Dalyan – 25th & 26th October

I had a very productive Friday 25th October, I had an early breakfast of tea and overnight oats before starting work at 9am. I did lots of training and I added more to my growing To Do list. Captain Caveman was at Bridge Club and had left about 9.45am, he came back at 1pm for lunch but I was still working so I asked him to make our meal. He made some really tasty chicken fajita wraps which I ate at 1.30pm then went back to some more training at 2pm.
Captain Caveman seemed ill with his constant sneezing and blowing his nose and was snappy with me so I suggested he actually did have some rest in bed to sleep it off. I had to remind him that he was not going to bed so that he could play Bridge on his phone all afternoon.
I had scheduled in to my diary to work until 4pm but my Mom was available for me to pop round. We’d mentioned about having an evening together soon and I asked what plans they had for the weekend. They had been invited to one of our friend’s houses for cheese and wine tomorrow night so we suggested Sunday evening would be good for Captain Caveman and I, if they didn’t get a better offer!
I went to the shops as we needed Quark and tinned tomatoes. Word from the Fat Club group had let me know they had some in stock. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Milk 28.25
2 tins of tomatoes 59.90
2 Quark 59.90
632g Chicken thighs 132.72
Total spent 280.77 lira (£6.32)

When I got home, Captain Caveman was on the sofa, playing Bridge and still very sneezy. We both agreed I should have bought more tomatoes while they were in stock and I toddled back off, while he went to bed.

Migros Supermarket
Pasta 11.75
Penne pasta 14.96
1kg Flour 22.50
3 tins of tomatoes 89.85
Total spent 139.06 lira (£3.13)

When I got back I cleared out one of the spare room cupboards and prepared dinner which was only a veggie curry, omelette and steamed rice. When I went in to check on Captain Caveman, he was playing Bridge and we had a row. I was annoyed that he was meant to be in bed because he was too ill to do anything else! I told him I was very concerned about this Bridge addiction and that was all he was spending his time doing. His response made me even more mad; he was not addicted because he hadn’t reached 10,000 hours in 3 years yet! Now I realised that was his aim and he obviously was not going to do anything else until he reached that target. I was fuming! Shoot me now!!!!

Captain Caveman was still sneezing and sniffling and had taken to waking me up just before 7.30am with a sneeze on Saturday 26th October. He brought me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed and we were due to go to the market. We didn’t end up getting there until 11am but we had quite a list of things to get this week. Here’s what we bought at each stall, with prices in lira;

Stall 1
Potatoes & Onions 80 lira (£1.80)

Stall 2
Leeks, pumpkin, red cabbage, 1 lemon
200 lira (£4.50)

Stall 3
Tomatoes & peppers 105 lira (£2.36)

Stall 4
Carrots & Apples 52 lira (£1.71)

Stall 5
Peanuts 100 lira (£2.25)

Stall 6
Mushrooms 50 lira (£1.13)

Stall 7
Olives 100 lira (£2.25)

Total spent 687 lira (£15.47)

This was the most we had spent at the market in a while but we had got quite a lot for the money, some of which would easily last longer than next week, and we still had over 12 (mostly unripe) bananas in the fruit bowl.
Captain Caveman had wanted to go out for a Turkish breakfast but Saklı Bahçe had been closed when he checked. I love Turkish breakfasts but they always make me have a bad stomach for at least 2 days so I preferred to avoid them where possible. I suggested that we could make our own version of a Turkish breakfast at home and I prepared the table with all of this; feta style cheese, roasted red peppers in Quark with garlic, gherkins, baba ghanoush, olives, tomatoes, bread, jam, honey and sliced apple. Captain Caveman made himself an egg to go with his too.
While Captain Caveman played more Bridge on his phone in the afternoon (I give up!), I sorted out lots of clothes and belongings from the spare room and started putting clothes which had been packed away in to the washing pile. We’d already agreed that Captain Caveman would cook dinner tonight so that I could get on with things I needed to do but hadn’t yet. He made a spaghetti carbonara which was very tasty and we shared some red wine with it.

Dalyan – 20th to 22nd October

It was quite a bit cooler in the morning when I woke up with Captain Caveman’s alarm at 7.30am on Sunday 20th October. The forecast for the rest of the month looked really good, though. Captain Caveman brought me my cup of tea in bed and he was looking forward to the Sunday Walk. I was looking less forward to it as I was really tired and a little overwhelmed at how much was on my To Do list, so much so that most of it wasn’t even written on a list yet! I decided I wouldn’t go on the Sunday Walk today, so that I could take the time to get some things done. It didn’t quite work out as planned but I did manage to get some cheese and spinach pasties made with wraps, Slimming World style, and put some lentil, tomato, pumpkin and carrot soup in the slow cooker. It’s surprising how long it takes to chop veg, as Captain Caveman was back from his walk and ready for lunch before I’d done much else. We had leek and potato soup with a freshly cooked pasty and it was delicious.
Luckily, for dinner I had already got out the remaining beef kleftiko from the freezer so all I had to do was pop on the rice cooker and knock up some red cabbage to go with it.

