We arrived at the airport in good time many thanks to Carol and Kees. Going through processing was pretty easy even though our cabin baggage was over weight. We waited for a couple of hours for the first leg of our journey of a 12 hour stint to Hong Kong. The flight was good but the food unremarkable. Arrived in Hong Kong with a 2.5 hour lay over.
The next leg of the journey was to Zurich on Swiss air. A 777 A300 very nice new plane. Another 12 hour stint with food being ok for flight meals. Arrived into Zurich feeling very tired and smelly with not being able to climb into a lovely warm shower. No matter a splash of perfume here and there did the trick along with clean teeth.
A 3 hour lay over saw us boarding the plane to Istanbul. I think from memory it was another 5 hours flying arriving around midday. After processing and discussing options we decided the easiest way to get to our accommodation was by metro to Sultanahmet which is right in the busy Centre. Our hotel which was amazing was a couple of minutes walk to the famous Mosques
Our hotel as you would have seen from the photos previously sent every room in the hotel was adorned with all the beautiful lights on the ceiling. All the furnishings were antique and included crockery, ornaments and pictures. It was like staying in an antique shop. I wished we had been able to stay longer and next time we definitely will. If anyone is going to Istanbul it is the very best place to stay with lovely friendly staff.
The next day we were off to Dalaman then onto Marmaris by private car. We flew this leg of the journey by Turkish airlines. What a joke
We arrived in plenty of time at the airport and right from the beginning it was a hassle. We made our way to the counter to check in. The girl looked really confused with our tickets and spoke to someone who said we have to go and see the supervisor. The upshot of that was that the flight was full and we would have to go on standby and they would see if they had room for us. We explained that the tickets were booked and paid for at least 6 weeks earlier. It didn't matter. So we waited and of course the plane turned out to be full.
We were marched off to the ground staff supervisors office where he booked us onto the next flight which was 3 hours later. They gave us 100 euro each for our trouble and a food voucher. The food was shocking and neither of us could eat it. By this time I am sure you can imagine how tired we were feeling after all the previous 2 days of travel.
We sat at the dining table for a while and decided we were not going to eat the muck we were served so we might as well go to our gate and wait for the flight. The room which is extremely basic was full of screaming kids and people waiting for a flight to Izmir. After about 20 minutes they were herded onto buses to be taken to the plane.
Finally the room emptied out and we were able to get a seat and sit and wait. Sit and wait we did because our flight was now delayed by 35 minutes.
Eventually we were herded onto buses to our plane. Found our seats and settled in. I watched the guys handling people's baggage. It is no wonder how they damage cases so badly. They just throw them as hard as they can into containers it was unbelievable.
We must have sat on the plane for a good 30 minutes or more before we taxied for takeoff.
Of course Istanbul being such a busy airport we were in quite a long queue waiting our turn. Finally we are in the air for a 40 minute flight. We landed ok then made our way to baggage claim.
Well we stood for probably 20 minutes then some bags started to come through, not ours of course. Then the carousel stopped. Someone yelled out that we had to go to the other end of the building because the carousel we were at has stopped working. Everyone turned and ran and I mean ran to the other end in the hope they would get their bags. Some did but not us. Then another message from the man yelling. They have got the carousel working again go back to the other end of the building. Everyone turns and runs to get their bag. Finally Tony manages to get ours and we make our way to our man who is picking us up. This poor man has been waiting at the airport since 5pm when we should have arrived.
It is now 11 pm and we have our drive to Mamaris. We arrived there sometime after midnight. Took our bags upstairs and crashed into bed. We slept till around 6.30am and then decided to get up and see if we can get some fruit and bits and bobs for breakfast and lunch.
Mission accomplished. We came back to the hotel unpacked our goods and Tony wandered off back to bed. The long haul flying and yesterday's debacle has taken its toll on the poor old fella. I feel tired but I can't sleep yet. I might have to have a nana nap later.
I think it will take us quite a few days to recover and we will not do such long flying stints again. It is definitely important to have that break somewhere in between.
We probably won't see the boat until tomorrow when the broker will take us to the marina where she is berthed. It will be good to see her and check out what I will need to purchase to make our time comfortable.
Well that's about it to date but I will keep you all posted with the next instalment after we are out on the water.
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