This week’s Travelsonabike2 on this day bicycle touring post comes from Turkey on the 6th-December-2011, and I’m on my way to Australia. I was back in Istanbul for the second time after having to change my route.
Tuesday 6th-December-2011. Istanbul.
Well, I found out why my train journey took so long yesterday. The story goes that a German company was tasked with building the track. Who, for some bizarre reason, was paid by the metre. Hence, the railway takes the longest route possible, twisting and turning around every hill and mountain. Sumeya, the waitress, was telling me this at breakfast. She also said that anybody with any sense goes by bus, it only takes six hours!
I think I’m glad I didn’t know about the bus. It was bad enough on the short journey to meet Julie from the airport the other week. I don’t think my nerves could have taken six hours. No, sitting on a train for eleven hours was definitely the right choice!
What To Do
It’s my last full day in Turkey. My flight to India leaves tomorrow evening, so I thought I’d better go and see what else I could find. Walking out of the hotel and past the shops, one of the shopkeepers called out to me, saying, “Are you back again!” That surprised me; I’d never spoken to him before. Do I stand out that much? Apparently, I do. He’d seen me the other week when I left on my bike.
I decided that I’d go and look at the Galata Tower. It was one of the places I never saw when Julie was here. Due to that stupid cruise, we got conned into going on. It was pretty good looking out over the city. But I soon grew bored with that and went for a walk. That didn’t last, and I also got bored with that. I’m not a very good tourist at the best of times, let alone when I’m on my own. I returned to the hotel and sat in the bar, updating the website.
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