The last leg...

Our flight from Istanbul to Paris with Air France was 4 ½ hours and then we had a two hour wait at Charles De Gaulle airport for our 12 hour flight to Singapore. The Air France planes are old and bit dingy but the cabin staff are lovely.  One hour into the flight I accidentally split my champagne onto Bella.  We were both distressed: Bella because she was wet, and me because I’d a. wet her and b. lost my French bubbles!  Luckily the flight attendant provided another blanket for Bella (her jeans were still a bit damp for another hour or so she claims!) and another glass of bubbles for me.  We all tried to sleep as best we could.  I’d booked the bulk head seats for the long haul both ways and it gave us a little more leg room but I dreamed about being in business or first class… and being able to stretch out!

We landed at Singapore airport at 7pm, around midday Turkey time.  It’s the time differences that make travelling challenging!!  I’d booked us a hostel in Singapore as it was only for one night, and accommodation in Singapore is expensive.  The Moni Gallery Hostel is in Little India.  The taxi driver had no idea where it was but I had the address in my phone, and we were able to find it.  I’d booked a room with a private bathroom but on check in was informed none of the rooms had a private bathroom.  We were too tired to argue.  Our room was about 3m x 2m with no window, and contained three bunk beds (although the manager assured us no-one else would be joining us); once our luggage was in the space between the beds we didn’t have any room to walk!!  We went out to the nearby hawkers centre for some food.  The TV screens set up around the eating area were playing a video about peeing into the toilet bowl and flushing :”In a rush, make sure you flush”!  We thought this was highly entertaining until we got back to the hostel and discovered none of the other hostel guests had watched the video – the toilets had urine everywhere.  Yuck.  Greg struggled to sleep but the rest of us enjoyed being able to lie down flat and managed to sleep most of the night.  The next morning Bella and I thought we’d have a shower (to make use of the towels we’d rented for $2 Singapore each!).  There were three showers, two cold and one hot, but the hot was either occupied by someone who was in there for the long haul (but no water running!) – or else the management had locked it from the outside!  Despite being back in the tropics both Bella and I found the cold, very cold!!  We could have had breakfast at the hostel – make your own peanut butter on toast – but after Greg told us he’d killed a cockroach the size of a small kitten in the kitchen making a coffee earlier, we opted to go back to the Hawkers market for paratha with curry sauce, a great Little India breakfast!  Bella and I were determined to get our legs waxed after three months in jeans and thermals, so set off down Seragoon Road to find the salon I’d discovered on google.  There were lots of “massage” places around the hostel but they seemed to be offering a limited range of services… designed for a certain clientele!  Feeling much lighter, we re-joined the boys and took a taxi back to the airport for our flight to Bali.  This time we flew KLM and we were very impressed!  The regular economy had about 10cm more leg room than Air France (my knees didn’t hit the seat in front, even when they reclined which is almost unheard of!) with great service – I’d definitely fly them again. 

We arrived into the new Bali airport and were through visa and immigration in no time at all!  What an improvement!  Then back to the Villa Diana.  Just like coming home – without the cooking and cleaning part! It really is a nice place to stay, such friendly staff, and big rooms with our own bathrooms – no wee on the floor or seat!  Wonderful!  So far in Bali we’ve caught up with our friends Esther and Dean; my sister Suzy, her partner Ian and son Hamish came over and joined us for a final eating and drinking frenzy; and tomorrow I’m seeing Fiona and Peter, so it’s been a very social and relaxing way to end our wonderful trip.  At Esther and Dean’s suggestion we went tubing, as opposed to rafting, and it was a lot of fun.  The much smaller tubes take you through a river too narrow for rafts, so you get to see a different area of Bali.  We also had a further celebration of Bella’s 16^th at La Lucciola, complete with cocktails and Moet, so she feels special J The only disappointment from visiting Bali at this time of year is the rubbish on the beaches.  It’s really filthy.  The beach workers all firmly believe the rubbish is washed in from Java during the wet season but Greg thinks it’s the island’s own rubbish, washed out of the rivers and creeks into the sea with the heavy rain. Either way it’s not at all appealing to spend time down there or go for a swim.  I can’t tell you how much we are enjoying not wearing much in the way of clothing.  It’s so much more comfortable to loll around in a sarong or shorts! 

