Istanbul Pt. 4: Shopping

I finally can find time to wrap up the Istanbul adventure! Today we shop!

So…shopping in Istanbul was a challenge for me because more than anything, I hate bargaining. HATE IT. And in most of the world, bargaining is a national pastime. This was painful for me – my first instinct is always to look for prices and walk away when I don’t see any. Here’s the advice I always get about bargaining: it’s a deal if you think it’s a deal. If you are happy with the price you paid, that’s what matters. I call bullshit. If I buy something and then I see the same things being sold for less in the next aisle, I am pissed and my purchase suddenly feels wasteful. So this was hard. I had to keep telling myself that my travel money was for spending and I didn’t have the storage space to carry a ton of stuff home anyway, so not to take shopping too seriously. Realistically, I needed nothing anyway as photos are my real souvenirs.

I’ve already mentioned elsewhere that everyone I bought from hates making change with a passion, so small bills are a must. Especially in the markets but I found even in brick and mortar stores, cash registers were rarely used and change is made from what was in a guys pockets, if change was made at all. I spent a lot of my days saying “yok, yok, teshekkür” (no, no thank you) as I walked by stores, tables, restaurants, market stalls…the restaurant guys are especially obnoxious. The Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar were equally crowded and exhausting, although the Spice Bazaar is much easier to navigate. The Grand Bazaar is like a rat maze and very disorienting; goes from very organized, upscale jewelry stores to twisting, smoke filled tunnels of jeans and knockoff purses. You get lost and when you eventually practically fall outside into sunshine, there’s no telling where you are.

I read a lot about Istikal Street and how it’s the place to see and be seen. It’s in what people call the “new” Istanbul. Eh. Not impressed. Just any other big shopping street in any city, nothing special. The cool part of Istikal is actually the little side streets and alleys running off it. In one, I stumbled upon tables and tables lining the walkway with cotton shirts for 5tl. Yeah, that’s like 3 bucks. You know your favorite cotton shirt that is so soft and awesome? Probably made in Turkey. I controlled myself and only bought two shirts but for such a good deal I admit I had a hard time finding some without too much bling. Europeans seem to really like their shiny crap. Sequins and rhinestones on everything. I found a cute one with a minimum of bling:

. (Yah, I’ll fix that sideways thing going on later, sorry.)

The picture of the Koska storefront in the beginning is because I loved that store. Koska has great Turkish Delight (boxed and fresh) and fantastic prices, and lots of other Turkish specialty items and you don’t have to bargain with any damn one. Free samples of goodies too. I tasted a lot in there, I bought a lot in there. One word of shopping caution though: don’t buy meat as you probably won’t get it past custome I the USA. . Okay two words of caution: it is illegal to buy counterfeit bags as well, so…don’t buy a shit ton for all your friends back home. That said, if you have just one little red patent leather fake LV wallet you got on the street for 20tl and you love it and you are actually using like a wallet, you should be fine. I didn’t say that though. I’m just supposing.

What I was looking for before the trip I never found: a clue as to how much I would be paying for things, and what I should expect to pay. Because of that, I really had more money with me than I needed. So I bring to you a list of what I bought and what I paid. Can’t tell you if they are the best deals, but I feel pretty okay about them. Maybe they will help give you and idea if you are traveling there. All prices are in Turkish Lira (tl).

Dinner: 7-25tl average
Glass evil eyes: 1tl each
Soap: 4-5tl
Metal earrings: 1-2tl (sold on a board outside almost every shop)
Gemstone & gold plate earrings: 10tl
“Pashmina” scarves: 5-20tl (I paid 35tl for two soft ones off Istikal, other places in the bazaars are cheaper but I got the patterns I loved.)
Dondurma ice cream: 3tl
Bracelets: 1-15tl for a variety of styles and materials, you can get cheap 1tl ones everywhere with glass beads.
4 brass dancing cymbals (2 for each hand): 15tl
Ceramic Iznik tiles: 3tl for 2 is the cheapest I found, along the rail line by the exit to the Cistern. Real Iznik tiles are made with ground quartz and will run you @50tl at the market near the Blue Mosque but I’m fine with ceramic since I’m using them for coasters.
Wool Socks (hand knitted): 20tl, I didn’t try to bargain here, I respected the woman sitting there on the sidewalk knitting them too much to do that. They are big and chunky and great for running around the house in.
Watercolor print (copy) of the Blue Mosque: 5tl.
Copper ring: 50tl, handmade by the guy I bought it from. It has a big red stone and I have no idea what it is. It’s not a ruby and I assume its dyed chalcedony but when I asked him he looked confused and said they call it “lulu” stone. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated as I bought a pair of earrings for my mom with the same stones.

Istanbul Pt. 3: Mosques and Islam

Let me say this right up front here:  I know next to nothing about Islam.  If I get something wrong or explain it badly, please forgive me and feel free to correct me.  One of the things that attracted me to Istanbul was the chance to experience another culture shaped by a different religion – in this case Islam.  I was excited to see  mosques, women in hajib head scarves or burqa, and most of all hearing the call to prayer.  I read many times that Istanbul is not a Muslim city, however, 90-something percent of people in it are Muslims.  The city cannot help but be shaped by it.  This is all exotic and fascinating to me.  Not scary.

