Istan-Cats

Marilyn

Me & Russell really like cats, I did have to convert Russell but our lovely Cat Marilyn made the job an easy one. However, we no longer own Marilyn as our next door neighbour stole her by luring her into her house with sausages & chicken.

Istanbul, Episode 4 - Taksim

When we came to Istanbul we expected to be here a week. 20 days later I am writing this in Taksim, Istanbul while we wait to go to the airport to fly to India. It's safe to say we have been here a lot longer than we ever wanted. However, we are both really glad as we could have easily have left Istanbul underwhelmed.

Street Art II

As we prepare to leave Europe I thought now would be a good time to share all of the street art photos I have taken over the past eleven weeks. The Panda above was on Istiklal. Istanbul's Oxford St.

The Indian Visa Saga Concludes

We have just returned from the lovely embassy with our passports stamped & ready for our flight to Delhi in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Estimate amount of time spent obtaining the visa is a shocking thirteen hours. On Tuesday we were wondering what to do with the day. Cat suggested that we pay the embassy a visit :)

Istanbul, Episode 3 - Galata Bridge

Istanbul's Galata bridge has spanned the Golden Horn since the sixth century AD. What we cross today is the 5th Galata Bridge. The latest version was built in the 1990's. It connects the old city with the more Western districts to the north. 

Istanbul, Episode 2 - Breakfast in Europe. Lunch in Asia.

A Journey between Occident & Orient

Istanbul is a transcontinental city. The city straddles Europe & Asia separated by the Bosphorus strait. After our breakfast, we took an inexpensive commuter boat ride from Eminonu port on the European side & landed in Asia within 30 minutes. On arrival you would expect a "Welcome To Asia" sign. But you receive nothing of the sort. The Asian side of Istanbul was very much like the European side. Same street food vendors, same shops, bars & restaurants. The only difference I noticed was that it was a little cheaper. A Simit (think Turkish bagel) costs 1TL (30p) on the European side & is half that price on the Asian side. 

The Indian Visa Saga Part 2

We had our appointment at the embassy on Friday 20th September. Catherine's application was accepted & we await the return of her passport. I wasn't so lucky. There was a tiny mistake with my application. I returned to the embassy this morning the mistake corrected & the application was accepted. The nice lady at the embassy agreed that I could pick the passport up at the same time as Cat & not have to wait the standard 4 working days.

We fly to India in 7 days :D

Oh, the tiny mistake. We forgot to add my middle name to the application. We were kicking ourselves but still a little relieved that that was the only issue with the applications.

Istanbul, Episode 1, Sultanahmet district - The one with the 30 (34) bed dorm.

8 days ago we travelled from Bulgaria to Turkey by coach. We found information on line saying that the travel time could be 7, 8 or maybe 14 hours depending on the border crossings & traffic. For this reason we didn't book any accommodation but did note down the address for a hostel which had competitive rates, ace location & great reviews. It also had a 30 bed dorm room. Which we would later count & come to the magic number of  34 beds. It took 2 coaches, 2 tube rides & ages walking around with crap directions to come to a total travel time of 13 hours. If we exclude the waiting times for buses & the time it took to get to our hostel so just the Bulgaria to Turkey bit, I would estimate a 9 hour journey.

The Indian Visa Saga

"A tourist visa may be issued for three to six months. The duration of the visa is at the sole discretion of the Issuing Authority. All visa fees once paid are non-refundable irrespective of the outcome of the application and duration granted. The validity of the visa begins from the date of issue by the High Commission of India and not from the date of travel"  - Official Indian Visa Information website

Sunny Beach & Nessebar, Bulgaria

 As a kid I went on 3 summer holidays to Bulgaria, 2 of these were to Sunny Beach. I wasn't too keen on the idea of going back, it was ok but not what we're looking for on this trip.  However, after looking online for ages it was the only place on the way to Istanbul that was a viable option. Mainly due to accommodation. In Sunny Beach we got a nice hotel with a pool right in the centre for £7.50 pppn. When we were in Sofia I mentioned Sunny Beach to 1 of the hostel staff and she said "don't go there, it's horrible" so it's fair to say we weren't expecting much.