We slept really well, watching the tower across the way blinking its Morse code through the night. According to Gemini’s AI the code was for the message, “I love you” in Turkish, the Galata Tower sending it off to the Maiden’s Tower on the tiny island between the two sides of the city.
Downstairs we had a Déjà vu breakfast – same setup, same coffee, same finger-burning eggs, even the same background music played. The staff around us looked tired and unhappy – it must be a tough place to work.
Back upstairs we did our final packing and then gathered our stuff and checked out. The staff at the checkout was Turkish Nicholas Cage, who greeted us whenever he saw us by slowing closing his eyes and then opening them again.
It was a long trip to get to the airport – we followed the same pathway we did the day before yesterday, just backwards. Getting on the metro with our suitcase meant a quick security check – that was new. Gemini AI had lied to us on the amount of lira we needed for the airport train, so our cards were rejected at the gate and we had to go back and top them up. There was a friendly staff member working there and he explained the situation, so I guess it is pretty common.
We could sit down on the train bound for the airport, less jockeying for seats which was nice. Then after the long ride on the train we had to go up the escalators and walk the long distance to the airport. It was nice not using cars but it did seem like there could be a more direct way to get to and from the airport.
We were able to check in right away, and said goodbye to our suitcase – see you in Osaka (hopefully)! Waiting in a pretty long line in immigration to leave, and behind us a very stressed out lady cried out “Come on!” at the staff – she mumbled that she was running late for her flight. I’d hate to be in her shoes.
Then we got through security, and we walked around the inside of an airport we know pretty well. We knew enough to avoid the Bottega prosecco bar where they charge champagne prices for simple prosecco in a gold bottle. We were hungry so we stopped at a sports bar that was serving food and drink. Kuniko had menemem, a Turkish dish with peppers and scrambled eggs, and I had a monte christo sandwich that wasn’t bad. We had a beer and some Turkish Chardonnay with our meal, really trying to stretch out that vacation feeling. The staff were super aggressive about pushing us to order more alcohol and trying to take away our plates, even when I was reaching for food that was still on them. The restaurant was almost empty – calm down, people! We paid in cash, no tip.
Then it was a matter of walking around until boarding time came. The economy area of the boarding gate was full so we went and sat in the priority area – nobody cared. Then we boarded and sat in a crowded plane. Passengers were interesting – the woman in front of us was traveling with two kids and was extremely frustrated with them. Another woman across the aisle couldn’t figure out how to buckle her seatbelt – she had to try a few times to get it worked out. Later in the flight an old lady asked the man in front to move his seat upright so she could get out, but the guy stated that it was his right to recline and she would have to accept that – but later I noticed that he moved his seat, maybe after thinking about how much he sounded like a total dick.
We arrived in Singapore right on time, and the airport was pretty empty. We passed lots of people laying around on the floor passed out but looking dead. Like someone had shot them and their bodies had just dropped. We had a couple of cappuccinos and waited patiently for our flight to board.
In the boarding area seats were limited, but we saw a young Japanese couple spread out over five seats – a rare case of Japanese people behaving rudely. We asked the boarding staff if it was possible for us to change our separated seats to a pair that was together, and miraculously two seats appeared just as the guy checked. Nice!
The flight to Osaka usually takes six hours, but we arrive about 40 minutes early! The airport was really busy because people were coming back from the Obon holidays. I was glad they had a permanent resident line. Our suitcase finally showed up, and then it was the usual pattern of bus, train and taxicab to get us to our door. Since we had arrived on Sunday we had only a little time to prepare for the week, so it was roasted veggies and a bottle of champagne to celebrate while we unpacked.
Another great summer holiday! We are trying to figure out our future summer travels – the heat in Europe this summer was eye-opening. Maybe it is time to check out other seasons and destinations.
