Last night I get into a brief yelling match with a taksi driver.

He wants to charge me 43 TL for a ride from Taksim and I make it very clear in tone and body language, he is not getting it. Unfortunately when it's late, past midnight, buses stop and the only option you have is the taksi. I've had them a few times so far - it's never been more than 12 TL.

So I hand him 12 TL. I get out of the car, walk straight to the dorm where my friends are outside and I tell them what's going on.

He's trying to rip me off plain and simple. The driver follows a minute later. The guys exchange words, calling his bluff and a little while later he leaves. We're safe at the dorm, it's gated all around and there are guards 24/7. Come to find out, the guys tell me this kind of thing happens all the time - the drivers know by the look and sound if you're a tourist and they jack up the fares intentionally.

But this proves a point about some of the life in Istanbul. You really have to be careful when it comes to buying things or requesting services. It's fair to say, and I think it's true of course of any major city, you come across the best and worst in people.

There's no avoiding the cliche time goes by so fast. Starting to think about how to wrap everything up, what is left to see, what gifts to get for the family, how to say goodbyes etc etc.

I'm not about to start getting all emotional but I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to these people. I can see it won't be easy. I've made some very very close friendships here.

Yesterday we visit the Asian side. The ferry is about 20 minutes. Not much going on to be honest. I read in the travel books about markets here and there but we were a large group and simply had some casual walks. It's less crowded here, more residential, much less tourists. We stopped by the water for drinks, went into town for dinner and afterward down by the sea for some photos and enjoying the sunset.

It was the Egyptian guys' last night. I'll miss them. We had good discussions. For some reason I make them laugh a lot, I guess something about my mannerisms, or maybe it's the whole American thing. We had fun.