Day 65 & 66 Serbia/Bulgaria & eventually Turkey 22/11/2010 & 23/11/2010. A very long train journey and a little bit of cycling!

Still unsure how we were going to get our bikes on the train to Turkey, we thought it prudent to get to the station very early. The train was already on the platform when we arrived at just after 7am in the rain. The first problem that we could see was that there wasn't a guards van. After asking a few people who we thought were conductors, we were eventually pointed to a Turkish attendant who introduced himself as Izmir. In somewhat broken English he explained that we would be able to put the bikes in one of the sleeping cars but we would have to pay for two more couchettes (hope this is spelt correctly the computer has suggested courgette, which I am fairly certain is not what we had to buy. Although it was very early!).

Parting with $30, which was swiftly pocketed, we had our bikes safely stowed away and were shown to the next door cabin. According to Izmir all we had to be concerned about was whether the Serbian or Bulgarian conductors would want some money as well! It is very true what we had been told 'in Serbia nothing is possible until money is shown and then everything is possible'; this holds true in most of eastern Europe it seems.

The journey to Istanbul was due to take 23hrs and as the train left the platform at walking pace we could see why. Within a few kilometres we had got up to a gentle jog, just in time to pull into the next station! Slowly but surely we did pick up speed and wended our way towards the Serbian/Bulgarian border.

Never having crossed a border by train we weren't sure what to expect. First we stopped and had our passports inspected by the Serbian officials. Then Bulgarian customs came on board and set about, with the help of a screwdriver and some brute force, taking the train apart. Mysteriously they never searched any luggage, so I would guess if you are a smuggler, hiding it there is the way to go! It should be noted that although keen to take things apart, they seemed less inclined to put anything back together. It was with a slightly more dismantled train that we passed through the Bulgarian border bound for Sofia.

Shortly before we arrived in Sofia we had another ticket inspection and were suddenly confronted with demands for a ticket for our bicycles. Bearing in mind that it is impossible to buy a ticket for a bicycle in Serbia, where we were supposed to get one from was anyone's guess! With some help from Izmir, €10 was mentioned as was Sofia and the conductors left. Unsure whether this meant we had to go and buy a ticket in Sofia or that we needed to just give them €10, we decided to put it out of our minds for the time being. At least us and the bikes were still on the train, for now!

Having researched the train a bit before we booked we knew that there would be no dining car on board. This seems something of an oversight on a 23hr journey. Fortunately as we were forewarned we had brought quite a lot of food with us, nevertheless we were glad to arrive in Sofia with a bit of time to spare. A cold drink and some more water certainly wouldn't go amiss.

We should have known that the friendly attendant who showed us where to change money and get snacks from was only after cash. Fortunately the small amount I did give him was enough for him to point us back in the direction of our train. Which was just as well, as while we had been gone it had moved and looked somehow different. Climbing on board what was clearly a different carriage we had a moment of panic that our bikes and gear had disappeared off into the night! Fortunately after some confusion, we found out that the train had been joined by some Bulgarian sleeper carriages, which in the dark we had confused for our own. Feeling a little bit foolish and more than a touch relieved, we found the correct carriage and were reunited with our bikes and gear.

Settling back down in our compartment for some sleep before we reached the Turkish border at approx 1:30am, we were rudely awaken by yet another ticket inspection. This time I had my €10 ready for the bikes and to our surprise we were issued with a ticket. What wasn't so encouraging was that it was only issued for the stage until the Turkish border. We could be going through the whole thing again in the next few hours.

Sleep overcame us and we eventually arrived at the border nearer 3am instead of the scheduled 1:30am. The Turkish customs man was a lot more jovial than his Eastern European counterparts and only wanted to know what we had in all our bags. When I told him clothes, sleeping bags and a tent, he seemed amused and wished us 'good roads'. All we had to do now was get off the train, buy our visa and queue up to get it stamped.

Back on the train any thoughts of sleep were ended by another passport inspection before we were allowed to get under way. We had made it into Turkey, all we needed to do now was get some rest before we arrived in Istanbul.

Before leaving Belgrade Debs had read that this journey often took nearer 30hrs and after all of the customs delays we can see why. We arrived at Sirkeci station in Istanbul at 11am, three hours later than scheduled, which according to Izmir was not too bad.

Unloading took a bit of time, but we were soon packed up and out into the madness of the Istanbul traffic. With a combination of riding, pushing and a lot of navigational assistance we made it to our first choice hotel. We then had one of those moments when we wished we had booked. The hotel was dearer than we had seen it advertised for and they only had a room for two days. The hunt for a hotel would have to continue, which is not so much fun on steep, narrow, traffic clogged streets with heavy bikes.

By a bit of luck we managed to find the area that we had stayed in last time we were here. Trying several hotels, the first available room we found was €40 a night which was more than we wanted to pay. Running out of options we tried a nearby hostel and were shown a more reasonable €30 a night room. The problem was that it was not that nice, plus it was on the fourth floor.

Continuing the search, we were called over by a hotelier as we passed his hotel and offered a much nicer room than we had seen at the hostel for €30. The shower is unfortunately rubbish, but the room is comfortable and we can call it home for the next week while we plan our next move.

We did venture out for a while that afternoon and get some food and a beer (well it would have been rude not to!). But the rest of the day was all about catching up on sleep from the train journey.