Jamie, Drew and the 3 nephews were off to the waterpark on Thursday 15th August so I was happy to agree to a bit of dog sitting over the lunch time period. My day started with bread, cheese spread and Yorkshire tea then working all morning. I had some chicken casserole for lunch and popped the rest in the freezer, before heading over to see Norman and Edna. They were both asleep but I managed to coax Edna out for a wee. Norman did not wake up for a while, and when he did he looked at me and went back to sleep. The electric went off so I ended up being there for 2.5 hours and had to contact Jamie to be able to get the key to manually get out of the electric gate. It was hot, I had prescription sunglasses and a hat on and was in a kerfuffle trying to bend down, see what I was doing and listen to Jamie’s instructions. I called round to the shop as I needed an onion and ended up buying 2 onions, some bread, 2 lemon sodas and a piece of Turkish salami for a total of 200 lira (£4.65). The shop was very nice and I helped some holiday makers who were confused about bags for the bread and which was the butter. Back to work in the afternoon, once I had chucked the ingredients for a curry in the slow cooker and realised the chickpeas were actually beans but had tipped them in anyway. I worked all afternoon and stopped, very much looking forward to my curry. I didn’t enjoy the curry as much as I hoped I would, probably due to the chickpea/bean mix up.
I was invited round to Jamie & Drew’s for a BBQ with the boys and Nanny Kay after work on Friday 16th August. It looked to be quite an eventful weekend in Dalyan as I had plans for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I started the day with bread, cheese spread and Yorkshire tea before cracking on with some work. I was meant to be meeting a friend, and her friend who owned a hotel in the town centre of Dalyan, so that I could check it out for when I needed to move out of my parents’ place. We moved the meeting to next week as I was ok for now but it was likely that I would need somewhere for a few days in September. I had a couple of plums and a quick break, for my lunch I had some chicken casserole and a nectarine. After work, I popped to the Yaman Büfe Off-licence where I got some bargain bottles of wine for the BBQ. I paid 279 lira for the white Angora, which I know Jamie likes, I also bought an İdol rosé for 215 lira and a Rituel red for only 172 lira. It worked out at £15.51 for the 3 bottles in total and I was pleased with that. We had a really good night and I enjoyed the burgers, meat and salad plus a drop of wine with Nanny Kay. Jamie and Drew are so hospitable and we always have a laugh with Nanny Kay. I was meant to be being good but the cheese cake was hard to resist and I had to have a slice. The nephews were very well behaved too so the BBQ night was very lovely and I was happy to be invited.
By 9.30am on Tuesday 13th August I was in the supermarket getting some essentials, having been to the bank to deposit more cash. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;
Having read some Facebook posts about how expensive everything was in Turkey now, I was pleasantly surprised to have got a bag of shopping for less than £7 and was definitely not seeing a massive increase, yet. For breakfast I had some fresh bread with cheese spread and a cup of Yorkshire tea and then for lunch I had a cheese sandwich without butter. I was going to put a wash on as I realised Ma & Pa had a washing basket of stuff that could do with putting in the machine and I had quite a bit to do too. I popped to the A101 shop and bought 1.5kg of washing powder which was on offer at 62.75 lira (£1.47) which was pretty cheap. I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and washing, then I popped round to Jamie’s to pick up my cases. I met the nephews who were very polite young men as well as having a quick catch up with Jamie and Drew. Of course, I got to have some love with the dogs, Norman and Edna, who seemed happy to see me and Edna wanted to know if I’d got any wine! Back home I made a simple mushroom and tomato pasta, using a bit of pasta water and a cheese spread triangle for the sauce. It was Fat Club weigh in tomorrow, after several weeks in England, and I knew it was going to be bad so I ate some cheese and crackers before bed. My total syns for the week were 393 so I really needed to get back to the Slimming World plan in an effort to shift some of the weight I had so clearly put back on.
