Lost baggage!

Istanbul airport
While slightly tired, I was in fairly good spirits (having managed to arrive in Turkey in one piece) and ready to start experiencing this new country. The plan was for me to hang around the airport and wait for Sarah, one of the Australian girls I’d be traveling with. She was meant to arrive at around 5pm.

I was to wait for her on the pretense that girls of the ‘light haired’ variety can have trouble on their own in some countries - Turkey being one of them - and having me there would keep her safe. To be honest it was probably as much for my benefit as for hers. While I’m fairly independent and not fazed at the idea of tackling a foreign city by myself, it was none the less my first time abroad. Sarah on the other hand has experience in the trials and tribulations of traveling & living away from home ... she was living in Edinburgh in Scottland at the time she came to Turkey.

Customs
But before I could hurry up and wait for Sarah to arrive, I had to pass through customs. After walking along a long wide marble hallway, I arrived at the check-in point and read the signs. It appeared that unlike most other countries, New Zealanders didn’t need a VISA. Australians had to pay $20 YTL for the privilege, while Canadians had to pay $60 YTL (what did the Canucks do to piss off the Turks I wonder?).

This customs guy for my line actually smiled and greeted each person and seemed pretty friendly. In fact, collectively these were the friendliest customs people I had seen in action. When I approached the cubicle I noticed they had webcam’s sitting on the bench inside. After checking my passport, the guy aimed the webcam at me, presumably taking my picture.

I noticed groups of airport police all with handguns in their holsters milling around the customs area. These guys looked like they were teenagers!

Dude, where’s my bag?
I came accross a change office and changed the 500 euro note I had obtained before leaving New Zealand into smaller denominations, then I headed for the luggage carousel. The carousel started and I began to wait patiently for my bag. After 10 minutes my mind began to wonder. I theorized that because my bag was transferred direct from the Amsterdam flight to the plane that went to Istanbul, it was probably packed first and therefore would be out near the end.

After a further 20 minutes all bags were gone and the carousel stopped. There were a couple of airport staff standing next to me, and at least one other person still seemingly waiting for a bag. I told the airport people my bag didn't arrive and they pointed me in the general direction of unclaimed baggage which was on the other side of the building. Upon arriving at unclaimed baggage, the guy with not-so-good-English directed me to the “lost” baggage office next door.

In the lost baggage office there were half a dozen young Turkish girls situated behind what looked to be a collapsible table. On top of the makeshift table sat a computer for each of the girls. I approached the first one and explained that one that my backpack didn’t arrive. She asked a few questions, checked with a couple of colleagues and gave me a form to fill in while she used her computer to check something.

I completed the form and handed it back along with my passport and boarding pass. After a couple more minutes at her computer she told me she’d found where the bag was. I politely asked where. “Manchester” she told me in a fairly matter of fact way. Really? I smiled. "Do you know when it would be in Istanbul?" She advised me the next KLM flight was 12am the following morning, and that they would deliver it to where I was staying in Sultanahmet.

I thanked her, and left with the smile on my face. My inaugural overseas travelling experience was off to a fantastic start! My bag was sent to the wrong place, but it would be back before it became a pain in the ass.. perfect!