The Arbil Experience...

After six days of dusty and sandy joy life in Arbil I was sort of fed up and just wanted to get back home but it appeared that getting out was harder than getting in. But I will tell about it later..

Arbil was not that bad actually..we went out with friends at night..to restaurants, malls and hotel bars. We drank almost every night..it was fun. Nonetheless you have to be careful with what you wear or where you go. One of our Iraqui friends took me and a friend of mine to a restaurant that used to be one of those places  visited by Saddam when he was in Arbil. You couldn't tell from the outside that it was a restaurant because there were just walls surrounding the building and no sign that said 'Please, welcome in'..There was some sort of reception and you had to get yourself registered at the entrance before getting in..apparaently there was also a dress code that I wasn't aware of because I had my baggy shorts on and a plain T-shirt. The guy at the reception wouldn't let me in telling our friend that I was not dressed accordingly. He wasn't yelling or anything but wasn't friendly either. As in all places around the world the rule wouldn't change here: money opens every door and voila...I could go in..shorts or no shorts...! That being said..the food was great. Kebab without end..but it was good meat. No regrets there. The Iraqui friend drank Johnny Walker and I had a Miller beer or maybe two. After the restaurant we went to my hotel where we crashed at the hotel bar and had some more beers and enjoyed a good Champions League match.

Actually I think we got lucky with the hotel which isn't maybe the cleanest in Erbil but still it was ok because from what I heard from other friends they had no bar or liquor at all in their hotel. So lucky us! 

And it was cheap..we could smoke and drink at the hotel..no one cared..

So the last day we went to this Mall called Family Mall and ate at the Lebanese restaurant where the food was okay but nothing really exciting. But the Mall was nice with all kinds of shops..mostly Turkish brands. We had a really late flight and we decided to go a bit earlier to the airport and I'm glad that we did so because the security was tight there and we had to stand in cue.

(That's how I felt when they didn't let me in!!)

 The taxi took us to airport entrance, which is like 1 km away from the airport hall where you get checked first. Luggage control and body check..the whole nine yards. I was so lucky because I had some valves in my luggage and each time I ran through the x-ray scanner they took me aside and asked me to open the bag. So much fuuuuuunnnnn!! NOT! Happened to me three times the same night and after the third time I was sick of explaining to the security guy what a ball valve is. Once we got to the airport hall we proceeded to the passport booths and the guy looked at my passport for like 5 minutes..finger prints included..Dude..enough already..just let me get back HOME!! But other than that..I will miss the friendly security with their Kalashnikovs and the hairy, smelly customer..scratching between his toes while talking to us..and the friendly Kurdish receptionist trying to explain me that they will fuck me .oopps...I mean charge me 3% of interest if I wanted to pay with my credit card..bye, bye Arbil..I hope we never meet again!

Arbil...Alexander the Great was here..so am I!

Leaving my daughter and wife sleeping in bed I arrived in Arbil, one of the oldest cities in the world, at 04.00 in the morning and it was really hot outside. I took the flight from Istanbul with TK as usual and the plane was completely booked. I sat next to an American in business class and the guy was sitting in my seat, which I didn't mind at all, but he was stinking with alcohol so much it got disturbing. When he opened his eyes the guy looked at me surprisingly wondering what I was doing next to him..I told him 'man you are so wasted'..his comment was..'I would like to say I'm not but I guess I am' and the he doze off instantly again..it was a 2 1/2 hour flight listening to this jerk's snoring but the worst part was the smell. I took a taxi to the Van Royal Hotel, which claims to be a 5 star hotel but we both knew that it was not, and paid the driver 20 USD. When I entered the lobby at 05.00 there was not a soul at the reception. The whole lobby was empty and despite my 'hello' nobody cared to answer. But then I heard a snoring coming from the corner where there was a couch. I saw that the receptionist was having a nap back there..I went straight over to the guy and kicked him awake from his sweet Kurdish dream. 'You have a guest and I want my room. Now get up!' ..He stood up instantly and went to the receptionist's desk and 10 minutes later I was in my room. First I check the bathroom. It looks clean. Then I check the minibar. It is full with liquor. And finally check the bed. Looks clean but has a hard mattress. No problem. I can live with that. Arbil is one of the safest cities in Iraq but that doesn't mean you should be careless when walking around. Every now and then you encounter with guards or soldiers wearing Kalashnikovs which gives you a queasy feeling because you're not used to it where you come from. People seem friendly and forthcoming. I will be staying for a week here so I will continue with Erbil with my next post.

