Like I was saying in the last post, there is this "friendly" angst between certain countries, and Greece & Turkey fall within that category as well. I mean, they have a reason to feel this way. If I was asked to move to USA because of my belief, I would be so angry (unless it was Maui). Even though the 'exchange' happened almost a century ago, it is still felt when you travel between the 2 countries.
My tale starts on a train that travelled from
Athens to Istanbul. Travelling by train can be quite relaxing, unfortunately, this train trip was not. It was dirty and it smelled like a week old hotdog. I do not remember the amount of the ticket to get from A to B, but the train conductor tried to tell us that we did not have the right ticket, we needed to buy another ticket for $50 each. Scammers. Nice try.
At some point during the trip, after a couple of drinks and a snack or two, one needs to visit 'the ladies room'. Imagine this, an old train travelling down tracks, slightly shaking side to side, open the door to the bathroom, and oh the smell! So this is where the old hotdogs live! 'Life' was everywhere... on the floor, walls, you name it. And peering down the open hole and watching the tracks go by... hmmm... I'll hold it until I get to Istanbul, thanks!
There was 5 of us packed into 1 train compartment for the 24 hour ride. But sleep, we must. Unfortunately, we were not left alone for very long, every hour or so, a train conductor would come by and ask to see our passports. EVERY HOUR!
But finally, we arrived in Instanbul. What a great place, and at the time we were there, cheap! We spent the time walking around visiting the many tourist attractions; the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and of course, a spa. I believe anyone going to Turkey must take part in a Turkish Massage. In the bath that we went to, the men & women were separated. I had no idea what to expect, especially not what we received anyway! Us girls were told to undress and wrap ourselves in sarongs. A young girl came by and showed us into the bath. It was beautiful... marble everywhere, waterfall type showers and lots of steam rising to the arch ceilings. We were motioned over to the marble slabs, but they did not speak English, so we were not sure what they were asking us for. 
Then the young girl came up to a friend and ripped her sarong off! Holy cow. We were laughing so hard! After waiting awhile, a 300lbs naked female masseuse came up to me, took my hand and brought me over to the waterfall shower to rinse off, then she poured cheesecloth suds all over me, this was lovely. The massage on the other hand, was painful. She scrubbed every part of me, kneading my knees into the marble and taking off layers of skin. This is no exaggeration! After a 1/2 hour massage, I came out of there, with no tan. Would I do it again? You bet.
Other then spas, we were planning on doing a couple trips here and there within Turkey. We did go to Gallipoli for a couple of days, but our heart was really focused on Butterfly Valley.
Great video, eh? Well, too bad Chelsea & I did not get there. It all started when we ran into old friends from work at Mount Seymour. They were telling us all about this place called Butterfly Valley, not a tourist trap, just beautiful scenery, and of course, butterflies. We decided to break off from the group and take a side trip with these friends. Chelsea & I have not been to the ferry terminal before, but really, it is at the port, right? Boy, the rain that day was unreal. We got to the port, but could not find the entrance. There were chain-link fences everywhere! We started down this wharf, with local fisherman casting their lines hoping for the big fish of the day, thinking it would provide us access, but it didn't. We were checking the time and knew we were cutting it close. What do we do? Run around to try and find another entrance? Climb the fence and hope that on the otherside there is a way in? Well, with our backpacks on, we decided to hold onto the fence and claw our way around it, with water rushing underneath. Once we made to the otherside, we heard the horn of the ferry, and watched it sail away. We were bummed. The rain started coming down even more, puddles were forming on the streets, and we were soaked all the way through.
Our time in Turkey was coming to an end, but not the end of the European adventure! Stay tuned for the next addition of Europe on LESS then a shoestring, where I visit Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, South of France, UK & more!
My tale starts on a train that travelled from
Athens to Istanbul. Travelling by train can be quite relaxing, unfortunately, this train trip was not. It was dirty and it smelled like a week old hotdog. I do not remember the amount of the ticket to get from A to B, but the train conductor tried to tell us that we did not have the right ticket, we needed to buy another ticket for $50 each. Scammers. Nice try.At some point during the trip, after a couple of drinks and a snack or two, one needs to visit 'the ladies room'. Imagine this, an old train travelling down tracks, slightly shaking side to side, open the door to the bathroom, and oh the smell! So this is where the old hotdogs live! 'Life' was everywhere... on the floor, walls, you name it. And peering down the open hole and watching the tracks go by... hmmm... I'll hold it until I get to Istanbul, thanks!
There was 5 of us packed into 1 train compartment for the 24 hour ride. But sleep, we must. Unfortunately, we were not left alone for very long, every hour or so, a train conductor would come by and ask to see our passports. EVERY HOUR!
But finally, we arrived in Instanbul. What a great place, and at the time we were there, cheap! We spent the time walking around visiting the many tourist attractions; the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and of course, a spa. I believe anyone going to Turkey must take part in a Turkish Massage. In the bath that we went to, the men & women were separated. I had no idea what to expect, especially not what we received anyway! Us girls were told to undress and wrap ourselves in sarongs. A young girl came by and showed us into the bath. It was beautiful... marble everywhere, waterfall type showers and lots of steam rising to the arch ceilings. We were motioned over to the marble slabs, but they did not speak English, so we were not sure what they were asking us for. 
Then the young girl came up to a friend and ripped her sarong off! Holy cow. We were laughing so hard! After waiting awhile, a 300lbs naked female masseuse came up to me, took my hand and brought me over to the waterfall shower to rinse off, then she poured cheesecloth suds all over me, this was lovely. The massage on the other hand, was painful. She scrubbed every part of me, kneading my knees into the marble and taking off layers of skin. This is no exaggeration! After a 1/2 hour massage, I came out of there, with no tan. Would I do it again? You bet.Other then spas, we were planning on doing a couple trips here and there within Turkey. We did go to Gallipoli for a couple of days, but our heart was really focused on Butterfly Valley.
Great video, eh? Well, too bad Chelsea & I did not get there. It all started when we ran into old friends from work at Mount Seymour. They were telling us all about this place called Butterfly Valley, not a tourist trap, just beautiful scenery, and of course, butterflies. We decided to break off from the group and take a side trip with these friends. Chelsea & I have not been to the ferry terminal before, but really, it is at the port, right? Boy, the rain that day was unreal. We got to the port, but could not find the entrance. There were chain-link fences everywhere! We started down this wharf, with local fisherman casting their lines hoping for the big fish of the day, thinking it would provide us access, but it didn't. We were checking the time and knew we were cutting it close. What do we do? Run around to try and find another entrance? Climb the fence and hope that on the otherside there is a way in? Well, with our backpacks on, we decided to hold onto the fence and claw our way around it, with water rushing underneath. Once we made to the otherside, we heard the horn of the ferry, and watched it sail away. We were bummed. The rain started coming down even more, puddles were forming on the streets, and we were soaked all the way through.
Our time in Turkey was coming to an end, but not the end of the European adventure! Stay tuned for the next addition of Europe on LESS then a shoestring, where I visit Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, South of France, UK & more!
