Sep 30th, 2008

Got up at 8 today, and by the time A and KJ woke up and we had breakfast, it was 10:30 - called mustafa to see when we'd get the car - "by today evening" was the response.

We decided to take up our trip to Troy in the meanwhile. Started walking to the bus station, and KJ did the usual thing - asked a group of three "young women" about the bus. Not sure if he understood what they said, but decided they meant "follow us" - so we did, and landed up at the wrong bus stand. The guys there pointed us to the right place - a bridge under river sira - which wasn't far. KJ tried again with a "young woman" on way - "do you understand English?" "no" came the reply - today wasn't going to be his day! Finally, we boarded the minibus. There were a few other people headed to Troy - amongst them a group of four university students from Israel and a guy and a girl from NZ.

The bus journey was fairly pleasant, and it was great chatting up with the folks from Israel (for one, they knew english!) - the bus ride had an element to it that you just couldn't get in a car ride. Half an hour later, we were at Troy and right at the entrance, there was the wooden horse. Having seen the movie, A and KJ believed the story of Achilles was real, and it took a while to get them to agree it might not be. What indeed was real was the city, and the excavations were really interesting.

We were done by about half past one, and wanted to go about see a few other places before returning to Canakkale. However, the bus and ferry schedule didn't seem favorable, so we took a minibus back to C. On the way back, we had some of the same folks we had met on our way in, amongst them a local family. A decided to pip KJ to the post and started impressing the girl out there. After offering his seat to another woman (which did trigger an appreciative smile from the girl), he was practically hanging over her. I reminded him that he probably wanted to offer her some moving space. "no no, what she really wants is ki mein uspe chad jaaon"! "no arnab, trust me, no one in the world wants ki tu uspe chad jaaye". After a while, the seat next to the girl got vacated and A seated himself, ever so determined to start a conversation - "do you understand english?" no" - that was that. In retrospect, this was the point when A came into full swing, and would overshadow KJ with the fairer sex through rest of the trip.

Back to Chanakkale, we had lunch at Yeken, and then searched for a museum we thought we'd visit. KJ's woman navigation wasn't working today. We landed at the harbor and A decided we wanted to go boating. He was talking to the yacht guy and we ordered tea. Through the negotiation, we figured we didn't want to go, but the temptation of having free tea was irresistible. Said thanks, and rushed out of that place as soon as we could, before the restaurant guy would get to us - haven't done too many of these since college days.

Went sat at a waterside restaurant - beer and backgammon - and continuously pinging mustafa for the car. Let's see when we get the car and if we head out today... Finally, A & KJ decided to go back to Ecaebet and get the car back themselves. They came in at around 9:30pm and were still very enthu about camping at Bergama so we started out. I was tired and slept off for an hour or so.

After another hour (yes, its midnight), near the Dikli junction, we saw - guess what - a nightclub. Literally in middle of nowhere! We decided to get in for while - looks like this was going to be a long night! The atmosphere was very lively and some good music and dance going on. We had a drink each in about an hour we were there - A was total enthu and kept "skirting" the issue when asked to resume the drive - this place would go on for long but we got back on the road.

After a while we realized that we had probably crossed past Bergama - A's navigation as usual. I thought we should go ahead to Silcuk, but A was enthu to go back and see Acropolis tomorrow. So we turned back. About at the outskirts of Bergama, we asked a cab driver about the camp site we had booked. He offered us to guide us there, only to charge us a 10 lira when we got there!

The camp site was locked, and we had to wake the keeper at 2:30 - he showed us around what was a city pseude camp site in backyard of a restaurant - caravan camps. Utterly avoidable for any self-respecting camper. They also did not have any tents etc as they had claimed on phone. As A decided to converse in sign language, the keeper started waving his hands - A goes "kya, chidiya uda raha hai?" - the description was pretty accurate. That was a quick exit, and we started finding a hotel.

Got to Odyssey guesthouse - this is a greek house now modeled into a guesthouse - nice guy, woke up at 3 in the morning to let us in. A was best at bargaining with the other party wanting to retire back asap! As we parked our car, it was smelling funny again - hopefully we won't have to go over another repair tomorrow....

Sep 29th, 2008

Woke up today at 8 - we were going to pick the rental car up at 9, but our young heroes were still sleeping. A started with the refrain "ab tu ladkion ki tarah jaldi utho jaldi utho mat bol - kabhi aath baj gaye utho, kabhi nau baj gaye utho". Looks like he was missing Swati! By the time they woke up and we reached the shop, it was 10.