We are flying home on Sunday and back into the real world.  We have to clean and unpack the house, and school starts for the kids on the 28^th!  Thanks for reading my blog, it’s been fun sharing our trip with you J

PS – yes, the pics I’ve included on the blog are a very, very, very small sample of the thousands of photos I took on this trip.  I'm looking forward to re-living the memories are I create my albums!

Last days in Istanbul (and watch out for those taxi drivers!)

After a hair raising taxi ride from the airport (who needs rollercoasters) we arrived back into Sultanahmet for our final three nights in Turkey.  This time we are staying at the Side Pension (pronounced “Sid-ay”) where all rooms have high ceilings and everyone can walk normally.  Except for the beam in the breakfast room on the terrace, which can take an unsuspecting tall person out.  We’re trying very hard to remember to duck – which can be a challenge first thing in the morning!!

On Tuesday morning we set off, once more, to see the Palace – but it’s closed on Tuesdays.  Ok then!  We visited the Basilica Cistern which was originally built in Byzantine times – 527! – and served the city into the 19^th century, when the Ottomans installed their own running water system.  It was renovated and re-opened for tourists in the mid 80s.  The kids thought it was pretty cool!  Next stop was the Chora Church.  Originally it was in the countryside but is now a 15 minute taxi ride from Sultanahmet.  The bus is cheaper, but can take up to an hour!!  The mosaics and frescoes are quite impressive, but the main dome was closed for renovation which was a bit disappointing.  We went for a walk in the area around the church – I was keen to climb the old wall nearby.  Eventually we found somewhere I felt safe enough to climb up!  Great views, but it was a bit smoggy, so the photos weren't too impressive.  I was keen to walk back but I was soundly out-voted and we jumped in another taxi.  This one took us the scenic route back to Sultanahmet, but I almost didn't mind as we went down a long street (heavily trafficked, so it took quite a while) full of shops three floors high displaying the most over the top and extravagant evening gowns and wedding dresses I've ever seen.  Every taste you could possibly imagine was catered for, including those keen on fluro colours!  Quite breathtaking! However the taxi fare was almost double the trip out – the driver turned the car off in heavy traffic and when he turned it back on, our fare had jumped by 15 try.  Greg was not impressed and told him so.

We’d bought an Istanbul museum pass (the Chora Church was the first place we used our card) which is valid for 72 hours, so of course we had to do another museum – this time the Mosaic museum.  All the signs lead to our local bazaar – yes, the entrance is just outside the bazaar and the exit takes you back into the bazaar!  The kids liked it because it was quick!  We had a late lunch at Greg’s favourite Istanbul restaurant, Doy Doy, and then the boys went back to the hotel for a rest while Bella and I, full of warnings, hit the Grand Bazaar for a little light shopping.  We had a lot of fun, including interesting experiences where on requesting another colour in an item were told “follow my friend” which led us through the bazaar, onto another “friend”, outside, through a few door ways, into a shop we would never have found… and which didn’t have what we wanted!!  We also spent some time sipping apple tea in a carpet shop although we did manage to avoid the whole song and dance routine that usually goes with those visits!  I went onto Trip Advisor to find somewhere for dinner (although Greg would have been happy with Doy  Doy's again!) – “Cheers Soul Food” seem to rate quite well.  We found it – right next door to our previous pension!  We had a good meal though.

