Dalyan – 17th to 19th May

I worked all day on Sunday 17th May and found some great deals for cruises, including a similar route to the trip I would be going on in June.
I had some warmed up pizza for lunch, which I cooked from frozen and then got excited when Travelpack put a Facebook post out to announce my Fam trip onboard Riverside Luxury Cruises.
I worked late because I had taken tomorrow off so that I was on standby to join my sister, if I was invited to Köyceğiz on the yellow boat. It turned out though, that they had decided not to go so I messaged a friend to see if she fancied going to the beach instead and we made a loose plan to either go to Iztuzu or Dalaman in the morning.

Gratitude List
1. Being lucky enough to be going on the Riverside Luxury Cruises Fam trip next month
2. Pizza for lunch
3. Having the flexibility to take some time off.

My plans changed a bit on Monday 18th May; Jamie had asked me to let Norman out at lunch time as he was off to Fethiye for the day. My friend and I met for a cup of tea and a walk at 8am and postponed our outing to the beach. I got more annoyed than I should have that escaped balloons from boat trips were floating down the river! My parents, Gayle and Neil had said they were off to the beach but also changed their minds and went to Köyceğiz on the yellow boat.

I worked on some existing customer admin and checked on a customer abroad.
I visited Norman, who was snoozing and needed to be tempted out with a peanut paw. He’d had a haircut and was looking very trim and pleased to see me.
I had a late lunch of chicken casserole with green beans and carried on with promoting holidays for later in the year.
For dinner I made a concoction of bacon and asparagus risotto, Slimming World style – so no wine or butter in it.
Today I was pleased to have a zero spend and a zero alcohol day.

Gratitude List
1. An early morning walk
2. Seeing Norman, the dog
3. Nice home cooked food.

It was another quiet day on Tuesday 19th May. I did some book writing in the morning, a short course on how to write a landing page and form with Holly Frances and then completed another free course with Lisa Johnson on Selling with Integrity and Scaling. I was doing ok with Resort Experts but I could definitely take on more customers for this year and 2027 so I was working on doing just that.
I had warmed up leftover risotto for lunch, which wasn’t the best as it was using broken rice. I worked more in the afternoon and then made a Slimming World Tarka Dal for dinner. It was very tasty and felt healthy which was good as I had weigh day tomorrow and I wasn’t hopeful for a loss this week.
I stayed at home in the evening and had another zero spend and zero alcohol day.

Gratitude List
1. Free and helpful courses
2. Home cooked meals
3. A quiet but productive day.

Dalyan – 14th May

Before breakfast on Thursday 14th May I had took photos of some Slimming World recipes which I liked the look of. I sat on the balcony having tea and toast while the pool and gardening team worked below. The weather was definitely starting to pick up which was great now that my sister and brother-in-law had arrived. I did some writing and then grabbed a quick lunch before a couple of meetings online. The Resort Experts team meeting got cancelled so I cracked on with my to do list until 4pm. I’d not heard from the family about doing anything tonight so I took myself off for a walk along the river at a decent hour.

On my way back, I called to say hello to Katrina at Maizie Moo and ended up having wine from Lukka bar. I met a friend of Katrina’s with a gorgeous looking dog and we got chatting. Katrina and I sat chatting for a while and I had 3 red wines to Katrina’s 1 mint chocolate milkshake, which I tasted and it was fab. I paid my bill which was 800 lira (£13.33) including a tip and went home to a mystery dinner from the freezer.

Gratitude List
1. Having a sit on the balcony for tea and toast
2. Spending time with Katrina
3. A fairly relaxed and easy going day.

Dalyan – 11th & 12th May

Monday 11th May was a busy one with a short break to go to the bank and pick up sourdough bread. I was also glad to not have a hangover despite 4 wine and sodas plus 2 pints of shandy yesterday! I had ordered both an ordinary sourdough and a caraway seed sourdough from Mesude, which cost 500 lira (£8.33) for the 2 loaves. I had some with olives and cheese for my lunch and my favourite is the caraway seed one.
I spent the rest of the day at my laptop until 5.30pm when I had a rest and warmed up a bolognese for dinner. I was meant to meet Jamie and the girls who were going to watch the Hull football match but I decided I wasn’t up for it and needed a night in. Instead, I chilled on the sofa and had a video call with Captain Caveman.

Gratitude List
1. No hangover from yesterday’s boat trip
2. Mesude who bakes my sourdough
3. A quiet night at home.

