I wrote the post about hitting the pause button before I left Osh, and thought it had been posted. Then I stared receiving emails asking where I was and what was going on, and I discovered the post had not been uploaded. It took me half an hour just now, but it is finally up. I apologize that I haven't been more diligent in checking on the blog.
To get you up to date, I left the Osh-Nuru Hotel at 3:00 a.m. for the airport. Osh was much quieter at 0300 than 0900, but not when I got to the airport. At the airport I found the usual crush of people wanting to leave, mixed with people there to tell them goodbye. I got in line, had my luggage wrapped (a wonderful service available in which attendants wrap your bag in clear plastic and tape it, keeping the bag closed and intact while being handled by enthusiastic baggage handlers), and soon made my way to the front of the line (soon being a relative term for Asia). There I learned that the excess luggage fee was $176 for my 42 kilos (93 pounds), which I gladly paid.
Next was passport control/immigration. The officer kept thumbing through my passport, and finally said, "I can't find an entry stamp." I told him my story, and that I had registered, and then he looked and found THAT stamp and, with a big smile, said, "Okay! Good! No Problem!" and gave me an exit stamp. My relief was palpable. I found a seat, and began to wait.
At Osh, baggage is carried to the plane on 3-ton trucks, and passengers are taken to the plane on buses. I was moderately concerned about flying on Turkish Airlines, as they were ranked 7th worse in the world in 2012. I was pleased to board a modern, well kept (at least in the passenger cabin) Airbus 100-119, with a very pleasant crew. We soon got off the ground, and I slept almost all the way to Istanbul, a five hour flight.
From the air, Istanbul is even more magnificent than I comprehended from the ground. The air view gives a different view of the density of the population, with block after block after block of high-rise apartment buildings. The city is just immense, and tightly packed. I love it!
At the airport I had lunch, and wandered around. As you can imagine, the people watching is excellent. I had to get my second boarding pass, and it was only after I left the counter that I discovered that I had been assigned a different seat than I had selected when I booked the ticket. It was the dreaded "E" seat. Uh-oh, I thought, a middle seat. I decided that I could handle it for the three hour flight to Frankfurt. I was also assigned the last group in which to board. I was, however, wonderfully surprised when we boarded to learn that I had an exit row seat, and there was no D seat. So I had leg room as well as elbow room. The guy at the transfer desk has done me a major favor and I hand;t even asked. I'm starting to like Turkish Airlines.
At Frankfurt, the baggage took about 45 minutes to come off the conveyor. When my luggage arrived, I got it on a cart and headed for customs. There was no body at the customs control point, so we all just walked out. I had nothing to declare anyway, but I just thought it was unusual. while Turkey is a Candidate Country for the EU, it is not yet a full member. But there is much I do not understand about customs and border issues . . .
I checked into the Airport Sheraton, and reveled in the ability to brush my teeth with tap water, and have a real shower with hot water. This, I thought, was going to be okay.
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