After very reluctantly getting off the boat, we headed off on another bus to make our way to Olympos. This trip just seemed to take forever - but I think we were both struggling with the shock of coming from the fab-ness of the boat to having to deal with transport and stuff again. Anyhow - by the time we got to Olympos (about 5.5 hours) we were knackered.
But oh - what bliss Olympos was! We stayed at Saban Pension and it was fantastic. The most chilled out, relaxed place I've stayed at. So again - not much to say really - we spent 3 very lazy days on the beach, and chilling out before/after dinner in the courtyard. The food was fantastic, the swimming was good, the posh sun loungers were lovely - nothing to complain about at all! Strolling through the ruins of Olympos to get to the beach...
One night we went up to the Chimaera which was seriously cool. Even coming from the volcanic NZ, I've never seen anything like this. Very odd to see flames coming straight out of the ground - and watching people blow them out and then just have them spontaneously re-ignite. Very very cool!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Before Lunch
We did the 3 night cruise with Before Lunch - who were great. They were recommended by Lonely Planet, but Mhairi had also found an article which gave them a good write up as well. There are so many boats and companies, but I was really happy with Before Lunch.
Not much to say about this really - it literally was 4 days cruising around, swimming when we were anchored, reading, sunning, drinking when we weren't. The food was amazing, and we were really lucky with our group as well - everyone got on really well - the ages ranged from 29 - 73! Our captain (Ahmet) wasn't in to the busy spots at all, so he did a great job of taking us places that didn't have hundreds of other boats parked up which was nice.
When we went to St Nicholas' Island, while we were off exploring it, he moved the boat to the other side of the bay as there were too many around us :-).
Highlights included:
Didn't like the sandflies tho - don't know what they did to me, but I really reacted to their bites. They weren't itchy, but I would swell up for about 24 hours after being bitten. So I particularly liked the two bites I got on either side of my head... (although I think only I noticed the lumps!)
Not much to say about this really - it literally was 4 days cruising around, swimming when we were anchored, reading, sunning, drinking when we weren't. The food was amazing, and we were really lucky with our group as well - everyone got on really well - the ages ranged from 29 - 73! Our captain (Ahmet) wasn't in to the busy spots at all, so he did a great job of taking us places that didn't have hundreds of other boats parked up which was nice.
When we went to St Nicholas' Island, while we were off exploring it, he moved the boat to the other side of the bay as there were too many around us :-).
Highlights included:
- Swimming off the boat. The water was so warm and so clear
- Having nothing to do, but lie around. Fantastic
- The trading boats that would come up and sell ice-creams or Gozleme (pancakes - often with banana and chocolate - yum!)
- The food - double yum!
Didn't like the sandflies tho - don't know what they did to me, but I really reacted to their bites. They weren't itchy, but I would swell up for about 24 hours after being bitten. So I particularly liked the two bites I got on either side of my head... (although I think only I noticed the lumps!)
Friday, September 25, 2009
The village of Kayakoy
Kayakoy was amazing. Very odd to be in a village that had just been deserted - and what a crazy idea it was. Lets move the Turkish Christians to Greece and the Greek Muslims to Turkey... funnily enough that whole thing just didn't work out so well.
But it was really quite atmospheric, and as we went up at dusk it was pretty empty which added to the spookiness of it.
After strolling around the village we went to the Levissi Garden for a meal which was fantastic. A wine cellar with 12,000 bottles of wine, so we started with a bit of wine tasting, then got a guided tour of the house the restaurant was in, then we both had the most amazing lamb meals. It was so lovely!
But it was really quite atmospheric, and as we went up at dusk it was pretty empty which added to the spookiness of it.
After strolling around the village we went to the Levissi Garden for a meal which was fantastic. A wine cellar with 12,000 bottles of wine, so we started with a bit of wine tasting, then got a guided tour of the house the restaurant was in, then we both had the most amazing lamb meals. It was so lovely!
Fethiye
Friday was another bus down to Fethiye - where we were scheduled to get on our boat cruise on Saturday.
