On Friday 25th November I did my weekly measurements and found that I had lost a tiny bit more weight on the home scales and a few centimetres from my bust, waist and hips. I treated myself to beans on toast for breakfast using some syns but I didn’t have any lunch. After checking some of the documents I went to my new Turkish class which was very interesting. The students in there had asked for revision of things they had already learned as well as conversational practice which I found useful – especially as I was sure I’d not learned half of it before. After class, I’d let my parents know that I’d be in Lukka at 3.30pm for a glass of vino if they fancied joining me. Seeing as it was Friday and I had achieved 3 alcohol free days and 3 days of spending zero money this week I was out for a treat. I had decided already that I wouldn’t ruin my hard work, though, and limit myself to 3 drinks. Because Ma & Pa had stayed in for a day due to the weather, Dad was already extra excitable and loud. Maybe he was excited for the England football match that night but my mom had to keep telling him off. Fortunately, Lukka didn’t have many people in at that time so he managed 3 beers without disturbing anyone and was getting louder with each one. Mom had 2 beers and I had 2 glasses of wine. The house red wine in Lukka bar is Buzbağ which has replaced the Tılsım and is served at the perfect temperature for me. My parents fancied one at Tez bar as the sun was gone at Lukka and they hadn’t brought a coat. I said I would go with them but I was only having one because I needed to stick to my diet and was busy tomorrow morning. At Tez there were Penny & Phil, Andy & Kaye, Irena & Wolfie, Jack & Sue – already some of them were quite merry but not a loud as Dad. Tez kindly gave us free walnuts and all was going well with an early evening drink. I’m not sure what happened, exactly, but after my 1 glass of red wine in Tez bar, I decided to go home. My parents didn’t want me to and started calling me boring, surprisingly it was mainly my Mom who was a bit tiddly and on her 4th beer. I’d not seen them both act as lairy in a while and, given the week I’d had, I stuck to my plan and went home at 7.30pm. I thought I’d done well to stick to my 3 wines in 4 hours and knew if I’d stayed out I would have blown all my syns in one night, and my budget! I made myself 2 diet pizzas, this time one with BBQ sauce as a base and got ready for and early night. I was in bed at 11pm, with my winter socks on for my cold feet, when I got a message from my Mom to say they were eating in Duble. I responded with a thumbs up and went to sleep a bit disappointed to not be out drinking on a Friday night but proud of myself for managing to do it. Tomorrow was a big day as it was the Christmas Fayre and I’d arranged to meet everyone from 2pm.
On Saturday 19th November my diet didn’t quite go according to plan! It was one week since Captain Caveman had flown to England. I’d spent a mere 999 lira (£45), including 3 days where I spent zero, 4 days without any alcohol and I’d pretty much stuck to the diet. I made a shopping list for the weekly market and called for Ma & Pa along the way. I spent just 80 lira (£3.64) on mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, onions, plums and chestnuts before we all walked back via Migros. Dad wasn’t up for walking round the supermarket with a rucksack full of purchases so he used it as an excuse to go for a beer at Jiks while Ma & I went in. I bought just a fresh loaf and some Turkish sausage for a total of 33.90 lira (£1.54) then we went over to join Dad in Jiks. It was sunny but looked like rain – still I didn’t cave and have a beer, just a diet coke. After walking home, in a bit of rain, I went back out to buy top up data for my Turkish phone. I didn’t realise the Turkcell shop closed each afternoon (2-8pm) in the winter season so I had missed out and would try again tomorrow. I walked past Penny and Phil at Tez bar who were with other friends and I didn’t call in, but went straight home. I had a cheese sandwich (no butter) out of my allowance and was doing so well, I even had a few plums and a big glass of water. Kate messaged to say that the pool afternoon wasn’t at Rehab bar today so she was at Lukka bar and she was sat on her own having a wine if I’d like to join her. It was the first time she’d been ‘out out’, so of course, I would! She was already on her second glass of wine as I ordered my first, then Janet and a friend walked by and decided to join us. I spoke to Lily Fish who had unfortunately had a bad experience at the restaurant I was planning on going to tonight with my parents so I spoke to her at length about that. Kate and I decided that it worked out better to get a bottle of wine, given that the staff at Lukka were looking after us and it was a lovely sunny day. By the time we paid the bill a second bottle of wine had been had and it was jolly nice. Kate went home and I met Ma & Pa who were coming out fo the evening. We’d arranged to meet friends in Sofra bar to watch the Rugby match at 8.30pm. My parents and I decided Çağrı would be a good venue for dinner so we went there. My diet was well and truly on hold for the day as I tucked in to the courgette fritters for a starter and ordered a glass of wine. By the time we got sat in Sofra bar I was drunk and I was probably more of a hindrance to anyone trying to watch the rugby, than a supporter.
I treated myself to buttered toast and a Yorkshire tea with milk on Thursday 10th November. Captain Caveman went Bumming and I went to the supermarket to get some essentials. Captain Caveman was going back to the UK this weekend so I bought some items that I would need for my diet friendly recipes. Here’s what I got:
Migros Supermarket
Onions 2.77 Pumpkin 19.60 1 Pomegranate juice 26.00 2 plain Quark 27.90 2 tins of tomatoes 45.80
Total spent 122.07 lira (£5.68)
Şok supermarket
1 bag of red lentils 22.50 lira (£1.05)
I got the slow cooker on to make a curry for dinner that night and then decided to have a super healthy lunch of a beetroot salad. Captain Caveman was back later than expected from an arduous morning of bumming and wasn’t too pleased when I said we were off out. I’d arranged to meet my parents at Kaunos tea gardens but Captain Caveman didn’t have time as he needed to have lunch and go for a shave and a haircut. I went anyway and my good intentions of having a Turkish tea without sugar were successful. But then, the sun was shining, my parents ordered another beer and a cleanly shaven Captain Caveman arrived and ordered a beer. I succumbed and ordered a beer, we saw Kaan and Selahi there with friends and it stayed sunny for quite a while as we enjoyed another beer. On the way home we saw Mark at Tez bar so I gave him back Kate’s house key and took a photo as proof, seeing as he’d had a few and might forget he’d seen us. Back home we had the curry I’d made and it was very enjoyable, there was some left for another day too. Captain Caveman opened a bottle of wine to have with his dinner and I couldn’t resist a small drop.
