Oh dear, I really hope your stay in Van will make the trip worth it for you two. Not being able to buy coffee on such a long train trip doesn’t seem like fun. You both seem a lot more positive than I would have been. I also believe this is the first time I’ve seen Gordon without a baseball cap :-) Have you considered doing an AMA video ? Maybe subscribers can ask questions like: - How did you two meet ? - What kind of jobs did you have back in Australia ? - Do you regret embarking on this world wide trip amidst a global pandemic ? - What are the best/worst moments during your trip ? ( I think I just saw the worst :-) ) Keep up the nice video's ! (After a well deserved rest after that trip).
Greetings Bookshelf! It sure was, we had to try and stay positive for the camera LOL! I think you might be right, Hannah cut my hair and I was interested to see what everyone thought about it haha. That is an awesome idea. We haven't thought about doing one but maybe when our channel grows a bit more we could make one. We have taken a screenshot of your questions so when we eventually make one we will answer yours first. Thanks for the idea and we appreciate your support! :)
These train services made their first voyage in 1950. It is working to be nostalgic now. Teenagers use it for fun with their friends. If you knew this, you wouldn't have expected so much. :)
Hello Erden. These trains definitely looked quite old but they were pretty nice inside considering their age and price for a ticket. Didn't see many teenagers on our train it was mostly families. It was still a very good experience just very long lol :)
this may sound awkward. however, if you are desperate to drink or eat in Turkey, tell someone. they will get you something. you can either pay back at a later time, or think of it as a pay forward thing. you do the same to someone else at a later time.
Thanks for letting us know Cem! Yes Turkish people are very kind so we will do this next time. I like the pay forward idea, we will need to do this! :)
You have chosen one of the most beautiful train routes. This route looks beautiful in all seasons, the hardest journey is more beautiful in winter. I would recommend Güney Express for your next train journey.💯
Such an awesome view of Ankara..train journey...wonderful experience dear... Both of you ....lovely cute n fantastic...nice sharing ...love you both always🙏🙏❤️❤️
Just a heads up guys, keep an eye out for the Lake Van Monster 😂 Its a shame you guys didnt know but many passengers order takeaway (kebabs/lahmacun, etc) which they deliver to the platform, you just have to rush out and find your delivery guy 😉. Its a journey a lot of students take part of, think schoolies here in Aus and its pretty much the same thing but more tame. One last piece of advice, its akways best to carry some cash with you in Turkey or you will be in a situation like you guys were. Some Travel suggestions are perhaps head down to Gaziantep and try some of their Baklava, or maybe head up towards the Black Sea coast and try to meet up with Chris and Marianne (TREAD the globe) 😉
Lol we sure will! That is awesome, thanks for letting us know. We will keep this in mind next time we find ourselves on a sleeper train. Yeah we will try to keep more cash on us. We often only keep enough on us for a meal or taxi and end up running out. Thanks for your help, we really appreciate the support! :)
No wifi or money but the views are free! At least looks like you had a great time enjoying the cup of tea. Hopefully you had a really good sleep when you arrived. The sigh at the end really told the story.
No WiFi, no money for coffee and only my SO for company during such a long trip in a confined space ?? No matter how nice and free the views are, one of us would probably end up murdered :-) Just kiddin' :-)
I dont know if anyone ever told you but i wanna say that we Turks pronounce the "Van" as exactly same the way you pronounce the word "one." Or like "vhan." Enjoy! BTW, i´ve worked in TCDD magazine as a writer before. That kind of trains are so old and traditional but upgraded as possible. That why so many cons. :)
Hello Roland, thank you for letting us know about the pronunciation. We appreciate it! Wow that is awesome, thank you so much for sharing. Overall the train was good, we just wish it didn't take so long lol! :)
This is a trip I've done a few times, and all the comments added by others - and yourselves - are good advice. At least you had a buffet car on the train - on my first trip I woke up in the morning expecting to get some breakfast, only to find there was no buffet on the train. The line from Elazig to Tatvan has been heavily rebuilt in recent years, due to the construction of hydro-electric dams. You can see in a couple of the shots towards the end of the video looking back along the train towards newly constructed bridges and viaducts in the distance. For anybody wanting to repeat this trip, I would advise breaking the journey in Tatvan, getting a hotel there overnight, then next morning instead of getting a minibus, use the ferry across lake Van. It may be slower, but it's a much nicer way to travel. Good luck with your onward travels, and thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching Jeff, wow! I take my hat off to you, I'm not sure we could go through that again lol. Appreciate you sharing the updates, we had no idea this has recently been upgraded. I agree, the mini bus from Tatvan to Van was very long, especially as it's a very small bus! Thanks for watching and sharing your experience! :)
@@hgworldtour I left Ankara on Wednesday around 10am, got to Tatvan on Thursday at 3pm. Then the boat across lake van took around 5 hours. On board the Iranian train in Van at 10pm. Arrived in Tehran quiet behind schedule around 1am on a Saturday.