Trip down was ok - more free juice, water and cake on the bus so that was all very pleasant :-). Our instructions from where we were staying were very explicit about which company to get our transfer to their place with, so it was a tad stressful at the Otogar as another man seemed very keen for us to go with him. However Mhairi held firm and we went with the right company.
Met a slightly odd woman on the minibus who was very keen to hang out with us, but obviously wasn't keen on what we wanted to do. I think she was hoping we were going swimming, but Mhairi had already researched Kayakoy and we were keen to do that. However she wasn't happy with the accommodation so ended up leaving and we 'lost' her. We thought it was fine - although I was a bit unhappy the next morning at brekkie to be told that if I wanted coffee I would have to pay for it!
After a brief dip in their small pool, we headed off into Fethiye to take a look at our boat, get some money for the trip and then head up to Kayakoy.
Trip down was ok - more free juice, water and cake on the bus so that was all very pleasant :-). Our instructions from where we were staying were very explicit about which company to get our transfer to their place with, so it was a tad stressful at the Otogar as another man seemed very keen for us to go with him. However Mhairi held firm and we went with the right company.
Met a slightly odd woman on the minibus who was very keen to hang out with us, but obviously wasn't keen on what we wanted to do. I think she was hoping we were going swimming, but Mhairi had already researched Kayakoy and we were keen to do that. However she wasn't happy with the accommodation so ended up leaving and we 'lost' her. We thought it was fine - although I was a bit unhappy the next morning at brekkie to be told that if I wanted coffee I would have to pay for it!
After a brief dip in their small pool, we headed off into Fethiye to take a look at our boat, get some money for the trip and then head up to Kayakoy.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ephesus sights
We finally re-emerged from our room about 11am and went downstairs - where the man behind the counter said 'You must be Megan'. This followed Ramazan at TJ's Tours who had also said 'Hello Megan' when we walked in there after getting off the bus! Almost felt famous :-).
Adem was also very helpful and friendly. He is married to a NZ woman from Hamilton - he proudly showed us their wedding photo in an old issue of NZ Woman's Weekly from a few years ago! We met her later on, and their gorgeous wee toddler. He gave us the tour of the hotel, pointing out the carpet shop at the back which is run by his brother (who also owns Jimmy's Place). If I'd been going to buy a carpet I probably would have got it from him - they looked lovely. But unfortunately we were there before payday and I just couldn't afford one. When Mhairi said she was from Timaru he immediately responded that he had sold a carpet to someone from Oamaru. And had also been swimming in Lake Taupo...
We ambled around Selcuk for a bit, had some lunch then went out to Ephesus. It was really hot and very striking. Although (and this is probably blasphemy to any classics fans out there) - once you've been to a few of these sites, they do start to be a bit the same... The Forum in Rome, Agrigento in Sicily, Pompeii (different but the same...). Although I was rather taken with the library - felt very pleased that the most outstanding facade left was of the library!
Dinner was at a restaurant called 'The Old House' - I had lamb chops (I still can't go past them) but I should have had what Mhairi had which was The Old House Kebab as that was delish! My lamb chops weren't the best... But it was a lovely wee courtyard restaurant so despite my dish envy it was very nice!
Adem was also very helpful and friendly. He is married to a NZ woman from Hamilton - he proudly showed us their wedding photo in an old issue of NZ Woman's Weekly from a few years ago! We met her later on, and their gorgeous wee toddler. He gave us the tour of the hotel, pointing out the carpet shop at the back which is run by his brother (who also owns Jimmy's Place). If I'd been going to buy a carpet I probably would have got it from him - they looked lovely. But unfortunately we were there before payday and I just couldn't afford one. When Mhairi said she was from Timaru he immediately responded that he had sold a carpet to someone from Oamaru. And had also been swimming in Lake Taupo...
We ambled around Selcuk for a bit, had some lunch then went out to Ephesus. It was really hot and very striking. Although (and this is probably blasphemy to any classics fans out there) - once you've been to a few of these sites, they do start to be a bit the same... The Forum in Rome, Agrigento in Sicily, Pompeii (different but the same...). Although I was rather taken with the library - felt very pleased that the most outstanding facade left was of the library!