While Captain Caveman went Dogging on the morning of Monday 21st October, I did some work for my new venture, ate overnight oats for breakfast and had a pomegranate when I took a break. I booked in my first meeting with the boss for tomorrow afternoon. At lunch time Captain Caveman came back and I heated up some of the veggie soup for us, with bread!! For dinner I warmed up another freezer special, which was the chicken curry with steamed rice. Later, Captain Caveman and I decided to watch Netflix and I made popcorn, without butter, in my popcorn maker. Within minutes of starting to watch something, Captain Caveman was asleep and snoring away.

I had my usual cup of tea in bed on Tuesday 22nd October and then stayed out of the way of Captain Caveman making his breakfast. He went to his Bridge Club and I made myself some veggie egg fried rice for a late breakfast.
I had a meeting with my new boss where he ran through the Resort Experts’ intranet sight, the quote system, the marketing guide and set me some homework. The session went well and I left the call knowing I had a lot of training to do while my Facebook business page was being built for me. I had 8 training videos to watch and would start doing them tomorrow. I also made a Work To do list and would continue to add to it as I went along.
Captain Caveman called at the shops on the way back from Bridge Club and bought fresh bread for 10 lira (22p) and 2.4kg of bananas for 141.12 lira (£3.17). The bananas, of which there were 13, looked very hard and unripe but Captain Caveman was sure they would quickly ripen. We had lentil and vegetable soup with cheese on toast, which Captain Caveman made as I was still doing work related things. I carried on working, mainly reading and training related stuff, while Captain Caveman lay down and played Bridge on his phone all afternoon.
At 5.30pm, I suggested we go to the shops so that I could get some fresh air and Captain Caveman could stop playing Bridge as it seemed to be getting even more of an obsession recently. Here’s what we bought, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Potatoes 6.63
Spring onions 24.95
2 Quark 59.90
Tortilla wraps 59.95
Sucuk (Turkish salami) 95.90
Butter 99.95
White Cheese (like Feta) 114.90
Total Spent 500.13 lira (£11.24)

Unfortunately, I wanted to buy chicken, but they had none left – this often seems to happen on a Tuesday for some reason. We walked on to the next shop to look for chicken.

A101 Supermarket
1.7kg Whole chicken 171.24 lira (£3.85)

Back home, and after a snack of cheese spread on bread, I made myself a cup of tea and then got to chopping vegetables. Captain Caveman had gone upstairs for a live online Bridge session but I cannot stand the voice of the man presenting it!
I made roast chicken with rosemary and garlic potatoes, red cabbage and spinach and it tasted really good. There was also plenty left for tomorrow’s meals. I’d already consumed 250 syns this week and then drank 2 glasses of red wine as I’d not had a drink since Friday. This was probably bad news for any anticipated weight loss this week!

Dalyan – 15th October

On Tuesday 15th October I made Vietnamese pho ga (chicken noodle soup) for breakfast, which was really tasty. Obviously, it was using pho stock cubes from Vietnam so not completely authentic, but it definitely satisfied my craving for it. I added chillies to Captain Caveman’s but they were a bit lively! I messaged Mom, as she had still not messaged about not popping over last night. They had ended up in Tapa with the rest of the boat trip friends. She said her battery had died but assumed we wouldn’t have come even if she had invited us!
Captain Caveman went to Bridge Club and I attended day 2 of the Get it Started free course, which went really well. I got peckish late morning and had a banana sandwich but still had leek and potato soup with Captain Caveman for lunch.
While he popped to the shops to buy ordinary rice from Bim for less than a £1 for 1kg, I finished my course homework and did some work on my book and blog.
I nipped to the bank, checked the exchange rate at Aksoy and the exchange place near the turtle roundabout; they were 44.0 and 43.5. I went to my parents’, to wish them a late happy anniversary, they were having a quiet day after a large one on the booze yesterday. They had loved their time on the yellow boat yesterday and said they had been invited on a free trip for this weekend, which was the same date as a boat trip they were on with us. They’d turned it down because of not wanting to let me down on the one I’d organised, that wasn’t free.
Back home, I nibbled on grapes and some peanuts and then made courgette risotto for dinner. I really liked it, Captain Caveman isn’t keen on courgettes but he still ate 2 portions of it! There was no wine tonight as I had weigh in tomorrow and I had done quite well on only consuming 162 syns this week.

