Dalyan – 17th April

It was a busy day in the office on Friday 17th April and I didn’t get round to eating lunch until gone 2.30pm. I just had a combination of left over chicken casserole with a chicken leg and some roasted veggies.
At 6pm I attended another cruise training webinar with Travelpack, a supplier I’ve used a few times for my customers. This free training was the last in this series and was on Antara luxury cruises on the Ganges. Previous ones had covered Lindblad, Riverside, Uncruise and Silver Sea but Travelpack covered all cruise ships. Before the session started they told us to grab a drink so I poured myself a glass of wine – they probably meant put the kettle on. Still, we had a great training session despite them being after normal office hours on a Friday night for my Turkish time zone. I’ve been to India before and it was no longer on my wishlist but, after this session I was very impressed and added it back on. The Antara cruise ships were absolutely fantastic and I would love to go on one of their trips with Captain Caveman one day. Coincidentally, an old Sheffield friend and ex-Norwich Union colleague (also called Jo) had recently set up her own travel business and was on the webinar too. I remembered her dad had connections to India so was pleased she was attending.
The webinar lasted about an hour and then we had a bit of a wrap up from the organisers at Travelpack as that had been the last for a while. There would be an announcement next month of who would win a Fam trip on one of their cruises this summer and I really hoped it would be me.

I was about to rush off to join the opening night at Dalyan Lounge as it had already started and quite a few friends were going to be there, in their various groups, when Captain Caveman called. I’d arranged to meet Vanessa at Dalyan Lounge and she said she would save me a seat but then, as it rained and she was tired from being out yesterday, she decided to stay at home. I walked along the river and it was really picturesque tonight.

By the time I arrived, there were no seats and the bar was full. I had been sat down all day so I wasn’t particularly bothered about sitting down. Andrea and John were the first people to welcome me and offered to squish up so that I could sit with them round the table with Jamie, Nicola, Nanny Kay, her daughter and her friend. I sat between Andrea and John when John insisted. We had good chat while I enjoyed a glass of red wine. Andrea and John had been expecting the rest of their friends group but they had cancelled due to the rain. It was very cosy on that couch as John and Andrea tried the the cocktails and we were all pleased to see that Captain Boris and Rebecca (the new owners of Dalyan Lounge) had a full bar on a rainy and cold evening. I had a couple of Angora red wines which were still on the cheap prices of 180 lira (£3) per glass, by which time all of the people we were sharing the table with had started to leave or move tables. I decided not to stay too long as I needed my dinner. I said my goodbyes just as it was getting too smokey for me and reminded myself that I wasn’t going to achieve all my goals by being in the pub drinking too much.

I left and went via the bank to draw out some cash for the market tomorrow. I also decided to spend the money I might have spent on a Friday night out on fish and chips from Cadde Balık Ekmek. I took them as a takeaway and also got myself some popcorn and a chocolate bar from the shop. Today I had spent a total of 975 lira (£16.53) and was in bed by 10.30pm feeling quite tired.

Gratitude List
1. Free Cruise training webinar from Travelpack
2. Opening party at Dalyan Lounge
3. Good food including fish and chips.