Dinner was at a restaurant called 'The Old House' - I had lamb chops (I still can't go past them) but I should have had what Mhairi had which was The Old House Kebab as that was delish! My lamb chops weren't the best... But it was a lovely wee courtyard restaurant so despite my dish envy it was very nice!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Travelling overnight
Following the tour we hung around for a few hours until we hopped on the overnight bus from Eceabat to Selcuk - our next destination... There were 3 other travellers on it as well (as in NZ/Australian rather than Turkish people!) so that was good.
Long trip though - we left at 9.30pm and got to Selcuk around 6am. Bit of a situation when we got on as there was a woman in one of our seats. She spoke a lot to us, but as it was all in Turkish we couldn't understand what she was saying. All very confusing, but she ended up getting off at Canakkale - we got on the bus, which drove on to a ferry and then ended up in Canakkale. That whole process seemed to take about 1.5 hours. It was a long night...
We had arranged for our hostel to meet us from the bus and it turned out we were all staying at the same place - but no one came to meet us. At one point we thought a man was coming to collect us, but he wasn't. However he worked in some tourist role, spoke very good English so walked us to our hostel and woke them up so we could go in! All at about 6.30 am! Then we crawled into bed for a few hours to sleep off the bus trip!
Long trip though - we left at 9.30pm and got to Selcuk around 6am. Bit of a situation when we got on as there was a woman in one of our seats. She spoke a lot to us, but as it was all in Turkish we couldn't understand what she was saying. All very confusing, but she ended up getting off at Canakkale - we got on the bus, which drove on to a ferry and then ended up in Canakkale. That whole process seemed to take about 1.5 hours. It was a long night...
We had arranged for our hostel to meet us from the bus and it turned out we were all staying at the same place - but no one came to meet us. At one point we thought a man was coming to collect us, but he wasn't. However he worked in some tourist role, spoke very good English so walked us to our hostel and woke them up so we could go in! All at about 6.30 am! Then we crawled into bed for a few hours to sleep off the bus trip!
Gallipoli
The original plan had been to do a snorkelling tour in the morning and then do the tour of the battlefields in the afternoon, but for some reason the snorkelling was cancelled. We aren't sure if that was just because there was only two of us, or because the water was a bit rough (it still looked a bit choppy in the afternoon as we did the tour)... It was pretty disappointing, but having seen the water later we figured that maybe it was for the best.
We did the tour through our hostel, and TJ was a fantastic guide. He really knew his stuff, and obviously has a real interest in the topic. He had a folder of different source material which we referred to at different times, and a couple of times asked for volunteers to read out letters etc which were written at the time (both Mhairi and I did our bit). That made a lot of it seem more 'real' as well. It was a very moving and sad afternoon - it just makes you realise the waste of life that it really well. Seeing row after row of graves in so many different cemeteries (and we didn't go to all of them) told the story so clearly. We also went to the Turkish cemetery as well which was a nice balance to the day.
At the start of the tour we went through the Kabatepe War Museum - amazing to see bullets smashed together - they had hit each other in the air, there were so many being fired. We also saw the remnants of some of the original trenches (photos to come) - they have recreated some, but you can still see the channels from the original ones. At the point were the fronts were only separated by a few hundred yards. Just absolutely crazy.
What was interesting to us was the fact that the Turkish people were so friendly and welcoming to us everywhere we went, and there were often NZ or Australian flags up in the different places we stayed, but we were the forces fighting them. I guess the respect the two sides developed for each other still remains. What was also interesting (but not from a good point of view) was when TJ explained why they had to move the commemoration ceremony from the cemetery at ANZAC Cove - due to the high number of backpackers turning up, getting hammered and damaging the headstones at the cemetery. Unbelievable.
It was an excellent tour.
We did the tour through our hostel, and TJ was a fantastic guide. He really knew his stuff, and obviously has a real interest in the topic. He had a folder of different source material which we referred to at different times, and a couple of times asked for volunteers to read out letters etc which were written at the time (both Mhairi and I did our bit). That made a lot of it seem more 'real' as well. It was a very moving and sad afternoon - it just makes you realise the waste of life that it really well. Seeing row after row of graves in so many different cemeteries (and we didn't go to all of them) told the story so clearly. We also went to the Turkish cemetery as well which was a nice balance to the day.
