Third Time's the Charm

I am writing this from Istanbul - hooray! After I signed off last nıght, I went to dinner and met a nice South African man at the restaurant. It was one of those really great travel encounters when you both know you'll never see each other again so the conversation ıs totally uninhibited. We talked about religion, politics, travel and life ın general. He was on his way to Nepal to do the Everest Base Camp trek so I gave him all kinds of pointers about what to see and do.

My travel to Istanbul went absolutely without a hitch today. Turkey is quite possıbly the easiest country to enter in the world - you don't have to fill out any forms, provide them with any information or hand over a photo. Just drop them $60 and you're in. Likewise, getting out of Delhı was a snap. I was told by Emirates (and experience)to expect problems from Indian immigratıon because I didn't have a Turkish visa. Nobody seems to want to let you fly without a visa these days, and I was sure they'd hold me up because of it. I had to argue extensively to even get them to issue the tickets in Kathmandu because of this. Today I was carrying printouts from two different Turkish government websites as well as the DFAIT website which all said I didn't need a visa, but I never needed to produce them. The Indian immigration guys just waved me through.

As expected based on yesterday's visit to their offices, Emirates proved to be a wonderful airline - my new favourite. I am hopıng that the great vibe from the last 24 hours is a sign of good things to come and that things will continue to go smoothly for me now. I have found on this trip that typically when things go wrong, they really go wrong, but when they turn around they really turn around. I'm hoping that I've worked the bad karma out of my system for the time being..

Transittıng through Dubai and arrivıng in Istanbul have been somewhat surreal for me. It's so weird to be in airports that have signs, toilets that flush and shops where you can not only buy a coke but also books, souvenirs and makeup. Driving through Istanbul terrified me - we actually got up to about 100 kph on a highway which is about 60 kph faster than I've gone in the last year. There are no animals in the streets, everything is so clean and the cars stay in lanes. I think this will be quite an adjustment for me.

Must go to bed - has been a long day of travel for me.