LogGrad98
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Never been. Went to Constantinople once though.
World travel
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The Thriller
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I’ve always wanted to travel to Iceland. And sometime I’d like to see the northern lights in person.
Things have changed...
Quite some time ago, believe there has been a couple of changes of management since.
How long you going for? 4 to 5 days should be enough. There's the blue mosque, the sultans palace, the grand bazaar (not to be confused with brazzers), the roman ruins, its a day of travel each way if you want to head south and check out Troy. I haven't been since Erdogan took over but I'm guessing it should be pretty fine for a westerner.
Hearsky
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Wear your Kanter jersey. It will make Ethiopia appear much safer.
I'm
I'm doing 3 days in Istanbul and a couple days in Izmir. I think safety isn't much of an issue these days in the big cities. Flights are dirt cheap right now, probably due to the earthquake in the north area.
3 days should cover Istanbul pretty well. If you'll murder my family I'll pay for an extra month?
Wife and I got back from Egypt a little over a week ago. We had been gone for about 10 days, which is the longest we've ever been gone, especially from kids. My wife had always wanted to go to Egypt since she was little. Me too, but not in the sense that it was a life goal like it was her. We planned a pretty jam-packed trip to be able to make that happen. For both of us, it was the farthest distance we'd ever been from the US. I had been surprised by this because my wife had lived in Tokyo and I had assumed that was farther than Egypt, which it surprisingly is not. We started in Cairo and traveled all the way down to the Sudan border. We actually got to fly over northern Sudan as we landed in Abu Simbel, which was fun. A few thoughts:
- While cliche, the camel ride at the pyramids was incredible.
- Tipping is everything, even for the most menial tasks. It's also not easy because withdrawing money from an ATM is going to give you larger bills and small bills for tipping are sparse. It's a constant anxiety wondering if you'll have enough small tip money to make it through the day, as you'll be hounded for tips everywhere.
- Everyone wants to haggle. It'd make it easier if there was just a flat rate (even if inflated) because it's such a time investment to haggle, especially as you're always in transit to your next place with limited time.
- Nobody sleeps in Cairo. Adults, kids, donkeys... all out in the street at 2:00 am.
- I would have loved to have explored much more spontaneous eating opportunities and street food. However, with it being Ramadan in conjunction with being with a company that had an itinerary and took us everywhere, it really prohibited most of those opportunities.
- I'm not certain we slept. Every day we'd be waking up super early, with the exception of, I believe, one morning. Aside from a couple days on the Nile cruise where we were sailing in the afternoon or after dinner, there was absolutely no down time.
- We did a hot air balloon ride (first time for both of us) over Luxor and Valley of the Kings, which was a great experience.
- It's incredibly green and lush all around the Nile and it's interesting seeing the stark contrast between barren desert and bright green landscape.
- They do a sound and light show at the Pyramids of Giza, which I believe is a production from the 1950s. It's awfully silly but the atmosphere of the sphinx and the pyramids at night is wonderful.
- Growing up, my mom was a flight attendant (still is) and we were accustomed to flying standby. I've never flown anything besides economy. On our flights between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, our tour company had booked business class, so the most comfortable flight I've ever taken was on Egypt Air. My wife had flown business class before, but I now understand how Jerry Seinfeld felt when he insisted Elaine fly coach because she hadn't ever been in first class and didn't know what she was missing.
- Driving was intense (we didn't drive). We had a driver take us 4 hours south of Cairo down to El Minya and Amarna. It necessitated several security checkpoints where we would have to do a relay of police escorts. Our driver got impatient with one of the police cruisers doing the escort and kept tailing him (probably about three feet or so) and pulling up to the side of him to push him along. It was very surprising because you'd be arrested in the states for that. There are no rules on the roads, no lanes, and not infrequent that someone is going the wrong way on the freeway or just turns around against traffic to backtrack.
- Tour guides are paid a commission of what you buy from the places they take you, like carpet "schools," papyrus "institutes," perfume stores, etc., etc., etc. I wish I could have just told the guides that, whatever commission they made, we'd just add to that in a tip and we can reallocate our time for the must-sees.
- Bonus picture of flying over Greenland, which I'd like to one day visit.
This picture doesn't really capture it, but this is an amazing view.
- While cliche, the camel ride at the pyramids was incredible.
- Tipping is everything, even for the most menial tasks. It's also not easy because withdrawing money from an ATM is going to give you larger bills and small bills for tipping are sparse. It's a constant anxiety wondering if you'll have enough small tip money to make it through the day, as you'll be hounded for tips everywhere.
- Everyone wants to haggle. It'd make it easier if there was just a flat rate (even if inflated) because it's such a time investment to haggle, especially as you're always in transit to your next place with limited time.
- Nobody sleeps in Cairo. Adults, kids, donkeys... all out in the street at 2:00 am.
