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Meet Me in Montenegroby Helen I. HwangOn the way to Montenegro, I kept rehearsing the lines I was going to use at the check-in at the Hotel Splendid. 
“Hwang, Helen Hwang.” I thought there was a bit of a ring to it, though I’m sure no Asian American female would ever be cast to play the typically white British male role of James Bond, even in the wildest Hollywood dream.
In Casino Royale, James Bond, played for the first time by the sexy-yet-sensitive Daniel Craig, arrives in Montenegro with his new flame Vesper for a high-stakes poker game that’ll draw out his enemy once and for all. In the film, he checks into the same hotel where I have reservations. My excitement level is off the charts. When I arrive in Budva, famous for its sandy beaches on the Adriatic Sea and lively nightlife, I’m greeted with cheery palm trees lining the busy boulevard. A couple of simple neon signs shout out “Casino” but they’re juxtaposed against two-storied drab cement homes with laundry being hung to dry on the balconies. Hotel Splendid 
Stepping foot into the Hotel Splendid is a different story altogether. A resplendent marble foyer in the spa hotel reception welcomes guests. Glamour was in no shortage inside the hotel with its glass chandeliers, retro 60s contemporary décor, and cigar humidor stocked with Cubans.
The spa hotel sits on the Budva Riviera, a half-moon-like bay with rising, lush green mountains cupping the waters on three sides. The deep sea green waves glisten as if pure and untouched. It certainly helps to retain that look with the fact that the Adriatic Sea is still frigid in April. However, that doesn’t stop a middle-aged man, dressed in nothing more than a black Speedo, from taking a polar bear plunge around dusk one evening. Old Town Budva has an Old Town, a section in the city with white Venetian-style villas; windy, cobblestoned paths, and town squares with benches to sit and contemplate life, while watching the world pass by. It’s a smaller, low-key version of Old Town in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which has attracted more and more Americans in recent years. This section of town was in fact destroyed in an earthquake on April 15, 1979. The entire neighborhood was rebuilt, stone by stone, in an exact replica of what it looked like before the devastation. 
The Budva Museum is in a quaint, dignified villa, and houses a few of the important architectural finds in the area. Roman tombstones from the 1st century are on display. Byzantine 24-karat gold jewelry from the 4th century is housed in glass cases.
Though many of the displays are lacking in detailed explanations, the museum does shed light on the culture of Montenegro itself. It’s a country that has been under the rule of Arabs, Slavs, Venetians, Austrians and French. More recently, it was part of the former Yugoslavia until 2006 when it finally won independence. One floor contains exhibits depicting typical Montenegrin life in the 18th century. A wedding chest packed with beautifully embroidered jackets, colored with red and black beads, are on display. A couple of the vests used small plates of steel as décor. Men traditionally wore long tunics and fez-like caps, a nod to the Turkish influence on Montenegro life. Women wore long skirts with vibrant colored vests, along with somber black head coverings. Why Montenegro 
While Croatia, particularly Dubrovnik, attracts hordes of tour groups and European lads on extended stag nights, Montenegro is a quiet, well-heeled destination, simply for the fact it’s harder to get to. Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, as well as chess player Bobby Fisher have found respite in Budva. Though there are airports in Montenegro, flights are infrequent. With daily flights from London, it was easier to catch the plane to Dubrovnik and then drive two hours along the gorgeous coastline road to watch the landscape change dramatically from country to country.
Tourist season peaks in June, July and August, and many of the visitors flock from Russia. If you love the idea of getting off the beaten track for a peaceful Balkan adventure, and a chance to practice your James Bond-like introduction, Montenegro is a destination worth the Euros. |
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