Journey to Ankara
Uh oh! Excitement already and I have't even left the garı. I was sitting in my seat when a young couple came along and said it was theirs. I was definitely sitting in 19, and my ticket definitely said 19, so I showed it to them. But... "Güney Ekspresi," my ticket said -- and the train I was on was the Fatih Ekspresi. It was 23.00 and my train had left at 22.55.
Thank Whoever, they were a lovely couple and spoke very good English. They took me onto the platform and interceded with the train staff. I had been given the wrong directions. I had asked someone "Which train for Ankara" in Turkish, and instead of saying, "Which one?" the man had just told me platform 7.
At first it looked like I was stuffed. My train had left and the Fatih Ekspresi was full of people going home after the bayram. However, the nice couple persevered, repeating several times that I was a tourist and it wasn't my fault. Finally they told me I would be allowed on the train, which is a fast one, until it catches my slow one up, and then they'll help me change. However, as there's no room on the train itself, I've been brought to the conductor's compartment at the front and am sitting at a table covered in newspaper. The ?conductor? who brought me here gave me the typical Turkish third degree and then delighted in telling all of his colleagues, one after another, how I'm Canadian, but I live in London, I used to be a teacher but now I'm a lawyer, and I got on the wrong train because I'm a tourist.
Well. We've set off, and tea is being made. Apparently I'm to change trains at Arifye, which is two hours from here (I've never heard of it). I'd better be sociable.