At the start of the tour we went through the Kabatepe War Museum - amazing to see bullets smashed together - they had hit each other in the air, there were so many being fired. We also saw the remnants of some of the original trenches (photos to come) - they have recreated some, but you can still see the channels from the original ones. At the point were the fronts were only separated by a few hundred yards. Just absolutely crazy.
What was interesting to us was the fact that the Turkish people were so friendly and welcoming to us everywhere we went, and there were often NZ or Australian flags up in the different places we stayed, but we were the forces fighting them. I guess the respect the two sides developed for each other still remains. What was also interesting (but not from a good point of view) was when TJ explained why they had to move the commemoration ceremony from the cemetery at ANZAC Cove - due to the high number of backpackers turning up, getting hammered and damaging the headstones at the cemetery. Unbelievable.
It was an excellent tour.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
London - Istanbul - Eceabat
My flight left at 6.30am - which necessitated an EXTREMELY early start. My taxi picked me up at about 3.45 am I think - absolutely horrendous hour to be getting up! What was most amazing was getting to Gatwick duty free around 4.30 am, and most of the shops were open. Quite a bizarre experience...
Once I got to Istanbul I managed to find the coach which went into Taksim Square where I had arranged to meet Mhairi. This wasn't as straightforward as it sounds as there wasn't much information at the airport. I went up to a couple of wrong buses first of all before finding the right one. After that it was nice and straightforward tho!
Managed to find Mhairi ok (by the red Metro sign and by the ambulances - very good instructions from her!), and we hopped into a taxi to head to the Otogar (bus station). Istanbul has the craziest bus station I've ever seen - over 160 bus stands, and it really was organised chaos. There are loads of different bus companies (and I mean loads), and it is a matter of finding which one goes to where you want to go. Our taxi driver circled all of them (I don't think he understood our pronunciation of Eceabat which is were we wanted to go!), until finally we just told him to stop and hopped out. We were helped by an older man, who again obviously didn't understand our pronunciation as he took us to the office for buses to Cappadocia. At that office Mhairi showed the man behind the desk the guide book and pointed to Eceabat, whereupon he had a conversation with our original helper in Turkish, who then grabbed both our bags and hared off across the bus station to the Canakkle office. Which fortunately was the right office (we would have got there eventually ourselves as that is where Mhairi thought we needed to be heading towards).
Tickets purchased ok, so then we waited for about 1/2 hour until the bus left. Absolutely crazy - buses (both coach, mini-bus and van size) pulling in and out, people strolling around in front of them paying absolutely no attention to what might be pulling in behind them. Very hard to describe! Eventually our bus pulled in and having established it was the right one we were off.
Very different from NZ buses! In addition to the driver, we also had a 'Captain' - whose role seemed to be to just walk up and down and check we were all ok, and a 'Host' - his job was to pass out the FREE water, juice and cakes that we got! Plus the lemon cologne for our hands as well. It was great! And it was a nice new bus as well so it wasn't too bad a trip.
It was about 5 hours down to Eceabat - slightly concerning as we got closer as it occurred to us that none of the places we pulled into seemed to have place names so we weren't sure how we would know we were there. But it was all fine - but we did make sure the 'Host' knew we were getting off at Eceabat! From the bus it was a hop step and a jump to TJ's Tours and Hostel where we were staying. After a full 12 hours of travelling for me I was very pleased to finally get off the the bus!
Once I got to Istanbul I managed to find the coach which went into Taksim Square where I had arranged to meet Mhairi. This wasn't as straightforward as it sounds as there wasn't much information at the airport. I went up to a couple of wrong buses first of all before finding the right one. After that it was nice and straightforward tho!
