Dalyan – 20th & 21st March

As I didn’t go to bed until the early hours of the morning on Sunday 20th March, I was extremely tired and decided a day of doing as little as possible was on the cards. I felt a few tremors of an earthquake but couldn’t work out if I was just feeling hungover and tired. Mark had left to join in the sweeping of the new road, which Alp had organised, from Sofra bar. The intentions were to sweep sand in to the cracks to help the workmen, Sarah had been busy making sandwiches for the volunteers.
I ate strawberries for breakfast and went back to bed for a bit then I watched Netflix, did some Turkish practice and relaxed. For lunch I only just managed some red pesto mushroom pasta then had a nannan nap. When dinner time came round I couldn’t be bothered to cook so I just had cheese on Jacob’s crackers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

When I woke up on Monday 21st March I was really missing Captain Caveman. I saw a photo of his (our) home in Phong Nha on Facebook and wished it was easier to get over there. There were more complications about the visa situation, where people trying to apply via the embassy were in a backlog of processing. In Phong Nha temperatures had reached 33°C and I missed that too.

In Dalyan it was 4°C and news of more earthquakes off Crete which I’d felt yesterday. I had grapefruit and strawberries for breakfast, before opening up the laptop at the kitchen table. For lunch I had some Quinoa crackers with brie and olives but I should have eaten more. Inevitably, it would be one of those Mondays and I should have known. John had messaged me that the Rum bar was having an opening party today, to which we were all invited, so I cracked on with some work in order to finish early and attend. I also sent a message to Sarah, Debbie (Darling) and Ann to ask if they were going and to say I’d see them there from 4.30pm. In the afternoon I had a wander to Migros supermarket and bought the following essentials:

Spinach 9.95
Fabric Softener 18.25
Washing powder 22.75
Beef mince 41.16
Diced beef 44.00

Total spent 136.11 lira (£7)

After dropping my shopping home I went to join Andy, Kaye, Mark, Kate, Chris and Jackie at Okyanus for Kaye’s farewell drinks. The sun was shining and the Efes was cold, after 2 beers the sun was going in so we wandered up to Tez bar to catch the last of the sunshine. It was past 4.30pm when we arrived and Debbie (Darling) had already made her way to Rum bar to meet me. There was no word from Ann but Sarah was running late, as she was still working. Sue was at Tez bar and had recently had her cataract operation so she looked like a pirate. We just had the one beer but had a few laughs while we waited for Sarah to come. I temporarily forgot about Kate’s peanut allergy as I shelled and ate the complimentary ones, then tried to get her to eat some.
Debbie (Darling) returned to Tez, having not found me at Rum bar and she pretended to be cross, Ann had decided not to join us.

Sarah arrived, after a busy working day, and we all went to Rum bar which had some gorgeous cocktails. I started with a Pina Colada then discovered they had a Ron Zacapa rum which is one of my favourites.
I finally got to meet Cameron and Betty who were in Dalyan on holiday after not being able to visit due to the pandemic. Unfortunately they were only here for a short holiday but it was good to get to meet them in person at last. The atmosphere at Rum bar was good and a fire kept the chills off as the temperature dropped.

We all said our farewells to Kaye then Sarah and I walked back along the river towards home. On the way we decided we were hungry so would go for a Chinese at China Town. It was my first visit to ‘eat-in’ since the renovations and reopening – it looked good. I ordered chicken in black bean sauce, egg fried rice and prawn toast while Sarah opted for a half portion of sweet and sour chicken. It was unfortunate for Sarah that she had to have a work related telephone conversation on loud speaker throughout the duration of our meal. Luckily, there were only a couple of other customers in at this late hour on a Monday evening. I took a small amount of left over chicken home and felt exhausted when I got in.

Photo credit – Alp Aslan, street sweeping. Phong Nha Farmstay, Elements Collection.

