Dalyan – 27th September

For breakfast on Friday 27th September I had half a tub of overnight oats and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I spoke to Captain Caveman around 10am my time, he was at Caroline’s and she had gone to 9 Grains for a meeting while he stayed home with Vee, the dog. Captain Caveman was now free to book his flights and so he did that and sent me his flight details straight after the call. He would leave Saigon on the 4th October, fly via Bangkok to Istanbul with Thai Airways and then get the Turkish Airlines flight to arrive in to Dalaman at 9.05am on 5th October. What a relief, he was finally booked and just had to avoid the next bout of stormy weather that was heading in that direction soon.
I remembered I needed to get back to the shops so off I went, prices in lira of what I bought;

Bim Supermarket
1 Notebook 12.50
Bin liners 21.00
Total spent 33.50 lira (73p)

Şarküteri shop
1 Small (142ml) Henderson’s relish
1 (400ml) tin of coconut milk
1 (150ml) bottle of rice vinegar
1 (150ml) bottle of Oyster sauce
Total spent 335.00 lira (£7.33)

All of these items are classed as foreign and so include import tax, making them quite pricey compared to back in the UK.

Migros Supermarket
1 bag 0.25
Bay leaves 24.95
Wholemeal sliced bread 44.50
Basil 44.95
650g yoghurt 77.50
10 eggs 99.95
Feta cheese 114.90
Total spent 407.00 lira (£8.91)

Over the last 2 days, I had spent the most in ages on provisions and groceries as I had not known how much I was going to need for my residency renewal. With that finished, it did mean I could actually get a little bit back to normal and actually spend some of what I had put aside for housekeeping and bills.
My next task was to pay for another month of internet at Captain Net where the lady was reluctant to give it to me because of my residency card expiring on the 19th October. I showed her my piece of paper and explained as best I could that I was waiting for my card but it would come after the 19th of next month. She would only let me renew the internet for one month and told me that I must have my card by the next time I came to pay. This was unlikely as the new cards were being sent about 2 weeks after the old ones expired. It cost 400 lira (£8.75) which is a bit of a bargain for a whole month of internet and I don’t even have the best plan, as we no longer watch TV so I don’t really need it. For lunch I had a mini wrap with curried chicken, veg and yoghurt in and it tasted amazing. I had a green tea and completed the last of the Planner Ideation course with Claire Clarke. I’d enjoyed it and I had got plenty of free training and information out of the course, which was good.
I did mean to top up my Turkish phone with credit but I decided to wait until Captain Caveman arrived as it wasn’t essential and I didn’t really go out much these days to need it. I complained again to the pool and gardening company that the pool water seemed very low and there was no pump on (they also had still not cleaned the grounds). To my surprise I got a reply almost straight away to say they were already on it and fixing the electrics because it was broken and he needed 400 lira from each of the 10 owners. I thought it a very convenient amount (the same as the hose) and asked for a receipt. His answer was that he could not provide a receipt or bill as the workman would then charge more for it – the joys of living in Dalyan!

In the evening I was reunited at last with my rice cooker and I had an amazing chicken curry and steamed rice for dinner, washed down with 2 gin and zero calorie tonics. I chilled out and watched some Netflix in the evening and even worked out how to get music on the TV after not being at home properly, since March.

Dalyan – 26th September

As my parents left for a trip to Capadoccia with Dalyan friends, Captain Caveman should’ve been arriving in Turkey on Thursday 26th September. However, because he still needed to wait for some paperwork after leaving his job at Oxalis, he couldn’t leave Vietnam yet. He had decided that he would go to Hoi An to see our friend, Caroline, and other friends, while he was still waiting to tie up loose ends. I was obviously disappointed he wasn’t here yet and, of course, I was practically out of cash until he arrived. With hindsight, we should’ve planned it better and I should’ve stayed in Vietnam longer. I decided to check on my home scales how my weight compared to Carol’s yesterday and I was 1.3kg (almost 3lb) lighter but I still needed to lose 4kg (over half a stone) to hit target. For breakfast I ate half of my overnight oats and had an earl grey tea. I realised I really needed to go to the shops and had been saving a bit of cash to get the shopping in for when Captain Caveman arrived. Even though he hadn’t yet booked a flight, I decided to stock up and hope he booked it soon. Here’s what I splashed out on my ‘big shop’, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Red onions 7.27
Courgettes 24.88
Chicken stock cubes 29.50
Chickpeas 31.90
Olive oil liquid soap 32.95
Soy Sauce 44.95
2 Quark 47.90
Sweet potatoes 84.59
983g Chicken breasts 186.72
Parmesan cheese 199.90
822g Chicken thighs 246.56
Total spent 938.12 lira (£20.57)

Şok Supermarket
Red peppers 9.42
Couscous 10.75
Green peppers 18.94
Mozzarella cheese 57.90
400g Diced Beef 216.00
Total spent 313.01 lira (£6.86)

I was pleased to get the beef at a good price and I was surprised to find that chicken thighs were more expensive than breasts, although Turkish people often prefer thigh meat in cooking. I was in Şok when Captain Caveman messaged to say he could call now. I replied to say give me 5-10 minutes to get home and off I rushed, excited that he may have good news and could book his flight. I had intended to go to a couple of other shops as I didn’t have everything from my shopping list, however, I hurried back and texted to say I was back. I then got a photo from Captain Caveman of him and Caroline drinking beers in a restaurant and he said he was busy and out for dinner now so couldn’t call. How rude!
For lunch I had cheese and crackers and finished the other half of my breakfast with a green tea.
I put the beef, some sweet potato, onion, tomatoes and spices in to the slow cooker and adapted a Greek Lamb Kleftiko Slimming World recipe for dinner. I couldn’t be bothered to go back to the shops and I might not have time before my next appointment. I continued with the next session of the Planner Ideation course and then just chilled out at home. It was nice to be back at Captain Caveman’s apartment but I was still waiting to find out when he would return.