On Wednesday it was back to the Topkapi Palace.  Third time lucky!  This time we saw the entire Palace and the Harem.  We also inspected the Prophet Mohammed’s beard hair (he must have had a very big beard as it seems to be everywhere) along with other sacred relics like his chipped tooth and a cast of St John’s arm in gold.  No pictures allowed of these holy relics!  We were nearly over come by enthusiastic Muslims trying to get up close and personal to the relics, so didn't have a long time to peruse them.  The kids were a bit relieved that it was their last Palace.  I was a bit sad.  I can’t see too many Palaces it seems!  The photo of Liam surrounded by street dogs was because Greg bought a pack of spicy salami for him to share with his friends.  They were suitably grateful! After a quick Kebab sandwich we took a taxi to the Galata Tower across the Bosporus.   We walked from the tower to Taksim square which took us about two hours, doing a little shopping along the way.  Interestingly, not a single carpet shop on that main drag!  Also the cost of Turkish delight, baklava and dried fruit was less than half the cost in Sultanahmet.  So, remember that tip if you are in Istanbul!  We had a little stop in a busy coffee shop full of people playing backgammon.  We all had tea (the kids and I had apple tea) and Bella and I played a game of backgammon.  It was really smoky, which was a pain, otherwise we would have hung around longer.

Once at Taksim Square the challenge was on to find the restaurant I’d chosen for dinner – No 19 Yemik Evi, which rated no. 10 out of 10,000 odd restaurants in Istanbul.  It’s tiny – just three tables – and quite challenging to find, but Bella did a great job with the map and we made it.  No menu: the owners have dishes of food that they would serve if they were having people around to dinner, and you chose the ones you want to eat.  Unfortunately for me, most of the dishes were meat; the ravioli which everyone really liked (and has a good write up in Trip Advisor) was also beef.  I had some veggies and a chicken curry – which was not hot, and tasted different to any curry I’ve ever had, but was still tasty!   The bill, including drinks, was 68 try ($34) which is not too bad.  Just as well as we got badly ripped off on our taxi back.  Greg is still fuming.  Not only did he over charge us, but the ride was pretty scary – Liam was audibly gasping at some of the fast, tight turns.  The driver did (what we later discovered) is a common trick with taxi drivers: he claimed Greg had given him 5 try note instead of a 50 (for an exorbitant bill of 40 try).  Greg gave him the benefit of the doubt and handed over another 40 try, realising later that he’d definitely handed over the only 50 try note we had left.  To add insult to injury, he claimed that most of Sultanahmet is closed to taxis and he dropped us off at a place we didn’t recognise.  It took us about 10 minutes to find our way back to our pension.  Not a nice experience.

Thursday was our very last day - and it was raining!  The first rain we've seen since leaving the UK!  Greg wanted to visit the Archaeological Museum, and I wanted a last visit to the Grand Bazaar to see if I could get a better price on a kilim bag (which I thought I could use as a laptop bag to replace my old CM one which has suffered on this trip).  Amazingly we were able to accomplish both!  We didn't get back to the Grand Bazaar but found a bag at a price I was willing to pay in our local bazaar.  A last lunch at Doy Doys (with some take away Turkish delight for the airport!) and we were on our way. 

We flew with Air France back to Paris then onto Singapore.  We left Istanbul at 6pm on Thursday and arrived into Singapore at 7pm on Friday.  Time differences can be a struggle!  We've just got one night in a hostel in Singapore before we go to Bali tomorrow for the very last stage of our journey!

Pamukkale, and Bella's sweet 16th!