Mustafa, the shop operator still had us booked on a hyundai getz, and had it cleaned up. We told him we wanted the ford focus - for that we'd have to wait for the owner to come in. The car was personal and in case of an accident, we would have to tell that we were friends of the owner Meriam. She came in shortly and looked anything but friendly. By 10:20 we headed out on our way to Gallipoli, and realized that there is a ferry to Yalova which could take us half way - however, on reaching the ferry, we realized it was booked through the day, so we set out driving with KJ on the wheels.

The drive was mostly smooth - had regular supply of snacks on the way. Arnab refused to stop for lunch "kya ladkion ki tarah khana nahin milta to phati hai kya" - !?$b?* - yeh kya hai - Looks like Arnab was really missing the fond memories of women in his life.

The roads were actually good - touched 170kmph, reached Lapseki after 500km from where we would have to take a ferry with car to Gelibolu. It was hard to find english speaking people there to figure what to do, when KJ found a tourist group which guided us. The salesman in KJ found the perfect prospecting criteria here on "You should only talk to young women - they are they only ones who know english" - theek hai bhai!

Reached Gelibolu and saw a sign "Instanbul 200km" - looks like we had come around the Marmara sea unnecessarily and driven over 500! The drive to gallipoli war memorials was smooth.

The area around there was very scenic, with the Anzec cove providing a perfect backdrop to the serene undertone of the place. Thousands of australian, new zealand and british (including Indians) had fought the Turks here in world war 1. It was regarded as one of the most recent memories of a truly heroic and gentleman's war. The Turkish "father of the nation" Ataturk had held the front for several days before the enemy retreated, and hence the place finds reverence from turks. The contrast between the Indian "father" Gandhi and Ataturk was obvious - one a peace hardliner and the other earning his glory in war - but both managing to liberate vast people, and commanding global respect. The cemeteries and trenches still bring alive what was a battle well fought on both sides.

A decided that he wanted to try some offroad stuff with the ford, and it started to smoke. On the next hill, the car gave up and wouldn't budge. Looks like the gear/transmission wasn't engaging - ah! Perfect timing - there was not a soul around at 7:30pm. We backed the car down and called Mustafa - being a single shop car rental, he couldn't do anything and asked us to see if we could find a mechanic. We decided we couldn't and picked up our backpacks for a long trek to the camp. A was actually enjoying the fact that there was some adventure coming into this backpack trip "ladkian hoti to phat jaati abhi". Suddenly, it occurred that we could call the nearest hotel and ask for help. It worked - people here are really very helpful, and a taxi with mechanic were on their way. Soon we saw them, and within two minutes, the mechanic had decided he couldn't fit it now, and tom was holiday so perhaps we could get the car after a couple of days! We got them to talk to Mustafa who convinced them to have it towed now and try and fix by tomorrow. Anil, the taxi driver was very helpful and got us back to Eceabat. He insisted we stay overnight in his town (i think he felt bad that we wouldn't) but we thought taking a ferry to Canakkale might give us some better nightlife - literally ran to the ferry which was going to depart in 2 minutes.

But the ferry just won't budge. We went up and had some snacks. KJ found another young woman to chat up and find out about hotels and nightlife, and then she suddenly left. Why wasn't the ferry moving? Everyone started leaving and then the ferry restaurant owner cane in asked us to leave - ok, let's go sit on the lower deck. We went down and realized this wasn't the place we boarded - we were already in Canakkale and we hadn't realized the ferry was even moving - all of us must have been very tired (except KJ, who was just plain excited chatting up the farmer's daughter).

We started finding a hotel - there was a youth hostel, but only with dorms, so we'd land up disturbing others. Finally found a cheap hotel, and dumped our luggage there, to head out find a bar/club. We asked a person on the way, who offered us to walk to a club! People go out of their way to help you here. The club though was dead so we decided to have dinner at Benzin restaurant below.

Benzin turned out to be a great place - very alive, young people. We ordered ourselves the local drink, raki, which tasted great (made of saunf, I think) and some local food. A dug out instructions to play backgammon and we had our initiation game there - the best man won!

About midnight, back to the hotel - A is still remembering "ladkian hoti to yeh sab nahin kar sakte the"...

