A short travel vlog transcript of Nate and Kara Buchanan documenting an itinerary from Aswan to Istanbul via Cairo. The couple describe early flights, a short layover, using Kiwi to combine separate airlines on one ticket (concern about baggage), a delayed Turkish Airlines flight, arrival in Istanbul, taking the metro with suitcases, checking into an Airbnb with a sea-view balcony near the Blue Mosque, and enjoying local food (pide and a salty yogurt drink). The tone is informal, experiential and lightly humorous.
Chapters
Sam.
It's very early this morning. We are flying from Aswan to Cairo. This temple.
Why do flights this early?
I think we're saving $300 by getting up in the middle of the night to fly.
Front of you. You can be requested to fasten your seat box, put your seat back, tables and footrest in the upright, position the hook light and switch off your mobile phone during takeoff and landing. Egypt Mayor wishes you a pleasant.
We've landed in Cairo where we have a two hour layover.
That lounge was more like a smoker's room that had a little bit of food and drinks.
Coffee's really good though.
She's talking now after three espressos.
So we're trying a little bit of an experiment. Today we booked through a new website called Kiwi that allows you to book tickets on two separate airlines. So we've flown from Aswan to Cairo on Egypt Air and then we're flying from Cairo to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. But it's all under the same ticket. This was by far the cheapest way to get to Istanbul. But I was hesitant because I didn't know how the whole baggage situation was going to work. We only had a two hour layover here in Cairo. I thought we were going to have to go collect our bags from our Egypt Air flight and then recheck into our Turkish Airlines flight. And I thought there was a chance we'd miss this flight here in Cairo. But it turns out that when you book on Kiwi somehow they sort the baggage and it's supposed to be going all the way to Istanbul. So if we end up in Istanbul this afternoon and our bags are there, then this Kiwi experiment will be a big success. Also. This is not like an ad for Kiwi. This all could go terribly wrong. Our bags could be lost forever. But we thought you might find it interesting and if it works out for us, maybe it's something you could use in the future.
Our flight is delayed because of landing gear problems. Been sitting here for an hour.
Until the seat belt sign has been turned off. You may use your electronic appliances. Please be careful while opening the overhead bins. When the aircraft reaches its final parking position. We would like to say goodbye and hope to meet you again. Thank you for flying with Turkish Airlines, a member.
Let's go.
We are back in Istanbul and the landing gear works.
The good news is when we were here about a month ago, we got a multi entry visa. So we don't have to worry about getting our visa sorted. All we have to do is go through Immigration and then get to our Airbnb.
Made it.
I love Kiwi.
Yay, Kiwi. I'm on. Always a little bit shocked every time my bag makes it through another flight without busting open.
Next up, figure out how to take the Metro to our Airbnb.
Just like the old days.
It.
These are a little less scary than the ones that open and close on you. Also, I cannot even believe how good it feels right now. I wish I could just jar up this temperature and put it in my backpack and just keep it with me on a cold day.
So we're here and we need to go all the way here. I think we should have been on that one.
Oh, man.
We barely made it off that thing. The Metro is maybe not the best idea with suitcases, but it does cost like less than $3 to get all the way in the town.
Closed on me.
Oh, one of these so bad.
I want one. I'm coming back for you.
Our street is so cool. We've already passed all these really yummy restaurant. I can't wait to come back out.
Airbnb host found us. Oh, this is beautiful.
The room's a little bit smaller than it looked on Airbnb, but the room is not the reason I booked this place.
Yeah, that's tape's there for a reason. Short.
Sorry. This whole balcony is ours with the sea view. As much as I want to just go lay in bed and take a nap, since I only slept for three hours last night, it's time to go get some Turkish food. Yes. Pizza.
We are super excited to be back in Istanbul. Last time we were here, it was just a really fast layover. We just ran around the city, so we're happy that we get to actually, actually spend some time exploring now.
I'm just in such a good mood right now. The weather could not be more perfect. It's 75 degrees and sunny. We are surrounded by what looks like delicious restaurants. We're a three minute walk from the Blue Mosque. Our balcony's awesome.
It's gonna be the best. Our bodies, like, don't know what to do right now with this fresh, crisp air.
I'm already asking our Airbnb host to extend our stay for an additional night. Which way? I don't know. We're just gonna walk until we find something that looks good to eat.
Let's go there.
Yes.
Hello. Hello.
Welcome.
Feed it.
So, for our first meal in Turkey, we have ordered what we have been calling Turkish pizza. But I think the proper name for it is pide. We've ordered two of those. And then we also got this. I believe it's like a salty yogurt drink. It just looked like fun.
Oh.
That is really salty. Oh, and sour. I don't know if I like that. It's gonna take some getting used to.
The guy in the restaurant said that one plate was enough for one person. This is huge. We totally could have split this. But I'm not complaining because I Woke up at 2:45 this morning and I haven't eaten very much. And this looks delicious. We're both really set on getting Turkish pide because it's what we always eat in the lounge when we get to the Istanbul airport. So I'm so happy we're having it in real life. We probably overpaid. We stopped at the very first place that we saw because we're both so hungry. I think it's gonna be worth it.
So tasty and cooked to perfection. This one is. This one is minced beef with veggies. The other one is chunky beef with cheese. It's like normal pizza without the sauce and a Turkish twist.
This is called self control. We each left two pieces.
I'm a little embarrassed with how well we did on that.
I could finish it easy like EAS.
My fun.
I think this is one of my favorite views we have ever had from an Airbnb. We're gonna call it a night, watch the sunset from our balcony and get some rest. So tomorrow we have enough energy to explore Istanbul.
Your shoulder belt is hard.
Mm.
This morning we're flying from Kairo. No, we're aswan as one to Istanbul.
