With my change of plans Im now in Istanbul after a short stay at a small(er) bulgarian town called Veliko Turnovo. A nice little town, on the brink of becoming complete commecialism, it still has old parts and theres some nice bit of countryside around. Set in rolling hills of Bulgaria, roads and train cut through the small but steep hills. Two have nice buildings, the old town and a church whilst the other has the ugly hotels and big buildings. Its good because you can sit in a nice bit of countryside and not even know about the crap on the other side of the hill.

It wasnt one of the best places for nights out, but it was good to chill out for a few days before i headed to Istanbul for the busy next section of my trip, the tour. A bonus was the rain which had been falling for pretty much a full week 24-7 had stopped, so you could actually chill outside. A few days ago, went on a hike with a couple of guys I met in the hostel, up and down the hills around Turnovo. We were heading to, or at least trying to, a monastry. Following markers in the heat up and down steep hills we managed to walk in a complete loop, some how missing completely the monastry. Which probably shouldnt be hard to do. At least we saw the countryside and got some much needed exercise.

After Tarnovo, Ive just arrived in Istanbul after a pretty tiring 13 hour overnight train journey. It was quite an experiance though, I shared a sleeper with an Italian who spoke not a word of english, which was good because I dont speak a word italian. Despite that we had a long conversation where neither of us really knew what the other person was talking about. Although I think he was in the army and he is a big fan of liverpool. Every couple of minutes he'd say some italian then 'Liverpool whhaayyy!!' and a high five would ensue.

Im now in hot and sunny Istanbul which is pretty cool. Completely different to anywhere Ive been so far. The call from the mosques is something ive not heard and wandering the labyrinth that is the grand bazaar is really something. The bazaar is apparently the biggest in the world, and I wouldnt be suprised, its like a miniature city with is own banks post offices etc Its difficult not to get lost in the myriad of colourful alleys selling everything from fake levi's to hash pipes.

Last nite was spent relaxin on cushions on the roof of the hostel overlooking the sea in the warm night. The only problem is that because its a muslim country beer isnt too popular here. So its either expensive or unavailable, so for the last couple of days Ive been drinkng tea more than anything. Tea is a pretty big thing here, they have it in the restaurants, bars, hair dressers and the streets of the bazaars. Its nice and refreshing and little more sweet than at home.

Ive a few days here before I meet up with a tour group. In the meantime Ive a few days here which should be well filled in a city with much to offer.