Sep 28th, 2008

After having our breakfast at the hotel, we started out for the Turkish bath - Cimberlitas. This one looked a lot better than the one we had checked out yesterday. A in all earnest wanted a students' discount, and to our luck, this place offered discount for international visitors. We changed into the towels and went in the central octagonal room, Hararat. It was an octagonal room, with a raised warm marble platform in center. The roof had holes in it to let the light in.

We lied on the marble platform and it felt great! Then the masseur came in and began the massage. This turned out to be something of an act of faith - the guy could have broken my neck (or anything else) at will! And all he would perhaps lose is his job! The guy was good, and the massage very enjoyable. By the time we came out, it felt as if the body had opened up. A had a similar enjoyable experience, though KJ didn't think he got the best masseur. Not really surprising that by evening, he was giving another massage to A!

We then headed to the Bosphorus - took a train to Ottakay. On the train, A started chatting with this girl who was also going to Ottakay - she was guiding us to the boarding point, when KJ jumped into action. His theory is that there are two things that always makes a girl happy - her praise and chocolate (come on KJ! there's more to it). He found that she was from Moldova, and unsurprisingly found a connection to the place. And then "So is everyone there equally beautiful?" The girl didn't understand it all and managed a smiling "yes". KJ had to ram the point home "Do you have any sisters?" what kind of a question is that, being the third sentence you have ever spoken to a girl? Anyway, that was the end of that dialogue, and we found our way to the boarding point. Istanbul has a lot of cats (no, I mean the animal variety). the dock had a few of its own.

Since there was still some time for the boat, we decided to grab some food, and had Kumpir - its a boiled potato stuffed with all kinds of stuff - corn, peas, sauces, sausage, cheese and all. Great snack. Finished that and got on the boat for a one hour sail on the Bosphorus. This is the dividing strait between Europe and Asia, with beautiful houses flanking both banks. Had some nice khus tea on the way, just before landing back.

Our next stop was the grand bazaar. This has to be the most crowded place anywhere - just people next to people and more. Lots of apparels - you could get the same sweat shirt with a D&G label, or a Boss, or Armani! Design has been decoupled from the label here. A decided that he wanted to buy perfume and chose a D&G - "48 liras" said the shopkeeper. A waited to make his bid, and then with the smile of a victor, said "15 liras. Student - can't pay more". And as we were walking away, the shopkeeper agreed - now A's face was worth watching. As a matter of fair play, he pulled out a 20 lira note and handed it to the shopkeeper. Guess what - the shopkeeper handed back a D&G AND an Armani! It couldn't have been better - A now had two perfumes for 20 bucks and was still wondering what the cost of the perfume to the shopkeeper must be.

Soon enough we realized that we weren't going to buy anything here so we got out. KJ dialled O to invite her for the evening. She said she couldn't come because she had to be with her family for Ramadan. yeh kata! KJ then asked her for inputs on our driving plan for the next day, and promised to call her back on friday. After this conversation, A's respect for O went up, since she wasn't available - twisted logic.

A and KJ then spent 3 hours optimizing the car rental - frigging trying to save 3000 rupees. I met a bunch of guys playing backgammon - very friendly people - one of them even invited me to his place to meet his family. Finally A and KJ were done and we headed to Aya Sophia - this is a church that was built around 500AD and got converted to a mosque during the conquest in fifteenth century. Grand place - some very good mosaics. A copper door that was installed here from 2nd century BC.

We then took the train to taksim - the party spot in Istanbul. Had some sumptuous food and dessert. By then both our flag bearers for the night club, A & KJ, were falling asleep and wanting to get back to the hotel. So much for their youthful enthu! Got back here, and just going through this round of cutthroat where A is sweeping the cards with consecutive three 4NT bids made.

Sep 27th, 2008

Finally, got the permission (haan yaar! leni padti hai) to have another all boys trip after three years! This was a funny one because the people who started out shaping the entire trip finally never came in. The whole thing started with divya (the guy) suggesting a trek in Himalayas. When I mentioned this to arnab, he counter-suggested a backpack somewhere midway - well that sounded equally interesting and I was game. Divya backed out - wonder why! So went, asked a bunch of people, but guess who agreed - Pawan and Kshitij! So looked like this was going to be a rerun of the Leh trip with Arnab thrown in. We figured Istanbul would be a good place to go (partly because the families won't go there anyway - some security issues) and Pawan was going to be in Munich at end for Oktoberfest anyway so let's include that as well.

