TravelStream™ news feed for member j.mccrary on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/j.mccrary en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:00:09 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1222610700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1222610700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1222610700/tpod.html Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:00:09 -0400 Live in the present, learn from the past and look to the future!

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Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Arrived in Dublin and passed through customs. I chuckled to myself when I saw that even the passport stamp was green. Met up with Alan at the front gate of Trinity and gave him a big bearhug. It was good to see my old roommate after several years. He had just submitted his masters thesis and so he was pretty excited to be done with that segment of his education.
After dropping my bags off at his house (which was right in the center of town), Alan and I went to an Irish pub to celebrate his accomplishment with a few of his other friends. Drank a few pints of Guinnes. Alans friends warned me my crap would be black the next day--it was. After the pub Alan was pretty drunk cause he rarely drinks and so we just went back to his house.
The next day Alan and I went for a bike ride around Dublin. We went out to the Irish sea, around all the embassies, to University College Dublin and then along the river. I was happily surprised that the weather was so nice. That evening we had a bbq and later we walked around temple bar, watching all the buskers and drunken people make fools of themselves.
On sunday Alan and I just relaxed at his house. I made quesadillas for us that night and Alan was excited to have mexican food again. I guess the mexican food in dublin just does not cut it. Later on I made cookies from scratch, with no recipe or measuring cups; surprisingly, they turned out well.
Monday Alan had to go back to school--i found it insane he only had a weekend off between ending his masters and starting his phd! I went with him to his school and checked out the book of Kells, which is one of the oldest books in the world.
Afterwards I walked to the Guinnes factory to take the tour where I met a friend. I learned how they make guinnes, how to pour the perfect pint and even how to pour it with a shamrock on top. Afterwards my friend and I went to the Jameson factory and went on another tour. I got selected to be an official whiskey taster. Three whiskeys were placed in front of me and I had to pick my favorite. I picked Jack Daniels over Jameson which I think slightly offended them, but I laughed. Afterwards I took Alan out for dinner at a sushi restaurant and just had another relaxing evening.
On tuesday Alan had class again so I went for a walk around St. Stephens Green a really nice park close by Alan's house. One of the heirs of the Guinness beer fortune donated the park to the city of Dublin after spending tons of money to landscape it. That evening I made some more quesadillas for Alan and I.
The following morning I said goodbye to Alan and went to the airport for my flight to London!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1223229000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1223229000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1223229000/tpod.html Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:29:18 -0400 Live in the present, learn from the past and look to the future!

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San Francisco, California, United States

big ben
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Munich, Bavaria, Germany

