turkey.
öç.üðéþÞÝ
strange keyboards, but apart from that, ýt really ýsn,t as dýfferent as I expected.

I,ve seen a faýr být of asýa rýght now, and ýts kýnd of the same, on the surface at least. The whole cýty structure ýs the same - old places ýn the mýddle of býg new developements. an atempt to keep thýngs clean on the surface. or at least the maýn tourýst areas, and then squallor everywhere else.

oh yeah. and then there are the ýnternet cafes. I,m sýttýng ýn the býggest. baddest armchaýr known to man. very very comfy. to my left are a couple of dutch tourýsts munchýng away of somethýng I couldn,t name. to my rýght are a couple of turkýsh blokes puffýng away on a water pýpe. essentýally a bong. just wýth s kýnd of apple flavoured tobacco )so I,m told - haven,t been there yet)

today has been good. saw the maýn palace of the ottoman emperors. where they ruled most of the known world for centurýes.
saw the harem.
the grand bazaar (ended up wýth some genuýne hugo boss socks - 5,000,000lýra - bargaýn>!)
the blue mosque
naked french gýrls ýn my dorm (jsust thought I,d add that. I guess they counted as cýty sýghts!)

off to get a turkýsh bath soon. was goýng to be today, but I thýnk I mýght just fýnd a few perople and have a few cool beers.

more sýght seeýng tomorrow, then ýts off for the start of the anzac day tour. brýng ýt on!

ok... need to get down lasts night's events whilst I can still remember...

met up with fi and her new bloke, cammo. had lunch at grenwich, then headed off to camden to catch regurguitator. the pub was called the barfly... your usual small gig venue... small bar downstairs, and even smaller one upstairs, with a little space for the band.

ýt was a small crowd, but ýt fýlled the venue well. maybe about 100 people. I was lucky wenough to score a front row possýe.
they played quýte a long gýg - 21 songs. ýt was theýr fýrst gýg for a whýle, and ýt showed. they messed up 3 or 4 songs completely (ýe stoppýng and laughýng ýn the mýddle, and startýng agaýn!) but that just added to the show.
I managed to snag the playlist at the end of the show, and scammed my way backstage. I chatted to the boys of about 15 mýns. and got them to sýgn the playlýst. how cool ýs that!
all ýn all. a very good day. and nýght.

Michael Page International - Contact details
Taxation

Anna Conner
Consultant - Temporary and Interim Recruitment

Dir: 020 7269 2250
Fax: 020 7404 8422
email: annaconner@michaelpage.com

interview notes

http://www.michaelpage.co.uk/controller?event=VIEW_SUBSECTION§ionid=2§ionname=perfect_job&subsectionid=14443&mode=sectionlist&folder=568

http://www.kumuka.co.uk

accomodation booked in istanbul - yukelt hostel.

single room, arriving 20 April, for 3 nights (20, 21, 22)
to check dates!
to book accomodation after the tour.

http://www.yucelthostel.com/location.htm

The Yücelt Interyouth Hostel is located literally right next to the St. Sophia Museum, also known as Aya Sofya.The area surrounding the St. Sophia Museum is known as Sultanahmet, and is a treasure trove of historical sites.
The Blue Mosque is directly opposite St. Sophia, and across from that is the Hippodrome, where horse races were held for hundreds of years by the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. On the other side of St. Sophia is the Topkapi Palace, former home to the Ottoman sultans, and now a museum. You can even find stuff underground: the Basilica Cistern, carved out by the Byzantines centuries ago. All of these things are at most a few minutes walk from the Yücelt Interyouth Hostel.

The Ataturk Airport is about 11kms away. By taxi it takes around 30 minutes to get to the hostel. You may also take a Havas / Airport-City Center Bus to Aksaray and then the tram to Sultanahmet. Walk down the main road from the tram station. In 150 meters you will see the famous St. Sophia Museum. We are just beside the museum.


Caferiye Sok. No:6/1 Sultanahmet - Istanbul / Turkey
Tel: +90212 513 61 50
+90212 513 61 51
Fax: +90212 512 76 28
E-mail: info@yucelthostel.com

snuffy
bud beer
virgin stuff

ok... cash update. I've spent much less than I thought. nice, huh?

turkey websites

http://www.dfat.gov.au/
http://www.embaustralia.org.tr/anzac/anzac.htm
http://www.dfat.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/TravelBulletins/Turkey:_Anzac_Day_2003
http://www.dva.gov.au/commem/anzac/gallipoli01.htm

ok. back in dublin after the paddywagon tour. think I'm getting too old for these tours - its all good fun, but I find that I'm feeling bad about crashing at 2am, and getting weary of the party. good week overall though.

highlights, memories:

walking / climbing Cough Patrick - Ireland's highest mountain, and one of the 7 holy mountains in the world. 1 1/2 hours up, more of a climbe than a hike. the whole way up the path is nothing more than piles of shale and loose rocks - very hard work, but worth it. views were amazing. definitely an achievement making it up there in one piece.

