II.II.III ISTANBUL DAY FOUR One last day. One last day, and Akash, Zara, Manish, and Kamal decided to spend it shopping – again. I could never understand them. Meanwhile, Priya, Rohan, and I would be visiting one final highlight before our departure that evening: Topkapi Palace. Once the administrative and residential heart of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years, […]
Istanbul: Day Two
II.II.III ISTANBUL DAY TWO Once again, everyone wanted to go shopping. I simply couldn’t bear the idea of missing out on what the city had to offer for something I could do online whenever. And so, I took to the streets on my own once again. What started off as me intentionally getting lost ended up becoming a whirlwind tour […]
Fethiye
II.II.III FETHIYE Bright and early, we woke up to catch yet another flight. Our next destination would be Fethiye – a laid-back coastal town on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast, aptly named after the colour of its waters. Perhaps what struck me the most was how reminiscent the town felt of certain villages I’d encountered during my travels in Latin America and […]
Cappadocia: Day Three
II.II.III CAPPADOCIA DAY THREE Despite having to wake up at an unruly hour, what awaited us was worth the suffering. Spoiler alert: Akash had delivered on his promise. We’d be doing the most touristic, perhaps most cliché thing anyone could ever do in Cappadocia – a friggin’ hot air balloon ride! Needless to say, this was a first for me, as […]
Cappadocia: Day Two
II.II.III CAPPADOCIA DAY TWO The following day, we set off to explore some of Göreme’s streets – a maze of narrow, dusty lanes winding between honey-coloured stone houses and cave hotels carved into the hills. Being out and about again had me feeling more alive than ever – especially with the icy cold weather snapping us out of our grogginess. […]
Cappadocia: Day One
II.II.III CAPPADOCIA DAY ONE The day of our long-awaited trip finally arrived. Once at the airport, I felt lighter than ever. I couldn’t quite believe I had managed to take time off. At the same time, I dreaded thinking about what Jacqueline was going through back at the hospital. But I tried to shake it off and forget it all. […]
Turkey
II.II.III TURKEY Having reached an all-time record of burnout, I just had to get away from it all. Jacqueline and I agreed we’d both take a week off – and while that week at work without the other would probably drive us insane, we figured a reset was in both our best interests. It was right around this time that […]