Gayle messaged me on the morning of Sunday 22nd September asking where is good to go for Menemen and did I fancy a last breakfast with them. I don’t eat eggs and tomatoes generally so it’s not a dish I like but everyone I know who does, says that Ela’s Kitchen has the best one. Gayle said they had already been there 3 times this holiday so had wanted to try somewhere else and was thinking of Cinar. They didn’t have Menemen on their menu so we ended up at Ela’s, anyway. Beforehand, I had walked over to their’s and they had helped me bring all the rest of my stuff over from my parents’ upstairs room. My parents were arriving in a couple of days but I only had a 2 day window to get my stuff before they left for a holiday in Cappadocia. Once at Ela’s Kitchen, one of my favourite breakfast places, Neil and Gayle both had their usual and I was extra hungry so I had a large full English (no tomatoes or eggs) and a cup of Yorkshire tea. The food was as good as always and I ate every bit of it as I was pretty peckish. The bill came to a total of 1300 lira (£28.63) for all of us so less than an English tenner each for a great breakfast.
After breakfast, Gayle & Neil were going back to get ready for leaving Dalyan tomorrow and, as I was up and off to Fethiye really early, today was the last day I would see them. They invited me to join them at Kingfisher restaurant that night but I was mindful they would probably want a romantic night by themselves. I did invite them to call in at mine for a drink before or after though, so we could say goodbye. I had really had a great time with them and I wasn’t really sure when I would see them again. I popped to the shops and picked up some essentials, including provisions for my trip to Fethiye tomorrow, prices below in lira;
Migros Supermarket 1 plastic bag 0.25 1 Quark 29.95 Water 34.90 Total spent 65.10 lira (£1.44)
Şok Supermarket Water 9.75 Biscuits 17.00 Turkey ham 22.00 Cheese slices 28.50 Total spent 77.25 (£1.70)
Bakery 1 fresh loaf 10 lira (22p)
When I got home, I had a video call with Captain Caveman and I mentioned about me going to Fethiye tomorrow. He didn’t seem at all interested and was preoccupied with something else. He said he would call me back after he had a shower but then he forgot. I was a bit cheesed off that he had not wished me well for my appointment either. Was I maybe imagining that he really didn’t care if I got it renewed or not!? Jamie picked me up at 6.30pm and I was outside trimming the bush that our gardener still hadn’t touched. The elusive gardening company were still experts at doing absolutely nothing and the bougainvillea was below face level for anyone going through the gate. My neighbours were older than me and had to duck beneath the spiky branches. We drove over to Julia’s so that I could pick up a key, meet her dogs and go through the requirements of what I was needed to do for the next few days of doggy care. Coco & Bebe were a little shy of me at first, while Norman & Edna were pleased to see me. Edna was a bit less giddy than usual but it was probably because she was at Aunty Julia’s house and wanted to show she was behaving better than the resident dogs! I wasn’t there long and then decided I would walk the 20 minutes back in to town, calling at the shops again on the way back. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Dido Trio chocolate bar 13.50 Dido Lemon chocolate bar 14.00 Popcorn 21.50 Total spent 49.00 lira (£1.08)
Nova Market (used to be Selcuk Market) 1 bottle of white wine 200.00 lira (£4.41)
I was definitely noticing that, although prices had gone up a little in Dalyan, the prices for drinks and snacks in the shops were definitely cheaper here than in England and Rhodes.
I made cheese and turkey ham sandwiches for tomorrow’s trip to Fethiye, even though it should have been a short visit once there. I was preparing for if it was not straight forward as I didn’t want to be spending money on lunch out. I ate a sandwich while waiting for Gayle & Neil to pop in after their meal at Kingfisher. When they arrived, they weren’t as merry as I had expected they might be on their last night. They had a lovely meal but said they were finished quite early and then had to sit around for a while waiting to get the boat back. We had a couple of drinks and a good laugh. We had used my parents’ shopping trolley earlier to bring some of my stuff over, so they took that back with them. We had hugs goodbye, which is unusual as my sister is not normally one for hugs or soppy farewells. We had all had a really good time together on the occasions I had joined them and there had not been any falling out whatsoever – we were obviously maturing! I was actually very sad to see them leave and a little bit glad that I wouldn’t be able to see them drive off to the airport tomorrow at 9.30am, in case I got upset. I don’t think they wanted to leave Dalyan, having had such a great holiday but they had to get back for the dog. I got all my documents together and set my alarm for 6am so that I could be up and ready for tomorrow’s residency renewal appointment.
There was a bit of bad news on Wednesday 18th September and it wasn’t just that I would have put on some weight from overindulgence with my family and friends over the last week or so. I did my measurements, as usual, to find that I had put 2cm on my waist and 1cm on my hips, my bust had stayed the same. Liz and I were up and about much earlier than everyone else, she had been doing her exercises and I had already done a couple of hours work. I saw 2 big black crows on the wall of the villa and they stuck around for a while, one of them let me walk up quite close and I vaguely remembered that superstition suggests that seeing 2 crows is lucky. Apparently it means new beginnings in a relationship or career. I’d had a reply back from my boss’s wife, to say to speak to him about why I hadn’t been paid yet. It was 4 days overdue and I knew from her response that it didn’t look promising. I decided to stop work until I had spoken to my boss to find out what was going on. I had a feeling he no longer could see the need in keeping me on during the quiet winter months. I closed the laptop so that Liz and I could go for a walk, get some breakfast and a coffee for Liz. By 9.30am Liz was getting us something from The Cake Box. She had a croissant, a coffee and a detox juice while I had a sundried tomato and cheese ciabatta and a juice. It was once again lovely, although Liz didn’t reckon much to the coffee as it wasn’t a brand she preferred. We walked around and I took her to Creamland to see if the coffee was any better and, luckily, it was. It cost €5.50 (£4.58) for her Cappuccino with a Freddo Espresso in it. Our next stop was a nice walk along the beach where a lovely Dutch woman had been making a cute heart and some writing out of stones on the beach. We got talking to her and her friend then decided to have our photos taken by her over her art work – I bet she thought we were daft, but Liz and I did not care! When we got back to the villa it was gone 11am, I was hoping to get a call in with my boss, for an update on the work situation. While all the girls were busy enjoying their holiday, I got a message from him. It said ‘things were getting very quiet and he was canning our project’. He thanked me for my help, apologised for the late notice and that I had ended up working 4 days over what he had already paid me for. I already had a feeling this was going to happen so I just replied with best wishes for flood season and to let me know if there was anything I could help with in the future. It was quite a blow that, just like that, I had no further income and I would now have to wait to rely on Captain Caveman once again, until I found another job. I made a decision not to say anything to the girls, I was doing all I could to hold it together lately as it was and didn’t want to ruin their (or my) holiday. I made myself a promise to find another job within a month, though, or set up my own business. As luck would have it, only 2 days ago a friend had suggested I talk to his boss as he thought I would be a good fit for an opportunity at his place. I decided to tell the girls that I had the rest of the week off, which wasn’t exactly a lie but it wasn’t the complete truth. We only had 2 more days together and I wanted us all to have a good, and happy, time.
