Day 1 Trip to Turkey Istanbul, Ankara and Eskisehir

Finally, after not traveling for a long time due to the impact of the covid-19 virus pandemic, I ventured to buy a plane ticket with an expired passport. At that time the regulations regarding the PPLN (overseas traveller) and PPDN protocols were still changing, depending on the situation at that time whether the graph was still high or had slanted. I continue to follow the latest developments on social media and the internet, and one by one countries have started issuing discourses to reopen borders between countries to minimize the economic impact, especially in the tourism sector due to the pandemic. Incidentally, there will also be a long Eid holiday, so I immediately bought a ticket to fly 1 month later.

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The important thing is that it's not quarantine anymore, I thought. Because of course, if there is still a quarantine policy, it will cost more to book a hotel for 3 days in Jakarta. It is possible to be referred to the athlete's house in Kemayoran, but hearing from friends and relatives, the process is very complicated and long. How lucky again it turned out that after I booked the plane ticket, some regulations had been relaxed even more. The Turkish government no longer requires PCR for tourists who have been vaccinated and does not need to download EHAC. I immediately extended my expired passport at the nearest immigration office, wow, it was really crowded. The online line also fills up quickly if you don't stay up late and wait for midnight to get an interview and photo schedule slot. My tip, if you want to travel in the near future, it's better to have extended your passport long ago.

A week before departure all preparations have been completed, passports have been made and the hotel has also been booked. I got info from Tripadvisor to use high-speed trains or HYT (Hisli Tren) as transportation between cities in Turkey. There are actually two most convenient options: Plane and High-speed Train. If you use a plane, the price will be twice as expensive, around 500 thousand one way. Indeed, the duration is very short, only 1.5 hours, but most airports are also located a bit far from the city center, so of course it is necessary to add back the taxi/transport fee from the airport to the hotel if using a plane. Therefore, in my opinion, the most economical and comfortable option is to use the fast train (buses take longer, 2x more even though the price is a little cheaper). Only the enthusiasm of train users is very high for local people, therefore we as foreign tourists need to compete quickly to buy tickets for the high-speed train. Usually tickets will be sold 1 month before the departure date, but since the pandemic, tickets have even been opened for sale 1 week before departure. On normal days, all train tickets are sold out 3 days before departure, so we only have 2-3 days to book train tickets from the first time they are sold.

The journey to Istanbul from Jakarta takes more than 10 hours, roughly 12 hours and a few minutes. After sleeping on the plane and being given two meals and one snack, I finally arrived at Istanbul international airport. This airport is located very far from the city center, if using a taxi it will be very expensive, especially now that transportation inflation reaches 60% in Turkey. I read from several forums, the cost of a one-way taxi from Istanbul airport to Taxim can reach 600 thousand more. The hotel I chose was in Kadikoy, which is a little further away from taxis, I couldn't imagine taking a taxi to the hotel. Fortunately, there is a very convenient and economical option, namely using the airport bus, the name is HAVAIST (if from Sabiha Gochen the name is HAVABUS). The cost per person from the IST to the kadikoy terminal is only 75 thousand. Each passenger is allowed to carry 1 suitcase and 1 backpack in the trunk. More than that, an additional fee will be charged, but it also depends on the kindness of the driver.

Travel time is about 2 hours less, according to estimates. The road conditions in Istanbul are quite congested, so it's better to spare 2 hours more if you want to go to the airport. The hotel I chose if I looked on google map was only 1 kilo away. Therefore getting off the bus, I planned to just push my suitcase and walk to the hotel. I didn't see a street crossing, if there was one maybe at the end. The road from Kadikoy terminal to the other side is quite wide, about 4 car lanes, I had thought about having to turn around, but I happened to see local people there crossing the road carelessly. At that time, there were also many people who wanted to cross the road, so I took this opportunity and followed what the local people were doing because I was lazy to push my suitcase too far. It turns out that in Turkey, local people still cross the road carelessly just like in Indonesia.

I arrived at the Hotel, there are no big hotels in the area, they are all small but tall. The rooms and the elevator are also small. The check process was no problem and I immediately got my room key, even though it was still 10 am. (From the description, check-in hours are above 12 o'clock). The room is small, but clean and the bed is big enough for a twin. Moreover, the toilet is very clean, fortunately. These two points are the most important for me in choosing a hotel, apart from its strategic location.

Since it was still early, I planned to take a look around before going to Taksim square. I wandered down the lane there and found an interesting restaurant to try. Food and restaurant prices in the Kadikoy area are very affordable. It tastes good too, it deserves to be crowded by local visitors. After I was full, I rushed to Taksim by ferry, followed by a tram. The taksim area is always full of people, you can see on the right and left looking antique buildings like in Europe. We can find anything here, from restaurants, bars, sim card/phone booths, clothing stores, shoe stores and many more. As the night progresses, the area looks even busier. There I tried to eat the famous desserts in Turkey, namely baklava and kunafe. The taste is indeed very sweet, but crunchy and goes well with Turkish tea. The price of this food is relatively expensive, because I need to pay more than 125 thousand for 5 pieces of baklava which is quite small, while the kunafe is around 55 thousand. After being satisfied shopping there, and trying to eat at restaurants around Taksim square (kebab?), I finally returned to the hotel and got ready for bed.