I love taking the public ferries to Istanbul’s islands.  Like Hong Kong’s Star Ferry, it’s a cheap way of getting a seaborne view of the city.  The schedules seem to have changed and I couldn’t find a suitable departure from Eminonu to Princes’ Islands. So, I decided that we would leave around 0900 to Kadikoy […]

Ayasofya Today I start showing Ming around in earnest, starting with the Ayasofya.  We headed out straight after breakfast around 0900 and found a long queue for the Ayasofya.  As it is now a mosque rather than a museum, entry is free but suspended during prayer hours. A security man suggested that the queue would […]

Flying to Istanbul I woke at 0530 and walked to Trg Slavija at 0610 for the 0630 bus to the airport.  I had hoped to catch the bus at a nearer stop to my hotel, which was supposedly the retired railway station, but wasn’t able to locate the stop. Finally, today, I found the bus […]

PCR Swab With remnants of Paris time in my body clock I fell asleep at midnight.  But for some reason I woke at 0145 super alert.   This is so unlike me.  After sitting up till about 0300 I took half a pill and slept till 0800 After breakfast, my priority was to 5 mins away […]

Why I’m in Istanbul I came to Istanbul because Covid-19 PCR tests here are ridiculously cheap and fast.  With my entry into Malaysia and Sarawak on consecutive days, longhaul flights and an overnight in connection, there was the possibility I’d end up having to take two separate tests for the two entries.  A free stopover […]

Above:  The queue at arrival passport control at Istanbul looked shocking but it moved pretty quickly. Leaving Paris Having gone to sleep at 2100 last night, I woke up at 0400 after 7 respectable hours.  I had set the alarm for a 0545 wake up and a walk to the Roissybus at 0610 and departure […]

Cruising the Bosphorus Today I have to kill the entire day before my flight to Kuala Lumpur at 0135 tomorrow morning.  I stayed indoors after breakfast to attend to admin before checking out at 1130. My rough plan was to hop on one of the ferries.  At one station, they were going to Hydarpasar which […]

Dolmabahce Palace After breakfast, I took the tram to Dolmabahce Palace.  This palace had been on my radar since my first visit 27 years ago.  But having seen a few opulent palaces through the years, in fell down my priority list.  But now, I have done and repeated many things in Istanbul, so it’s popped […]