Wacky World Tour

Matty was absolutely not keen to get out of bed at 6am after the boys’ night in Istanbul, but after standing upright and then hitting the mattress again for an extra 15 minute power nap he was ready and on the street with us by 6:29.

Luckily for us, the bus was late to pick us up and we realised that we were starving and thirsty like wild dogs and we had no food or drinks, and Pimp panicked at the thought of being hungry for four to five hours on the bus.  Even more luckily the shop next door opened at 6:30am so Pimp barged in and stocked up on the basics — a massive block of goats’ cheese (how good is cheese!), some devon, some black olives and a big unsliced loaf of bread.  Carlos also bought some “negro” biscuits that were a hit with the kids (Carlos is that really appropriate?)

A giant coach somehow squeezed down our street and the boys wearily climbed in, assuming foetal positions and doing Noddy impressions.  The coach was filled with Australians, with a few New Zealanders, a couple of English people and two Turks plus our driver and guide.  The bus trip from there was long and slow, with the bus loping along like we had all day (ok we sort of did have all day).

Driving along the shore of the Dardanelles was interesting, with heaps of huge boats using the channel to get to the Black Sea via Istanbul and the Sea of Marmara, apparently 60,000 ships a year!  And the Dardanelles are the reason for the entire Gallipoli campaign in WWI, with hundreds of thousands of people dying to get or protect access to a skinny bit of water.

We stopped for a tasty Turkish style meal at a town near Gallipoli, it was weird to be eating in a room full of Australians and felt almost like being at home.  After lunch we hit the road again to start our tour.

Not to detract from the gravity, seriousness and the moving experience that we had whilst at Gallipoli, there really isn’t much to write home about here.  Although seeing the harshness of the landscape, feeling the heat of the Turkish summer sun and walking amongst the trenches on the battlefields was an amazing and intense experience that won’t be forgotten.  But in the end, we’re strapping young lads with a sparkle in our eyes, so spending many hours gazing at monuments and cogitating on years past wears thin after many hours, especially after a big night on the Turkish town.

We should mention that did our Gallipoli tour with Anzac House tours and our guide was excellent, and he knew an incredible number of facts and stories about the Gallipoli campaign and the area where it took place.  It was also eye opening to hear more of the Turkish side of the story.

The bus ride back into Istanbul was less fun than the trip out, replete with a whiny baby boomer Grandma wearing a terrible visor, a semi-successful baby boomer man (whose boat, iPod and everything else except what matters is bigger than yours, and knows everything about everything), an amazing sliding minibus door that closes automatically but actually doesn’t.

Well, after midnight we hit our hostel once more, and we were keen to get up to the rooftop terrace for some beers and a laugh but alas it was crowded with sausage, so our motivation waned and we pretty much just hit the hay after a solid 18 hour day.

CPL Craig, PTE Kentwell, TPR Varley, SGT McIntyre