Day 213, Istanbul, Turkey
Yesterday we left Istanbul in the evening. Paul and I did our regular routine of walking to get coffee while the girls slept in. Then Paul went for a serious Turkish manscaping session at the barber. He came back smelling like a lavender garden, we tried not to tease him, but that was impossible. He did enjoy his experience, but wasted no time in taking a shower, so we would quit smelling his head.
Our plane was leaving at 10pm and we thought we’d leave at 5:30 since this airport was a little further away. Good thing we did since it took us three hours to get there, three, I tell you. This wasn’t simply bad traffic, this was epic
traffic, inching along the freeway. The highways have to service 20 million people, no wonder they are parking lots. We drove from Europe into Asia, a first for everyone.
Our taxi driver wanted a smoke and offered Paul one (not me, mind you). When Paul said no thanks, he opened the door, stepped out and lit one up. We are in the left-hand lane of the highway. He would take a few puffs, then put it out when our line started to move. They he would move up, open the door, light up his cigarette again, and stand outside smoking it for another spell. Never seen that done before, but I did appreciate his sensitivity to not smoking us out.
At this airport (SAW) you go through an initial security as you enter the building, they xray your bags, pat you down, the works. I never complain about extra security, have at it, make it safer for all of us. Paul was excited to fly Emirates, but nervous about what we were flying over. He enjoyed watching all the plane cameras facing forward and down, and was also happy that we totally avoided the hot-spot countries of this region, flew around those.
The girls, on the other hand, cared more about the large variety of movies and TV shows available, and that you could get a cup of noodles from the flight attendants whenever you like. Happiness is entertainment with noodles. I was happy that it wasn’t freezing, that I had an extra blanket. The food was excellent.