At 8.30am on Wednesday 14th August I was at the bank putting in the rest of the lira required in my Turkish bank account to maintain my residency. It had taken a bit of effort but I’d managed and had a little bit at the ready for next month. By 9am I was in the supermarket again getting more shopping now that I’d had time to plan a bit, for what I would need. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
There was a definite increase in the price of meat and Quark since I’d last been here but it was still very cheap in comparison to the UK. I called round to see Sonuç, of Dalyan Airport Transfers, to pay him for my taxi which was £30 but I gave him 1300 lira. Back home, I did my measurements to find I had lost 3cm from my bust, my waist had stayed the same and I had put 2cm on my hips. I had Yorkshire tea and some chocolate for breakfast, which wasn’t ideal, then cracked on with some work. Today marked 2 months of working for this employer which meant it would be pay day tomorrow. It would be given to Captain Caveman, so I still didn’t physically have it and I had to be ultra-careful with money until he arrived in October. At 3pm, I was at Fat Club to face Carol’s new scales and a funky new app that tells you lots of information about your body. I had put on 1.6kg (3.5lbs) in the last week but 4kg (9lbs) since I was last at Fat Club 6 weeks ago. I had a small water which now cost 25 lira (58p) and a good natter with the girls who were all looking fabulous and had lost more weight while I had been in England. After Fat Club, and feeling motivated to get back on the wagon, at least until the weekend, I called in to the supermarket again for some fruit. Here’s what I got, prices in lira;
For my very late lunch I had more mushroom pasta followed by nectarines with Quark then got back to work, but not before throwing a few ingredients in to the slow cooker for a chicken casserole. After work, I ate some crackers and cheese spread while I waited for the casserole to be finished for dinner. Captain Caveman called, he was on holiday from the caves and had a trip to Cambodia planned. Instead of a glass of wine, I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, unpacked my Clinique moisturiser and had an early night.
The flight was meant to land at Dalaman airport at 3am on Monday 12th August but it was delayed. I was fortunate that my parents had kindly agreed to let me stay at their apartment in Dalyan and Sonuç was picking me up. I got there about 5.30am and my Mom had instructed me that I would need to turn on the electric at the meter in the garden and then on the fuse board outside the front door. When we arrived, Sonuc carried my suitcase and we noticed that the electric meter was already on, as were the lights in the next door neighbour’s apartment and on the communal staircase. The fuseboard outside the door was already on so I went in carefully while Sonuç waited to check no one was inside – there wasn’t. I went straight to sleep, after making the bed and had 2 hours before it got light and woke me up again. By 9.30am I was in the Captainnet office putting the internet on. My residency permit expires in October so the lady would only permit me to put on one month at 675 lira (£15.77). I went to the bank and deposited some Dollars and I contacted the dentist for an appointment for my chipped tooth. At 7pm I was getting ready to go to Nanny Kay’s birthday meal at Hotel Dalyance, I hadn’t unpacked (aside from my wine bucket and tea bags) and couldn’t find anything nice to wear. I arrived and was a couple of minutes late so everyone was already seated and there was about 20 people on one table. I sat at the end next to Lisa and Engin and I ordered an Efes beer. We had already pre ordered food and I had chosen the Pad Thai. When the food came, it was very nice but I would say it was more a Singapore Noodles than a Pad Thai and it was very soy sauce heavy. There was no water ordered for the table so I ordered myself a big bottle of water of which 3 others shared some. A beer was 150 lira (£3.50), the water 50 lira (£1.17) and the Pad Thai 550 lira (£12.85), a total of 750 lira (£17.52) so not extortionate for a meal out in a nice setting but prices were definitely on the rise a little. Service was good but the cooling fans that were on us got moved when a family with kids came in so it was a bit sweaty. As soon as the birthday song had been sang and the cake distributed I was ready for my bed. The cake was carrot and had been made by Nanny Kay herself, probably the best birthday cake I’d tasted in Turkey. The night had been nice but I didn’t get to speak much to Nanny Kay and it was disappointing that Jamie and Drew weren’t there as they had Jamie’s 3 nephews with them.