Great video, but who doesn't take some cash with them just for emergencies, I even take cash here in England as not everyone takes cards it's common sense
You should have asked someone for 'doviz'!(exchange)Someone would have given you some Turkish lira!Perhaps,not the price as in a bank or a hotel,but at least you would have eaten something!
Nice Vlog and veeeery long ))but why you have only booked for this long Trainraid a Cabin with normal bed 1. Class than you have more space and and refrigerator etc...but maybe in this train it was not possible ? But maybe next time we can see a Vlog about your Turkish Barber experience ;)))) ?
Greetings! Do you like the longer vlogs? Still trying to figure out what everyone likes. We came back to Ankara and planned to head to the north of Turkey however that was sadly just as the floods hit. We weren't sure where to go but we found tickets on this train. All of 1st class was booked out and there was only 3 seats left in 2nd class. I think you need to book 1st class at least 3 weeks in advance, even on the Eastern Express. I did not know 1st class came with a fridge, that's awesome! Hannah cut my hair with some cheap clippers we found. I will grow my hair a bit longer and film my experience in a turkish barber. Hope you are well :)
Ohhh yesss , please make long videos 🙏🙏 … Again back in Ankara ? It was a short stay in Van ;) … but when you want go somewhere maybe you try to go to the west coast, beginnig from Ancient City Troy to Ayvalik /Cunda( Seaside town) and than Izmir and from there to Cesme / Alacati and than to Seferihisar/ Sigacik ( small seaside town very Cute) and than more south to Kusadasi with ancient city Ephesus than Bodrum than Datca( very nice place) than Fethiye with his Patara Beach and Dalyan the Turtle Beach … and the best town is than KAS what is a must sea and must feel town ;) Think at the west coast you will like it very much )) When you travel at west coast you can write me on insta for questions no problem ;)
Okay we will try to keep making longer ones. No we went back to Ankara after Eskişehir, we are still in Van! When the weather gets a bit cooler we will head down to the south and up to the West! Thank you we will definitely be in touch when that time comes! :)
I will be riding this route in late Oct. I have several questions that hopefully you can give me some advice on: Could I buy a ticket from Ankara to Tatvan but then get off at multiple stops for a day or two? Or should I buy a bunch of tickets for each segment of the route? That bed is going to kill me, I'm 198 cm (6 foot 6 inches) tall! You mentioned there were about 60-70 stops, are these all for just a few seconds or are any like 30-60 minutes? Could I book 2 spots in one of those 2 person cabins? I thought there was a ferry you could take from Tatvan to Van? I took a train from Mumbai to Kullu India which I think took about 30 hours so hopefully this is tolerable for me.
Sounds awesome! We will answer what we know for you :) - Don't think you can use the same ticket for different trains, you need to book a bed so that will be different with each train. So maybe buy a different ticket for each stop? - Gordon just fit in his bed and he's just 6ft so could be a bit squishy for you good luck! - Some stops were short and some were a bit longer max 30 mins I think. I think it also got delayed on some stops too but not sure which one - Yes you book 2 spots in the one cabin, depending how busy it is! - Not sure on the ferry, we thought the bus was easier as it was already the station we didn't book (because we missed our booked one) so was easy to jump on and they take you straight to Van, Hopefully we answered some of your questions, let us know if you have any more, Enjoy your ride despite the long time on a train it was still amazing with all the views, remember to take cash with you too!
Pros and cons for a 10$ train ticket,🤔 how much this same journey would cost in Australia? More importantly would the Australian people be so friendly and welcoming like the Turkish people? How a Turkish couple where a woman wearing her hejab backpacking through Australia would be treated, would Australia be even safe for Muslim?
Asking on behalf of my granddaughter, a young Pakistani at her first semester at university in Ankara. Can she travel alone safely by train from Ankara to Van? Thanks!