It was another busy working day on Tuesday 12th May and Dalyan was certainly warming up a bit. The pool looked good but I’d still not been brave enough to get in it.
I had another cruise training webinar, with a different supplier about the launch of a new river cruise in Vietnam for 2027. It looked so good that I wondered if I should dust off my CV and see if they could use a woman of my experience – it did go down the Saigon river which I had skippered a speed boat down a few years ago!
Just after 1pm, I went to let Norman out as Jamie & Drew were on a beach day with Julia and the girls. Norman was fast asleep and didn’t want to go outside but I encouraged him with a peanut paw. I nearly shit my pants when I saw a stuffed cat cushion on the kitchen worktop!
After spending some time with Norman, I popped in to see Ma & Pa. We spent more time than we should’ve trying to decide where to eat tomorrow night for the family of five’s first meal out together. I think we were overly concerned that my sister would be able to get a good gluten free meal and didn’t want to pick somewhere that anyone wouldn’t like. Eventually we decided on Caretta, in the mosque Square and Ma booked us in. I didn’t eat lunch until gone 3.30pm after prioritising other stuff so I decided to use the last of the bolognese to make a pasta bake and ate that as my main meal of the day. I worked until late and had a zero spend and zero alcohol day – it would be the last one for a while as my sister and brother-in-law were arriving tomorrow and we were all looking forward to it.

Gratitude List
1. A nice clean pool and garden
2. Training on a brand new Mekong River Cruise
3. Getting all the errands done so I could get back to work.

Dalyan – 9th May

It was market day on Saturday 9th May and I was in need of some fruit and veg. I did a couple of hours work and then wandered over to pick up what I needed and get back home before 10.30am. It felt good that I’d ended up having an early night, a shame I’d missed the boys but I was too old to be going out at 10.45pm, these days.
It was good to see the market busy with locals and tourists, too. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira:

Market
Stall 1
Apples, strawberries and courgettes 300 lira (£5)

Stall2
Asparagus 100 lira (£1.67)

Stall 3
2 Aubergines 9 lira (15p)

Stall 4
Peppers 50 lira (83p)

Total spent 459 lira (£7.65)

On the way back, I saw my parents briefly and they had already been to the market.

A new restaurant has opened on the edge of the old market Square so it was another one to add to the list of ones to try. I had a quick work related call and then went to meet friends, Penny & Phil, at Ren Garden for a pot of tea and a sweet treat. I’d not seen them for a while so it was good to catch up. I had a pot of tea and one of Eva’s irresistible chocolate chip cookies for 220 lira (£3.67) and then we decided to go somewhere else. While Penny rode her mobility scooter, fondly named the Madge Mobeel, Phil and I walked round to Retro bar.
We sat in the sun at first and I had a wine and soda but the sun was strong and we had to move to the shade. Retro bar has Smyrna hotel next to it with a lovely pool where I took a call from Captain Caveman. He was on his way up to Gaping Gill for the weekend so he probably wouldn’t have much signal after today. It’s a cave in the Yorkshire Dales with water pouring down the 100m drop and I have had ‘the pleasure’ of having gone down it on their famous wynch days.
The afternoon went well but too fast and I went home before dark, ready for another early night and another boat trip tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. Fresh produce from the Saturday market
2. Meeting up with friends for the afternoon
3. Enjoying being out in the sun and fresh air.

Dalyan – 7th & 8th May

Thursday 7th May was all about Resort Experts and I had a busy day at the laptop.
I’d been in the office all day and around 5.30pm I decided to get some fresh air. A friend had invited me to join her and her friend, for dinner but I could only really spare time for a cup of tea. We met at the Kaunos tea gardens and ordered Turkish çay. The ladies had been on a boat trip, had a lovely day and the weather was pleasant enough to sit outside even at 6pm. I had just 2 teas for 50 lira (83p) but my total spend for the first week of May was well over my increased budget of £105. I’d spent £140.20 which was including 2 meals out, 1 takeaway and 4 days that definitely weren’t alcohol free as I helped to celebrate 2 birthdays. I also had plenty of things coming up this weekend which were probably going to take me over budget again.

Gratitude List
1. A busy but focused Thursday
2. Fresh air and a short walk
3. Meeting up with friends for a Turkish tea.