Dalyan – 18th & 19th March

I didn’t sleep until 3am and was awake at 7am again on Friday 18th March, I’m not sure why. I went back to sleep then didn’t wake up until 10.30am.
I lost 0.5kg on the scales this week and the cycling, Zumba, and walking were definitely helping with my leg muscles – I’d put 1-2cm on thighs and calves. I had cornflakes for breakfast then I went over to my parents’ place to put the curtains back up. I found I was an inch too short while precariously standing on the step ladder and had to abandon it. I booked in a cleaner, found a yoga class that I inquired about and did a few other jobs.
Ann messaged to ask if she could come to mine to do an LFT to check if she had Corona as she had felt like she had swollen glands, unfortunately I was out so we arranged for her to come tomorrow morning. A few more people that we knew in Dalyan were testing positive recently so we wanted to double check.
Captain Caveman was at Karst Villas, in Phong Nha, with Caroline, her dog V and Hung and it looked really hot there.
I had a delivery from Emma Cevik of some pies, of which I had a mince and onion one for lunch with mushrooms, broccoli and gravy. I snacked on dates for afters and stayed home in case I had caught Corona but didn’t have any symptoms yet.
That evening I ate the last of the (never-ending) teriyaki chicken with pasta, had cheese and pickled onions then did some writing.

Saturday 19th March was a busy and challenging day for me! I had booked the cleaner in because the apartment was full of dust and the floors were still dirty from the workmen. Ann came round at 9.30am so she could do a Lateral Flow Test. I’d already done my test and was negative, then we waited for her result which was also negative. We called for Vanessa before 10am and walked to the market. I bought potatoes and onions from the first stall for 24 lira, then peppers, carrots, mushrooms and aubergines from the next stall for 60 lira. I couldn’t resist getting another punnet of strawberries for 40 lira but 124 lira (£6.39) was the most I’ve spent at the market so far. Our bags were heavy as we walked back to town with the intention of all 3 of us going to Sofra bar for a bacon sandwich. Vanessa realised she had to get back and decided not to join Ann and I but when we got to Sofra the electric was off. It was a day for rugby but the England match wasn’t on until 11pm so I wasn’t sure if I would make it. After dropping off the market produce at home, I decided to go to Star Gurme to stock up on some non-Turkish food supplies. I bought the following:
1 Pesto sauce 15.00
2 baked beans 30.00
1 box cream crackers 30.00
1 brie 45.00
1 Curry paste 60.00
2 Coconut milk 70.00
1 Lurpak butter 80.00
3 cheddar 150.00

Total spent 480 lira (£25)

I managed to do all the talking in Turkish and the lady gave me a free box of Quinoa crackers. I popped in to Rehab bar but there were only the pool fellas in, no women as yet, so I met Sarah, Rach and Ann at Jiks for a beer. Vanessa joined us and then we went back up to Rehab bar to rejoin the pool lads, meet Kate and watch the rugby.
I spoke to Captain Caveman about plans for a visit to Vietnam and we concluded that I needed to send my passport to the consulate in Ankara to get the 90 day visa and that I should do this as soon as possible. Unfortunately this would mean I wouldn’t be able to go back to the UK in a couple of days time. Matt and Mark were very practical and helpful with offers of us hiring a car for a road trip to Ankara and I messaged Sonuç to get a price for if we hired a driver. Kate and Vanessa were also on board with the idea and I was super excited to be able to have a way to get a visa. Finally we had a loose plan, as long as the embassy were able to grant me a visa.
After pool, most people went home, they were the sensible ones. John and Andrea decided to go to Sofra for dinner so Mark, Kate, Ann and I decided to join them. I’d only had 3 beers by this time and I was purposely trying to pace myself as Kate had already asked if I minded keeping an eye on Mark, watching the rugby and him staying at mine. She hadn’t been feeling too good and fancied a night at home so I accepted the challenge. I was extra careful on the roadworks this time and was looking forward to some food as I’d not eaten since breakfast. I ordered a chicken stir fry and a glass of red wine for my dinner and in fact all of us, except Mark, ordered a chicken stir fry which came out at various times with it being so busy. I really enjoyed my food which was fresh and piping hot but I felt bad that Ann and Kate had to wait a bit longer for their’s when they were hungrier than me. Mark’s burger seemed to take ages and had still not arrived when I took an extra stir fry to Tayfur at Rehab, as he had a foot injury and was on crutches.
When I got back the mood had changed somewhat because Mark had decided he no longer wanted to wait for his food, which was taking longer than expected. Kate had phoned a taxi to go home as planned, John and Andrea were also going home but Ann and I had ordered another wine.
Unfortunately due to too much wine things didn’t quite work out as I’d imagined. Ann went home while Mark and I left Sofra to go back to Rehab bar, as arranged, to watch the rugby with Tayfur. We had some red wine, a disappointing result for England and a pretty late night. It was my turn to navigate us through the roadworks this time, we got back to mine without any injuries and, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to stay up ridiculously late.

