October 4, 2015
The Practical Side of Istanbul: Packing up and getting ready to fly home
The Saruhan Hotel has been great. It's a little out of the way, and not too close to public transport, so there has been a lot of walking. The breakfast spread has a lot of variety and I've enjoyed it every morning. I have an early departure tomorrow (3:30 a.m.!) so I'm going to miss it.
My room is garden level, with a nice small courtyard that has provided a relaxation spot and space to break down and pack up the bike. I had one scare when a man was sitting looking into my room in my space and smoking. The hotel staff told me he had just checked in, was Arabic with no other languages so there was a communication problem, and they evicted him. I felt badly about getting him thrown out, but it sounds like there were other reasons too.
I managed to get a bike box from Atek Bicycles. They asked 25 TL for the box, which I think is too much for something they would throw away, but I didn't try to negotiate. I did ask if they had any scrap cardboard to use as packing material. They didn't understand. I made a motion showing wrapping the top tube, and they gave me some bubble wrap, gratis. The shop is located in the Sultanahmet district, and I walked through the narrow streets carrying it back to my hotel. I received quite a few comments, including a couple of different men who asked me if I bought an LCD. When I said no, that it was a bicycle box, they said I must be very strong. I tossed it in the air and said it was empty!
I bought some packaging tape at a hardware store, and some cloths for wiping off at least the surface muck at a supermarket.
I managed to get the bike packed up without any issues. I got worried when I noticed that the box had come from a 47 cm bike (mine is 52, and the touring geometry makes it long) but once I deflated the tires to reduce the height a bit, it was okay. I used up all of the packaging tape.
I am not taking advantage of the couplers for this return trip. I don't have the tools or the presence of mind right now to fabricate a correctly sized box. I had been considering it, but when I got the bike box and it was only 7.5 inches thick, I decided I wasn't up to making it 10 inches thick. I tried to contact the airline to make sure I understand the charges, but my flight leaving Istanbul is operated by KLM but purchased as a Delta ticket, and I did not manage to get an answer about how I'll be charged. I'm expecting some damage to my wallet at check-in, and hope that the bike comes through unscathed.
I also have the issue of my bike bags, and how to consolidate them into one piece. I expected it to be easy to find a cheap bag, but nothing is easy. After several days of not seeing anything other than large expensive suitcases, the Hotel staff suggested a particular underground market. It was about a half hour walk out of the tourist district. The underground market was a mall accessed through a metro station. I didn't find anything in the mall, but did get a bag in a shop down one of the nearby side streets. The bag has little tiny wheels on the bottom and does not have a rigid handle. It was 17 TL, which is about $6 US, so I won't feel badly if I never use it again.
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