On Friday 8th May I had a usual morning and then left home about 2.15pm to get the bus to Ortaca. The road digging up had now turned into the road filling in and it looked a mess. I’d postponed my hair appointment from a couple of weeks ago so I was off today to let Emrah work his magic. I called at the bank then got the bus which was 120 lira (£2) for the return trip, about 30 minutes away. My appointment was at 3pm so I didn’t have time to call at the market as I’d hoped to.
My hair pampering session was so relaxing and I was so tired that I was almost falling asleep. I had my hair dyed, cut, blow-dried and curled for 2,200 lira (£36.67) including a tip and I was really pleased with it. My hair was finally officially long and even Emrah said it looked good. I was looking forward to a night on the town later with my new hair.
While all that was happening we had an update from Resort Experts owners to say we were now recruiting for more people who are living abroad and used to work as a holiday rep. This was good news as it showed we were a growing new business and the future was looking optimistic.
While waiting at the bus stop, I got a message from a fella called Michael. I’d been following him on Facebook for a number of years when he was homeless and struggled to survive by making paper flowers and selling them on the streets of Leicester. He was therefore called Street Flowers and I was so pleased to finally get an update to say he had got a dog and he was doing well. He sent me photos of the dog from when he first got him to now and it was just a lovely update as he was also off the streets.
I got the bus back as I’d got a Bolognese on the go, for dinner, then I had arranged to meet Jamie, Drew, Nick and Mark for drinks. Unfortunately, the boys were out for dinner and didn’t message to say they were on their way to Sofra bar until gone 10.30pm. I’d got tired of waiting after eating my Bolognese, having a glass of wine and giving myself a pedicure and a face mask. When I got the text from Jamie, I’d already popped my pyjamas on and was in bed falling asleep to something I tried to watch on Netflix.

Gratitude List
1. Getting my hair done by Emrah in Ortaca
2. Hearing from Street Flowers, Michael.
3. Having an unexpected night in.

Dalyan – 5th May

I had a busy day in my office on Tuesday 5th May and there was quite a lot of building noise coming from outside. I took a break just before noon and went to the shop. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira:

Migros Supermarket
2 milk 28.50
Peanuts 35.00
Olives 61.50
Chickpeas 87.95
Cashew nuts 95.00
2 Quark 119.90
Total spent 427.85 lira (£7.13)

BIM Supermarket
Pasta 19.50
2 Basmati rice 159.00
Frozen berries 199.00
Total spent 377.50 lira (£6.29)

Parlak Bakery
Sourdough loaf 75.00 lira (£1.25)

It was a bit of an extravagant spend but I needed to stock up on some healthy treats to prevent me from being tempted to eat cheaper less healthy snacks. I was also out of rice and chickpeas so those were essential.
I found out the noise was due to the road being dug up to put cables in, apparently for internet use, but they were making a real mess. When they dig roads up here they often botch backfill them which results in uneven roads and trip hazards.
Our pool and garden was ready for summer now and the gardeners had even put in a rosemary plant. I was pleased about this as we used to have one but the previous company killed it off.
In the evening Nanny Kay and I had been invited to Jamie and Drew’s for dinner with them and there was a bit of a surprise in store. I arrived 5 minutes late due to having to walk the long way round because of the roads being dug up. I wasn’t planning on drinking with it being Fat Club weigh in tomorrow, but I did. Jamie and Drew made Nanny Kay and I walk away from the house and I thought we were meant to be looking at a bush or some decorating. We were both chuntering away when they said to turn round and look up towards the front balcony. There we saw Nick and Mark waving at us and they had been waiting in the bedroom to surprise us. It was a really great surprise, especially to cheer up Nanny Kay who had suffered a family loss recently. We had cottage pie and plenty of wine and laughs. I got the micky took out of me when I shared my intentions to do a 3 week trip with just an under seat bag. All 4 of the fellas are big packers who don’t travel light so they thought it was impossible and hilarious. It was quite funny to have the banter even though I would not be taking a suitcase to drag around Europe. Drew wasn’t feeling well so he went to bed earlier than us and Jamie had a disaster when he ran out of ice. He ended up putting frozen peas in Nick’s gin and tonic which was not pleasant. Norman, the dog, loved having everyone round and got to have treats, leftovers and cuddles. It was a lovely evening and I knew the scales would not be kind tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. A lunch time shop
2. A surprise appearance from Nick & Mark
3. Dinner, drinks and lots of laughter with friends.

