Greetings,

Supposed to stay a few days and now a week has passed. Summarizing a few days worth of happenings is boring to write and read, as a result these pictures should do the talking, some of it at least. This is a town that’s interesting for an old couple, a young family, random 20-30 somethings or even an old couple with 20-30 somethings as their family.

This place is a vacation holiday spot, not a backpacker truck stop, do what you will with that information. There is a plethora of fine dining options and some less dignified joints, have enjoyed all of them from top to bottom. The nightlife here is decent and would be outstanding in high season, there are proper venues for any type of affair one feels like being involved in. Favorite bars order are Mojito Bar, Ignite & Chocolate. Three restaurants I like are Fener Kafe, Fotos and Rosehip. Fener is your go to joint and has this view.

If you’re looking for value in this place, Kelebek Hotel is the cheapest out there, it’s also a nice spot, good value for cash and family run for the last 24 years. You can go as high as you wish from there, should you wish. Been paying 60 TRL and consider it a great deal for roof top terrace breakfasts, nice clean rooms with blazing wifi and a pool / lounge area in the lobby. (Shown below) The Breakfast with a View is also from here.

The diving in Kalkan is good fun and the town in general is very hospitable, not to mention the weather is wonderful and the water crystal clear. Have to be in shape though, this whole town is on a hill and by the end of the day your legs will feel as though you’ve been to Timbuktu and back, literally. They need to go all “Hong Kongesque” and install escalators but it would kill the charm.

After a week here, moving on. Not sure where but tomorrow have to go somewhere.

Thinking of Varna in Bulgaria, ever been? I’ve always had a fascination with this part of the world. By this part of the world I mean, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Moldova, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Estonia, Slovakia etc… Already visited Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, they delivered what I had imagined AND MORE.

Unrelated,  I’d like to know why some middle aged woman was busy in my hotel room last night, redecorating my throat with the world’s roughest sandpaper and complaining about how dangerous the world is until it gave me an ear infection? Why!?

Tips hat,

P.S: Realize that Turkey has a lot more to offer than I’ve seen, the reality is, I’m not traveling to see the world, traveling to experience the world. Considering old pieces of rock don’t talk and usually attract people with place mat personalities, might as well hit the liberal beaches of Bulgaria. That said, never end up anywhere as planned.

P.P.S: If you like Kalkan, it’s a buyers market, more than 500 high end properties listed. Found a steal to rent for a month outside of town, just too far if you’re solo and social, boredom would be sure to ensue.

P.P.P.S: Got interviewed by Victoria, interesting read if I don’t say so myself.

I just lost more in the market than you average backpacking biatch plans for 6 months, I sit here laughing while flicking a cigarette in my eye.

Greetings,

Been loving my time in Kalkan, one of those rare places on this planet that feels “like home” on the other side of such said planet. Have met countless people here, explored countless venues and really getting a feel for the place. The photo is from the hotel I’m staying at.

Just to give you an idea of what’s happening around here…

This evening enjoyed a gourmet meal on a roof top terrace overlooking the ocean with several beverages for $30. It involved a spicy salad starter and a main course name that eludes me but involved lamb wrapped around spinach and is a traditional Turkish dish. Hung out for over 3 hours and was never once rushed or pushed into consuming more.

The value and hospitality is out of this world, can only imagine what $30 would have gotten me back home… Why am I sharing? Don’t believe the media but believe that this world is to be explored and enjoyed, savored actually. Had no idea this town existed a week ago, now it’s somewhere I’d recommend people visit and somewhere I’d strongly consider revisiting.

Kalkan reminds me of Taormina, Sicily.

Love it here. Whoever you are, you’d like it as well.

Stay tuned.

P.S: Now PADI Open Water certified, going on a dive tomorrow morning.

This is what I’d call breakfast with a view in Kalkan, Turkey. Believe it or not, this hotel is costing my friend and I a total of 15E each a night and it includes breakfast on this terrace. Also has a swimming pool, pool table and a chess set. (Naturally the most important amenity)

Sometimes it pays not to be on the worn tourist trail. Comparing the value received here with say Rome, makes my head spin and seek migraine medications.