Fethiye & Dalyan – 23rd September

My residency renewal appointment was at 8.30am on Monday 23rd September at the Fethiye Government office. I had enlisted the help of a friend so that I wasn’t doing it alone and at least I wasn’t on the bus as I needed to be at Julia’s straight after to look after the dogs.
When I got to the Government building, I gave my documents in to a woman and waited. After less than 15 minutes I got called in and she asked if I had paid the application fee/taxes yet. I said not and she gave me a piece of paper, with the $55 fee written on it, to go and do that. I’d been hoping I could apply for 1 year but it wasn’t to be and I could only go for 6 months. We went to the tax office and paid the fee, which was fairly quick. Back at the Government building, I gave the lady I saw before, my receipt and she granted me my residency renewal, for 6 months. I got the official piece of paper and some of my documents back. I was pleased although now it meant I would need to apply again in February for the next one and wouldn’t be able to leave the country for more than 15 days until after I got my new card at the end of April, which was an inconvenience. We walked back to the car, calling at a bag shop to get a handle fixed for my friend. Then we were off back to Dalyan, as I needed to be back for the 4 dogs. In the car, we ate the sandwiches, biscuits and mints which I had brought and then drove back.
I should have felt excited that I was able to celebrate another 6 months of legally being able to reside in Turkey. For some reason I didn’t feel that and I wasn’t sure why not. It had not cost me as much as a lot of people had been saying it would either – here’s the breakdown of what I spent the money on;

Health Insurance for 1 year 1924.20 lira
Residency application fee for 6 months $55 (1,883 lira)
New Residency card fee 565 lira
2 lots of passport biometric photos 750 lira
Post Office and eDevlet sorting 400 lira
Location check for my address on the system 500 lira

Total 6,022.20 (£132).

I was pleased that I hadn’t had to wait for a delayed Captain Caveman to return for us to pay for a new rental agreement when I could use the original one from 2019. It also turned out I hadn’t needed the other ones we had paid to translate at the notary in the subsequent years, as the original one is on a rolling 12 months anyway.

On opening the gate at Julia’s house at 11.30am, I was met by a cheeky looking Norman, who was patrolling the perimeter. All the other dogs were inside, in the AC, having a chill out. I was so glad to switch people for dogs as I messaged Jamie to let him know I got approved and that I was now back in Dalyan with some very happy dogs. For lunch I had been left a tasty bolognese that needed eating up so I reheated it and had that. Later, I popped my bikini on to have a swim in the lovely pool. I did 2 separate walks with Norman & Edna first and then with Coco & Bebe.

That evening, I relaxed with the dogs who were so cute and I ate a Sunday dinner which Jamie, Drew & Julia had left for me to eat and it was delicious. All 4 dogs wanted some but they didn’t get any as they had leftover chicken and steak saved for them.
I was so happy to be sat having cuddles with cute dogs while having a glass of red wine and some chocolate as a treat to myself for getting another 6 months residency. I was glad to know that my parents were already on their way to Dalaman airport and would be arriving after midnight tonight. I was very much looking forward to seeing them again.
I left the dogs snoozing and I walked in to town and called at the supermarket. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Gold Chocolate brownies 7.00
Milk 8.95
Soup 25.90
1 Pot noodle 19.95
Wholemeal sliced loaf 44.95
Total spent 107.00 lira (£2.35)

The rate had reached 45.6 now so this was an absolute bargain in English money.

Dalyan – 22nd September

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.

Dalyan – 21st September

It was a funny old day on Saturday 21st September. Most of it was spent faffing about with stuff that needed to be done. I had quite a lot of my belongings at various different places so I gathered those up and dropped them round to Captain Caveman’s apartment. I did about 2 trips from my parents but the heavy stuff, Neil said he would help me with tomorrow. At 11.30am I did the application for my residency renewal appointment, hoping the time slot they gave me would be held on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, and not as early as Monday morning. A friend was helping me do it so we ended up chatting and it taking a while. Eventually we proceeded with the application to the stage where I needed to submit my photos but the ones I had taken in Fethiye wouldn’t. I then had to pay another 400 lira (£8.81) which was more expensive than the first lot I got in Fethiye, for another set. After he had taken them, the photographer legged it for lunch and said to come back in 30 minutes so I went home and ate the leftover calzone that was in the fridge. While I was in the apartment I had a good look around and checked it out. The tenants, Ann & Stuart, had not only left the place clean and tidy but they had also left me quite a few goodies, sun cream and toiletries which were very much appreciated. Finally, the photos got added to the application and the appointment came through for 8.30am on Monday morning! You couldn’t make it up, could you!?
I was meant to be looking after and walking 4 dogs that day from very early in the morning, while their owners were on a trip to Fethiye. I had to message them to check this would be ok and I already regretted applying today and not on Monday.
I finally managed to get to the supermarket at 8.30pm, having missed the Saturday market today, and I bought the following, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Milk 28.25
2 Quark 59.90
Frozen berries 99.95
Total spent 188.10 lira (£4.14)

I couldn’t even be bothered to cook anything for dinner as I had more to worry about. I ate a pot noodle which was in the cupboard and then went to bed but I couldn’t sleep.

Ialyssos (Rhodes) – 17th September

My day on Tuesday 17th September started with a healthy breakfast but would not continue in that vein – it was probably a good thing I was missing the Dalyan Fat Club tomorrow! I ate a banana and a plum with my cup of tea, then got on with work. At lunch time the girls were going for a walk so I decided to close the laptop and join them. On our walkabout, we spotted a lovely rooftop bar and went in for some lunch and a drink. Kompologaki restaurant also had sunbed rentals by the beach across the road and we had nice views of the sea from our corner rooftop table. There were lunchtime specials on so we ordered from that menu where it came with a beer or wine included in the price. It had one of those QR code readers to view the menu so we used that and I made a list of who wanted what so that I could go back downstairs and order, here’s what everyone chose;
Kelly: Pasta Carbonara + beer + Sprite + Mai Tai cocktail
Louisa: Gyros plate + beer + Sprite
Clare: Gyros plate + wine + soda water
Jo (me): Gyros plate + beer

We also ordered a bottle of still water for us all and the total came to 62.30 Euros (£51.76) and I really liked my lunch. I also ended up with 2 small beers because the lovely waitress had miscalculated the included ones, thinking all 4 of us wanted the beer and not 3 plus a wine. We also got a good deal on 3 bottles of decent wine for 30 Euros (£25), split between Clare and I.

