BSZ→ IST → MRS.

I don’t get much sleep the night of my flight. It’s departing at 0555 and I’m afraid of oversleeping.

I spend the day running last minute errands, replacing my screen protector, check out one or two cafes I haven’t had the chance to frequent. At one, I order a hot bibimbap. It’s tasty and I sent a photo to Kimmy. I imagine him laughing over the fact that I’ve chosen a Korean meal as my last before leaving Kyrgyzstan.

I ask Natan and Aelita if they’d like my hiking poles. They don’t collapse down quite enough and won’t fit in my pack. Natan replies first; she’s off on a hike. I arrange to meet him for coffee to hand them over. He tells me he’ll pass them on to Aelita when he leaves.

By 23h I’ve finished packing, taken out the trash, showered. I decide to sleep for a few hours, setting alarms for 0130, 0145, and 0200. I plan to hire a Yandex around 0230 to arrive at the airport around 03h.

I sleep the entire way to the airport; the driver has to wake me up when we arrive. I forget that there’s construction and I have to walk the remainder of the way to the entrance from a turnoff a hundred meters or so from the airport itself.

The check-in desks aren’t yet open and I find a spot to wait beneath a set of monitors so I’ll know exactly when they do. I spot a few people lined up before some empty counters before me, and then a few agents wearing the grey Turkish Airlines livery before them. I get in line.

There are large groups of men wearing white cotton robes and sandals spread throughout the airport. I imagine they’re headed to Mecca, wearing Ihram for the Hajj. There’s a flight to Dubai leaving shortly before mine, but they don’t seem to be scheduled on that and I wonder if there are chartered flights just for this purpose. There’s our flight to Istanbul and a Pegasus to the same; none of the other flights seem headed anywhere near the area.

I don’t end up finding out. Our flight is called and I board quickly, eager to sit and to fall asleep.

In Istanbul I’m lucky to be let into the lounge some five hours before I’m to depart. It’s a huge lounge, with many areas and it’s mostly empty. I find a spot in a quiet corner and pick up breakfast before settling down to write. By the time lunch rolls around I’ve finished the second entry on our horse trek to Song Kul. I pick up lunch and then do my best to nap for an hour or so before walking to my gate.

Instead of sleeping I stay up to watch Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, drawn in by the prologue and the way in which it delves into the family relationships that form the core of the film. At times, the transitions remind me of Satoshi Kon’s Millenium Actress. It’s fantastic, easily justifying its lengthy runtime, and I love the way in which it arrives at its conclusion.

I am seated near the front and deplane quickly when we arrive in Marseille. I’m one of the first in line at immigration and after a cursory examination of my passport I am off to baggage claim. I’m exhausted and consider taking a cab, but the prices are almost double what I had told myself I was willing to pay.

I decide to take the bus to the subway; fortunately, the bus to the center arrives shortly after I’ve purchased my ticket. Reaching Marseille Saint-Charles I step out of the station for my first look at the city, the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde perched on a hill overlooking Marseille. The sight reminds me of Rovinj, Crotia.

The metro is set up to allow me to tap my credit card at the gates to enter. It’s surprisingly quick and easy, and I am soon ensconced in my small apartment off the Place du Général-de-Gaulle.

The first thing I do is lie on the couch. It’s just a little too small to be completely comfortable, but I’m happy to be able to lay myself flat; it pulls out into a bed, but I’m too lazy to make the transformation. I feel I should take the time to walk around the area to get to know it a little better, but all I want to do is sleep. I take a shower to wash off the day of travel and start the laundry, setting an alarm in case I fall asleep so that I can take it out to dry. I fall asleep almost immediately.

The spin cycle wakes me and I am disoriented, uncertain of what the noise is and what it means. As soon as I realize what it is I’m back in the land of dreams.

The stillness wakes me again and I get up to unload the washing machine. It’s just before midnight in Marseille making it just before 0400 in Bishkek. I put out the light and sleep until morning. 🇫🇷