Anirudh Tomer

Anirudh Tomer

I enjoy conducting scientific work, visiting mountains, cooking, landscape photography, and solving problems. I am currently doing statistics/machine learning in the field of medical science and biology for a living.

Bulgaria (2016, 2017, 2018)

My association with Bulgaria happened due to Kamen, a very close friend of mine from Bulgaria. Visiting his family in Bulgaria and staying with them helped me understand Bulgarian society on a much deeper level than the average tourist. I am very grateful to Kamen and his family for their hospitality. Each time I left Bulgaria, I thought I had seen enough, but I have returned multiple times for some reason. Bulgarian pine has a unique smell, at least to my nose, and encountering it on trails brings a Deja vu. I intend to visit Bulgaria at least one more time.

Trails

Koncheto, Polezhan, and Vihren in the Pirin national park; Musala, Malyovitsa, and seven Rila lakes in the Rila national park.

Food

Bulgarian food is very diverse, and there are plenty of dishes for vegetarians. Food in mountain huts is delicious and wholesome. My all-time favorite is Bob Chorba with Djodjen (Spearmint).

Transportation

Extremely cheap public transport, taxis, and other local services. Fairly reliable and clean too.

People

I found Bulgarians to be very hospitable people. They stopped on trails to ask us where we came from and to tell us how much they loved Bollywood. Those running the chalets were humble down to earth people who helped us genuinely and did their best to make the trip comfortable.

Special Experiences

Chance encounters with Roma people, locally known as Gypsies. They and I couldn't stop staring at each other because Roma migrated from India 1000 years ago, and they do look Indian. Some of them touched us on the bus as we passed through the aisle and called us with Bollywood actors' names. I think they were astonished to see a brown guy speaking English with a native Bulgarian (Kamen).

Hiking photos