Wiebe Wakker Profile picture
Jan 6, 2022 10 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Good morning. It’s day 4 and I’m in Istanbul. Starting with a delicious Turkish breakfast. Cheese pide and menemeh
Just crossed the Bosphorus Bridge. I’m really in Asia now
At Sogutlucesme Railway Station now. Airport Security style check at the entrance.
Boarding the @TCDDTasimacilik Istanbul - Ankara Yuksek Hizli Tren (YHT) high speed train build by Siemens.
This line started operating in 2009 and should bring me to the destination in 4h 15 mins at 250km/h.
Boarded the YHT. I’m “flying” business class. Something I never do in Europe because I find it too expensive and 2nd is totally fine for me.
This one only cost €9 so I treated myself. Comes with Turkish movies and music in media system. Very enjoyable. No wifi though.
They even have “cabin crew” who are offering free drinks, cookies and headphones. I am really enjoying this experience so far.
It’s been going really fast. The top speed I measured was 261km/h. Not far from Ankara now
Arrived at Ankara Gar. Very modern station. Ride went smooth.
Tonight I’m staying at this very nice looking and fancy hotel in Ankara. Believe it or not, this cost me €1 more than last nights budget hostel in Istanbul: €18
A few weeks ago I announced my trip on LinkedIn. This guy Hilmi saw that and told me that he wanted to welcome me to Ankara. So we did and had a fun night out. Travelling alone can be lonely sometimes so things like this are priceless.

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More from @WiebeWkkr

Jan 18
Just jumped off the Mauritanian Iron Ore train and what an epic ride it’s been. It all started two weeks ago with my Interrail adventure from the Netherlands, a journey that now seems worlds away compared to the raw and rugged experience I've just had. Image
In Mauritania, iron ore is a lifeline, accounting for half of the nation's exports. Every day 3 of these colossal trains leave from the mining town Zouerat to the port of Nouadhibou.
The journey of 704km takes 17 hours and the trains are huge. They can be up to 3km in length and each train carries 17,000 tons of ore, enough to build an Eiffel Tower. Making them among the longest and heaviest trains in the world.

Read 10 tweets
Jan 2
HNY!
I'm starting 2024 with a new adventure: taking the train from Netherlands to Mauritania to hop on the Iron Ore train, a long ride straight through the Sahara. With my @Interrail pass in hand I will travel through southern Europe and Morocco. #interrail #GoOneStopFurther Image
This is the route of my trip. It will take me about 14 days to reach Zouerat, the starting point of the "Sahara Express."
Doing 1 overnighter in Barcelona, a few stops in Morocco to enjoy the country and finally exploring Mauritania. Going back in the same way. Image
For more info on the Mauritanian Iron Ore Train I highly recommend this excellent film: vimeo.com/225516052
Read 14 tweets
Feb 19, 2022
Preparing the return home Dubai - Amsterdam. Completely without flying. Majority by train, some parts by bus. Iran has some beautiful train rides, unfortunately they were mostly sold out.
This time will do Istanbul - Bucharest by train instead of the bus.
I was supposed to leave last Thursday, because of bad weather the ferry from Dubai to Iran got postponed until this Monday and today I heard it won't be before Wednesday. Should be home around March 10.
For the people who are just joining in. On the 3rd of Jan I left Amsterdam for Dubai. Wanted to do the route basically as shown above but because Omicron I couldn't enter Iran and had to divert via the Arabian Peninsula. Which was very interesting, adventurous and enjoyable
Read 4 tweets
Jan 18, 2022
Had fun sharing my earlier adventure and lessons today at the WFES. For the ones who recently started following me: here's a thread about what I did before.

A few years ago I challenged myself to drive without money and in an electric car from the Netherlands to Australia.
To make it to Sydney I asked people to "Plug Me In" with energy. On my website plugmeinproject.com people could select their location and offer me a meal, place to sleep or electricity for the car.
Thousands of strangers signed up and so the route of the journey was determined. I travelled from plug to plug. From the Netherlands to Italy, from Italy to the Northcape and down again via Russia and eastern Europe.
People started to call me the "Forrest Gump of Automotive."
Read 14 tweets
Jan 16, 2022
Day 14. My hotel offered a late check out. I took some quality time for myself and prepared my talk. It’s only 2 days until I’m speaking at ADSW. There is no public transport in Riyadh. You really need a car here. I walked around in my area. Can really enjoy Arabian architecture Image
Loving these Arab toilet signs ImageImage
I’m at the bus terminal for my ride to Abu Dhabi. Trying to find the right platform. Image
Read 15 tweets
Jan 13, 2022
Day 11. In my original plan, I would arrive in Dubai on day 10. I prepared less for plan B, meaning from today I have to wear my underwear inside out. Yes, you're getting all the details.
Now getting ready for the bus Amman - Hail (Saudi Arabia). Step for step I'm getting there.
Waiting for the bus to depart. I’m travelling on the famous German ‘Nichtraucherbus’
Funny, the girl who sold my ticket yesterday just came to me to thank me. Apparently she was on trial and her manager saw her speaking English with me yesterday and that got her the job.
Read 11 tweets

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