On the way back to the villa, we called at the supermarket for provisions too.
Back ‘home’ I did a bit more work while the girls relaxed by the pool. I was happy to close the laptop and join them for crisps and a wine in the early evening. One of our other friends, Liz, was on her flight to come and join us. We were looking out for her plane, which would be flying directly above us. As we were waiting, we got a bit peckish and started our buffet for dinner, Kelly plated up some for Liz so that we didn’t eat it all. Clare took a video of the BA plane which Liz was on as she came in to land and we were all super excited when she arrived. There were hugs, tears and extraordinary footwear. Wine was had but not the fizz in the fridge as that was for when we went in the Jacuzzi in the main bedroom – oh wow, I hadn’t realised there was one! The rosé wine Clare and I had bought went down a treat and I even got to wear some fancy shoes of Liz’s while we caught up on her news. It was like having the band back together and I was so happy that Liz got the short straw and had to share my twin room for the next 4 nights.

Ialyssos (Rhodes) – 16th September

I was awake so early on Monday 16th September as the burglar alarm on the neighbouring villa was sounding continuously and it was very hard for me to ignore. It was still not properly light as I went downstairs and discovered that there was no electric or wifi and it looked to have been a windy night. It was only 6.30am so I decided to get dressed, I got to see a glimpse of a sunrise from my bedroom balcony, before I went out for a walk. I had no clue where I was going so I just headed away from the ringing of the alarm. It was quite cold and I had popped on my jeans and a jumper for the first time in a month. In fact, this was one of my outfits that Clare had brought out for me. I took photos as I walked, in case I got lost and then I decided on getting some breakfast and something for lunch at a lovely café called The Cake Box, here’s what I had with prices in Euros;

The Cake Box
1 chocolate croissant 1.50
1 Feta & pesto ciabatta 2.30
Total spent 3.80 (£3.16)

This was a bargain and I continued my walk while eating the chocolate croissant which was so lovely and definitely not Slimming World friendly.

I could still hear the alarm and the streets were very empty. I guessed Ialyssos wasn’t geared up for early rises as even most of the supermarkets were still closed. The nearest beach was small, pebbly and very close to our villa and I had a little walk towards the waters edge. I saw a few people jogging but there were certainly no holiday makers rushing to get a sun lounger on the beach at 8am.

After coming across a lovely row of restaurants and cafes, I noticed an outside sink where I rinsed my chocolatey fingers and face under the tap. I found a supermarket that had just opened and I bought some tea bags and individual milks from the supermarket for €3 (£2.50).

When I got back to the villa, there were the owners and maintenance people next door. They had turned off the alarm and the owner’s sister told me the internet was getting fixed and would be on in about 10 minutes. I was rather surprised to find that none of my friends in our villa were out of bed yet. They obviously had more tolerance for noise than me! I cracked on with work once the WiFi was back on. When the girls got up, they decided they were going to have a walk for some brunch/shopping while I worked and asked if I needed anything. I still had my ciabatta for lunch so I was fine as I was. I got quite a lot of work done and was doing new leads and sourcing information.

After work, the weather had warmed up and the girls were out by the pool sunbathing. I braved the swimming cozzie and joined them for a dip, it was certainly refreshing. We had a bit of a chat before the girls got on with their holiday reads or put their music on. For dinner, the girls knocked up another lovely feast, this time Kelly had cooked corn on the cobs and some chicken to make wraps with! It was so tasty and I ended up having 2 chicken wraps as there was plenty – some even went in the fridge for tomorrow. The white wine which was definitely drinkable went down quite well. I had about half the bottle, meaning I had consumed about 3 days’ worth of syns in one day!
While sipping drinks and chatting, one of my friends noticed that the swimming pool seemed to be getting fuller and may be likely to overflow. It did indeed end up in a breach and Clare having to contact the owner as we sat back and watched it. Once again, my evening was filled with laughter and I was very much loving having time with my friends – it was like therapy!!!

Dalyan – 13th September

I was feeling a little bit out of sorts on Friday 13th September. I’d spent the last month trying to budget as best as I could. My pay day was due on Monday and it would be going in to Captain Caveman’s account again, like the last couple of months then he would either transfer me some money or bring US Dollars back with him from Vietnam. The pressure of not being able to just do what I wanted with my wages was a bit restrictive and was definitely taking its toll on me a little. With hindsight, it would have been better for me to stay have stayed in Vietnam until Captain Caveman left.
I decided to not proceed yet with the residency renewal application and that I was going to see my friends in Rhodes this weekend. I needed to get away and reconnect with some of the best friends in the whole world! I messaged the girls and told them I would come on Sunday and they were thrilled, as was I. I booked my ferry tickets which were £90 return and I let my Dalyan friend know, who was planning on a Rhodes day trip so we could go together. The girls had already paid for the villa so that was a big help for me and meant I could still go.
After a morning of work, I met Gayle & Neil for breakfast, although it was lunchtime by the time we met at Ela’s Kitchen. Neil ordered the Menemen, Gayle had an omelette with baked beans instead of chips and I had the small Full English breakfast (without eggs and tomatoes). It was so lovely and, as I was only on 153 syns for the week so far, it was a nice treat. When we got the bill, I thought we would be splitting it but Neil had remembered about the fiasco at Tapa, when I had paid half of their drinks bill, so breakfast was on them.
We all walked to Migros as they needed some bits and I had a browse, ending up buying Quark and some tissues for 54.41 lira (£1.22). Of course, we didn’t need any lunch afer such a big and late breakfast so I was going to make do with what I had in. However, I was moving out of the aparthotel tomorrow and going to stay at a friend’s before the journey to Rhodes on Sunday. It also meant that I had to pack up and move some suitcases and clothes yet again to my parents’ place before I checked out tomorrow. I packed suitcases and emptied the fridge and then distributed them between my parents’ place, a friend’s and going to Rhodes. I was tired by the time I’d finished so I walked to the supermarket to get some nibbles for the journey tomorrow. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Jellies 30.90
Peanuts 42.45
Doritos 43.95
Cashews 95.45
Total spent 212.75 (£4.78)

