The spring tulips in Istanbul are really pretty

We figured we should get out and do some exploring, so we hopped on the ferry to Eminonu which is the main historical district. We have been there before, but we wanted to go back to Gulhane Park to see if the spring tulips were still in bloom. 

Another beautiful day, but with a cooler high of about 18C (64F) and a strong breeze. Lots of sunshine though!

Our second eSIM experience was much better!

The day wore on yesterday without ever hearing back from Maya Mobile. Really terrible customer service, and I will leave a review in that regard. Eventually, 24 hours after buying their eSIM, I sent a new email to customer service asking for a refund. Ten minutes later, the refund was granted... no questions asked.

So at least there is that.

Not a good first eSIM experience

The last time we spent any length of time here in Turkiye, we had no problem getting an inexpensive data plan on my phone. However, things have changed!

The local providers only have expensive "tourist" plans available for non residents. And there is only one choice... and it costs 1,100 lira ($34.50 USD, $46.75 CAD) for 20GB of data over 30 days.

Scammed on our first day in Istanbul!

I mentioned the other day that we had a story to tell, but I didn't want to tell it until I knew the end of the story. And I tell the story as a warning to others so hopefully it won't happen to you!

We arrived in Istanbul at SAW airport in the eastern end of the city. From there, it is an easy ride on the underground metro system to the ferry terminals at Kadikoy.

We did something a little different yesterday!

This is our third time in Istanbul. As far as big cities go, we kinda like it. Especially the Kadikoy area where our friend Cheryl lives. Lots going on, a 15 minute walk to all ferries and public transit, and really nice park space nearby. 

We are going to enjoy the next week looking after Gus the dog. Especially with the perfect weather forecast!

Return to Istanbul

We've been pretty busy the last couple of days! With more than a few stories to tell, but some of them we don't know the ending to yet, so they'll have to wait. 

But I'll give you a condensed version of what we've been up to the last couple of days. It's all a bit of a blur!

A fun evening out in Kuwait City

One of the reasons we came to Kuwait City is because two of the women in our Mauritania train ride group last year are from Kuwait. And they had said that "if you are ever in Kuwait, look us up!".

So we did!

They offered to pick us up at our hotel at 7:30pm and take us out for a Kuwaiti dinner!

Welcome to Kuwait... country #72 for us!

We were up at 4:45am to take a taxi to Abu Dhabi International Airport in order to catch our 8:10am flight to Kuwait City.

I had received an email from Wizz Air saying to be sure to arrive at the airport 4 hours in advance of our flight to ensure sufficient time to get through check-in and security. We've done enough flying to know that this is ridiculous. 

March Expenses... we had budgeted for an expensive month!

We were on four different airplanes during the month of March, and spent the latter part of the month in some fairly high end places... so we had planned in advance for an expensive month.

So although it was certainly at the high end of what we usually spend in a month, it wasn't unexpected.

In our last budget update at the end of February, I mentioned that we had a planned budget of $3,837 CAD ($2,826 USD) for the month of March. We came in at $4,082 CAD ($3,017 USD) in total.

Last day in Abu Dhabi... the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Most things in Abu Dhabi cost a fair bit of money. There are quite a few theme parks... Ferarri World, Warner Bros, Yas Island Waterworld, etc. And while they would be fun (and fairly expensive!) for a day, that's not what we came here for. 

But probably the most popular attraction in the city is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. And it's totally free to visit!

Men to the back of the bus...

Our hotel has a free shuttle bus that leaves at 10:00am to the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque. This mosque is a major tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi, and it boasts of 64 million visitors since it opened in 2007.

So after our filling all you can eat breakfast buffet, we hopped on the free bus to go check it out.

Day one in Abu Dhabi

I know many people love Abu Dhabi and especially the nearby neighbor Dubai. But neither of these places have ever been very high on our to do list, and the only reason we are here is because of the flight routes that made our "hop skip and jump" journey from Bangkok to Istanbul a little more interesting.

The displays of opulence and wealth in Abu Dhabi and more so in Dubai can be interesting though

Welcome to United Arab Emirates (UAE)... country #71 for us!

Last you heard from us, we were waiting at Male Airport for our flight to Abu Dhabi. 

Things didn't really go according to plan for us in Male. We took the public ferry at 6:30am from the island of Dhiffushi, and the two and a half hour trip went by quickly. So we arrived at the Male ferry terminal at about 9:00am. Problem is, our flight wasn't until 7:00pm, so we had more than a few hours to waste.

Last day in the Maldives, and some things we want to tell you about.

Writing this at Male Airport while waiting for our evening flight to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

We had a lazy last day on Dhiffushi Island. So lazy that it didn't even occur to us that we never did a blog post on that last day! And by the time we realized that, I just figured it could wait. Besides, we didn't do very much, although there are certainly some things we want to tell you about.

Swimming with the sharks

While we could spend our three full days here on the island of Dhiffushi just lazing about, the Maldives are one of the top locations in the world for snorkeling and diving. We are not divers, but we are quite happy to do some world class snorkeling!

Especially when our host told us that we could be swimming with the sharks as well!