Oh no! The train had departed 15 minutes ago. My ticket would expire by tomorrow and I had to wait another 24 hours to board a train to Budapest, pushing my schedule back another priceless 24 hours (I have to be at GW for my residency by the 16th).
As soon as I realized what happened, an obnoxious taxi driver came rushing towards me.
"I can take you to Cerkezko," he insisted, as if he was the answer to my prayers.
I was reluctant. Carkezko, the next stop was over 80 km away -- the train would arrive there two hours later, by midnight. The taxi driver could not show me on the map where this town was -- I was doubtful he knew where it was -- and I was afraid that he would rip me off.
"No train, no money, no problem," he exclaimed, meaning if we didn't make it to the next town on time to meet the train, he would simply bring me back to Istanbul and I wouldn't have to pay a fare.
Without much choices and after talking with the station manager, I decided that this was foolishly the best course of action.
Though taxi drivers in Istanbul are known to be offensive, aggressive drivers and love to tell you their life stories, they are for the most part trustworthy. They are not thieves, and they are not known to harm you.
So, why, was I, aka "Mr. Prompto", 15 minutes late for the train. Well, yesterday, when I arrived in Istanbul from London, I advanced my watch by one hour. But actually, I should have advanced my watch by two hours. I didn't know -- nobody had told me, not even the friendly flight attendant.
So for the entire day, I was operating an hour behind everyone else in Istanbul. I was wondering why my hotel receptionist at the Historia Hotel was so upset when I checked out at 11:15 AM -- I was over an hour late for check-out, and I didn't even realize it.
So Carmile, the taxi driver, drove like a bandit, honking and shouting, and got me to Cerkezkoy, 75 km away, with 15 minutes to spare. The price -- he didn't have a meter -- was $170 USD. The price was steep, but not having to spend another night in Istanbul (which I wouldn't really have minded) and boarding my train to Eastern Europe, was well worth the money.
So Taxi drivers in Istanbul can be trusted, for the most part. But I wouldn't suggest anyone miss the train. And always, always, synchronize your watch with the local time, religiously.
The Orient Express from Istanbul to Budapest was very noisy, dusty and hot. At first, the train was fully booked and they put me in a coed couchette with four other people squeezed together in a very tight cabin. I felt like I was in a submarine, except for the clack, clack, clack of the train rail that went on continuously through the damp, dusty night.
There was nothing better than getting woken up at 4:00 in the morning and having to disembark the train with women and children standing in line to show our passport to customs at Kapikule.
The restroom facilities was filthy and never had enough toilet paper or soap. So word for the wise, if you go on these long train trips, I suggest you bring your own basic essentials.
Also there is no food or water. It wasn't until we arrived in middle Bulgaria midday, where a little kid tried to sell us sandwiches and water from the train window for 5 Euros. Perhaps he had hiked up the prices, perhaps, his mother made the sandwiches. Nevertheless, we were famished and those salami and cheese sandwiches was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The train stopped in Bucharest where we had a quick look outside. I noticed that there were a lot of stray dogs running the streets. Homeless dogs appeared in the 1980's after Ceausecu's dictatorship, when houses with yards and fences were destroyed and replaced with apartments with very small rooms. This forced people to keep their dogs on the streets where they repopulated and now there is an enormous stray dog problem
Bucharest, Romania
Taking a picture of a statue. I have no idea what this lady was saying to me.
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