Above: The queue at arrival passport control at Istanbul looked shocking but it moved pretty quickly.
Leaving Paris
Having gone to sleep at 2100 last night, I woke up at 0400 after 7 respectable hours. I had set the alarm for a 0545 wake up and a walk to the Roissybus at 0610 and departure to Charles de Gaulle airport at 0645.
Naturally, I had time to kill before I had to get walking to the bus in light drizzle. The ride had been indicated as one hour but at this time in the morning it only took 35 mins. It was a much more pleasant experience than using the train.
I had to wait about 20 mins before the check-in staff for my flight turned up at the counter and another 30 mins before they actually opened, exactly 3h before the 1105 departure.
I was near the front of the queue and it took seconds for them to process me. I had also done an online check-in in which their process is a little strange. They prompt or compel you to select a seat in the process without revealing your automatically assigned seat. No big deal as it is free to select at this stage while it would have been payable prior to check-in being open.
Immigration, on the other hand, could have been a lot smoother. I was directed to a queue while others were directed to several shorter queues. I then realised that my queue was served by only one officer while the shorter queues had an individual officer each! It appears that those are priority queues for Business Class, frequent flyer status or otherwise an invitation by the airline under a programme called Acces No 1.
Even though my queue was short when I joined, it took 30 mins to get through and I’d hate to have joined later when it was several times longer.
It was a requirement for people leaving to show vaccination certificates even if not French passport holders.
Airside, most shops and cafes were closed. Our area, the Terminal 2C gates (even though we checked in at Terminal 2A) only had 8 flights for the next 7 hours. Collectively, between 2A and 2C there were 26 flights till midnight. I guess travel isn’t back to normal at all.
We started boarding an hour before scheduled departure on to a warm aircraft. Quite nice at first since it was chilly in the airbridge. But being seated at the back of the A330, it was an hour before the air-con was turned on and push-back. I was ready for some fresh-feeling air in that chocka cabin. There were few spare seats here and there but none that I could move to and be better off for space.
The crew on the flight didn’t seem very proactive about anything, eg. shifting luggage in the lockers to maximise available space. But when the lady behind me couldn’t be woken during our initial climb despite repeated efforts from her companion, they did spring into action. Fortunately, she did regain consciousness and they returned to their seat for the rest of the climb. They large extended family on board had become quite worried and I could feel their sense of relief after. I, too, was glad we didn’t need to return to Paris for a medical emergency.
Before the meal service, we were provided with the official health advice that passengers seated in the same row should not remove their masks at the same time. No one heeded that advice!
Charles de Gaulle Airport Layout
I didn’t like Charles de Gaulle Airport’s Terminal 2 layout. It comprises of mini terminals, much like Los Angeles LAX. They’re not completely joined and it isn’t possible to go between them on the airside. It’s bad if one was doing international to international connections between airlines in different terminals. One would have to go through passport control into France and then out again.
The advantage in the layout is that walking distances are small compared to large contiguous airside like in Singapore or Istanbul. Effectively, if getting dropped off by car, you’re taken to your terminal where it’s a relatively short walk from kerb to aircraft. If coming by train, one may have to hike a long distance if at a terminal far from the train station.
The airport was built in the 1970s and a feature that would be considered odd today are the toilets. Both airside and landside, one would have to go down a level to access them. Lifts are available for those with limited mobility but it’s still an inconvenience.
Arrival hassles (airport)
I love Istanbul. Getting through the “new” airport to Sultanahmet is a well-trodden path for me but this time my arrival was filled with inconveniences all the way.
Our aircraft was parked at the furthest gate. Scooters were available for those who were game. Then the shock came at passport control. The queue was shockingly long but fortunately we were moving the whole time while in it.
It only took a little over 20 mins to get through passport control. My declaration or locator form was handed in to the officer for perusal but he didn’t look at my vaccination certificate when I flashed it to him, even though it was mandatory for entry. I did notice many people from the subcontinent in the arrival Covid-19 testing queue and some people being turned away from the passport control counter after a long wait. So, I’m guessing they do somewhat check.
Then luggage for my flight was at the furthest carousel in the massive arrival hall. Naturally with all the waiting upstairs, my bag was there already.
I exited within 1h10 of arrival, which is not too bad. I located the Covid-19 PCR pre-departure testing area to check it out for my departure. I confirmed that it was TRY250 (NZD32) and ready within 90 mins. It put me at ease for my onward journey.
I would later find out that prices in the city start at TRY130 (NZD17) to TRY200 (NZD26) for a half-day service. Swab in the morning, result in late afternoon or night. Whereas in New Zealand it costs NZD215 to 280 and they don’t even guarantee 3 days turnaround.
Arrival hassles (airport bus)
Pre-Covid, the Hava Ist bus would take me from the airport to Sultanahmet or Eminonu where it would be a short walk to my hotel in Sirkeci. But due to reduced demand (it’s still busy), the service only goes to Beyazit Square, 20 mins walk away.
But I was told that due to road closure (apparently daily now except for early morning and late night) the service would terminate at Aksaray, 40 mins walk away. That was too far to walk. I had a look on Uber and a ride would cost only about NZD5 which I was happy to pay, but traffic conditions meant it would take about 45 mins in a circuitous route.
Istanbul requires Istanbulkart (transport card) to be linked to a HES number (a health tracing number which I have from my declaration or locator form). I had tried to link it online but the website didn’t work from overseas.
It didn’t work when I tried doing it on my phone during the long bus ride either. Then I thought that on roaming, my internet would probably have a foreign IP address. Sure enough, when I switched to the bus wifi, my Istanbulkart was successfully linked to my HES number.
Arrival hassles (tram)
All seemed sweet from here. But Nope! I found the tram to my hotel not far away. After a few stops, at Cemberlitas, a cop boarded and ordered everyone off. I wasn’t sure what was happening as the tram proceeded on its route empty. Someone said, we would get on the next tram. But I thought it may have been due to the road closure that disrupted my bus.
I walked about 20 mins to my hotel. It was a little shorter than the walk from Beyazit which I had been prepared to do (or take the tram). Damn! Along the way, several trams came along laden with passengers heading to my hotel. But none coincided with my passing by any stations.
It was nearly 2000 when I got to Best Town Hotel. I had had trouble with them saying that my credit card guarantee had failed, despite having supplied them with five different cards. I think my rate was too cheap and they were trying to cancel me to resell the room at a higher rate. A complaint to Booking.com seemed to have rectified the matter. In fact, they had successfully charged my first night to my card, when I was hoping to use up all my Euros to pay them.
My room was lovely for the price of about EUR28 (NZD45) per night. I grabbed dinner at nearby Tarihi Hodjapasha, a short alley with several restaurants. Despite the early wake-up in Paris, I didn’t feel like sleeping till after midnight.
Collapse of the Turkish Lira
After my Iraq trip two years ago I had about TRY830 (NZD226) leftover for use for the next trip half a year later after Ukraine. But Covid-19 ruined all that. That sum is now half, about NZD110.
I also had small amounts left on two Istanbulkarts. They’ve halved in value too but I won’t complain because they were meant to be deactivated after a year of inactivity. They still work.
While many prices have doubled in Lira, they’re about the same in NZD terms. And many hotels base their prices in Euro and covert them to Lira.