Did I go on a solo trip to Istanbul and Budapest? Yes, yes I did.
Was it scary? Yes, yes it was.
But did I complete it? I actually did.
In all honesty, I’ve always felt safer bringing someone along for my trips, so I never really got a chance to travel alone. I thought since we should always do something that scares you… Let’s just do it!! I’ve never been to Istanbul or Budapest for that matter and navigating the transport there was actually something that gave me the most anxiety. Nevertheless, I actually…. did it? Ngl I’m very proud of myself for surviving this trip.
Let’s break it down a little, I spent a total of 9 days in Istanbul and Budapest (effectively 8 days if we account for the flight timings). Of which, 5 days was in Istanbul and 3 days in Budapest. I planned it such that I left my luggage in Istanbul during my short stint in Budapest because I didn’t want to lug around 8 days’ worth of baggage around. Basically, packed a duffel bag and boarded a flight to Budapest during that time. After which I returned to Istanbul for my last day before flying home from there.
Istanbul highlights include mosque hopping (The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia), designing Turkish Lamps and Water Marbling, day trip to Bursa and that’s pretty much it. Budapest was mostly sight-seeing and trying out their public thermal baths!!
Total damage per pax is est. 6K+. Flight is technically about SGD 3K but I redeemed using miles so that saved “sponsored” half of my trip expenses.
Expenses breakdown:
- Flight (SGD 3K+):
- Singapore Airline direct SGD $3K
- Budapest direct from IST SGD $300
- Accommodations (SGD $900+):
- Istanbul; Glamour Hotel Istanbul Sirkeci: SGD$750 for 9 nights
- Budapest; Das Nas Budapest: SGD $169 for 3 nights
- Activities (SGD $300+):
- Istanbul Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia tour: SGD $20
- Istanbul Turkish Lamp workshop: SGD $40
- Istanbul Turkish Water Marbling workshop: SGD $80
- Bursa day trip: SGD $52
- St. Stephen Basilica ticket: SGD $24
- Budapest 72hr Card: SGD $105
- E-sim from Eskimo (10GB): SGD $43 (Use promo code: <TNDS845> for additional 500GB Global data free)
- Food and Transport (SGD 2K); actually 1.5 K is comfortable, but I spent a little on treats and souvenirs so there’s a buffer
It’s supposed to be a rather chill trip since I prefer to be well rested during my holidays instead of rushing around. Anyhoo, here a summary of the itinerary:
- Day 0: Explore the Galata Bridge and Suleymaniye Mosque
- Day 1: The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
- Day 2: Bursa day trip
- Day 3: Explore Balat, Turkish Lamp design workshop
- Day 4: Transit to Budapest, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Széchenyi Chain Bridge
- Day 5: Explore the Parliament Building, Fisherman’s Bastion
- Day 6: Explore the House of Terror, St. Gellert’s Thermal Bath
- Day 7: Transit back to Istanbul, Turkish Water Marbling workshop
- Day 8: Home
Day 0: Check-in and R&R
Checked-in at 11am upon landing at Istanbul Airport; I actually arranged for hotel transfer, and it costs me 50 euros. That’s almost 80 SGD which is…. steep? Idk the ride was about 40 minutes but there was ample space in the van for just….me. Amazing. Note to self, look for cheaper transport alternative when I go home.
Settled into my room at Glamour Hotel and off we go to explore the vicinity. Oh, the weather was chilly like 11 degrees in the day and thank god I brought my new wool co-ord set this trip else I would not have enjoyed this trip as much. The area I stayed at was very near a tram station which is great but also, I could hear the tram bells from my room so there’s that.
Grabbed a quick lunch at the restaurant just right on top of my hotel and I started exploring the area a bit. Here are some snapshots of the streets that I took with my Canon G5XII:
Fun fact, I found out that “Deniz” derives from the Ottoman Turkish word “deñiz” (meaning “sea”), which itself comes from Proto-Turkic *teŋiŕ, a word related to the concept of “sea”. Oh. That’s new knowledge.