Greetings,

I write this from a hotel room in Antalya, I quite like hotel rooms and seriously despise hostels. This isn’t going to be me rehashing all the things to do in the area. If you’re curious, I suggest you read about Antalya here, I already did and it’s got a cool history.

I digress.

I’m staying in the “old town” of Antalya. The old town is nice but basically dead. I spoke with many vendors and asked “where is everyone”? They told me that most everyone is at all inclusive resorts now so the tourism in the area has suffered, I believe it. They said most just go there, hang out by the pool there, maybe go to the ocean and eat dinner there. I asked when high season was and one gent said, I have no clue, sometimes we have customers, sometimes we don’t.

Oh yeah, should note there are no “free beaches” near Old Town… That could play a part in the tourist levels, who knows. All I know is that more tourists than not like leaving for home looking like an old weathered leather handbag.

Turkish baths are quite nice but also borderline homo erotic. I can see why “bath houses” have been the choice of Romans and such for eons. That said, there is nothing erotic about having some 65 year old dude scrub the dead skin from every inch of your body, him rubbing soap over every inch of your body(within reason) is where it gets borderline. Also if you opt for an “oil massage” don’t expect some attractive lady to come assist you. Instead you should realize it will be another old guy who when he leans over you, you can hear the latest kebab working its way through his stomach.

All that said, I still recommend you go visit a Turkish bath when in Turkey, when laying on this massive hot rock (towel on of course) and staring at the ceiling you can only imagine the history of the place, it’s also a great way to detoxify yourself. The coolest part is definitely the scrub, to be frank, as a Westerner who was raised in a culture of shame, it was weird but when you realize that the guy washes you like he’d wash his car, you’re just like whatever, don’t miss anything. Seriously, if you had a Space Trek transportation device, I’d always opt to end up in Budapest.

All this said, if I returned to Turkey, I’d get another dead skin scrub, seriously the amount of skin they remove will blow your mind. Considering I’m not a scientist, I really don’t know if it’s even necessary, I mean I’m sure lots of people who live to 100 have never had one in their lives, in fact I’m quite sure most haven’t.

I enjoyed my time in Antalya, it wasn’t like “ohh ahh, look at this, look at that” it was more like “this place is chilled out and I could see myself living here for a month or so”. Met lots of nice merchants and lots of touts that really got under your skin…

The shoe shine guys are the worst everywhere in Turkey. They have this trick where they drop their brush, you give it to them, next thing you know they are polishing for free, then laying it thick on how their father is sick, then demanding extortionate prices. One of them bummed a smoke off a friend then tried to pull the same scam, unbelievable. That and the kebab dudes are like offended when you say “no thanks”. I mean offended as in they are somewhat angry with you, kinda scary.

Tomorrow we’re off to Kalkan, which is about 4 hours down the coast. My friend is all h3ll bent on getting his PADI course, turns out you can get your full PADI certification for $261US. As a result, I’m going to just dive in and see what happens. (Apologies for that was not punny).

That’s all for today. Obviously I have no photos from the Turkish baths because going into one of those places with a camera would a) be horrible for the camera, b) insanely inappropriate and c) not the type of search engine traffic I’d like to attract here.

Off to eat anything other than a kebab.

Tips hat,

P.S: Told you it was dead, it’s kinda like being at a trade show where the only people there are exhibitors and yourself. This was last night at about 9PM.

Greetings from Goreme,

Greetings from the city of Goreme in Cappadocia, Turkey. I recommend you grab some cappuccino before delving further into an update that discusses this Turkish delight. I said “Wow” on Rome but this place is just so unique that I don’t even know what to say really, as a result “special” will have to do.

Spent the day sleeping, if you read the last update, you’ll know why. Upon awaking went on a mission to discover this fine town. I suggest you read this, for a bit of history, this place has a very long and interesting history.

Goreme is supposedly more touristic than other towns in the area but still very affordable. Staying in a nice hotel with a wonderful breakfast in a triple for 16E a night. Hot air balloons, mountain bike and ATV tours seem to be the largest trade besides of course accommodation and selling random work from the area.