The train from Budapest to Munich took about 7 hours and passed through Austria. I hopped off the train in Vienna, placed my feet on the platform and now I can claim I was in Austria...right? Arrived in Munich about 8 and we sorted out our rental car. It was a VW van and was much bigger than we expected. We all got excited and exclaimed it would be great to sleep in! We had dinner and then drove to the outskirts of the park where Oktoberfest was going to be held starting the next day. Found a great parking spot just a couple blocks away from the main entrance and passed out. We were wrong about the van: it was cold and uncomfortable, but it beat sleeping outside.
We woke up at 6:30am determined to be some of the first inside Oktoberfest so we could get a seat at a table inside one of the beer tents. There are fourteen tents at Oktoberfest that each hold betweeen 4,000-11,000 people, but with over 500,000 people attending opening day, they are quickly full. I guided our group to the Hacker tent because I had heard it was one of the best parties and also a very traditional Bavarian tent. The queue to get inside started small, but by 8 it was crazy, crowded and people were getting crushed. At 9 the doors opened and the rush to get inside was crazy. Somehow, JP, Jared, Karl and I made it in as a group and we looked for a seat at a table. Many tables had seats still available but they also had people defending them for others still to come. Fed up with hearing the same answer of "i'm holding this seat" I sat down at a table that was being defended by only one guy. I motioned for the others to sit as well despite the protests of the reserver. Then others looking for a table asked if they could sit, I said "of course!" and the table was quickly full. The lone reserver still had a seat but his still to come friends no longer did so he ran off to try to find another table, I doubt he did.
For the next three hours we sat, waiting for the beer to start being served (on opening day they dont start serving until noon). It seemed like it was taking forever and we were all very tired. I did my best to keep everyone cheery and got to know my neighbors including Tanya and Judith, who were from Munich and dressed in the very lovely traditional durndl dresses. Finally the opening parade marched through, the band started playing and beer was being served. The beer wenches were carrying eleven steins at a time each filled with one litre of beer; it was very impressive and had to be ridiculously heavy, but I had yet to get mine. It seemed like every table around us got served first and the anticipation of my first litre was getting overwhelming. And then, I finally got my first beer of Oktoberfest! It was delicious and the waiting, anticipation and surroundings made it possibly the best beer I had ever had. Once the entire table got beers we all "Prost"ed and then the celebration really started. We spent the next ten hours singing, dancing, drinking and flirting. It was a truly fantastic day. For the entire day I was thinking about Papa Dave and how much he loved Oktoberfest. I couldn't help but think he was there with me in spirit.
We finally stumbled out of the tent about 10:30pm and we spent a little more time with the German girls before stumbling back to our van exhausted. That night Jared and JP both got really sick, to make matters worse for me I woke up with Jared inches away from my face, breathing on me. I asked him "Jared, can you please stop breathing on me" it made for a good laugh for the entire van because no one was really asleep. The next morning we were all pretty exhausted, broke, hungover and they were sick so we decided to sleep in some more. By this time our van was getting very, very smelly. It did not help that Jared was using the insoles which I had previously attempted to through away because they stunk so bad. We made him store his shoes along with my smelly insoles outside.
Jared's mom had mailed him another credit card, but unfortunately the mail boxes etc where it was, was closed on sundays. Jared was distraught but again I reassured him that it would be ok and loaned him some more money. We needed to get Jared's card so we couldn't leave Munich so we went on a daytrip to the Dachau concentration camp. We debated going to Leichtenstein for the night just to say we had been there, but it never materialized and we stayed in Munich.
After Dachau we went to the train station for some showers, which were very refreshing and inspired us all to go back to Oktoberfest for the evening. At the train station, JP and Karl bumped in to one of their former travelling friends Hannah and she decided to come along with us. Back at Oktoberfest we couldnt afford anymore of the 10 euro (15 dollar) litres but we went on some rides and just enjoyed the atmosphere of Oktoberfest. On one of the rollercoasters 18 year old Karl sat next to a 60 year old women. We convinced them to kiss after the ride; it was a good laugh. Once again, I bumped in to Benny and Phoebe (the friends from Istanbul and Varna). We also found several abandoned beer steins which we took as souveniers and I bought a silly hat.
Oktoberfest was definitely a highlight of my entire trip and will always be a cherished memory. I hope to one day go back and then maybe I can afford a pair of Liederhosen.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1220962260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1220962260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1220962260/tpod.html Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:46:12 -0400 Live in the present, learn from the past and look to the future!

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Varna, Varna, Bulgaria

The train from Sofia to Varna took about eight hours. During the journey I asked if the lady next to me could watch my bag while I went to the bathroom. She shook her head sideways, which I interpreted as "No". I explained I would just be gone for a second and she shook her head again. Then the guy next to me explained that shaking the head sideways in Bulgaria actually means "yes" while an up-down nod means "no"--exactly the opposite of us; strange, but kind of fun. Except later this got confusing because some Bulgarians who have travelled or have lots of interaction with foreigners know that they do things differently, so they nod/shake their head the western way, so you can never be quite sure....
Upon arrival at the train station I was tired, hungry at it was late so I hopped in a cab to the hostel. The taxi driver turned on the meter but I instantly recognized the rate was much too high compared with an earlier ride in Sofia. I called him on it and he turned the meter off and agreed to a flat fee, though even this ended up being a bit too high I found out later. Oh well.
Dropped my bags off at the hostel and caught a ride out to the "legendary" Varna bars on the boardwalk. Unfortunately I guess they were legendary the week before and now they were just empty. There were only a few people there and when I tried to talk to some local girls they just brushed me off. I guess they were sick of tourists.
The next day the weather was not very nice so I just relaxed around the hostel. Finally, mid-afternoon, the sun broke through the clouds and I headed down to golden sands beach. Golden sands is a strip of resorts, casinos, bars and other tourist traps but it is also one of the nicest strips of beach on the Black Sea coast. On my way back to the car I ran into Ben, Phoebe and Chloe who I had previously met in Istanbul. I invited them back to the hostel for a bbq we were having later that night.
The BBQ at the hostel was fantastic. They cooked mountains of food on mesquite coals. Every time a plate was finished, another was brought out; the food was so good I couldnt stop eating. Washed down all the great food with several pints of the local brew beer communista--a fitting name for a beer from a former soviet country.
After dinner the hostel owner, Daniel, mixed up a batch of his infamous "red stuff"--a concoction similar to sangria but stronger. The first batch was good, but unfortunately the second batch was accidentally mixed with salt instead of sugar which made it undrinkable. Nevertheless, the first batch was enough to get the entire hostel involved in a headstand competition which ended with more than a couple bruises and me breaking a toe.
I was supposed to leave the next day, but I was enjoying the beach and I didnt want to admit that summer was coming to an end. I figured that Varna would probably be my last beach stop of the trip and most likely my last beach days of the year. So I extended my stay for another two nights and went to the beach every day. One thing that was strange about the beaches was that they face the east, so the sun would always be behind in the afternoon; I am used to west coast beaches where the sun sets over the ocean in the afternoon/evening.
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Bucharest, Romania

