The French ConnectionThe next morning I woke up. People were moving around. I figured that maybe I had half an hour to get ready.I turned my head. I was still drunk. I got out of bed, and searched from some water. We had run out the night before, meaning I couldn't provide myself with the requisite two pints before bed. And we were still out. I don't get hangovers as a rule, but bearing in mind I was still pissed the morning was young.I drank some Greek t...

The IraniansThe hotel was cramped, dirty, and not exactly the nicest place in the world. It was, however, cheap - and this was the kind of price we liked. We had a room for six, with three bunk beds crammed into a space big enough for maybe one. There was a restaurant downstairs, and they gave us a free drink. Plus we were getting breakfast thrown in - can't really argue with all that.The next day was a Sunday, which meant - horror - we couldn't go to the...

Sofie and LinettePicture the scene: You're an English backpacker. You've bumped into four beautiful Swedish girls, and for the last week you've been their friends, mentors and travelling companions.You are, literally, living the dream.But dreams are funny things....The Bazaar was indeed huge. It was made somewhat easier to comprehend due to the general lack of variety in any of the stalls. Two of the four thousand were jewellers. The other half were d...

The French Connection: The SequelHere's a funny thing. After three nights in Istanbul, who should we meet on the train? The French Connection, and the Oz Girls! We all just decided to leave that day. Maybe not a huge coincidence when you consider only one train ran each day, but still. Small world.The train broke down several times on the way back. One time we were waiting for two hours for another engine car. The locals ("Refugees", as Karim called them) all...

The OzziesThe next day, we got off the train in Patras, and who should be stood in the station? Lisa, one of the Oz girls! Linley was nearby. It was really a small world. It worked out in our favour, because they told us which ticket office to go to and which ticket to buy. If left to our own devices, we would have paid €100 to get a place on a sewage trawler. As it turned out, we paid €6 to get a place on the nicest ferry I've ever seen, all the wa...