The people are very friendly, in fact the gent who works at the hotel I’m staying at is Kurdish and been here a few years, arguably one of the most hospitable and egregious personalities I’ve ever encountered.

These photos do this place no justice, it’s the ambiance that is almost palatable, you can turn a corner and forget what year you’re in, almost like having access to a private time machine. We decided to climb to the telephone tower for a view… Getting up was the easy part, we decided to “bushwhack” down and it worked but without a few “I’m going to slip to my death” close calls.

For dinner, we found this small restaurant and explored their menu, I found that they had a clay pot vegetable stew, this was arguably one of the most delicious meals I’ve had on my travels, it was filled with delicious vegetables and came piping hot, also accompanied by a salad and rice pilaf for less than $5US.

Didn’t get up to that much, hoping to have an early night and do some serious exploring tomorrow. I have a feeling that Turkey is going to be a bit like Thailand for me, somewhere that I’ll revisit numerous times, thinking of continuing east after this into countries that are rarely explored, I have a crew or shall we call it an “expedition team” and one of them is keen.

Enjoy the long weekend and remember to thank a Vet.

Tips hat,

P.S: Enjoy these Kurdish beats my new friend is playing.

Greetings,

First let me say that the night bus from Istanbul to Cappadocia was the worst one I’ve been on in 20+ months of travel. The bus itself was quite nice but every travelers nightmare came true, it’s true…

When on a long overnight, the largest fear involves a crying baby and having eaten a rotten kebab, sadly both happened. I will spare you details of the latter but when it comes to the former… Imagine a crying baby on a bus and parents that think the baby will “sort itself out”. From the smells permeating around my nostril region, I’m assuming the kid was screaming “change me guys, change me already!”

Add the fact that the baby is right behind you, basically projecting its incessant whining directly into your dome piece. Then when the baby finally stops, you try and put your chair back. You’re immediately told by the guy working the bus that you can’t because the baby is sleeping, I doubt that baby even paid for a ticket.

Suffice to say I didn’t sleep and am exhausted. All that aside, Cappadocia is stunning and the hotel we checked into which is part cave, part cool is quite awesome.

Oh yeah, there was some mini protest or something at the bus station, also the bus station in Istanbul is the largest I’ve seen, hundreds of buses, behemoth. If you go, I recommend you try the 1 lira massage chair, seriously.

Finally, when you’re in Cappadocia, you have that “we’re really far from home” feel, this place is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my travels.

More to come from this magical place.

Tips hat,

Greetings,

Today was my final day in Istanbul, what a city. Taking a night bus from Istanbul to Cappadocia tonight at 8PM. It costs 50TRL and you can get it from the guest house. Whether you show up at the bus station or book through the hotel / hostel, it’s the same price so why not get picked up near the hostel, yes? It takes about 10 hours, should be a thrill ride.

Cappadocia is a massive province, I’m not even sure what city we’re going to, just said “tickets to Cappadocia, please”. I’m sure wherever I end is up where I was supposed to end up and whatever will transpire will do so for a reason, regardless if it makes sense now or ever, for that matter. Yes, that sounds about right, one believes.

Spent the day hanging out in coffee shops enjoying Turkish coffee, eating kebabs and drinking that salty yogurt like drink that is quite prevalent here. I’m surprised that Ottawa is still the only place I’ve been that offers garlic sauce with a kebab, it’s infinitely more appetizing than mayonnaise in my opinion, in fact it’s delicious and a perfect meal to have before a first date or job interview that involves working with the public.

Istanbul was cool, it’s so large with so much to do it’s almost overwhelming. Considering my main goal on this trip is just to experiences as many different slices of life as possible, I consider my work here done temporarily, good chance I’ll return before leaving Turkey but who knows.

Tips hat,

P.S: They were playing this song in one of the cafes, thought I’d share it.

Greetings from Istanbul,

Saw my mother off today, it was bitter sweet. It’s funny how people say they get homesick. I find the only people who get homesick are people with homes. Sure you miss your family on extended trips but if you ditched everything you own (except the essentials aka a car, golf clubs and fishing gear) in order to make the world your “home”, getting homesick isn’t as applicable, if you go home, it’s not the home you had…

Either way, was amazing to reconnect with family after so long. After wandering around the Rome airport for too many hours to count, finally boarded a flight to Istanbul. I arrived in Istanbul at 6:15PM and on the Asian side. It took a full 1.5 hours to get downtown in a shuttle. Be aware that if you fly to the Sabiha Goken on the Asian side, it’s quite a trek into town. The coolest part is that you cross a bridge that says “Welcome to Europe”.