On my way back from the shop, I realised I had only bought nibbles but I didn’t have anything in for dinner. I decided to have a walk around the block and up the main road to see what I fancied. After walking for a while I decided I would try the cheese and bacon burger with fries and a cherry juice from Sheche Burger. I bumped in to one of our walking friends and her husband. They were also having a Friday treat with chicken burgers which looked delicious. My meal came to 370 lira (£8.30) so it wasn’t as cheap as perhaps a UK fast food place would be but the food was so good. It was at least twice as good as a MacDonald’s and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Dalyan – 5th to 7th September

It was a busy day in my world on Thursday 5th September. My sister and her husband were arriving tomorrow so I had to make sure that my parents’ place was ready for them. I only had a biscuit for breakfast as I had to go to meet the cleaner at my parents’ apartment. There is only 1 key so I said I would meet her back there at noon
I had a morning in Ortaca where I first went to the council office to identify which property I actually lived in on their maps and get an address certificate, then I paid the council tax up to date at a cost of 2426.20 lira (£54.16) to bring everything up to date in order to proceed with my residency renewal application. The next job was to call to see the insurance broker where I got myself a new annual policy for 1,924.20 lira (£42.95) but was very basic cover and probably doesn’t really cover anything but accident and emergency.
Back in Dalyan, I walked over to my parents’ trying to get there in time to pick up the key. It was hot and I hadn’t put any sun-cream on as it was packed. As I arrived at 11.59am I saw the cleaner riding away on her motorbike. I left my bags, including wine and stuff for the fridge, outside the door and walked to King Emlak to retrieve the keys. Once there, I had a bit of a chat with Leanne, picked up the keys and walked back, a sweaty mess.
I stayed there for a glass of water and a pot noodle then had a call with my boss. Things weren’t very good for him as his son was in hospital in Hanoi, and it was quite serious.
I warmed up a mystery defrosted dinner and added some pasta to it for my dinner. Tomorrow I was going to enjoy a leisurely day before my sister and brother-in-law arrived.

It was a long day on Friday 6th September. My sister, Gayle, and her husband, Neil, were going to be arriving at Dalaman airport at 10pm tonight so I was making sure everything was ready for their arrival. My Mom had given them a spare key for the apartment but she wasn’t sure if it worked as it was a newly cut one that had not been tried yet. I had the other key so it had been arranged that I would be at the apartment when they arrived tonight. I started the day with tea and toast while reading the news that a typhoon was about to hit North Vietnam. Captain Cavemen was currently in Sapa but was due to travel to Hanoi very soon. He called me while he was out walking with our friends and didn’t seem unduly worried about the weather at that point. I got on with as much work as I could and tried not to worry about the weather in Vietnam. I just had a cheese and crisp sandwich for lunch. I had a break from work and popped over to check the elusive gardener at Captain Caveman’s apartment, it was impossible to tell if he’d done anything and it still looked uncared for, in my opinion. Then I popped to Captainnet to sort out my parents’ internet and extend it for the month. This cost 675 lira (£15.13) for the top plan, as my Mom would be organising for the TV Firestick to be put on for Neil. I bumped in to Drew who was at Mono & More with Pete & Carol so I stopped for a pot of green tea. It was very hot today and I was all of a fluster so it was nice to sit and have a quick catch up. The tea was really good and only 60 lira (£1.35).
I also called at the bank to transfer the rest of the required amount in to my Turkish account, this then meant that I could get the print out of my account to show the deposits for the last 8 months, including this month. On the way back, I noticed that there was a new clinic in town, next door to Şok supermarket in the old market square, where they displayed information and access to a private ambulance, as well as various cosmetic procedures like mammoplasty, gastric sleeve, hair transplant, liposuction, botox and filling. I said hello to Lou Colson who was working there now, as the receptionist, so she was the first point of contact to book appointments for these sorts of procedures which were very popular in Turkey now.
The rest of the afternoon was spent working and then I went over to my parents’ apartment to make sure everything was ready for the new arrivals. Luckily I had my laptop and something to eat at the ready so that I wasn’t sat about doing nothing. I warmed up a chicken casserole for dinner and opened a bottle of rose wine while I tracked their flight. Unfortunately, they were delayed but when they arrived they were very excited to be in Dalyan. We opened a bottle of fizz that I’d had chilling and Neil had a beer in an iced glass. Gayle is coeliac so I’d got some rice crackers with prawn, pork and spring onion (Banh Ep, from Vietnam) for her to nibble on. It was 1.30am when I got to bed and I was quite tired so I didn’t take long to fall asleep.

When I woke up on Saturday 7th September, I checked the news to see that Hanoi had most certainly been hit by typhoon Yagi and it looked pretty horrendous in parts of the capital city. Captain Caveman was safely in Sapa but was going to head to Hanoi today. I was concerned and said he shouldn’t travel but stay where he was until the storm had passed. He thought it better to get out while he still had the chance. I got on with lots of work and decided, while my boss was caring for his sick son in a typhoon, I would make the most of finding new sales opportunities from Facebook and news articles where Travel Agents were posting about the weather conditions.