Our bus trip to Pamukkale was uneventful until we arrived in Denizli and they moved us onto a Dolmus for the "free" transfer to Pamukkale.  The only problem was, the Dolmus was four seats short - they moved us into a car but we insisted on having the kids with us which the Turks thought was hilarious!  When we got into Pamukkale I wanted to get our flights back to Istanbul organised right away.  I'd tried to book online but the price went from 378 try to 378 AUD, more than double, every time I wanted to finalise the booking, so using a local travel agency seemed like the go.  There was some drama with our credit card - because the agency was doing the transaction as "mail order" the bank in Australia refused to approve it, so we had to go and get a cash advance.  Money is getting quite low at this point in our travels!  (Buying carpets willy nilly doesn't help but there you go.  Done now!) We checked into our pension which we'd chosen because they said they took mastercard.  It turns out that they don't.  We weren't impressed, and they knew it!  However it was a nice place, clean and comfortable, with a good breakfast - Sinta Teresa House Hotel.  Our friends Lachy and Amanda were staying around the corner (at a place I'd looked at, but didn't book because it didn't take credit cards!!) so we met up for dinner and had another fun night.

Greg and I were very keen to go out to Aphrodisias, an ancient city which apparently was opened to the public in the late 70s but wasn't anything we had heard about on our last visit.  It's a good 90 minute drive from Pamukkale, and you are just dropped off - no tour is offered!  Greg had picked up a book while we were walking around Pamukkale (a village which incidentally we could barely recognise, it has grown so much - except for the travertine falls of course!) and it was very helpful.  We decided to go on the 12th of January as the museum is closed on Mondays (and it is reputedly the best museum in Western Anatolia!  We couldn't find out who the competition is though!) - Bella's 16th birthday.  I don't think a trip to visit ruins was high on her list when she planned her 16th birthday, however they were AMAZING and we all loved them, an absolute must to visit if you are in the area.  The museum IS very good but the real draw card are the fabulous ruins.  We were especially captivated with the stadium, built to hold 30,000 people - it was filled with energy from all the athletic events held there, you could almost feel the excitement in the air!  Liam kindly did a run from one end to the other so I could show the size of the stadium in my photos; a group of Turkish people also touring the ruins cheered him on as he panted his way back!  There was probably only about 20 people in total at the ruins (another good thing) so we had them to ourselves a lot of the time.  That night, we met up with Amanda and Lachy again for a special Turkish birthday dinner.  We really wanted to have the candle in a piece of baklava but the restaurant was sold out, they came up with a chocolate roll cake and I'd bought a candle with me from the UK, so we were able to sing Bella Happy Birthday and make her feel special.  Liam could hardly believe it, but Lachy and Amanda were heading out that night to Cappadocia - (we would have loved to have gone, but time and money limit us now) how could they leave us?  We have enjoyed their company and we hope they come and visit us in Darwin soon!

Today our tour took us to Karahayit, Hierapolis (ancient Roman ruins above the travertine hill), to Cleopatra's pool and down the travertines for a late lunch in Pamukkale and - surprise! - a visit to a Onyx factory.  For information purposes only, of course.  Our stop in Karahayit was brief - just to show us the famous "red" water which is actually quite clear (although apparently the iron comes out when the water is left to sit) and long enough for Liam to befriend another cat!  Our guide walked us through the Hierapolis ruins and while we probably could have done it ourselves, it was handy to have her point everything out.  The tour didn't include the Hierapolis amphitheatre, however we had two hours "free time" so while the kids leapt into Cleopatra's pool Greg and I took a quick trek up to admire it.  A lot of restoration has been done on it so it's quite impressive.  However the absolute highlight for the kids was Cleopatra's Pool.  They have you over a barrel: you have to pay an extra 32 try per person to go into the pool, which is outrageous really, but if you are there, the opportunity to swim in a naturally heated pool filled with ancient Roman ruins (not to mention, actually swum in by Cleopatra herself!) is very hard to resist.  So we didn't!  Walking down the travertine hill is interesting.  The calcium carbonate dissolves in the mineralised water and creates the "cotton candy" white hill side that Pamukkale is famous for. You have to carry your shoes and are limited as to where you can walk - to try to avoid damaging the travertine. The brown bits are very slippery but I'm pleased to report that we all made it down without getting wet!  Lunch was great but the drink prices were a rip off.  After the tour we had an hour hanging around until our transfer to Denizli airport.  As we left, it was getting dark, and the air was full of smoke.  The locals say it's fog but it seems quite clearly to be smog, as the acrid smoke of plastic and other smelly things being burnt was in the air every evening we were there

.  It's interesting with so much rubbish being burnt that there is still so much more lying around!  Pamukkale really is a grubby little village.  Our only concern with our flight back to Istanbul was that we were only allowed 15kg of luggage per person, but with some judicious re-packing we managed to get under that amount - carrying my carpet as hand luggage.  Luckily for us they didn't weigh the hand luggage!!  So now we are back in Istanbul for three days!

