Articles from this Category
18 November 2021
Why I’m in Istanbul I came to Istanbul because Covid-19 PCR tests here are ridiculously cheap and fast. With my entry into Malaysia and Sarawak on consecutive days, longhaul flights and an overnight in connection, there was the possibility I’d end up having to take two separate tests for the two entries. A free stopover […]
17 November 2021
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 […]
2 November 2021
I woke at 0530 as I seem to be still adapting go the one hour time change after the end of daylight saving. I started my exploration of Larnaca with a walk along its waterfront which led me to the historic centre. The St Lazarus church was free to enter and quite ornate. The Byzantine […]
1 November 2021
Leaving Paphos The hotel buffet breakfast was less today as it was their last day before closing until April. They only had 15 guests last night including myself. My plan was to go across the road soon after for my Rapid Antigen test for entry into Italy. But the swabbing doesn’t open till 0900, so […]
31 October 2021
Nea Paphos For today I had planned to visit Nea Paphos, the city’s main archaeological site, nice and early to avoid the heat. But with end of daylight saving, we had an extra hour in bed, which meant that it would be sunnier by the time I got there. Ahh well. Buffet breakfast at hotel […]
30 October 2021
Moving to Paphos I woke at 0600 after retiring at 2000. Perhaps I’ve conquered my jetlag after three nights? Today I move on to Paphos by bus. Since I was waking early still, I tried for the 0900 bus. I nearly missed it as it had been double-parked and I couldn’t see past the buses […]
29 October 2021
City Wall on the Greek side Having retired around 1930 last night and with it being daytime in New Zealand, my body clock woke me up around 0300. I couldn’t sleep anymore and sat up reading, writing and chatting. After breakfast, I took a walk around the old city’s wall, starting around 0820 at the […]
28 October 2021
Crossing to the Turkish side I had set the alarm for 0630 because if I woke up later, there’s a risk of feeling like death warmed up, due to the time in New Zealand. The hotel buffet breakfast at 0730 was good with the usual selection of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern stuff (eg. tomatoes, cucumber, […]
27 October 2021
Continuing to Dubai We landed at Kuala Lumpur at midnight, from Auckland, and had a 1h35 turnaround before continuing to Dubai. Emirates don’t appear to have traffic rights for bringing passengers from Auckland to KL. We remained on board during cleaning, catering, security and refuel, after which the joining passengers boarded. Airlines talk about the […]
31 October 2019
Cruising the Bosphorus Today I have to kill the entire day before my flight to Kuala Lumpur at 0135 tomorrow morning. I stayed indoors after breakfast to attend to admin before checking out at 1130. My rough plan was to hop on one of the ferries. At one station, they were going to Hydarpasar which […]