On Friday 11th November I remembered to take my measurements. I had lost 1.1kg on my home scales but had put centimetres on in most places. Captain Caveman made me a diet version of a sausage butty by using sausages that were skinny in a wrap with peppers and onions. I had orange juice too and really enjoyed my breakfast. Captain Caveman went off to Lukka bar to play Bridge and I worked on a presentation for the delayed training session I was involved in later in the month. When Captain Caveman got home we had leftover curry for lunch. I absolutely love having my rice steamer here in Dalyan as the rice takes only about 10 minutes and is perfect every time – I won’t do without one now. In the afternoon I’d arranged to have a walk over to Mark and Kate’s with Captain Caveman and my parents. Kate was still recovering and so she wasn’t yet able to be out and about. The boys had some beers, I stuck to water and Kate celebrated with a splash of prosecco – it had been a week since she’d been in hospital. Bebek the cat took a shine to Captain Caveman while he was sat on the sex swing. My parents and I left him there while we had a lovely stroll back in to town. It would have been rude to go past Rehab bar without calling in for a draft Efes and to say hello to Tay. Captain Caveman joined us later when Mark dropped him off on his mobility scooter. That evening my parents had invited us round for dinner which we were really looking forward to. Mom was doing one of our favourite dinners too, Spaghetti Bolognese. I did succumb to some crisps and 3 glasses of red wine with my large portion of spag bol, which was delicious. For afters we had taken some cheese so we had a cheese board with grapes and some of Kate’s membrillo and plum chutney. I purposely had a break before I ate the cheese so that I would eat less of it. It was a great night and, as it was Captain Caveman’s last night in Dalyan for a couple of weeks, a good way to have a bit of a send off.
We were off to Köyceğiz on Monday 7th November! I’d organised a boat trip with Rob in mind but he had to work and couldn’t come along. Not to be deterred, the rest of us still went on another of Kaan’s boat trips, this time to take us to Köyceğiz market. On board today were; Captain Caveman, me, Mom & Dad, Linda, Vanessa, Tracey, Diana, Jackie & Chris, Wolfie, Tay & Angelique. At one point we were doubting if the weather would be good enough to go as, up to an hour before, it wasn’t looking good. Once we had set sail, I suggested to Kaan that he write the price of each drink on the sheet at the top of the page – that way everyone knows what they were paying beforehand. He told me the prices and I wrote them on for him while we set sail to Köyceğiz, across the gorgeous lake. While I was behind the bar, helping people get the drink they wanted and writing it down on the bar tab for Kaan, I noticed a hat. I was sure it was Viv’s so I messaged her and it was, so I popped it in my bag to give her.
Most of us had already had a drink before we arrived in Köyceğiz and I still had half of my beer left, which I gave to Captain Caveman. My parents, Captain Caveman, Linda and I headed to the clothing part of the market where my Dad decided to buy some trainers. My parents needed a new toaster so Captain Caveman went off to locate the electrical shop, but it was no longer there. The ones we did find didn’t sell toasters so we were just about to make our way back out. Unfortunately, a rather large Turkish woman in somewhat of a rush bumped right in to Dad making him almost lose is balance. When Captain Caveman rejoined us, she had almost done the same to him. It was time to get out of there and reconvene with the group at Tuana restaurant. Linda and I went to the public toilets, they are a short walk from the waterfront and it costs 4 lira (less than 20p). Because Kaan was charging 80 lira (£3.72) for a glass of wine and didn’t have any red, Linda went to buy a bottle in Migros. My parents went straight to Tuana but Captain Caveman and I wanted to find the fruit, veg and cheese market stalls. We found some lovely strawberries, then tried out and bought a few delicious cheeses.
At Tuana a few people were already eating and, although a glass of wine here was 85 lira (£3.95) a beer was only 50 lira (£2.33). The food was good and a few people recommended the quesadillas so Captain Caveman had that. It had chilli in so I ordered a plain chicken sandwich but when it came they had sprinkled chilli flakes on the chicken. I dusted them off and ate it as I was hungry but it was a bit warm. As we were leaving there was a bit of an unfortunate incident. I’d gone to the loo in the restaurant just before Tracey but didn’t realise that she was stuck in there. The dodgy lock meant she was trapped inside and had to phone Diana who alerted the staff. Tracey was rescued by them breaking the door so she didn’t get left behind!
Loaded up with fresh produce from Köyceğiz market, we got back on the boat just before 3pm. The bad weather looked like it might finally be catching up with us but we were heading away from the big black clouds. More drinks were had on the boat and I helped Kaan behind the bar a bit, to make sure everything was recorded properly. Our plan had been to anchor up somewhere on the lake, pop on some music and chill out a little but the rain did look like it might come. Kaan doesn’t have any side awnings on his boat but I momentarily couldn’t think what they were called to ask about them in English or Turkish. We had a laugh telling Kaan he needed to get some ‘side flaps’ for when it was wet! I made the decision to go back to Dalyan without anchoring up, just in case the weather turned, as we had been very lucky so far. This meant we were back by 4.30pm instead of the 5pm we planned so we didn’t cut it short too much.