When in Rome, we visited almost every church we walked past.  I swear every other building in Rome is a church.  When in Istanbul, I tried not to do that with mosques (because in Rome it was exhausting and got tedious), but I read about many and chose a few that sounded interesting to me. I think I went to seven mosques.  I learned some things along the way by watching and doing and also from reading pamphlets on Islam that were available to tourists.

• Outside a mosque, on the side or in the courtyard there will be places to sit and wash your face, arms, and feet (aka performing ablutions) to physically prepare for prayers.  This is not a tourist thing, this is for the worshipers.   It is NOT cool to take pictures of people preparing for prayer, of pictures of them during prayer.  Some do it but it’s a real dick move in my opinion.

• Shoes come off before entering a mosque.  And don’t be that jerk who walks up onto the carpet first because your feet are too precious to stand on the cold stone without shoes.  This is not your house so be respectful of your hosts’ wishes and take off the shoes where you are supposed to.  In smaller mosques you would leave your shoes outside on a shelf but bigger mosques have plastic bags so you can carry shoes with you.
• Women must cover their heads.  Preferably with a scarf but a hood will do as well.  A hat, not so much.  Most mosques I visited had a box of scarves for women who did not bring their own.  If your skirt is short or you are wearing shorts, you’ll need to wrap a scarf around your waist too.
• Turn your flash off before going in a mosque.  I don’t care that you will see other people using their flash.  It’s disrespectful.  Even if it is not time for prayer (and most mosques are closed during them) there are still always worshipers around who deserve to be in peace.  And shut up while you’re at it.
• Men are encouraged to pray in a mosque while women are able to pray where they would like – as long as it is not with the men.  I saw women praying in small alcoves in the back of mosques or outside.
• The call to prayer (adhan) happens five times a day, depending on the movement of the sun so it changes with the seasons and your location in the world.  A muezzin chosen for his recitation skills and good character recites the call in Arabic and it is aired from the minaret.  You’ve all heard it in the movies but to hear it in Istanbul in real life is breathtaking.  Especially the call from the Blue Mosque – that guy does his job like nobody’s business.  Hearing that for the first time was one of my “holy shit, I’m really here” moments.

So, the ones I saw.  They were all beautiful but I’ll finish with my favorites last.

Yeni Camii (New Mosque)

Courtyard of the Yeni Camii (New Mosque).

To be fair, I didn’t really plan to visit this mosque but it was right near the Eminonu tram line and it was raining, so the courtyard was a nice place to hang out for a bit on my way elsewhere.  Prayers were going on though so I didn’t get a chance to check out the inside.

Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Camii

Outside Sokullu Mehmet Pasha

The cool thing about this mosque was overhearing a tour guide explain the gravestones and what the tops are all about – they’re hats!  The type of hat indicates what a person did for a living.  The guys at least.  I’m not sure what female headstones look like.  The inside was dark but pretty, although the caretaker was praying so pictures were a no-no.

Suleymaniye Camii

Inside Suleymaniye

The mosque is in a nice quiet part of the city and there is a lot of area around it for hanging out, kids playing soccer, benches to chill on and…OMG…free bathroom facilities.  While I waited for afternoon prayers I got to see wedding photos being taken, a row of burqa’d teens gossiping just like regular teenagers anywhere in the world, and over the wall I watched two guys stopped and searched by the police.  Why, I don’t know, but it was very calm and orderly.  In the US there would be struggling, pepper spray, and screaming about civil rights.  Here, there was a thorough searching and the men went on their way.  All in all the outside of the mosque was the most interesting part of it.

Ayasofya Camii (Hagia Sophia Mosque)

Inside Hagia Sophia

A lot of people consider this to be the most amazing, must-see mosque in Istanbul.  I totally disagree.  I do think it’s worth a look because it’s a huge museum (25 lira) and there is a lot to learn.  Watch the video showing on a continuous loop, eavesdrop on a tour, learn about calligraphy, there are plenty of things to see inside and out, but I don’t think it’s the most beautiful mosque.  On the contrary, I felt it is overwhelmingly gloomy with it’s black and gold interior.  I don’t know if starting off life as a church has anything to do with the dark moodiness, but I prefer light and airy and peaceful.

Kucuk Ayasofya Camii (Little Hagia Sophia Mosque)

Hat display!

Inside Little Sophia

This is a cute little mosque which also started out life as a church.  There is a cemetery outside with a huge wall of gravestone hats without their stones on display and in front is a courtyard with many artist studios you can look through (as long as you aren’t there first thing in the morning).  You can go upstairs in this one but be careful on the deadly, worn, carpeted stairs as you go back down in your socks.  The caretaker will probably ask you for a donation so make sure you have some lira in your pocket.

Rustem Pasha Camii

A hidden gem in the market area.

The man this mosque was built for died before it was finished, but his wife spared no expense and covered everything possible in beautiful tile work.  This mosque sits above a market neighborhood and you have to walk around the wall through the sellers and find the little doorway that leads up the stairs.  Extra bonus cool points for the free Qurans they have for visitors.  I thought this mosque was really beautiful inside and is actually much more blue than the Blue Mosque is.  It’s not too far from the Eminonu tram station and the Spice Market  - definitely worth a look.

Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque)

My favorite place in Istanbul.

To me, this is not only the most beautiful mosque in Istanbul, it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.  Ever.  Better than palaces, better than the Sistine Chapel, the only place to make me cry just because I was sitting in it.  I can’t even explain and pictures don’t do it justice.  I went back almost every day just to sit and bask in the calm of it.  It’s perfect.  Except for the tourists with their camera flashes  and talking and crinkling shoe bags – but once you get past that, it really is heavenly.

Istanbul Pt. 2: Food!

Prior to my trip, I started making a list of common foods so I would recognize them if they showed up on a menu. I didn’t want to order something really scary. Turns out I never consulted that list because all in all, Turkish food looked pretty damned delicious. There were two things I didn’t want to eat: zaytin and korcoreç. Zaytin is olives and I just hate those. The other is a sandwich with some type of intestines in it. I’m sorry. My adventurous spirit draws the line at intestines. But everything else was fair game so I just bought stuff I saw people eating and enjoyed it all. I tried to remember to take pictures of everything for blogging’s sake but sometimes I was just too into eating to remember.

My delicious dinner most nights.

Chicken pita döner: Döner kebab refers to layers of meat on a rotating spit, and you get the bits of meat shaved off the sides on this hunk into a pita or other flatbread also stuffed with slaw and a few French fries. It was my go-to dinner of choice in Istanbul, mostly because there was a place right next to the Blue Mosque park where I liked to hang out around 5:00pm and listen to the call to prayer with the feral cats. For 7.50tl I got a filling sandwich and a can of Coke. Sometimes it was only 7tl because of the aforementioned Turkish hatred of making change.

Typical simit stand.

Simit: A simit can be best described as a Turkish bagel. It’s round, larger than a bagel, and covered in sesame seeds. Pretty bland on its own but at 1tl it is a good emergency snack when you start to get cranky with hunger and don’t want to stop for a real meal yet. They are everywhere on the street. In the mornings I would sometimes hear a man outside my window rolling his cart to the tourist area calling out “Simeet, simeet, simeeeeeet!”

Drink of (non-alcoholic) champions.

Ayran: I saw this beverage in the cooler of every market. It’s basically watery, plain yogurt. Females – when traveling, yogurt is your friend so eat it when you find it! Ayran was very cheap (like half a lira) and good for you. Not super delicious but not bad either when cold. I saw lots of people drinking this. Kind of made me feel non-touristy. But let’s be real, I was totally a tourist. No amount of local food is going to disguise me.  On the topic of drinks I would add that although I’m told the water in Istanbul is perfectly safe to drink and shouldn’t make you feel sick, I bought 1.5 liter bottles of water to keep in my room anyway.  They were cheap and I filled a little one with me to take everyday sightseeing.

Just looking at this picture gives me a sugar stomachache!

Tatli: I think tatli can mean any kind of sweet, but here I saw a man selling simit and tatli on his cart and the item looked like a ring of fried dough covered in honey. But covered is not really the right word. I don’t know what this baked good went through but when it was handed to me I was surprised at how heavy it was. It’s like it was submerged for a week in honey and then brought out to harden. It was wonderful and sticky and messy and I can honestly say I didn’t finish the entire thing. It was just too much sweet and I needed at least one other person (maybe two) to share it. My shame was eased by seeing another half-consumed honey ring in the trash when I finally gave up – I wasn’t alone. Similarly sweet and submerged in honey was some cake I decided to have for dinner one day. I was in a pastry shop ogling the goods when I man brought out this platter of cake from the back and set it down on top of the case. Golden brown and sticky. I asked what it was and he just said “honey cake with cream”. I had to have some and it was delicious.

Honey cake with cream? Sure!

Ice cream: Turkish ice cream is called dondurma and it’s not quite like ours. It’s better. It’s got orchid root flour and a resin called mastic which gives it a chewy texture and its also hardier in the heat. Is good stuff I tell you. So good I forgot to take a picture of mine but it does look like ice cream. Getting ice cream can be quite a show if you buy it from the right guys. They stir it constantly to keep it pliable and then tease you with it by putting it on the cone with a long metal rod and pulling it off, twirling the cone around, etc. Just look up dondurma on YouTube and you can find several examples of the ice cream show.

Selling corn and chestnuts.

Corn and chestnuts: I thought this was kind of a random pairing, but you can buy roasted corn or roasted chestnuts just as often as you can find simit sellers, usually at the same stand. I wasn’t a fan of the roasted corn; I thought it was chewy and tasteless but for 1.50tl it’s not an unhealthy snack. I didn’t try the chestnuts because I’ve had them before and didn’t like the taste, but I did buy some chocolate covered ones from Koska that I’m waiting to try when my cold is over and I can taste again.

It’s always tea time.