@@riffatsalman7406 thanks for your question, my experience of Turkey is over 10 years old, your granddaughter would be best to say if it is safe for her. I'm sure many young Turks travel alone across Turkey for their work and studies insha'Allah all will be fine.
Hey Kaan! Thanks for watching. I wish they still served proper meals, that would have made the trip better. A beer would have made the trip go a little bit faster too! Lol :)
Oh dear, I really hope your stay in Van will make the trip worth it for you two. Not being able to buy coffee on such a long train trip doesn’t seem like fun. You both seem a lot more positive than I would have been.
I also believe this is the first time I’ve seen Gordon without a baseball cap :-)
Have you considered doing an AMA video ?
Maybe subscribers can ask questions like:
- How did you two meet ?
- What kind of jobs did you have back in Australia ?
- Do you regret embarking on this world wide trip amidst a global pandemic ?
- What are the best/worst moments during your trip ? ( I think I just saw the worst :-) )
Keep up the nice video's ! (After a well deserved rest after that trip).
Greetings Bookshelf! It sure was, we had to try and stay positive for the camera LOL!
I think you might be right, Hannah cut my hair and I was interested to see what everyone thought about it haha.
That is an awesome idea. We haven't thought about doing one but maybe when our channel grows a bit more we could make one. We have taken a screenshot of your questions so when we eventually make one we will answer yours first. Thanks for the idea and we appreciate your support! :)
These train services made their first voyage in 1950. It is working to be nostalgic now. Teenagers use it for fun with their friends. If you knew this, you wouldn't have expected so much. :)
Hello Erden. These trains definitely looked quite old but they were pretty nice inside considering their age and price for a ticket. Didn't see many teenagers on our train it was mostly families. It was still a very good experience just very long lol :)
this may sound awkward. however, if you are desperate to drink or eat in Turkey, tell someone. they will get you something. you can either pay back at a later time, or think of it as a pay forward thing. you do the same to someone else at a later time.
Thanks for letting us know Cem! Yes Turkish people are very kind so we will do this next time. I like the pay forward idea, we will need to do this! :)
you'll be traveling for 26 hours and you won't be taking any cash with you..this is a straight up adventure....
It sure was an adventure :)
30 hour train trip sounds brutal. That is a LONG trip but you survived it!!
It sure was! Thanks for watching! :)
Seems quite an experience. I hope that Van is worth the effort. Looking forward to the next adventure! 👍
Thanks guys, we appreciate it! :)
Amazing
Thank you! :)
@@hgworldtour You're welcome
What a crazy amount of time to spend on a train but looks fun! Great views along the way
Haha you're right about that Jake. One of the longest journeys ever, the views were nice though :)
You have chosen one of the most beautiful train routes. This route looks beautiful in all seasons, the hardest journey is more beautiful in winter. I would recommend Güney Express for your next train journey.💯
Greetings Adil! Beautiful scenery in a beautiful country! We will look up this Güney Express! :)
Oh dear!! Guys Golden rule always carry the cash🤷🏼♂️😂 keep up the good work stay safe👍😎
Yep we let out guard down on that one. Thanks Mark you too! :)
Big compliments to you, you are really cool adventurers👍👍
Thanks for the kind words guys, we appreciate the support! :)
I hope l live long enough to follow in your footsteps.
Well done and long life.
Thanks for watching and commenting :)
Such an awesome view of Ankara..train journey...wonderful experience dear... Both of you ....lovely cute n fantastic...nice sharing ...love you both always🙏🙏❤️❤️
Thanks Jyoti! We really appreciate the kind words! :)
Just a heads up guys, keep an eye out for the Lake Van Monster 😂
Its a shame you guys didnt know but many passengers order takeaway (kebabs/lahmacun, etc) which they deliver to the platform, you just have to rush out and find your delivery guy 😉. Its a journey a lot of students take part of, think schoolies here in Aus and its pretty much the same thing but more tame.
One last piece of advice, its akways best to carry some cash with you in Turkey or you will be in a situation like you guys were.
Some Travel suggestions are perhaps head down to Gaziantep and try some of their Baklava, or maybe head up towards the Black Sea coast and try to meet up with Chris and Marianne (TREAD the globe) 😉
Lol we sure will!
