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 – 3rd & 4th May

I had a fairly easy going working day on Sunday 3rd May. I should’ve been hungover as I had a total of 6 white wines and at least a couple of Blow Jobs throughout yesterday, but all was well. I was up at 8am with a cup of tea and had decided to work today instead of yesterday. I was meant to be going to the beach with a friend but she was having a bit of a to do because the power went off, she needed to find somewhere to work and decided to go to Ortaca. I had already charged devices and had popped on my noise cancelling headphones to do a few courses I had embarked on. I had also signed up for a notebook making course with Claire Clarke and decided to get ideas for that started too. Inbetween all that, I did Resort Experts stuff too and got on with content for my next travel tips book.
It actually felt quite good knowing that Dalyan was without power so I couldn’t be disturbed and I got a lot done. I ate cold leftover pizza from Friday night as I only have electric and mine was off still at lunch.
It was a zero spend day but I was already at £69 spent for the week with another trip out tomorrow. Vanessa had asked me to join her for a last goodbye on the yellow boat trip to Köyceğiz market, seeing as I had missed the Dalyan Saturday market I decided it was a good idea.
I had a quesadilla type dinner with more left overs and a video call with Captain Caveman to finish off my weekend. This time next month I would be heading over to see him in Sheffield and was looking forward to it after not seeing him for 3 months!

Gratitude List
1. Still being able to function with a pretty long power cut
2. A zero spend day
3. Planning to see Captain Caveman again next month.

It wasn’t a bank holiday in Türkiye, like it was in the UK, on Monday 4th May and I was in 2 minds if I should be going on a boat trip to Köyceğiz. I was up and about before 7am having been bit on my eyelid by a mosquito during the night and it was itchy and swollen. I also had a dodgy stomach, probably on account of too much sugar and alcohol over the weekend. It was cold and incredibly windy as I went to the pharmacy as soon as they opened to buy seasickness medication for 142.40 lira (£2.37). I took antihistamines but not the seasickness pills and decided to not go on the boat trip. I called Vanessa and apologised but said I would meet them when they returned so I could say bye. After working hard in the morning, I had a chicken wrap for lunch then got a bit tired so ended up going to bed for a nap. I still felt run down and had a dodgy tummy so when I arrived at Ren Garden to join Vanessa, her family and some of their friends, including my parents, I just ordered soda water. I managed to resist the very tempting cake and cookies this time. When Vanessa and family left, I also left the rest of the friends drinking and chatting in the garden room. It was a lovely sunset on the way home and I ate a chicken and spinach curry for dinner.

Gratitude List
1. Getting some seasickness tablets
2. Homemade food
3. Meeting Vanessa and her family for their send off.

Dalyan – 2nd May

On Saturday 2nd May, Vanessa was celebrating her 60th birthday, a few months early with a boat trip and I had been invited to join her, her family and friends. I was also invited to Irenea’s 79th birthday dinner at River House later. I had took the day off and was ready for celebration number 1 on the yellow boat at 10.30am.
In the news the decision to hike up the residency permit fees in Turkey had been revoked so everyone was happy again, it looked like there had been so many complaints. This was good news and it was one less thing to worry about. My next renewal would put me in a position to be able to apply for long term residency too, if I wanted it.
I had brought Vanessa a bottle of Kahlua as she’s quite partial to a cocktail which her daughter was bringing the other spirit to match. Onboard the party boat were; Vanessa & Matt, Alicia, Lucy, Damo, Liv, Ma & Pa, Julie & Gareth, Adam & Kath, Kate & Mark, Hakan (the Captain), Nilüfer (2nd mate) and me.
The boat trip was absolutely fantastic and the best yellow boat trip I’d been on so far. There was lots of delicious food (including steak that melted in the mouth) and lots of swimming for those brave enough to get in the cold water (not me). Some of the guests took the kayaks out and brought back some logs which were impressive. It was also great to see Vanessa surrounded by her friends and being spoiled – this was just the start of her celebrations for her being 60! The booze flowed and there was cake and Vanessa’s favourite shots, Blow Jobs. They started out as Baby Guinness but then we used the cream from the cake to make Blow Jobs. I poured them out and, looking back, it’s probably a bit wrong to ask Dad if he’d like another Blow Job but he didn’t say no. Luckily, we are a family with a good sense of humour which dips it’s row in the gutter every now and then!
There was a lot of laughter and later some dancing and singing – we almost purchased a karaoke machine right then when a Baileys-fuelled Kate got on to Trendyol to find one we could all have shares in! Matt had very kindly paid for the impressive boat trip for everyone so I only had to pay for my 4 white wines which I paid 800 lira (£13.33) for.