Tea: Turkish “çay” is drunk all day long all over the place. Neighborhoods and markets commonly have tea runners zipping through crowds with a silver platter of tea glasses and sugar cubes. I sat at a hookah bar in an old market cafe and sipped some tea while I finished off a simit one day and it was a nice was to relax. It was cheap (1.50tl) and flavorful but bitter. Most people don’t drink all the way to the bottom of the glass because then you get some tea leaves. Storekeepers leave their empty glasses sitting outside on the sidewalk to be picked up later. I resisted the urge to collect the pretty things myself.

Making me the best fish sandwich ever.

Fresh fish sandwich: Go to the riverbank alongside the Galata Bridge and get the best fish sandwich ever. Not from those restaurants under the bridge, but walk past the fish market and see the guys working their own grills with piles of veggies and spices and fish filets ready to be deboned for you. The best 5tl you will ever spend (exact change if you have it). Just watching them debone the filets is worth walking down there. Bring a drink, as the man is just in the sandwich biz.  What I learned from watching this guy is that I don’t put nearly enough spices in my food.  He had a pile of what looked like parprika/cumin/who knows what and he just kept throwing handfuls on my fish.  I resisted the urge to ask him to stop and of course, as he knew it would be, the sandwich was delicious.

A hot cup of gluey salep.

Salep: This is an interesting drink. It looks and has the consistency of Elmer’s glue. I got some one night at the Hippodrome and it was chilly so I was glad to have a hot cup in my hands. It is supposedly a good winter drink and makes you strong. Later I looked it up and found by strong they mean virile and salep is from the Latin word meaning “fox testicle”. Hm. Salep is orchid root flour and in this drink it is mixed with milk and honey and I’m not sure what else and topped with cinnamon. A stir stick would have been nice because it was thick stuff but drink it while its hot or it gets even thicker. It was a nice mild flowery flavor, not unpleasant. The whole virility thing makes me wonder if it is supposed to be a man’s drink though and if I broke some taboo by buying it.

Turkish Delight. The original gummy candy.

Lokum: Ah, Turkish Delight. Can’t go to Turkey and not have some. In fact, I was given a piece on the plane not long after we took off. The guys behind me thought it was cheese and I was embarrassed for them. How can you be going in Istanbul and not even know what Turkish Delight looks like? Anyway, it’s delicious chewy candy squares covered in corn starch (so they don’t stick together). Traditional flavors are pistachio and rose. I have a box of rose but like the chestnuts, I am waiting until I can taste again. I hear they taste just like a rose though.

I’m skeptical, but anything covered in chocolate can’t be all bad.

By the way, remember that although you’ll be able to bring honey back to the states with you, you can’t bring any meat products. Which sucks because I bought a nice lump of cured pastrami that was vacuum sealed and I thought it would be a great gift for my husband. Which it would have been, but then I was reminded by facebook friends that it was probably not going to clear customs. Internet research confirmed this and sadly, I left it behind for the housekeepers.

Ah, my poor pastrami, what a stupid purchase.

Of course there’s more food than this that should be tried, but I just didn’t get to it.  Maybe next time  I did almost fail and walk into one of the American chains I saw:  Starbucks, McDonald’s and Burger King.  But in the end what kept me from being a loser and getting the familiar Happy Meal was not only my love for having my fat chicken pita in the park but also the price.  15tl for a meal?  I couldn’t do that when the best stuff  around was 5-8tl.  American fast food thinks a little too highly of itself in a land with so much deliciousness.

P.s. I realized just now I forgot to mention my absolute favorite food find: sour cherry juice. It’s delicious and I drank it on the airplane and at breakfast every chance I got along with a dish of diced cucumbers and tomatoes in lemon olive oil. Good stuff. Do we have sour cherry juice here? Must remember to go looking for it

Istanbul Pt. 1: Orientation! or Holy Shit, I’m in Turkey!

I wanted to start writing about the Istanbul trip as soon as I could after I got back, but catching up at work has been crazy plus I caught a wicked cold there which made air travel home just AWESOME, so I’ve sleeping a lot  Thought I might break it up into things that would be helpful to know about going there, rather than a day by day rundown of activities.  And just to be clear because I did obsess over this to a ridiculous degree:  The trip went fantastic.  I never felt unsafe at any time.  People were kind and helpful (especially the folks at my hotel) and I would really like to go back someday and do it again, solo or otherwise.

My home away from home for 10 hours.

 

Flights: If you can get a direct flight from the US to Istanbul, I highly recommend it (I booked this trip trough Orbitz). It will probably be from JFK on Turkish Airlines. I dislike JFK even more than ATL (who knew that was possible) but in this case it was a necessary evil. I’d rather change planes and deal with security in this country while I still have my bearings instead of running around an airport in Germany or the UK all half asleep. I loved the service on Turkish Airlines – the free wi-fi, the huge selection of free entertainment, the food and the little toiletries. Wish I could have slept on the plane but that never works for me. When you get to IST you will be directed to counters on your right where you purchase your visa. American citizens must pay $20 (yes, American dollars, not lira). You get a nice stamp in your passport then you keep walking down the hall and eventually you come to immigration where they will stamp your stamp. Easy peasy. Then you’ll be out in the baggage claim area and there’s a bathroom on your right. Duck in and wash your face and brush your teeth – you’re a hot mess. It’s a wonder they let you in the country.

My lovely hotel in Sultanahmet.

