Istanbul,
Turkey
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Hi - this will be quick as there is noone at the business center to log me in. I got to istanbul (I from now on) fine - airlines on time, etc. Internet is very expensive here - first 5 minutes are free but about $10 for 15 minutes after that so i am sneaking in a little time. I will meet my new Insight group tonight - i had a day of individual adventures - 3 cab rides i negotiated by myself - tricky when the drivers do not speak english - the hotel i am staying in is really great - a hilton - the concierge gave me a card with supposedly the names of the places i wanted to go to in turkish and then how to get back to the hotel - unfortunately all 3 cab drivers somehow did now seem to know how to get to the places i wanted, despite their being some of the most famous places in the city - i am not really sure how much i paid the different drivers but the concierge when i returned said that i was not really taken advantage of - cabs are a new experience for southern californians but i learned how to get out in the middle of the street and wave like i knew what i was doing and then show the driver the card in turkish the concierge gave me - on the last leg back to the hotel - he tried to drop me off at a different hotel - luckily i recognized that it was not mine so refused to get out and showed him the card again - finally he got me to the correct hotel - that is enough of an adventure for me today
i will have to reconoiter tomorrow and figure out just how much i paid the cab drivers - probably not much more than was necessary but it was a bit uncomfortable - the first driver wanted me to get out on a side street but i knew that was not right because the place i wanted to go to was a major attraction - the last sultan's palace in istanbul
more later - have to go and meet the rest of my new group
Istanbul Shirley
PS - bob please respond to my e-mail