A few of us decided to stop at Tez bar for a drink, Captain Caveman took our shopping home and went to check if Rob had finished work and wanted to join us. He was still in a meeting so he left a note to say to come to us and we had a couple at Tez’s. A guy sat there had just ordered a toaster which had been delivered to Tez so I took a photo of it for my mom to see if she wanted to order one. There was a German woman sat alone so she came to join us and, when Rob arrived, it turned out he spoke the most German out of any of us.
For dinner we decided to go to Çağrı, Rob had booked Fikri to take him to the airport so we were tight for time. Joining Captain Caveman, Rob, my parents and I were Jackie, Chris and Diana. We all ordered and a few people shared various mezes from the chiller too, there was more booze involved and we all had a lovely meal. Unfortunately Rob had to leave while we were still at Çağrı and we were all sad to see him go. He’d been a perfect guest and everyone had got on well with him, he is so easy going too. Captain Caveman gave him an open invite to come back any time. That really should have been the end of the night but, foolishly, after saying bye to Diana, Jackie and Chris the 4 of us had a table booked at the new Heybe’s Monday Entertainments quiz. When we got there it had just started and we got told off for being late. This quiz is an entertainments one which is based mainly on TV, film and musicals. Obviously Captain Caveman and I find that difficult as we were living in Vietnam for quite a while without any TV at all. We were in luck though as the specialist round was from years back, Only Fools and Horses, something we all used to watch. Jamie, Drew and Debbie were on the next table but we had no time for chatting to anyone as the quiz was on. Obviously we didn’t win and we weren’t sure this kind of quiz was our thing really. It’s ideal if you do like a lot of TV and film though. Earlier in the year I’d had a firestick but I rarely watched anything but Formula 1 or the news, so we were definitely at a disadvantage. Next week’s specialist round would be on the 1968 musical, Oliver! That was definitely more up Drew’s street as he’s good on musicals, none of us 4 have a clue. We were all drunk, we’d had an amazing weekend and now I needed to get back on track with my diet!
Kate, aka Miss Guided Tours or Miss Adventure, had organised another boat trip on Sunday 30th October. I had resigned myself to not going given that Edna, the dog, had not been well yesterday. When we got up and took both dogs out for a walk they were fine and Edna was back to normal, thankfully. I decided I would go on the boat trip, after all, but it did mean we would be leaving the pooches in the villa for about 7 hours and I was a bit concerned. Before the day out to sea on Kaan’s Tequila Boat, we didn’t have time to make breakfast so we grabbed a pain au chocolat from Migros and ate it at the front of the boat. On board today we had some of the same usual suspects but we were missing a couple who couldn’t make it and had added more for good measure. My parents, Captain Caveman and I were joined by Vanessa, Adam & Kath, Jackie & Chris, Trish & Steve, Michaela & Ali, Gay Gaz, Kelly and a lady we call 007. Mark and Kate got picked up from their jetty on our way to Devil’s Bay once again. I was so pleased that Ali was well enough to join us even though he and Michaela were not able to go mad with the drink. Trish was back to her usual self too and could enjoy a white wine (or 2) but Vanessa was now feeling a bit iffy and had to limit her wines to just 2 this time. Kate, who was doing so well being alcohol free but was finding it tricky to not drink. Typically, Kaan and Kate had agreed water would be free on this trip, so if she ordered wisely she still could take advantage of a free bar today! Of course, Gay Gaz, Kelly, Mark and Steve managed to make up for it on the booze. By 2pm Captain Caveman had cleared a beach of lots of litter and was towing it back to the boat using a paddle board as a raft.
Most people went in the sea and it was sunny still, about 26°C, but it did feel cool when I got out of the water. Kaan was so relaxed because this could well be the last boat trip of the season and he knows us all so well. He even joined us in a few drinks at the bar, leaving his two mates to do all the work.
The BBQ lunch was wonderful and with 18 of us on the boat it was cosy while we ate it. Kaan took us for another swim spot at hole island and we had more drinks, I think we may even have ran out of certain refreshments.
It was a lovely day even though I didn’t drink too much on account of looking after Jamie’s dogs and, when everyone suggested going for drinks after the boat trip, we decided to go straight home. I was sure that little Edna may need a walk by now and even half expected for one of the dogs to have had an accident but they had been as good as gold. I didn’t have any WiFi on the boat so I didn’t realise that we had missed Nanny Kay who had popped round to say hello, while we were out. I was sad to have missed her because she does have some of the best stories and always makes me laugh. After a nice walk the dogs were super ravenous and it was good to see Edna was back on her normal dog biscuits. For dinner that night we had diet pizzas and were trying not to fall asleep on the sofa, while watching Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, at only 9.30pm.
Kate had arranged what we thought might be the last boat trip of the season, on Saturday 22nd October. Kaan’s Tequila Boat was once again the chosen one for today and he had agreed a good price. The plan was to go out to sea and find a tranquil spot at Devil’s Bay. Captain Caveman got up super early to go to the weekly market before the trip and ended up there before it was opened. Luckily he got himself a savory pancake for 25 lira (£1.20) while he waited for the stall holders to finish setting up. Once ready, he bought a variety of fruit, vegetables and olives for a total of 146 lira (£7), which would easily last us the week. At 10am we were on the boat waiting for 1 person who hadn’t seen the message that we were leaving 30 minutes earlier than first planned. Joining Kate, Mark, my parents, Captain Caveman and I on board were; Matt & Vanessa, Adam & Kath, Trish & Steve, Linda, Shiela, Gay Gaz and his mate Kelly. At least 2 of those people were half cut when they got on board so it looked like we were in for a lively day. This was the first time, since Captain Caveman arrived, that we had seen Kaan and he had a present from Vietnam. Kaan was so pleased with his Easy Tiger T-Shirt that he put it on straight away and showed it off to everyone.
