So we're back in Istanbul, or as I like to think of it, "not in Sofia" so things are looking up.
Needless to say we did further battle with the Orient Express, or as we discovered it was called when we went to buy our tickets to leave Sofia early, the Balkan Express (which certainly explains a lot about its previously mentioned lack of expressness). Specifically, and I know that this is the sort of detail that will bore you all but I feel that I need to share the pain, the train was THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATE arriving in Sofia. That's right. And to make it worse, because of the delay, we crossed the border at about 3.30am and at the Turkish border they hauled us all out of the train to get our passports stamped in the freezing cold. So basically, we, like Jesus, have suffered so that none of you have to. DON'T TAKE THE ORIENT EXPRESS.
Onto better things. Mr Segway [Serbia] struck again with his awesomeness by recommending a discount European booking site so we are now shacked up at a 4 star hotel in the heart of non-backpacker Istanbul. So we have spent the last two days trawling through the garment district, the grand bazaar, made it back to the spice bazaar and generally been touristing Istanbul.
We have also noticed a pronounced anti-american sentiment, which was surprisingly lacking last time we were here. Specifically, a salesperson from whom we were purchasing a -shock horror- bag accurately recognised our accents and went on tell us proudly that he could also pick English (held his throat and indicated that they speak from the back of their throat) and American, "because they give you headache". Who were we to disagree? Later, at the spice bazaar, we encountered another salesperson who was wearing an earring with a not entirely polite instruction on it. When I suggested it may be a little rude for someone in the sales business he explained it was for "bad people", then, after diplomatically but somewhat unsubtley asking where we were from, he elaborated that it "is for Bush".
2 comments:
Sorry, all I can think about still is the Segway... Though I do admit to some curiosity as to the specifics of Christina's eviction of the cabin mates on the orient express. My mental image involves Monsieur Poireut examining the aftermath. [Again - Googe let me use his account. He caught a mouse you know]
Yes, I too have experienced the delights of that train from Bucharest to Bulgaria. But can I just say this: there is no way of avoiding the *erhem* "timetables" that involve the Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish borders. I took the bus from Sofia to Istanbul and I can tell you, it was no better!
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