Turkey

It wasnt really part of the plan. Yes, included in my bucket list since 2006...but not part of my 2018 travel plans. It was supposed to be Cuba. But as you know, some plans cease to exist, thus the opprtunity for a better option....now in hindsight, worked out to be the best one.

For some reason Turkey came to mind just when Cuba plans were cancelled. I was aware of the Syria unrest but an Expedition to the Black Sea and Beyond via Intrepid was so enticing to ignore.

With a lil bit of hesitation, i booked Turkey.
The route - Istanbul - trabzon - kars - erzurum - dogubayazit - van - istanbul.
At the time of booking, both Istanbul and Van were on high alert and travel advisories suggested to avoid those locations.

This was going to be my first time to fly with strangers. I thought.... what was the worse that could happen. 😁

I wrote a scroll and left it with Gab and Rem. In any case if something happened to me... it would serve as my eulogy.

I took out my Nomad Enroute backpack.... its been a while. Last trip with this one was 2014. It was time. I started reading about Mustafa Ataturk, the Father of Turks.

On the 6th of April.. Brian carried my backpack and walked me to the train station.

By 10 pm, i was on my way to Turkey (via Doha).

I boarded the plane and watched Murder on the Express...which apparently started from Istanbul. Got me more excited.

Sandwiched in the middle row, i tried to get some sleep.