the rope bridge (forgot its name, location)
the giant's causeway
the highest sea cliffs in europe (again, can't remember the name or location)

spent around $1,500 - $2,000 so far. not sure where its all gone.... it'll be good when I get a job, I think!

details of flight to london:

Tuesday 15 April
Flight 166.
Depart Belfast Int 13.55
Arrive Luton 14.15

belfast. quiet, scary, and seemingly peaceful all at once.

on the 6 day tour of northern ireland... not a bad crew at all. its a 30 seater bus, which is a little big for my liking, but so far everyone is pretty cool. there are lots of 18 year old kiddies on the tour, fresh out of highschool, and over in the uk as helping hands in private school... am I that old? (I think I had these issues earlier in dublin! ahhhhh!)

highlights so far:

taxi tour (again - this time with a protestant driver)
lunch - sarah, michelle, and sheala
'the tavern' - the three local drunks - fuck you jimmy, michy, eugine. songs, stories, characters. the pub itself! - shela, the manager, the smoke, the decor - (ie, what if the whole world farted at once?)
the robinson. etc.

time for sleep. I'm sure I'll get around to writing this properly... sure I will!

ok... in dublin tonight. pretty cool city. much as I remembered it - young, pretty vibrant, and touristy. spent the night with a couple of kids from nz. just 18 years old. was I ever that naive? probably! good night though... bar hopped for a few hours, had a coopers, and ended up in the hostel chatting to others frm the US and NZ for hours. really good conversation. if only some asshole was't sleeping in my bed at the moment! grrrrrrr! not happy! bastard! its either ignorance, or stupidity, or arragance. we'll see in the morning. not happy right now.

off on a tour of northern ireland tomorrow. looking forward to it. 6 days of no brain required touring, then abit of down time in ireland and london, then turkey. all good.

been chatting to michelle tonight, and yesterday night. very good to stay in touch. 3 months is a long time, i think.

time to sleep, I think.

https://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/youraccount/RegistrationProcessing?processType=processYourAccount

http://www.hini.org.uk/belfast.html

http://www.hostelbooking.com/ibnpub/english/index.asp

http://www.iyhf.org/template.asp?name=iyhf_hostels_gb&show=desc&language=gb

group email list

aaron.chen@radiorentals.com.au
noraa8@bigpond.com
agm@bica.com.au
the_mooncake@hotmail.com
roney.allie@cfs.org.au
mandm@airnet.com.au
ajspiers@ihug.com.au
anna_mau@hotmail.com
ashnstu@bigpond.net.au
Ben.Meaney@orlando-wyndham.com
brendan_wallace@hotmail.com
brendon_mais@hotmail.com
cara.boehm@adelaide.edu.au
colvinb@staff.airnet.com.au
cussansc@anz.com
wengc@loftuscomp.com.au
derek.nash@tsc.sa.edu.au
emma_notatwork@hotmail.com
ruggles_@hotmail.com
garthd@hotmail.com
hashim.carey@adelaide.edu.au
jdukic@equityadvisory.com.au
clarkej@tenix.com
john@grantburgewines.com.au
dark_the@hotmail.com
maree@rsp.com.au
Matthew.Barlow@unisa.edu.au
mattyg@camtech.net.au
mayhoang11@hotmail.com
kenesuch@hotmail.com
daviesm@au1.ibm.com
mandm@airnet.com.au
nclarke@piper-alderman.com.au
dancin_nic@yahoo.com.au
olivia.maselli@adelaide.edu.au
patricia_morotti@hotmail.com
petere@homeshop.net.au
ramon@rsp.com.au
bert@tne.net.au
slothboy@bigpond.net.au
tomrainey@datafast.net.au
Vincenza.Currenti@it.ey.com
ombely@hotmail.com
dancin_nic@yahoo.com.au
alice.marshall@ernstyoung.com.au
priya.chadh@ernstyoung.com.au
tom.weekes@ernstyoung.com.au
shingka@ernstyoung.com.au
sharon.lines@ernstyoung.com.au
natasha.wegener@ernstyoung.com.au
kristian.thoroughgood@ernstyoung.com.au
kate.mildren@ernstyoung.com.au
claire.milne@ernstyoung.com.au
nikki.hassouros@ernstyoung.com.au
marc.crespi@ernstyoung.com.au
despina.pastrikos@ernstyoung.com.au
mark.seatree@ernstyoung.com.au
Sandie.Wun@sg.ey.com
julieong0304@yahoo.com
Simon Bills ,
Karen.Hillier@ernstyoung.com.au
bronwyn_sinclair@hotmail.com
irisheyes4me@hotmail.com (Eliadh Calder)
Ginellebaur@hotmail.com
elbee3@telus.net (Laura B)