Place: Istanbul
Tunes: Whatever they play on the mosque sound system.
Normipäivä translates as "a normal day" and that's what we had yesterday. To understand the concept of Normipäivä, you need to see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vtwkQcHA1I
If you still do not get it, you have no sense of humor and you may not read my blog anymore.
The driving today was pretty normal. Road racing in the morning and some "exploring" of the border zone between Bulgaria and Turkey. And being told to piss off by the border police. No-one got shot so it's all good, but what a way that would be to end the trip.
The border crossing to Turkey went smoothly even if they could make it so much clearer very very easily. We had some late lunch while we waited for the darkness to set and the final stretch to Istanbul.
So far my impression of the Turkish people was very positive. Everyone is friendly and co-operative. Just do not put them into a car. If you do, they turn into idiots. Everyone seems to be in a race, except in a race you usually have a certain direction where you are going. Here, it seems to be more about the racing, rather than actually getting from A to B. Also hitting the horn is something you do if you want to go faster, no matter where you are.
The city traffic in Turkey is just like the traffic on the highways except much worse. There are more cars and more people and if there is a gap in traffic half the size of your vehicle, someone will charge for it. It is irrelevant if it actually gets them anywhere any faster. Why they do this, only Allah knows.
In Istanbul, as normal, there was a bit of uncertainty about how to get to the hotel, so we decided to split up and search for it. The amateurs with the GPS found the hotel first. The pro’s decided to do a race with the taxi driver after 13 hours on the road and on the reserve tank. Much improved performance out of the corners because of the lighter bike.
These are normal things that happen for any adventure traveller anywhere abroad and are unavoidable. It is much more interesting to follow a taxi and it is undeniable that this trick will work everywhere on the planet. Just make sure that you start from near the hotel.
We also saw one very nasty looking crash on the highway during this race. The car was driving almost as fast as we were and he/she crashed to the barrier at about 80-100kph and bounced around the lanes. At least two other cars got a proper smack also. Amateur!
Tired men in the hotel bar.
Much refreshed men in the next morning.
Our neigborhood mosque. This is where we always go.
Haga Sofia. Used to be a church, but is not anymore.
Tunes: Whatever they play on the mosque sound system.
Normipäivä translates as "a normal day" and that's what we had yesterday. To understand the concept of Normipäivä, you need to see this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vtwkQcHA1I
If you still do not get it, you have no sense of humor and you may not read my blog anymore.
The driving today was pretty normal. Road racing in the morning and some "exploring" of the border zone between Bulgaria and Turkey. And being told to piss off by the border police. No-one got shot so it's all good, but what a way that would be to end the trip.
The border crossing to Turkey went smoothly even if they could make it so much clearer very very easily. We had some late lunch while we waited for the darkness to set and the final stretch to Istanbul.
So far my impression of the Turkish people was very positive. Everyone is friendly and co-operative. Just do not put them into a car. If you do, they turn into idiots. Everyone seems to be in a race, except in a race you usually have a certain direction where you are going. Here, it seems to be more about the racing, rather than actually getting from A to B. Also hitting the horn is something you do if you want to go faster, no matter where you are.
The city traffic in Turkey is just like the traffic on the highways except much worse. There are more cars and more people and if there is a gap in traffic half the size of your vehicle, someone will charge for it. It is irrelevant if it actually gets them anywhere any faster. Why they do this, only Allah knows.
In Istanbul, as normal, there was a bit of uncertainty about how to get to the hotel, so we decided to split up and search for it. The amateurs with the GPS found the hotel first. The pro’s decided to do a race with the taxi driver after 13 hours on the road and on the reserve tank. Much improved performance out of the corners because of the lighter bike.
These are normal things that happen for any adventure traveller anywhere abroad and are unavoidable. It is much more interesting to follow a taxi and it is undeniable that this trick will work everywhere on the planet. Just make sure that you start from near the hotel.
We also saw one very nasty looking crash on the highway during this race. The car was driving almost as fast as we were and he/she crashed to the barrier at about 80-100kph and bounced around the lanes. At least two other cars got a proper smack also. Amateur!
Tired men in the hotel bar. 
Much refreshed men in the next morning. 
Our neigborhood mosque. This is where we always go.
Haga Sofia. Used to be a church, but is not anymore.
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