We didn’t get back until it was almost dark and I had to rush home to get to my next party while the rest sacked off a wedding in favour of more drinks at Ozzy’s bar.
I got in, got some warmer layers on, picked up more teabags for Ian and hurried to River House where everyone but me was already seated with a drink.
I sat next to Debbie (Darling) who had saved me a seat and while she had a lovely looking prawn cocktail, I ordered a mushroom risotto which was excellent.
After a couple more wines and more birthday singing and cake, I had well and truly done it! I paid 1,350 lira (£25.83) for my food, drinks and a tip and thought the River House meal was very good. I walked Sue to her taxi while some of the party animals continued to Sofra Bar for more celebrations. I was getting old and couldn’t keep up!
Back home I tried to drink 3 pints of water before bed, conscious that I had agreed to go to the beach in the morning and was working all afternoon tomorrow to make up for the day off today. I put all my devices and battery pack on charge as there had been a warning of a planned powercut tomorrow and I didn’t want to get caught out. My road was not on the list I read, but there’s always a chance it could still affect my area.

Gratitude List
1. The residency permit fee increase being scrapped due to complaints
2. Vanessa’s 60th birthday boat trip on the Yellow boat
3. Irenea’s 79th birthday meal at River House.

Photo Credit – some photos by other party goers

Dalyan – 1st May

Friday 1st May started early as I had been fannying about with stuff yesterday which meant I was a bit behind on tasks for this week. I decided to set my May budget at £550, this would be an increase to £15 per day for the first 2 weeks, then an increase to £20 per day for the rest of the month. Now that my parents were here I hoped to invite them over and go out with them more this month so that’s why I increased it from today. I also was looking forward to doing more with the family once my sister and brother-in-law arrived, mid-May. I also still had the envelope of English money from Captain Caveman to cover the boat trips.
I had a chat with a friend who was getting ready for her family holiday away and finished off lots of half started chores before getting on with lots of work admin and phone calls.
Vanessa and Matt had organised a Dalyan pub crawl from 3pm with their daughter and her friends and had invited all the usual Dalyan Dwellers who often go. They had also organised a boat trip for tomorrow which most of us were going on and I was taking the day off, properly! This did mean that I couldn’t make the pub crawl this afternoon and still hadn’t spent the time with Vanessa and her family. Instead of going out, and because our last meeting on Wednesday got unexpectedly cut short, I messaged my parents to see if they were going on the pub crawl. They had decided not to, on account of not having too much to drink before tomorrow’s boat trip and I felt the same. I suggested they come round to mine and we could have a bottle of wine and order some food in or I could cook. They agreed and said they would be over at 7.30pm, plenty of time for me to get finished in the office.

At 6pm I nipped to the off licence to get wine as I no longer keep it in the house regularly. I bought a bottle of white, a bottle of red and a share pack of salt and vinegar crisps. The white was my usual brand Kilitbahir at 300 lira (£5) which I knew Mom would like as we’d had it before, but they had completely sold out of the red version. I decided to go with Tigris as it’s less harsh than some of the cheaper ones they had and would be good for Dad. It was a bit of a treat at 530 lira (£8.33) and the crisps were 60 lira (£1).

Ma & Pa were ready early so messaged to ask to come earlier and that was great because I was starting to get peckish. I only quickly had time to hoover and then I was ready. They arrived with a bottle of red and a bottle of white which was very kind. We all agreed we were taking it steady on the booze tonight, though, as we didn’t want to ruin a birthday boat trip tomorrow. We are all a bit fussy with food so I had decided not to cook and to treat us to a takeaway pizza from Heybe’s. I’d really enjoyed it last time and thought my parents might like to try it. We decided on a pizza each so we could all choose our own toppings; tuna and onion for Ma, a mixed one without pepperoni or mushrooms for Pa and a Hawaiian for me. It took some deciding as the pizza menu at Heybe has lots of choice, plus you can choose a create your own. They also have the 2 for 1 deal on all pizzas so it made sense to throw in a margherita for us to share. I paid just 900 lira (£15) including a small tip and the guy who delivered it was the man who served me in Yaman Büfe 2 earlier, which caught us both off guard a bit. The pizzas now come in a Heybe branded bag with a QR code on which gives you the menu and phone number – great idea.