Photo credit – Lisa, Engin, Sue, various party goers
There was lots of packing activity in the morning of Sunday 11th August and it wasn’t just me! Clare was off to meet her friend in London so was planning to get the mid-morning train. She had very kindly offered to take some of my clothes to alleviate me of the extra 2kg I had in my suitcase. Clare has always been one of those friends that is super reliable and solutions driven when it comes to any issues and she had me sorted right out these last few days. She took the warmer clothes and some PJs so I had some clothes in Rhodes and it was even more of an incentive to join her there on holiday next month. In the end, she took 2.5kg and I was so grateful for the help. Claire and Mark were also packing as they were expecting all 4 kids back this afternoon and were off on a holiday tomorrow morning. What should have been a busy family day, didn’t prevent my hosts being so hospitable and Mark made us a full English breakfast with the right amount of builder’s tea. After the gorgeous breakfast, Claire and I walked Clare to Otford train station and said our goodbyes, I was desperately hoping that I would make it to Rhodes to see her again. Back home, Bee was the first of the children to arrive back at the house and it was great to see that she had really enjoyed her holiday to Turkey. I hadn’t seen her since she was about 2 years old so she didn’t recognise me. I did some work as I would be travelling later and may not be able to work tomorrow. For lunch we had a bit of a picnic with hummus, carrots, corn, pitta and even a sausage and some chicken. This was my last meal with Claire as we were leaving for the airport in a few hours. The rest of the family returned and went straight to their rooms to chill out, pack and repack for their holiday. I briefly met them to say ‘hi’ and give Bee some ‘borrowed’ face decorations from The Bull to play with Ivy. I weighed my suitcase and found that it was bang on the 20kg allowance, thanks to Clare and that I had managed to snaffle the Mini Cheddars and a bar of Dairy Milk. At 4.30pm I said my goodbyes after an amazing week in Otford and Claire drove me to Gatwick airport. I was surprised to see that they charge to drop off there and for a few minutes it was £6. We hugged and I started to get emotional, made worse by the fact we didn’t know when we would see each other again. Before I could cry too much Claire said to get in the airport as if we cried much longer (over 10 minutes) the drop off fee went up to £26 and we didn’t love each other that much! I walked in to the airport, pushing the cumbersome trolley, laughing and crying at the same time. I was early for my flight but I was glad as the airport was absolutely rammed, mostly with families some of who were quite challenging. Once I’d dropped the suitcase off I went through security and didn’t even have to take out my laptop which was handy. I headed to the Whetherspoon’s pub and ordered using the QR reader app. I spent £20.95 on a mushroom pizza and a glass of rose wine, which wasn’t too bad for an airport. Through to the gate we were delayed and it was very busy but I got in quickly. Interestingly, there were 2 queues and the one for the people with special assistance or lanyards was very long. I was the only one in my queue and went straight through where I found a seat and got a water to use up some of my English change. It cost £2.80 from the machine and was nice and cold. The queue to get on the plane seemed to take far too long to go down and lots of people were sweating a lot as it was almost 30 degrees at 9pm. We boarded late and I fell asleep on take-off. I was so grateful to have had the past 5 weeks in England with so many friends and family, I almost didn’t want to leave but I had a birthday party in Dalyan to get to!
I got up really early on Friday 2nd August so that I could do some work before Mom got up, as she had kindly offered to take me shopping to Aldi before I left. I’d had to amend my shopping list as I didn’t want to be struggling to carry everything. At one point there was a suggestion from me that the wine bucket in my hand luggage was perhaps over ambitious but I feared that if it didn’t go this time, it would be at the charity shop or tip very soon. We didn’t stop out long as I needed to be out in the afternoon because I was having some leaving drinks in Sheffield later. There is a new Aldi near my parents’ house so we went there and I was very impressed. Here’s what I bought, prices in pounds;
Aldi Supermarket 1 packet mix £0.36 Cream Crackers £0.49 Garam Masala powder £0.75 Sandwich bags £1.15 2 packs of vegetable stock cubes £1.30 Antihistamine tablets (2 packs) £1.58 Marmite £2.99 Yorkshire Teabags £5.49 Total spent £14.11
On the way back, I was going to pop in to say bye to my sister, brother-in-law and nieces as they were off on holiday this weekend, but Gayle was at the gym. Instead, we went back home and I had a cheese sandwich and some pickled onions for lunch. That afternoon, I caught the bus in to town and wandered via the bank to put in the £50 I had been told I needed to do to close my bank account. Unfortunately, the guy at the counter told me I was mistaken and that the charges had all been removed and left the balance with £2 something in. I made him print it out and check 3 times because I didn’t actually believe him. The print out showed it was no longer in a negative balance so I asked to close it. Unfortunately, the man at the counter couldn’t do that as Jeff does that job but only works Monday to Wednesday. I was fuming and left, knowing another charge would be on it later in the month of £13 which would make me overdrawn again! I was told to come back Monday but I knew I would be in London so made a note to find a branch down south to try again.
I’d arranged to meet friends at The Grapes where they still operate an old style boozer; the bar staff chat pleasantries, add up in their head, top your drink up and let you pay by cash – marvellous. Becca and Steve, who make my face ache from laughing so much, were already there, Steve got me a cider and we went to the beer garden at the back. Before long we weren’t absolutely howling with hysterics as I confused Steve about anything to do with my itinerary. They had just moved house so none of us were familiar with bus routes round that area and weren’t sure of the last bus back. They don’t use cash much so I gave them some and they transferred to my Wise account to make it easier. Next to arrive was Holly, who I knew from when she worked at Easy Tiger in Phong Nha, Vietnam, and had recently moved to Mosborough – what a freaky coincidence and good to see her again. Paul & Natalie arrived and they were shocked at the no card rule so I got the drinks in and they could get the next one in my second venue choice.