I found a park and a coastal area where there were plenty of people fishing. Ngl I’m very surprised at the sheer number of people fishing in Istanbul but then again, they are surrounded by the sea, so I guess it’s inevitable. Then, I explored further down the street and was greeted by the nearest mosque in the area which was the Suleymaniye Mosque. It is nestled just right in from of the tram station and when evening came, the lights lit it up and it’s just really pretty.
Down the street, the Galata bridge is overlooking the most gorgeous sunset I’ve ever seen. The orangey hues were honestly out of the world. No wonder the fishermen loved to fish along the bridge, the views was sickeningly beautiful I swear. I can totally see why so many couples and tourists come here. Ended the day strolling down the bridge and went back to rest for the mosque visit the next day.
Day 1: The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
Signed up for a half day tour specializing in visits to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia and the weather couldn’t give us a break. It rained pretty much the whole afternoon, and I was about to braved through the weather without buying any of those overpriced umbrellas the nearby vendors were selling.
We visited the Blue Mosque first and the interior was a myriad of whites and blues. There were so many people that I could barely take a nice photo in there I guess everyone is excited to see this mosque too. Next, we walked to Hagia Sophia where we queued for quite a while before finally entering the mosque. The interior of Hagia Sophia is much darker compared to Blue Mosque but the inscriptions were the main defining feature of the mosque. They were gold wordings all around and it was really eye-opening for me especially since it’s my first time stepping into mosques in general. That’s basically how I spent half a day visiting mosques.
By the end of the tour, I was exhausted, drenched and famished. Grabbed a meal at a nearby restaurant and headed back to rest before checking out the sunset that day. The sunsets on Galata bridge are to die for istg. I loved every moment of it.
Day 2: Bursa and Uludag day trip
Booked a day trip to Bursa and was pleasantly surprised that we will be going on a ship to reach our destination. The weather was still rainy and cold and I was so underdressed that it was damn cold for me. Thankfully, I managed to seek refuge at the ship’s canteen and coach whenever the cold was too much. Our coach took the ship with us on the way to Bursa which was about a 30-minute ride, and we continued our journey to the outskirts of Turkey, Bursa.
Our coach made a couple of pit-stops along the way and one of them was ATV rides for SGD $50? I felt it was much at first but after seeing so many people eat it up, I thought why not. So, I asked one guy who was sitting across from me in the coach to take the ATV with me and he said let’s do it.
Turns out, he is actually from Pakistan and turning 28 years old this year and fun fact he’s an air sign, Sagittarius!! We chatted a little during the ride where he was driving and afterwards, we were told to make a pit-stop to do an impromptu photo opt just so they can sell us photos of the pictures they took. We obliged and posed for them (probably the most aggressive photographers I’ve ever worked with LOL), but we decided against making the purchases because it wasn’t really worth it.
Since he was from Pakistan, I asked him what Pakistan was famous for hoping to get some attractions but he replied, “Terror!st” and we both dead assed laughed so hard HAHAHA
On our way back, I took the wheel instead and I was having fun dodging the muddy potholes in the terrain we were driving in. However, since both of us wore white, our shirts ended with splatters of mud and that was a bummer for sure.
After the ATV ride, they made quite a few more stops to do shopping and finally we reached Uludag where we rode a cable car down the hill. The view from the cable car was, “from a Microsoft wallpaper” as we saw so many tiny Turkish houses all clustered together like Lego pieces. After a long day, we headed back to Istanbul and by then it was already 10pm. I ordered a chicken kebab from the stall near the hotel and fell asleep soon after.
Here’s a reel to show for the ordeal in the ATV for memories’ sake:
Day 3: Balat, Turkish Lamp design workshop
This was supposed to be a free and easy day so I started out by wanting to check out Balat since I saw some really aesthetic photos from the internet. Fun fact, there was a guy who was working at the tram station who randomly approached me and asked for my IG. I mean man got balls I guess. Ok focus!! The photos I wanted to take in Balat was cordoned off and required tourists to pay a fee just to enter and take photos. I said hell no and decided to just go shopping instead.
Funnily enough, after I finished shopping, I walked into a random alleyway and there I saw a replica of the umbrellas in Balat but free of charge!! Took that opportunity to snap some quick photos before we went for the Turkish Lamp design workshop.
