TWO WEEKS IN, SMILING IN ISTANBUL

BUDAPEST "BABE"

Hi everyone

Here we are sat in the sun in the hostel bar updating our blog, finally we have constant hot weather 28 degrees and its lovely. Istanbul is a lovely city went up and viewed the Topkapi Palace this morning, used to be the home of the sultan and his four wives and many special ladies, thought it had quite a lot going for it surprisingly Jan didn't agree I did point out that it would mean there would be other wives to share getting my breakfast in the morning but this didn't seem to sway her either !!!! on second thoughts the running costs of all those women now I'm retired is probably not such a good idea after all. Anyway I digress, lets bring you up to speed with our last week escapades

Left Budapest in fine weather, really starting to warm up now a slow trip through the city which is not only huge but is also packed with traffic but plenty to see and we are both surprised at the cleanliness and impressive buildings the city has to offer. We are heading out through the Hungarian countryside about 5 hours to the border wide open farmland very green yet very empty. This is now our eighth country in 9 days and the first border where we have to produce passports, all the E.U passports are just looked at but the Americans and Australians have to get their's stamped, a chance to change our Hungarian Florins into the Romanian New leu and off we go into the depths of Romanian. Its becomes immediately obvious that this is a much poorer country with their entry into the E.U only last year, the first town/city we hit, we take the ring road which consist of a single lane road nose to tail with lorries the finish of the road is that of a farm track and the velocity and height of up and down travel increases dramatically more bump hats required please. We leave the town and head out into the countryside admiring the scenery and also the cavalier driving style of the lorry drivers, the finest example coming just before we turned off the main road in the evening, two artic lorries nose to tail overtaking us the first driver on his cb radio telling the second driver we presume, because there’s no way he can see he’s only a foot behind his mate that its all clear but unfortunately not quite clear enough because a VW passet coming the other way had to take to the verge to prevent becoming a radiator badge for the second truck, makes the M25 look like a stroll in the park no wonder they have trouble with the foreign drivers in England. We turn off and take a little track as far as we can as we head up into the hills stopped only by a narrow bridge over a stream, nobody believed me when I said to them about that famous old fire service adage “the faster you go the narrower the vehicle becomes”. So this becomes bush camp everyone gets off and throws

BUSH CAMPING IN ROMANIA

JAN BRINGING UP RED WINE SUPPLIES TO THE ROOFTOP TENT.

themselves into pitching tents, shower and toilet tents erected holes dug, wood gathered for the fire and the cooks set about the evening meal we have a lovely view down the valley with only a few small shacks for company, mind you shacks they may be but its amazing how 60% of them have satellite dishes probably got a 42” plasma tv fixed to the back wall as well. Slept really well up early yes me up early to start my kitchen duties first breakfast over a wood fire, kettles on saucepan of porridge prepared and 45 minutes later they all finally come to the boil might need to get up earlier next time !!! reminds of being back at work doing breakfast “now where’s that microwave gone”, anyhow all done and dusted and we break camp at 0835 only 5 minutes late perhaps I could get up a bit later after all. The weathers again deteriorated rain, rain, and yet more rain but at least we are travelling inside the truck. Lunch stop turns out to be the car park of a supermarket as Jacko’s driving hours have just run out, two storks are nesting right next to us so its gives us something to look at they are very common over here we are to see several nesting pairs on our journey through. Bush camp again tonight but weather very wet, swollen rivers and large flooded areas spread across the whole countryside bush camp turns out to be next to a stream/river the only place we can find as time is running out, we were stopped earlier by another bridge weight restriction and so had to back track over several bumpy miles through small hamlets looking for a suitable site. Damp wood and a long day leads to a difficult cooking night of which I am involved but by about 10 o’clock we are all fed and watered and ready for bed. Next morning no change more rain but we head off to Brasvo what is supposed to be one of the nicer Romanian towns, I wouldn’t want to see the not so nice ones, we have a few hours to check out the sights and take the opportunity to get a nice cup of coffee and warm up. Then off to the town of Brad and Prince Vlad Tepes castle otherwise known as Draculas castle quite a sight we manage to leave, checking we have no bites to the neck and a nasty reaction to sunlight apart from my usual affliction to sunlight that I have,

