Bad End Bad Beginning

I handed my VISA card to the Hotel manager to check out and for some reason his machine is not able to process the transaction. We both get into his car and drive the 4 Km to Samandag and I use the VISA at the ATM. It does not work. I ring the bank in Australia and am on the phone for 20 minutes without a solution. Luckily the lady in the bank before I left told me to take a normal card “just in case.” I said no but she ordered it anyway. I get to Antakia the main town to leave to Syria. It is 2 hours by taxi. The bus drops me at the local taxi pool. I am assigned a taxi and 10 minutes later we are off. This taxi driver was the absolute opposite of everyone I met here in Turkey. He was a pig of a man. There was no greeting, no eye contact and waving of his hands to indicate “get in the car.” He was impatient and aggressive. We had his “Friend” sit in the front and she was little better. They did not speak English and were going to make absolutely no effort too. They chain smoked the entire way. At the border crossing it is very complicated with 4 areas of processing. He did all the processing but when he needed my Passport each time he would say “Passport Passport Passport and have his hand out. Just a pig. I would have given him more than the passport if the trip was much longer. We get to the main street of Aleppo and he pulls over. It is very busy and cars are tooting and going around us.. It is not made for disembarking. He says aggressively Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo. I sit there in the back ignoring him and looking out the window. Which brings on a louder and more aggressive Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo? I look at him and still ignore him. He gets out of the front and opens my door and signals to get out with Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo. I asked “Are we here?”. Hotel? He waves his hands around. Hotel Hotel Hotel and as I look up I can see several hotel signs. He gets my backpack out of the back of the taxi and puts it on the footpath. I am on the footpath he is on the road. People are tooting him and there is general unhappiness with him by the other vehicles. For some unknown reason I could not find my wallet  I eventually did find it I gave him half the money in Syrian Pounds then wanted it back from him and paid him in Turkish coins. Just a pig.

From syria

I booked into a nice hotel. Sixty dollars a night. That is my room at the end of the hallway.

From syria

You will notice the light above the door way and the glass pane behind it. That light stays on all night and you can not turn it off. My room overlooks a laneway. The laneway has a night club in it and all night I am listening to Ali Babar and the wailers at full volume until 4.am in a bright room. I am grumpy.