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Ankara Tochaku
Another restless night on another slow train that mercifully arrived a little late. I couldn't quite place where the station sits in Ankara, so I just looked around me at the hills and went on instinct. When I studied in Ankara in 1995, I lived on a fortress-like campus out in the countryside. I often came into town from the Middle East Technical Institute, but I generally frequented the same busy area of town: Kizilay. With a little luck, I happened upon this area and started the day's chores.
The Runaround
My first stop was a good indication of how the whole day would go. That is, I was hoping to pick up new credit cards, change my plane ticket, and check in to a cheap hotel, maybe not in that order. However, I found that the bank that my Citibank Visa was supposed to be delivered to had moved. Furthermore, they no longer officially hold mail for Amex cardholders because Akbank is now the official Amex partner instead of Kocbank. To sum up the day, I didn't get any credit cards or anything, but I did find a decent hotel right in the middle of Kizilay. I decided to cut my losses and take a long nap. About four or five hours. I guess those night trains really got to me.
Ankara
I woke up around 10pm and decided to go out and give the city another try. There are not many tourists here at all, so it is not entirely convenient for the foreigner. I always liked this place, though, because it is just life itself. Looking around me, I noticed that some things had changed. The subway system was finally completed a year or so ago. Walking around the city everything seemed pretty clean and modern (aside from the insane drivers, but maybe bad driving is modern too). Maybe it was just because I came from Romania and Bulgaria, or maybe it was three years difference. Anyway, despite the ludicrous inflation here, the city seems to be doing quite well. To top the night off, I called home for some good news. I passed the CPA exam! I had to wait almost three months for the results, but
that news was a nice end to a long day. Cheers.
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