I wanted to get from Varna in to Romania without going back to Sofia, but the direct trains had stopped running as the high season had already ended. So, I had to catch a train to the border town of Ruse. There I had to wait for 7 hours until 3am when the train passed through going to Bucharest. At the train station I was approached by another young guy who claimed to be going to be going to the same destination as me in Romania. He offered to watch my bags because I needed to change some money to pay for my ticket. I figured he was trying to steal my bags, so I politely declined on walked off.
At 3am I got on to the train headed for Bucharest. I started talking with some other passengers and they warned me of the all the gypsies and scams to beware of. I recounted my encounter earlier with the man I thought was trying to steal my bag. Seconds later he stormed out of the compartment next door yelling "Do i look like a gypsy?!?" Talk about putting a foot in my mouth... I was able to calm him down, but I dont think he will ever be a good friend.
Found a compartment to sleep in with a Polish engineer. We ended up playing poker all night instead of sleeping. Finally passed out with only 30 minutes left until we arrived in Bucharest. With so little sleep I ended up missing the Bucharest stop and woke up in a train yard about 2 kilometers away from the train station. I had to walk back, dodging trains and getting chased by a pack of stray dogs. Bucharest is notorious for having more than 100,000 stray dogs which can be very aggressive. I had heard from other travellers that Bucharest was not such a nice place to visit, so I immediately booked a train to Sinaia, the southernmost town of Transylvania.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1221571020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1221571020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/j.mccrary/1/1221571020/tpod.html Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:42:12 -0400 Live in the present, learn from the past and look to the future!

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Brasov, Transylvania, Romania