Dalyan – 29th April

Before my alarm went off at 7am on Wednesday 29th April, I checked where I was against the weekly and monthly budget. In the last week of the month I had spent £85, of which £65 was on a preplanned boat trip where I had paid £45 in English cash. I decided that it meant I still had £30 of the weekly budget left, plus £20 for the last 2 days of April.
I had started to feel better so I went to meet a friend for a walk and talk at 8am.

We finished our morning walk at Kefal tea gardens, for a cheese toastie and a cup of tea. At only 175 lira (£2.92) for breakfast it was very enjoyable but then I realised I should’ve got weighed earlier. I was in charge of the Fat Club scales as Carol had to make an unplanned trip to the UK so this was my 3rd week in charge. My home scales had said I’d stayed the same as last week and I’d lost 2cm off my bust and waist, my hips were the same.
I was just logging in to my emails when I noticed an important announcement about Turkish residency. As this affected me I went to read and check the information. The authorities had decided to significantly increase the fees for both new and renewal of residency permit fees. There was also not much in the way of notice as it was effective from the 1st of May!!! I currently have a 2 year residency permit expiring in 2027 which I had paid 6,523 lira (£133 at the time). In the next 2 days it would increase to 57,000 lira (£950) – an increase of 873%.
As you can imagine this was quite a shock for people who were about to renew imminently and without much warning. It did also make me question if it would be worth me saving up £950 just to renew my residency next year when I might not be in Dalyan as much as previous years. I messaged Captain Caveman who told me not to worry about it and it was still cheaper than moving back to the UK. There were lots of people on Facebook up in arms about it, with plenty of expats wondering if foreigners were no longer being made to feel welcome staying in Turkey. I googled how much it would be for a Turk to get a similar permit to reside in the UK and it was just over £3000 for 2026, so by comparison it was cheap!
I worked for the rest of the day and ate loquats for lunch, before heading out to Fat Club. I’d already arranged with Ma & Pa to meet them at Ren Garden after the group meeting at 4pm.

I’d put on 0.25kg (0.6lb) on Carol’s scales and was about to over indulge too. I had a pot of tea for 100 lira (£1.67) while behaving at Fat Club but it wouldn’t last long. I ordered a white wine and soda while my parents arrived and when they got there Dad ordered an Efes Malt beer and Mom a lemonade. They apologised for not making it over to mine after being in Jiks last night but Ma’s phone battery was dead. They had ended up giving the ball a right kick so Ma was off the booze today.
Eva, the waitress had made fresh chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies so I ditched the Slimming World plan for a cookie and another white wine and soda. We all enjoyed the cookies which are so good and not diet friendly at all.
I’d decided to finish work today at 3pm but, as I’m never really off duty, I always have my work phone on me. I got a message from one of the Resort Expert owners which simply said ‘call Jenny asap’.
I excused myself from my parents and went in to the garden room area and called the mobile number. I use Rebel app while in Turkey as it’s free/cheaper than using my UK phone package. What happened next was great as Jenny told me I was going on a work trip next month. Even though it overlapped with other trips/birthday celebrations, I obviously said yes and she asked me if I would be able to respond to her email with some credentials as soon as possible today. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to bring my catch up with my parents to a bit of an abrupt end so that I could go back home and sort it out and look at changing my flights. As we went to pay our bill at Ren Garden my mom, who had already given me English cash to refund me for her shopping and putting her internet on, paid for my drinks and cookie, which was very kind and meant that I’d only actually spent just under £5 today, with tomorrow being the last day of the month and a £300 monthly budget.
Back home, I started rejigging my travel plans for next month. I called Captain Caveman to let him know and he helped me plan. I had a very late dinner as I was still trying to work out the best way to change my flights.

Gratitude List
1. Captain Caveman putting the new residency renewal cost in to perspective
2. Spending time with Ma & Pa
3. Planning a work related trip.

Dalyan – 21st April

I’d arranged to meet a friend for a morning walk and talk at 8am on Tuesday 21st April. I took photos along the river and it never gets boring seeing the same views. We had a lovely walk then went back to the Kaunos tea gardens for a cup of tea. I rushed back home to carry on with work as I had a lot on my plate. I’d also had further messages from Carol from Fat Club who was absolutely loving her Rhine cruise, still. I actually thought it would be a good one to do with Captain Caveman in the future as it was the sort of itinerary we would both enjoy.

