20 Hours on a Romanian Train...

Now nearing the end of my journey, I investigated the best way of getting to Istanbul from Romania, and found two options. The bus would take about 10 hours, or the train up to 20. The choice seemed obvious, except for one problem...there are no buses. I couldn't find evidence of them anywhere in Bucharest and nobody knew about them, despite being features in most travel guides. There are flights costing just 40EUR and taking only an hour or so, but if I've made it through 23 countries so far without flying, I'm not giving in now!

Crossing over the Danube, from Romania back into Bulgaria

Waiting on the platform at Bucharest, I expected a standard lengthy sleeper train, and was surprised when it pulled into the station - just three carriages long. There was a mad rush to get on, and I had to evict some unfortunate person from my cabin, which was already full. No way I was going to let somebody take my bed on a 20 hour trip! I settled in for the long trip ahead, equipped with charged ipod and several books ready to pass the time.

There was a real party atmosphere on the train

In the event, I didn't need any of them. The long journey, which I had been dreading, turned out to be fantastic. Within minutes of pulling out of the station an American in my cabin cracked open a bottle of wine and we got talking, and gradually as the journey continued I met several people down the carriage, including a couple of English guys from the hostel in Bucharest and even an MIT-graduate.

Winding through Bulgaria

After passing away the hours talking, night fell and it was time for sleep. The beds weren't particularly comfortable but eventually I drifted off, only to be woken by the Turkish border guards at about 2 in the morning. Everybody was marched off the train and forced to queue up and buy a visa from the most fantastically rude lady I have ever encountered, who literally threw your passport back at you.

Sunset on the longest train journey of my life

After an overly-long and bureaucratic process, we re-boarded the train and went back to sleep, waking up to watch the sunrise as the towns and villages of European Turkey rolled past the window. Onwards to the end of my journey and one of the great cities of the world...Istanbul!