The train from Bucharest to Sinaia was only 1.5 hours but I was still very sleep deprived from my poker session on the late night train, so I slept on the train and luckily did not miss my stop. My first impression of Transylvania was that it was very beautiful: mountains, with thick forests of fir trees and very green. In many ways it reminded me of Lake Tahoe just before winter. Sinaia is home to one of the most ornate, detailed castles in all of Europe built by King Pele, who ruled over Romania but was actually German. Took a tour of the castle but unfortunately they did not allow any pictures inside. Everything inside the castle had been imported from the Italian marble fireplaces to the German crystal chandeliers. The castle was decorated with many intricate wood carvings and massive oil paintings. There was even a secret passageway hidden behind a bookcase in the library!
On the tour I met a group of other young Americans who I found out were on a church trip visiting local orphanages. I ended up going out to lunch with them and their caretaker, who I couldn't help but feel was acting as a baby sitter. They seemed to be very sheltered and needed the caretaker to do everything for them including order their food. I split up with them after lunch, glad that I was leading my own trip.
Took a maxi-taxi, a mini-van that acts as a local bus, to Brasov--another transylvanian town about 2 hours north. Wandered through the old town trying to find a hostel. Finally found Rolling Stone hostel and checked in to a room. I was exhausted so I passed out early and woke up the next morning, but not before I met JP and Karl who I found out were also going to Oktoberfest. They informed me that they were going to rent a van and drive there which sounded like a fantastic idea, but unfortunately they already had a full car because they were travelling with two other girls.
Woke up the next morning and met another traveller from the US named Jared. He had just ended a medical mission to flood refugees in northern Romania and was now touring around. We decided to explore the town together and visited all of the main sites in one day including the black tower, white tower, the narrowest street in Europe, several churches, the main square and finally we took a big hike up to the top of the mountain overlooking the city. On top of the mountain was a "Brasov" sign which greatly resembled the "Hollywood" one. Having seen the whole town, we decided to travel on together to visit Sighisora the next day. That night we went out for dinner at a pizza place where I had my first shot of Polinka (local Romanian moonshine that Jared loved) and we even got the phone number of the waitress who wanted to come hang out with us. We tried to find a good club, but ended up at a bowling alley where I got seriously schooled by Jared who turned out to be quite the bowler.
The next day we decided to take a maxi-taxi to Sighisora because it was cheaper than a train and they ran more often. While waiting for the maxi-taxi I got us burgers which ended up tasting terrible and not being fully cooked. Several hours later we arrived in Sighisora which was the birthplace of Vlad Dracul, the basis for the legend of Dracula. Vlad was an interesting character. He was known as Vlad the impaler because he perfected a technique of skewering his enemies on a pole through their anus and out their armpit which avoided all vital nerves and organs which resulted in the person suffering for long, long periods of time before finally dying. He also had a skin condition which prevented him from going out in the sun, so he remained a recluse in his castles.
Sighisora was definitely what I thought of when I think transylvania: cobblestone streets, castles, towers and dark, narrow alleyways. Unfortunately the torture museum and other attractions had closed early on the day we arrived, so we just walked around. Eventually we found a great little hotel and Jared convinced me to drink more polinka. Afterwards we went to another restaurant which was located in the house where Dracula was actually born! Upstairs near the restroom we found a cape, which we borrowed while we sipped red wine, pretended to be blood suckers and took funny photos.
At 8pm we had a train to Cluj, Napoca which was about halfway between Transylvania and Budapest, our next main destination. We planned on going out and seeing the clubs of Cluj, while waiting for a train to Budapest which departed at 4am. Upon arrival we looked for the left luggage office to drop off our bags, but we were informed there was none! So we had to make other arrangements because we were not about to go clubbing with our huge packs, including a tent. We ended up bribing the bathroom attendent to watch our packs and then we hired a taxi to take us out because it was raining hard. The first few places we went were pretty terrible, but then finally we found a great club called obsession. Obsession was high class--we were definitely not looking high class after travelling all day. Caught our train to Budapest at 4am and passed out.
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Budapest, Hungary