That is awesome, thanks for letting us know. We will keep this in mind next time we find ourselves on a sleeper train. Yeah we will try to keep more cash on us. We often only keep enough on us for a meal or taxi and end up running out. Thanks for your help, we really appreciate the support! :)
No wifi or money but the views are free! At least looks like you had a great time enjoying the cup of tea. Hopefully you had a really good sleep when you arrived. The sigh at the end really told the story.
Great way of looking at it, "the views are free" will keep this in mind next time! Glad we didn't edit out that sigh lol :)
No WiFi, no money for coffee and only my SO for company during such a long trip in a confined space ?? No matter how nice and free the views are, one of us would probably end up murdered :-)
Just kiddin' :-)
I learned a lot from this video. I'm gonna go to my hometown soon by Van Lake Express :)
Thanks for watching Emre glad this has helped you. Enjoy your trip! :)
Trust me I have been on a bus for 20 hours before much worse. Atleast you get a bed and there's food on board. Just need cash. Thanks for that part
Oh wow, I have no idea how you survived that bus ride! We once did a 6 hour bus ride and that was very hard! Thanks for sharing and watching! :)
You are so brave to keep rational in that ( prison ) situation for 30 hours without money , food and instructions to when it ends ...
Thanks for the kind words Ahmed! It got pretty tough but we tried to stay positive. Thanks for watching! :)
I dont know if anyone ever told you but i wanna say that we Turks pronounce the "Van" as exactly same the way you pronounce the word "one." Or like "vhan." Enjoy!
BTW, i´ve worked in TCDD magazine as a writer before. That kind of trains are so old and traditional but upgraded as possible. That why so many cons. :)
Hello Roland, thank you for letting us know about the pronunciation. We appreciate it!
Wow that is awesome, thank you so much for sharing. Overall the train was good, we just wish it didn't take so long lol! :)
This is a trip I've done a few times, and all the comments added by others - and yourselves - are good advice. At least you had a buffet car on the train - on my first trip I woke up in the morning expecting to get some breakfast, only to find there was no buffet on the train.
The line from Elazig to Tatvan has been heavily rebuilt in recent years, due to the construction of hydro-electric dams. You can see in a couple of the shots towards the end of the video looking back along the train towards newly constructed bridges and viaducts in the distance.
For anybody wanting to repeat this trip, I would advise breaking the journey in Tatvan, getting a hotel there overnight, then next morning instead of getting a minibus, use the ferry across lake Van. It may be slower, but it's a much nicer way to travel.
Good luck with your onward travels, and thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching Jeff, wow! I take my hat off to you, I'm not sure we could go through that again lol. Appreciate you sharing the updates, we had no idea this has recently been upgraded. I agree, the mini bus from Tatvan to Van was very long, especially as it's a very small bus! Thanks for watching and sharing your experience! :)
Nice Traveling
Thanks for watching Addie, appreciate it! :)
I took this train to Tatvan back in 2012 and went all the way to Tehran from Van. Its called the Trans Asian express
Thanks for sharing Martin, how long did that take?
@@hgworldtour I left Ankara on Wednesday around 10am, got to Tatvan on Thursday at 3pm. Then the boat across lake van took around 5 hours. On board the Iranian train in Van at 10pm. Arrived in Tehran quiet behind schedule around 1am on a Saturday.
I wish I could go to Iran, I'm American and Iran won't let in solo American travelers.
Nice vlogging guys 👍
Thanks for the kind words! :)
Great video, but who doesn't take some cash with them just for emergencies, I even take cash here in England as not everyone takes cards it's common sense
Thanks for watching! Haha it's definitely a lesson learnt!
Nice video
Thanks for watching Hamza! :D
@@hgworldtour you’re welcome
Great video guys .. I'll get there one day :)
Thanks for the kind words, hope you do!! :)
canım Türkiyem çok seviliyorsun çok
Love Turkey! :)
@@hgworldtour thanks bro
My city very good, very nice. I love city VAN
Is the train from Ankara still running? Some say it had been stopped due to Covid-19?
@@riffatsalman7406 why did you ask
@@riffatsalman7406 Is everything normal in Turkey now? restrictions removed. airplane bus train any means of travel possible
You should have asked someone for 'doviz'!(exchange)Someone would have given you some Turkish lira!Perhaps,not the price as in a bank or a hotel,but at least you would have eaten something!
Nice Vlog and veeeery long ))but why you have only booked for this long Trainraid a Cabin with normal bed 1. Class than you have more space and and refrigerator etc...but maybe in this train it was not possible ? But maybe next time we can see a Vlog about your Turkish Barber experience ;)))) ?
