Eventually, we decided to put all of our stuff at the end of the compartment and then both sit on opposite seats from each other and put our legs on the other seat- we could sleep pretty well and it would make it pretty hard for anyone to steal our stuff. They’d have to crawl over both of our legs to do so. It was sort of annoying that the compartment didn’t have curtains- less privacy- all of the passengers passing by (and they did so frequently, more often than not to take a smoke in the passageway) always took a long look inside, and the light was bothersome.

I slept well until- I’m not sure, then I started to watch for the border. I had thought that the train ride would take 11 hours or so. Boy, was I wrong- it was over 20 hours long. So here I was, expecting to arrive at the border anytime when we were barely halfway there. It’s funnier now. So I didn’t sleep much. The last stop before the border (perhaps an hour or two before it) was a long stop, but we had no way of knowing how long it would be- also, there was an ATM there but I didn’t see it until we pulled out. Neither of us got out, for fear of missing the train.

Hmm, the story gets interesting soon. Robyn and I both have NO cash, and at the border (they require Americans to buy a visa—can’t be bought ahead of time, only at the border). We had no way of obtaining any cash, and figured the border would have at least an ATM machine. So, we arrived at the border, got out, got in line, were told we were in the wrong line and had to get in another line to get a visa before coming back to the first line and getting our passport stamped. We found out they had no ATM’s and did not accept debit/credit. We were doomed. So we decided to just sit in our compartment. We were resigned to being held up in customs or whatever else could happen.

I decided that I wanted to record the feeling in the moment and wrote in my journal, even while the police/workers came in and asked for our passports. When we didn’t have a stamp some people in our car were really nice- they tried to help us, direct us to the visa line, etc. We tried to explain that we had no way of paying for the visa. Finally, I took out my debit card and showed them the visa sign- made the gesture for no money. They caught on and understood that we had no cash. All were really nice. We were ushered off of the train with just what we had on us- EVERYTHING else- our cameras, backpacks, etc. were on the train, which could leave without us, for all we know. A worker/police officer (not sure which) apparently stayed behind to watch our stuff (which I didn’t find out until late, and would’ve given me more peace of mind).

A Border police officer led us to his car, and sped us along the to the nearest ATM, through a clogged toll area near the train station. He went perhaps 100, 200 kilometers. Sometimes we got held up. He didn’t seem to have much pull on the streets- the car had no lights or sirens. It could be because he’s just a border policeman- I really have no idea but he was really nice to take us to an ATM. We got out and ran to an ATM. We had no idea what the exchange rate was for the Lei- no idea at all about what it was worth. So Robyn withdrew 600 Lei’s (Later we found out this was a lot of money- ouch) and we got back in. We were hoping the train hadn’t left, ran when we arrived. The visa man (who hadn’t seemed so friendly or helpful before) was waiting near the train, far from his booth, with the visas- great of him. Then a border policeman got our passports stamped, we thanked everyone, and ran to our car, passing almost every other car on the train. (I wonder what everyone thought). We thanked the people on the car, the officer watching our things. Not a minute after we sat down, the train started moving- the Turkish border police had held up a whole train for perhaps 30 minutes for us! And thus we entered Turkey with a bang. After this I had no qualms about the Turkish hospitality I had heard about but had been reluctant to trust. I was not proven wrong about this during our whole stay in Istanbul- I do miss that aspect of life in Turkey.

The Turkish sunrise, just after our Turkish border crossing.
Picture taken by Robyn Girard

Whew! After the train had been moving for awhile, Robyn and I still couldn’t say anything more than ‘wow!’, not believing it had happened and how fortunate we were to make it through none the worse for the experience (with the exception of being $445 down, as we were to find out later). I realized after that, that I had judged the people in our car too much- after the border crossing, I smiled at them whenever they passed by, and they smiled back. That was an amazing ride, but I never want to go through that again! Moral: ALWAYS have cash! At least 20 Euros is best, in my opinion. And be cautious, but not to the point where you think everyone’s a potential thief - you find friends (allies) in the most unexpected places.

The Haggia Sophia, a magnificent mosque turned musem in Istanbul, Turkey on the same day of our narrow border crossing.
Picture taken by Robyn Girard

Robyn and I inside the Haggia Sophia
Picture taken by Robyn Girard