The train from Cluj to Budapest was very, very cold. I ended up putting on all my warm clothes, including my thermals but unfortunately Jared didnt have much and just shivered. Along the way, he realized that he no longer had his one and only credit card! He started panicking because that was his only source for money, but I calmed him down and assured him that he would be fine. Upon arriving in Budapest he exchanged a little bit of the money that he had, called his mom to have her wire him some more and arrange for a replacement credit card.
We took the tram to Carpe Noctem hostel, which I was very excited to stay in. Carpe Noctem was rated as the number 3 hostel in the world, with such amazing amenities as memory foam mattresses! Luckily Jared was able to get a bed without a reservation. We dropped off our stuff and headed to Szechenyi, one of the many thermal baths for which the city is famous. At the baths I challenged an old man to a game of chess and he promptly whooped me. Which should come as little surprise because I think many of the old men their just sit in the baths all day playing chess (a later visit to the baths confirmed this as all the same men were still there) Relaxing in the warm water was fantastic but on our way back it started to rain and my shoes had wholes in both the toes and heels (they had started the trip brand new but done a lot of walking around the world!) so my feet got soaking wet.
When we got back to the hostel, JP and Karl (who I had previously met in Transylvania) were there and we started talking about their plans for Oktoberfest. The two girls they were with had their passports stolen, so they were stuck back in Romania, but JP and Karl were still planning on getting a car for Oktoberfest, they just needed two more people to fill the space; Jared and I quickly hopped on board, excited to have a crew for Oktoberfest and a car to sleep in.
That evening the whole hostel went out to eat at a restaurant across the street. The restaurant was Thaigarian, a cross between Thai and Hungarian food. I recognized many of the pictures on the walls from my trip around Thailand and started a conversation with the owner about all the places in Thailand I had been; it turned out I had been to her hometown, Ayuthya! After dinner we went to a local pub where JP and I dominated the foosball table until some local mavericks came in and came very close to shutting us out. We drank a couple pints, listened to the live band play hungarian folk music and watched the locals dance.
The next day a group of us from the hostel went on a walking tour of the city. We visited the terror museum, where we learned about Hungary's dark past with the secret police, first Nazis and then communists. Next we visited several other sites including St. Peters Basillica, the massive Parliament building, and a Jewish memorial. That night the hostel went out on a cruise ship along the river that divides Budapest into the former townships of Buda and Pest. Included in the price of the cruise was beer, so I ended up filling my backpack with a whole bunch of free beers. Many of the others filled their bags as well and when we left the ship I think we took close to 100 beers with us. In fact, we had so many beers that we were giving them away to people on the street including some very grateful homeless people. We went out to several more bars, clubs and afterwards I had a very fun walk home with a hawaiin girl named Lindsay.
The next morning we were all a bit hungover so we decided to go back to the thermal baths and relax. I challenged another old man to chess and again I lost. Afterwards we went to the train station to book tickets to Munich, but the train was full! So we needed to spend another night in Budapest and catch the next days train. Unfortunately we had not booked another night at the hostel and I knew it was fully booked that evening. I went back to Suzie, the hostel owner and asked her what we should do. She said there were no beds but that she would figure something out cause she loved having us so much. She suggested that I share a bed with Lindsay and that the other guys could sleep on the floor. A free night of sleep and another night at Carpe Noctem sounded great to me.
That evening the hostel went out for karaoke. I wore a pair of ridiculous, tight, green, fake-levi jeans that I had bought in Istanbul along with a pair of hi-tops that I had been gifted by the hostel to replace my worn out shoes. I looked ridiculous and was ready for a fun night. After being there a bit, I was surprised when my name was called because I had not entered myself to sing yet. Then JP told me he had put the song in for me and then I saw what it was: "I'm too sexy" which has a line "i'm too sexy for these pants" it was a very fitting song and I gave it my best rockstar performance. As the night went on we sang many more ridiculous songs including Hakana Matata. There were dance-offs, break-dancing, more ridiculous performances and even a lap dance! By the end of the night I had lost my voice and my sides hurt from laughing.
Woke up the next morning to catch the train. I was sad to leave Budapest but excited for Oktoberfest!
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Paris, Île-de-France, France

After Oktoberfest, we drove to Heidelburg, Germany and spent the night. Karl disembarked to stay with a friend and the rest of us drove on to Frankfurt. JP and Hannah stayed there, Jared caught a train to Berlin and I caught a train to Paris. I arrived in Paris after a 6 hour journey and called my friend Sonia. Sonia is from Paris and I had met her while she was an exchange student at UCLA my junior year. She lived in the heart of Paris and previously said that I could stay with her. Sonia is currently working as a television reporter for a French 24 hour news station similar to CNN; unfortunately she was working from 3am to 10am every day I was there.
We did manage to get lunch on my first day at a great little french cafe, where I tried steak tartare. Afterwards she went back to bed, but I went on a walking tour of the city where I saw Notre Dam, the Louvre, the Grand Palace and learned a little of the history of the city. That evening I prepared dinner for Sonia and I and drank some great french wine. The next day I hiked up 668 stairs of the eiffel tower and visited to the top platform. On top I met a fellow traveller named Louis and we went to the Arc de Triumph together. Afterwards I planned on going to the catacombs but unfortunately they were closed when I arrived, so I went back Notre Dam for a closer look at the gargoyles.
That evening Sonia, her boyfriend and I went out to Montmarte hill where we enjoyed great views of Paris and listened to some street performers. I randomly bumped in to Louis again and we hung out some more even after Sonia and her boyfriend went home. Woke up early the next morning to catch my flight to Dublin.
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Sofia, Bulgaria