As if the girls knew to cheer me up anyway, the fizz was out of the fridge and it was jacuzzi time. Not before being dragged through a yoga/HIT session with Liz and Clare. It was far too difficult for me on a concrete floor with my knees but I gave it a go where I could. Louisa kindly took photos of us and pointed out when I needed to adjust my position. The jacuzzi was fantastic and the bubbles were very much appreciated as I secretly celebrated being unemployed once again! By 6pm we were showered and changed, ready to hit the town – I even wore one of my dresses. Clare and I took photos of each other by the pool while we waited for everyone to finish getting ready. It was pretty windy and it took a couple of goes to get some without our hair all over the place.
Clare had took the liberty of booking a table for the 5 of us at Cosa Nostra and it certainly did not disappoint. I was very conscious of being on a budget but I ordered a margarita cocktail at €12.50 (£10.41), a Gnocchi starter at €10.50 (£8.75) and a mushroom risotto at €18 (£15). The steaks started at €45 (£37.50) so I avoided those and we all shared some fancy bruschetta with various toppings.
The food was excellent and the service on our VIP table, second to none. We ended up having more cocktails instead of wine with our dinner and I threw caution to the wind a little having 2 more drinks. At the end of our meal we were brought out free shots of something ridiculously sickly sweet. As we were getting the bill, one of the girls had already paid and it was on her! Wow, I was both grateful and speechless. More free shots were had and a group photo with the staff before heading back to the villa. Of course, that would have been the best thing to do at gone 10.30pm but it was Liz’s first night out and she really fancied another drink somewhere. While Louisa and Kelly headed back home, Clare and I accompanied Liz to a bar which I think was called Blaze Bar. It had a band on and we must have been a bit tiddly as Liz ordered a Bloody Mary, Clare had a cocktail which looked like Sex on the Beach meets a Pina Colada and I, very foolishly, ordered a draft lager. The band was a lot better than we were expecting with 3 members who looked like famous people with our beer goggles on. We joined in on the singing and stayed until closing time. I paid for the round of drinks and had one of the best nights in years for just £20!! It was gone midnight when we got back and then Liz and I stayed awake talking for a few hours – at least I didn’t have to worry about getting up for work in the morning!
Saturday 14th September was full on for me. I worked for a couple of hours in the morning before popping to the shop to get some breakfast, as I had emptied the fridge & cupboards already. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Peanut bar 9.95 1 Simit 12.50 Granola bar 15.36 Polo mints 18.95 Total spent 56.46 lira (£1.27)
Meanwhile, Gayle & Neil were off on a weekend trip with Murat to Datça early this morning. My friends Kelly, Clare & Louisa were on their way to their respective airports and then to Rhodes. I finished work and then went to the bank so that I could put a load of cash in to the bank to pay on to my credit card. Captain Caveman had decided that it would be best for him not to use his Vietnamese card to pay the money for my hotel stay and that he would transfer it to my Wise account instead. I had transferred it and paid extra on to my credit card so that it was in credit, ready to pay the hotel. When I went back to check out, the receptionist said she could only accept cash, even though I had specifically booked this hotel to be able to pay on card. It was now a bit of an inconvenience as I had no cash and there was over 14,000 lira on my credit card which I had no intentions of spending on anything else! I had to ask a friend if I could transfer some money to her and her pay the hotel when she arrived tomorrow. After sorting out the payment and transferring money to my friend in the UK, the owner turned up and said it was ok to pay with my credit card, but it was too late. I got picked up by a friend, with my big rucksack and all my luggage/laptop for Rhodes and we drove to the beach. I was reluctant to leave all my stuff in the car but I also really wanted to get in the sea after a stressful morning. I paid the 100 lira (£2.24) parking fee on my card and then we went to the beach café for a late lunch. My friend ordered a tuna sandwich and a diet coke, while I had a chicken sandwich, a bottle of water and a Turkish tea for 375.00 lira (£8.41). The food was hot and tasty and not a bad price for what we had – I noticed a sign which said the café closed at 6.30pm. The sea was super choppy but the sun red hot as we got in for our swim and stayed in there for ages, mainly jumping the waves. I thoroughly enjoyed splashing about and trying not to lose any of my bathers as it was a top and bottoms combo. It was gone 7pm by the time we had got back to my friend’s place, cracked open the wine and got a bit of a picnic out on the balcony, in time to watch the sunset. It was an early night, the alarm was set for 4.30am the next day, as we were off to Rhodes, via Marmaris.
Monday 5th August at Claire’s was really nice, I had tea and toast for breakfast and gave Reg, the dog, some attention. All the kids were away now and Mark had gone to work so Reg was finding the house rather quiet. Both Claire and I had work so she took to her desk in the office and I used the dining table. I called Herdy back about my broken Herdy bag and the nice person asked me to email photos and organised a new one to be sent to Claire’s address this week. I offered to post the old bag back but they were happy with just photos and didn’t want me faffing around. I was very impressed with their customer service so can highly recommend them if you happen to be in the Lake District any time soon. At lunchtime Claire and I broke off from work for a quick trip to Sainsbury’s. I needed an adapter plug for my Turkish laptop to charge it up and Claire had found a pack of 3 for £11.99, they didn’t do just one. For lunch Claire made us a rather lovely chicken caesar salad and we had strawberries, blueberries and raspberries afterward. I was being good until tea break when I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and 4 biscuits. I was already on over 350 syns for this week with a couple of days to go to weigh day so I was not doing too well. After work, we walked Reg and I saw how pretty the village of Otford was, then Mark and Claire cooked an absolute feast of a BBQ and we sat in the garden with a cider or 2. I had chicken legs, vegetables and rice and it was so tasty. In the evening we lounged, chatted and ate some chocolate.
