Day 60-61 - Leaving Beograd; Istanbul

Saturday 18 September 2004, 19:30 Turkish time (GMT+3; Perth-5)

I've crossed another border, another time zone and, it feels like, another world. How many cities can you be woken up in the morning by an Islamic call to prayer clearly audible through your window and then go off and watch Turkish Idol (Arabic-style singing over techno by charismatic-looking 20-somethings)?

Not much to write about leaving Beograd yesterday. I will miss the city and its people, and there is only a handful of places (Auckland, Vancouver, Vienna) before that that I could really say that about. I will be back one day ... (You've probably got sick of reading that line about various cities by now from me)

The bus no.72 slowly chugged into the airport 1h40m before my flight (it took an hour from Beograd, only 18-20km away). Despite the security cordon being 4 layers thick and full of really large, unfriendly looking people, I had no problems clearing it in under 10 minutes. I've gotten so used to dumping my camera, coins, keys and mobile in a bucket, taking off my jacket and backpack and putting it all through scanners every few days that it comes almost automatically now.

JAT Airlines were really nice, good-quality friendly service and decent airline food - it was similar to LOT Polish Airlines, except the staff spoke perfect English on JAT. On arrival in Turkey, I presented myself as an Australian, competed with the often quite pushy crowds in lines, paid the US$20 entry fee, and Salih from Fez Travel was there to greet me and escort me to the van which would get me to my hotel.

Istanbul is the first city in which I've felt genuinely intimidated by the place. The hotel itself is nice, but the moment you leave it, you have to deal with the locals at very close quarters owing to the very narrow streets in the Sultanahmet district where I'm staying. I've already been practically pushed into one restaurant (Kaçkar) and charged Australian prices for a three-course meal last night - reminded me of certain dodgy Chinese eateries in Perth whose English suddenly fails when you try to do anything outside of the plan. I suffered for that meal too - have been all but inactive today due to mild diarrhoea. (I've had worse, though).

To be honest, I can't wait for the tour to start tomorrow. Firstly, it will be an adventure. Secondly, I will actually feel safe. Thirdly, they can tell me decent places to eat. I've spent most of the day trying to sleep off the health problems.

One side note - after thinking about my general lack of food in Eastern Europe, I'm probably weighing less now than when I left Perth for the first time. The sheer decadence with which Daniel and I hit most Canadian cities left me a bit out of shape, as did staying with rellies in Belfast and Vienna (although I am so not complaining - the food was top-class) and then managing the rather manual, escalator-free atmosphere in Eastern cities (sometimes with 20kg+ of luggage in tow) probably improved my figure a bit.

And finally, it's amazing how much better a home-cooked meal is than something you pay $16 for in a proper restaurant with trained culinary staff. Certainly food for thought - pardon the pun.