Steve was the first in the water then lots of paddle board action ensued. Captain Caveman, Dad and I stuck to old fashioned swimming in the sea which wasn’t too cold ‘once you were in’. Poor Trish had been under the weather so wasn’t her usual chatty self, joining Kate in the not drinking alcohol camp. Kaan’s fridge soon got emptied though and Kelly was the first to declare the bar was open. Captain Caveman wasn’t too far behind Gaz and Mark but Dad and I waited until midday at least.
Steve like to be the first in the waterCaptain Caveman testing out if it is warm enoughKaan getting the equipment ready
Even though Mom didn’t risk going in the water, on account of her possibly not being able to get back out again, we still all had a good time. The BBQ lunch was good, as always, with plenty of it and some of the party sorts were proper hammering the booze. Gay Gaz’s friend Kelly was a force to be reckoned with and couldn’t half knock back the beers and raki. She did a couple of impressive dives from the roof of the boat, on the first occasion her boobs were out, we were spared Gay Gaz’s testicle appearance this time, though! It was a really great day out and with lots of swimming, eating and drinking. Kate and Kaan felt sure we could maybe squeeze in a repeat performance before the end of the season and the feelers were put out for another Miss Guided Tour next week.
When we got back to town it was dark so, after dropping Mark and Kate off at their jetty, and saying bye to the sensible friends, the remainder of us popped to Rum bar for a cocktail – they do one of the best Pina Coladas in Dalyan. My parents, Captain Caveman and I were a bit peckish by 8pm so we took ourselves off to Pizza 48 for our dinner. Dad had Hawaiian, Mom had tuna and onion, Captain Caveman had a mixed with extra onion rings and I had salami and mushroom. It was all very nice and the prices reasonable. The most expensive pizza was only 80 lira (£3.80), an Efes 55 lira (£2.62), Coke 15 lira (70p) and red wine 50 lira (£2.38) – we paid 515 lira (£24.52) for the 4 of us and we were all very full.
To celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, the four of us had booked a couple of days away. On Thursday 13th October Captain Caveman had loaded the car up with plenty of goodies and was ready to pick my parents up at 9.30am. We drove to Akyaka for breakfast at Orfoz restaurant, on our way to Datça. Captain Caveman ordered menemen, my parents ordered an omelette each and some tomatoes, cucumber & rocket. I just ordered some cheese and jam as I don’t like to eat eggs and a bigger breakfast would be too much while travelling.
Our next stop was at Datça Vineyard, where we were booked in to stay at. We had arrived early and decided to check out the town. We drove around Old Datça, got lost a bit and then made our way towards the sea. We parked up and walked past a place my parents had been to years ago then stopped for a drink at Gocadam Pub for a cold drink. We had lunch at a nice cafe overlooking the sea, Mom had a seafood spaghetti dish with a soft drink and the rest of us had pizza and beer. It was very nice and I had a bit left over as the portions were big.
On arrival at Datça Vineyard we walked up the steep slope to the reception to check in. It took a while as my Turkish is limited and so was their English and it seemed very laid back. We had booked 2 of the nicer rooms and they were lovely, they even had a whirlpool outside and a complimentary minibar. Dad did get in the whirlpool but it was very cold. The sunset and views from our rooms were charming and we really loved the place. The place had been recommended to me by Andy & Julie last year and I had been going for my birthday in January (this year) but we had to cancel. I was glad to finally get to visit and we were pleased to be staying 2 nights. That night we were supposed to be taking it easy but we all managed to drink lots of wine in our room. Captain Caveman and I had also brought lots of cheese and nibbles to go with the wine. We even brought our own supply of Tılsım red wine, just in case the vineyard stuff wasn’t what we liked.
Captain Caveman was back to his sprightly self on Sunday 2nd October, which looked to be another sunny day. He went to Migros supermarket as they opened at 8.30am to buy some breakfast items. He bought 1 simit, 1 croissant and 1 chocolate & nut croissant for a total of 25.35 lira (£1.20). We ate breakfast and, while I caught up on my Turkish, Captain Caveman went back to the supermarket for a bigger shop. Here’s the shopping basket and prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket
1 litre soda water 9.75 Salt 11.50 Cheese 15.50 2 packs of chicken livers 16.81 Apple and cherry juice 21.60 A knife 22.95 3 tomato puree 23.76 Marmalade 24.40 Washing powder 29.06 Roll-on deodorant 30.45 Chicken 41.24 Paper towels 79.90 Toilet rolls 119.90 Olive oil 154.90
Total spent 601.72 lira (£28.83)
Back home, we had a nice chicken salad for lunch and then we had to get ready for the biggest event in Dalyan that I’d ever been to!
At 3.30pm we made our way to the Kaunos tea garden where Victoria Louise Scott was getting married to Bünyamin. A while a go I had received an invite to her Facebook group event which I had read out to Captain Caveman so that he could add the itinerary to his phone. These were the details he had: 4pm Wedding ceremony at tea garden 4.30pm boats to the beach, canapés & drinks on board, photos at the beach 6.30pm back up the river by boat to Paradise hotel for the evening meal 8.30pm evening wedding party. I decided to wear my pink dress and Captain Caveman wore trousers and a shirt, despite it being extremely hot. When we arrived at the tea gardens there were already lots of guests having a refreshment. There was very little shade and we were melting so we decided to grab a beer. We were joined by Mark, Kate, Debbie (Darling), Roy, Nikki and Bianca. Debbie (Darling) and I stood together to watch the ceremony which was very nice. There were lots of guests, as Victoria is very well known in Dalyan, she is also an Admin for the Dalyan Visitors Facebook page.