 

Metro System: Follow signs to the metro and on your right are machines for tokens but you want the one on the end where you can get an Istanbulkart (I’m assuming here you are cheap like me, love riding subways, and were smart enough to choose a hotel within waking distance from a metro station). The card will cost you 6 lira (they consider this a “deposit” but I never took the time to figure out how to get it back) and you can add money on to use it right away. You can also refill it at many stations when you run low. The card is good to use on any form of public transportation, including ferries. One metro ride will cost 1.95tl, but if you have to change stations you will have to pay again. It’s not like most subways here where as long as you are underground you can get to connecting stations for free. Almost certainly, anywhere you are going you will start on the M1 line and change at Zeytinburnu to get on the T1 line going towards Eminönü or Kabatas. I stayed in the Sultanahmet neighborhood and went as far as the Çemberlitas station. My hotel, Sultan House, turned out to be much easier to find than I thought it would be after a five minute walk in the right direction. Which reminds me: bring a compass! It’s easy to get turned around because all the roads are curvy. Many streets have signage but not always.  If you know what direction the thing you are looking for is from where you are, you’ll have no problem as long as you use your compass. There were plenty of times I would have been SOL without it.

Unless you are buying a carpet, you need small bills!

 

Money: I could have changed money at the airports or in the city, but I like to prepare for a trip ahead of time as much as possible so I ordered foreign currency from my bank. What I forgot to ask was if I could have small bills only. Unfortunately, most of what they gave me was 50 and 100 lira bills. I asked if I could send them back and get smaller bills and they said no. (Screw you Wells-Fargo!)  As I suspected, no one wants to take a 50 or 100 lira bill, unless you are actually spending 50 or 100 lira.  Which I never am, since I buy little souvenirs that cost under 10tl at a time for the most part.  Even my dinner was inexpensive, usually about 8tl, because I like to get something to go and eat in the parks rather than a more expensive sit-down place.  Not only do they not want your large bills, but I found that Turks have a hatred for making change in any amount that burns hotter than 1,000 suns.  Even using a 20 at the grocery store for a 9tl bill got me a dirty look from the cashier.  And here I am with most of my money in 50s and 100s.  I even had some people lower the price on what I was buying (54 to 50, 23 to 20), just to avoid making change.  I’ve never seen this change avoidance anywhere.  Luckily, there are plenty of non-shady currency exchange places that advertise “no commission” and I would sheepishly bring a 100 into one every day and ask for 20s.  If you want to get money ahead of time from your bank, make sure they can honor your request for small bills.  If not, they suck.  :P  By the way, don’t expect a receipt for anything you buy.  Write down your purchases at the end of the day with the approximate US value so you aren’t caught in a panic on the flight home trying to remember everything to put on your customs form.  If you buy something expensive, you should probably insist on a receipt in case you need it, but reputable sellers understand this.  My other money tip:  always keep a few 1tl coins in your pocket.  A free public bathroom in Istanbul is a rare thing.  More likely it will cost you 1tl, maybe even 1.50.  The guys as the counter will not be interested in making change.

Toilet Talk:  Since I brought it up and now I’m thinking about it, be prepared.  Not just with your lira coins, but bring a pack of Kleenix.  Sometimes you’ll be handed a napkin.  One.  Napkin.  I don’t use half a roll to pee, but I do like more than that.  And if you’ve never seen one, get ready to use a “squatty potty”.  Not all are squatties, but you’ll run into at least one.  Don’t be afraid!

Just as good as the one you hover over anyway, I promise.

The Istanbul Countdown!

Three weeks and two days. I alternate between super excitement and total panic freak outs.

Here’s where I stand past having the travel package taken care of:

My little international phone came in, although it turns out the extra calling card I bought works for every country EXCEPT Turkey. Luckily the company was awesome and just added the minutes to the phone. Too bad I still really don’t understand how to make international calls. Seriously. Yes, there are directions and no, they don’t help me. My best hope in a crisis will be handing the phone off to someone else.

I don’t even understand the phone numbers. Do all international numbers start with a “+”? Do you dial it? That’s such a shamefully dumb question. I still need to program every possibly important number into the little guy.

Got my lira, and as you see in the picture they gave me way bigger bills than I wanted. Granted, 100 lira is only @$55 but have you ever tried paying for anything in this country with something bigger than a $20 bill? Good luck! I don’t know what I’ll be buying that I’ll make use of a bill that size.

I have been faithfully practicing my Earworms Turkish (Türkçe) lessons and they are downloaded on every computer and MP3 player I have access to. Plus I’m typing words in alpha order into my mangy little iPod Notes in case someone stands still long enough for me to look up a word when I completely forget anything I’ve learned. I can count to 29 and ask for a bottle of water. Absurdly, my husband does not seem impressed. Besides important words, I can check out the weather in Istanbul, remind myself of the exchange rate math, and send facebook updates when I get free wi-fi from the Pod.

