Before heading to the ship, Kenzie, Kailynn and I spent the morning checking out some other parts of Athens and doing a little shopping for gifts. I think the highlight for Kenzie was the grocery store and seeing all of the different things they have here. Then we packed up our stuff and headed for the port to board the ship!
Despite a very long day of travel to get here and some challenges with lost luggage, our first stop was great! We visited the Acropolis and Parthenon (along with about 10,000 other sweaty tourists), wandered around the little back streets and markets of Athens, and did some shopping to get Kailynn replacement clothes. We’ve had a pretty relaxing few days as everyone adjusts to the new timezone and recovers from the trip here. Best of all, amazing friends to enjoy the experience with!
On our last day in Thailand we spent time seeing more of the city. We took the river ferries to get around and visited a Buddhist temple, the Royal Palace, the “Reclining Buddah”, walked through Chinatown, and of course, more markets. The night market was very cool. Organized chaos but a lot of fun. We had some street food, and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the flight home.
The flight home was a long one. We were up for about 24 hours including a stop in Taiwan. But we made it back to LA to see Kenzie and then we all headed home to Portland.
Jodi and I had a blast! We’re exhausted, and I think we need a vacation to recover from our vacation, but we saw so much and had some great experiences along the way!
Today we hired a van to take us out of Bangkok and out into the rural countryside to visit the some unique markets.
The first was the railroad market. The market is literally set up on the train tracks. Vendors are on each side, and several times a day when the train comes through the vendors all pull back their products and awnings just enough to let the train come by, then it all goes back out and the market continues. Pretty cool!
The second market was a floating market. There are miles of waterways and vendors set up along the side of the canals, or in some cases sell their products or food right from the boats. We hired a long boat to take us around and along the way did some shopping and had some pad thai noodles prepared from one of the boats. Another really unique experience!
Other highlights today included visiting a budist temple, trying spicy lobster flavored pringles (not recommended), and having dinner delivered by a robotic waiter.
After another long day of travel, we made our way from Bangladesh to Thailand. We got in late and spent the next day checking out some markets and seeing the town, but it was a pretty relaxed day as we got used to a new timezone.
The tuk tuk rides were an adventure, street food everywhere (grubs, worms, and all sorts of creepy crawlies are on the menu if you’re into that kind of thing), and the shopping and malls are endless.
Our hotel was right on the river, and a water taxi takes you from the hotel to a central transportation hub where you can catch other ferries, the metro, tuk tuk, or whatever other transportation you need to get around this huge town!
Getting to Bangkok involved a long overnight layover in Dacca, Bangladesh. If ever you have the opportunity to spend a night in the Bangladesh International Airport…go ahead and pass.
We had made a reservation at an airport hotel hoping to go and get a little rest there while we waited for our next flight. But for reasons we still don’t totally understand, we were not allowed to leave the airport in spite of them having transit visas available. I think Jodi just looked too suspicious for the border guards to allow us through. So instead we ended up setting up camp in a corner of the airport lounge for the night.
It was all pretty confusing trying to figure out luggage transfers, getting new boarding passes, and just understanding how the process works in this unique airport. But in spite of the fact that neither Jodi or I speak a bit of Bengali, everyone here was very helpful and took good care of us making sure we made it along to our next stop. And in the end, our luggage even made it too!
Next stop – Bangkok!
Our second day in Istanbul was as good as the first. Today started with shopping at the Grand Bazaar, a market that has been going since 1461. It was absolutely massive, and impossible to keep track of where you were or where you’d been. Turkish rugs, beautiful lamps, and on and on. Then the Spice Market, and lots of streetside markets in between the two. We picked up some amazing Turkish souveniers (so much for traveling light with just backpacks)…
In the afternoon we did a traditional Turkish Bath. Think spa treatment and massage…but with a large and aggressive Turkish man scrubbing you with a lufa and beating you to within an inch of your life. I can’t say it was a relaxing experience, but it was an experience. Jodi said she loved it. The setting was amazing though, this bath opened in 1741 and has operated continuously ever since.
At night we walked along the popular tourist street, had dinner, and headed to bed. Tomorrow is a travel day. Off to Dacca, Bangladesh for a long layover and then on to Bangkok!
After spending the day traveling from Switzerland to Turkey, we got a good night sleep and had our first full day in Istanbul. We covered a lot of ground in one day including seeing the Sultan’s Palace, a massive unergtound cistern, several mosques, and just getting lost wandering around the city streets.
And the stray dogs and cats. But what is so unusual here is that they are so well cared for. The shop owners provide food and water, and are happy to have them. We even passed one that had its own Instagram account. We definitely got the feeling the animals are a higher priority than people are, for example a cat that was sprawled out blocking the entrance to a coffee shop and had no intention of moving. Nor did the owner have any intention of moving it. Really nice to see see them so well taken care of.
It’s really interesting being in such a dramatically different culture. It’s predominantly muslim here, and hearing the call to prayer over the loud speakers across the city regularly is unique. I also managed a rare sighting of Jodi in her hajab (required for women to enter some religious sites here).
We finished the day with great Turkish food and Turkish delight (candy).
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