Captain Caveman and I followed Mark and Kate towards the boats after the ceremony, Debbie (Darling) and Roy were going to go straight to the hotel and see us there. When we got to the boat, Mark, Kate and Daisy were on Turgay’s boat but it was now full so we hopped on the next one. Captain Caveman ordered a beer and I had a red wine, both cost the same, 70 lira (£3.35). We had a couple and enjoyed some canapés as we sailed down the river. On the boats we had lots of music and dancing and we got involved in the celebrations, feeling so pleased to have been invited. All of the guests we met were lovely and it was an amazing day. Victoria looked absolutely stunning and everyone had dressed up for this momentous occasion. The traditional Turkish band followed us from boat to boat and were incredible (and loud), the young drummer was fantastic.
We arrived at the Paradise hotel and rejoined Debbie (Darling) and Roy who were already sat at a table and had a wine bucket crammed with bottles of wine. There was also a lot of bottled water on the table which, when we went to sit down, a guest came to move out of the way. She took the waters and a bottle of wine to another table and we thought maybe we were in her seats so we moved down a bit. The table was set lovely and there was a post box for us to put our money/cards in. I didn’t realise how close to the top table we were until Victoria and Bünyamin came in to sit at their table, right behind me. The food came out quickly and was absolutely delicious, Captain Caveman shovelled it in like he was starving and ate anything from my plate that I couldn’t manage. The wine on the table to toast wasn’t to my taste as I’m not keen on sparkling rosé so we stuck to our own red wine. We managed to see Deidre who we missed meeting up with in Holland and she helped me sign the wedding book. Because I had contact lenses in, I had trouble seeing what I wrote. Steve came over with a whisky and I had one with the boys to mark the happy day. We were having a lovely time with lots of dancing and drinking. We were pretty tipsy but we had to leave fairly early as we had Drew’s birthday at River Terrace to attend.
At River Terrace we managed to just catch Jamie and Drew before his celebration ended. On the way home my sandal strap broke and I had to hobble down lovers lane to the bar. We then sat to watch Daisy perform her singing but I really couldn’t drink much more. It had been a great day and we had loved seeing so many people having such a good time.
I only just managed to get myself out of bed in time to walk to Turkish class on Tuesday 20th September. It was at Casablanca Hotel at 10am and I was hungover. Nothing else much happened that day except for me eating an apple and Captain Caveman managing to get some turkey on offer for 52 lira (£2.47) so that we could have a salad for dinner. I’d forgotten to do weight and measurements this weekend so I did them today. I was now the heaviest I’d been in a couple of years, I’d managed to put 2cm on my bust, 1cm on my waist but lose 4cm from my hips in about a week. My leg measurements had either decreased slightly or stayed the same. We stayed in that night and took it easy while the Aussies downstairs went to the airport to pick up their friend, Chris. Tomorrow, we had organised another fun day out so we needed to recharge our batteries a bit.
We had booked a trip with Ivona and Ismail on their Princess of Ekincik boat on Wednesday 21st September. Amanda and Greg had suggested we get a private trip together for the 4 of us and their guest, Chris. We decided to extend the invite to more friends and fill the boat. Onboard with the 5 of us were Linda, Annie, Adam & Kath, Julie & Issy, Mark & Kate, Jackie & Chris, Dawn & Steve. We went to Ekincik Bay and had a lovely day out. The service and food on the Princess of Ekincik boat is superb and we had such a great BBQ lunch. We also were rather lucky that no one had booked the boat for the evening trip so we got to stay out all day and for sunset too. Not everyone knew each other but that didn’t matter and we soon got dancing to Kate’s party playlist.
When we came to pay for our boat trip and drinks it was more money than Captain Caveman had accounted for. The trip itself was 500 lira each (£23.70) but we managed to spend another 1000 lira (£47.57) in drinks, which was a little excessive for our budget but we had a great time. We had a bit of an after-boat-trip drink at River Terrace but Kate had to leave to meet Daisy at Sofra bar. She took her bag with Mark’s wallet and clothes in so Mark had to go with Captain Caveman to our place to borrow a t-shirt. Most people had one drink but Mark didn’t even finish his before heading to meet Kate in another bar. After River Terrace, where it was 65 lira (£3.09) for a beer we went to Dalyan Cafe for food and another beer.
We were up and packed super early on Friday 16th September as we were off back to Turkey. We were booked on the 9am ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye with Sky Marine ferries. They run only during the holiday season, until the end of October, and when we arrived at the port it was busy. The walk from our hotel to the port wasn’t too far but it started to get a bit warm carrying the rucksack, on the way we saw a massive cruise ship too. At the port, I had a sit down and some water after carrying my bag which was about 10kg, Captain Caveman’s was heavier as he was carrying the booze. We noticed the ferry queue for Marmaris was quite long but the one to Fethiye was very short, we were at the front and we didn’t have to wait long to pick up our tickets. The crossing takes a couple of hours and cost around €50, Captain Caveman had the good idea to get me a sea sickness pill. When I took it the ginger and size of it made it difficult, but I got it down. The ferry was empty so we sat at the front where we could stretch our legs out. Strangely, the next passengers to get on sat right behind us, despite having the whole ferry to choose from. I fell asleep almost immediately and we think it was the seasickness tablet as I’ve experienced that before.
