Preface: It appears that I have fallen behind in my writings. It’s a shame really because I think of things that I should write in the moment and then forget. However, as I’m embracing slowish travel, sometimes I just don’t really do anything that is interesting to write about every day/week.

My last post was about my time in Greece. Since then I have been to Istanbul, Dubai, and (now) Sri Lanka. I was in Istanbul for about 10 days. My lasting impressions of Istanbul were:

• +: Istanbul was the first Muslim country I’ve been to. This is is a positive because it opened up some thoughts of what to expect as I continue east. To see all the impressive mosques, to hear the azan (call to prayer) in the streets, to talk to some Turks about religion, really made it a new experience for me.
• +: Istanbul receives many visitors per year, which makes it such that it is easy to converse, find stuff you need, etc
• -: Istanbul receives many visitors per year, which makes it very touristy in some parts.
• +: Istanbul is a huge city and there is much to see. I stepped on Asia for the first time. There are many old, old, buildings that leave you in awe. Oldest shopping area in the world, the Grand Bazaar, stuff like that.
• -: Istanbul is a huge city and the public transit is not well connected, I thought.
• –: Every shop owner harasses you to come in the store! The best defense that I can recommend is to walk with a purpose (like you are running an errand) but not in a hurry. This will bring the least amount of attention to yourself at risk of “missing” the finer details as you meander.

Let’s not joke anyone, Dubai was a skydiving trip, for sure. I spent 15 days in Dubai and made 30 jumps. It was a blast. I was at the dropzone most everyday and on the weather days, my generous hosts showed me around the city. I didn’t feel the need to take any pictures of the sites because, while impressive, they seemed too “fake” to me (outrageous, silly, etc). I went to the largest mall in the world, ate brunch in the shadow of the largest building in the world, largest aquarium, indoor ski hill in a desert, eventually it was just…meh. However, I will never forget “The Palm”

When deciding where to go onwards, as I knew I shouldn’t stay in Dubai too long (money matters, of course, I would spend my whole lot on fun and there is so much more to see). I ended up in Sri Lanka, because skyscanner told me there was a direct flight there on a budget airline. I don’t see the point in accepting layovers in my flight details at my pace. Then I found someone on HelpX that wanted an English teacher in exchange for accommodation. While I’m not a teacher, I am a native speaker, and that was acceptable at this level of classes. I did a week stint of that in a small village and now I’m relaxing at the beach…I’ll write more about Sri Lanka later and post pics, a fun photo so far:

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