Gallipoli, Selcuk and the carpet buying frenzy

We had to make a very early start from Istanbul – 6.30am, Liam and Bella were beside themselves! – for our transfer to Eceabat, on the Gallipoli peninsular.  The road was very foggy so we couldn't admire the view, and although the driver sometimes seemed a little distracted and veered across the lanes we made the trip safely!  The pick up from Istanbul, to Eceabat, breakfast, lunch and our tour was 60 euro per person.  The tour of Gallipoli was great.  Our guide (who from reports was a Turk with an Aussie accent, but we found you had to listen very hard to hear the twang in the occasional words!) gave us a very comprehensive overview of the entire Gallipoli campaign and took us all over the peninsular.  Greg and I found it as sobering as our last visit – it is hard not to be moved to tears thinking of all of the men, but especially the young ones, being gunned down for what proved to be such a fruitless exercise in WW1 – and hoped Bella and Liam were also touched.  We went from “Brighton Beach” to Anzac Cove, onto Lone Pine, onto the main Turkish memorial and finished up at the highest point reached by the Anzacs: actually by the Kiwis.  It was bloody freezing up there.  Even Greg admitted to having a frozen face when he got back on the mini bus.  We had a good crowd on the bus, mainly fellow Aussies, a family of four Kiwis, and five Yanks (who probably wondered what the big deal over this little bit of beach was, but hopefully had a much better idea after the tour!).   We went back to Eceabat to our hotel, Crowded House, and got recommendations for a restaurant down the road for dinner.  I had a good meal, but some of the others in our group were not so happy so I won’t recommend it.  I wished the hotel had served dinner – going out into the cold and very strong winds was not fun!  Our room was warm and had a great bed, we slept well. 

We left Eceabat with two new friends, Amanda and Lachlan from Newcastle, who we met on the Gallipoli tour, for our bus trip to Selcuk. I don't imagine they had thought they would spend part of their holiday with a family of four!!  It was a very, very long trip (nearly 7 hours to Izmir), but Turkish buses have improved markedly from when we last travelled on them.  Not only are they non smoking (yay), they don’t play loud Turkish music the entire time.  In fact there is a little TV screen on the back of each seat and they play TV shows and movies – but all in Turkish.  Liam and Bella, for want of anything better to do, watched “The Hobbit” in Turkish.  I don’t know if it’s improved their understanding of the language!!  The seats were pretty comfortable too.  All in all it wasn't a bad experience but I'm hoping we can get a cheap flight back to Istanbul so we don’t have to do another long bus trip!!  When we finally reached Izmir (Turkey’s third largest city, the bus terminal was about five stories high, very impressive!) we had to transfer to a mini bus for another 40 minute drive to Selcuk.  I had the name of some places I thought we might stay at, but I hadn't made a booking – honestly, it’s the middle of winter, and there aren't that many tourists, right?  Bella and Liam were very nervous that we’d be sleeping rough.  It’s quite cold here at night too!  We walked from the train station to my first choice, “Artemis Guest house”, which must be a good place to stay as it was chockers!  Rats!  However the owner helpfully led us down the road to my next choice, “Wallaby Hotel”.  It’s located right next to the ruins of the roman aquaduct, in a street full of restaurants.  The price was not too bad – 100 try ($50) per room including breakfast, however we didn't have any hot water this morning which didn’t impress me – I like a shower to start my day!  The owner, Jeff, was very keen that we eat at his restaurant which he assured us had good reviews in the Lonely Planet, but we were all very determined to find a little place that has rave reviews and No. 1 spot in Trip Advisor – “Mehmet and Ali Baba Kebab House”.  I looked it up and put the map reference onto my phone and handed it to Liam to lead us there.  Some commotion between Liam and Bella led to the map being changed and without wifi, we had to use the screen shot Bella had taken earlier… which led us all over the place (we did need to stretch our legs though!) and some helpful locals (none of whom were carpet salesmen!) helped us find the place, which was just closing.  It was quite late by this time.  So we went back to plan B, which was the top rated spot in Lonely Planet right across the road from Wallabys, “Ejder” restaurant.  Ignoring Jeff’s sad face from across the road.  And we were glad we did, as it was the best meal we've had to date in Turkey – in fact if we weren't so keen to try Mehmet’s, we’d probably go there again.  Everyone loved everything and they finished the meal for us with a sharing plate of their deserts including a rice pudding that even my father would have loved.  It was delicious. 