When the pizzas came, I topped up the wine and got the scissors out. My parents thought I was a bit odd as they wondered why I was using scissors! The pizza wasn’t fully cut and if I used a knife the box would get cut and I didn’t own a pizza cutter wheelie utensil. I’ve used scissors on pizzas for a while now and it’s so much easier (does anyone else do this – tell me it’s not just me being weird?).

We had a lovely night and it wasn’t too late when my parents went home, taking some leftover pizza home – the rest went in my fridge.
Today I had gone over the new £15 per day budget by almost double but we had a very nice evening and I still had wine in, because of my parents bringing some which meant we had it for the next time.

Gratitude List

1. Looking forward to a busy month with some time spent with my family

2. Wine and pizza night with Ma & Pa

3. Leftover pizza and wine!!! (Gosh, it’s a thing!)

Dalyan – 30th April

I woke up early on Thursday 30th April and started to look at the Uniqlo website. Captain Caveman had suggested I preorder some more clothes for my June trips and he would pay for them and get them delivered to his home in Sheffield. All my flights had been booked with just an under seat bag and no checked in luggage so I would need to pack very wisely. Captain Caveman and I thought it was doable and I wasn’t about to add luggage on to 6 flights at my own expense. It would be a challenge but I would do it.
I spent quite a bit of time rearranging plans.
We had a Resort Experts team meeting at lunch time and my afternoon flew by.
I had a zero spend day today and totted up to see I had spent £331.72 in April against a budget of £300 (£10 per day). I was pleased with that as that included the boat trip, meals and drinks out too. I was pleased to have managed to only spend £332 in April and it was definitely becoming a bit more second nature to question everything I spent. It felt good to know I had lived off only 60% of the Turkish minimum wage. I did wonder if I would be able to do that in the UK though. It had been important for me to do as much as I could to come in at under £345 for the month, as from May I would need to have a bigger budget for all I had planned for this summer. Luckily, my Resort Experts bookings were increasing, having been in business for 18 months now, and I was a lot nearer to having more written travel products to sell for extra semi-passive income.
My weight loss had gone better in April than it did in March and I was slightly lighter at the end of the month than I was at the beginning but I still needed to lose about 5kg to hit target weight again.
So many more shenanigans were coming up for May; more outings, some celebrations and more boat trips! Dalyan would start to get warmer, have less rain and hopefully more tourists about. It was about to become so much more tempting to overspend and overindulge as the holiday season started! I’d also started to think about my plans for June and meeting up with friends in the UK during the limited days I would be in Sheffield.

Gratitude List
1. Getting some new Uniqlo clothes from Captain Caveman
2. Successfully reorganising my June travel arrangements to fit in a work trip
3. Not completely blowing the April budget.

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 – 28th April

I woke up on Tuesday 28th April and checked to make sure my parents had arrived in Dalyan ok. I’d fallen asleep before the text from Ma to say they were here but the reason the stair light wasn’t on was because the fuse switch wasn’t on. I’d not realised that but I wouldn’t have been able to reach it so the taxi driver had kindly sorted it for them.
I was very busy with work admin in the morning and then attended an online 2 hour co-working session from noon. I took the time to write a helpful PDF for people going on holiday or travelling who wanted to pack less luggage. I’m not great at Canva but I managed it and shared it with others in the group for feedback – it was well received. I was slowly making progress on the side projects in an area where I really wanted to help people have better travel experiences and save money on unnecessary things. Some budget airlines don’t half know how to charge for extra bags!
I quickly snaffled down some sourdough with cheese, olives, tomato, cucumber and onion and replied to an invite from Vanessa to come out later. Her daughter and 3 friends were arriving tonight from the UK and wanted to know if I wanted to join them for drinks. I did, but I thought it best to keep my evening free for seeing my parents as I was keen to see them and not sure of their plans yet.
Just before 3pm I started looking at some Christmas flights for a customer’s Vietnam trip and got a text from Ma to say they had stopped off at Corner Bar for a drink if I was free to join them. I did want to join them but I was busy with work and so had to suggest I meet them after work.
By 5pm I was still waiting for some prices from a supplier so I invited my parents round to mine. By the time I had sorted out my work commitments, I had missed the chance to see my parents as they had arranged to catch up with friends. I suggested tomorrow after Fat Club if they didn’t get time to call in that night.
I had a random meal out of the freezer for dinner around 8.30pm and had an early night so that I could get up early tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. My parents being back in Dalyan
2. Getting my Pack Less, Travel Better PDF completed
3. Being invited to join Vanessa and her family (even though I turned her down).

