We travelled to a country with 30,000 Covid cases per day and 200 deaths per day, Turkey.
Australia may soon allow people to travel again, and I thought I would share our experiences of travelling during Covid.
We have travelled through Morocco, Tunisia, Austria, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey since February 2020.
Our first flight in over a year between Serbia and Turkey, and I wanted to share @Sally Schmidt and my experience.
Firstly leaving Serbia, where smoking is actively encouraged and taken almost to an Olympic sport, yes, the first photo is real.
We hired a local taxi (Mercedes, of course), total to the trip was $20 for a half-hour trip to the airport.
Checking in to our Air Serbia flight was a breeze, from drop off to having a coffee in the airport, through immigration, including duty-free shopping a world record 45-minutes, all with a simple Antigen test, cost $39 each. Our first COVID test required for moving to a new country, since March 2020 there has been no testing required to cross borders.
Our one and a half hour flight to Istanbul was a breeze, and at least 10% of flyers didn't wear a mask. We had a full catering service, including alcoholic beverages available.
Social distancing is not enforced at Istanbul airport immigration, and none of the customs officers wore masks, but of course, were behind glass.
A slow transfer into the city shared a ride with three beautiful Kenyan girls living in Switzerland off for a girls weekend away.
Istanbul is the thirteenth-largest city globally, with approximately 15+ million in population, and tourism is thriving.
Our impressions after the first two weeks of our three-month stay.
No police officer will rugby tackle you for not wearing a mask; they smile and say hello as you walk.
Ultimately it's your choice to wear a mask.
It's a blessing not being able to speak the language, giving you relief from the media.
A PCR test is often more than a week's wage (and not free) in the previously visited countries, so most people cannot get tested.
Life goes on, and by the way, we caught Covid (like most people back in Albania in February this year - perfect valentine gift to Sally).