We had planned to spend a bit of time in Fethiye when we arrived and had even asked Mark, Kate and Daisy if they fancied a trip to Çalış but they were already busy. Captain Caveman decided we would stay an extra night in Fethiye and booked us in at the Downtown Fethiye Suites. With it being a weekend we had trouble finding a place to stay so we got lucky with this little apartment. We arrived early expecting to drop bags but we were allowed to check-in. After unpacking our stuff and putting the cheese in the fridge we decided to go to The Mulberry Tree for brunch. Its a popular little cafe with great food, I had a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea while Captain Caveman had pide and coffee. We even bought some crumpets to take away with us for the freezer.
We decided to get the 5.30pm water taxi from Fethiye to Çalış so that Captain Caveman could experience the delights of Charcoal Palace. The ride takes about 20 minutes and costs 40 lira each way and on the way there it was a full boat. When we got to Charcoal Palace it was quiet so we sat outside and ordered a pint of Beck’s draft beer each. It was 35 lira (£1.68) which is a lot cheaper than what we had been used to. I noticed that the menu had gluten free batter for the fish so I decided I would try it, for research purposes more than anything. We both had fish and chips which come with tartare sauce and mushy peas. I don’t eat either so I gave mine to Captain Caveman. If you didn’t know the gluten free was served, you wouldn’t have been able to tell as it was very good. The colour was slightly different and the price was the same as the regular one.
After dinner we walked to the seafront to see the sunset and had an Efes at Summer Breeze bar, they were out of Beck’s draft. We were ready to go back to Fethiye for an early night when we got a message from Julio. He was at Terras bar in Fethiye with friends and invited us to join them. We had a great night, a few more drinks and a good laugh before we walked back to our apartment and the others carried on their night.
We stayed in bed late on the morning of Thursday 15th September, which was nice. Our room at Lefka Hotel had a shutter on the outside of the patio doors which made it dark and quiet. By 1pm we were eating leftovers for our lunch and decided to open the bottle of Cair red wine, which was great. In the afternoon we went to the supermarket to stock up on cheese, salami, crisps and deodorant before getting ready for our last night in Rhodes.
Michelle and Steve had kindly booked us our ferry back to Turkey tomorrow morning so we made the most of our last Greek evening. Captain Caveman changed some more dollars and we had a walk around the old town, including a mooch about the Gate of St Anthony. We watched sunset at the beach and had a cold beer at the Malt House, which was lovely.
Captain Caveman had booked us in for an eleven course tasting menu at Piatakia for dinner and it was great. The food was excellent and I was brave to try everything except for the tuna and mussels. On the way home we had one more drink to break up the walk back to our hotel, at a bar I forgot the name of.
Captain Caveman and I had originally planned to be back in Dalyan by Wednesday 14th September, however things had changed. Unfortunately, we would miss Sausage Dick’s departure without having seen him this time and there was still no sign of the missing sausages. One of the reasons we decided to stay longer in Rhodes was that Captain Caveman can only stay in Turkey for 90 days which means that he has to spend a month elsewhere this winter. At 6.20am I was waking up Captain Caveman to look at the stunning sunrise from our hotel balcony. We went back to bed after taking photos and I had an extra snooze before we got ready to check out. We were moving again and we were disappointed not to be staying for longer in Vlycha as it was really lovely.
Our next stop was back to Rhodes Town where Captain Caveman had booked for us to stay at Lefka Hotel & Apartments for 2 nights. We got the bus from Vlycha, outside the TUI Blue hotel, to Rhodes Town. We got off in town and then had to walk, via one of Captain Caveman’s shortcuts, which I was convinced was longer. When we arrived at the hotel there was no one in reception and we were too early to check-in. We left our bags and walked back in to town for some lunch. We went to a restaurant, called Nimmos, which was friendly and fairly busy. We both ordered beer, Captain Caveman had fried cheese and I had chicken kebab. The food was tasty, not the best in the world, but we had been rather spoiled recently. On the way back to the hotel to check in we called in to the supermarket to buy water. I happened to spot the same Cair Cabernet Sauvignon wine from Vlycha for €10 so we bought a bottle.
Photo credit – Captain Caveman
Lefka Hotel was very nice, we liked our room and the small, clean bathroom. We got ready and went back out for sunset in Rhodes Town. Captain Caveman insisted we try Piccolo Pizza which was a small stall in the old town that had the best pizza and had been recommended by Google. We found a gorgeous little wine bar, called Obscura, where we enjoyed a couple of glasses of very good red wine.
It was after 8pm when we set off walking back towards our hotel for a delicious meal at 4 Rhodies, which was on the way. We over ordered on the food which was outstanding and we had to take a doggy bag back to he hotel. Captain Caveman had liver and I had a huge cheese salad but we kind of shared, there was lots of bread. We had a carafe of the cheap wine which was actually very good for the price. The mains were an egg and potato dish for Captain Caveman and a pork dish for me, both excellent. We walked home stuffed and ready for bed, tomorrow would be our last day in Rhodes.
I was so hungover on Tuesday 19th July but I made myself get up early with Captain Caveman. We had breakfast at The Villas together; I had a tasty Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) and he had Bo Ne which had surprise tomatoes in, but he likes tomatoes. Captain Caveman said goodbye and went to work, off back in to the cave again for 4 more days. I went to have an extra nap as we didn’t need to check out until noon. I’d hoped to catch up with friends while I was in Phong Nha town so I checked out and went to sit in the aircon at The Villas. I ordered a mango lassi instead of having any bottled water, it was really good. I’d been trying to book a bus to Danang as there were no trains left for when we wanted them but the bus ticket lady was not replying. Lan told me it was because she was getting married today so the bus tickets were on hold while she did her nuptials. I stayed at The Villas for lunch and sampled the infamous Aussie meat pie with chips and gravy. It was actually even better than I remembered it being, the pastry was proper crusty and there was a generous and tasty filling. Some of my plans for later changed so I was still there for an afternoon ice-cream too and then, when I’d come round a bit, I had a cold beer.
