Prequel: Turkey resisted us twice, back in 2013. We planned a trip in January only to figure out that the weather wasn’t the best in all the places we wanted to visit. We tried again in May and there were protests. Not against us, but in general. This year, thanks to the house shift, it was all one big rush. To add to that, we had to shift our trip by a week at the last minute because my visa process was bungled by a very inept ‘travel agency‘.
Day 1
Maybe it was a bid to compensate, the cosmos decided to grant us an uneventful beginning to the trip. Though we began at an insane hour (4:15 AM flight) the Meru cab was on time, and we met B and P at the airport, on their way to Jordan. Chatting with them also meant that we didn’t fall asleep. Qatar Airways gave us an omelette and chicken early morning meal, and though I had plans to watch a movie, I promptly fell asleep. We landed at Doha’s Hamad airport and saw that giant teddy bear that belonged to the royal family. Wes Craven would be proud of that thing! But otherwise, quite an awesome airport, though I couldn’t find free WiFi. That tin-man playground seemed quite fun.
Another flight (no in-flight entertainment this time) and some surprisingly good chicken later, we were in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport. The arrival lounge was pretty depressing and I got a sense of things to come when I accidentally saw our bag lying in the ‘Lost & Found’ section even as we stood waiting for it near the belt! We did a little bit of currency exchange anyway, though the guide said everything was cheaper outside, including the data plan I wanted to buy. He was right, the Euro from then on became cheaper with every passing day, and I never bought a data plan! He led us to a tour van, which already had people waiting to be dropped off at various hotels across the city. Istanbul’s traffic would easily give Bangalore’s version a run for its money, and probably beat it as well! We passed from Asia to Europe via the Bosphorus bridge, as the driver gave a running commentary of the famous monuments all around. The views are plain fantastic, what a mega city!
We reached Sokullu Pasa after about three hours. I will get to it later, but this hotel is plain awesome, all thanks to its fantastic service staff. Meanwhile, I had been spending time with an old friend I met on the way – damn sinus headache which unerringly greets me on the first day of every vacation! I slept off, after barely registering that we had a tiny, but lovely room with a fantastic view. By the time I woke up, the sun had set (happens around 8.15 PM) and D had dozed off. Together we managed to miss out on the dinner plans we had painstakingly made! But hey, we had nine days left. 🙂