I’m looking to join The Traveler’s Century Club at one point in my life, it’s not often that in a 48 hour period you’re in 4 distinct territories of this planet. Sicily, Italy, Asian Turkey & European Turkey. The traffic is incredibly, the jam was long and it was 8PM by the time we made it to the bridge, can’t imagine the heat of rush hour.

So far Istanbul has a serious pulse to it. The city is a BEHEMOTH  and supposedly has over 20,000,000 inhabitants.  To give you an idea of this size, Bangkok had roughly 12,000,000 people living in it in 2008. The city stretches forever and has mosques lining the skyline. I do like how they have massive Turkish flags that are very prominent every so often. Also lots of construction everywhere, the place is expanding.

I’ve only been in the city a while but already finding my barrings, the place is quite dirty compared to Rome but doesn’t have a sinister vibe, I wouldn’t say it has an overly welcoming one either. It has that “monster city vibe” to it. I’m downtown in the Sultanahmet area because it’s close to all the major attractions and the top spot to find cheap Istanbul Hotels. I’ve stayed at a few places in this area but somehow now always find myself at a chill place with a great rooftop view of the Hagia Sophia.

In closing, I’d like to say that I’ve finally seen the shift occurring in publishing with my own eyes. The number of people using a kindle, laptop or smartphone was astonishing while the book stores and magazine racks were like ghost towns. A change is happening, slowly but surely it’s a “bye bye printing press” scenario.

Something that is cool is that the more you travel, the less you see differences and the more you see similarities. When I first got to Bangkok aka my first time to Asia, all I noticed was the differences. Now, whenever I arrive somewhere I notice what places have in common.

Finally, it’s nice to be somewhere outside the Euro again. If you haven’t been paying attention to currencies, the Euro has become quite strong. It’s losing some ground now due to the whole Greece and Italy scenario but flying from Rome to Istanbul has been a nice case of “reverse sticker shock”, if that makes sense.

Tips hat,

P.S: In the shuttle, there was a Turkish gent who moved to Germany with his family when he was 3. He was here with his mother for a week. If you’re lucky enough to have a mother and be on good terms, go somewhere with them one time, it’s a totally different experience and incredibly worthwhile.

This is my last day in Italy, what a wonderful country. I can now see why so many people speak so highly of it and why so many people return again and again. Tomorrow, I’m flying to Istanbul, Turkey.

I’ve wanted to visit Turkey ever since I saw a Travel Channel episode on Cappadocia. At the time I didn’t realize it was called Cappidocia, just saw part of the show and it piqued my interest.

I’m meeting an old friend in Istanbul and we’re planning a trip that will last until the 10th of June. I’d give you more details but there are none. Very much looking forward to discovering Turkey and all it has to offer.

I’ve developed quite the fascination with vaccinations. They are great, especially if you don’t want to contract some deadly disease when traveling abroad. Personally, I want to bring back memories, not diseases.

When you talk to people about vaccinations you hear one camp who says “Didn’t bother”, another one “Got some” and then my camp “Got them all”.   If there is one thing you can’t invest enough in, it’s your health. I’ve already learned the hard way that vacations are fractionally as fun when you’re not well…

I just booked my final Hep B vaccination for the 13th in Vancouver before going to Las Vegas.

List of Vaccines Received for Travel to Africa & Asia

• Polio
• Measles and Mumps
• Hep A
• Hep B
• Meningococcal meningitis
• Yellow Fever
• Rabies? (Not sure but sounds like something I’d buy)

I think I may have some others but my passport along with vaccination documentation is in safekeeping in Vancouver and I’m currently in Victoria. In the event I have others I’ll add them at a later date.

I know some people are even anti-vaccination thinking they are some weird government controlled consipiracy to weaken our immune systems.

What say you?