Dalyan – 16th & 17th March

I woke up later than intended on Wednesday 16th March, in the spare room at Mark and Kate’s house. I checked my phone and there was some good news in the Vietnamese news today; there was no longer a requirement to quarantine on entry into Vietnam, more here:
https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1165267/viet-nam-drops-covid-19-vaccine-certificates-quarantine-requirements-for-foreign-arrivals.html
Kate had already left for her art class before her Turkish lesson. I’d brought some cooked rice and teriyaki chicken with me last night, which we didn’t eat, so I made egg fried rice for breakfast and Mark made strawberry and oat smoothies. I needed to be at Turkish class by 12 so Mark gave me a lift back on his motorbike. I went home to have a wash and clean my teeth but the water was off. I think I may have still been a bit drunk as the Turkish class felt like the longest ever, usually the time flies by. I’d said I wasn’t going to bother with going out that afternoon but I was peckish again. Vanessa and I wandered to Wonky’s for a chicken wrap for lunch even though I was feeling delicate. The food was lovely and only 35 lira (£1.80) for the wrap and chips but I started to feel unwell after, when my hangover kicked in. The pool lads had decided on Wonkys for their games today and there were the usual reprobates plus the darts people. Penny, Phil and Ann arrived so I soldiered on, then Madge arrived and had a cold. Later Kate joined us and when Phil told us a story of him vomitting in his face mask, I had to run to the loo to be sick. I took some sickness medicine which Ann had to pick me up from the pharmacy and I managed to walk home with Vanessa and Matt. That evening I was feeling much better so I had teriyaki chicken with steamed rice for dinner and then an early night. Tomorrow I would be inspecting my parents’ decorating which was coming to an end.

Having been awake until the early hours I was surprised to be up by 7am on Thursday 17th March. I’d been eagerly awaiting news of the visa situation in Vietnam and was pleased to discover that, as well as an online 30 day visa process, 90 day visas for certain people were being considered via the embassies/consulate. I sent an email to them to ask for a 90 day visa, even though I would not be going to Vietnam for that long, because I did want to be there for longer than 30 days. I checked out the flights and, unsurprisingly, there were still no direct flights from Turkey. The ones that were showing were around £800 return, which was too much to pay – I would wait. I was still holding out hope of going back to England for a week to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday and the flights there were cheap, coming back were a bit more expensive though.
I went to meet Mehmet at Lukka bar so we could go to check on the work at my parents’ place and had a cup of tea while I waited. At Ma & Pa’s I was happy to see it looked good and they had even done a better job at cleaning up than the workmen at my place.
Next, I met Ann at Hotel Dalyance for a Turkish breakfast. I always love a Turkish breakfast but I have generally had to avoid them due to most of the ingredients giving me a dodgy stomach. I had no plans for the rest of the day so thought I’d chance it. The breakfast was lovely and I really enjoyed it but I did suffer when I got home.
For a late lunch I had teriyaki chicken with egg fried rice then had some homemade Baba Ghanoush on bread. In the afternoon we got some bad news; Madge, who had joined us at Wonky’s yesterday, had tested positive for Corona. Penny messaged to let me know I needed to do a test, so I did and I was negative. Penny and Phil were negative, Ann didn’t have any tests so was going to stay home for a couple of days and see if she got any symptoms. We were lucky that none of us had any symptoms but it was possible we would test positive in the next couple of days, I messaged all the people we were with to let them know. I decided to cancel my plans to go to Rehab bar later for darts and my seat at Lukka music bingo tomorrow – just to be on the safe side. It was a shame that it would be my first St Patrick’s day in Dalyan but I wouldn’t get to celebrate it.
For dinner I had grapefruit, from Mark & Kate’s trees, with cheese and egg fried rice and it was delicious.