At noon I joined day 2 of the Easi Passive Income with Natalie and Collette which was all about ideal clients.
In the afternoon I had more time working on quotes and enquiries, then did a content plan for the rest of the month.
The only thing I spent money on today was a replacement water which was now 120 lira (£2). I had mushroom pasta at gone 3pm which turned out to be lunch and dinner as I was too busy for the rest of the day and forgot to eat.
My 3rd week’s budget was completely blown and was over the £70 by £28.59! I could have blamed having to fork out for internet and contraception pills (£27.24) but really I should blame the 2 takeaway meals and more alcohol than usual. I needed to try harder next week but it was certainly getting more difficult as more restaurants and bars opened and family and friends would soon be arriving in Dalyan. I also didn’t count in the budget me paying £60 for the annual Netflix for Captain Caveman and my accounts as I was only paying it because Captain Caveman was otherwise engaged.

Gratitude List

1. An early morning walk

2. More free courses and advice from experts

3. Recognising where my overspend on the budget was coming from.

Dalyan – 18th & 19th April

Surprisingly, Saturday 18th April didn’t have the rain it had been forecast and was actually warm and sunny. Carol from Fat Club had been in touch to say she was enjoying her Rhine cruise which was starting in Frankfurt. I had booked her trip with Travelpack and we had found her a German ship which had the Juliet cabin she wanted and couldn’t find. She was quickly turning in to my new PR woman as she posted all over Facebook and in the Fat Club group chat how thrilled she was with this trip already. I was pleased as I know Carol and Ian are a sociable pair and wasn’t sure if they may miss having plenty of fellow Brits around them. After working all morning, I walked over to Vanessa & Matt’s. We had a cup of tea and then walked to the market. I only bought strawberries at 185 lira (£3.08) then we went to my usual pancake stall for a spot of lunch. Vanessa had a chocolate pancake and I chose a spinach one and, although the prices of them had gone up recently, they cost just 300 lira (£5) for both, which is reasonable and they are filling.
After the market, Vanessa and I decided to call in to Ren Garden and we sat in the garden room at the back with a glass of white wine and soda each so we could chat. We had just 2 glasses each with the soda and then had to leave. Matt had been trying to get old of Vanessa but her phone was on silent, to tell us to come to Corner bar. I said I’d head home and Vanessa could catch up with everyone in Corner bar. As I’d paid for the pancakes at the market, I just put 200 lira (£3.33) towards the bill and then we said our farewells. I called at the bakery and bought bread for 20 lira (33p) making a total spend for today of 705 lira (£11.95).
In the evening I spoke on a video call with my mom who was getting excited to be coming out to Dalyan soon.

Gratitude List
1. Carol being pleased with the cruise I’d booked for her
2. Meeting up with Vanessa
3. A video call with Ma.

I had debated having a day away from the laptop on Sunday 19th April but I realised it was not a good idea. From next week I had lots of stuff booked in that meant being away from the desk, so I really needed to make the most of it while I could. I also had 3 new enquiries, 2 of which were about cruises and one for a trip to Turkey. Messenger had started playing up and wasn’t working, I also was having trouble with the banking app. I had got it in my diary that I needed to pick up sourdough from Mesude today so I rushed off to do that, midmorning. On the way, I bumped in to my favourite white dogs and had to give them some attention. This week I was trying the caraway seed sourdough, as well as the ciabatta one. It came to 500 lira (£8.33) for both loaves and I was pleased with the quality. They stay fresh for ages and it’s also great to freeze – it’s so much better for my stomach than other types, too.
Next, I called at Migros to pick up some essentials – here’s what I bought with prices in lira:

Migros Supermarket
Pasta 13.50
Tomato purée 38.92
Green Tea 61.95
Dates 99.90
2 Quark 111.90
4 tins of tomatoes 149.84
Feta style cheese 174.90
Total spent 650.91 lira (£10.84)

I’d not intended on getting the tomato products but they had plenty and they were on offer, so I seized my chance, knowing I was already going to be over the budget this week!
I hurried back and did a few quotes then carried on with more admin and content work. I ate roasted courgettes with cauliflower cheese for lunch, which was tasty. The sourdough trial was a huge success and I was very impressed with it.
In the evening I had a walk and bought some contraception pills which had increased a lot in price. I paid 884.48 lira (£14.74) for 2 packs and they were now more expensive than paying for them in the UK. In November they had been £1.50 per pack cheaper!
For dinner I had a chicken, chickpea and spinach curry with steamed rice and it was really good.

Gratitude List
1. Having too much to do to take a Sunday off
2. Sourdough – caraway seed was a game changer
3. Good food.