Claire had very kindly booked me in for a class on Tuesday 6th August, first thing in the morning. She regularly does a class in the nearby park and had invited me along. Claire’s also training to run another marathon so, as you can imagine, the class was way beyond my (lack of) fitness capabilities. There was a beep test and floor exercises and running – quite frankly, it nearly killed me for about 45 minutes. I also ruined any good work I had done by having a sausage sandwich with my cup of tea for breakfast as soon as we got home. Even in the shower my legs were like jelly and I knew I was going to ache tomorrow. I did a couple of hours work before Captain Cavemen called, he was doing his next Oxalis briefing in a few hours. For lunch Claire and I had chicken, cheese and sweetcorn pittas followed by a chocolate rice cake and another cup of tea. More work was done before getting ready for an evening out in Bromley – it had been a while since I’d last visited. Upstairs I found a new friend in Dave, the cat, who had been napping on my bed after I had left the bedroom door open. He did not want to move so I left him there while Claire and I nipped off to the cinema. Bromley did not look like it had changed too much and we managed to get parked on a side street and find a supermarket to get our cinema snacks from. Tesco definitely had a better choice of Meal Deal items and I treated us both to ‘dinner’ for just £6.80 as Claire had paid for the tickets to see Longlegs. I opted for a Katsu chicken wrap, a Naked Blue Machine smoothie and a Wall’s pork sausage roll while Claire chose a spicy bean wrap, a protein bar and a chocolate milkshake. I’d been reading tips from a money saving expert about how never to buy water or crisps on the meal deal as you’re not getting the best value. It was an absolute bargain as the non-deal price was £13.30. We had really good seats which reclined and were super comfy. The film, starring Nicholas Cage as a nutter, was pretty scary and jumpy. I’d say worth a watch but don’t have a blueberry smoothie open at the scary bits! We didn’t have any popcorn but we did take a packet of Minstrels in from Claire’s and ate a few but were full from our lovely meal deals. I had finished the week on 450 syns and was quite glad that I would not be going near Carol’s Fat Club scales tomorrow. I was intending to face them the following week, though.
When we woke up on Sunday 14th April, it was hot and sunny so Captain Caveman thought it would be better to make an early start. We needed to be in Bangkok tonight to meet his friends for a special event we had been invited to. Captain Caveman paid our hotel bill and ordered a Grab car to Ayutthaya train station and we were outside the Nature Home waiting to leave before 9am. I was still full of cold but definitely improving as I had one last photo opportunity with the Sphynx cats from Earthling Craft Cafe and Bar. When we got to the train station it was fairly busy considering it was new year and Captain Caveman bought our tickets. Unfortunately, the train we wanted was not until 10.30am so we had a while to wait. The train station cafe was closed so we walked to a 7-Eleven Supermarket where we paid 90 Baht (£1.95) for 1 coffee, 1 water, a croissant and a pain au chocolat. This time we got the hot train from Ayutthaya to Bang Sue Junction on the 10.27 train, in Class 3 seating with a fan for an 80 minute journey it was 14 baht each (30p). Then we changed on to a better train, more like a tube with Aircon which I was grateful for, as it neared midday and was very hot. When we got off the train we walked to the boat stop where we were hoping to get to our next accommodation, just a few stops down the canal. After waiting 5 minutes, Captain Caveman decided we could walk along the canal to Citi Resort, Sukhumvit 39, easily. I was less optimistic as my bag was heavy and the midday sun was blazing hot. Obviously, I was too moany for Captain Caveman who went on ahead as I nearly puked at the stench of the canal near some sewage pipes. It was probably only a 20 to 30 minute walk but I did get a blister and drank all of the water that we had before reaching our apartment. We never did see a boat but we managed to miss all of the people out squirting water which was good. When we arrived at Citi Resort, we were able to check in a little earlier which I was so glad about as I was a sweaty mess. Once inside our apartment, which I was very impressed with, we hung up our outfits for tonight to attempt to get the creases out. At just after 2pm Captain Caveman went to the shop downstairs, Freshmart, and bought a loaf of bread, cheese slices, tomatoes, apples, crisps, tissues, throat sweets and water for 260 Baht (£5.63). It felt good to have an apartment with a kitchen and even better that Captain Caveman made me cheese and crisp sandwiches for my lunch. We weren’t sure what the arrangements were for dinner yet but Captain Caveman got a text from his friend to meet him at his hotel. Martin had asked us to meet him at the Park Hyatt hotel at 6pm and we were really looking forward to going with him to the SIAM Songkran music festival.
Captain Caveman wanted to walk from the Citi Resort to the Park Hyatt hotel to meet Martin at 6pm. I was not comfortable with walking through the streets of celebrating Thais wielding water filled weapons during the height of the Songkran weekend, in my nice frock. We got a Grab car and arrived at the Park Hyatt early and tried to find the currency exchange shop. The receptionist in the hotel told us it was on floor 2 of the mall but we couldn’t find it. We even looked on all the floors but would have to do without. Captain Caveman had some money and a Vietnamese bank card but we weren’t sure how much we might spend tonight, as it might get a bit lively. When we went to the reception to meet at 6pm as arranged, George and Paulina were there. They had come by motorbike and had got quite wet in the water fights on their way. Captain Caveman had already met George who was a film maker, he and his wife lived in Bangkok. We said our hellos and then went to find Martin and the others, including Dung (aka Seven from Phong Nha) and his wife, Huong. Martin texted George and Captain Caveman with his room number and told us to come up but the staff were not happy with that and asked us to wait until they had spoken with Martin to double check this permission. We waited a while and then we were escorted in to a lift with a member of staff wearing an earpiece. We were not taken to Martin’s room but shown in to a restaurant with a bar. The 4 of us sat down at a table for about 10 people with great views over the city. We were handed a menu and given sparkling water with ice and lemon which was frequently topped up. When I looked at the menu it was rather pricey and I wasn’t sure what to choose. Martin, Louis, Dung and Huong joined us and we all got introduced. It was the first time Martin and I had met and it was so nice that he said that he was happy to meet me and had heard about me from Captain Caveman. Dung was the only one of us prepared for the water festival and had his zipped up red waterproof jacket on – he had been through flood season in Phong Nha and was taking no chances during Songkran. After hugs all round, Martin said to order what we liked and that he was going to order some side dishes for the table along with his meal. There were 2 more seats and it appeared we were only waiting for one person, I think his name was Ed but I wasn’t certain. Captain Caveman and I ordered a glass of red wine each, Martin had a Moscow Mule and the rest tried the IPA beer. Captain Caveman and I ordered the cheapest steak on the menu at 1,950 Baht (£42.48) for 160g. The side dishes were around 320 Baht (£6.97) each and our glass of house wine was 560 Baht (£12.20) for a 175ml measure. A few of our fellow diners, including Martin, ordered the Penthouse Burger at 1,290 Baht (£28.10) and Martin also ordered a side of lobster, as you do. We had a bit of a laugh while we were waiting for our food; Captain Caveman rudely took a group photo cutting Martin out of the picture and Dung asked if he could swap his cold bottle of IPA for a warm one. The staff were obviously used to dealing with the la-di-da types of clientele but this request really did set the cat amongst the pigeons, as the request was relayed back to a senior server. When the food came, I had high expectations – possibly too high. My steak, which I had chosen a red wine and thyme sauce to go with, was not the best I’ve ever had and wasn’t particularly hot. It was served alone with a roasted bulb of garlic and I had 1 roast potato, some asparagus, 2 carrots and a spoonful of mac n cheese from the shared sides. The sauce was tasty but slightly on the watery side, whereas Captain Caveman’s béarnaise sauce looked to have a much better consistency. I didn’t need to worry about going off the Slimming World plan too much either as the meal was not too naughty. I did think the prices were steep, even for a fancy pants place like the Park Hyatt hotel and those prices did not include the obligatory 10% service charge and the 7% tax. The wine was nice but I wasn’t cheeky enough to ask for a second one as this was all on Martin’s tab. When we finished eating, Martin announced he would meet us all downstairs in 10 minutes where transport had been arranged to take us to the Siam Songkran Music Festival at the RCA Central Park in Bangkok.
