We took a night bus from Sofia to Istanbul last night. We made our way to Istanbul because we are meeting my parents here on Monday for a two week Turkish family road trip. We came to Istanbul a few days early to do some "travel errands" (basically apply for Iranian and Indian visas at their respective Istanbul embassies.)
Night buses can either be wonderful or awful. I was surprised when this one turned out to be a little bit of both (there is grey in the world after all.) After many smoky, hot, smelly bus rides in the Balkans, we were happy to have this bus to Istanbul be comfortable, air conditioned (it may have just been a fan but still it was a form of ventilation) and equipped with a candy/coffee dispensing bus attendant. All was well until the "bus attendant" turned on us. He spent the evening ssssh-ing us (only to then turn on the lights and speak very loudly to his friends) and at the Turkey border he aggressively threw our bags around (once while open, spewing our belongings all over the place.) Anyways, it wasn't really a big deal. When is Rome be a jack-ass I suppose. For only the third time in our relationship, I saw the Meaford come out of Zack and thought for certain someone would be hit (or at least shoved.)
Being hot and sleep deprived made for a fun day navigating Iranian bureaucracy and applying for a visa. From what we have seen today Istanbul is chaotic, beautiful and wonderful. Travel buddies have let us know that Turkish people are helpful and friendly but we had no idea they would be this helpful and friendly. Nearly every time we looked a bit lost (Zack hates when I say lost but whatever...we get lost sometimes!!) people would offer help, even if they dıdn't speak English they dıd their best with sign language and a smile. This is a nice change from Bulgaria (where we just departed.) I have never been so frustrated in my life navigating the streets of Sofia. Not only are all the street signs in Cyrillic and the maps in latin letters (go figure) but the people are terribly unhelpful. I apologize for generalizing which is something we both try to avoid but really we asked for help probably fifteen times during our stay and ONE person helped us. Making matters worse, in Bulgaria they nod their heads for "no", shake their heads for "yes" and just generally wiggle their heads for some kind of indecipherable response. Travel confusion/frustration at its finest.
I really shouldn't speak poorly of Bulgaria. It's so beautiful (will post pics later) and our couchsurfing host Svelt was a sweetheart. Also their inclusion in the EU means that things are changing quickly, possibly a bit too quickly whıch leaves theır traditional lifestyles in the past. An example of these changes can be seen ın theır fruit growers who used to sell their produce to hikers and local people at stands on the side of remote mountain roads. Now that the Bulgaria is part of the EU, they can't do that anymore and they have to put their fruit in packages with silly labels saying organic or not organic. Isn't that sad? This is just a small example. I'm such a sucker for dying cultures.
Due to my poor night-bus sleep. I took a nap this afternoon from 5-9:30 which has left me hide awake now (11:55pm). Super. The hostel owner just came into the common room and let me know he's ordering Burger King and asked if I'd like to order too. Such a thoughtful guy.
Given that I'm wide awake, I thought I'd fiddle with google maps and make a master map of our trip so far. Google maps can be a bit of a pain and after an hour of "fiddling" it wouldn't let me add our final two cities. I've attached the photo of the map. It should really read Z: Sofia, Bulgaria and then Istanbul. Also, google won't let me get a blue line from place to place, ugggh, oh well I suppose finding directions from Lisbon to Istanbul would be challenging for any anyone. I'll let this one slide google. This is a good time to make a summary map. Istanbul represents leaving behind Europe and heading into the East. Also, meeting my parents was the only date/place we "had to make" on our journey and I can't believe it has arrived already.
All for now. Farewell sweet Europe.
Ps. I didn't go for the Burger King.
Night buses can either be wonderful or awful. I was surprised when this one turned out to be a little bit of both (there is grey in the world after all.) After many smoky, hot, smelly bus rides in the Balkans, we were happy to have this bus to Istanbul be comfortable, air conditioned (it may have just been a fan but still it was a form of ventilation) and equipped with a candy/coffee dispensing bus attendant. All was well until the "bus attendant" turned on us. He spent the evening ssssh-ing us (only to then turn on the lights and speak very loudly to his friends) and at the Turkey border he aggressively threw our bags around (once while open, spewing our belongings all over the place.) Anyways, it wasn't really a big deal. When is Rome be a jack-ass I suppose. For only the third time in our relationship, I saw the Meaford come out of Zack and thought for certain someone would be hit (or at least shoved.)
Being hot and sleep deprived made for a fun day navigating Iranian bureaucracy and applying for a visa. From what we have seen today Istanbul is chaotic, beautiful and wonderful. Travel buddies have let us know that Turkish people are helpful and friendly but we had no idea they would be this helpful and friendly. Nearly every time we looked a bit lost (Zack hates when I say lost but whatever...we get lost sometimes!!) people would offer help, even if they dıdn't speak English they dıd their best with sign language and a smile. This is a nice change from Bulgaria (where we just departed.) I have never been so frustrated in my life navigating the streets of Sofia. Not only are all the street signs in Cyrillic and the maps in latin letters (go figure) but the people are terribly unhelpful. I apologize for generalizing which is something we both try to avoid but really we asked for help probably fifteen times during our stay and ONE person helped us. Making matters worse, in Bulgaria they nod their heads for "no", shake their heads for "yes" and just generally wiggle their heads for some kind of indecipherable response. Travel confusion/frustration at its finest.
I really shouldn't speak poorly of Bulgaria. It's so beautiful (will post pics later) and our couchsurfing host Svelt was a sweetheart. Also their inclusion in the EU means that things are changing quickly, possibly a bit too quickly whıch leaves theır traditional lifestyles in the past. An example of these changes can be seen ın theır fruit growers who used to sell their produce to hikers and local people at stands on the side of remote mountain roads. Now that the Bulgaria is part of the EU, they can't do that anymore and they have to put their fruit in packages with silly labels saying organic or not organic. Isn't that sad? This is just a small example. I'm such a sucker for dying cultures.
Due to my poor night-bus sleep. I took a nap this afternoon from 5-9:30 which has left me hide awake now (11:55pm). Super. The hostel owner just came into the common room and let me know he's ordering Burger King and asked if I'd like to order too. Such a thoughtful guy.
Given that I'm wide awake, I thought I'd fiddle with google maps and make a master map of our trip so far. Google maps can be a bit of a pain and after an hour of "fiddling" it wouldn't let me add our final two cities. I've attached the photo of the map. It should really read Z: Sofia, Bulgaria and then Istanbul. Also, google won't let me get a blue line from place to place, ugggh, oh well I suppose finding directions from Lisbon to Istanbul would be challenging for any anyone. I'll let this one slide google. This is a good time to make a summary map. Istanbul represents leaving behind Europe and heading into the East. Also, meeting my parents was the only date/place we "had to make" on our journey and I can't believe it has arrived already.
All for now. Farewell sweet Europe.
Ps. I didn't go for the Burger King.
No comments:
Post a Comment