Long Awaited Getaway, Turkey & Greece; Part 2 - Athens
On 6th of January, we had an early flight to Athens, Greece. At 6am, we were already waiting for our shuttles to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. From Istanbul, it should take around 45 minutes to 1 hour journey to reach Sabiha Airport. Our flight was initially scheduled at 9am but was delayed to 11am.
Pro-tip;
Delays are a norm in Sabiha Airport as it serves as an airport that offers low airfares to either Europe or it's own country. There are no proper seating areas, so bear in mind to sit at fast-food joints (if there are any seats) or by the corridor. The traffic was unbelievably high, please arrive at least 3 hours at this airport to avoid unnecessary anxiety while queuing at the security scan & immigration. BE SURE TO CONSTANTLY CHECK THE DEPARTURE BOARD for gates and delays.
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| Acropolis seen from Areopagus Hill. |
Around 12pm plus, alas we arrived Athens International Airport. From the airport, it took another 45 minutes to 1 hour for us to reach the city via train. Now, you might be tempted to not buy a ticket for the journey as the local never does. But being an obvious foreigner, why risk it? A return journey for one person took around 18 Euros and the ticket is valid for 24 hours. The city however, had a different fare. It depends on how many days you'll be in Athens, you could choose a single journey, returns, 24 hours, and many more. You can refer here for more information.
After checking in at the hotel, we only had a few hours left before it gets dark to enjoy the city. We stayed around Omonoia Square and it had ample halal restaurants in the area. After a quick late lunch, we set out to venture Athens.
Initially we wanted to enter the Acropolis, but we arrived at 4.50pm in the compound. Acropolis closes at 5pm, the lady guard denied our entry even though we could still see a few people inside :(
The only option left was to explore the compound. We walked past the main entry of Acropolis & stumbled upon an elevated path. Following the path, we eventually reach a spot to enjoy Acropolis where a lot of tourists & locals were enjoying the sunset. This spot also allows us to enjoy the sunset while overlooking the city.
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| Overlooking Athens... |
We were there for about 1 hour and we have absolutely zero idea where to go. So we decided to head to one of the main train station in Greece, Monastiraki - and enjoy what the square has to offer. Our decision was the best. It was our luck that on that particular day, there was a night street market & we got to enjoy some sweets before dinner.
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| Sweet treats of vanilla cookies ice cream with half chimney cake at Hans & Gretel |
Tip;
- Be extra careful of professional pickpockets here - they acted as they were tourists, taking photos beside us while we were busy (taking photos/paying/etc) and their accomplices rummaged our bags for valuables. Hate this. Luckily nothing is missing as we were quick to notice them.
After dinner, we returned to our hotel and enjoy some hot tea at our hotel's rooftop. Acropolis was clearly seen from our hotel and it looked grand. Hundreds or maybe thousands of years worth architecture. From Athens, our next destination was Santorini - which will be blogged in later post!
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| The Acropolis at night. Till then, bye Athens! |
- Flights ;
- Pegasus Airlines, Return (Istanbul Sabiha-Athens-Istanbul Sabiha), MYR1,402
- Accommodation ;
- Best Western Hotel, Athens (MYR157)
- Transportation ;
- Airport Transfers Istanbul-Sabiha Gokcen (10Euros/person)
- Athens Airport - City Centre for 24 hours pass (18 Euros/person)
- Athens city transport (allocate around 4-10Euros/person/day)
- Food ;
- Allocate 15-20Euros/person/day if you have big tummy as we do.
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