Dalyan – 27th April

There was excitement in the air on Monday 27th April as my parents were arriving in Dalyan tonight. I’d not seen them for almost 3 months so I was looking forward to seeing them and had promised to run some errands for them before they got here around midnight.
I got up really early so I could get some work done before I headed out to the bank to draw out cash to take to Captainnet to put the internet on. There was a queue with it being a Monday so I didn’t have time to get the shopping and turn on the electric just yet.
I rushed back to squeeze lunch in of an apple with peanut butter as I had a Tech masterclass booked in at 2pm. The zoom meeting went well but then I had more actions to add to the never ending to do list. The pool and garden men were back and sorting out the pool and seemed to be doing well so far.
At 4pm I broke off work to go to the shop to get my parents some water, milk, bread and margarine as requested. I also got them some eggs and bananas which they didn’t ask for but I thought would be good for tomorrow’s breakfast. I came back home as I had a call with a customer and then I went over to my parents with the shopping to turn their mains electric on. It is quite dark around he streets late at night so I wanted to make sure the outside stair light worked. I don’t have a key to check inside but was concerned as the outside light didn’t work. I had to tie the 2 bags on to the door handle as it wasn’t one you could hook a bag over and I didn’t want cats to get at it.
Because I couldn’t get the light to work I messaged their taxi company and asked if they would make sure the driver put his torch on and walked them to the door. I checked the internet was working and it was so they could at least message me when they arrived.
I went back home and it was already 8pm by this time so I just had some sourdough, cheese and olives for dinner. I had a chat with my sister and was on the phone until around 11pm, she was also looking forward to coming to Dalyan next month. I then wondered if I should wander round to meet my parents but thought better of it – they would probably rather me not interfere and go straight to bed. I ended up falling asleep around midnigt.

Gratitude List

1. A Tech masterclass to help with passive income

2. Getting all the stuff sorted for Ma & Pa’s arrival

3. Getting quite a bit of fresh air.

Dalyan & Ekincik – 26th April

Sunday 26th April saw the first boat trip of the new season with Captain Ünal on Duran Duran boat. It was a bit of a cloudy day but not raining so we were off to Ekincik Bay. Joining us on the trip was Sioned (Ünal’s wife and my Turkish teacher), their children, Julia and her parents, Jamie, Drew, Elaine (Nanny Kay’s daughter) and me. There was tea, coffee, the famous specially prepared Welsh cakes and Turkish simit to nibble on as we sailed out to sea. I took a sea sickness tablet just in case and chilled out a bit until we got to Ekincik. There was just one more boat there and coincidentally a friend, also from Jamie and Julia’s neck of the woods, was onboard with friends – they were already in the sea.
Although the weather wasn’t warm enough for me to swim, Julia and the kids did brave it. We had another swim stop at Magic Lake where you can feel the warm thermals in the water – I wasn’t brave enough to get in as it was cold.
The boat trip was lovely and the BBQ and mezes very tasty. They served Angora wine which I had 4 of with soda. I paid £45 for the boat trip and 1200 lira (£20) for drinks, so a total of £65 for a full day out including food and drink. As we sailed back in to Dalyan it started to rain. When I got in, it was about 5pm and I was quite tired, I think it was the sea sickness tablet I’d taken. I had a nap and didn’t wake up until 9.30pm, by which time it was too late to bother with dinner, so I just went back to bed.

Gratitude List
1. Being invited on Julia’s boat trip
2. Spending time with Sioned as I don’t see much of her these days
3. Having a day off.

Dalyan – 24th & 25th April

I’d overexerted myself a little which meant I had been feeling run down, I had got worse on Friday 24th April and had to cancel my morning walk with a friend and my afternoon hair appointment. As I didn’t have any meetings or calls until midday, I treated myself to a cup of tea back in bed. I was really tired and my body ached, I felt a bit sickly and hoped I wasn’t coming down with something.
I did the final day of Easi Passive Income with Natalie and Collette in my pyjamas and it was really good. I also won a prize but wasn’t concentrating, due to feeling ill, and wasn’t sure what it was exactly.
I confirmed the Captain Boris cheese and wine boat trip for Ma, Pa, Gayle and I for next month. I still had the English money from Captain Caveman in an envelope, which he had left me in February for me to use. I had decided to keep it in reserve for boat trips and airport taxis so that those things didn’t have to come out of my daily budget money. Quite frankly, it was burning a proverbial hole in that envelope and I was looking forward to a relaxing boat trip or two.
At 5.30pm I decided to get out of the office and go to the shops as I needed to buy some meat and withdraw some cash for the market tomorrow. Unfortunately, Migros didn’t have the chicken I wanted so here’s what I bought, with prices in lira:

