The only lonely Fjord in the Adriatic

Kotor is a neat little place that is quickly working out it's value in the post communist World.

Nestled on the edge of the Adriatic's only fjord, it is a small walled town with a fort high on the cliffs above.

On arrival I headed for the hotel recommended in the Lonely Planet at €35 a night. On arrival in the hotel lobby I was informed that rooms now started at €330 a night "since the refurbishment". I went to look for somewhere else.

After a hike up along the City Walls to the top of the Fort high above the town, I enjoyed a leisurely wander around and had a nice spot of dinner. As it became dark I followed the local custom and took an ice cream for a stroll along the harbour front.

The first thing that struck me as I went out through the City Walls and looked back to where I had come from was how vertiginous the climb to the Fort had been. These walls are clinging to a very very sharp incline indeed. As I suppose you would imagine as they are clinging to the side of a fjord.

The second thing that I noticed as I turned around to see the yachts moored in the harbour was that here was some very serious money. And it seemed to be arranged in ascending financial value too.

At first were some beautiful wooden yachts. All polished teak and shiny brass.

Then were the slightly broader yachts with dining tables on the open back deck.

The next stage brought double decker yachts with dimly lit cream-leather clad interiors and smoked glass doors allowing you a hint of a glimpse of the luxury you could lap if only you could get yourself piped aboard.

Stage four of the yacht ladder of success was less about the yachts and more about the accessories. Do you have only the one jet ski? Does your jet ski not have it's own crane to lower it into the water? Do you not have a second yacht attached to your own for swimming excursions to less accessible bays?

But stage 5 and surely the King of the Yachts was the one that came with it's own helicopter.

Why wasn't 'Russian Oligarch' a career option that I was advised about in 1992?!