Bucarest...casinos and massage parlours..

I took an early flight from Istanbul to Bucarest choosing my favourite (attention: sarcasm!!) airline again: Turkish Airlines. Not that it renders excellent services or anything but it helps me to collect miles so I can fly for free (for free means that there are still plenty of taxes to be paid!!) By the way, they have once more proved what assholes they are....
I was going to go berserk over TK here but to be honest..I totally forgot what I was mad about in the first place because I am writing this Bucharest blog 2 months after my visit. It didn't stuck with me so it must have been nothing big..but that's typical me..getting mad over small things sometimes, but five minutes later I can't even remember what it was. not really a resentful person am I? Is that a good thing or a bad thing that I have a memory of an armchair?

So I stayed at the Z Executive Boutique Hotel, which is a small boutique hotel, as the name itself already says, situated in the city center but it is hard to find for taxi drivers since it is in a side-alley. However, the hotel itself was really nice, rooms were really clean and the city view was really beautiful, especially at night. Totally recomendable. Bucharest is really nice. They have a splendid old city. Nice big buildings. Some fake Arc de Triomphe. Cool parks. Endless massage parlours. 
I guess prostitution is a big problem here. Oh no, all of them Romanian prostitutes are actually in Germany, so all is okay. 

I was there for an exhibition and make some customer visits. The exhibition turned out to be a total joke. It was a one-hall event and it was only half full. Don't even let me start with the number of visitors because that was a jape too. However, people are totally friendly and I had a great time. I went to a casino with a colleague and I must say it was fun. You get yourself registered and then you can enjoy free meal. Hey, I even won a few bucks. I like Bucarest a lot. I think it is a great city with friendly people and nice things to see. 

It's been a while..

Destination:Skopje

Airline:Turkish Airlines

First time going to Macedonia and I am impressed by the airport. It was even better than the airport in Belgrade and this is a smaller country. I met some interesting people in Skopje and the city is culturally diversified due to the ethnic mixture. But I was positively surprised. It is a small city with nice cafes and big statues. They are definitely proud of their Macedonian hero Alexander the Great because there is a huge statue in the middle of the plaza....wasn't he Greek? I thought he was Greek..hmm.. OK, let us not delve into sensible and deep waters here..since this is a very touchy subject for both countries. So as you will understand I was also in Belgrade but due to the laziness factor I didn't blog from there. Kerouac would definitely be proud of me. 

I am staying at the Hotel Arka, which is situated next to the old Ottoman Bazaar. The bazaar consists mostly of Albanian and Turkish minorities. First day I was there the receptionist advised me not to stroll around at night in this area, which of course sounds very inviting for a hotel claiming to be 5 stars. Naturally, I didn't listen to her and it turned out that walking alone in such alleys at night was no problem, however it is not recommendable indeed. It didn't look safe because it was dark and 2-3 youngsters were staring at me meanly and saying something, that I didn't understand. Everybody was really friendly here but there is always one jackass who spoils the whole bunch. But the old bazaar itself was quite interesting since it still looks ancient. I believe, if I had encountered this place some 2-3 centuries ago it would looked the exact same way. The bazaar leads straight to the old Ottoman castle which is impressively overlooking the city. But it was not open for a visit. Although a sign says it was closed due to repairs a friend told me that this was not true. There were some ethnical clashes because the government wanted to build a church inside this old Ottoman relic and the Albanian opposed to it strongly so it resulted in some dispute between Christian and Muslim minorities. They clearly considered it as a provocation. I don't know if that was true but hey..just chill everybody. Religion is a one big fat lie! There you have it.
Anyways, the city itself bears these old Ottoman marks practically everywhere. There is a Hamam or a Medrese or some other building. When I listened to street talk I could clearly hear people speaking in Turkish. Different accent but still Turkish. So I guess the Ottoman is still present here one way or another. 

The food is typical Balkan food. It is quite delicious and I didn't think it was very expensive. I mean I ate a lot and they charged me 10 Euros only. Taxis are also very cheap. Skopje is a small city so anyway you go they  charge you something between 4-5 Euros maximum. 

So what else can I write..hotel was good, food was good, people are friendly. Almost everyone speaks English. I enjoyed it and will definitely come back.