Migros Supermarket
1 Dido chocolate bar 19.00
Hummus 51.90
Bitter lemon 80.00
Total spent 140.90 lira (£2.35)

I’d also checked out which yoghurt they had in the shop for when my sister arrived, as she prefers to eat fat free yoghurt – they don’t have it here.
I noted that the new gardener and pool man had started work so we would perhaps have a nice complex this year.
Georgina and Holly shared their free funnel so I took the opportunity but I still didn’t have a platform to put it on – I would sort it when I felt better. I sat outside and ate some loquats from the tree.
I had pasta for dinner and then watched Netflix in bed, still feeling unwell. I hoped I felt better soon as I had a very busy weekend coming up!

Gratitude List
1. Back to bed with a cup of tea
2. Winning something, even if I can’t recall what it was
3. Having some rest.

I’d not had much sleep when I woke up on Saturday 25th April due to the Jazz bar blaring out music until 2am! It was quite chilly as I made my cup of tea and took it back to bed. Kate had invited me on the yellow boat for a day trip today but I had too much to do and was on a boat trip tomorrow already.
I’d done a few hours work before going to the market at 11am. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira:

Stall 1
Bananas & strawberries 220 lira (£3.67)

Stall 2
Pumpkin, Spring onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach & cucumber
340 lira (£5.67)

Total spent 560 lira (£9.34)

I called in to see Jamie, Drew and Norman and Drew gave me 2 bars of Vietnamese chocolate which I was very excited about. I had leftover pasta for lunch and a piece of chocolate.
I’d had to move meeting a friend this morning as I wasn’t well still so made my way to meet her at the tea gardens at 4pm. My friend also had invited me on another boat trip for tomorrow but I couldn’t go on that one either because I was already going on Julia’s boat trip. I headed home to finish off the Easi Passive Income tasks and, while I waited for news on how a friend’s brain tumour surgery had gone, I had a glass of white wine. I had spaghetti bolognese for dinner and then a relatively early night.

Gratitude List
1. Being busy at work
2. Market shopping
3. Chocolate from Drew.

Dalyan – 22nd & 23rd April

When I got weighed on the home scales on Wednesday 22nd April, I had remained the same weight. My measurements showed I’d put 1cm on each of my bust, waist and hips, too. I was standing in for Carol at Fat Club today while she was having another lovely day on her Rhine cruise – each day she shared photos and it really looked beautiful. First I had work to do followed by an Anex training webinar where Amanda launched their updated website. It had lots of improvements to the quotes and it was much more user friendly. I liked Anex because they had a good selection of hotels and I wished they had ones in Vietnam.

Day 3 of the Easi Passive Income challenge got us working even harder on our ideas and I was almost late to Fat Club. At Fat Club I was a bit naughty and a few of us ended up having a wine or beer, despite me losing 0.9kg (2lb) this week. Vanessa was popping over later so I bought a couple of the fab cookies, made by Eva at Ren Garden, which came to a total of 390 lira (£6.50) with my glass of wine.

I had a call with a couple of friends and then sorted a cruise enquiry with specific cabin choice. I accidentally snaffled one of the chocolate chip cookies from Ren Garden and they were so good! I was meant to be going for a walk with Vanessa but she had overdone it at the beach today so we just met at the Kefal tea gardens. It was just 100 lira (£1.66) for 4 teas. They have a strict card only payment system there now, no cash payments are allowed. We walked (Vanessa limped) home via the shop so that Vanessa could buy some milk, then came back to mine for her to pick up some Yorkshire tea bags.
My total spend today was just £8.17 so I was off to a great start being back under the £10 per day budget.

