Approximately nineteen hours after my aircraft shook the dust of Sydney from its wheels a completely different and significantly smaller aircraft deposited me at Istanbul airport and informed me that I was on my own.
I swept through passport control and baggage pickup without a problem and stepped out to find the driver who would take me to my hotel. Of course he wasn’t there. I hung around a seething mass of what, in a fit of generosity, I shall call humanity in the hopes that such an individual might present himself. He didn’t of course, what did present itself was a pair of women clutching the same tour itinerary as I possessed who were explaining to a random individual that their transfer had turned out to be more illusory than real as well.
Fortunately the random individual was one of those who preyed on (or assisted depending on your point of view) those people whose transfers had inexplicably let them down. Since we were all going to the same hotel he cheerfully bundled us into a random van, informed us that the price would be fifty euros each and wished us Godspeed.
The only term I can use to describe this van is “pimped out”. It had a faux marble floor. The interior lighting was blue and red neon. The seats were padded and comfortable with ample room for a lap dancer to gyrate between them. One suspects the vehicle is normally used for bucks nights and porn scenes.
The sun set in approximately five seconds and soon I and two others were ploughing through the inky dark in a vehicle I desperately hoped wouldn’t be pulled over by the police. My fears fortunately were groundless. An hour or so later they pulled up outside our hotel and after we paid them graciously released our luggage.
I can’t say I was surprised at the transfer screw up. I was almost expecting it. Fortunately the hotel was comfortable and conveniently situated if you like being convenient to night clubs. I had been travelling for over twenty hours at this point and even a half hour struggle with the air conditioning couldn’t minimise my delight at crawling into a bed that didn’t fold up on landing.
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