We were escorted from the restaurant of the Park Hyatt Hotel to the lift on the evening of Sunday 14th April. Two men with badges asked if we were friends of Martin and introduced themselves. They said we were leaving in 15 minutes so to go to the hotel’s pick up and drop off area. Here, we got in to a limo with George and his wife, the others got into separate limos and there was a convoy, lead by the police and security to RCA Central Park, via the long way round. When we got to the venue we got explicit instructions that Martin would get out of his car first then we would all get out quickly and follow. We were taken to the back stage area and to some mobile cabins with a portaloo outside. Inside, there were lots of drinks and some snacks but I just had soda water, Captain Caveman had a beer. Martin tried to have a power nap and we got talking to his stage manager. It turned out he was from Sheffield so he and I had a bit of a trip down memory lane. Alec and I even had friends in common; Dean Cotton, who used to DJ at The Queen pub in Mosborough, Paul Deehan from The Office pub and now private chef, and Shaun Yard from Granville college. While we were rabbiting on, Martin tried to sleep but couldn’t, and then there was a light display using drones which was impressive. All of us had passes round our necks which we could use for anywhere once the show started but we had to be back on time for the ride back. We were given the nod when it was time to go to the stage and we had to climb the scaffolding steps over the temporary bridge – we had to go fast. Once on stage, Martin and Alec sat on the floor behind the decks ready to start the set. The crowd went wild at the announcement of Martin Garrix as he started his show. Captain Caveman, me, Dung, Huong, George and Paulina were all stood on the stage behind Martin and it was amazing. The special effects of fire and water were sensational as we saw the crowd getting blasted with massive water jets. I was happy to remain on the dry stage and loved dancing to Martin’s performance. He was very good and the atmosphere was incredible. I really enjoyed dancing and knew quite a few of the numbers. At the end of his set, Martin came off to shake hands with the next DJ, Julian Jordan, who had been stood next to us and was wearing sunglasses in the dark. We had to scurry back over the makeshift bridge and down the steps to where the cars were waiting for us. The crowds of the audience were being held back as we quickly got in to the blacked-out vehicles in a different order to how we arrived. The drive back was shorter and once outside the Park Hyatt hotel, Martin invited us to the bar for a drink. I was the first of our group to give him a hug and congratulate him on such an amazing show. He was ultra sweaty and I joked I would never wash again now! We all got in the lift to go to the bar and Captain Caveman took a group photo. In the bar we ordered drinks and I was impressed that the waiting staff remembered that Dung preferred a warm beer and brought that out for him. Martin had a Moscow Mule, Captain Caveman and I stuck to beer and we all sat together. Martin looked tired, and I wasn’t surprised given the amount of dancing about he did in jeans and a black t-shirt in the heat. Martin sat between us and got out his laptop to show us a sample of a new song he was working on. He is such a nice, polite, friendly and down to earth guy. I could see his passion and dedication as he got excited about the guitar chords sample he had. After only a short time, it was time for him to retire to his room. They had an early flight tomorrow as Martin was playing in Tokyo. We had a group photo and big hugs all round, tonight had easily been one of the most memorable I’d experienced and I wouldn’t forget it. We got a Grab back to the hotel and Captain Caveman told me he had messaged my friend, Ingrid, who is a Martin Garrix fan, with a photo. My phone was in a waterproof bag in my handbag and I had not took it with me on to the stage. I thought that was nice of him and then I sent a message to her once I got in to the apartment. Tomorrow we had one more day in Bangkok and still had another friend to catch up with.
The event we were invited to by Martin Garrix
Drone show
Drone show
Photo and video credit – Captain Caveman
The atmosphere was amazing
So much water going in to the crowd
Fire 🔥
Even the train
It was incredible
The audience were loving it
It was great being on the stage
All the lights on people’s phones
Such a memorable night
Sawadee Pee Mai, which means Happy New Year in Thai!
I’ve had some unusual Fridays in my life but Friday 12th April certainly fell in to that category. We got up and packed our bags ready for an exciting break to Thailand, I was feeling a bit better but still had a cold and a cough. We walked to Saint Honore bakery to get some breakfast to take to the airport. They were building outside so it wasn’t easy to get in and we ended up just getting a croissant. By 10.30am we had exited Vietnam at Hanoi airport so that I could send a photo of my passport stamp to Lynn Visa. She was going to apply for another visa for me while I was out of the country and, hopefully, send me the new one on Tuesday before our lunchtime flight back. Captain Caveman had organised a weekend in Bangkok for us and we were going to be meeting up with one of his Son Doong customers. Thailand was celebrating Songkran this weekend so there would be lots of water festivals everywhere. Our Vietnam Airlines flight from Hanoi to Bangkok left at 12.45pm and we got seats sat together, me in my preferred aisle seat. We boarded 30 minutes late but still departed on time. On the flight we got a really nice meal which included; a banana, a beef noodle dish and some bread – even the hot tea with milk wasn’t bad. On landing, Captain Caveman had to change $200 at a fairly low rate and got 6,742 Thai baht. Even though money was still a concern to me, Captain Caveman had put money aside for this holiday and said not to worry. We were not staying in Bangkok for the next 2 nights, Captain Caveman had booked us in to a small hotel in Ayutthaya, the old capital. The journey there was not for the inexperienced traveller as we had to ask a member of staff at Bangkok airport train station how to get there. He told Captain Caveman it was off the edge of the map, but, luckily, he was well versed with the London Underground map and it wasn’t dissimilar. The train was a bit of an eye-opener and we only just made it on to it in time. Somehow we had managed to get from Bangkok airport to Bang Sue Junction, buy a 14 baht (30p) ticket each, for a 90 minute journey and grab a seat. The train was not unlike one I’d been on in India, it was insanely hot and fairly busy and I found it difficult to cope. I moved seats several times to try to get near a fan, while Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone for the duration of the ride. At 6.23pm I had never been so ready to alight the train, an absolutely dripping mess of sweat. The train station at Ayutthaya was nice and Captain Caveman managed to get a Grab taxi without any issue. When we arrived at Nature Home, our accommodation for the next 2 nights, the owner showed us to our room. He proceeded to educate Captain Caveman on how to work an Air Con remote, how to open and close windows and how it was very hot here for English people. That went down well and I could tell Captain Caveman had stopped listening. At 6.55pm I unexpectedly received a message from Lynn Visa, who had already got my new Vietnamese visa for me. I checked it, it was correct, and thanked her for such a quick service – well worth the $80 (£64). This meant that I was permitted to stay in Vietnam for another 90 days should I need to. That evening we needed to get some laundry so we spent our Friday night between Happy Mix Wash & Dry launderette and Earthling Craft Cafe & Bar. An usual day turned strange when I realised that the Earthling Craft Cafe & Bar had spiders, reptiles and sphynx cats. Luckily they also had good ales, a delightful cider and excellent food. Happy Mix was amazing and we managed to do a load of laundry for an acceptable 105 baht (£2.28) and this included tumble drying as well. Captain Caveman and I took it in turns to check on the cycles as it was just across the road and had free WiFi. Our garlic bread and pizza at Earthling was very good and I don’t recall the prices as Captain Caveman paid but I know it was reasonable. Back at the Nature Home hotel, I didn’t take long to fall asleep which was good as we had a busy day tomorrow.