Took an overnight train from Istanbul to Sofia, Bulgaria. The trip took 14 hours and at 3am all the passengers were herded off the train and forced to sit outside in the middle of nowhere for two hours while Turkish customs officials processed passports. Arrived in Sofia and the first hostel I checked was full. The next hostel I checked was called art hostel. There were some very cool people that worked there and they even offered me a job but it was not the cleanest hostile--the bedbugs were biting. After walking around Sofia for a day, I decided it was time to move on to the Black Sea coast while the weather was still nice. So I boarded a train to Varna, Bulgaria at 1:15 after being in Sofia for about 25 hours.
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Istanbul, Turkey

I caught the train from Thessaloniki to Istanbul at 7:30pm. Quickly met a really nice couple named Billy and Becca from England. Met another guy who offered to give me a ride to Cappadocia Turkey (but his wife ended up vetoing it the next morning). Before I had gotten on the traın in Thessoloniki I had gone to the food market to get snacks; on the train I ate Kalamata olives, fresh tsatiki, dolma, fresh feta and tradional greek bread. I shared with Billy because his greek culınary experience was limited to baguettes and jam which is not greek at all.
The lady at the train ticket office must have liked me because she gave me my own private sleeper car for the normal price. I fell asleep around 1am expecting to get a decent sleep and wake up in the morning in Istanbul. Nothing ever goes as expected.
First I was woken up by a Greek official at 2am to take my passport. Then he came back at 2:45am to return my passport. At 3:30am a Turkish official came by to collect my passport. At 4am all the passengers were hearded off the bus to pay for our visas--it was 15 euros for almost everyone but canadians had to pay 45! I thought about asking the customs official since when was turkey admitted to the EU and started collecting euros, but then I thought better. Next I was woken up 4:30am to have my passport returned and at 5am I was woken up to have my bags checked by customs. So much for a good night sleep...
Arrived at 9am in Istanbul after a 13.5 hour train ride. Walked to Bahaus hostel and checked in. Afterwards Billy, Becca and I went to explore. We walked to the Blue Mosque (which is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen), Hagia Sofia, the Grand Bazaar (the oldest covered shopping area in the world) and finally to the spice market.
I preffered the spice market over the Grand Bazaar. At the spice market I stuffed myself on turkish delight, baklava and other amazing desserts. They sold many things besides spices in the market including puppies, plants and even leeches!
Afterwards we walked back to the hostel and I went up to the rooftop terrace to chill. The terrace had a fantastic view and cushions to lounge on. I went out that night with a group of people from the hostel to a fantastic dinner and afterwards we walked around. It is currently Ramadan so there are many festivities set up all over the city including concerts and carnival rides.
Later some of us decided to go out to Taksim, the area of town where all the clubs and bars are. I was pretty dissapointed. Not only were the clubs empty, the drinks were too expensive for me to afford. Nonetheless I wandered around with a few guys hoping to find something better. We did find a homeless man who stuck his dentures out at people passing by which was quite disgusting but also funny, so we fed him food and got him a beer from the corner store.
It was getting late so I decided that to take a taxi with two english guys. They instantly got on my nerves, constantly bickering and arguýng. About halfway back they started arguing with the cabbie so I asked to be let out, paid for my share and walked home. I saw them the next morning and they told me there argument with the cabbie turned in to a major fiasco. Many other cab drývers became involved and eventually the police even showed up. I was glad I left.
The next day I had to check in to Sydney Hostel because Bahaus was full. No problem because Sydney was just as nice and cheaper. Spent the next two days workýng on my law school personal statement and applications because the internet at the hostel was free!
Last night I got a massage at a traditional Turkish Hammam or bathouse. First I laid down on a marble table in a very warm room. Afte 15 minutes of sweating, a fat, hairy Turkish man came in and three water on me. Next he covered me in soapy foam, gave me a massage and cracked my back. Afterwards he scrubbed me down with an exfoliating pad. It was a very unique, Turkish experience.
Today I went back to the Blue Mosque and explored the inside because on my previous trip it was closed to the public for prayer time. In a couple hours I am going to apply for a job with Fez Bus tours. but if I dont get an immediate answer, I am going to take the overnight train to Sofia, Bulgaria and try to get a job teaching english there. After more than five months of traveling, I want to settle down for a bit.

PS the turkish keyboard is strange so sorry if there are lots typos
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