Turkey, continued: May 2014

Our next stop in Turkey was Selçuk, from where we would visit the Greek ruins on Ephesus, or Efes in Turkish.

After the hustle and bustle of Istanbul, Selçuk seemed decidedly tranquil. It's nestled in a valley, with blue hills rising up all around. Strolling along the streets, there were oranges hanging from the trees, and the smell of jasmine on the breeze. An impressive fortress looks down upon the town, and we enjoyed views of this and all around the valley from the rooftop restaurant at our hotel.

Efes is just a short drive from Selçuk, so we went on the afternoon we arrived. I don't think either of were expecting something so vast. With a main path running alongside the ruins of former buildings, you can imagine how the city must have once looked. and many parts of the ruins themselves are quite intact, such as the library and a huge amphitheatre. It's nice that you also have the possibility of walking right up to everything.

It was in Efes that we started to notice the abundance of cats in Turkey. They were lounging about all throughout Efes, and all seemed to be in relatively good condition.

We soon hit the road again, and en route we managed to stop off in Pamukkale, the town famed for its travertines - naturally formed terraces formed by minerals in the flowing water, and its hot springs. Provided you take your shoes off, you can walk right on a path to the terraces, wading through the milky blue coloured pools of water, and enjoying the stunning view from the top. I couldn't help thinking that the pink and white terraces in New Zealand must have once looked something like this.

Later that day we arrived into Fethiye, on the Aegean coast. From Fethiye itself, one of the main attractions is Öludeniz: picture postcard Turkey, with deep blue sea and long strip of beach stretching to a headland. As it turns out, this area is quite the destination for British holidaymakers and retirees. It was very strange wandering down the street and seeing sandwich boards advertising things like 'British bacon' 'PG Tips.' The area is also well known for paragliding, and from down on the beach you can see the brightly coloured gliders circling and landing one after the other. So we thought we'd give it a try ourselves.

We were picked up early the next morning for our adventure. I started to get quite nervous when our rickety van kept climbing and climbing at quite a speed up a narrow and not too stable road, but by this stage, no possibility of backing out! As newbies, we were paired up with instructors and were suddenly standing on an extraordinarily steep hillside, and being told to run towards the edge. The wind picked us up and away we were. After the initial adrenaline of running off the side of the cliff, the ride down itself was actually quite peaceful, although I still clung nervously to the handles/straps all the way down - which is actually quite a long time. We were also lucky enough to have some a beautiful sunny day, so the views really were breathtaking.

Our next stop was Kaş, a small coastal town further south. The afternoon we arrived the weather was stunning and we enjoyed a beer in the sun, looking forward to the next few days of scuba diving. Unfortunately a big storm blew in that night and the weather for the rest of our stay was pretty off and on. The diving was also quite disappointing, as there just didn't seem to be many fish, or much of anything to see there, despite us having read it was a good spot for diving. The bad weather didn't help our enjoyment of it either. So after our first day, we ended up cancelling our second day. 

Kaş is a really cute wee town, hills curving around a harbour and rocky outcrops to swim from, and winding stone streets, where you're actually not pestered in the slightest by shop owners trying to sell their wares. In bad weather however, we quickly exhausted most things to see. I would recommend going back, but not in May, when the weather is quite unpredictable - the locals recommended September is a good time to visit.

We tried another couple of delicious dishes in Kaş. One was manti - a pasta, similar in size and shape to ravioli, however it wasn't filled, and it came served with a garlicky yoghurt sauce with a bit of rich tomato sauce on top. Delicious, but gave you terrible breath! The other was lahmucan: similar to a pizza, but with mince on top. It doesn't sound appetising, but it was perfectly seasoned and super tasty.

Manti

From Kaş, we just had one last stop before flying back to London - this time in Antalya. Antalya is a bit of a resort town, with casinos aplenty. We even saw tourist cruises around the harbour, in ships fully decked out in pirate regalia. It's quite a big city and did quite a few interesting things to see, but didn't particularly appeal as a holiday destination.

In Antalya we again noticed an abundance of cats roaming around, apparently strays, but in very good condition. We then came across a cat house in a park. It seems the stray cats are really taken care of here. 

Local cat house :) 

Our time in Turkey had come to an end. It was an enjoyable trip, although would have been more so with better weather. We also had some great food, although at the end, it felt like we had subsisted on meat and bread, and were glad to get back some normalcy at home.

Koh Tao, sometime in July

We arrived into Koh Tao somewhat worse for wear after a long night bus and ferry ride from Bangkok. The package we booked in Bangkok included several nights’ accommodation and the PADI Open Water diving course at Coral Grand Divers, one of many dive operators on the island.

Later that same day, we started our Open Water course. I think we were pretty close to dozing off as we watched a video covering some of the theory.  We were then given our own course books, and dive tables, and prescribed a few chapters to read that evening.

The whole course was four days long, involving much more theory than I had anticipated. On the practical side, we started off with two practice dives in the swimming pool, before moving to the Ocean, and completing four dives at various dive locations off the island. To complete the course, we needed to pass both a theory test and have completed all the necessary skills during our dives. Naturally, we passed with flying colours J, although were quite tired after all that – the course is quite compacted, a lot of information to cover in such a short space of time.