Dalyan – 16th April

I started my day on Thursday 16th April with catching up on blogging and content writing before breaking off for leftover pizza for breakfast. The Heybe pizza was definitely good the day after too.
I worked all day, had more pizza for lunch and then got word from Anex Tours that their package holidays could now include Ryanair flights. I’m not ordinarily a fan of Ryanair but for some people it can be the difference between going on holiday or not.
Considering Captain Caveman and I should’ve been in Lebanon now (for a caving conference tagged on to a holiday), life was still good but I missed seeing him. The May visit was not looking good as neither of us could fit it in and I didn’t want to miss spending time with my parents or seeing my sister and brother-in-law when they came to Dalyan either.
The Aussies had left this morning, I would see them again in September and Vanessa had arrived back in Dalyan today.
I didn’t attend the Resort Experts team meeting as I had a co-worker session with the Neon Nook for 2 hours. I decided to work on my lead magnet/freebie and managed to get it finished in the 2 hours. I then tried to attempt setting up a Mailerlite account to be able to start my email list collation and automation but that didn’t go well and was rather frustrating.
After finishing work at 7.15pm I took a walk along the river just as it was about to get dark and took some photos.
I called at the Yaman Büfe 2 where I bought 2 bottles of wine and a bag of crisps for 705 lira (£11.75) but I didn’t drink any as I was saving it for when Vanessa popped round.

Gratitude List
1. Leftover pizza
2. Neon Nook co-working session
3. A riverside walk.

Dalyan – 9th April

I was up super early on Thursday 9th April so that I could get work done, put the out of office on and get to meet The Aussies by 9am. We were off to eat Turkish breakfast at Mavi Yasemin, which is one of Amanda & Greg’s favourite places. It’s located over the other side of the river so we set off walking along the river path and got to the Deniz kızı ferry. It cost 25 lira (42p) one way as a foot passenger and took less than 5 minutes to get across. The Mavi Yasemin restaurant is located on the right-hand side a short walk after you pass Pirates and Skulls.

We got there early as I needed to be back for the Resort Experts team meeting and we all ordered the Turkish breakfast and a juice. The delicious and plentiful breakfast, which comes with as much Turkish tea as you can manage, cost 500 lira (£8.47) each. The fresh pomegranate juice is 130 lira (£2.20) and went down very well. The food was just so good and I think it is now my new favourite too. I often struggle to eat Turkish breakfasts but I did well with this one and wasn’t ill. What I didn’t realise is that they only take cash, so Amanda had to lend me the money. I managed to put the tip in but then forgot I needed the return ferry fare and Amanda paid that too! We had to rush back, although I could’ve stayed there all day!

After the Resort Experts team meeting I arranged to meet The Aussies at the bank at 2pm. I withdrew cash to pay Amanda back for the breakfast. So far this morning I had spent £12.46 then bought a bottle of red wine and some salt and vinegar crisps for 360 lira (£6.10) at the off licence. We had managed to be quite late for the 2pm start of Kate and Mark’s housewarming party as Amanda had ended up in a clothes shop buying a dress for Hannah’s engagement party. The shop had some gorgeous tailor-made outfits in for both male and female with various prices. The owner can do any alterations to make it fit and is pretty quick.
When we arrived at the party, Kate gave us a tour of her new house while Mark opened the red wine. Kate’s new bungalow was really lovely and I was really pleased for her. There were quite a few of the usual Dalyan Dwellers there, most of who I had not seen for months, and none of them so far this year. There were nibbles which I couldn’t resist and Kate had so many fruit trees that I was told to pick as many oranges as I liked, so I did. A small group of us remained after most people left and we had more drinks before heading back to our respective homes.
I was meant to be back for a video call with Vanessa but I missed that and had to reschedule. Instead, I attended my first online Neon Nookers meeting and we had quite a good ‘getting to know you’ type of session. It was a group for copy and tech help which I was pleased I’d joined and I really related to both Georgina and Holly. We even had a fun competition of who could get their pyjamas on fastest.

Gratitude List
1. Breakfast at Mavi Yasemin with The Aussies
2. Oranges from Kate
3. Spending time with friends.