Managed to find Mhairi ok (by the red Metro sign and by the ambulances - very good instructions from her!), and we hopped into a taxi to head to the Otogar (bus station). Istanbul has the craziest bus station I've ever seen - over 160 bus stands, and it really was organised chaos. There are loads of different bus companies (and I mean loads), and it is a matter of finding which one goes to where you want to go. Our taxi driver circled all of them (I don't think he understood our pronunciation of Eceabat which is were we wanted to go!), until finally we just told him to stop and hopped out. We were helped by an older man, who again obviously didn't understand our pronunciation as he took us to the office for buses to Cappadocia. At that office Mhairi showed the man behind the desk the guide book and pointed to Eceabat, whereupon he had a conversation with our original helper in Turkish, who then grabbed both our bags and hared off across the bus station to the Canakkle office. Which fortunately was the right office (we would have got there eventually ourselves as that is where Mhairi thought we needed to be heading towards).
Tickets purchased ok, so then we waited for about 1/2 hour until the bus left. Absolutely crazy - buses (both coach, mini-bus and van size) pulling in and out, people strolling around in front of them paying absolutely no attention to what might be pulling in behind them. Very hard to describe! Eventually our bus pulled in and having established it was the right one we were off.
Very different from NZ buses! In addition to the driver, we also had a 'Captain' - whose role seemed to be to just walk up and down and check we were all ok, and a 'Host' - his job was to pass out the FREE water, juice and cakes that we got! Plus the lemon cologne for our hands as well. It was great! And it was a nice new bus as well so it wasn't too bad a trip.
It was about 5 hours down to Eceabat - slightly concerning as we got closer as it occurred to us that none of the places we pulled into seemed to have place names so we weren't sure how we would know we were there. But it was all fine - but we did make sure the 'Host' knew we were getting off at Eceabat! From the bus it was a hop step and a jump to TJ's Tours and Hostel where we were staying. After a full 12 hours of travelling for me I was very pleased to finally get off the the bus!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
How famous am i??
I'm speechless... I remember Finbarr taking the photo. Most amazing thing is that I never saw this - a friend of mine spotted me and emailed me about it. The Times no less!
And finding out about it on Mum's birthday no less. Fantastic
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6814256.ece
And finding out about it on Mum's birthday no less. Fantastic
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6814256.ece
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
I'm up two spots....
According to the latest ONS survey of names, Megan has gone up two places from last year - I am now officially the 15th most popular girls name in the UK.
I know I would have blogged about that last year as well but I can't find the posting.
I have to admit, I do find myself turning around on the street when I hear my name, and without fail it is addressed to some wee'un who is about 5 years old...
Maya is 69th (up 9 spots), Lucy is 14th (just pips me - grrr - but she's dropped down 3 from last year). No entry for Leigh or Tracey sorry... :-)
Thomas comes in at 3rd (he's down 1 from last year), Alex at 47th (up 11 spaces!), Sam at 79th (down 2).
Interesting to see Reuben make an appearance as well - up 72 places. I have two friends in NZ with sons called Reuben so maybe it is moving this way...
I know I would have blogged about that last year as well but I can't find the posting.
I have to admit, I do find myself turning around on the street when I hear my name, and without fail it is addressed to some wee'un who is about 5 years old...
Maya is 69th (up 9 spots), Lucy is 14th (just pips me - grrr - but she's dropped down 3 from last year). No entry for Leigh or Tracey sorry... :-)
Thomas comes in at 3rd (he's down 1 from last year), Alex at 47th (up 11 spaces!), Sam at 79th (down 2).
Interesting to see Reuben make an appearance as well - up 72 places. I have two friends in NZ with sons called Reuben so maybe it is moving this way...
Saturday, September 05, 2009
More Looping
Another two sections of the London Loop completed - this time from Moor Park to Elstree. 12.1 miles so not a bad distance, and given the different walking speeds in the group we didn't finish at too bad a time.
We are now right up in North London so for most of us it is a schlep back across London to get home, but for Mhairi (our resident of North London) she is starting to enjoy not having too bad a trip home - she's had a long time of waiting for us to get to her part of town!
We had a lovely picnic spot on this walk, with great views out over London. Amazing to see the planes landing at Heathrow on the other side of London and think that it was only a few walks ago that we were walking under the flight path. Really did make me think that we are actually completing a circuit of London!
