Day 14, Wednesday 16 October

Departure…….. Thankfully, I do get those 4 hours sleep and find the time to get a warmed-up breakfast. That should keep me going till departure for the UK at least. Fully packed and ready at 6.30am, I enter reception where it’s a shame to wake up one of the brothers who is sleeping on the couch but he doesn’t complain and will whisk me off to the bus terminal again. I’m in time for the 7.00am departure. Handing over my remaining lira for the service. I’m aware that he wouldn’t have asked for payment, causing me to pay tribute to him and others who have helped us on this tour for free. When I eventually write a conclusion to this tour, I have to mention the fact that the Turks are a really hospitable and friendly race as are the Thais, a characteristic that I don’t often find at home.
Again, I’m at the airport in plenty of time. On check-in I manage to get my aisle seat this time. It’s now 9am and my departure is a 10.30am.
Security…….. Wandering off to the gate, I’m confused by the amount of security taking place. At this stage normally the only check is to process your boarding pass to ensure smooth boarding. On entry to the gate an official checks that you have the correct boarding pass then you are passed on to desk where they check your passport and receive a sticker on the back with a security clearance code. At a further check point your security details are entered onto a sheet. When you clear these points, you arrive at a table where physical checks are carried out on hand luggage and on your person. Nobody is exempt and they check everything down to you last pair of boxer shorts. Swabs are taken on your most personal items such as your wallet and on your person usually around the ankles. These swabs are then passed to an operator for analysis before you are released. Next you are told to enter another area in the gate after they process your boarding pass. The last event is to segregate passengers according to their seat number. This is normal to obtain some management of the boarding process but oh dear, nobody is now available to enforce this and there is a mad scramble to board the airplane. Inevitably there is chaos aboard with air crew fighting a losing battle. I should mention that this longer version of the Airbus A320 series has only one aisle and in my opinion not suitable for a flight of around 4 hours.

Arrival…….. Precisely at the time of take-off, I’m hardly awake, then as meals arrive there is more chaos: All over a bowl of pasta and a piece of cake. I seem then to get an hours’ sleep and find we are over Brussels but all I want to do is negotiate the doorway. Finally, my prayers are answered and we touch down at least 10 minutes early. This is massive as the time constraints on connecting with National Express coaches have been a concern to me all along. Passing through passport control gains more time potentially and on belt 9 baggage is already arriving. Plain sailing now, I think! Wrong! As baggage intermittently falls onto the carousel where is mine? OK I see one piece of two but wait agonisingly for the second piece. There’s now only 20 minutes left to catch the A7 to Central London and the feed line stop starts as the remaining few bags arrive on the carousel. Finally, the last bags arrive but I still have to get through customs and out to the bus stand. Phew, 10 minutes is the margin so how important was that early arrival? Safely on the A7 heading for Victoria Coach Station, I can finally relax for a bit but I do hope they manage to retire the donkeys soon and convert to an efficient baggage handling system.
After all that has gone before, there is still 7 hours before I reach Hereford. Getting into the capital through the East End does give me the chance to see a part of London I’ve never known. Timewise, three quarters of this journey is spent in the metropolis itself. We cross the Thames then around by the Oval and finally across Vauxhall Bridge heading for Victoria coach station. The time spent here is about one hour and manages to fly by as I reconnect with Katoon who has just arrived home. The 445 service to Hereford departs at 4.30pm and is only half full with minutes to spare. Then OMG! A party of girls, 6th form or college arrives from an organised tour of London. As you can imagine there will be no peace now. It’s a real nightmare all the way to Gloucester. There can be no sleep now; the damage has been done. At least I’ve called ahead and Anusorn is available to collect me from Hereford bus station. Typically, the bus arrives nearly ten minutes late but the journey is over. I’m home soon after, with relief all too evident. Now let’s get the heating on, have a bite to eat and a proper drink.
It’s the end of a tour that had a bit of everything and I can complain all I like about so many things but I also realise that Dave really enjoyed his trip to Gallipoli and Troy and city girl Katoon enjoyed Istanbul and Ankara to a large extent and the incredible journey to Cappadocia in Central Anatolia. As for me my feelings are really mixed up. Acting as host for most of the time, I’ve managed to pull off possibly one of the most complicated tours I’ve ever been involved with and survived. Conclusion.