

But we are surprised about where he chose to sleep. After drinking too much to find his own hotel, Gibbons decided to force open the door of a furniture shop and take a nap on one of the showroom beds. Staff arriving for work the next day found him snoring away and called the police.

This would make a great holiday tale to tell his pals back home--except for the $4,000 fine he's now facing. That makes it quite the alternative to a night in his cheap Bulgarian hotel.

Related Stories:
· Tourist Slept in Shop Window Bed [Ananova]
· EasyJet Reckons It's Easy to Ski [Jaunted]
· Ski Bulgaria: At Least It's Cheap At Villa Roka [HotelChatter]
· Spooks on a Train [Jaunted]

[Photo: stevec77]

Bulgarian Train Drivers Can Multitask

amandak — 2007-05-09T09:20:02-05:00

We had thought that the bare-chested drivers of trams and buses in Bratislava might have been an all-time public transportation low, but that was until we heard about the latest "innovation" in the Bulgarian train system.

The Bulgarian train drivers' union made a complaint that older trains had no toilets on board and drivers who felt the call of nature had to open the window and, well, go. Management's response?

Bulgarian train drivers have been issued with rotating chairs so they can pee out of the window without having to stop.

Now there's a collection of words we'd never expected to be able to publish.

[Photo: St Stev]

Related Stories:
· Train Drivers' Wee Perk [Ananova]
· Public Transportation Love-Hate: Getting From A to Bratislava [Jaunted]

Soft Sofia Porn

amandak — 2007-02-06T10:20:03-05:00

They're a pretty open-minded mob over in Bulgaria, it seems. You know those handy TV screens that display bus departure times at bus stations? Well, in the evening when the buses in Sofia are few and far between, bus station managers decided that just showing one bus time was way too boring for passengers. So what did they put up? Soft porn films.

We wanted to give the passengers something to take their minds off the cold and to pass the time while waiting for a bus, and there are unlikely to be children around that time of night.

So said station management. Maybe the kiddies are all tucked up in bed, but does everybody waiting for a bus want to watch pornographic videos on giant plasma screens? Heck yes! Apparently the station security guards keep getting told off for standing in front of the screens and forgetting to do patrols. Let's all go catch a bus (or not) in Bulgaria.

[Photo: jonny yen]

Related Stories:
· Soft Porn for Bus Passengers [Ananova]
· Sofia, So Fresh [Jaunted]

Get Your Breast-Boosting Beer Here

amandak — 2007-01-15T09:45:02-05:00

The European Union welcomed Bulgaria and Romania into its fold from January 1, and there have been a few surprising repercussions. One is the sudden boost in sales of Boza, a Bulgarian beer that is famed for making women's breasts grow.

You see, joining the European Union meant that customs duties and taxes on the beer were eliminated, and it's made it affordable again to non-Bulgarians. The biggest customers are Romanians from just across the border. One Bulgarian was very excited about his purchase:

I've bought a case for my wife to try out. I really hope I see an improvement.

Bar-owners and shopkeepers from the rest of Europe are also cashing in on the breast-beer boom, with an Austrian ski resort owner admitting that getting Boza tax-free was a good enough reason to bring it back for his customers. But if you really want to grow those tits, better get to Bulgaria yourself and be sure you get the original. How the beer knows not to grow breasts on men is a mystery to us.

[Photo: larskflem]

Related Stories:
· Breast-Boosting Beer [Ananova]
· Romania's Page 5 Girls [Jaunted]