Captain Caveman went to Oxalis on his day off on the morning of Monday 25th March, while I did more of the free Canva training course. I’d managed to get most of the way through it but I found it quite difficult and my brain couldn’t cope with it all. I didn’t have any breakfast as we had a special lunch arranged for Captain Caveman’s day off, and our last day together for 5 days. Captain Caveman drove Trigger, the motorbike, with me on the back to another one of our Phong Nha favourites. It wasn’t far to East Hill and we were there by midday, ready to order the BBQ chicken combo which comes with sticky rice, peanut salt and cucumber. The chicken is always so tasty and the place is picturesque and peaceful during the weekdays. I noticed there were quite a few cats around, for the first time, and they wanted food. We researched some flights for when Captain Caveman and I go to the UK for a family wedding and he got his flight confirmed for the beginning of July. Unfortunately, his flight back to Turkey in October was an extra expense for us to worry about as he’d definitely have to carry back more than hand luggage! I also still needed to book my flight out of Vietnam and hadn’t got the cash to do that just yet. This was a concern as, for now, Captain Caveman was giving me the money required to remain resident in Turkey. We even transferred some and I paid off my Turkish credit card and paid our pool and garden management company while we sat at East Hill. Our lunch with drinks (water for me and beer for Captain Caveman) was 380,000VND (£12.01) and was as amazing as I remembered it. As we were about to leave, I saw a very strange and hairy caterpillar, apparently harmless.
Our next stop was just a quick one to see René at Greenfield Ecostay. He’d been napping and we disturbed him but got chatting a little. After popping back to Diep Le Homestay where there was a bit of confusion over where our laundry had got to and whether I was booked on the 7am or 9am bus tomorrow, we were off out again. We cycled for a quick beverage at Lucky Homes, where we received a box of biscuits as a gift from the owners, which was really kind.
We carried on by bicycle to Tree House as I’d not eaten there yet and I wanted to try it. I’d worked with the owner a few years ago and it was good to see how his business had grown, since then. Captain Caveman had beer and a pasta dish and I had a Strongbow cider and ordered pork fried rice. I hadn’t realised my meal would have bacon instead of pieces of actual pork so it wasn’t as I’d expected. Captain Caveman’s had a few mushrooms in his, which he doesn’t eat, so I had those in my rice. We noticed it was happy hour between 6 and 8pm so we ordered a margarita cocktail each. Captain Caveman paid the bill by QR bank transfer (popular in Vietnam these days) so I didn’t take a note of the exact costs but it came to something like 450,000VND (£14.21) in total. We didn’t plan on staying out late as tomorrow I had to be up very early for my trip, however, we ended up in The Villa’s, yet again! We had 2 glasses of white wine and 2 Huda beers at a total cost of 200,000VND (£6.34). Even though it felt like we had really splashed out for Captain Caveman’s day off, we had still only spent a total of less than £33 for the 2 of us and it had been such a great day.
It was a funny old day on Wednesday 24th January, where things didn’t quite go according to plan. I didn’t even get out of bed until almost 10am and the sun was shining. I got weighed at home to find I had lost 0.5kg (1.1lb) and I had lost 1cm from my bust, waist and hips which I was really pleased about and couldn’t wait for Fat Club later. I had Slimming World pancakes for breakfast with frozen berries in and some watermelon on the side, followed by lemon and green tea. At 2.45pm I walked to Fat Club at Nil Lounge and was rather cocky that I would have lost weight. Unfortunately, I had stayed the same on Carol’s scales and I wasn’t too pleased. When we finished the group, I headed over to Cafe Ivy where I had arranged to meet Vanessa. When I arrived, there was no one there but I’d already told Jamie and the Aussies that’s where I was going and they said they were coming too. Jamie said he would bring the dogs and he invited Ann too as she likes a Wine Wednesday. I got a wine, Jamie and the dogs arrived and got a drink, then Ann arrived. I checked my phone to see where Vanessa was, she had gone to Tapa instead because that’s where the gang were playing pool today, as Rehab bar was closed. She said to come there but I couldn’t change now that I’d got a drink and we were settled with the dogs. The Aussies arrived and I stuck to just 2 red wines and we moved inside when it turned chilly. After Ivy, Jamie had to take the dogs home for feeding but I ended up staying out and we went to Nil Lounge to watch the band, I’d still not had any dinner so Ann and I shared some chips. I had another 2 wines and then called it a day. I’d spent 220 lira (£5.71) in Ivy and another 335 lira (£8.70) in Nil so I had to say no. The band was excellent and I really enjoyed listening to them. As Ann was rather more merry than me, I walked her as far as the corner shop on the way to her house and then came back to mine. As I approached our place, I noticed there were lights on in the apartment opposite me – I had neighbours again!
Video of the band playing one of my favourite songs
It was my last full day and night at Bill and Jaxx’s villa on Monday 8th January. On our walks today, Big Boy had decided he wanted to go after a cat and I only just managed to keep him from zooming off. He wouldn’t listen and he got a little telling off for nearly pulling me over. To say sorry he licked me on the nose while I was trying to tell him the rules. The dogs had sofa snoozes while I drank tea, ate an apple and then some noodles for breakfast. I was meant to be back on the healthy wagon but I indulged in fruit cake and cheese instead of lunch. The Turkish lira was now over 38 to the pound, the highest it had been and was not good news for the Turks. At 11.40am Captain Caveman and I had a video call and he seemed to be missing me. He suggested I send him photos for my Vietnamese visa and he would apply for it for me. That way he could pay for it as I didn’t know exactly when I’d get paid. Ordinarily, I would’ve been working today, as I do on Mondays, but it was on hold until after I received my wages, next week.
