TO THE SEA

Set off for Brasov for a nıght wıth the ıntent of checkıng out Dracula's castle and a nearby fortress. Arrvıng at 8pm, we hung around waıtıng for offers for prıvate rooms. Only one joker was pıtchıng hıs goods, so after a bıt of hagglıng and such, we had an apartment for €25 that turned out to be quıte nıce and not dodgy at all. The next day my stomach was ın a bıt of turmoıl, not the most pleasent of sıtuatıons to fınd yourself ın when messıng about Romanıa. Regardless, set off for the castle. A errant bus, ımpendıng storm, and too much waıtıng destroyed the motıvıatıon and, after havıng a walk thru a small town, we ended up catchıng a bus back to Brasov.

After kıllıng a few hours, caught the traın at 00:01 for the coastal town Mangalıa. Once aboard, we found our compartment only to fınd an extended Romanıa famıly occupyıng every seat and then some. So hopıng for the best, we camped out ın a nearby empty car and closed the curtaıns. All went well and we were undıstburbed, outsıde of constant tıcket checks, only the last of whıch revealed that our tıckets were actually for the next day. Whıle a bıt upset at the development, I quıckly chılled out upon dıscoverıng they wanted an extra $.40 each. No bother.

Immediately upon leaving the train we were pestered with numerous locals offering their house or rooms for accomodations. A bit of a mind wrecker after a quiet 10hr train ride. Checked out one, but a 3rd floor apartment in a concrete building in the center of town didnt really fit the bill for getting away from madness. So hit up a minibus for a 15 minute ride to Vama Veche, the last town in Romania and only 3km from the border with Bulgaria. Basically a budget beach party location, free camping in the litter heavy field next to the beach, dance tunes bumping from a handfull of clubs that consisted of not much more than bamboo-like walls with wooden tables and benches inside. Again, not much for peaceful tranquility. Regardless, given my unsettled stomach and all, found a place and crashed for a bit. An uneventful evening followed, crusing thru the town for some eats and hanging near the beach for a bit.

Not giving up in the search, the following day we headed north to the "Solar System" - a stretch of 6 towns in a row bearing names like Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, Neptune, etc. Very creative. But much more creative than the communist-style resort atmosphere the towns contained. Concrete hotels between 5-20 stories littered the beach for the stretch of resort planet. About as unsightly as one could imagine for an otherwise nice beach stretch. Vowing not to "vacation like a commie", we messed about looking for something better, we no luck. Eventually, it was back to Mangalia for the sure thing - a private room. However, after finding a lady offering a room, she proceeded to take us on a 20 minute walk to nowhere, knocking on doors to see if someone could take us in. No thanks. We bolted. Eventually ended up in a cookie cutter hotel on the beach, so at least we had a nice view of the sunrise over the Black Sea in the morn.

Off the next day to Constanta, the big port city on the coast. Not wishing to go on any useless treasure hunts with locals for private rooms, we found a hotel with an apartment room to crash in. Made a trek to the old quarter of the city, climbed the tower of a mosque, and checked out the massive casino on the water. Uneventful for the most part. Did walk a good hour trying to find a Chinese restaurant, only to find nothing when we eventually got to #148. To be continued. Next day after a good sleep hit up the beach nearby. Quickly found out how (maybe) the Black Sea got its name: shredded seaweed so thick the water looked black as the waves came into shore. And the smell. About as bad as the toilet on the Romanian train. Well, not quite. Up the coast a bit was more respectable beach, clean enough for a foreigner to go in. Back at the hotel, inquired about the Chinese restaurant. The receptionist assured me it was there, so we gave it a try. Taxi dropped us off about 25m from where we ended the night before, and there it was, right in front of us. In our amazement and joy we didnt notice the work crew inside remodeling away. So we found it, but other than the sign, it wasnt there. The workers said it was now down the beach way, so another cab ride and a bit of walking later finally found it. And no complaints, it was good.

Back to Bucarest the next morning in a brilliant rainstorm. Chilled at the train station and stocked up on eats before catching the 18hr ride to Istanbul. Fearing the worst, I was calmed a bit upon realizing the train was nearly empty and I would have a 6 person compartment to myself. Before leaving the station, meet an Englishman who lives in Istanbul in the next compartment. Turns out he was about 60hrs in to a journey that was supposed to take 42hrs. Missed the connection in Budapest and threw the whole plan to the wind. Anyway, shared a bit of food with the unfortunate penniless soul and he gave me a complete plan for conquering Turkey. A mixture of conversation, reading DiVinci Code, and sleeping passed the time quicker than I thought possible and soon enough arrived in Istanbul.