We've been lazy...
Okay, so not lazy- just busy. It's been a good couple of weeks since last writing and we've done a lot. The following paragraphs i sent in an email two weeks ago, but cannot be naffed re-editing it, so pretend you are yourself one week ago and you may just get the vibe of it:
¬'Well, our Intrepid Tour is over! I have to say it was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. In the last three weeks I've done and seen more than i think i have in the last couple of years of my life! It's a great thing to cram in so much, see so many interesting places and meet great people! I cannot recommend Intrepid Tours enough. Their average demographic is between 25 to 50, though we had this hilarious 72 year old lady named Wendy from geelong who came along with her younger sister. They were good value. Hungary, where the tour started seems like a life time ago. Now we just said goodbye to our friends from the trip who are going to Croatia. It was sad to part company. We will also miss the $1.50 lei 500ml beers from Romania and Bulgaria, though. That converts to about 90c Aussie!
Yesterday we went into a Turkish tea house (complete with carpets on the walls, turks playing Backgammon and a view of the sea) where we drank apple tea and smoked apple flavored water pipes. They also had cinnamon tea which had a lovely spicy kick. Today we went to the Istanbul's famous Grand Bazaar which has over 4000 stalls and people trying to drag you into their shops eager for your business. ¬'
Shortly after Istanbul we found ourselves on a miserable overnight bus to Selcuk. It's a 10 hour bus ride. Selcuk is a small town kept alive by it's close location to the ruins of Ephesus- an ancient greek town where a large portion of the building's foundations are still intact. It's also famous because in this area they found several small figurines of a Greek god (whose name has long since left me) with a life sized phallus. All of the souvineer stands have replicas, some without the attached god figurine! Sex sells, i guess.
We moved on from there down south to Fethiye- a beautiful town nestled into a cove of the Mediteranean sea. In Lonely Planet they say it's a very old town without many old buildings- and they're right about that. It's a sea side town, possibly like any Mediterranean sea side town, but highly relaxing and because a lot of Brits buy land there there's a lot of English spoken so you don't have to try so hard! It's also the starting point of our Blue Cruise!
We were on a Yacht for 4 days, 3 nights of pure relaxation. I can now say I've had my Mediterranean swimming cherry broken! Glorious warm waters the like I've never experienced in the stubbornly cold southern ocean! As soon as we get to london we've post the photos, but for now rest knowing it was a great experience. The food was great too.
Right now i'm tapping away from Olympos. We're staying in tree house pensions which are basically poorly constructed shacks that sit a metre or so above the ground. Nice. Olympos has what they call Chimera flames, gas eternal flames that have been burning as long as they've been bothered to record it. Turks say it's the original place where the Olympic flame was lite, Greeks say Mt Olympos in Greece was the place but that argument stems from way too many issues to complicated too discuss here!
¬'Well, our Intrepid Tour is over! I have to say it was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. In the last three weeks I've done and seen more than i think i have in the last couple of years of my life! It's a great thing to cram in so much, see so many interesting places and meet great people! I cannot recommend Intrepid Tours enough. Their average demographic is between 25 to 50, though we had this hilarious 72 year old lady named Wendy from geelong who came along with her younger sister. They were good value. Hungary, where the tour started seems like a life time ago. Now we just said goodbye to our friends from the trip who are going to Croatia. It was sad to part company. We will also miss the $1.50 lei 500ml beers from Romania and Bulgaria, though. That converts to about 90c Aussie!
Yesterday we went into a Turkish tea house (complete with carpets on the walls, turks playing Backgammon and a view of the sea) where we drank apple tea and smoked apple flavored water pipes. They also had cinnamon tea which had a lovely spicy kick. Today we went to the Istanbul's famous Grand Bazaar which has over 4000 stalls and people trying to drag you into their shops eager for your business. ¬'
Shortly after Istanbul we found ourselves on a miserable overnight bus to Selcuk. It's a 10 hour bus ride. Selcuk is a small town kept alive by it's close location to the ruins of Ephesus- an ancient greek town where a large portion of the building's foundations are still intact. It's also famous because in this area they found several small figurines of a Greek god (whose name has long since left me) with a life sized phallus. All of the souvineer stands have replicas, some without the attached god figurine! Sex sells, i guess.
We moved on from there down south to Fethiye- a beautiful town nestled into a cove of the Mediteranean sea. In Lonely Planet they say it's a very old town without many old buildings- and they're right about that. It's a sea side town, possibly like any Mediterranean sea side town, but highly relaxing and because a lot of Brits buy land there there's a lot of English spoken so you don't have to try so hard! It's also the starting point of our Blue Cruise!
We were on a Yacht for 4 days, 3 nights of pure relaxation. I can now say I've had my Mediterranean swimming cherry broken! Glorious warm waters the like I've never experienced in the stubbornly cold southern ocean! As soon as we get to london we've post the photos, but for now rest knowing it was a great experience. The food was great too.Right now i'm tapping away from Olympos. We're staying in tree house pensions which are basically poorly constructed shacks that sit a metre or so above the ground. Nice. Olympos has what they call Chimera flames, gas eternal flames that have been burning as long as they've been bothered to record it. Turks say it's the original place where the Olympic flame was lite, Greeks say Mt Olympos in Greece was the place but that argument stems from way too many issues to complicated too discuss here!
posted by Andy at
8:22 AM
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