Few days later Pawan backed out - he figured his new factory might open at that time. I told him it won't, couple of month's later he figured it won't, but still he thought he could do a few really important meetings that week! Go figure! I want to ask him if he even remembers that week two years hence. I sure will.

So it was going to be me, Arnab and Kshitij for Istanbul, and Pawan would join us in Munich. I took the night Lufthansa flight on 26th - has to be the most uncomfortable flight I've ever had, landed in Frankfurt. Kshitij landed there about the same time and we were on the same flight to Istanbul. Kshitij figured he might as well get started on beer - "muh saaf ho gaya". As soon as we got to Istanbul, Kshitij let's out this one "my mouth feels like its morning" - bugger, go brush your teeth!

Anyway, we got to Istanbul and had to kill an hour there, by which time Arnab would fly in. Kshitij went out to buy a Lonely Planet and walked back after a few minutes with a lovely babe Ozmel - this guy has something! Even with that breath! Apparently he met her on his way and she decided she wanted to help him out - "with anything that he wanted" as she put it. After a while Arnab came in - his backpack was like he was headed for wilderness - am sure he will regret it by the time he has carried it some. He seemed to wonder if O was part of package deal with Lonely Planet! We decided to take the metro connection, and from the connection point, decided to buy Akbil (metro pass) - the guy at the counter just wanted us to buy the tix and not the pass - daant mat yaar - anyway, a local helped out.

Got to Sultanahmet. As soon as we got down, a local came up and asked if he could help -
"Sure! We are looking for a hostel".
"There's one down the road, here's the card".
"Ok, we will check out some more and then go".
"No, let me take you there. I am only trying to help".
"Thanks very much, but we will go there later".
"You are interesting people. Give me back my card"
What was that! Le le bhaiyya card!

Anyway, we found a hotel - Arnab did a good job of negotiating 90 liras a night for three of us - decent rooms - with clean beds, toilet, ac, and towels - of course, arnab already had a big one on him!

We got out fairly quickly and headed for the blue mosque. Had roasted chestnuts on the way. The blue mosque was a lovely place - fairly large, ornate. Why do they hang chandeliers so low? After a few quick pics, we headed out. A lady was selling potato and cheese bread outside - piping hot - man, arabic bread is something - melts in the mouth. By the time we were done there, suddenly there was huge amount of activity on the roadside market - breaking of the Ramadan fast - hundreds of people instantly made way to small shops full of food. Lavishly displayed, some of the sweets and fruits looked almost artificial. This looked a true bustling bazaar. We passed through it and took a metro to galata bridge - apparently good food there. After a short hike there, figured there wasn't as much activity out there. We went in a restaurant to check out if they had veg food, and when we were walking out because he had only one veg dish, the guy seemed offended - "what! Vegetarian is vegetarian everywhere!" - sure, nonveg is also nenveg everywhere! Arnab robbed another fish of its life to sustain his - all meat tastes the same to a vegetarian - wonder what people like in it!

People had gone back in for the prayer and were going to come back out eating at 9:30, so we headed back to the bazaar for our meal. Vegetarians have a tough time here - bread's pretty much what it looks like it will be for next 6 days - and kahwah - good coffee! Kshitij didn't quite savor it though - what's a man who can't sip strong coffee! We were heading back to the hotel, with Arnab egging KJ to call O and her friends - KJ's expert strategy was to allow at least 24 hours before he did so - dekhte hein kal kya teer marta hai! And just then we spotted this hookah bar - denizler - with live music in there. This looked like some party! lively arabic music and junta in full enthu. Surprisingly there were some small kids there, one smoking a hookah with his father - bugger got high soon and started dancing. Good crowd - yeh mazedar tha. Got a bit high ourselves and headed out. Arnab kept inquiring about nightclubs in the area and found one called Mosaic - when we reached there, it looked dead - perhaps too early. Got some references for tomorrow.

Got back to hotel - A and KJ got some beer while we played cutthroat. The TV didn't seem to work so we called the reception. "Wait for 5 minutes, it will start working". Called back after 5. "No, you have waited only 1. Wait 5 - it will work". Waited. Called. Came up. "The previous guest didn't use the TV - Wait for some more time" - this was one helluva solid state TV. While we were in middle of the game, someone noticed - the damn thing was now actually working - needless to say it only had turkish channels, and none of the kind A was looking for. The game was quite fun - the best player won.

Crashed at 1:30 in the morning, and sure enough wifey dear was prompt to call a 5:50 to say Hi! Thanks for the wakeup call, honey!