After leaving Victory Road Villas, I walked to A Little Leaf homestay to meet Phuong. I’d not seen him since I’d been back and I’d promised to go see him and his newly improved homestay. A Little Leaf looked wonderful and was full of guests from all different nationalities and he even had a family with cute dogs staying there. He plied me with beers and food; fried pork spring rolls, Banh Loc and Banh Te so I got rather full. Banh Loc is a small, clear, chewy tapioca dumpling type of snack food. They are usually filled with shrimp and pork belly, wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed to cook, then served with sweet chili fish sauce. Banh Te is a variety of small steamed snack made of rice flour, black pepper and herbs, then wrapped with Dong leaves into a long, thin cylindrical shape. Dong leaves are common here and are also said to be used by locals as antidote to drunkenness and snake bites. The food was delicious and had been made in Phuong’s village by his mother so I gave them a good go, while avoiding the chilli fish sauce. We video called his wife who is still working abroad and was about to do her 12 hour night shift. The beer kept on coming and Phuong insisted I had ice in my drink, which I try to avoid in Vietnam as most people use their hands to pick it up. I was also meant to be meeting Chung at the Phong Nha Vegan restaurant but by this time I was drunk and Phuong had ordered me a taxi home. On the way down the tricky metal steps I asked Phuong to carry my bag so I didn’t fall and then we said goodbye. He invited Captain Caveman and I to come to his village with him when we had chance. As I was going to the car, I saw Thu, the lady who used to work at Jungle Boss and is amazing! We had lots of hugs and were so happy to see each other again after all this time. I left with a female taxi driver (a novelty in Phong Nha) and Thu blowing kisses to me through the back window. The taxi driver had no clue where she was going and we drove most of the way dangerously slowly on the highway with her phone in her right hand and very close to her face. I directed her in my best Vietnamese and we made it home at a cost of 200,000vnd (£7). I unpacked my bag and put the laundry bag in for tomorrow’s housekeeping then went to bed for an early night.
Monday 20th June obviously started with me having a hangover. I had Tham message at 7am to say her physio could see me at 9am and then Bich called to tell me to get to the Lake House for my massage. There was no way I could function so I cancelled and blamed Tony, who had also cancelled his session. I finally got up for a bacon and brown sauce muffin, made by Captain Caveman about 10.15am. He had bacon, egg and cheese on his but I couldn’t look at it.
After spending a few hours in or next to the pool Captain Caveman made lunch; sausage and pesto spaghetti which was nice. It was a very hot day so I was impressed when Captain Caveman walked to the Lake House to retrieve Trigger, the motorbike. We arranged to meet Tatas in Phong Nha at 3.30pm at Coffee Station where Captain Caveman had a smoothie and a coconut coffee, I had 2 lemon juices. I noticed there was a hotel opposite where 2 goats were trying to go in to reception and it made me laugh.
Our next stop was Phong Nha Vegan to see our good friend, Chung. I invited Tatas but she needed to go home to exercise and shower before meeting me later. The Phong Nha Vegan restaurant had moved since I’d last been here and it was about 250m from Victory Road Villas, situated on the riverside, in what was Google House. We bumped in to Dung and Leo from Jungle Boss, who were just leaving and we sat down on some tyre seats in a sunny spot overlooking the river. We both had a juice which was very refreshing and chatted to Chung for a while. As we were fragile from last night and had already eaten we didn’t eat but we really needed to come back another time as the menu looked fantastic. Chung was now working full time at the vegan restaurant and was really enjoying it.
Captain Caveman had to leave at 5pm as he had a briefing for his next Oxalis tour tomorrow. I walked, in my plastic porter sandals, past Song Doong Bungalow, to The Villas to meet Tatas and Kat for curry night. By the time I got there I was desperate for the AC and my sandals, which I’d not worn for 9 months, had rubbed my feet. I was the first one there, I had a cold Huda beer and waited for the others to arrive. Kat was next to arrive and had decided she wouldn’t have curry but would order off the regular menu. When Tatas arrived she ordered gin and tonic and we both ordered the butter chicken special, Kat ordered the Caeser salad (I was pleased to see it didn’t have a poached or boiled egg in it) and we had a good chat. At 8pm Captain Caveman arrived just as our food was being served so he got a beer and waited for us to eat. I invited Kat and Tatas over for a pool afternoon and wine evening at Elements Collection tomorrow, as Captain Caveman would be back in the cave. They both said yes and I got a lift back with Captain Caveman. We all said our goodbyes in the car park and went off on the motorbikes, me with half of my leftover curry in my hand.
Monday 6th June started off with me being rather crotchety at not having had enough sleep. Captain Caveman had set his alarm for 7am and then turfed me out of bed to get a shower and get ready for the day. I was confused as my watch still said 3am, the blackout curtains fooled me in to thinking it was still night time and, at that moment, I didn’t really care what the plan was. I wanted to stay in bed and go back to sleep but Captain Caveman was insisting we needed a hearty breakfast because today’s activity would require sustenance. All I could think was ‘please don’t let it be an outdoor/adventurous pursuit’! First, we went to a nearby cafe for breakfast where I got to watch Captain Caveman shovel in a plate of my least favourite breakfast items in one meal; avocado, tomatoes and poached eggs with toast. I had Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) with a pot of earl grey tea.