which only occurs when I have to get up in the morning. A long and aarduous journey then takes us to Bucharest arriving late at night and needing to go and get a new supply of bump hats because the bumpy road for the last hour of the journey has worn out the hats I think we might be a bit stiff in the morning arriving in camp just after 9 o’clock means a hurried evening meal of beans and pasta and then everybody crashes out.
Bucharest. What a city hustle bustle, traffic, traffic and yet more traffic on roads, pavements, and just about anywhere that you can get a car they manage it, a road designed for three lanes will quite easily have six, two being buses, we are pleased to only be here for a day, went and visited the palatal parlamentului it took four years to build 1985/89 but was unfinished when Ceausescu was overthrown during the revolution in 1989, 20,000 people and 700 architects working 24/7, 52 weeks of the year a truly impressive building and the second largest building in the world only the pentagon is bigger. We successfully managed to get lost in the city on our way back to the campsite that will teach us to stop and have a beer in the park at lunchtime, and after a couple of buses and several helpful people we finally returned for dinner at seven o’clock. We are now leaving Romania and heading for Bulgaria, spending the night in a monastery tonight a bed, our first in a fortnight we are all looking forward to it. I think most of the group are pleased to be leaving Romania, our outstanding memories of Romania are water everywhere, plastic bottles at the side of the road and the mixture of vehicles and horse and carts a country trying to get itself into the 21st century but still has a long way to go.
We have now progressed into Bulgaria same array of redundant factories but definitely warmer and drier than Romania stopped off for lunch at Veliko Tarnovo very nice but the bar we went to for lunch was full of English people who had moved out here, and all the estate agents in the village displayed everything in English, what does that tell you.The overnight stop in the monastery is welcome but different very nice, thought we were in the back of beyond until the train came rattling through only metres away in the trees, the beds were a novel idea had wooden bed frames but the mattress were more like hammocks with your backside just clearing the floor but all the same very comfortable after two weeks under canvas. We had some nice walks around the area and we discovered one that ended up at this green ladder that leads vertically up the cliff face picture attached, great views but I don’t think health & safety has quite got to this corner of Europe yet!!!! We have now moved on to within 30 kilometres of the Turkish border after a nice lunch of red wine, rolls and cheese in the supermarket car park we are now camped on the top of a hill with a lovely view over the valley to the Greek border we can see in the distance, unbeknown to us when we stopped and set up camp the farmer drives his herd of cows through here every evening on the way back to the farm so the people who’s tents were on the edge got a bit concerned that fresh milk would be available in their tent later tonight.

Sunday up really early got to get across the turkish border today could be a long day it took them 9 hours last year, we arrive took about an hour at passport control but then we hit customs, it was a bit concerning when a coach that was being delivered to a saudi prince had been detained there 24 hours and still no sign of them being released the 3 drivers were well fed up. Two dodgy looking customs officials turned up complete with compulsory turkish moustache and leather jacket didn't take to kindly about being asked for ID because they didn't haven't any uniforms on took quite an interest in our fuel and water tanks. Jacko and Jane had to go and get several forms sorted once they were done you then have to get several more forms signed and providing they've run out of forms for you to sign they finally release you so just over three hours later we are on our way passing what must be at least 5 miles of lorries queueing to get to the turkey border we wouldn't recommend a land crossing into Turkey but who knows what lies ahead at some of the more distant borders.

Well that about brings us up to date I'm back at the bar (what else would you expect) the computers being playing up a bit here in Istanbul so it will be good to get this blog published, its our last night here Tuesday 22nd, off to Gallipoli tomorrow and then along the Turkish coast to sample some of the beaches will be nice to relax, (its amazing how busy you can be doing nothing), quite a bit on the agenda in the next few weeks before we enter Iran. One bit of bad news doesn't look like we are going to be allowed into Tibet after all, so bang goes Everest base camp and my attempt on the summit, after all my pre trip training its a big disappointment. Waiting to find out our alternitive route probably back track to Parkistan and then enter China from there but we should know for definite in the next week, back to the Iranian embassy tomorrow to pick up our passports with our visa's in (hopefully). So until our next update which I hope to do before entering Iran ,here's bye from us the now warm Jells somewhere on te Globe.

FINGERBOB AT DRACULA'S CASTLE FOR THOSE AT CHINA SHIPPING.