I think I have the baggage situation figured out. Got a giant cross body PacSafe bag and a very lightweight REI back pack that fits all my theoretical clothing choices. Yeah, I already started packing. Luggage is a tough call: it hurts to drag around anything too large, but I waffle between packing light and having comforts of home. It’s a weird balancing act that changes with every location you go to. And speaking of clothing, there is so much advice out there on what NOT to wear and nothing about what I SHOULD pack. So baggy hiking pants it is, with plain shirts that aren’t too tight or cleavage baring. Boring stuff I don’t normally wear but not standing out is the whole idea.

Throughout all this planning, the elephant in the room of course is the tragedy of Sarai Seirra. She went missing just days after I booked my trip and even though they have a person held and charged with her murder, too much is fishy and unanswered still. I’d like to think I am going to make different choices, such as not wandering by myself into sketchy neighborhoods and railroad tracks, but nothing is a magic answer to how to stay safe – traveling or at home, alone or not.

New Orleans Bound

By this time next week, I’ll actually be home from the greatest show on earth. I’ll have gotten in the shower and tried to scrape off temporary tattoos and stamps, and wondered where that bruise came from, or those scrapes.  I’ll be pretty sure my nails will never come clean.

Stickers will be peeled off bags and jackets with their booze or BeadWhore proclamations.  Dirty clothes will be unwrapped from the more fragile (or dirtier) items.  Anything edible thrown onto the counter.  The camera thrown onto the computer.

I’ll put everything in the washing machine that could possibly be washed that way and after drying, the lint trap will be full of glitter, sequins, beads, Popeye’s receipts and bits of feathers. Some things will make it through the wash, others had their last hurrah.  This isn’t a trip where things are treated gently.

Then I’ll sit down and go through all the weird stuff that came back with me and try to make piles of where it all will go – like the doubloons my niece thinks are fairy money.  Or beads that would be perfect for someone at work.  Things in the apartment will have to be shifted to accommodate fresh decorations.  Old stuff into storage, new stuff on display.  Nothing will be put away of course.  Not for a few days.  It will sit around in slightly organized heaps as we step over it all until I work my way through, because right then I need a giant nap.

But that’s next week.  Tomorrow I print out my boarding passes. See you soon, Mardi Gras.

A Bad Week for Turkey: In Which I Defend My Right to Travel

Poor Turkey.  Between the U.S. Embassy bombing in Ankara and the death of Sarai Seirra in Instanbul, it’s having a very shitty week.  I’ve been following Sarai’s story through Twitter since the day her family flew to find her.  Obviously, it interests me because of my upcoming trip where I too will be travelling alone to Istanbul.  There is a lot of mystery here and I don’t think we are being told the whole story.  Well of course we aren’t – it’s an ongoing investigation after all.  I just mean I hope to learn something from all of this that can be helpful (beyond my usual travel  paranoia).  Did she make some bad choices?  Trust the wrong people?  Or was this a completely random crime?

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not victim-blaming.  But if you read the comments below any of the dozens of stories about this, you will find plenty of people who are.  And sadly, they are mostly Americans of the ignorant variety, who are terrified of foreign travel because it is so… foreign.  These people believe the U.S. is the safest place in the world and that a woman should never travel alone or she deserves what she gets.  That a woman’s place is in the home or by the side of her man.  That all Muslims want to kill Americans.  People who only eat white bread and American cheese, and believe ketchup counts as a vegetable.  And so on.  I am taking great offense and it’s all I can do to not leave a hundred comments about what morons these people truly are.  What they say about her is essentially what they are saying about me and it really pisses me off.  To them I say:

• Not everyone is a people-loving extrovert who draws energy from those around them.  Some people enjoy being alone and need that peace to recharge.
• There are plenty of reasons why I sometimes enjoy travelling alone.  None of them have anything to do with running away, cheating on my husband, smuggling drugs, being an amateur spy or whatever other bullshit people are going to charge Sarai with next.
• Why would a mother and wife travel alone?  I’m not a mom but it doesn’t take a genius to answer this.  She’s a mother and wife.  Duh.  You don’t ever want to get away from your loved ones that you are constantly caring for?  Don’t lie, of course you dream of a vacation by yourself.
• Oh, you’d never actually go?  Maybe that’s because you have a defeatist attitude and have given up your dreams because society tells you that they are worthless when compared to your responsibilities.  Wake up.  It’s a big world and if all you’re seeing of it in this life is South Podunk, you’ve already died a little.
• I don’t HAVE to go to Istanbul.  I could travel in this country, which I already do.  And I could just as easily come to an unpleasant end here.  Some would argue MORE easily.
• Being a woman doesn’t take away my right to travel anywhere I choose to, even if it is going to be alone.  (And as my sister pointed out, I am probably more in danger during my annual Mardi Gras trip than in Istanbul.

I don’t know, I don’t even know where to begin about how angry I am when I read those comments.  SO. ANGRY.  So many idiots. I’m not going to hide in my house, cowering in fear.   I guess that’s all.

Nobody’s Business But the Turks…..

And just like that, I’ve changed my mind about India.  Well maybe not JUST like that, but over the course of finding all the information I can about travel to Mumbai and India in general.  Little by little, doubt was creeping in on if this was really what I wanted to do and see.  For the record, my decision was not influenced by this video about how to use an “eastern latrine”, starring Wilbur Sargunaraj – but it was equal parts hilarious and terrifying to a Western latrine user such as myself.  I do want to go to India, I do want to experience Hindu culture, but the more educated I got about the area, the less magical it seemed.  And the more another idea grew in my head.

