Best Island Hostel Istanbul

... beautiful city and come back to the hotel for a dinner.

We end up in the area where mostly restaurants offer "special" treats and fight for their customer. We decide to sit in one of them with more locals than tourists. The prices are very high and we are in the middle of a loud band who is offering music on requests for the guests at the neighboring tables. These are especially enthousiastic users of this service and start even belly dancing.
Istanbul, Turkey silo

... Istanbul ıs pretty accessıble as most of the major sıtes are wıthın a 1 mıle radıus of the maın tourısty area Sultanhamet. Rocked ınto a cheap hotel for the fırst 2 nıghts as was a lıttle ropey after the few nıghts ın London (cheers Fıonn) and the manıc race to Heathrow.

Hotel was really nıce spot actually wıth serıous vıews over ...

A few lessons to pass on here:

1.  Always have backup cash.
2.  Never spend the backup cash.
3.  If you dont have backup cash, get backup cash.
4.  Always know which airport your leaving from (sometimes there are more than one airport).
5.  There is no "Welcome to Asia" sign when you cross the bridge to Asia.
5.  If you have zero cash, you cant get transportation.

The last one is a myth that I, the myth buster, busted.  Though ...

... to modernize these traditional recipes with contemporary techniques. Needless to say, our dinner here was amazing and included excellent service for not much more than your average kebab place and we wished we had made the trek out here for another meal (but this was our last night). Musa is a true culinary whiz and his food and approach are a good representation of the positive side of the changes as this country and city modernize. Lucky for us and ...

... there. The delay wasn't that bad, but the guy's armpit on the next metro was. Again, we were packed like sardines in the next metro but finally made it to our stop. Vendors were somewhat aggressive but nothing like Morocco. The food was really good as our travel agent told us. Desserts were fantastic as well. We had a chance to see Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia (although we didn't go into the museum we passed it from the outside - it was one of the Wonders ...

... made up of pillars all lined up exactly, holding up the vaulted ceiling. The water was about 1 meter deep, and there were carp swimming around. This place was very old as well (AD 532), and had been forgotten and rediscovered 3 times over. Worth the entry fee. We then went to the Grand bazaar and got lost looking for a place to eat, so we made our way out and had a kebap (our first of many). It was then time to take on the bazaar again, and I had my shopping shoes ...

Hey Guys, Well its time for the latest installment of my adventures from abroad this time from Istanbul in Turkey. I warn you now that this is going to be a long one so for those with limited time if you switch off now I won't blame you. Sonia, Donna and I set off early morning on Tuesday with good old Easy Jet. I swear our flight was 95 percent full of Kiwis and Ozzies no doubt heading for the ANZAC day celebrations at Gallipoli like us. It was one giant Jandal fest i tell you ...

... and listened to our guide whisper an explanation of everything that was happening. Fascinating. Beylerbeyi Palace was the summer home of the Ottoman rulers. Built in the mid-19th century, it reflects the growing western influence along with the traditional eastern designs. It was amazingly ornate and beautiful. Unlike most palace museums which seem to consist of empty room after empty room this one is still fully furnished. All the ...

... minute tourist." This gal can duck and look with the quickest of them. A two second scan of an exhibit and she knows what she wants to see in the "Elena's abbreviated Readers Condensed Version" exhibit. I am in awe of her. We saw so much in so little time that my head literally did spin. Ok, nice buildings, green areas, but I guess after Dolmabahce Palace, this is a little of a let down. Not a huge sprawling palace, but "Pavillion areas. I guess I still am a fan of "bigger ...

... to see the more ornate side. It's still up in the air whether or not Mike will go and report back on how the other half bathes.

When you go in you select what you want to do off the menu. I picked the scrub and soapy massage. For additional money you can also get an oil massage. For less you can go sit in the sauna and scrub yourself. We went through the locker room, stripped to our undies and stowed everything else in our locker. Then we took our ...