Yesterday we were picked up at 9.30 for a tour of the ruins at Ephesus, or Efes as the Turks say.  Amazing ruins of a beautiful Roman city – at its peak it was one of the capitols of the Roman empire, but the river silted up and the town was deserted.  Over time, materials were looted – the granite columns in the Aya Sophia came from Efes!  We’d visited it long ago, on the day we went I think it was just Greg, Angela and I on a very hot Turkish day.  In contrast, today was crisp and cold, and the ruins were packed with Asians from a cruise boat docked in Izmir.  Our guide told us that in the summer, they often have four or five tour boats in one day doing tours to Efes, it would be just crazy to be in those sort of crowds!  No Turkish tour is complete without a trip to a carpet shop, and our tour included a stop at a Turkish government shop.  The government has set up these shops to give a fair price to local women who weave the carpets; the workers there assure us they are paid regardless of sales and make no commissions. I saw a carpet I really wanted there.  It was the first one I’d seen that I could just imagine in my house right away.  But the price was way, way out of our budget.  I was resigned to walking away, and not getting it, when they relented and came down to my price, but then claimed negotiations were in US dollars not AUD… bugger it, I thought.  I want this carpet.  So come on over and admire it when we get home J  Our last stop on the tour was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, the ruins of the temple of Artemis.  It really is a ruin which is tragic as it would have been a wonder in any time, it was HUGE.

Back at Wallabys, we met up with Amanda and Lachie, who had done their own thing at Efes, and we set out for Mehmet’s place…and found it!  As reviews had said, they were friendly and welcoming and the prices were very reasonable.  We had a great night, including all the adults trying raki (like a black jelly bean in taste!).  Greg went to pay the bill and was away for quite some time.  I asked Mehmet what he was doing: “Buying a carpet!” he replied.  I laughed, knowing that would not be the case… but yes, I couldn't believe it, he HAD bought another carpet.  Apparently the brothers who run the restaurant had started off in the carpet business, then gone into the restaurant trade; the restaurant was doing so well they had decided to start selling off their carpets and so they were offering really, really good prices (as only people who have been to at least seven carpet shops would be able to tell you!!).  Greg showed us his carpet then we all went into have a look.  Liam went into full carpet sales man mode, talking knowledgeably to Lachie and Amanda about quality, knots, and fabric used; in no time at all, not only had Lachie and Amanda also decided to buy a carpet each, but Bella had found one that she decided to buy using Mema’s birthday money for her 16^th; and Greg bought a kilim (flat woven rug) for our hallway!!  It was such a hoot, we couldn't believe we were buying all these carpets (and at such good prices, especially compared to the amount I’d spent earlier in the day!!)  - it was very funny and very memorable.  And dinner was pretty good too J  If you are coming to Turkey, Selcuk MUST be on the agenda!!