Actually, I only signed up for Water Marbling but unfortunately the instructor was not around that day so I asked if I could try out any other workshops instead. They told me I can consider the Turkish Lamp design workshop and so I did.
Spent almost 2 hours there designing and glueing the pieces onto my lamp and we also get to bring home the lamps we designed!! Overall, I had a great time, and they were so friendly and offered us tea and snack whilst we were working on our works. After the workshop, I grabbed a quick dinner and as usual caught the sunset before heading back to pack up for Budapest the next day.
Here’s a short reel to summarize the Turkish Lamp design workshop:
Day 4: Transit to Budapest, St. Stephen’s Basilica,
Széchenyi Chain Bridge
I planned to take a short flight from Istanbul to Budapest to spend 3 days there and I decided to just pack the essentials into a duffel bag instead of lugging the whole luggage around. I wished the duffel bag had wheels though.
My flight for Budapest was actually at 9am but I wanted to save some money so I booked the airport shuttle from the hotel at 530AM. Luckily, I arrived so early at the airport because I had a little hiccup when checking into my flight. Apparently, I have to check in ONLINE 24 hours prior the flight else they wouldn’t have a seat for me. Thankfully, I arrived early and there was airport services at Istanbul airport so I managed to pay a small fee and check-in for my flight to Budapest. Ngl lugging around my duffel bag was rather troublesome but hey I managed to pull through the entire 2-hour flight.
Upon arrival, I picked up my 72-hr Budapest card from the IBIS hotel located right next to the airport and hailed a cab to check into my hotel. I loved how Budapest is so convenient, I could pay everything with WISE even the cabs. It’s pretty great. I literally didn’t need any Hungarian Forint at all.
I booked a private room in a hostel near the city area and it’s quite memorable for sure. The lift to the hostel was super old school and honestly it looks like its out of a horror film if there were no light sensors in the building. My room was right next to the entrance istg that the walls are so thin that I barely slept much for the 3 nights that I was there. Also, I didn’t know that tap water in Budapest was drinkable and I looked kind of stupid when I asked the hostel staff if there was water available there.
After checking in, I explored the vicinity on my own and almost forgot that I booked a visit to St. Stephen’s Basilica that day. Luckily, I remembered and managed to get in in the last hours right before they close.
St. Stephen’s Basilica’s interior was amazing istg…the sheer magnificence of the place really blew my mind.
When the organist started playing the organ. Wow. I was so amazed. I stayed till they closed and went to visit the Széchenyi Chain Bridge located nearby and the bridge looks like it is out of a movie? Very impressive indeed.
Ngl when I was in Budapest, I was really amazed by the various types of transportation they had. The trams shared the samepavement as cars, motorbikes and pesdetrians which is quite cool. First meal in Budapest was a bowl of vietnamese beef pho because it was right outside my hotel HAHAHA. I was quite surprised at how many Vietnamese restaurants there are there. I suppose Hungarians loved asian foods too.
Day 5: Parliament Building, Fisherman’s Bastion
I didn’t have much planned for Budapest, so I decided to visit some of the main attractions there like the Parliament Building and the Fisherman’s Bastion. Since I got the Budapest Card, all the transportation there is free be it bus, metro or trams. Google maps was such a great help in navigating through the city istg. Weather in Budapest was warmer than Istanbul which was great, but it rained quite a lot those few days which was a bummer): Ended up spending more time in my room than exploring that day. Oh, wanted to catch the sunset but the skies were way to gloomy to see anything. Such a shame.
Day 6: House of Terror, St. Gellert’s Thermal Bath
I remembered studying about the history of World War II where Austria Hungary was invaded by the Nazis so I reckon it would be nice to check out some of the museums in Hungary. I visited the “House of Terror” where they shared about what happened to Hungarians during the war and it’s quite interesting actually. I felt a little sad for the victims when they told their stories in the clips, but the past is in the past I suppose. Spent the afternoon there and decided to have Asian food for lunch. I guess I was starting to miss Asian food already HAHA.
Next, I checked out the Lucas’s Thermal Bath which was supposed to be free entry for Budapest card holders. Went in and holy sht there’s so many old folks there I felt so weird so I changed my mind and left. Rested a little in my hotel and didn’t want to waste the day away so I decided to try to go to another thermal bath, Gellert’s Thermal Bath!! It was raining but I reckon it would be indoors and besides; a thermal bath sounds good in a rainy day.
