Istanbul, Turkey

The bus ride was long but uneventful. Given some of my crazy experiences on overnight trains/buses, I now believe uneventful overnight trips are very beautiful things.

While I was on the bus, I met an older couple from Texas that decided to spend their retirement years in Turkey. For the last six months they have been busy sorting out their visas, as the requirements for residency keep changing. They just found out the wife must open her *own* bank account with a minimum of ten thousand USD--all by next week if they are to make their application deadlines. Talk about a hassle!

Upon arrival, I realized that my cheap bus ticket definitely came with a set of disadvantages. I was dropped off at the bus station in the middle of nowhere--about 35 minutes from the center of town. I was tired and disoriented. Therefore I embarked on a series of bad decisions:

1. I decided to climb into the free bus shuttle. I did not know where it was headed. I just knew it was going somewhere. Somewhere sounded good to me at this point. So I climbed in. It's a bad idea because...

2. I ended up getting dropped off at some square. The square is very far from where I wanted to go. It's actually on the opposite side of the river. No biggie. I find a bus station and buy a ticket with my last bits of lira. It's a bad idea because...

3. About fifty percent of the buses take tickets, and the other fifty percent you must pay as you board. The bus I needed did not take tickets. And no, there is no discernible system for determining whether you buy a ticket in advance or pay onboard. So I decide to wait for a bus that will take my ticket. It's a bad idea because....

4. No such bus ever materializes--even after I loll about on the corner for thirty minutes. So I decide to walk, which (of course) is a bad idea because...

5. I don't realize that the walk is approximately 5K if you take the shortest route. Throw in the couple of wrong turns I made and I was walking for approximately 3.5 hours.

I arrived at my hostel drenched in sweat and panting like a wildebeest. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling so sparky. After my shower, I hopped in bed almost immediately.

Aside from the unpleasantness of carrying my pack and the heat, it really wasn't a bad walk through town. I got to see a different side of the city, as I walked through areas that were definitely not part of the normal tourist circuit. I just get a little frustrated at times when I know I am not operating at my best. When you are a bit frazzled, it's so easy to slide into bad decision-making mode, or stalemating yourself into doing nothing.

When you travel by yourself, you can't pawn responsibility off on anybody else. It's all you, baby--for better or worse. Yeah, there are days that aren't so stellar, but you laugh, shake it off, and remember the saying "a bad day traveling is better than a good day at work." Then you feel really stupid for feeling sorry for yourself, and instead feel a surge of pity for all your poor friends back home--sitting on their bums as they languish behind desks. (And if you happen to be in your cubicle languishing behind your desk while you are reading this, know that I'm having a bit of fun with you.) :)