Turkey

After a near collision with a mad Turkish taxi driver (or Taksi as it is here), an unexpected 100m detour into Asia and a small disagreement between us about directions (this only seems to happen in big cities) we finally parked M for the night – in secure parking, guarded 24 hours a day – wise as the rear door that was forced in Mostar is still knackered.

We failed to find a hostel or any of the accommodation in our guide book so wondered into a hotel, who gave us a rate of less than half their room rate – only €35 for the night. We found out later that evening that it probably wasn’t due to being off peak season, but more likely due to the rather loud Karaoke booming through from the hostel next door… After a good feed we had to listen to various Aussies and Kiwis absolutely murder some classics…

We didn’t have time for much in Istanbul the next day, after Lucile’s tat shopping, a quick visit to the Mosque and a good breakfast it was time to head to the airport.

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I’m sad to see Lucile go, it’s been a really great three weeks – far more so than I expected… But then I didn’t really know what to expect from the Balkans. When I look back at it now, it seems like an awful lot has happened in a very short space of time, I don’t expect the rest of the trip to be nearly so crazy. Famous last words!

After leaving Lucile I headed back towards Istanbul, but with the rear door still not fixed, and not wanting to pay London parking rates again I headed past and away to the coast, I’ll come back to Istanbul sometime, for now I need to be away from big cities and relaxing somewhere sunny...
This is my first time in Asia (I’m not counting the previous nights accidental visit), I have no idea what the next few weeks holds in store for me… The only real research I’ve done for the trip is on Africa, Turkey is a mystery, my limited knowledge has come from a film Jana - a friend told me to watch – Midnight Express. Well I certainly won’t be attempting any smuggling after watching that!