Took the tram there and paid for my entry (this was not free). Went in and found a locker to put my stuff, changed into my swimsuit and went to soak in the pools with my fellow Hungarian homies. Ngl I got quite a few weird looks simply cause I was one of the few Asians there, but I shrugged it off. After soaking in the pools, there were sauna rooms so I went to try them out. I opened the door, and I was looking 3 ladies staring back at me. I got taken aback a little so I quickly closed the door. Hyped myself and opened the sauna door again and all the ladies laughed LOL. A group of boys also came in after and we sat in the room for 5minutes? It was HOT. I was partly worried my contacts might melt Jesus. The boy decided to leave at the 5 minute mark and I followed them out too. Phew.
It was time to leave, and I literally forgot what my locker number was wtf. After 2 tries, I managed to find it thank god. There were really a lot of lockers there. Grabbed my stuff and changed back out before leaving for dinner. When I stepped out the place, it was still raining sigh. Had dinner before going back to pack up for my return flight to Istanbul.
Day 7: Transit back to Istanbul, Turkish Water Marbling workshop
My flight back to Istanbul was at 5am so I checked out early at 1am before taking the airport shuttle which was a 10-minute walk from my hostel. Lugging my duffel bag and backpack for a 10-minute walk was tiring but I was pleasantly surprised at how the city never sleeps. It was 1am and the restaurants were still flooded with people drinking? The walk to bus stop was also pretty safe. Budapest is really safe imo, I was afraid that I might get robbed at 1am but it’s honestly okay and safe LOL.
Oh, I made sure to check-in online prior my flight this time so the flight back was quite smooth. Actually I arrived too early for my flight and for some reason there are no chairs in the waiting area in Budapest airport so I ended up sitting on the floor waiting for time to pass. By then I was beyond exhausted since I didn’t get any sleep the day before.
Landed in Istanbul at 830am and I called taxi to get to my hotel. Collapsed on my bed and fell asleep for 3 hours before prepping to go for my Water Marbling workshop at 3pm. Yes, this is the workshop which I was supposed to have initially but the instructor was not free so it got postponed to Saturday instead. Anyway, the session was super fun and the instructor was actually a geneticist. This is one of her side hustles and I found that quite intriguing.
There was also another instructor there (oops I forgot his name) but he was also very friendly. In fact, we had a nice chat whilst we were waiting for the artworks to dry. Apparently, the income tax in Turkey is up to 60% and its corrupted in the sense that a lot of the merchants there just mark up their prices as much they like. He shared that Istanbul 3 years ago was much cheaper but over the past few years, it got really expensive. Also, he recommended me to check out one of the parks for tulips and I actually went there to find that the tulips are dead pfft. I guess the flowering season has just passed and I missed it):
Here’s a reel for the Turkish Water Marbling workshop too:
Day 8: Home
Alas it was time to go home. I woke up slightly earlier to do some last-minute souvenir shopping before I hopped onto the airport shuttle for the flight home. While waiting for the car, my hotel staff offered me tea which was really nice. My cynical side says that they are being nice to get good reviews, but I honestly think during my time here in Turkey, the people here are really nice and warm. I’m well aware that pretty privilege is a thing, but I’ve met really kind and nice people here and I enjoyed every minute I was there.
Conclusion
To sum this trip up, I’ve got to say I really enjoyed having the freedom to do whatever and whenever I want but that’s basically me on every trip. The only difference was that this time, I was alone and there’s no back-up which sounds scary at first but in Istanbul and Budapest, I managed to get around pretty well. This wouldn’t be the last solo trip for sure but I’m glad I did it because I overcame a lot of self-doubt and overcame my fear and anxiety. Ngl I do still think it’s more fun to bring someone along on these adventures but it’s also equally important to find people you are comfortable to travel with because it can really make or break the trip. That said, I shall start planning where to go next!! Perhaps finally….China. China China China HAHAHA
Thanks for reading and I hope you got some insights from this trip!!
Lots of Love,
D
theniecextn. 
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