I want to add another country to the list of freedom loving countries... Turkey! No customs at all!
But I suppose paying $20 for a Visa was a downside. To my surprise they didn't ask for any
info, just took my money and put a sticker in my passport... fancy huh? I was a little
worried about the taxi driver ripping me off because I read a lot of stories about such
things on the intarweb. Luckily I was talking to a guy named Archie on the plane from
Amsterdam who owned a hotel in Istanbul
(Hotel Pamphylia in Sultanahmet), and he said I could ride
with him to Sultanahmet. Archie gave me the low-down on Istanbul, and we had Turkish coffee
when we arrived at his hotel. Archie's hotel was very nice, it has a restaurant on top
with a great view of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
I didn't do much on the first day besides getting Turkish Lira, and stuffing my face with a
Turkish food. I bought some bottled water too, I figure drinking France's tap water didn't
kill me and made me stronger, but I don't think it made me strong enough. Then again,
Philippine + France + England + US tap water = I'm invincible!
On the second day I was lucky enough to meet yet another nice Turkish person, two in fact -
Bahar and her friend Esra.
We went to Archie's hotel to see if he was there, he wasn't, but we went to the restaurant
on top even though it was closed and had Turkish tea overlooking the city... talk about VIP
treatment :-) Bahar and her friend showed me all around Istanbul, and even tried getting
lower prices at historic attractions by saying I was Turkish. Somehow the places knew I
wasn't Turkish... maybe I said "America Represent!" and didn't realize it. We went to Topkapi
Palace, then across the Golden Horn to Karakoy where they had TONS of shopping, and the streets
were paved in marble (although it was under renovation). It was the only part of the city
that I've seen with Christmas-like decorations. The French consulate happened to be on that
street... no surprise there.
The next day was very cold and rainy, and we were too stubborn to get umbrellas so it made
for a 'memorable' experience. The first stop was Dolmabahce Palace where the old sultans
lived, and dignitaries visited. There was a lot of gold plated stuff including the silverware...
or I mean goldware. It took a little over an hour to look through the place.
After that it was time for more kebabs, same place as the night before because they were
pretty darn good and I wanted to try something else they had. Then it was off to some
shopping at the Grand Bazaar, a very impressive place, but I can't say I needed to stock up
on Turkish stuff.
The day I left Istanbul was nice and sunny... it figures! My flight from Istanbul to Amsterdam
was delayed by 2 hours, so they put me on an Air France flight from IST-CDG-VIE that arrived in
Vienna about the same time as the old KLM itinerary would have. I think it ended up being
better anyways because Air France knows what passenger comfort is all about! On a three hour
flight from IST-CDG they served a full meal. On KLM they would have just given me a small
snack because they're cheap like most US airlines. From Paris I took Austrian airlines to
Vienna, I'm not too impressed with their service because they charge for food like the
US airlines. A sandwich and Red Bull cost me 6.50 Euros. I thought it would be appropriate
for me to have a Red Bull on the way to Red Bull's birthplace of Austria :-)
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