Dalyan – 9th & 10th October

When I took my measurements on Wednesday 9th October I was pleasantly surprised that they weren’t worse; I had put 1cm on my bust and hips but my waist had stayed the same. On the home scales though, I had put on 1.1kg (2.4lb), which I was less pleased, but not surprised, about. Captain Caveman also got weighed and he decided he would start to track what he weighed, although he was not overweight, like me.
I only had a Yorkshire tea but no breakfast as I didn’t have time before my Turkish class and I needed to call at the bank (again). I had re-joined a group, as there weren’t any spaces for a private lesson, so I went along to my first one. It was held at Lukka bar and it was nice to find I already knew 2 of the other members of the class, Cath & Keith. I had missed a lot of Turkish but I didn’t struggle to keep up too much. When I had time, I needed to revise what I already had learned but I didn’t seem to get round to it above everything else on the To Do list. At Lukka I ordered a Turkish tea for 25 lira (56p), which is cheap but 2.5 times more than at the tea gardens.
I came home for lunch and we ate a chicken and chickpea curry I had batched cooked a while ago and was Slimming World friendly. At Fat Club, I’m not actually sure what happened, but Carol’s scales said I had stayed the same as last week. This was odd as this morning I had been heavier plus I had been eating and drinking since. I was pleased, but knew I’d have to be careful it didn’t catch up with me next week.
A friend popped round in the afternoon to say hello and bring me a couple of items of clothes which I had left at her place. We had a chat and she didn’t stay long. I made a salad for dinner, trying to start the week off on track but then we opened a bottle of rosé wine. I had 2 glasses but Captain Caveman had a really bad sneezing fit after drinking it and was probably allergic to the sulphites in it, as he was quite ill.

Captain Caveman joined the Riverbums on their clean up team on Thursday 10th October. They go out by boat, every Thursday morning, to clean up rubbish from the river and surrounding areas. It was on his schedule and we affectionately call it Bumming. I had a cup of tea, bread with butter and jam for breakfast.
I spent the morning sending out more CVs, doing some writing and researching a new company that I was interested in working for while it was quiet at home.
For lunch I made some Slimming World muffins which contained sweet potato, onion, spinach, egg, milk, feta and spices. Unfortunately they stuck to the Yorkshire pudding tin, despite using spray oil, and the tray was ruined. On the plus side, the muffins tasted amazing. They must have been good as I was hoping they would last until tomorrow but when I looked up, Captain Caveman had polished off 5!!!
We were having more curry for dinner but I had run out of Jasmine rice so Captain Caveman went to the shop. Here’s what he bought and the prices in lira:

Şok Supermarket
10 Eggs 59.00
2 x 1kg bags Jasmine rice 89.00
Washing powder 199.90
Total spent 347.90 lira (£7.77)

That night we had our curry with naan bread and it was really tasty, Captain Caveman decided it would go well with a rum so I also had one. He was still extremely sneezy but not quite as bad as yesterday.

Dalyan – 2nd October

On Wednesday 2nd October Jamie had left me in charge of his dogs, Norman & Edna.
First I did my measurements and found that they were very favourable; 1cm off my bust and 3cm off both waist and hips so I was looking forward to seeing Carol’s scales at Fat Club later. On my home scales I had lost over 2kg so it was looking good. I had a cup of tea with cheese spread on toast and grabbed a few things to take with me.
On leaving mine, I noticed the gardener had now trimmed some of the plants and finally cleared the walk way by the gate. I arrived early at Jamie’s, Norman was still asleep but Edna was keen to know if Aunty Jo would be bringing any treats. I also noticed on Facebook that there were flood warnings in Sheffield. Here in Dalyan, the weather was lovely. Jamie had a new patio door in and I quickly found out that Norman was obsessed at going through it.

For lunch I had a feta salad with radishes then wrote my shopping list. I popped on a slow cooker soup back at mine then decided to go to the shops as I needed some toiletries. I bought Olive Oil shampoo, conditioner and shower gel for a total of 250 lira (£5.51) which I thought was reasonable for some really good stuff. Ideally, I needed to go to the hair dresser, as I hadn’t been since June, but I couldn’t justify spending the money on it just yet and hoped I could once Captain Caveman arrived. In Migros I bought sweet potatoes, tinned tomatoes, ginger and red cheddar for a total of 246.17 lira (£5.42).
At Fat Club I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t lost more weight but I did lose 2kg (4.4lb) which was not to be sniffed at. I paid 50 lira (£1.10) for a large water to keep hydrated. At dinner time I had a bit of a feast as I had a Slimming World wrap pizza as a starter and then a portion of chickpea curry with rice, which was very nice. Dog walks and cuddles were had, Norman & Edna even came with me back home as I needed to turn off the soup and decant it in to batches.

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 – 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.