Day 9: Sunday 6th November 2022

Start: Istanbul, Turkey

Finish: London Heathrow, England

Welcome back my literary friends!

Today is my last day in Istanbul and also my final day on my epic few weeks of Europe. My British Airways flight back to Heathrow departs at 9.20am and given the rather long distance to the airport, a shuttle has been arranged for me for 5.30am from the Legacy Ottoman Hotel. This should have me arriving at the airport by 6-6.30am or thereabouts. TravelTalk don’t arrange departure collections from Turkey, but our guide Mustafa was kind enough to arrange them for us and we pay for them ourselves. It is still quite early given that I should be able to check in online and just walk straight through security without having to drop luggage, but upon arrival I didn’t have much time to check out the airport, so it will be nice to have a chance for a relaxed breakfast and a look around before boarding. Sadly due to the time of my flight, I’ll be the only one in my shuttle which comes at a fairly steep 36Euro. Others who are flying out later are splitting this between six passengers! But having looked at the time of sunrise (7.30am) and the several modes of public transport I’d need to take in the dark, I decided that my final journey home can be a little costly. In reality, I’ve paid $50AUD to get home before from the airport in Australia, so why is it any different here?

With a four-and-a-half-hour flight time and the difference in time zones and daylight savings, I’ll arrive in London around 11am.

Mustafa reminded us on the bus yesterday that guests of Legacy Ottoman hotel are entitled to breakfast so those of us who are leaving early (just me!) are able to request a packed breakfast for the journey to the airport. The staff kindly packed me a vegetarian sandwich, an apple and a can of peach iced tea. It was delicious! In the end, another member of the group came with me in the shuttle because of the disruption from the marathon. Sadly we lost one another inside the terminal as I couldn’t connect to the wifi! My gate opened around the same time as their check-in for bag drop, so we unfortunately didn’t get to catch up again inside the airport.

Istanbul International Airport definitely sits ‘up there’ in the airports I’ve travelled through. By sheer size alone, the space is gargantuan with high ceilings and glass windows from floor to ceiling. Inside, store after store of designer and duty free goods flank the walkways, with kind staff inside, happy to assist all travellers. I must give a shout out to the ladies in Cartier. They were polite and friendly, despite my evident poverty with my duffel bag and snow boarding jacket, and I’m sure had I asked to view pieces, they would happily have assisted me without judgement. The same should also be said for the staff at Mont Blanc who helped me with my search for a fountain pen to add to my small collection. Sadly, even with the ‘duty free’ prices, the Meisterstuck was still outside my itty-bitty budget! Never mind, perhaps next time!

I stopped for a quick coffee at the Cloud Coffee and Bakery where I charged my laptop and enjoyed the peace and quiet of an empty café until it was time to walk to the gate. As I am starting to learn is ‘normal’ for British Airways, the gate was a little chaotic. I was selected for drug testing, full pat-down and also had every single inch of my bag searched by a member of staff. This I found a little odd given I’d just walked through two proper security searches to enter the departure area. I’m not sure if perhaps something had put them on high alert, as most passengers were sent in the direction of the security desk. Boarding was as chaotic as the last time I flew BA, but at least this time the food and water made it on board (see Egypt, Day 0). This time the drama was people carrying too many bags on board. All it takes is a handful of people doing the wrong thing to mess the whole system up. In my row, I was the second person to board (of three) and the entire segment overhead was full, despite there being hardly anyone seated in that section of the aircraft yet. This meant my overhead bag had to go in the overheads opposite us, thus starting the chain reaction that was a 15-minute saga of getting people boarded. One thing I miss about Ryanair and Easy Jet is how much easier boarding is when people are charged for hand luggage. I don’t know if people on this flight purchased ‘more’ hand luggage, but given that most people came on with two bags that needed stowing and a massive duty free bag as well as their ‘personal carry on bag’ for beneath the seat, I can only assume a few people were doing a dodgy. It didn’t help that the woman beside me had a wheelie suitcase with a broken handle, so the only way to get it to fit in the overheads was by laying it sideways, thus taking up most of the overhead by itself. End rant!

On board, we were advised a flight time of 3hours 20 approximately and that the weather in London, Heathrow is grey and rainy. Woo! In traditional ‘short European hall’ British Airways hospitality, those of us in Euro Traveller (Cattle Class) were treated to a Kelloggs cereal bar and 250ml of water with the option to purchase additional food via the shop site on the BA wifi.

Tips:

·        Istanbul Airport is huge! If you are looking to shop, there is no shortage of skincare, fragrances and designer wares.

Accommodation: London, United Kingdom