Bosnia and Herzegovina is barely yet on the travelers map, and at the same time making a decent name for itself. Our desire to embark there was much stronger than its worldwide bias, and it was our first tentative touches with a country that we would come to love wholeheartedly. "You're going to Bosnia?" My grandmother asked, her voice laced with concern. It was expected that she wouldn't favor our journey there, since she had witnessed, in her adulthood, the ferocious scenes of bombs and killings depicted on her television screen some 25 years ago. But we were determined. In Belfast, we're used to being on the receiving end of a bad reputation, sparked by the Troubles. On this 23-country tour of the European Continent, we were certain that we wanted to enter Bosnia - and we wanted to do it unbiased, undeterred, and unperturbed. For everything that Bosnia appeared to lack in luxuries, it remained a paradise in its own right. This makes it an adventurers dream; Perfect for the thrill-seekers among us, who adore the spontaneous drift of interesting encounters. A little rugged around the edges, a little rough-and-tumble. Yet it remained a supreme beauty, a fine cut among the gems of the Balkans. No sooner had we entered the estranged former state of Yugoslavia, we stopped dead in our tracks. Trimming the roadsides, the ground was thick with red warnings - minefields, an unfortunate by-product of the war. Again, we thought to ourselves, we would remain unperturbed. We pressed onward in the wake of such an seemingly ominous greeting. The people we encountered in Bosnia were among the friendliest, carved through with good character. Perhaps it's the aftermath of war- having seen the worst, they act the best. We were bestowed with an incredible amount of goodwill, in the form of talkative restaurant servers, overly-accommodating guesthouse owners, and unlimited refills by bartenders beyond the dry zones on more than one occasion. True to its heart-shaped land, this country had a lot of love to give. Mostar is a slice of the Middle East among inland Europe. The Mostar markets themselves are reminiscent of Aladdin's Cave. One can find trinkets of all description among the glittering stalls; golden jewelry speckled with rainbow gemstones, cloth-shine silverware, alabaster statues of scorpions and desert creatures, and beautifully-painted genie lamps. It was simply bursting at the seams with character. A string of hideaway streets in Sarajevo provides a welcoming solace among the cities' lesser-pleasant history. It is a bustling hive of beauty, alive with pleasure-seekers from all walks of life. Gorgeous, tall women wrapped in hijab intermingled with equally tall, gorgeous women in short-shorts. Men in white robes shook hands with men in clergy-wear, both vicars of their own deities. It was the most pristine example of how humanity should be. Perhaps there is more in the background, but we only witnessed a peaceful co-existence. Jajce is a quaint retreat, amidst green forests and tumbling canyons, and is known as the 'waterfall city' for obvious reasons. It's difficult to ignore the sparkling streams of endless purity floating adrift off the cliff side. A lesser-visited part of the country, but every bit as fair and stunning as the rest. Of course, Bosnia still had a somewhat disheveled side, with run-down houses and crumbling shops, appearing that they would fall at a touch, and it was endowed with graffiti - but beyond a few sparse towns like these, the rest of the countryside remained beautifully green and forested nonetheless. The country also plays host to the River Tara, regarded as the 'Tear of Europe' for its utmost purity. This makes it a divine setting for white-water rafting, set on the canyon's world-famous Class 3 and 4 river rapids. Bosnia and Herzegovina represents the stereotypical underdog on a street corner, with a wink in his eye and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Bosnia is fun, dry-witted and always up for a good time. Whether you choose to explore the traders merchandise along the multicolored streets of Mostar, or smoke the world's best shisha molasses in Sarajevo's thriving center, one thing is guaranteed in this fascinating nation - it will never be dull.