I'm not sure if it's just me being me, or the awful bed, or the hamam yesterday or maybe even DOMS somehow but I woke in the early hours of the morning in excruciating pain through my neck and shoulder blades. I couldn't find much relief from it so I just laid as still as possible. I got up before the alarm went off and had a painfully hot shower hoping the heat would loosen the muscles. It helped a little, but it is slightly worrying I'm already in this much pain only 3 days in - and today we have to laden ourselves with our heavy backpacks.
We had our usual muesli breakfast and started the repack. We have managed to fit the items that we were originally handholding into the backpacks now, so while they are a little heavier we have less stuff. We have eaten some of the food we have brought with us, so that's slowly lightening the load, and have literally bought nothing (yet) to add to the bags. Dan had the great point that we will be back next week, and to save any shopping (namely my magnets and his postcards) until then.
We were prepared long before we thought we would be, and so slowly left the hostel. We will be returning here next week, which I'm not thrilled about, but it'll do! We found our way to the tram stop and caught it to the ferry terminal.
My lovely friend Nat had warned us that Istanbul's airport can be a bit tricky and security can take a long time. Because of this, and not knowing how long it would take to get to the airport, we wanted to leave plenty of time. We got the ferry terminal and sat ourselves on the stairs for a while, watching the world go by and enjoying a bit of people-watching.
I was getting hungry so I convinced Dan we should get some more balik ekmek, or fish sandwiches, from the traditional ferry boats opposite. They were tasty, but didn't hold a candle to the amazing one we had yesterday! We will have to go back to the strange little man in his boat when we return to Istanbul next week.
Eventually, it was time to head to the ferry terminal, and slowly board. The journey was uneventful - watching the European side fade away while we approached the Asian side was lovely, and there was a couple busking on board. We had left plenty of time, so there was no rush to find a bus, but we managed to find the e10 relatively easily and hopped on board without being squashed as there were plenty of seats.
The bus journey to the airport was long, and I struggled to stay awake. When we got to the airport, we immediately had to put our belongings through a scanner. I was asked to remove the laptops from my bag and Dan was asked to open his, revealing my camera inside our checked luggage. Because of this, the lady at security put a sticker on our big purple bag to denote that there was something potentially dangerous inside.
This was all rather weird, and now that was done we joined the queue to drop our bags. The guy who eventually served us was a bit of a tool, wanting to charge us for two bags for the big purple, and he was unsure why we had the security sticker or what to do about it. I asked if it would be easier if we just take the camera in hand luggage and so I took it out as this was all getting irritating.
Next up: security. Again. In front of me in the line, a lady was taken to one side. I wondered if she had the wrong form of ID - she handed over an A4 piece of paper with a stamp and a signature on it instead of any kind of photo ID, and there was a lot of excited talking. Security was easy enough though and we were soon trough with lots and lots of time to spare, in an airport that has nothing and no free wifi. Good to know for when we fly to Albania next week!
It was all relatively smooth, a bit stressful with checkin and security but we made it.
There's one [terrible] thing I like to try wherever possible in different countries. And that's something from McDonalds. I know, awful right? The reason is, many countries have an item or two on the menu that is specific to that region. Eg, in Japan, there were burgers with rice cakes instead of buns. In India, there was the Maharaja Mac, which was like tandoori chicken. So when we spotted that Turkey had a few different items, we couldn't resist. We both went with the double "kofte" burger, based on the kofte meatballs that Turkey is famous for. It was actually pretty damn tasty - very light, which is unusual for a Maccas meal! It was also pretty cheap, unlike other countries...
Waiting at the gate and boarding the plane was uneventful. Many people were wheeled into waiting cars - I've never seen so many wheelchair bound passengers before! It's quite good though, it means that Pegasus and Istanbul airport must be very accessible.
The flight to Kayseri was also uneventful. An attendant came up to us, and to our surprise, said our names and handed us each a small baguette. That was a nice surprise - and dinner for later tonight! (As we had already filled up on Maccas...).
When we landed, it took an age for our bags to arrive, and then we went outside to look for our name for our shuttle to our accommodation. We were herded towards a bus and soon set off! The journey from Kayseri to Göreme took about an hour and a half, and it was so lovely to be able to see the stars.
We edged closer and closer to Göreme and the landscape changed dramatically as we were now surrounded by the amazing stone chimneys that define this place. Our shuttle deposited us at our Angel Cave Suites, as it's possible to stay in the chimneys! I write this now from our amazing suite, all chipped stone and amazing tiling. It's possibly the fanciest place we have ever stayed in, and is also the cheapest! It's beautiful and I'm looking forward to spending the next few nights here.
