We are students and student's budget ain't generous, so instead of hopping on planes to get to places in Turkey, we opted for buses. Particularly overnight buses.
Cut down on transport expenses.
Saved us from paying a night in the hotel too.
But rob us of a comfy morning ~ you wake up to no morning shower which is horrible because it's summer, not even a changing room but thanks to public toilet, at least you get to brush your teeth.
Still Turkish long distance buses rock and you'll find why in the next sentences.
We went on 3 buses.
Istanbul-Kayseri (Cappadocia)
Goreme (Cappadocia) - Denizli (Pamukkale)
Denizli (Pamukkale) - Istanbul
Each took averagely 10 hours.
My advice is, whatever you saw on the internet, book the ticket in advance.
I believed that ticket is always available, so we went with our bags quite sure to get 2 tickets to Cappadocia and to jump straight on the bus.
Surprise!
Metro bus sold out and the bus companies offices stretch from one end to the other end, spanning roughly a quarter kilometre (or that's how I felt it)
And to make matters even worst, only a number of companies have buses to Cappadocia.
With the help of some locals and what I thought an unreliable 'ulat tiket' (turned out he was not bad like his counterpart in Malaysia), we managed to get 2 tickets to Kayseri.
It was obvious that the company rarely host foreigner on their bus when we were the only non Turkish on the bus and people kept stealing glances.
So, moral of the story, book your ticket beforehand (no, not because people glance at you but because you might have to spend somemore on an unexpected at the hotel and even worse, on crushed hope )
A peep of Istanbul Otogar (European side)
Like our fellow newfound brother told me, Turkish long distance bus is the best.
"He is wearing a bowtie" he pointed out to our 'steward'. He was very excited at that.
On all three buses, there are in bus entertainment (even some flights lack IFE) and some refreshment served by the steward.
On Pamukkale bus en route to Istanbul, we even got cup ice cream in addition to the packed cakes and drink of your choice (tea, coffee, su aka mineral water, cola).
Drinks are served as frequently as every 2 hours, which may be inconvenient to light sleeper.
Me? Iam not a light sleeper and I quite miss my dose of Podebradka, so no complaint there as long as I can get some coke every now and then.
The downside is the crews speak limited english or no english at all.
But no worries, it's unlikely that you will miss your destination.
First, the driver ain't a reckless one.
They stopped at some RnR about thrice.
And traveller's destination is always at some big otogar (bus station) and they usually tell you when u r there.
So, here's my take on each bus that I went on.
Istanbul - Kayseri with Zaman Bus Company.
We were the only foreigner in this bus.
The toddler in front of us refuse to sit which is understandable since she maybe has only recently discovered the wonder of being able to walk on her two feet.
Her mother had to follow her up and down the bus aisle.
Like the other next 2 buses, this one comes with safey belt, except finding it is a tricky business and once I yanked it out, I'm sure that I'm the first one to use it since it's full of cobweb or whatever the name it is.
Goreme - Denizli. Suha bus company.
The worst of all three despite the recommendation from the internet.
We booked our ticket thru our hotel and we got to sit at the back of the bus, sandwiched between Turkish men.
Unkown man-my travelling companion-me-Turkish soldier off duty-his brother.
I dare not sleep.
At the back means directly above the engine and the crew didn't understand me despite my countless attempts to get him to lower down the temperature.
We got back a this crew by laughing at his video looking like Voldemort flying back and forth, serving passengers from Qibah's IBE
I sat at the center ~ no IBE but with the whole length of the aisle for me to stretch out my long legs.
Despite the seating arrangement and the temperature, I was better off than the man next to me.
The person in front of him fully reclined his seat the entire journey that I, a proud Penangite (
full explanation), for a moment consider to brief the Turkish man about consumer's right.
But since Turkish-man-next-to-me is an army, I thought he can endure it well.
And the man in front of him, his youngest son is so adorable that I had to surpress the urge to take his picture.
Oh yes, after the light was out, I heard some sound followed by nice smell.
It was not a paranormal phenomenon. As it turned out, each time after the cups are taken away and the light is off, the Voldemort-like crew would spray the whole length of aisle with liquid freshener ~ maybe this is what that put the company as top 3 in traveller's forum.
In summer, you are likely to wake up on a bus to this scenery
Denizli - Istanbul. Pamukkale Bus Company.
The best of all 3.
First because we got ice cream and then the seat is really comfy and not forgetting IBE comes with touch screen (albeit rather unresponsive or response wrongly to the touch).
They also serve with the help of a collapsible trolley and they sanitize it everytime they use it and want to stow it away.
Long distance bus travel may be a lil bit tiring for some people but it's a good way to bond with Turkish and fellow travellers alike.
The bus is extremely reliable (I'm saying this as someone who have been on long distance buses in Malaysia and Central Europe).
The average price for an average of 10 hours journey is 55 Turkish Lira per person as of summer 2011.
Going on Turkish's long distance buses?
Book beforehand and enjoy your journey. =)
