It’s 5am and I’m getting picked up from the Grand Hill Hotel, Ulaanbaatar at 6am to take me to the airport. The rain is torrential – the first I’ve seen since getting here 20 days ago.

I’m now glad I packed last night and there are only bits and bobs to squash into my bulging rucksacks. It’s a long flight to Istanbul & I hope to sleep for most of it.

The roads were more chaotic than usual due to the stoating rain and darkness but after 40ish minutes we finally arrived and my long flight back to Istanbul was imminent.

There not much to say about airports and travelling on planes except it’s a means to an end.

Everybody goes through the same old ritual of standing in long queues, being herded like cattle, sitting in bucket seats for however long it takes and searching that wee screen in front for something decent to watch that will help pass the time.

The flight time was 8hrs 40 mins and I ate food that I’d not have chosen in a cafe but I did have a small bottle of white wine.

I tucked my blanket round my shoulders and under my legs, put my seat back as far as it would go (feeling a little guilty for the people behind) and drifted off to sleep. I was tired and knew I would sleep for quite some time.

Arrived in Istanbul without any major incidents and my task now was to fight my way through the crowd to collect by luggage from the ever revolving carousel, to find a taxi to take me to my last overnight hotel.

The sea of people in this modern world was quite daunting and I longed to be back sitting on my wooden bed in my wonderful little teepee, being warmed by the well stocked fire and surrounded by nature.

But instead, I joined the elongated queue for a taxi and waited. I hadn’t expected the ‘airport’ hotel that I had been allocated by Trailfinder to be so far away and isolated. I did contemplate going back to the city to get one of those amazing massages but I had no idea how far away it was, how to get there nor how I’d get back.

The thought of sitting another night in a hotel room searching for English channels on a tv I probably can’t work certainly didn’t excite me.

I’ve contacted Trailfinders to ask to move back to the beautiful Novotel on the banks of the Bosphorus but it’s fully booked. I guess I’ll just have to sit on my bed and vegetate for the next 18hrs 😢

Well I didn’t vegetate, I sat for hours and hours rewriting my blog posts that somehow had been deleted! It’s in the wrong format but I’m unsure how to change it and I certainly don’t want to fiddle with it in case I delete all my detailed info that I’ve spent hours re-entering.

At 8:30pm I decided to go for dinner down to the restaurant on the ground floor. I had the dilemma of cash flo and not sure if my debit card would work.

Searching for something appetizing I chose chicken fajitas and a can of Coke Zero that I had calculated I could afford with the cash I had in my money belt.

What arrived in front of me bore no resemblance whatsoever to the picture on the menu. I had that Gordon Ramsay moment where I wanted to call the waiter over to have a rant at him and get him to take a look at the photo for comparison but I refrained from causing a scene and picked my way through the minced chicken, soggy peppers floating in a thin over salted dishwater soup type gravy – and mushrooms!!! Who puts mushrooms in fajitas.

Impossible to finish and suspicious that I’d pay extra for the bottled water, bread and dips that appeared on the table, I got up and left leaving no tip.

It was getting late – 10:30pm, so I removed all the luggage I had dumped on my bed and all the contents I had unpacked looking for my Nivea cream, spread everything on the floor and work surfaces and climbed into bed. I did consider trying to fill in more gaps of my diary but it was late and I had to be up for 7am to shower, repack, have breakfast and stand in reception for my transfer to the airport that should arrive at 10:30am.

The thought of opening and unpacking my last remaining tied rucksack to find my other toilet bag exhausted me so teeth brushed using the hotel supply and make-up off using soap and water had to do.

I’ve calculated I need 1510 lira to pay for the transport and dinner. In total, I have counted 1690 in my bumbag – phew just made it!

Checked in online for my last flight, last queue, last window seat and last trolly dolly serving food – cynical I know but I’ve had enough of travelling and just want to get home.

4 hr flight from Istanbul to Edinburgh tomorrow where I know there’ll be a smilie face waiting when the arrival doors open.

🥰

Nite

😘