I fed Big Boy and Lucy early so that I could get the bus in to town for my parents’ farewell evening. I was looking forward to going out for a nice meal and spending some time with Ma & Pa before they went back to the UK, especially as I wouldn’t be seeing them for 6 months. I was still not 100% better and the cough was pretty bad so I wasn’t thrilled that we were meeting at Tez bar at 6pm – I find it too smokey even though I would be sat outside. My parents, understandably, had lots of friends who also wanted to see them off, as well as it being Adam and Kath’s leaving drinks too. The 4 of them were travelling to the airport together and had become firm friends. They had given the ball a right kick last night, getting on the gins after everyone had left – I can no longer keep up with them all. When we got to Tez bar it was very busy so I sat between my mom and Daisy. It was smokey and I nursed my white wine for ages as it was making my cough worse. When my mom went to the toilet, John took her seat so I wasn’t even sat near my parents and would’ve been better off meeting them at the restaurant. After 2 hours at a smokey Tez, I’d had enough, I think Ma and Pa would’ve stayed there if I hadn’t have insisted on us having a farewell meal. I should’ve learned after Captain Caveman’s leaving drinks, that perhaps not everyone wants a farewell meal!
When we got to Simple at 8.15pm, we only had 45 minutes before closing so I hoped it would still be ok. Onur greeted us and was fine about the time and I was relieved because I was famished. We all had the red pepper and sun-dried tomato soup for starters and it was amazing. It was 100 lira (£2.62) per bowl but well worth it. For mains my parents had the Asian style noodles and I was tempted, but after having the burger last time, I couldn’t resist. They had sold out of the pulled beef burger, with us being so late, but the cheeseburger and fries that I had was still fantastic. The chicken noodles were 180 lira (£4.72), beef noodles 210 lira (£5.51) and my burger was 250 lira (£6.56) which we all agreed was value for money. Simple is not licenced for alcohol so we got a bottle of wine from Nazo’s, next door, which was 450 lira (£11.81) for a decent bottle of chilled white. I thoroughly enjoyed our ‘last supper’ and I was going to miss my parents a lot. They’d had such a great 3 months in Dalyan that I did worry that they would be going back to a more sedate, somewhat boring and more expensive life back in Sheffield. After Simple, we decided to have a drink in Ozzy’s, the new bar which had replaced 2 Charlie’s. John, Andrea, Daisy and the Aussies were in there and apparently had been shouting us as we walked past but we’d ignored them – I hadn’t noticed. It was very smokey inside which set my cough off straight away and I had to go outside and use my inhaler. Ma and Pa were fine and stayed inside the smokey bar but I couldn’t go back in. I drank my wine outside but that meant that I wasn’t making the most of being with my parents. Daisy and the Aussies came out to join me and I got updates on the eventful first week of January, which I’d missed from being so ill. I decided I’d had enough of the smoking inside, and complained to Ozzy, it is illegal here and the bar owner can get fined 9,000 lira (£236.22) per time. He listened and said he would take it onboard. As I was finishing my drink a drunk woman was becoming annoying to my friends so I messaged Fikri for my taxi, said goodbye and left.
Wednesday 20th December should have been my pay day so I had organised to meet a few friends and take our guests to a live gig tonight and was hoping for a bit of a blow out. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until January for my pay to get processed, due to a problem with my bosses new card being sent in the mail over the Christmas period. I could certainly do without the stress of having no money but I had 2 choices of how I was going to let this affect me for the rest of the year! I decided there was nothing I could do about the situation and I was going to do my utmost to remain positive and get through the rest of 2023 as best as I could. Luckily, Captain Caveman came to my rescue and transferred some money in to my account. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, overnight oats with persimmon and then a lemon & green tea. As it was weigh day, I should have taken my measurements and got on the home scales but I forgot. Downstairs, Captain Caveman told me that he’d put some treats away which Josh and Martha had brought for me. It made my day that I had a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate, cheese (cheddar AND Red Leicester), and some duty free booze – the legends!!!! Obviously, my Fat Club weigh in resulted in me putting on weight. A whopping 0.8kg (1.8lb), twice the amount I lost last week! It was reassuring that a lot of the other ladies were kind of in the same boat. Afterwards, I met the gang at Rehab bar where Captain Caveman had dragged Josh and Martha to, as part of their continued initiation in to the expat life over here. Both of them seemed to be fitting straight in to the madness and were doing well. After a walk home along the river, we went to Çağrı for dinner with a couple of friends. The tomato and lentil soup was tasty and I really enjoyed my chicken shish, the meal for just us 2 came to 600 lira (£16.22) including drinks. Our next stop was to go to Ren Garden to meet more friends, including Jamie and Nanny Kay for a pre gig livener. With it being a new drinking establishment, I thought it would be a nice change but it wasn’t open and we plumped for Jiks instead. I had started to have a worse sore throat so I only had the one glass of white wine then I nursed one glass of red wine at the Jazz Bistro. I was glad I did as it cost 150 lira (£4.05), even a beer was 100 lira (£2.70) and a small water 40 lira (£1.08), which is more than most other bars. The music was great, though, and we had a good time – a few of us even got up for a bit of dancing. Martha gave the ball a good kick and none of us thought to mention that the measures of gin in Dalyan are often doubles, definitely larger than she’s used to back in the UK. Nanny Kay did rather well as she accidentally left without paying her bar tab and Jamie got her a taxi ride home as it was too busy for the usual ones to come.
It was all go on Tuesday 19th December and we were both excited for Josh and his girlfriend to arrive in Dalyan that afternoon. Today was also Daisy’s 25th birthday with a party booked at Tapa from 2pm. The cleaner was not at our apartment at 8.30am, as agreed, so we waited to see if she turned up. She was late as the office wasn’t open for her to collect the keys any earlier but no harm done. Captain Caveman and I decided we would go to a cafe or somewhere for a hot beverage, maybe some breakfast, before he went to Bridge Club. After walking round Dalyan to find nowhere open yet we bought 2 chocolate croissants for 37.90 lira (£1.02) from Migros and walked round the streets eating them.