I’d mentioned going to the Saturday market with Gayle & Neil but they couldn’t be bothered so I went much later than usual and it was unbearably hot with a full rucksack. I got some bargains, here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

Saturday Market
Mushrooms, Grapes & 3 peaches 85.00
4 onions 5.00
3 red & 3 green peppers 15.00
Plums 30.00
4 Apples 30.00
16 fresh figs 100.00
Total spent 265.00 lira (£5.94)

On the way back I also called at the shop for other essentials;

BIM Supermarket
1.5l Water 6.50
2 soda water 12.00
3 tins sweetcorn 61.75
Total spent 80.25 lira (£1.80)

I still needed more and had to drop the stuff off then go back to the supermarket. I decided to treat myself to more water and some juice as I was super thirsty. I was surprised to see the difference in the price of a bottle of water between Migros and BIM, though.

Migros Supermarket
1.5l Water 25.25
Croissant 27.95
Milk 28.25
Washing up Liquid 33.95
Cherry and Apple juice 49.95
Total spent 165.35 lira (£3.71)

I had juice and a croissant for breakfast which was not Slimming World friendly and then another cheese sandwich for lunch. I worked for the rest of the afternoon and the AC from the bedroom cooled the dining area enough too.
Captain Caveman arrived during the eye of the storm and managed to get to his hotel unscathed, but the damage in a lot of Hanoi was bad. I had a quiet Saturday night in and had figs, plums and grapes while cooking a really good mushroom risotto for dinner. I had an early night, while Hanoi got hit by the worst storm that they had encountered since 1964.

Photo credit – Vietnam photos taken from various sources/new articles.

Dalyan – 1st & 2nd September

Sunday 1st September was Independence Day in Vietnam and Captain Caveman was celebrating by meeting our friend, Johan, in Hanoi for a Sunday brunch. I was a little envious as I had a simit with cheese spread and washed it down with my cup of Yorkshire tea. This month was going to be full of surprises and some adventures and it was the last month of me being without Captain Caveman.
My first mission was to go to Captain Caveman’s apartment where our tenants had kindly agreed to let me rummage through my locked cupboard for my documents from when I did my residency renewal last year. We had a chat, mainly about the incompetence of our pool and garden company, then I tackled the cupboard in the spare room.
I went through every single box and thing, to not find the set of documents, or my diary, from last year. However, I did find what looked like Captain Caveman’s original copy of the Tapu (deeds), which would be handy.
A hot sweaty mess, I went back downstairs for a glass of water and to ask if Ann & Stuart would like to join a boat trip when my sister and brother-in-law are here next week.
I called at the bank, the supermarket and the bakery on my way back to my parents’ apartment and was in a quandary as to where my documents must be. The lira was now 44.8 to the pound which was pretty high and people in Turkey were speculating if it could reach 50 by the end of the month. Here’s what I bought, price in lira;

Bakery
1 fresh bread 10.00
1 Simit 15.00
Total spent 25.00 lira (56p)

Migros Supermarket
Crisps 20.05
1 Bounty 29.50
BBQ flavour crackers 35.00
Sliced wholemeal loaf 53.95
1 bottle of Prosecco 379.90
Total spent 518.40 (£11.57)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 Bottle of Rituel red wine 210.00
1 Bottle of Cielo White wine 315.00
Total spent 525.00 lira (£11.72)

I only had fruit for lunch because I had invited Nanny Kay over for wine and a takeaway in the evening. We had originally decided to go to Simple but it was closed on Sundays so we decided a takeaway from Mahir Kebabs would be ideal for us. It had been a little overcast and looked like there could be some rain but it held out enough for Nanny Kay to cycle over. Norman and Edna had been looking forward to seeing Nanny Kay, especially Edna who had heard that there was going to be wine.
We had a lovely evening where we both ordered the Chicken Kapsalon which is layers of French fries, chicken doner meat, cheese and salad – not Slimming World friendly. The dish is very filling, cost 400 lira (£8.93) each with free delivery and was very speedy. After 12 whole days of abstaining from alcohol, we shared a bottle of red wine and I could tell I’d had it. We limited it though, so that Nanny Kay could cycle home safely.

There was a power cut first thing on Monday 2nd September but, luckily, I had already done some work and was with Norman and Edna at Jamie’s villa. For breakfast I had Yorkshire tea, melon and strawberries, then a lovely homemade lentil, carrot and tomato soup for lunch with some bread and butter. I was tempted to eat the rest of the chicken kapsalon from last night but when I got it out, I decided not to and threw it out. As it was a new month, I went to the bank to put some foreign currency in to my Dollar/Sterling accounts. Meanwhile, in Hanoi, Captain Caveman was meeting up for lunch with Lien and then spending the evening with Martin and possibly Martina. It was his last night in Hanoi for now, as tomorrow he planned to go to visit more friends in Sapa.
I spent time on the laptop and looking after the dogs but I did manage to pop to the shop for some essentials and order some water for the cooler, at Jamie’s. It costs 70 lira (£1.56) which is cheaper than the shop that I use but I did have to walk to the shop to order as I didn’t have the right money. I managed to spend 155 lira (£3.46) for coconut milk and curry paste at the Şarküteri which I didn’t think was bad.
I wasn’t hungry at dinner time, which is unlike me, so I just had some BBQ crackers and a cup of tea while watching some TV. I was already on 158 syns for the week so far, with one more day to go.