We met Louisa, Linda, Martin, Adam, Kerrie, Paul, Nikola and Tom at Fagan’s as I thought it would be a good place to go before our curry. It was so good to see everyone and I didn’t even realise that some of the crowd from the old Aviva times, I hadn’t met up with for almost 10 years! We even established that I’d known Natalie’s Paul the longest and I was a bit gutted that I couldn’t see even more people while I was back but it was the school holidays and people were already busy with other plans. I needed to appreciate more that it’s not all about me, sometimes!
The time went so quickly that I almost felt bad that I had booked a table for a curry at Butler’s Balti for 8pm. Everyone was invited but most people were only able to come for drinks. I didn’t know if it might be my last proper Indian meal for a while. I said my goodbyes but not without some amazing photos in front of The Snog – a Pete McKee picture with Frank & Joy and one of my favourites. It was only right that Kerrie should take the photos as she has a connection to Pete.
At Butler’s there were Louisa, Linda, Martin, Adam and later Rachel joined us, after getting the kids to bed. The meal turned out to be quite pricey but delicious and I did have a bit left over for tomorrow. We had 2 poppadoms each and a pickle tray, I had veggie samosas to start, a chicken tikka masala for main, shared some rice, a garlic naan and I had a glass of the bottle of red wine. We nearly got another bottle when it didn’t stretch to 8 glasses but I still had to get the last bus home so was happy with the one. We were quite a walk from Pond Street bus station and I was bound to need a wee. As I was due to leave, the usual shenanigans of it not being enough money to cover the bill occurred and it took a lot of faffing about. I put £32 in which should have covered the tip as well but it didn’t and Rach ended up putting £15 in for a chicken pakora starter and a pint of lager. After saying final farewells and legging it for the bus with Rach, we reached Norfolk Street out of breath and desperate for a pee. We decided we would have a swift half and a pee in the Brown Bear, while I called Mom to tell her I had missed the last bus and might only be able to get as far as Birley or Halfway and to not lock me out of the gate if they went to bed. The Brown Bear was now a Digital Detox Pub with a strongly upheld No Swearing Policy! FFS! I couldn’t believe it and I got told off for using my phone! With a water bottle full of cider we headed for a bus, dodging the Spice heads on route. I made it to the bus station unscathed as I looked like a mental person carrying a bottle of piss! I finally got home, phone on silent so had not noticed Louisa checking I was home! What a great Sheffield send off and tomorrow would sadly be time to say bye to my parents.
It was crumpets for breakfast with a hangover on Friday 19th July. Last night had really been so good, I had no regrets and I was a bit sad to be seeing Captain Caveman off today. He decided it would be a good idea for us to go into town early so we could get some lunch, our last meal together before I met him in Turkey in just over 10 weeks’ time. It was time for him to say farewell to my parents but they would also be in Turkey when he returned. My Mom mentioned that there was some global IT system outage and we dismissed her when she suggested that the buses may be affected because of it. Leaving me with a suitcase half full of his clothes and shoes, we went for the 10.55am bus in to town. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn up until 11.22am and then it had a driver being trained by a gobby woman from Chesterfield who was doing nothing for my hangover! We’d gone about 6 or 7 stops and when we had to stop at Birley and wait for a mechanic. The Chezzy trainer shouted to us all that we would just be 2 minutes as they needed to fill up the water. Unfortunately, this was not true and 2 buses, which we could have got on to, sailed past. Captain Caveman’s National Express bus to London Victoria was leaving Sheffield at 12.45 pm so now we didn’t have time to go anywhere for lunch. Instead, when we got to town we rushed to Marks & Spencer’s – our first walk on Fargate and we were shocked at the state of it. Captain Caveman got himself a Roast Beef sandwich (£3.90) and an Orange & Mango juice (£2) but we didn’t have time for me to choose or even fathom what you can get in a meal deal these days. Captain Caveman was determined to have a coffee from Macdonald’s on our way back to the bus station. It was £1.59 for a double Espresso and you buy it by touching a massive screen and paying on card , which felt weird to me. Then you still went to the counter to collect it but there were staff stood around and no customers at the till. On the way to Pond Street there were a few too many obvious druggies around and it was so noticeable. At the National Express bus, it was busy with the driver faffing about with a ramp user who he had left to sit in his wheelchair in the bright sun for too long. I said my goodbyes to Captain Caveman and he did remember to give me a kiss and a hug this time, which was nice! I waved the bus off and then went to get my bus ‘home’ which was meant to be at 1pm but was late. This was fortunate as I had time to buy my lunch from WH Smith where I took advantage of the meal deal, thinking I was getting a bargain. I had a chicken wrap, some salt ‘n’ vinegar Walker’s crisps and a juice for £5.99 and it was nowhere near as good as a M&S sandwich. The bus finally arrived at 1.14pm and the young chirpy driver explained that my Mom was correct and the world had come to a bit of an IT related standstill. He had a giant sippy cup of Yorkshire tea and was ready for the abuse from all the passengers he was late for. Back home, my parents decided it had heated up enough for some outdoor lounging, drinking and eating. I helped Dad move the garden furniture and put out the cushions, a job that would become more frequent over the next few days. Ma made a curry and Dad got the wine out, but not the Chardonnay that was in the garage fridge – he was saving that. The chicken bhuna was excellent and Ma even surprised us with a couple of naans and some onion bhajis. The Pinot Grigio went down well too and it was nice to be out in the garden still at 8.30pm in a summer dress and not complaining I was cold!
