The first half was mostly spent travelling on the bus as we were making our way towards Turkey. At the moment everyone’s starting to get to know one another a lot better and thankfully we all seem to be getting on and no fights have started just yet!
We arrived in Belgrade last Monday where we stayed in Hostel Belgrade with jam-packed rooms but a nice common room with a laid-back atmosphere. And it had a TV, which was a bonus!
Most of the group went out to a restaurant called La Taverna along the main street and sat outside even though it was raining (I think we were all just in denial about the rain!). After some yummy cevapi, a traditional Bulgarian dish, (for only €2.50!) we separated and one poor passenger got completely lost on the way back but it was OK because there was a hot policeman around to help her find her way!
On Tuesday morning we boarded the bus early and headed to Sofia where the rain was there to greet us as we arrived. We stayed at the Mosodov Hotel which was brimming with muscular men as the European Arm Wrestling Competition was taking place there. After a very wet walk through the nearby park we enjoyed an Italian meal in Da Papas next door for about €10 each. Although the hotel rooms left a lot to be desired, we were impressed with the bar on the 19th floor where we could look over the city.
The following day we left for the Penguin hostel in Plovdiv. Plovdiv was a beautiful place where we had a walking tour of the city for €2 each. However some of the passengers left early to go shopping! That night was a bit bizarre as we went to watch the local ballet competition while enjoying a few drinks, which is not how many of us thought that we would be spending our night!
Finally the next day we got to Turkey, the visa for this country cost €15 for Irish passport holders. We stayed three nights in Istanbul which is full of lunatic taxi men driving crazily on the roads. We stayed in the Orient hostel which is in a great location and only a 10-minute walk from the Grand Bazaar.
The Grand Bazaar is a huge market with over 4,000 shops and is where we girls went to so that we could buy outfits and headscarves for Iran. And we are going to look so damn sexy in them that there shall be no photos, as we know people will just get far too jealous of us!
Back at the hostel, Mehmet, the party animal who runs the hostel, organised a night in the hostel's bar for us (Mehmet with Jacinta, Sara, and Emily above). The night consisted of Turkish food, drink, shisha pipes and belly dancing. A few of the Irish lads were dragged up (some against their will) to belly dance which was hilarious to watch them trying to wiggle their hips and bellies. One lad in particular was disgusted when the belly dancer asked him for money, his face just said it all!
During the day some of the group went to the traditional Turkish baths where they got scrubbed and cleansed. The people that did this highly recommended it although for €75 we said we’d skip it for now. Instead the rest of us went on a guided tour of Istanbul and a boat ride up the Bosphorus river where you can see Europe on your left and Asia on your right! (Jacinta and Sara below.)
Istanbul is a great place for shopping too if you go to Taksim, the main shopping and clubbing strip. We had a pep talk about haggling when we arrived in Istanbul but we never got the opportunity, most people just said final price. On our last night in Istanbul we went out on a pub crawl with Mehmet and other guests in the hostel. The night was brilliant and a few romances blossomed inside the club. After the club we went looking for food and it made us realise how much we miss Supermac’s and garlic cheese chips at the end of the night because other chips just don’t compare.
That’s all for now, next week we’ll be in Iran so I’d say it’s going to be a culture shock for us!
Till then, slán!
Emily, Sara and Jacinta.
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