Dalyan & Fethiye – 26th August

On the morning of Monday 26th August I was up and about before daylight and even got a photo of the sunrise at 6.05am. Captain Caveman was travelling to Dong Hoi to see Stu and was staying in the city. Jamie and I set off for Fethiye after a quick stop off at King Emlak. Jamie dropped me off near where I needed to be and went in to town on an errand while I walked to the Government office building. It was very busy, I went in to the office and told them I had a new passport, a man passed me the form and told me to complete it outside. I did, then went back in, pushing to the front of the queues. He got angry with me and said he needed copies of my old and new passports. I pointed out he was sat next to 2 scanner/copiers but he said no and that I had to go away, get my own copies and come back in the afternoon. I didn’t like this man, he evidently wasn’t keen on me and I left, hoping I wouldn’t get my appointment for renewal with him. Next, Jamie drove us to the Erasta shopping centre where Jamie could have a short shopping spree and I would find somewhere to get passport copies, nearby.
I was in 2 minds as to whether I should bother going back to update my new passport number. Something made me consider that I could face issues if/when I left the country next (Rhodes in just over 2 weeks) and that I should persevere with sticking to the rules. I went to LC Waikiki, a popular clothes shop, as I was desperate for some shorts that fitted me. The pair I did have fell down without unfastening the button and zip! I tried on 2 pairs which were in the sale and the Size 40 fitted me, I spent 659.98 lira (£15.35) on both pairs.
They weren’t cheaper than Primark but I’d been unable to get any there, on my last visit. I was happy and feeling in a better mood as I left the shopping centre in search of a printers. Luckily, I spotted Foto Deniz, a place where I could get my biometric photos done which I needed for my residency renewal application, anyway. It was 300 lira (£6.98) for 4 passport photos on a white background and he also took copies of my passports for free – mission completed.
By this time, it was lunch time and so there was no point going back to the Government office as they would be at lunch. Jamie and I decided to grab a drink and a sandwich at the nearest place, since he had quite a few bags!!! I have only ever seen someone with bags like that on a film, like Pretty Woman. Here’s what we had at the cafe, with the prices in lira;

Kahve Dunyasi, Erasta centre

1 bottle of water 25.00
1 Mint & lime smoothie 112.00
1 chicken caesar sandwich 140.00
1 mozzarella, tomato & pesto sandwich 145.00
Total spent 422.00 lira (£9.81)

The lunch was reasonably priced, the queue was massive and took ages. I couldn’t recommend the lime and mint smoothie which was definitely going to make me ill but the sandwiches were pretty good. It was also the place to go if you needed Ethiopian coffee beans, which seemed popular.
Back at the Government office, the nasty man I had seen that morning wasn’t working that afternoon and the lady at the next desk told me to come back tomorrow. That was not an option so I stood there until she did my change of passport number. It took seconds once she started it and I checked it was processed on the computer after hearing stories of others still finding it had the old number when doing their residency.
We drove back to Dalyan and I was very grateful that Jamie had been kind enough to invite me a long. I was back at my parents’ place by 4pm and it looked like most of the neighbours had gone home. A couple of cats sat on the step looking for food and wondering where everyone was. I had been at this apartment for 2 weeks now and still hadn’t had chance to go in the pool, I noted that I would this week while it was still really hot.
For dinner, I made myself a mushroom risotto which tasted fantastic, if I do say so myself! I was in bed by 10pm having had a busy and tiring, but productive, Monday.

Dalyan – 23rd & 24th August

There was a bit of excitement for me on Friday 23rd August as I had agreed to an outing after work, with a friend. For breakfast I had overnight oats with berries and grapes plus the obligatory Yorkshire tea (and I still hadn’t opened the wine bucket of them yet). I worked until 1.30pm and had another chicken and veg wrap for lunch. Unfortunately, the bread in the wraps had to be counted as syns but at least it was still better for me than booze, of which I had not touched a drop of, since Sunday. I’d decided in my mission to lose weight and save money, alcohol was the obvious thing to cut out. I set myself a goal to get to the end of the month without any alcohol – it was going to be tough, but needs must!

At 2pm, I was picked up and we drove up to Radar Hill, one of the highest points around and has beautiful views. We had come prepared with water, coffee, a melon and a knife. It was like being on a trip with Crocodile Dundee as my friend whipped out the knife and asked me to slice up the melon while she tried to take photos of dragon flies. A couple nearby, having a romantic picnic, must have wondered what was going on, especially when the flies came and my companion was hitting my legs with a notebook in an attempt to stop them biting.

Next, we went to Iztuzu beach for a drink and a swim. The car park fee is 100 lira (£2.33) and all payments at the car park or café must be done by card (no cash), but the café does sell beer now. After a soft drink, and a tuna sandwich for my mate, we had a swim in the sea. I got talking to some holiday makers from Ankara; Emrah and his 3 daughters Nisa, Eylul and Ela who were all very nice and the eldest wanted to practice her English. They loved Dalyan and were staying in a villa in Dalaman, they commented on how cheap they were finding it compared to where they lived in Ankara. We stayed until sunset and then I was dropped back off at my parents’ place, where I had leftover chicken casserole for dinner.

On Saturday 24th August I had my cup of tea and toast before going to the weekly Dalyan market to get some fruit and vegetables.
Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;

Stall 1
Tomatoes 23 lira (53p)

Stall 2
Bananas, grapes and peaches
Total 120 lira (£2.79)

Stall 3
Plums and a lemon 30
Lettuce 40
Melon 100
Strawberries 120
Total 290 lira (£6.74)

I had spent a total of 433 lira (£10.07) at the market and had quite a lot of lovely produce to last me most of the week.
Once back home, I unpacked my shopping and washed all the fruit, then rolled the grapes to free them from the stalks easily, and chopped all the strawberries and stored them in glass jars. These 2 ways of prepping grapes and strawberries mean they stay fresher for longer and is a good money saving tip as well as having no waste. I got on with some work and needed to crack on as I had an important video call booked in for later on.
Feeling motivated to stay on my Slimming World plan, I ate some grapes and strawberries then made a really nice wrap for lunch. It had chicken, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, and bean sprouts in and I counted the wrap as 10 syns for the bread content.
When it got to dinner time, I wasn’t that hungry so I just had fruit salad with Quark and a tiny bit of honey – delicious!
I finished work at 7.30pm and went for a quick walk to the shop, prices as usual in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Popcorn 26.95
Milk 28.25
Jasmine rice 44.50
2 tins of tomatoes 59.90
Total spent 159.60 lira (£3.71)

I hurried back and then called my parents for our video call, it was the first one since I had arrived in Turkey, 12 days ago. Ma & Pa were having a glass of wine and it was good to talk to them, even though Dad is a man of few words and leaves us women to jabber on. They were hoping to come out to Dalyan in a month’s time and would probably arrive around the same time as Captain Caveman. In the evening, I watched a bit of Netflix on my phone, while eating some popcorn before bed. I was on 79 syns for the week so far, less than half where I was this time last week and I was determined to stick to plan this week. Tomorrow I had quite a few life admin jobs to do but I was hoping for a bit of a lay in.

