Details of locations, phone numbers, etc available from the Jeffes family at Sakar Hills Camping.

Car Hire: There is no local agent to rent a car or motorbike. The nearest we could find was Motoroads Ltd, a company based in Plovdiv, who would deliver to Haskovo. We agreed to hire a small car (Opal Corsa) for the month of August, paid a deposit and arranged collection in Haskovo.

At very short notice, we were informed that the Corsa had been in an accident (?) and they could only supply a brand new Chevrolet Laceti, through a partner firm, Puldin Rent-a-Car, which would cost extra. When we actually collected the car, it was an Opal Astra Classic – and far from new. The agent demanded full advance payment in cash, though we'd already emailed a substantial deposit by credit card and understood the balance could be paid in the same way. We refused to hand over the cash until the end of the rental period, but were allowed to drive away.

The car soon proved to have several faults and we emailed Puldin about them, saying we would not pay the extra fee agreed for the brand new Chevrolet. The immediate response was that the car must be returned to Puldin at once. A further email was sent (less than 2 hours later, and before we'd read the first one), saying that as we had not replied they would prosecute us for non-payment! Puldin had also alerted border guards that the car was not to be driven out of the country.

We immediately cancelled the credit card whose details they had, and arranged to return the car to Haskovo the next day. The deposit we'd already paid fell just €25 short of the number of days owing, and we gave the Puldin rep this amount in cash. He rang his office and a long argument followed. Puldin expected us to pay the higher daily rate for rentals of less than one month, even though they had demanded the car back! We refused, the police were mentioned, and Puldin finally backed off, with lots of threats of physical violence.

It was a good lesson in just how far the market economy has to go in Bulgaria. Clearly, businesses have no idea how to handle customer relations. A threatening attitude and 'take it or leave it' are still the order of the day.

The episode did end well for us, as we then made a private deal with Tsveta, a young friend of the Jeffes family who runs a boutique in Haskovo. She rented us her little car for a month and also arranged the necessary insurance cover, so that we could drive it over the border into Greece or Turkey if we wished.

Dentist: Harmanli has an excellent dental practice, open from 8-12 noon and 4-7 pm – a husband and wife team (plus assistant hygienist). The dentists speak fluent German, Greek and Russian, with a little English. Margaret had a check-up, clean/polish and one filling, all done the morning after she rang for an appointment. Total cost 60 lev (€30) – painless and friendly!

We also called there with John & Carol's friend, George, who was over from England on a 2-week visit. Having broken a crown on a front tooth, he was seen immediately. The dentist sent us into a small surgery in the centre of Harmanli for an X-ray (price 5 lev), with which we returned at once. She treated George there and then, and made 2 further appointments for him. He returned to England with a new porcelain crown costing €70, very impressed with the treatment.

Hairdresser: In Biser village there is a simple barber shop, run by Yorgo, where Barry was given a compulsory beard trim (no charge, just buy Yorgo a vodka – afterwards!) Margaret had a good hair cut at Karmen's salon in Harmanli. His English is fluent, having worked in Kent for several years.

Shopping: There are 2 small 'supermarkets' and one small hardware shop in the local village of Biser. However, there are plenty of small shops and stores selling food and a variety of hardware, knick-knacks and clothing, as well as weekly markets, in nearby towns. For computer accessories, disks, etc, there is a computer shop in Harmanli, as well as a branch of 'Office One Superstore'. We found English language DVDs on sale in a small CD/DVD shop in the Harmanli bazaar (but no English language books, magazines or newspapers).

None of the shops (including the German 'Kaufland' hypermarket in Haskovo) accepted our credit cards. We only used them for buying petrol, though even the larger service stations often claimed to have a 'problem' with their card reader!

The downside of this cash economy was shown when we bought a Philips DVD player at a branch of 'Bolta' (nationwide electrical dealers) in Harmanli. Within 2 weeks the machcine stopped working, so it was returned, complete with box, receipt and Philips worldwide guarantee. Had we been able to buy it with our Visa card, we might have claimed a refund through that. Instead we were treated with rudeness and suspicion – 'How do we know you didn't break it?' The shop would neither exchange the faulty player, nor refund our money. All they offered was to send it to their service centre in Plovdiv, who would initially check to see if there really were a fault ('how could the customer or the shop know?') and how it might have been caused. Only then would they decide whether it should or could be repaired or replaced. This process was likely to take at least 4 weeks. Protests that we were about to leave the country were of no avail.

We took the player to the larger branch of 'Bolta' in Haskovo, to receive the same treatment. We even consulted the Jeffes' family solicitor, Nadeshda Koleva, in Harmanli, who told us that there was no consumer protection in Bulgaria. The law only required the dealer to have a recently purchased faulty item repaired. She herself had returned a coffee maker to the same 'Bolta' store, and was still waiting after 12 weeks!

All we can do is to test the validity of Philips worldwide guarantee on our return to England.

Swimming: We didn't join the Biser village children at the stream (a tributary of the nearby Maritsa River), but did visit outdoor swimming pools (or 'Basins' in Bulgarian) in Harmanli and Lyubimets, each set in a garden with a small restaurant, shade, changing rooms, toilets, etc. The pools were clean and quiet, with a 4 lev (€2) entry fee for swimmers. Non-swimmers (for example, Barry) were welcome to sit and read a good book with a drink. Less comforting was the uncertainty about provision for the rescue of failed swimmers.

There is also a fine outdoor pool/restaurant at a motel, a little way from Harmanli on the road to Simeonovgrad.