Leaving Sharm
I got to Sharm el Sheikh airport just after midnight. With my departure at 0340 I expected check-in to open at 0040. A queue had built up and airport security started checking documents to enter the check-in area. I then realised it was for the Pegasus flight to Istanbul. I had a short wait before being allowed to proceed three hours before departure, to the check-in area.
Because of the bottle-neck at document check before check-in, there was no queue at the check-in desk, immigration or security. All went smoothly except that the immigration officer queried why i didn’t have a visa for Egypt. Lucky he wasn’t manning the arrivals counter, otherwise I would have been mistakenly charged USD25 for a visa.
While all the touch-points were quick, it just seemed chaotic. It’s partially due to the language barrier and nature of some passengers.
Airside, I had about an hour to kill in the lounge located on the rooftop of the airport, with a commanding view of the tarmac through glass windows that were about three-storeys high (picture above). But poor housekeeping (eg. filthy windows, dirty toilets), tacky lighting and bad food made the lounge a fraction of what it could have been.
The food consisted of hard boiled eggs, fuul (beans) and a couple of mushy slurry things. Perhaps I wasn’t hungry at that time but I probably wouldn’t have eaten it even if I was. Nothing looked clean or was kept at the right temperature; I would have been afraid of getting sick. In the right setting, eg. in a hotel, the food would have been appealing enough for me to try. I ended up drinking a bottle of water in the lounge and taking two with me.
With remote-gate boarding by bus, there were some hold-ups which meant we left 20 mins late. We also had some technical issues on board the A321 equipped with a movable partition between the “pretend” Business Class (centre seat blocked off) and economy. The partition was kinda stuck in a non-ideal position between rows but without being too much of an obstruction for passengers to get in/out of their seats.
As normal for Turkish Airlines, the meal was good. I dozed off before and after the meal before landing on time. It was another 20 min taxi to the gate.
Istanbul: Take #3
I’m starting to think that Istanbul’s new airport is well-staffed for immigration. Arriving for the third time, this trip I passed through swiftly again. There was a short queue this time (rather than no queue) but I was landside in 20 mins from disembarking despite the lengthy walk.
Being Republic Day, the roads were quiet and the bus made it to Eminonu in 40 mins. I was fortunate to be given a room straight away at the Asur Hotel at 0925.
The porter invited me to make use of the buffet breakfast, so I obliged by having a light snack before dozing till after midday.
Having missed a night’s sleep, I didn’t do too much in the afternoon. A couple of short walks and time in the room doing admin on the computer. I was lucky to have a desk this time and plenty of space.
In the evening, a large firework display was put on for Republic Day. But my room didn’t face the harbour. I couldn’t face getting dressed to go out to the waterfront but when the sound of the fireworks went on forever, I decided that I didn’t want to miss it. Leaving my room, I decided that I could try to go to the hotel rooftop. I found my way there only to hear the last crackle of the fireworks. There was some smoke left over but laser lights were still in action. Damn! I had missed the best part!