Istanbul  Turkiye  September 26, 2026

Hello all. Later today, I will take the Metro which is the Istanbul subway to the airport, for the early morning flight tomorrow to Warsaw.     I must be there for 04;00, and the Metro stops around midnight. The option is a taxi, which is one hundred Canadian.

We have had  great weather here, and the forecast for Warsaw is sunny all  next week.....rain here. The area of my hotel here is in one of the oldest parts of the city...streets are   very narrow, poor sidewalks and a lot of potholes.  Yesterday, I saw a man in a wheelchair,,the first one I have ever seen here....thats how bad the traffic and streets are. 

I will do an update from Poland,  then after I return here for 6 days. At that time, I will do the shopping for those orders for sweets and such that I have to take home.

Take care                                           

                                        Hello from Istanbul, Turkiye

Hello all. I arrived here on Wednesday afternoon after a flight of nine hours and 23 Minutes. We were in an A-350-900 series aircraft that had 300 seats. There were several times that we had severe turbulence, however, all in all, it was an excellent flight. As I have stated before, Turkish Airlines is the longest, continuous  serving airline in the world, having started in 1933. Arrival procedures are very quick and simple. There are two sections for arriving passengers-  one for Turkish citizens and one for all others.

Passports were stamped with no questions asked.  Arriving passengers then proceed to the terminal exit, if you have something to declare, you go through Customs. If nothing to report...keep going.

My friends living here are three transit stops from the hotel. I met them for lunch Thursday, and will spend more  time there for the duration of my stay here. On the morning of September 27, I will fly over to Warsaw, Poland for 4 days. I then return here until October 6, when I depart for Montreal, again on Turkish Airlines.

I plan to do an update before heading to Warsaw.

 

                                                     Ottawa, September 14, 2026

Hello all. This will be short and will give an update. I have had a change in my schedule, and will be departing  Canada tomorrow,  at 8 P.M. from Montreal on Turkish Airlines.

Another major change is that my friends who moved to Turkiye five years ago as Residents have been informed that their Residency cards will Not be renewed. They were so upset that they could not tell me when or where they will move to. They are Canadian citizens, the mother originally from that area.

They have parents living as refugees in Denmark, and sisters in Briton.

My next update will be from Istanbul

Thank you

                                                  Ottawa, August 17, 2026

Hello Everyone. This update is much later than I expected, however we now have travel dates confirmed.

because of the situation in the middle east, it was not safe to book flights before knowing the political situation over there. Departure will be September 16. Will travel to Montreal Dorval by bus, the fly with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul and return 6 October. While it would be nice to make a short trip over to Lebanon, that will await until after arriving in Turkiye. It is one place I have wanted to see, and now that I have friends there, it becomes more inviting.  There is no Visa requirement for visitors from Canada to enter either Turkiye or Lebanon for stays of less that one month. With respect to Lebanon, one must not have a stamp from Israel in their Passport.

I will be making a quick trip to Warsaw on 27 September for 4 days. Since Poland is a member of the 27 Nation Block known as the Schengen Zone, I will need a Visa to go there. It is available online.

A friend will be making the flight to and from Istanbul with me, and undergoing major dental work for most of the time there. That is where their Dentist is located. (My dentist is located in Bangkok Thailand....Bangkok Smile).

On the subject of Dentists. When I go to Thailand, I get a dentist and their assistant, for what ever work I require for a full hour. The cost is 60 dollars Canadian. Several years ago, the Dentists in Canada and the Insurance companies agreed that only emergency dental out of Canada would be covered. When I heard that, I immediately cancelled my Canadian dental insurance.....so have many others.

I expect to do an update before departing on 16 September

                                             Ottawa, June 22, 2026

Hello All. I hope this finds you well. All is well with me, but I have decided not to travel to Turkiye at least until August. I have a good friend who is originally from Syria, who will travel with me, when it is safe to do so. It looked good for a few days, then Israel started bombing Lebanon again, and all plans were put on hold. The plan, when we can do so, is to take some time in Turkiye for dental and visit friends, then also visit her family  members in Syria and Lebanon.

I will be back with an update mid July, and we may have some travel dates by then. It will all depend on how peaceful it is in the region. Have a great summer...now that it has arrived.....yes, the year is half over. 

                                         Ottawa, June 1, 2026

Hello all. This is just a quick update. My trip to B.C. went very good, and I was able to see most family members there. 

I am looking at my next trip to be to Turkiye later this month. (my computer prefers the old spelling)

The rough plan at this time is to go over to Istanbul and stay in the area for about two weeks. My friends there will probably go to Denmark for the school summer holidays, and I will go before they do so. My little friend will be ten on 24 June, and I want to be there for that. Since I am not allowed to go without 20 Tim Bits, I now have those in the freezer. For those folks who may not know what a Tim Bit is; It is the hole made when they make Donuts. That dough is then cooked with various items sprinkled on them. The company doing so is...Tim Hortons.

I will do an update in about two weeks with the information on the Istanbul trip

Take care/Don 

                                                       Ottawa, April 29, 2026

Hello all. My week in Toronto got off to a bad start on April 20. I had purchased a Ticket in Business Plus which  I was assured would  be in car number 1, and on the left hand side of the car, facing forward.  Car number one would be at the front of all other passenger cars. I do not like rear facing seats on any mode of transportation.  This would have given me the opportunity to take photos of the scenery and that included lake Ontario as we passed by.

When I arrived at the Fallowfield Station that morning, I discovered that the assurance that I would get what I paid for was not going to happen. Car number 1 was at the rear of the car, and seat 11A was facing backwards. There were many unhappy riders that morning. We got into Toronto 45 minutes late, at the start of rush hour.

I took a taxi from Union Station to my hotel a few minutes from the Shouldice hospital where I would be having my Hernia surgery on the 23rd.

I checked into Shouldice at ten on the 23rd, and was there  4 nights.  Shouldice have been doing Hernia surgeries at that location for 81 years. One could not have had a better experience for a hospital stay. The staff are all just wonderful people that could not do enough for you. Quiet surroundings on a beautiful 23 acre property set in woods like a golf course, greenery all around. They serve three great meals and two Snacks each day.

When my appointment was confirmed almost two months before, I was given a check in time for 10 A.M. My surgery was set for ten the next day, and happened as scheduled. I was discharged at ten on April 26. I was picked up by family members and driven home to Ottawa. 

As of January 1, 2026, Shouldice come under the Ontario Medical plan, known as OHIP, and for Ontario residents, it is all covered under OHIP. This is for a common room with others. I paid the 325.00 per day and had the peace and quiet of a Semi-Private room. People from outside Ontario have different rates depending on their Provincial plan.

Due to severe medical conditions of family members in Dawson Creek, B.C., I will not be going to Thailand. I depart Ottawa May six, and return here on May 14. No travel plans yet beyond that time

Take care