back home

June 26th I cycle to Ordu along the coast. Halfway I take a refreshing dive in the water. When I try to dry in the sun I get an allergic reaction of my white skin to the sun so I quickly move to the shade. In Ordu I find a hotel that is willing (and understands) to store my bike and backpack on the balcony until I return from Holland in the evening I search the internet to find cheap flights back to Holland to bring a surprise visit to the wedding of Sandra and Marco and visit friends and family along the way. I find a flight from Istanbul to Eindhoven on the day of the wedding and decide to book this one. Cheap flights back are harder to find and I decide to worry about that when I am in Holland. The next day I stuff all the things I want to take with me in a linen sack and the rest I place on the balcony of the hotel. The overnight bus leaves only 18:00 so I kill time by walking around and sitting at the shore. I still have cheese to put on bread but have left my knife at the hotel. I find out that cutting cheese and sausage with your bankcard is almost as easy. Unfortunately I was rather clumsy and drop the bankcard between the big boulders at the see while cutting. After half an hour trying to fetch it with a little twig I finally have my card back. The bus ride goes rather smooth, but relative long body is not easy to put in a comfortable sleeping position in the bus so rather tired I arrive the next morning in an outskirt of Istanbul. The chauffeur of my transfer to the centre manages to get into a fight on the short route. The first time he tries to pull another chauffeur out of his car and the second time another angry road user steps in our mini bus to molest our driver. All ends well, but it certainly keeps you awake.
I decide to walk to the hostel I slept in before and this time I am granted a bed right a way. I take a warm shower and have to dry my self with one of my dirty shirts because I did not bring a towel. I walk into town to find presents, but of course I do not find anything. I figure they just have to be happy with me bringing them a visit. Afterwards I sit on the roof terrace and drink beer with Chrissie (Australian) and Gilles (French) with whom I also go to have dinner. At one o’clock the long day ends. Together with Chrissie, Gilles, Damien (Australian) and a Singapore girl of which I did not get the name we go to the Asian side where my airport is as well. After 2 hours we get bored with that side and take a ferry back to the European side. We spend some time in Taksim drinking beer and eating after which I take the ferry again to Asia. I walk to the train station and catch a tram to Pendik. According to a description in a travel guide I should only have to walk 4 km to the Sabiha Gokcen Airport. I ask for directions and they put me on a minibus who is supposed to pass the airport real close. When I am told to get off the bus I cannot see the airport anywhere. After walking 15 minutes in exactly the wrong direction I find some one who accompanies me so far I can no longer go wrong. Now I have to wait eight hours until departure at 4:45. Sleeping opportunities were not great but manage to sleep a few separate quarters of hours.

I have got 3 places for my self and manage to sleep almost the whole flight. I guess that is no excessive luxury as it might get late this night. I try to hitch hike to either Utrecht or Rotterdam. Although 5 people stop they all go in the wrong direction. Finally a German guy stops and takes me with him in his big Mercedes. Soon it becomes clear he is interested in more than I want him to offer. He finds me very attractive and would not mind to have sex with me. I thank him for the interest, but tell him I belong to another camp. He drops me off at the station of Den Bosch and I decide to proceed with the rest of trip via rail. I do not want to miss the wedding. I first go to Taco to have a shower or else people might not be happy to see me after all. Sander the only other person next to Taco who knows I am in Holland calls me to tell me his new girl friend, Sandra (not the one who marries on this day:-), is willing to pick me up from The Hague Central Station. We agree that we will meet at 3 o’clock. At the latest moment Sandra becomes aware that the wedding is a half an hour earlier than we thought, so we have to meet half an hour earlier as well. It would have been ironic if I had missed it just by half an hour, but now we make it in time.

A familyphoto, so you can see from what kind of nest I come from.