Dalyan – 20th to 22nd August

I woke up in an absolute panic on Tuesday 20th August, having had one of the worst and extremely vivid dreams. Captain Caveman was due back from his holiday with Andrea in Cambodia and I had dreamt that he had become a heroin addict and was in a really bad way. I felt really out of sorts and couldn’t even eat any breakfast – maybe it was triggered by the fact that I hadn’t spoken to him for a few days and was just worried he was ok.
After a few hours work, I decided to take myself to the shops, here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Mung beans 22.95
1 fig Quark 24.95
1 pineapple Quark 24.95
Spring onions 26.95
Red lentils 33.95
2 plain Quark 47.90
Total spent 179.65 (£4.18)

Şok Supermarket
Wholemeal loaf 44.95
250g Butter 72.00
562g chicken breast 98.63
578g chicken thighs 132.36
Total spent 347.94 lira (£8.09)

I returned home and had a cheese sandwich for lunch before getting back to work. After I finished, I was really tired so decided to have a little nap. Unfortunately, I had another bad dream where I lost both of my legs in an accident. I was screaming, which woke me up to find I had my legs wrapped up tightly in a bed sheet! For dinner I ate some curry which I had batch cooked and it was certainly better with chickpeas, instead of beans. Tomorrow was weigh day but it was not looking good for weight loss!

Wednesday 21st August was another weigh day and Fat Club, which I was not looking forward to those scales of Carol’s. I’d had over 300 syns this week, a third of them on Sunday! I did my measurements and had put 1cm on my bust and waist, while my hips had stayed the same. My parents don’t have any scales at their apartment so I had to wait until 3pm for the weight results. For breakfast I ate overnight oats with peach and some grapes. I worked all morning and at lunch I made a tasty chicken noodle soup, with bean sprouts.
The weigh in at Fat Club was not as bad as I’d anticipated – I had only put on 0.2kg (0.4lb). I ordered a 1.5l bottle of water for 50 lira (£1.62) and drank as much as I could as the fancy new app told me my water levels were low. Oh, how I missed the free tap water of Sheffield! The app also told me that I had the body of a 61 year old and I was most perturbed! Especially when the ladies around me rated much lower on that aspect of the stats.
After Fat Club, I called in to the supermarket for more essentials, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket

1 plastic bag 0.25
Pasta 10.75
Egg noodles 14.97
Cheese spread 29.50
Wraps 54.95
Mushrooms 67.95
3 plain Quark 71.85
572g of chicken 102.93
Total spent 353.15 lira (£8.12).

Another couple of hours of working was squeezed in before I made some chicken and veg stir-fry which I had in a wrap for dinner. At 7.30pm I met a friend at the Kefal tea gardens where I paid just 105 lira (£2.44) for 2 teas, a diet coke and a lemon soda – a bargain. I’d had a message from another friend to ask if I fancied the Yellow boat trip tomorrow but, as I had very limited funds, I decided to say no. I didn’t want to be tempted to overspend, especially as I could soon apply for my residency renewal appointment and I wasn’t sure what I would need to pay out. I’d asked my go-to residency contact about updating my passport number before applying, as the law dictates that a change of passport number must be updated at the nearest Government office (mine was in Fethiye), within 20 days of returning to Turkey. This meant that I had until the end of the month to do this, but I was advised not to bother and do it all at once when doing the residency appointment. He also suggested that I needn’t apply for an appointment until the end of September as the appointments were coming through very quickly these days. The advice from the authorities is the earlier the better in case there are any implications or changes to the requirements but it did mean that Captain Caveman would be back for if I needed any further evidence or signatures from him.

I decided that in the interests of saving money, I was going to have a zero spend day on Thursday 22nd August. Captain Caveman was back in the cave for 4 days, some of my friends were on the Yellow boat and I had a day of work to get through. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and wholemeal toast with cheese spread on for breakfast.
At lunch time, I settled for something quick and convenient with cheese on cream crackers, 2 plums, some grapes and a pineapple flavoured Quark.
In the evening, I finished work and ate a chicken casserole that had been tempting my taste buds with its smell all afternoon. It was a Slimming World friendly recipe and was delicious – I was so grateful that Mom had a slow cooker I could use.

Dalyan & Köyceğiz – 19th August

I scheduled myself to start work later on Monday 19th August, mainly as I thought I may have needed a lay in after the 60th birthday for Debbie (Darling), yesterday. I also was meeting a friend at 9am in Jiks to go suss out the accommodation at the aparthotel her friends run. I had a look around and was really surprised at the ground floor studio apartment that I was offered. It would be £40 per night and had 1 bedroom with AC, a bathroom, and a living room/kitchen with a decent dining table for me to work at. The plug sockets were conveniently placed (which is more difficult than you’d expect here) and there was free WiFi and access to the hotel’s pool. They even agreed that Captain Caveman would be able to pay for it with a foreign bank card. I was extremely happy I had somewhere in mind that could accommodate me if and when I needed it. Of course, friends had also offered but I needed to be prepared for all eventualities.
Back home, I ate buttered toast, a peach and some grapes for breakfast, followed by a Yorkshire tea. I worked for the rest of the morning, only stopping to shovel some mushroom pasta down me. I finished working at 2.15pm and quickly got ready. I noticed I seemed to have a load of cash in my bag so I popped over to Jamie and Drew’s to work out what had happened. We cleared up that Drew had misheard the amount for the pizza and given me more than he should’ve so I returned what was right. I apologised for drinking too much – evidently I can’t keep up with the fellas. I said farewell and rushed off for my first boat trip of August. I was going on a Moonlight Ladies Only boat trip with Captain Fuat on Adil Boat. The price of the trip was £30 or whatever the going rate is in Turkish lira (currently 43) and included dinner.