- I would have loved to have explored much more spontaneous eating opportunities and street food. However, with it being Ramadan in conjunction with being with a company that had an itinerary and took us everywhere, it really prohibited most of those opportunities.
- I'm not certain we slept. Every day we'd be waking up super early, with the exception of, I believe, one morning. Aside from a couple days on the Nile cruise where we were sailing in the afternoon or after dinner, there was absolutely no down time.
- We did a hot air balloon ride (first time for both of us) over Luxor and Valley of the Kings, which was a great experience.
- It's incredibly green and lush all around the Nile and it's interesting seeing the stark contrast between barren desert and bright green landscape.
- They do a sound and light show at the Pyramids of Giza, which I believe is a production from the 1950s. It's awfully silly but the atmosphere of the sphinx and the pyramids at night is wonderful.
- Growing up, my mom was a flight attendant (still is) and we were accustomed to flying standby. I've never flown anything besides economy. On our flights between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, our tour company had booked business class, so the most comfortable flight I've ever taken was on Egypt Air. My wife had flown business class before, but I now understand how Jerry Seinfeld felt when he insisted Elaine fly coach because she hadn't ever been in first class and didn't know what she was missing.
- Driving was intense (we didn't drive). We had a driver take us 4 hours south of Cairo down to El Minya and Amarna. It necessitated several security checkpoints where we would have to do a relay of police escorts. Our driver got impatient with one of the police cruisers doing the escort and kept tailing him (probably about three feet or so) and pulling up to the side of him to push him along. It was very surprising because you'd be arrested in the states for that. There are no rules on the roads, no lanes, and not infrequent that someone is going the wrong way on the freeway or just turns around against traffic to backtrack.
- Tour guides are paid a commission of what you buy from the places they take you, like carpet "schools," papyrus "institutes," perfume stores, etc., etc., etc. I wish I could have just told the guides that, whatever commission they made, we'd just add to that in a tip and we can reallocate our time for the must-sees.
- Bonus picture of flying over Greenland, which I'd like to one day visit.
This picture doesn't really capture it, but this is an amazing view.
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Loving Turkey so far. I'll post more when I'm home but it's very beautiful and a great vibe. A lot better than I expected and I was excited to go. My wife loved it and wants to go back regularly.
I was surprised how much more European Istanbul was, I thought it would be more middle eastern. Things are much more liberal there than I expected. It is really a beautiful place and plenty to do. There is historic sites everywhere with interesting history like the temple that is thought to be the oldest temple and oldest civilization predating the pyramids by 5000 years. There are beaches and plenty of nightlife as well. The food was amazing everywhere I went. People complained that inflation has hit the country really hard in the last year or so but it was still very cheap compared to most places. A lot of the menus I looked at on google for places were double that when I went, I think a lot of that has to do with the local currency dropping in value. Ill have to go through some photos and maybe post a few. There is really well made products there and plenty of good shopping. The service industry overall is very good as well. Plus people in the country are very nice. Every time I was at a subway station looking around someone came to help right away even if they didnt speak english. Even the touristy areas people are not too aggressive. If you say no thanks, they generally just say okay have a nice day. It felt very safe everywhere as well, but I am sure there are less nice areas. It was like night and day from somewhere like Egypt despite having similar amounts of tourists.
I would recommend going. Although maybe wait until after the elections this year, it might get a little ugly around that time. But as a rule of thumb avoid anywhere going through elections especially major ones.
Turkish Airlines is great and if you are flying business class its one of the best services. Domestically they have a separate entrance for business class and gold card members. So pretty much no line for security and you go straight into the lounge. Then you wait until the plane is fully boarded and they have a shuttle bus that picks you up from the lounge and takes to you to the plane and it takes off a few minutes later. Internationally it has one of the best lounges I have been to, it had some of the best food I ate in an airport. Plus along with the usual showers, sleeping areas, luggage holding Istanbul had things like Golf simulators and pool tables. Its a great place to get stuck if you have a layover. That airport is huge, if you like shopping you will like that airport. I think my wife could have spent 2 days just at the airport.
I would recommend going. Although maybe wait until after the elections this year, it might get a little ugly around that time. But as a rule of thumb avoid anywhere going through elections especially major ones.
Turkish Airlines is great and if you are flying business class its one of the best services. Domestically they have a separate entrance for business class and gold card members. So pretty much no line for security and you go straight into the lounge. Then you wait until the plane is fully boarded and they have a shuttle bus that picks you up from the lounge and takes to you to the plane and it takes off a few minutes later. Internationally it has one of the best lounges I have been to, it had some of the best food I ate in an airport. Plus along with the usual showers, sleeping areas, luggage holding Istanbul had things like Golf simulators and pool tables. Its a great place to get stuck if you have a layover. That airport is huge, if you like shopping you will like that airport. I think my wife could have spent 2 days just at the airport.