After breakfast we asked a security guard to call us a taxi and we headed to Bach Dang ferry terminal. Captain Caveman had booked arranged for us to go on a gin tasting experience which we were told to meet at 9.30am for – I love a good gin but, crikey! We were early and it transpires we weren’t getting on the ferry anyway. I had a wander about, used the portaloo (which was quite clean and had soap) then saw a statue of Vo Thi Sau, a girl who had fought in the war against the French occupation, more about her here: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/vo-thi-sau-the-story-of-vietnams-guerilla-girl/ Captain Caveman’s friend was sending a speedboat to pick us, and a few other select guests, up. I’m not one for speedboats, I was even seasick on one in the Maldives, so I was a bit apprehensive. The others arrived and we all walked across the ferry to get on to the speedboat. We got our life jackets on while Captain Caveman explained to me how these ones with CO² cannisters work. They automatically inflate in water and so, as we sat at the front of the boat, I moved my bag from across my chest in case it inflated by accident and injured me.
We were on the speedboat for quite some time and as we passed District 12, where Captain Caveman had cycled yesterday, we saw a big fire. It turned out that a tyre factory was in flames and was nicely polluting the area. After a total journey of 75 minutes we had arrived at a small area where we could use the facilities and wait for a car. When the car came, the guide expected the 8 of us to get in, but the 4 western fatties amongst us looked at him like he was insane. In no time, one of the guys was on the phone to request a 2nd car. By 11.30am (7.30am on my Turkish watch) we were at the distillery of Lady Trieu gin, having a water and meeting the very talented master distiller.
It was a strange feeling to have been out in Dalyan (Turkey) on Friday night, travelling to Vietnam all weekend, eating Lebanese food in Saigon last night and now it was Monday morning – it didn’t feel real. We liked Adam, the Master Distiller at Lady Trieu, straight away. He was knowledgeable, engaging and funny as he ran through the process of how they make gin here. The downstairs part of the warehouse was super hot for the 8 minutes we were stood listening to Adam. We went upstairs to an AC room which was set up for us to taste the gins in and at 11.46am, Vietnamese time, we were about to find out more and taste the Limited Release gins. The clientele were reminiscent of us being in a corporate meeting but that didn’t stop me trying to smell and taste my way through the gins with much enthusiasm.
For the gin lovers amongst you, here’s the Lady Trieu Limited Release gins we tried, neat: 1. Mekong Delta Dry Gin – has star anise, pepper, kumquat and orange peel flavours. I liked this one and could see me drinking this with a dry ginger ale, as I don’t like tonic. 2. Dalat Flowerbomb Gin – floral with chrysanthemum, jasmine, citrus, lotus and coriander. I didn’t think I’d like this but I did and would definitely buy this one. 3. Sapa Citrus Tea Gin – the oolong tea and pepper flavour was amazing. This became my new favourite of the 3 and I’d fancy this as a martini cocktail, so no need for tonic. 4. Hoi An Spice Road Gin – ginger and black cardamom flavours which was fantastic and would go well with a curry. By the 4th neat gin tasting I was starting to get tiddly and hungry but we still had the newest and best gin to taste. It was also apparent that almost everyone in the room, except for us, were suffering the after effects of a whisky event yesterday. One of the guys had popped out of the room to get himself a coke and a banana. Meanwhile I was getting right into it and my seasickness feeling was back with a vengeance. Lady Trieu, named after the famous warrior, was being sampled and reviewed by 12.20pm, this time I tasted it neat then with the recommended Fever Tree tonic and ice. I loved it.
In my mind it was 8.20am and I was pretty sozzled already as we went in to the next room, which had even more AC on and was where the magic and science happened. There was also a shelf with lots of glass bottles on which Adam, the Master distiller, explained were the ones that didn’t make it in to the final gin. By 1pm we were back downstairs, getting pictures with the rest of the Lady Trieu team and we were honoured to be allowed in the store cupboard to look at, touch and smell the ingredients. By 2.20pm we were in cars and almost back at the speedboat. As is usual for me, Monday madness was only just beginning and we happened to have an extra passenger!
As we got back on to the speedboat at 2.30pm, I foolishly thought we would have a calm ride back and then a taxi back to the apartment where I might get a little nap before whatever shenanigans Captain Caveman had slotted in to the schedule for tonight. We had brought Adam, the Master Distiller, with us and within 2 minutes of departure he was driving the speedboat. While Captain Caveman and I looked on at the impressive speedboat driving skills, the others were sat at the back of the boat drinking bottled water and eating plums. On the 75 minute journey back, anyone who wanted to drive the speedboat down a Saigon river, could. Well, when in Rome! I can now drive a speedboat and I loved it. Captain Caveman could already drive one, obviously – what can’t he do!? Unfortunately I peaked too early and, after the real driver took back control, I had to have a little sit down inside the boat, while the men chatted business. I was so jet lagged, tired and drunk, that I took my Volleys (shoes) off and had a short siesta. When we got off the speedboat Captain Caveman, Adam the gin man and I said bye to everyone else and jumped in a taxi. Captain Caveman had booked a grab to take us to a bar he likes, which I’d never been to before and couldn’t tell you where it was. I found that our new best mate liked Pulp as we blasted ‘Babies’ out and sang along to it. When we arrived at The Orient, I insisted we go in the AC, our friend Andrea, arrived to meet us. Unfortunately Adam, the Master Distiller, couldn’t stay out for more than the one drink and we said our goodbyes and thank yous.
We, on the other hand, managed another beer before going on to a restaurant of Andrea’s choosing where the 3 of us shared 2 bottles of lovely pinot noir red wine and 2 cheese and meat platters. Needless to say, we had an absolutely fantastic first full day together in Vietnam, I don’t recall getting back to the apartment over 12 hours after we left it, but I do remember wondering why all my clothes smelled of blue cheese.
joloyolo 