Around 8:30 am on our third day in Tirana, we left the hotel to go to the North and South Bus Station. We followed the hotel employee's advice. We waited for a white KAMEZ bus at Skanderbeg Square. We each paid the equivalent of 10 American cents for our bus fare. Honestly, we were shocked at how cheap the fare was. The station looked more like a barren and dusty parking lot where many buses had gathered. Each bus had a sign by the front window showing their destination. We originally planned on traveling to Kruja that morning. We did see a minivan going there but it was empty. We knew that the driver was only going to leave once he had filled the vehicle. I remember us not boarding immediately since it was a very hot day and the mini van wasn't airconditioned. We didn't want to fry. I had already waited 30 minutes and still no one boarded the van to Kruja with us. Meanwhile there was a huge bus right in front of us about to leave for Durres and some touts were announcing its departure. In a minute, we changed our plans and opted to go to Durres instead. Per our research, the travel time from Tirana to the popular resort town was no more than an hour. We made a quick dash for the bus which was 90% full. Soon, we were on our way. We made the right decision.

We walked around town as soon as we arrived. I also needed to relieve myself and while we searched for a toilet, we passed by what looked like two malls. Turns out the first one we saw was an office building. The second one was indeed a mall with stores selling knock offs of famous luxury brands. I saw a Burberry wallet, a big one and asked the price. I was floored by the quality. It was pretty good. The sales person asked for 80 euros for it. I declined the offer and we left.

We made our way to the town's main square. We saw a mosque, the City Hall, the Roman Amphitheater, the Venetian Tower, an old hamam, and some very old Roman columns along a promenade. The heat was super, super intense in Durres. The city is next to the sea by the way which is why we saw lots of swimmers and sunbathers. The water was very clear and looked very inviting.

We had late lunch and ate at a KFC that afternoon. The restaurant's site was very modern and had great airconditioning. It was just what we needed after walking in the city in what seemed to be a temperature of over 100 degrees Celsius.

We had heard of mobs of people fighting for a space on the bus bound for Tirana from Durres. We made it a point to avoid the crowds going back. By 2:30 pm, we decided to conclude our Durres excursion and left. Fortunately for us, finding the bus returning to Tirana was easy and there weren't so many people yet traveling back to Tirana. The return trip took just an hour. Realizing we only had big bills with us, we went to a bakery next to a car repair shop across the bus station. There we bought some pastries with the intention of getting some change for bus fare.

Back in Skanderbeg Square, we made our way to Toptani Mall once again and returned to Nona's Restaurant for dinner. I had shrimp with rice pilaf this time and just like the calamari I had the day before, it was yummy. The food helpers also gave us such huge servings. We had fun that day and we felt very blessed!