Summer road trip. We drove up to Glacier National Park and did one day there. It was only one day because our real destination was Banff National Park in Alberta. Glacier was okay. I mean, it was good, but Banff just blew it out of the water.
We had known that three months in advance they release reservations for the Going to the Sun road. Well, it was apparently four months so we missed that. Found out that if you book a boat tour it counts as your pass for the day. Since we were at (the west entrance) to Glacier, we drove up the west side to get to Banff, which put us driving through Kootenay NP. Very scenic drive with the mountain ranges there.
This was our first time ever going to Canada. It was a lot more simple passing through the border than I thought. With waiting for cars it was maybe 10-12 minutes and probably 3-4 minutes talking to the border agent. Coming back there was more scrutiny that they asked lots of questions. We came down the west side and passed through Calgary but the border check we went through had nobody there. I think we drove about 30 minutes once we were back in the US before we saw a car. I have no clue where those border agents live.
Anyway, we stayed in Canmore, which is just outside the park. What I found weird about Canada’s national parks is that entire cities (towns) were within the park, and numerous parks border each other and are contiguous, which was somewhat puzzling and arbitrary.
This summer they changed how you visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake where you can no longer get there through private vehicle. We had to take a bus from in town in Banff to Lake Louise and then take a separate shuttle to Moraine Lake. We walked all the way down to the end of Lake Louise. The view from Moraine Lake was incredible. Would like to stay there some time. Later that night we rode the Banff Gondola to the top. Parking anywhere is an absolute nightmare. Lots of people in town. The next day we drove up to the Columbia Icefields. They have a skywalk glass bridge, kinda like the one over the Grand Canyon. The kids got a kick out of that.
This was the view coming up on Flathead Lake in Montana. This picture doesn’t capture this at all but it was one of the best views of the trip. Better than any views at Glacier, too.
View from Logan’s Pass in Glacier.
Lake McDonald boat tour that got us onto the road.
Moraine Lake. Best site of the trip!
What exactly does recycling cigarette butts entail?
View at the very top from the gondola.
A lake somewhere on the drive between Banff and Jasper.
We had known that three months in advance they release reservations for the Going to the Sun road. Well, it was apparently four months so we missed that. Found out that if you book a boat tour it counts as your pass for the day. Since we were at (the west entrance) to Glacier, we drove up the west side to get to Banff, which put us driving through Kootenay NP. Very scenic drive with the mountain ranges there.
This was our first time ever going to Canada. It was a lot more simple passing through the border than I thought. With waiting for cars it was maybe 10-12 minutes and probably 3-4 minutes talking to the border agent. Coming back there was more scrutiny that they asked lots of questions. We came down the west side and passed through Calgary but the border check we went through had nobody there. I think we drove about 30 minutes once we were back in the US before we saw a car. I have no clue where those border agents live.
Anyway, we stayed in Canmore, which is just outside the park. What I found weird about Canada’s national parks is that entire cities (towns) were within the park, and numerous parks border each other and are contiguous, which was somewhat puzzling and arbitrary.
This summer they changed how you visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake where you can no longer get there through private vehicle. We had to take a bus from in town in Banff to Lake Louise and then take a separate shuttle to Moraine Lake. We walked all the way down to the end of Lake Louise. The view from Moraine Lake was incredible. Would like to stay there some time. Later that night we rode the Banff Gondola to the top. Parking anywhere is an absolute nightmare. Lots of people in town. The next day we drove up to the Columbia Icefields. They have a skywalk glass bridge, kinda like the one over the Grand Canyon. The kids got a kick out of that.
This was the view coming up on Flathead Lake in Montana. This picture doesn’t capture this at all but it was one of the best views of the trip. Better than any views at Glacier, too.
View from Logan’s Pass in Glacier.
Lake McDonald boat tour that got us onto the road.
Moraine Lake. Best site of the trip!
What exactly does recycling cigarette butts entail?
View at the very top from the gondola.
A lake somewhere on the drive between Banff and Jasper.
I am about to take a 5 week work/vacation trip. I am heading to Maputo, Mozambique for a week for my wifes work. They are putting us up in a nice 5 star hotel so Ill be lounging at the pool and ocean charging drinks to the room while she works in the day. Then I head to China for some work for a week or so, while she spends time with the family and then we will both take a week vacation in China which I am excited to catch up with friends there. Then we will go to Japan for a week, which will be my first time. Her friends are coming with there and I rented a nice house for us all and have some great food lined up. I am a little shocked about the price of food there, but kind of expected since most nice Japanese restaurants are expensive everywhere.
That sounds amazing!
Miggs
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Nice! My dad lived a short stint when he was like two years old in Izmir.
LogGrad98
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Crazy, did he ever lose his accent?
Why did Constantinople get the works?
You were just waiting for someone to ask this.
I’ll oblige.
LogGrad98
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Well in my heart it will always be Kostantiniyye.