Despite knowing that the first section of this walk was badly signposted, I still managed to get us a bit lost - annoying when it was a long walk anyhow. And when we didn't need the signposts, there were loads of them! Or two at once pointing in different directions...
We are now right up in North London so for most of us it is a schlep back across London to get home, but for Mhairi (our resident of North London) she is starting to enjoy not having too bad a trip home - she's had a long time of waiting for us to get to her part of town!
We had a lovely picnic spot on this walk, with great views out over London. Amazing to see the planes landing at Heathrow on the other side of London and think that it was only a few walks ago that we were walking under the flight path. Really did make me think that we are actually completing a circuit of London!
Despite knowing that the first section of this walk was badly signposted, I still managed to get us a bit lost - annoying when it was a long walk anyhow. And when we didn't need the signposts, there were loads of them! Or two at once pointing in different directions...
Grassland
Grassland
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
This was really quite pretty - but a bit scary to see autumnal colours appearing...
Thursday, September 03, 2009
'B's - lots of 'Best of's
I finished listening to my 'B' albums the other day. The line up this time was...
Back in Black - AC/DC
The Back Room - The Editors
Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub
Based on a True Story - Fat Freddy's Drop
Beautysleep - Tanya Donnelly
Because of the Times - Kings of Leon
Before and After Science - Brian Eno
Begin to Hope - Regina Spektor
Being There - Wilco
Best of Blur - Blur
Best of Bowie - David Bowie
Best of James - James
Best of Neil Diamond - Neil Diamon
Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Best of Talking Heads - Talking Heads
Best of The Doors - The Doors
Best Yet - Greg Johnson
Big Up! - Dean Fraser
Bird Beats & Flowers - Hem & Autumn Defense
Birds - Bic Runga
Blankets - Tracker
Bloc Party EP - Bloc Party
Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck - Flotation Toy Warning
Body Blow - Headless Chickens
Bossanova - The Pixies
Boy in Waiting EP - Starsailor
Boyracer ep - The Brunettes
Boys & Girls in America - The Hold Steady
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Brand New - The Stereo Bus
The Bravery - The Bravery
Bright Yellow Bright Orange - The Go-Betweens
British Ballads - Anthony Reynolds
Brother's Keeper - The Neville Brothers
Bryter Layter - Nick Drake
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Soundtrack
By the Way - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Not many standouts in this list for me, although fun listening to some stuff I hadn't listened to for years. The Pixies and Brian Eno particularly. Think The Bravery will be coming off - and I can confirm that two albums of David Bowie is too much...
Back in Black - AC/DC
The Back Room - The Editors
Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub
Based on a True Story - Fat Freddy's Drop
Beautysleep - Tanya Donnelly
Because of the Times - Kings of Leon
Before and After Science - Brian Eno
Begin to Hope - Regina Spektor
Being There - Wilco
Best of Blur - Blur
Best of Bowie - David Bowie
Best of James - James
Best of Neil Diamond - Neil Diamon
Best of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Best of Talking Heads - Talking Heads
Best of The Doors - The Doors
Best Yet - Greg Johnson
Big Up! - Dean Fraser
Bird Beats & Flowers - Hem & Autumn Defense
Birds - Bic Runga
Blankets - Tracker
Bloc Party EP - Bloc Party
Bluffers Guide to the Flight Deck - Flotation Toy Warning
Body Blow - Headless Chickens
Bossanova - The Pixies
Boy in Waiting EP - Starsailor
Boyracer ep - The Brunettes
Boys & Girls in America - The Hold Steady
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Brand New - The Stereo Bus
The Bravery - The Bravery
Bright Yellow Bright Orange - The Go-Betweens
British Ballads - Anthony Reynolds
Brother's Keeper - The Neville Brothers
Bryter Layter - Nick Drake
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Soundtrack
By the Way - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Not many standouts in this list for me, although fun listening to some stuff I hadn't listened to for years. The Pixies and Brian Eno particularly. Think The Bravery will be coming off - and I can confirm that two albums of David Bowie is too much...
Despite my best intentions...
I get busy and then I get tired and then I don't update my blog... Sigh. Anyhow, here is my latest round up :-)
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