Sarah-Sensei's Ramblings

Just a quick note to everyone that I'm back in the US now and safe. The trip was nice overall but I found mingling with the in-laws to be very stressful (by the last day I was seriously near tears because I couldn't take any more "crazy" that day his aunt was making me very nervous with her doting which I know is "Turkish hospitality" but I really don't need to be offered something different every 3-5 minutes especially if I already refused the first 3-5 things you offered me).

I honestly was ready to go home a week ago (especially after the tour to Cappadoccia was cancelled less than 2 days before we were supposed to go and we were forced to find other ways to kill about 4 days worth of time). I saw pretty much everything I wanted to see (except Cappadoccia) and I was getting bored with flipping between BBC and CNN (the only 2 English channels), running errands for relatives and generally not having any net access or US voltage power outlets to charge my portable devices (a combination of which generally keeps me sane and happy because I can escape for a while). I told my husband 4 weeks was a bit much xx; I think 3 would have been ideal for what we were trying to do during this trip...

I was impressed with all the history that is in Turkey and I enjoyed the taste of many of the foods (even if the lower portion of my body didn't agree once I ate them)-- but I am so ready for a cheeseburger and some video games XD

I was also impressed with how many thing in Turkey are actually "superior" to their US equivalents.

For example:

Most resort towns have solar powered water heaters installed on the roofs of all the summer homes to save energy. They also have a lot of windmills both commerical and private.

The bus system is superior to both Greyhound and the US airlines in terms of quality and customer service. (ok this one isn't a big surprise because you honestly can't get any worse). They have NEW, clean, buses with comfortable seats, personal video monitors for each passenger that have movies as well as TV programs (the only drawback for ME was the entertainment was all in Turkish -- even US movies were dubbed). They also have music channels like they do on airplanes. They have a steward on board who serves you tea, coffee, soda, and snacks for no additional charge. And the bus tickets are cheap -- about $30 for ours and we were on there about 5 hours.



I dunno it's things like that that make you think we really are letting stuff go to shit in this country. I also found it really disheartening that they STILL haven't even STOPPED the leak in the Gulf.



Drawbacks:

NO TOILET PAPER IN PUBLIC RESTROOMS! OMG! About 90% of the public restrooms I used in Turkey had no freakin toilet paper! Good thing I carry tissues when I travel abroad -- the only other country that I have been to that was this bad regarding toilet paper was China.

Public restrooms tended to be NASTY. Topkapi Palace probably had the single worst bathroom in Istanbul. Which is really a shame because that's such an important landmark/historial building/museum. Umm, I've been to subway toilets better than the ones in Topkapi.

They had a weird combo of squatty potties and western toilets -- you kinda never knew what you were walking into (notice a theme with the drawbacks section?)

Also they had weird toilet flushing mechanisms that made life strange and difficult for a foreigner like me. Apparently they are set up so you can choose the power of your flush in an effort to conserve water. Some were obvious with two buttons, others were less so (like the toilet in the mall which I managed to stick in the flush position and I had to keep pressing the button until I got it to stop xx; ) I like my flushes strong and wasteful myself, especially when I'm having traveller's problems with the food/water/bacteria...

Anyhow, other than some nasty jet lag I'm doing ok ^^;