Gratitude List

1. More free training

2. Losing weight and having a cheeky wine at Fat Club

3. Seeing Vanessa.

The weather changed on Thursday 23rd April and it was colder and a bit wet. Any plans to go out were scuppered. I had so much on the to-do list today that I messaged Sam, one of the owners of Resort Experts, to check it was ok with him for me to miss today’s meeting. He replied to say that there was no specific agenda and no updates so I wouldn’t miss anything important. I did day 4 of the Easi Passive Income challenge and came up with so many more ideas for digital products. I even cracked on with the titles of some and noted them down to finish and get them out to the public. My appeal for Mailerlite access was denied and I was no further forward with that avenue. It was frustrating but I needed to go back to the drawing board.

I didn’t get an evening walk as it was raining but instead I got a lot done from my list today including recommendations of shampoo for coloured hair to Vanessa who wanted to get some for her daughter. I rounded off the night with messages to family to let them know about a cheese and wine boat trip in May that we could perhaps go on. Captain Boris had 2 dates but I could only do one of them which coincidentally was when my sister was here and I know how much she loves them. It was £60 for 4 hours on a Thursday afternoon with an abundance of cheese and charcuterie. Gayle, Neil and I had last done it when I came back from Rhodes and really enjoyed it. This time Neil would miss it but Gayle was up for it while Ma & Pa wanted to think about it. I went to bed early as I needed to be up early tomorrow for a morning walk. It was the second zero spend day in a row too and I wondered if I would ever manage a zero spend week.

Gratitude List

1. Easi Passive Income and all the new ideas and actions it brought

2. Getting lots done, despite missing the team meeting

3. Knowing there was a potential cheese and wine boat trip with Captain Boris and Rebecca to look forward to.

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 – 20th April

When I woke up early on Monday 20th April, I realised I had missed an event yesterday. Natalie Crowe, a WordPress expert who I follow on Facebook, was running a free course this week called Easi Passive Income. I’d signed up for it and also recommended it to a few friends who also have their own businesses but had missed the welcome party last night. I got up and cleaned and tidied up ready for the workmen coming to fix the leaking bathroom window and start the balcony repairs. I didn’t have time for the hoovering as I needed to get my content written for the week. I also caught up on my blog posts and planned my diary for this week. I’d hoped to go to Köyceğiz for the boat trip and market with Yellow Boat today but I was just too busy.
At midday I logged on for the first session of the WordPress tech course to help me bring some digital products to the public, via my blog. Natalie and Collette were very good and a friend was also attending. I love working for Resort Experts but, as we only get paid commission and it depends on when customers are travelling, pay can be really unpredictable. So I had decided I needed to produce more products that would create passive income streams, to help me through those months of little or no pay.
It went well and there were lots of lightbulb moments of what I could, and should, be doing. I was motivated so I did the homework straight away and then did a module on marketing from Lisa Johnson’s Fabulous Foundations course.
Before lunch I finally got back in to Messenger by reinstalling it and then my banking app also started working again. I had a walk to Captainnet to renew my home internet, which had expired yesterday. It’s actually better to use the Turkcell hot spot but there are certain things that don’t work so I choose to have both. Unfortunately, I got a call from a Resort Experts colleague who had an issue they needed help with so I got distracted and forgot to go to the bank on the way. This meant I had to go back to the bank then back to Captainnet where I was chuffed to complete the whole transaction in Turkish. It cost me 750 lira (£12.50) for one month as I was not going to be in Turkey the whole summer so I didn’t pay for the 3 months upfront which is the maximum allowed. I managed to ask the assistant if I would be able to put my parents’ internet on for them as they arrive soon and she said I could come before 6pm next Monday. After all was sorted, I walked back by the river and bumped in to Debbie (Darling), Sue and their friend. They were off to River House for lunch and invited me to join them. I wanted to but I’d already overspent on this week’s budget and I had so much to do today.
After more Resort Experts work it was time for me to attend a Tech Clinic with Holly Frances in the Neon Nook. I needed to have a Mailerlite (or similar) platform to be able to get my digital products off the ground but they had suspended my account. Holly was helping me with a solution and in the end we decided Mailerlite was the best free platform for me so I decided to appeal their decision.
That lasted until gone 6pm and then I grabbed some leftover curry for dinner before a video call with my friend so we could discuss what we had learned on our free courses today. The call went really well and we decided to throw more energy at getting our WordPress monetised. As I sat down to tick off my to do list and update my diary, it was only then that I realised the workmen didn’t turn up!

Gratitude List
1. Free courses and advice from experts to help get me closer to earning money from digital products
2. Being busy
3. Sharing ideas with an entrepreneurial friend.

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 – 17th April

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

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

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

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

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