Istanbul!

Not Constantinople. (hee hee.  you knew I couldn’t resist.)

I went to a book store over the holiday break while mom was here and as she shopped, I looked around for travel books about India, specifically information about Mumbai.  I found practically nothing which was frustrating because I didn’t realize until that moment that our local book store sucks.  Then I picked up a book about Turkey and I thought THIS!  THIS is where I want to go!!!!  (In reality I want to go to every major city in the world so it’s not like I just picked up a new dream and threw out the old one.  I’m just giving this one a turn.)  So I started obsessively reading and watching everything I could find on Istanbul until I finally sat down and found time to scope out an actual vacation plan.  Maybe I shouldn’t have watched Taken 2 though…

…I’m pretty sure Istanbul isn’t all kidnappings and grenades and car chases…

Right.  So, here we go.  The plan so far as it has gelled:

1. Hotel and plane ticket package booked though orbitz.  What I like about them is that I can add a cheap international cell phone and a refillable calling card to the package so I can call home if I need to.  Basically, I like to feel I have a lifeline.  I did this when I went to Greece and other than being a moron about how to make international phone calls, I loved it.  I gave that phone to a former student when she went to her Peace Corps location in the South Pacific so I hope it’s serving her well.  The flight is only two legs, which is amazing.  I fly to JFK on my birthday and sit for 4 hours which is NOT amazing but it’s pretty good given the other alternatives.  Then Turkish Air straight to Istanbul.  I have heard mixed things about this airline and might regret using them instead of something else that would have taken longer and needed other connections, but I weighed my options about what was important to me and am hoping for the best.  I’ll get there a day later and should be through the airport by noon, after buying a visa and then figuring out the rail line.  I’ll be staying at a hotel in the Sultanahmet neighborhood – right where I want to be.  The hotel has free breakfast and wi-fi, my two biggest must haves.  I’ll bring my old, half busted iPod touch to give a facebook status update once in a while so people know I’m alive.
2. Travel insurance.  I usually ignore this, but since I’m going out of the country and my health insurance hardly covers me if I’m out of the state, I figured it would be best.  I didn’t get the insurance through Orbitz because I found a better deal (lower price, slightly higher coverage) through World Nomads.  Honestly, I fully expect that if anything were to happen to me it would probably not be covered anyway because that’s just how fine print works, but I’m trying to be responsible here.

And now the fun part.  I can pin the shit out of everything on the interwebz to read about, start making lists of what I want to see, start learning some Turkish words (I really suck at learning languages though), make a list of “must have” travel items to buy.  In fact, as soon as I pay for the travel package, jewelry sale money will be pretty dedicated to buying dorky things like a travel blanket, new backpack, quart-size bag sturdier than a Ziplock…crap like that which is questionably necessary.  I haven’t bought travel gadgets in forever and was so excited to find my European plug adapter in the travel drawer yesterday.  Yes, I have a travel drawer.  You don’t?  Where the hell do you keep your tiny shampoos and airplane pillow and passport and empty 3-ounce bottles and such?  Weirdos.

India on My Mind

You may remember that last April I finally got my nose pierced for my birthday.  My husband and I were both thinking that if this is what I do on my 39th birthday, God only knows what’s going to happen on my 40th.  I’m starting to think I know.

I want to go to India.  By myself.  WTF???

Well, the by myself part is kind of just how it would happen, as my husband doesn’t really get much vacation time and everyone else I know thinks this is crazy and wouldn’t or couldn’t drop everything for a week in India.  Plus, he would hate it there.  He doesn’t do much walking anymore because his back/knees/feet bother him and hates crowds.  The everyday frustrations of international travel would make the trip miserable for him.  Really, he is a recliner man these days because he works hard and just wants to rest – not run through terminals and deal with language barriers and foreign currency.  I respect that, but it means I am going to have to tackle this solo.

It’s a daunting idea.  Every time I start researching things to think about, what to know, what to do ahead of time, all the options, all the cautions, I just get overwhelmed and have to stop.  Then I start thinking about it all over again.  What the hell do I know about India?  Pretty much nothing except that I want to go there.  I know a student employee from India and I asked him where I should go there if I can only go once in my life.  Without hesitation he said Mumbai.  So Mumbai (Bombay) it is.

I’m currently in the overwhelmed stage so I thought I would take these few minutes in between work and more work to think about what all I need to figure out.  I’m sure I’ll be updating this as I figure out more (or come up with more questions).  If anyone out there has traveled to India (specifically Mumbai), feel free to comment.

When:  If I want to go around my actual birthday, I’ve got about 4 months and time is running out fast as far as things like visa applications and reasonable airplane tickets are concerned.  It will be stinkin’ hot and humid at that time, but sounds about like summer in the south here.  Any further into the spring/summer and you risk running into monsoon season which I do NOT want to do.

