I hate you, cabbie!!

Right, third time in Istanbul this trip, really have to make the most out of it. I've got 2 days before I head back to London. Headed straight for the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya after checking into a hostel (it was the first time Sam ever shared room with two other complete strangers, took me a while to beg him to stay!) Sam headed straight for the bed instead. Like seriously, sometimes I question his desire to travel, he spends more time sleeping than anything!

At about lunch time, my instinct told me someone back at the backpackers' probably starving. Went back and dragged him along for lunch and then a bit of shopping in the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Spice Bazaar... something he hated doing. Couldnt care less. The Grand Bazaar is like a massive labyrinth, we kept going in circles and got lost a few times. By that time Sam was really hungry and having symptoms of transfigurating into an ogre. I stopped going "maybe there's an eatery just round the corner", which was really an excuse to window shop a bit more. We finally deserted my plan to eat at one of the recommendations in the guide and settled for some dodgy sidestreet cafe that charged 3lira for a bloody organic OJ (which probably wasnt even organic). So the Grand Bazaar is this huge market place where it's easy to find your way in but impossible to find your way out. I remember a guy giving me directions to his shop in the Grand Bazaar, and he was like "it's no.xxx, really easy to find, you wont miss it!" Like yeah right! I'd be amazed if I find it.

Yet again, I spent more money on food than anything, and the Spice Bazaar is a haven for local produce. Got my elma cay (apple tea), got my rose hip cay, got my saleb (which is an absolutely fab cinnamon milk drink), got my figs, got my turkish delight, really wish I could carry the whole bazaar home. Il est un paradise. This time, we stucked to the guide's suggestion and had the fish sandwich next to the jetty near the Spice Bazaar and then had dinner at el Hamdi Lokantasi. Both were great. Especially the pistachio kebab at el Hamdi's. Warning: it's quite a posh restuarant (dont memba the guide mentioning!) with amazing view of the Golden Horn and Galata tower, so bring a bit extra if you plan to dine in. We were in for a good shock. The last thing we wanted to do on our last day in Turkey was dishwashing at el Hamdi's.

Last day in Turkey, moved to Taksim which is where the nice clubs and nice shops and nice restaurants are located. Spent the day strolling along Istiklal Caddesi - Istanbul's premier high street. There is a fab helvacisi where I tasted the yummiest baclava in the whole wide world. As we were nicely relaxing at a bistro with my saleb, baclava and Sam's ultra-strong long island tea (it was undrinkable! you have skull it and try not to taste it, but it'll burn your throat anyway..where do these people learn how to make cocktails...anyway) his bro called and we had to catch a cab and pick him up from Yenikapi jetty. The traffic jam was absolutely horrendous, we were already quite upset with the taxi fare. And the next thing you know, the stupid cabbie refused to give us back our change. This has already happened several times and I wasnt about to let this guy get away with it. He gave up and threw the bloody coins into my hand, cursed us and left. Ha! Yeah I hate you too!

The day I was dreading finally came, we took the cab to the airport. Still memba Kylie's "Cant get you out of my head" was playing on the radio. And I really cant get this out of my head. The fact that all (ok..most) Turkish cabbies are bloody blood-sucking leeches, and they'll die and go to hell and rot there. This cabbie who was taking us to the airport, decided not to switch on the meter without telling us. We were still half-asleep and in a drowsy mood to realise the meter wasnt on. At the airport, he demanded 50lira from us!! It was only a bloody 20 min ride. I could see smoke evaporating from my head and erupted like a volcano. I'm not usually so hot-tempered but these cabbies were pushing their luck bit too far. Finally Sam's bro made him take the 30lira on offer. But still..!!! Urghh!!! After checking in, I had to buy the most expensive kahve I'd ever spent on to destress.

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