Istanbul: The Unexpected Trip from Layover

This is a kind of trip that I have never thought of until a chance comes around. Basically, I got an internship in Tokyo, Japan, so I have to buy a flight to go there from Chicago. After looking up online, I realized that two cheapest airlines at that time to fly to Tokyo is Turkish Airways and Air Canada. Of course, when I saw an opportunity to visit a new country even just for a little bit, I grab that chance immediately. I picked Turkish Airways just because I can go to Istanbul without a visa during my layover. This trip is my first layover trip to a different country where I don't know the language or anything else about it. But it was a pretty fun trip overall, and I would love to do something like this again in the future.

The first thing that I encountered during the trip to Istanbul is turkish dessert. I have no idea what it is or what it tastes like. Just because I saw lots of people were eating it, I decided to try it as well. I later learned that it is call 'Churro' which is a sweet crispy donut-like dessert. I love it from the first bite. I still wish that I have a chance to eat it again some day. Sounds like it will be a good start for my journey here in Istanbul. I forget to tell that I have to struggle at the train station for a while to figure out the best way to come to the city. It is fairly easy just to take a train to the center of the city, but the token system got me confused. Basically, you need a new token for each train that you take. No free-transfer.

Turkish sweet Churros: Great Dessert