You Need to Be Determined to Get to Turkey

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"Where the hell is Alexandroupoli?" I hear you ask, "and why would anyone want to go there?" I haven't got a clue and they wouldn't, but we had to change trains there. Of course our train was late arriving. Our connecting train had, presumably, also been late, but would have made sure that it had left before we arrived, so we had to spend a day in this armpit of a place.

We went for something to eat. The prices advertised were not what we were charged and we had to get in a huge argument with the guy in charge who, like everyone, hated tourists. We couldn't fault the quality of his food however.

We found the sea, planning on a swim, but with all the pollution floating in the water, a swim was out of the question, no matter how hot it got.

The train was late, as per usual. On the way, we discovered why. It was continuously stopping, and each time, off would jump a Greek who would wave to the driver and wander off to a nearby house. It must be great for the train to stop outside your house for you, but it made it slow-going for the rest of us.

To say that the Turks and Greeks hate each other would be an understatement. The Turks flatly refuse to let Greek trains into Turkey, and vice-versa, so we all had to change trains at the boarder. Not only that, but a guard had walked the length of the train and collected everyone’s passports, which was very worrying given how many borders we would need to cross to get home. When the trains were being changed, we all had to queue at an office and get them back again. What came as a complete shock, as it had only just been introduced and was not in any of the books, was that any English or Germans had to buy a £5 visa. We were the first such nationality in the queue and after seeing everyone else pass through, we could not work out why we were being asked to pay five pound. The guy was just pointing at my passport and saying "You pay, you pay". Of course, they wouldn't take Greek money, travellers' cheques or credit cards, and we didn't have any Sterling. Things were starting to get a bit desperate when someone helped us out with a loan.

Slept in the corridor, as the floor was more comfortable than the seats. Several others agreed with us, so no one could use the corridor as as it should be used.

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