When Captain Caveman left, I waited for Kaunos tea gardens to open and had a tea. I messaged Jamie to see if he fancied meeting up and I had a second breakfast with him, at Ela’s Kitchen. As tomorrow was weigh day, I tried to make as sensible a choice as I could. The beans on toast that I ordered was a very generous size and I was pleased id managed to resist Sev’s sausage. By 11.30am I was on my way to my parents’ place as arranged so that I could go to Jiks with Dad, while Mom went for her hair cut. Captain Caveman would meet us at Jiks for lunch. Ma finished early and we all ate together; Dad a burger and the rest of us had pizza which was great – my diet was well and truly blown! While there, Jamie messaged to ask if I would be able to take 2 bed side lamps to Tapa for Janet. He was selling them for a friend, Janet, who was going to be at Daisy’s birthday party, where we were going to go for one, before Josh and Martha arrived. Of course I agreed and we carried them over to Tapa where the Dalyan gossip started that Jamie must have sold his house because he was getting rid of some lamps!
Daisy’s 25th birthday party at Tapa was busy with lots of friends. My parents had a cold but had managed to muddle through and I had a bit of a sore throat coming. We’d already said we weren’t staying long as we needed to get back to greet Josh and Martha who were on the plane. Captain Caveman left first with instructions to ring me when he knew that Josh was in the taxi. He forgot, so when I got back home our guests were already there! It was great to see Josh again after a year and it was impressive to see he’d really done well for himself. Captain Caveman and I liked Martha straight away as she was really lovely – it takes a special kind of person to agree to a week in Dalyan with us lot (as I’m sure you can imagine). I just hoped we wouldn’t be spoiling her Christmas holiday and that she could get through the Dalyan shenanigans. We decided to ease Martha in gently with a trip to the Waterfall so we could have a drink together and get to know each other a bit better. She had a good sense of humour and it was obvious we were going to have a great week. Jamie popped in for one with Norman and Edna and he wasn’t too pleased that Dalyan Dwellers thought those lamps were his – surely they knew he had better taste in décor! We asked my parents, who had also left Tapa when I did, if they wanted to join us to meet Martha and welcome Josh back. Dad had already got bored at home waiting, so they had gone back to Tapa. The four of us decided to go to join them where we introduced Josh and Martha to everyone, some people Josh had already met. We had a couple of drinks and decided we were going to go for a meal as we were all peckish and I’d already booked Simple for the 6 of us. Daisy didn’t want us to leave and Josh, the not so devout vegan, managed to eat a slice of chocolate birthday cake as we were departing.
Simple was lovely, just the 6 of us indoors, with Onur the chef making us very fresh and tasty food. Josh and I had the vegan pumpkin soup, the others had the chicken soup – all were delicious. Martha and I had the pulled beef burger (with chips), Captain Caveman had a chicken quesadilla and the rest had the Asian noodles (meat for my parents, veggie for Josh). All the food was excellent although the noodles were on the spicy side. Simple is not licenced for alcohol but we were able to get beer and wine from next door. The prices were reasonable to say it felt like a private dining experience. Unfortunately, my 2 breakfasts, a pizza lunch, a few wines and a loaded burger meant that I had completely gone over the top on the syns this week. We went back to Tapa to rejoin the birthday shenanigans which were now getting even more lively. It had been a great day and we had more excitement planned for tomorrow. Fat Club was going to be a bit more like a confessional for me tomorrow, having had 548 syns.
Of course I was hungover (again) on Saturday 16th December and it was raining heavily. I spent all morning in bed and felt bad when we couldn’t even make it to the weekly market. When I did venture downstairs, I made myself an egg and banana pancake, with persimmon and quark for a very late breakfast. There was a Christmas treat auction being held at River House at 2pm but I was in no fit state to make it. Even if I were physically able to attend, I really didn’t need to break my diet for excessive treats that I hadn’t budgeted for anyway so I wasn’t too bothered about missing it. It was date night for our 12 year anniversary tonight and we decided we would just go to Lukka bar, with the weather being so wet. I’d tried to get booked in for my hair doing but I couldn’t get an appointment until next Friday. At Lukka I ordered soda water while Captain Caveman insisted on a bottle of red wine. I was absolutely begging for mercy as Çetin, the waiter, poured us a glass each of the red Buzbağ wine. For starters Captain Caveman wanted pâté but they didn’t have that, instead he had cheesy garlic bread, I had garlic mushrooms. Both starters were great and Captain Caveman even shared his starter with me. For main course he had pepper steak and I went for one of my old favourites, sweet and sour chicken. Both came with homemade chips which were nice and we enjoyed our food. I only managed about a glass of the wine while Captain Caveman drank the rest. I started to feel quite unwell before we had left to go home and I even had to go home before Captain Caveman, with some leftovers in a bag. Our anniversary celebration night out cost us just less than £50 in English money equivalent. Back at home, I felt quite unwell and thought I might spoil date night by having to have an early night by myself. By the time I’d come out of the bathroom, Captain Caveman was on the sofa, fast asleep and snoring, it was only 9.15pm!
My parents and I joined Captain Caveman on his weekly walk on Sunday 17th December. It was a sunny day for the 12km so I could just about manage that. As we left home I noticed that the person who was staying in the apartment opposite us, had a German Shepherd dog and it was on the front balcony, barking. Captain Caveman and I assumed the Turkish woman who was inside was the cleaner who had brought her dog to work with her. After the walk Captain Caveman, my parents and I had lunch at the Kefal tea gardens. I was good and had 2 big Turkish teas while the others had beers. I accidentally ordered a chicken döner sandwich instead of a cheese and onion toastie but it was rather tasty. It did mean that I’d gone over 300 syns for the week now so Wednesday’s Fat Club weigh-in was certainly looking a bit dicey. Here’s what we had and the prices in lira;
Not a bad lunch for less than £5 per person on average. That evening, I made enchiladas for dinner using up lots of defrosted leftovers from various meals out. It was lovely but I was ready for an early night as it would be a busy day off work tomorrow.
I chopped and deseeded the rest of the persimmon on Friday 8th December, so that I could use them for my overnight oats. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge Club and would meet me at Jamie’s villa. Jamie was off to Istanbul with friends for a birthday weekend, while we looked after Norman and Edna. For lunch I did us a jacket potato with cheese for a nice change then we walked the dogs. It started raining while we were out so we had to take shelter. Edna loves to nip in to Waterfall, her local pub, so we went there for a drink. Mehmet gave Norman and Edna some sausage which they enjoyed but Edna was disappointed as her boyfriend, Skippy, doesn’t frequent the bar on a Friday. Back home we had some chicken curry with steamed rice for dinner and some tangerines for after.