Greetings! Do you like the longer vlogs? Still trying to figure out what everyone likes. We came back to Ankara and planned to head to the north of Turkey however that was sadly just as the floods hit. We weren't sure where to go but we found tickets on this train. All of 1st class was booked out and there was only 3 seats left in 2nd class. I think you need to book 1st class at least 3 weeks in advance, even on the Eastern Express. I did not know 1st class came with a fridge, that's awesome! Hannah cut my hair with some cheap clippers we found. I will grow my hair a bit longer and film my experience in a turkish barber. Hope you are well :)
Ohhh yesss , please make long videos 🙏🙏 …
Again back in Ankara ? It was a short stay in Van ;) … but when you want go somewhere maybe you try to go to the west coast, beginnig from Ancient City Troy to Ayvalik /Cunda( Seaside town) and than Izmir and from there to Cesme / Alacati and than to Seferihisar/ Sigacik ( small seaside town very Cute) and than more south to Kusadasi with ancient city Ephesus than Bodrum than Datca( very nice place) than Fethiye with his Patara Beach and Dalyan the Turtle Beach … and the best town is than KAS what is a must sea and must feel town ;)
Think at the west coast you will like it very much ))
When you travel at west coast you can write me on insta for questions no problem ;)
Okay we will try to keep making longer ones. No we went back to Ankara after Eskişehir, we are still in Van! When the weather gets a bit cooler we will head down to the south and up to the West! Thank you we will definitely be in touch when that time comes! :)
u dont have to worry about food, u can ask any Turkish people to sharing food they can help u for free.
✌❤🇹🇷
Thanks for watching Mari 🇹🇷❤
I will be riding this route in late Oct. I have several questions that hopefully you can give me some advice on: Could I buy a ticket from Ankara to Tatvan but then get off at multiple stops for a day or two? Or should I buy a bunch of tickets for each segment of the route? That bed is going to kill me, I'm 198 cm (6 foot 6 inches) tall! You mentioned there were about 60-70 stops, are these all for just a few seconds or are any like 30-60 minutes? Could I book 2 spots in one of those 2 person cabins? I thought there was a ferry you could take from Tatvan to Van? I took a train from Mumbai to Kullu India which I think took about 30 hours so hopefully this is tolerable for me.
Sounds awesome! We will answer what we know for you :)
- Don't think you can use the same ticket for different trains, you need to book a bed so that will be different with each train. So maybe buy a different ticket for each stop?
- Gordon just fit in his bed and he's just 6ft so could be a bit squishy for you good luck!
- Some stops were short and some were a bit longer max 30 mins I think. I think it also got delayed on some stops too but not sure which one
- Yes you book 2 spots in the one cabin, depending how busy it is!
- Not sure on the ferry, we thought the bus was easier as it was already the station we didn't book (because we missed our booked one) so was easy to jump on and they take you straight to Van,
Hopefully we answered some of your questions, let us know if you have any more, Enjoy your ride despite the long time on a train it was still amazing with all the views, remember to take cash with you too!
Hey guys thanks for the cool blog :) we are from NZ and I’m trying to book this train, how do you book for a husband and wife?
Pros and cons for a 10$ train ticket,🤔 how much this same journey would cost in Australia? More importantly would the Australian people be so friendly and welcoming like the Turkish people? How a Turkish couple where a woman wearing her hejab backpacking through Australia would be treated, would Australia be even safe for Muslim?
Asking on behalf of my granddaughter, a young Pakistani at her first semester at university in Ankara. Can she travel alone safely by train from Ankara to Van? Thanks!
@@riffatsalman7406 thanks for your question, my experience of Turkey is over 10 years old, your granddaughter would be best to say if it is safe for her. I'm sure many young Turks travel alone across Turkey for their work and studies insha'Allah all will be fine.
Love Turkey 🇹🇷❤
They used to serve proper meals and alcohol as well in these trains, then it changed..
Hey Kaan! Thanks for watching. I wish they still served proper meals, that would have made the trip better. A beer would have made the trip go a little bit faster too! Lol :)
@@hgworldtour ahahahaha definitely
Are you from the land down under? :)
We sure are!! :)
It’s a train. Not the fairmont hotel. If you don’t like cramped space then you shouldn’t be traveling in a train
Fine with cramped spaces, just not for 30 hours.