12 September, Ankara to Samsun by bus
Gold Hotel 70TL (breakfast included)

Our six-hour bus journey from Ankara to Samsun was so smooth the on-board steward was able to serve coffee and tea and fruit juice to the travellers comfortably seated on wider-than-average chairs, each with its own TV screen. No smoking allowed, thank goodness. There are few places in Turkey where you can escape the pervasive smoking. Everyone smokes all the time, the graphic health warnings on cigarette packs obviously having zip impact on a cigarette-loving populace. Men, women and youngsters eat, shop and walk with a lit cigarette in hand. Many restaurants sport “Sigara Içilmez” (No Smoking) signs, but most also have outdoor seating from which the smoke drifts in to ruin your meal. On occasion we have been served by waiters with a cigarette clipped between their fingers. While smoking is often not allowed in hotel lobbies, almost all hotel rooms include an ashtray. On several horrible occasions my pillow has reeked of stale smoke. I don’t care whether people smoke or not; I do care when I cannot escape the smoke. I have had a hacking cough for over two weeks now. As I am not ill, I ascribe this to smoke and car fume inhalation.

Samsun

Samsun