Dalyan – 1st April

On Wednesday 1st April I woke up much earlier than I would’ve liked, now that I didn’t have to get up for Norman. April started off with me trying to decide if I could maintain the £10 per day budget for another month – I had proved it could be done but it wasn’t easy. I had friends here, I’d been invited to events and outings plus a boat trip booked in and a trip to the hairdresser’s. So, realistically, I really should try to keep my spending to a minimum even though Captain Caveman had offered to continue to support me, as needed. The minimum wage for a Turkish person was 33,000 lira (£550) per month and I was trying to ensure I lived below that. I didn’t have rent or electricity to pay out of that, though, so I didn’t know how the locals were managing to live. A 1 bedroom apartment in Dalyan was costing over 20,000 lira (£339) now.

I got weighed to find I had put on 0.6kg (1.3lb) using my home scales but my measurements were more favourable; no change to my bust or hips but 3cm off my waist. At Fat Club I did better on Carol’s scales but had still put on 0.35kg (0.8lb). I spent just 30 lira (51p) on water and resisted the very tempting cookies at Ren Garden. I called at Migros after the group meet up and bought the following, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket

Green peppers 56.04
Red peppers 58.64
Olives 61.50
6 eggs 72.95
Cashew nuts 95.00
2 Quark 111.90
Cheese 166.90
Total spent 622.93 lira (£10.56)

After work I had arranged to meet The Aussies, Amanda and Greg, for the opening of Lukka bar. It’s one of the closest bar and restaurants to where I live and the owners, Mehmet and Katrina are friends of mine. In my honest opinion this place is not for cheap chasers as they tend to have higher prices than some of the popular places with expats, however, I like the location, the staff and the quality so it’s been on my favourites list for a number of years. We’d said 6pm and I got there on time and waited for my friends who are usually late, I met the new staff and spoke to Mehmet, the owner. Lukka bar had been decorated and it was much more red and black, which looked good. I ordered a soda water while I waited for my friends. I wasn’t planning on eating at Lukka as I had food out of the freezer but my friends wanted to. They ordered gin and tonic and whiskey sours so I ordered a glass of Angora red wine. Amanda ordered a satay chicken and Greg ordered another chicken dish with a sauce so I just ordered a starter of the garlic mushrooms. Incidentally, when we ordered our meals, we were asked if we had any allergies and Mehmet even checked if I could eat bread with my mushrooms and that I wasn’t gluten free. He let me know that this year they were going to be able to do gluten free meals and gluten free bread – this was good for my Coeliac sister who was visiting this summer.

The food was excellent and was still the old menu while the new chef and staff got up to speed. The service was good too and not intrusive. Although Lukka is certainly not the cheapest place in town, I didn’t think it extortionate by any means. Here’s what I paid for what I had;

1 Soda water 70 lira (£1.19)
1 glass Angora red wine 250 lira (£4.24)
1 Garlic mushrooms 300 lira (£5.08)
Tip 100 (£1.69)
Total spent 720 lira (£12.20)

It was a really good evening, despite the torrential rain by the time we were leaving. The Aussies went off to meet friends at Corner bar but I was good and went home for an early night. As I climbed in to bed, Captain Caveman was leaving Saigon to fly back to Heathrow. He would land at 3pm tomorrow and be back at work on Friday.

Gratitude List

1. The Fat Club group
2. Meeting up with The Aussies
3. A great night out at Lukka bar.

Dalyan – 31st March

It was my last day with Norman on Tuesday 31st March and he was eager to get his breakfast rather than featuring in a video for Little Daddy. Jamie was due to land at 7pm so I had all day to tidy, clean, nip to the shops and do work. Norman was aware of what was going on because he was doing a security check and seemed a bit sad.

In the morning I worked on helping potential customers with hand luggage only packing tips and quotes for the Costa Del Sol in Spain. Since the war against Iran had started, I’d noticed that some of my customers were choosing to holiday nearer to home this summer. Of course, I had managed to have booked in even more travel bargains for myself. For 2026 I now had 8 holidays booked, 4 with Captain Caveman. This made a good change compared to last year and I was certainly taking advantage of the cheap deals. This didn’t include being lucky enough to also be visiting the UK 3 times this year, as well as having the holiday town of Dalyan as my home for the rest of the time. Already, I had booked several friends their holidays to come to Dalyan too, so I was looking forward to this year.