It's an early night for me because first thing tomorrow morning we are going hot air ballooning!
Until next time,
xx
We had our usual muesli breakfast and started the repack. We have managed to fit the items that we were originally handholding into the backpacks now, so while they are a little heavier we have less stuff. We have eaten some of the food we have brought with us, so that's slowly lightening the load, and have literally bought nothing (yet) to add to the bags. Dan had the great point that we will be back next week, and to save any shopping (namely my magnets and his postcards) until then.
We were prepared long before we thought we would be, and so slowly left the hostel. We will be returning here next week, which I'm not thrilled about, but it'll do! We found our way to the tram stop and caught it to the ferry terminal.
My lovely friend Nat had warned us that Istanbul's airport can be a bit tricky and security can take a long time. Because of this, and not knowing how long it would take to get to the airport, we wanted to leave plenty of time. We got the ferry terminal and sat ourselves on the stairs for a while, watching the world go by and enjoying a bit of people-watching.
I was getting hungry so I convinced Dan we should get some more balik ekmek, or fish sandwiches, from the traditional ferry boats opposite. They were tasty, but didn't hold a candle to the amazing one we had yesterday! We will have to go back to the strange little man in his boat when we return to Istanbul next week.
Eventually, it was time to head to the ferry terminal, and slowly board. The journey was uneventful - watching the European side fade away while we approached the Asian side was lovely, and there was a couple busking on board. We had left plenty of time, so there was no rush to find a bus, but we managed to find the e10 relatively easily and hopped on board without being squashed as there were plenty of seats.
The bus journey to the airport was long, and I struggled to stay awake. When we got to the airport, we immediately had to put our belongings through a scanner. I was asked to remove the laptops from my bag and Dan was asked to open his, revealing my camera inside our checked luggage. Because of this, the lady at security put a sticker on our big purple bag to denote that there was something potentially dangerous inside.
This was all rather weird, and now that was done we joined the queue to drop our bags. The guy who eventually served us was a bit of a tool, wanting to charge us for two bags for the big purple, and he was unsure why we had the security sticker or what to do about it. I asked if it would be easier if we just take the camera in hand luggage and so I took it out as this was all getting irritating.
Next up: security. Again. In front of me in the line, a lady was taken to one side. I wondered if she had the wrong form of ID - she handed over an A4 piece of paper with a stamp and a signature on it instead of any kind of photo ID, and there was a lot of excited talking. Security was easy enough though and we were soon trough with lots and lots of time to spare, in an airport that has nothing and no free wifi. Good to know for when we fly to Albania next week!
It was all relatively smooth, a bit stressful with checkin and security but we made it.
There's one [terrible] thing I like to try wherever possible in different countries. And that's something from McDonalds. I know, awful right? The reason is, many countries have an item or two on the menu that is specific to that region. Eg, in Japan, there were burgers with rice cakes instead of buns. In India, there was the Maharaja Mac, which was like tandoori chicken. So when we spotted that Turkey had a few different items, we couldn't resist. We both went with the double "kofte" burger, based on the kofte meatballs that Turkey is famous for. It was actually pretty damn tasty - very light, which is unusual for a Maccas meal! It was also pretty cheap, unlike other countries...
Waiting at the gate and boarding the plane was uneventful. Many people were wheeled into waiting cars - I've never seen so many wheelchair bound passengers before! It's quite good though, it means that Pegasus and Istanbul airport must be very accessible.
The flight to Kayseri was also uneventful. An attendant came up to us, and to our surprise, said our names and handed us each a small baguette. That was a nice surprise - and dinner for later tonight! (As we had already filled up on Maccas...).
When we landed, it took an age for our bags to arrive, and then we went outside to look for our name for our shuttle to our accommodation. We were herded towards a bus and soon set off! The journey from Kayseri to Göreme took about an hour and a half, and it was so lovely to be able to see the stars.
We edged closer and closer to Göreme and the landscape changed dramatically as we were now surrounded by the amazing stone chimneys that define this place. Our shuttle deposited us at our Angel Cave Suites, as it's possible to stay in the chimneys! I write this now from our amazing suite, all chipped stone and amazing tiling. It's possibly the fanciest place we have ever stayed in, and is also the cheapest! It's beautiful and I'm looking forward to spending the next few nights here.
It's an early night for me because first thing tomorrow morning we are going hot air ballooning!
Until next time,
xx
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