Kylie seemed to take like a fish to water with the practical skills, while I took a little longer to get the hang of things. Removing my mask and holding it, before replacing I found quite tough, as my natural instinct was to breath in through my nose, meaning I would then take on water; but I got there in the end.

Our instructor, Coco, was really fantastic. She was very thorough, super friendly, patient, and you could tell she was really passionate about diving and conservation of the marine environment.

After completing the course, we also did a few fun dives. It was so great to be able to just chill out and really enjoy the dive, checking out all the amazing sea life, rather than concentrating on the various skills to complete. Some of the most memorable things we saw were; giant grouper, puffer fish, trigger fish, and a stingray.

In between the course and the fun dives, we had taken a few days off from diving and explored the rest of the island on motorbike. As a warning, some of the roads, particularly down to different beaches, were quite rough, but it was definitely worth it.

As with most of the islands, Koh Tao really seems like a place apart from Thailand itself. Towards the end of our stay the island really started to fill up as revelers from the infamous Full Moon Party on nearby Koh Pha Ngan drifted in. The bars and restaurants are therefore set up to cater to this crowd, with predominately western or westernized food being served. That said, we did manage to find a couple of places serving delicious, authentic Thai food.

Mui Ne, 5 – 8 June

Next stop was some more beach time. We had heard that Mui Ne was a little less touristy than Nha Trang and so decided to try there. There turned out to be, however, quite an abundance of Russian tourists and resorts all along the strip of beach. The restaurants left a lot to be desired, unless you were prepared to fork out a decent amount for some seafood. We did manage to find a nice local food stall though, and enjoyed some good ole’ pho (noodle soup) for a fraction of the cost.
The main road along the beach was stiflingly hot at the time, but in our hotel high in the dunes, we were very glad of the breeze that made its way to us. We spent a few days enjoying a nice hotel, view, and a little bit of the beach, and then decided to move on.

Sihanoukville 20 - 26 May

Our next stop was Sihanoukville, on Cambodia’s southern coast. We had heard that some areas of Sihanoukville were over-touristed and a little sleazy, so instead sussed out a chilled out beach to stay at; Otres beach. 

On our first day here, we went on a boat tour arranged by an American guy living and working at Otres. There were seven of us on this mini tour, and we had a stunning day for it. We visited Bamboo Island, a gorgeous island uninhabited apart from the one guesthouse’s cluster of bungalows. Here we swam and snorkelled about, went for a walk, and had a delicious seafood barbecue on the beach. We also went cliff jumping before heading back to the mainland.

Early one morning (around 5am) I woke up to a rustling noise in the thatching of our bungalow room. I thought it was a mouse or rat or something, so put on my glasses to investigate. To my astonishment, I saw a hole which had been made by parting the thatching, and through this hole, a large, human, eye staring at me. I shouted “hey!,” and a male voice replied “what!” before the eye retreated. I jumped out of bed and raced around to the outside to spot the peeping tom. All I saw however was a retreating back strolling away into a paddock. I was a little disturbed by the thought of someone apparently watching us as we slept. We changed places that day anyway, so no need to worry about a return visit. I did mention this to someone later however, and they explained there had been some robberies lately; probably our peeping tom was scoping out our room and valuables and would return later to pinch them.

We strolled down Otres beach’s one road, and settled in at Everything is Everything, another bar/restaurant/guesthouse. Our bungalow here was right on the beach, and caught the all-important cooling breeze. While the amenities were basic here, the location and the atmosphere was superb and we found ourselves staying a few days at Otres. Everything is Everything is run by two Aussie guys, and the whole vibe was super relaxed (also partly because it was the low season – for a couple of days it was just us staying there).

There were quite a few nice little guesthouses, restaurants and bars at Otres (although hard to find local food), and a great crowd there. Chatting to some of the expats who have ended up living and working in the guesthouses there, we could see the appeal. Towards the end of our stay at Otres however, the weather really started to pack in which was a shame, so we moved on, bidding farewell to our relaxing sojourn at the beach.

Langkawi 12-15th March

From Penang, we took a ferry across to Langkawi for some quality beach time. The ferry was positively Antarctic. I’ve never understood why sometimes the air-conditioning is so cold, it has everyone reaching for extra layers and shivering throughout the trip – surely this is a sure sign it’s a little too cold?

Once we arrived in Langkawi, however, the temperature was nice and toasty. We stayed at Zackry’s Guest House in Pantai Tengah – a great little place, comfortable, with a really good atmosphere. Langkawi is duty free so alcohol is significantly cheaper than on the mainland. Our hostel had a bar and a can of beer was a mere 3 Ringgit (approx. NZ$1.20). So we spent a bit of time chatting to other fellow travellers, sharing stories and advice over beers. With lots of resorts in the area, it was probably the first time we’ve seen quite so many upmarket tourists in our travels.

We spent a bit of time relaxing on the beach just down the road, although had to wait until late afternoon, when it wasn’t quite so scorching.

interesting contrast...

One day we rented a little scooter for an amazing 30 Ringgit and had great fun zooming around the place – once we’d got the hang of things. We went to the langkawi cable car, which was great. Not super cheap, at 30 Ringgit each, but it goes up surprisingly high, with a stop halfway up and then several viewing platforms including a hanging bridge right at the top. Fantastic view across the island.

All in all we had a great few days relaxing and working on our tans a little bit. Even I’m starting to look a little less transparent!