After some work, I cleaned the house. In between all that, I used up some browning bananas and an egg to make an oatcake (as you do)! As it was Sabotage Tuesday I didn’t want to be tempted to eat things I shouldn’t because I had been quite good since Norman’s birthday celebrations.
I found a lovely deal in Corfu at one of the fancy Grecotel chain hotels and sent it to 3 people who had asked about Corfu and Greek holidays. In the afternoon, I nipped to the bank to take out my ‘spare’ money for March, in readiness for doing the same during April (tomorrow). I popped to the shop to top back up anything I had used at Jamie’s, and spent just 111.85 lira (£1.89) on those essentials.
Norman snored away while I worked and seemed quite happy on the sofa. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was getting a train in Vietnam and heading back to Ho Chi Minh before his flight back to the UK tomorrow. Once I knew Jamie was on his way, I was able to pop back home and relax. It was my dad’s birthday so I managed to get a video call in and sing Happy Birthday to him before eating and then having an early night.
I bravely checked the March spending for the whole month. This last 3 days I’d spent £17.88 which meant that for the last 10 days I had spent only £46.52 against a budget of £100 (£10 per day). The monthly budget ended up being £270 for March, after I upped it from £221 (£5 per day) 2 weeks in to the month. I actually spent a grand total of £228.73 in March which meant I was £41.27 under budget and only £7.30 over the original budget. Adjusting it mid month had helped me claw some of it back and I was pleased to have done it. This had meant that the money I had saved was used for some of my 2026 holidays. I’d enjoyed the challenge of Money Minded March and was pleased to see that I’d spent half the amount of the previous month. Unfortunately, my weight loss had not gone as well in March and I was slightly heavier at the end of the month than I was at the beginning.
More shenanigans were coming up for April; more outings, some celebrations and The Aussies were back in town!

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Managing to be under the (revised) budget for March
3. Video calls with Captain Caveman and Dad.

Dalyan – 30th March

Norman was rather huffy and dishevelled on Monday 30th March, he also had a bit of a runny nose and was slow to move. He was 15 years and 5 days old, though, so I helped him down off the sofa and got on with work. I’d had strange dreams about a cat and the hallway smelled of cat pee which was weird. There were no signs of a cat or any pee anywhere. I had been up since 6am so was getting lots done before 9am. It had been a busy weekend so I was catching up on admin today. Our new Resort Experts system, The Zone, was taking shape and I now had it set up with tasks, enquiries and automations which was time saving.
I left Norman napping and went to check on the leaking bathroom roof which we were waiting for a dry day to get fixed.
The Aussies, Amanda & Greg, were on their way from Sydney to Dalaman on a 50 hour journey for 2 weeks at their villa in Dalyan, so I was looking forward to seeing them in April.
Today would’ve been a zero spend day but I had to get a replacement water, which was 100 lira (£1.69). The afternoon was busy too and I booked my flight back to Dalyan in June, ready for a friend’s 60th birthday boat trip and and Sausage Dick arriving for just over a week in Dalyan.
Norman decided he wanted his dinner early and was pacing about, he had complaints when I made him wait.
I spoke to Captain Caveman who was now in Nha Trang with our friend Trang and her dog, Zacky. He was tired from the charity cycle event but over the moon with everyone who had supported and donated – he looked so proud!
It was 8.30pm by the time I got my dinner so I just popped a frozen pizza in the oven.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Summer plans
3. Speaking to Captain Caveman.

Captain Caveman’s charity event link, if you missed it and still want to donate:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/adam-spillane-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Dalyan – 29th March

My first job of the day on Sunday 29th March was to check the expenditure for the last week. I’d spent only £28.64 this week and had 4 zero spend days and 5 zero alcohol days. Things were back on track. I did still have 3 days left in March and I needed to buy some things so I would see if I could keep this up through to the next month.
The sun was back out after a very wet and stormy day yesterday so I took Norman out for a walk and Nanny Kay popped round. I also did some writing, ate my Sunday dinner for lunch at 4pm and worked until gone 6pm.
Over in a very hot and sticky Southern Vietnam, Captain Caveman had completed the 300km of his charity cycling event and was almost broken. He was very pleased to have raised a great amount of money for Saigon Children’s Charity and said he was going to do it again next year, too. We discussed me coming over to Vietnam and decided we would both go together next year as I had missed being there to support him.
At 7.30pm I took myself off to the shops and decided to treat myself, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
Popcorn 40.00
Cheese spread 50.00
Chicken pieces 189.00
Frozen pizzas 265.00
Total spent 544.00 lira (£9.22)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 bottle of red wine 300 lira (5.08)

I put Netflix on, opened the wine and popcorn and tried to watch something. I fell asleep!

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Doing better against the budget this week
3. Treats.