Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Travelling on Turkish long distance buses is one of the best things about living and working in Turkey. Turkish long distance carriers are clean, efficient, and provide very good service for the relatively cheap prices paid.......and if you compare Turkish standards with Greyhound - the North American carrier - Turkish buses win hands down!

Ghost occasionally uses Greyhound in the U.S. and Canada, and is always disappointed after remembering the Turkish bus experiences ......

In Turkey, all the little "side services" in the form of food, drinks and cleaning stuff, make the journeys quite pleasurable......but in North America no such service exists, and the buses are usually quite dirty, and often times broken down.....lights, and seats.....despite the high price paid ($186 return from Montreal-Boston)....

In Turkey, also, you will usually have a friendly Turk as your neighbor, who will offer you a piece of the sandwich his mother or wife carefully prepared....in North America, you will likely be sitting next to an ex.convict on parole, or a 300lb African American lady eating junk food and encroaching on your seat space......

In Turkey the bus drivers are unfailingly polite to "yabanciller" and ghost has been invited on a few occasions to partake of their meal at the rest stops without dishing out a single lira.....in North America if you are stuck in the toilet.at the rest stop...the bus will take off without you...no questions asked.

In Turkey, the frequent rest stops for meals and tea are a welcome break in the journey....and a chance to eat some real "slow food" - even though a bit more expensive.....in North America the "rest stops" are real dives, and the only stuff on sale is junk food and trash......

In North America, you have to really watch your belongings, and even the stuff you store in the baggage area is less safe than Turkey which uses a very efficient ticketing system.

Ghost has travelled on five continents worldwide, and Turkey comes out number one in comfort, efficiency, service and value for money.

ghost

[TeachEnglish]

You are right.. the buses here are great.. I think the best i have riden on so far is Boss bus line. they have 2 big seats on one side and 1 big seat on the other side..and were quite reasonable. Try them sometime.

[Golightly]

I used to love those long night journeys on dusty roads under clear skies, with nothing else about except Istanbul drivers, crazed on coffee and pro-plus, trying to make it to Antalya in about 2 hours flat.
I always wondered about the little markets and stalls you could see in the middle of nowhere - a 24-hour watermelon stand, or long rows of neon-lit shops selling Pismaniye.

[scb222]

yes greyhound is a disgrace, and soooooo expensive!

[Otterman Ollie]

Makes you wonder why ghost still prefers any other country to his beloved Turkey . If this place has so much going for it ,why does one stay away so much ?

[dmb]

I hate to be a downer on this thread but one of our best friends was killed on a Metro bus coming back from Antalya last August. He was one of three killed in that particular crash.

Ask any Turk and they probably know of someone who has been killed on a long distance journey. Either in a car or a bus, but I bet a bus was involved and for what? To meet some crappy targets in time..... ie speeding. Buses are suppossed to be fitted with speedometers to stop them going too fast. Do they? No. Even if they were, the roads are such bad condition(unfinished loose asphalt surfaces) it wouldn't matter.

Metro bus company repatriated my friend's body back to the UK and gave his family compensation of 25,000 ytl. Is that all a young life is worth?

[ghost]

[yaramaz]

Is ghost aware that one can earn $123 (net) in 2 hours teaching privates, or in 3-4 hours teaching at one of the better dershanes or universities?

[howmucharefags]

I like 300 lb African American ladies.

I am curious as to know where Ghost intends to work in the U.A.E.