Early alarm call at 0600hrs for 0630hrs drive to Simferopol airport. The young female assistant manager had previously told me that as Simferopol airport is large I should allow 1hr for formalities. Assume by this it’s of Birmingham International magnitude. I know it takes 2hrs to drive there from the journey yesterday. Flight to Istanbul is at 1000hrs so that will leave enough time.
The driver speaks a little English and asks where I come from. “England…..Nottingham……Robin Hood….???”. “Yes, yes, Robin Good”, he replies. As there’s no traffic at this hour, the journey only takes 1hr 30mins and as we departed 10mins early, arrive Simferopol airport at 0750hrs.
Immediately see that it’s nothing like Birmingham airport. It’s along the lines of Tromso (keep up). I blag my bag as hand luggage and receive boarding pass. I’m through security in 2mins. Next is passport control. You know that horrifying moment when the border guard flicks through your passport, tuts, and then picks up the phone to ring a superior. No? Well, that’s what she did. At the Belarus/Ukraine border I was given an arrival/departure form to fill in. I’ve been looking after the departure part, which I had to retain, for dear life but she merely discards it and hands it back. Whatever bee in her bonnet she had has now gone and passport is stamped.
Great, I can have some brekkie and a coffee now that I’ve got two hours to wait. You know, just like you can do in every other airport in the world. Ha. Not here. Walk into departures. It’s a bare white walled hall. Two Duty Frees. One coffee shop that is shut and in the middle of a refurb. There is nowhere to get a drink…..apart from Duty Free but a bit early for Drambuie. The coffee shop fridge is unplugged and cellophaned up but I can see bottles of Coke with their labels saying “Thirsty?”. Yes!
Duty Free 1 confirm the coffee shop is nothing to do with them. Try Duty Free 2 they say. Seek and ye shall find. There’s a small mini fridge under the counter selling Schweppes Tonic Water, beer and one bottle of sparkling water. Water it is.
Fly over the Black Sea for an hour and a half which makes you realise how big it is. Greeted by hotel transfer who takes my bag off me. He wishes he hadn’t when he takes the load. The seven series scythes through the traffic and arrive with doors being opened for me left, right and centre. Hotel is a former Ottoman prison and the Manager asks if I’ve stayed in a prison before. Tell him yes which immediately concerns him but his fears are allayed when I explain it was also converted to a hotel. I was last at this hotel in 1997 – we’d driven all day across Bulgaria to avoid being hijacked by the Mafia after a British lorry driver explained that the car, a 1992 Lotus Elan, would be targeted if we went to Sofia as planned. We arrived in Istanbul just before midnight having driven over 500 miles. Never had a beer tasted so good.
Take the afternoon off from travel and enjoy some R&R. I’ve now completed the Europe sector. Just have the Middle East, Africa North and Africa South to go. What could possibly go wrong…….?