Visas:  I need a tourist visa which I think costs @$75 (depending on the accuracy of the web site I saw that on).  I found the company that processes them and the application(s) through the US State Department website.  That was the first thing that overwhelmed me – the application process AND all the dire government warnings.  I’m a pretty paranoid traveler to begin with since I do so much of it solo but that site really ratcheted up the panic.  Basically, if you are an American woman travelling alone, they don’t want you going to India.  But if you do, you are pretty much supposed to cower in your hotel room the whole time.  Don’t even look out the window so you can’t accidentally make eye contact.  Seriously – the State Dept. site is a downer.

Health Issues:  As in, what shots (if any) should I get?  Out of those, which ones CAN I get with an auto-immune illness (no live viruses)?  How far before the trip should I get them?  Should I take some antibiotics with me?  What kind of things should I pack to combat the dreaded “Delhi Belly”?  Does my health insurance cover anything happening out of the country (they barely cover anything out of the state)?  What kind of travel insurance do I get?  Where is the best medical facility to go to?  If I want to call home, do I have to get a new phone or can Verizon unlock mine to work overseas?

Clothing:  I feel pretty good about this one.  I read a lot of things on Journeywoman.com specific to India.  Many said to pack very little clothing and buy some traditional clothing there like a salwar kameez in cotton or silk or a saree (sari) so you blend a little better and don’t get as much unwanted male attention.  Also wearing sunglasses to avoid sending the wrong messages to men with accidental eye contact.  Like I need an excuse to shop!

Assertiveness:  Believe it or not, this concerns me.  I can be perfectly assertive in this country because I know culturally what I can push and how.  I don’t know that in other places but I have heard that in India I will need to be very pushy (literally) to be seen and heard when I need something.  Part of that comes from being a female and part comes from being someplace so incredibly crowded.  When I’m someplace completely new to me and I can remember this, I try to make myself stand back, be patient, and observe to find out how things are done by locals.  Mumbai sounds like the kind of place where there’s not much space to stand back and what I observe may not be something I’m willing to do.  Stories about the train system make me think I’ll never be forceful enough to buy a ticket or even get on or off the train successfully!  I’m also terrible at haggling but I just really have to make myself get better at it since so much of the world operates this way.  I love getting a deal, but for me it’s not fun to argue over prices.

Culture Shock:  There’s really no way to prepare for this, even when you know what’s coming.  I just mention it because I know it will be huge.  HUGE.

So what the hell am I doing???  I don’t know, but I’ve lived long enough to realize that when I get an idea in my head like this, it’s not going away.  Eventually it’s going to happen.

Is it Mardi Gras Yet?

It’s mid-December and you know what that means…Mardi Gras is right around the corner!

Christmas is nice and all, but come on.  We’re all just really biding our time until the REAL holidays start.  If you’ve never been I must ask – why the hell not?  I hear so many people say “I’ve always wanted to go”, and then they don’t.  They have a bazillion stupid reasons.  I’ve never heard a good reason why someone can’t go.  The most often used:  I can’t afford it.  Really?  You have Starbucks every day.  You chose to drive a Jetta instead of a Neon.  You fly home/to significant other/to Vegas every other month.  You aren’t making Mardi Gras a priority in your life and everyone should, at least once.

It’s not all that expensive either, if you don’t want it to be.  Or it could be ridiculously expensive if you choose.  There are so many levels of involvement and spending possible that I don’t even know where to start.  So I’ll just not, and run down my check list of things I need to accomplish or have gotten out of the way.  If you want to know more about experiencing Mardi Gras, I have a bunch of older posts that cover my experiences and advice, starting with this one.

• Plane ticket – done (It’s cheaper for me to drive, even if I have to pay for parking, but I’m getting lazy in my old age and willing to spring for a non-stop flight)
• Hotel – done (Sharing a room with 3 other people is the way to go on this trip if you want to stay in the middle of the action.  Less expensive options would be a hotel in the suburbs and driving/taxing in every day)
• Costumes – working on it (costuming is always optional but every year I seem to bring less and less of the “normal” clothes and more of the ridiculous fun stuff.  I just ordered three new wigs, which I totally didn’t need).
• Throws – working on it.  I happen to belong to two small walking krewes and will be around for some of the events, where I would like to have some throws to hand out.  If you are not in a krewe this is optional of course, but it’s so much fun to throw things off balconies and otherwise barter with strangers so why wouldn’t you buy a little?  Again though, totally unnecessary.

Those are my main four planning items right now.  I also have to make sure I have money for food, airport transportation, and the occasional taxi ride, not to mention drinks.  THIS is where people have a problem if they are on a tight budget.  I hardly (if ever) drink alcohol so I’m not spending all that much but some people feel they can’t enjoy the trip unless they are stinking drunk every waking minute, which is not really what Mardi Gras is about.  Well, it kind of is but not to the point where a sober person can’t have a great time.  No really.  Ask any of the 100 or so people I meet up with every year if they have ever seen me drunk.  There might be a whole three of them (and they may not have even realized I was).

So, I’m waiting for three funky wigs from an anime site and crossing my fingers that they fit my little head.  I don’t know dick about anime but I appreciate the crazy-ass wigs these fans can get for a reasonable price.  I’m also updating one of my krewe costumes with new bloomers.  That’s a whole other story though….