10 October, Istanbul
Haci Mimi Apartment 53TL
A singularly unproductive day, but two
unexpected pleasures ensured it was not a total waste. We are preparing for the
next leg of our sabbatical: a cycle trip through “French Indochina” (Laos,
Vietnam and Cambodia) to be followed, assuming we have the funds and energy, by
a bus ride through China. We plan to fly from Istanbul to Bangkok, take the
overnight train to Nong Khai, and cross into Laos via the Friendship Bridge. As
South Africans we do not require visas for Thailand, can obtain visas for both
Laos and Cambodia at land border crossings, but must apply for visas for
Vietnam and China at their respective embassies or consulates. Having checked
the net, we trekked via Metro and taxi to the Vietnam consulate, to find it
NOT. We were directed then to the Bangladesh consulate and later a business
flying the Chilean flag by well-meaning, but entirely misinformed Turks. In the
end a helpful hotel receptionist put us in touch with the Vietnamese Embassy in
Ankara and they confirmed that there is no longer a consulate in Istanbul. We
now hope to obtain our visas while in Vientiane. On then by Metro and taxi
again to the Chinese embassy. We arrived just five minutes after the visa
section had closed and could not gain admittance – grrrr. A young Syrian told
us he had been waiting outside for over two hours and that everyone he had
dealt with had been “very rude”. Entirely by accident we boarded a bus near the
embassy that dropped us within walking distance of our apartment. Its route
followed the Bosphorus, offering spectacular views of the waterway and boats
thereon, of seaside suburbs and old wooden homes, of mosques and elaborate
palaces – a real treat. And in the evening we popped into a restaurant just 50m
from our apartment to find it makes a pretty good penne bolognaise – another real
treat.