Saturday 9th December was quite a lively one but started off lazy. I was still in my pyjamas on the sofa with Norman and Edna at 10am. I had Tetley’s tea and my overnight oats for breakfast before eventually getting ready to walk the dogs prior to our weekly jaunt to the market. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;
Stall 1 Potatoes & onions 29
Stall 2 Red & Green peppers 25
Stall 3 Persimmons & bananas 53
Stall 4 Tangerines 30
Stall 5 2 spinach gözleme 100
Total market spend 237 lira (£6.51)
The lira had dropped to 36.4 to the pound yesterday but it was still set to increase again. Captain Caveman chose a different stall for tangerines this week and she charged us 3 times more than the guy last week.
Back at Jamie’s, I fell asleep on the sofa and my parents went for a walk ending up in a visit to Tez bar. Mom was looking for the new location of Emrah the hairdresser so I told her where it was, next to the Şarküteri shop along from the butchers. We were waiting for Norman to wake up so that we could go to Sofra bar for a drink and meet Ma & Pa. Edna insisted that we go to see Skippy in Waterfall as she, quite rightly, pointed out that football would be on at Sofra meaning talking would be frowned upon. We got there about 5.15pm and let my parents know so they could join us, they were very merry when they arrived. By 7pm Mom was murdering Bonnie Tyler’s ‘It’s a heartache’ to a bewildered Norman and Edna. I have a video but Ma will not allow it to be published, so I took a screenshot of the dogs watching and listening. We took the dogs home and gave them a late tea, Norman grumbled something about it being a good job they get treats in the Waterfall if dinner is going to be this late! We left the dogs, snuggled up in their bed, to go back out for dinner with my tipsy parents.
We decided on Mahir’s Kebabs which have fantastic fish and chips and cheap wine – yes my diet was going well! On the way I showed Ma where the hairdresser was now located and she looked in through the window to check it out. At Mahir’s, Dad had chicken shish, Mom ordered an Adana kebab, Captain Caveman İskender kebab and I (obviously) had the fish and chips. The food was so good and service from Mahir is always excellent. A beer or a wine was just 80 lira (£2.20), Captain Caveman’s meal was 230 lira (£6.32) and mine was 280 lira (£7.70) which we thought was reasonable for the portion size. Mahir gave us free chocolate treats at the end of the meal too. We went straight home after dinner as I don’t like to leave the dogs too late, plus my parents probably wouldn’t remember getting home as it was.
After a cuppa and the dog walk on Friday 24th November, I tidied up and got myself ready to meet our Aussie/Viet friends for the last time. They were off this afternoon, on their journey to Istanbul, via some remaining archeological places. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge so I met Veronika at Pier Gusto for a hot beverage. Bich and the kids joined us shortly after and we all had drinks while I listened to the tale of the missing hotel master key. I opened my purse to pay and found that I had picked up the white plastic card (the key) at the tea gardens yesterday, not realising what or who’s it was. They were delighted and it saved them paying for a new one. We decided on a spot of lunch at Çağrı where we had a selection of food both off the menu and from the chiller cabinet. Bich had a beef stew but found it a bit salty, Veronika enjoyed her soup, I had chicken casserole with rice, Micheal and Howie had chicken wings. Captain Caveman joined us later and snuck in a Lamuchan and the kids leftovers. I couldn’t manage all of mine and took the rest home for the freezer. Ben didn’t join for food but swung by in the car to collect everyone. It was a lovely last lunch and I was definitely sad to see our friends leave. I was already looking forward to seeing them again in Phong Nha. I was meant to meet Vanessa in the afternoon but she had already been to Kefal tea gardens while I had arranged to meet Adele at the Kaunos tea gardens. It is walking distance but Vanessa had a bad foot and she thought it may rain. We saw Adele and then went back to Jamie’s for more cute dog cuddles and to eat some lasagne (with cabbage in it!) for dinner. By 9.30pm everyone, but me, was having a bit of a snooze.
Saturday 25th should have been the Dalyan Winter Fayre but it was postponed to next week, due to the bad weather. I was slightly relieved as, I wouldn’t be getting paid until next week and I didn’t have any spare cash. We stayed in with the dogs and watched TV as more storms were predicted.
For the next 2 days I didn’t do much, aside from looking after dogs. On Sunday 26th November Captain Caveman did the Sunday walk. The rain had temporarily stopped so he and the one other walker were lucky with the weather but everyone else had been put off. Captain Caveman got some great photos and I wish I’d gone for the exercise, he said it would have been too difficult for me.
Because we were house and dog sitting for just the weekend, I moved my working day on Monday 27th, to later in the week. It would be easier back home to save bringing my laptop over and when Captain Caveman is out. The storm at not done any further damage aside from knocking a few outdoor plants over, and moving the patio furniture, which was lucky. We got Jamie a shepherd’s pie out of the freezer to defrost for him tomorrow and Norman and Edna snuggled up with Captain Caveman.
Wednesday 22nd November turned out to be quite a good day, despite the rain. As I wasn’t at home, I couldn’t have a cheeky weigh so I just did my measurements; no change to my bust and 1cm off both waist and hips. I’d had 265 syns this week so it was a bit of a 50/50 chance as to whether that would show a loss on Carol’s scales at Fat Club. Most of the day was spent with Norman, Edna and Captain Caveman (who was playing Bridge on his phone). The selfie taking with the dogs was proving a challenge as Norman didn’t want to but Edna was taking it too far now. I made lentil soup in the slow cooker using Carol’s trusty recipe but without the chilli. It turned out quite thick but using Jamie’s stick blender was great. I definitely needed to get myself one as it makes such a difference to the soups. Fat Club went well with a loss of 0.4kg (0.9lb) so I was pleased about that.
In the evening we went to meet our next lot of Australians, who had come from Vietnam to visit Turkey during the winter season. Veronika, Ben, Bich and the 2 boys were in Dalyan for a short stay and had been in Capadoccia. Caroline had made it there but they unfortunately didn’t get to meet as, on day one, Caroline had a knee injury and had to fly back to Vietnam. The Le Mitchell family, who we know from Phong Nha Farmstay and Victory Road Villas back in Phong Nha, were checked in to the Smyrna hotel and met us at the restaurant opposite, M-Eyhane, for dinner at 7pm. My parents also joined us as they hadn’t seen our friends for quite some time. We all ordered a mixture of starters and mains and, as is usual with a group of 9, Dad ordered the wrong thing and didn’t enjoy his main course. It didn’t help that there was a power cut and we had to eat by our phone torches but Dad has trouble seeing his food anyway. The white wine was very good and went down well as it was only 100 lira (£2.82) for a decent measure! It was great to see everyone and hear about how much they had been enjoying Turkey so far. After saying goodnight, my parents, Captain Caveman and I had a quick drink in Cafe Ivy. We had to get back for the dogs so I wasn’t up for a late one, however, my parents got talking to an English couple and didn’t leave until way past midnight. It had been 5 weeks since we had all arrived back in Dalyan and it was good to see my parents making the most of their holiday.
joloyolo 