We met the boat outside Saki restaurant, ready for off at 4pm. Onboard were a great bunch of 12 ladies and we sailed over to Köyceğiz, with it being market day. I had a little walk with 2 of the ladies to the plant pot shop as they wanted to look at some tat. The off-licence where Kate and I often buy cheap fizz had now been converted in to a completely different building so we walked to Carrefour where I bought the following;

2 tins of chopped tomatoes 38.00
2 bottles of Prosecco 799.80
Total spent: 837.80 lira (£19.48)
The tomatoes were half the price of those in Dalyan too!!

The Captain fed us grapes, courgette fritters and hot chips before the evening meal. There were swim stops at sunset and stargazing after a delicious dinner. To cater for all the different dietary requirements, the Captain made a vegetable noodle soup which I really liked. For main course the Captain had cooked a selection of mainly vegetarian dishes and just one dish with chicken in for the meat eaters. There was rice and salad to accompany the gorgeous food. Even the skipper had now been promoted to chief photographer and was doing an excellent job.
I managed to polish off 3 rosé wines as well as some fizz and the whole trip cost me just 1,800 lira (£41.86) which included a tip! We were back before midnight and I had thoroughly enjoyed my evening out with lovely company.

Photo credit – various photos taken by others on the boat

Dalyan – 18th August

Sunday 18th August got a bit out of hand! I’d given myself the day off, with it being the weekend and I had an invite to a special birthday party. Debbie (Darling) was having her 60th birthday party at Laguna, a new river side restaurant at the top end of town. The party started at 1.30pm so Jamie, Drew and the 3 nephews came to pick me up in the car. The sun was out and it was pretty hot out there so we squeezed in, rather uncomfortably, and managed to get quite near to the venue. Jamie would leave the car as we would (obviously) have a drink. We were welcomed with a free cocktail which was pink and had gin in it for the adults and a mocktail for the kids. It was rather good but the youngest nephew thought his ‘would be better with a gin in it’! Laguna had also arranged that all drinks of beer or wine would be 100 lira (£2.33) for the duration of the party, which was a really good deal and made it easier to pay as you go. It also made it a little too easy to drink too much and I had 2 wines on an empty stomach! Debbie (Darling) looked lovely and happy as she took a drink of wine from her birthday cake. Yes, you read that right! Louize had made a cake in the shape of a wine barrel which had actual wine in it and the tap turned to pour out in to her glass. It was so clever. As the buffet was being put out, Jamie went off-piste and ordered a rather nice bottle of wine for him, Drew and I to share. The food was very good and I over ate; there were chicken goujons, spaghetti, cheese rolls and various delicious accompaniments which went down well. Debbie (Darling)’s daughter, Mel, did a lovely speech and Sioned took some great photos of everyone (I borrowed some for the blog too). I saw lots of people I knew, which was nice. Laguna was a lovely venue and looked like a great place to go for an evening meal one day. I left with Jamie, Drew and the 3 nephews with the intention that they were going to buy some last minute souvenirs and gifts and I was going to walk back to my parents’ with them. And that is where the frivolities should have ended!

As we got past the Post Office, sauntering down the street in Dalyan, one of the boys needed a toilet break. Sofra bar was close by and not busy, as everyone was still at Debbie (Darling)’s 60th birthday party. We sat down, Ahmet rearranged seating for us and I said I would have a glass of wine, before popping to the loo too. On my return, I saw that Jamie and Drew had ordered another bottle of the same wine from Laguna, between the 3 of us. This meant I was having more white wine on top of the free cocktail, 2 glasses of wine and the third of a nice bottle – I was already past my usual non-sloshed limit. A beautiful butterfly landed on the pavement behind our bench and several of us got a photo of it, I’d not seen one like that before. When it was time to leave, I gave the rest of my wine to Drew as I couldn’t manage it. It was agreed that Jamie and the 3 lads would go to buy a couple of things and then see us at home. Drew and I would go to the bank and Yaman Büfe to buy some wine and crisps for a follow up drink at their villa. I should have said no and that I’d already had enough to drink but, having been back in Dalyan a week already, I was up for it. I took out money at the bank but then I needed the loo again and we decided we would head to Jiks, where I could nip to the toilet. However, as my eyes caught sight of Ren Garden, I suggested we go there. On the short walk from the Bank to Ren Garden, Drew’s brother called and we spoke to him to say we had been to a 60th birthday and were a little tipsy (understatement from me) but we understood that he had just booked his flights to bring the family to Dalyan next year. How lovely!
We got a drink in Ren Garden, as it would have been rude not to. I paid 270 lira (£6.28) for an Efes Malt and a wine and soda which was very nice. Jamie was already at home as we went to the off-licence where I bought 2 bottles of Angora white wine, and 3 packets of crisps/Doritos. It cost just 694 lira (£16.14) – which was a lot cheaper than I expected! I didn’t have any of the wine in the end as, when we got to the house, Jamie was ordering pizza from Sosyete for us all and had already promised the boys. I drank water, fussed the dogs and when the pizza came, I paid the delivery guy 600 lira (£13.95) for 3 pizzas, chips and some chicken nuggets – a reasonable price. I was hungry and I felt that the food helped to sober me up a bit. I vaguely recall Drew thrusting some money my way for the takeaway, etc and getting home about 11pm, regretting drinking so much.