I went over to Captain Caveman’s apartment on the morning of Saturday 6th July, so that I could see the maintenance company in action. I knew they wouldn’t be there and that the garden area still wouldn’t have been done and I was now fed up. The tenants would arrive back this weekend and wanted to meet up with me before I went to the airport tomorrow night. I felt sure they would want to move out because of the complex grounds not being maintained well enough. Captain Caveman was in Saigon but would be flying to London from midnight tonight. My friend, who had kindly given me a lift, had come round to look and also agreed our gardener was not telling me the truth – nothing had been touched since my visit yesterday. My friend and I got the bus to Ortaca and I was in a bit of a mood about the garden situation. Apart from buying a brush, a hose and some other tools to do it myself, I didn’t know what else to do. I messaged the maintenance man and said I was sick of it and wanted to meet him tomorrow. I also let the agent know so they could try harder to get something done before the tenants arrived tonight.
We got off the bus at the Ortaca bus station and walked a short way to a clothes shop which ladies from the moonlight boat trip had recommended to me. They had lots of choices and I tried loads on with my friend being honest on what looked good and what didn’t. In the end, I had narrowed it down to a red shirt dress, a burgundy long dress, a bright dress for boat trips and a patterned one for the family wedding. The 4 dresses came to not much more than the dress which I almost bought in Köyceğiz at a total of 1,500 lira (£36) and I was very impressed with the shop and could easily have bought more. We called at the Gratis pharmacy where I bought a Dove deodorant stick for a whopping 199.50 lira (£4.78) as I had almost run out. I prefer the solid sticks as you can use them on thighs and under boobs to prevent any chafing. We had a bit of a walk around Ortaca and managed to get lost but found a nice stream and some columns which looked to be old and part of the Lycian way. It was very hot and I wish I’d brought sun cream as we walked past the hospital and a closed antique shop. We decided to stop at Cafe Deryası for lunch where we both had a water, a juice and Turkish ravioli (mantı). The lunch was really good and I would definitely go there again. It cost 390 lira (£9.35) each so it wasn’t cheap but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Both my friend and I had to get back to work so we got the bus back, it was hot and sweaty but at least we had a seat. As it was my last night staying at my friend’s we decided to have our dinner with wine on the roof terrace. We decided to call at the supermarket for some bits and have a little picnic style dinner. Here’s what I bought for my contribution with prices in lira;
Şevikoğlu Supermarket Crackers 34.90 Salt & Vinegar crisps 35.00 Peanuts 84.90 2 bottles of Cumbuş red wine 199.80 Total spent 354.60 lira (£8.50)
I also brought cheese, brownies and some cherries that I already had in the fridge. It was such a lovely evening and we stayed out there until it went dark.
I was in a bit of a rush on Sunday 7th July to fit everything in. I didn’t have anything for breakfast but I did do some washing and packing. I worked all morning and then had a lift in to town to drop my stuff off at Jamie’s. We went for a last meal together at Kefal tea gardens where I had a cheeseburger and 2 lemon sodas for a total of 160 lira (£3.84). While we were there we saw a turtle, 2 snakes and lots of fish which was amazing.
Watersnake
Watersnake
The turtle
The turtle and the watersnake
After, I was dropped back at Jamie’s so I could check on the dogs, as Jamie was out, and repack all my stuff. My flight was after midnight tonight and I only had the smallest easyJet hand luggage to fit all my stuff in to. It was a squeeze with my laptop and I was sad to leave my toiletries behind. I had a little sit down on the sofa with Norman and Edna only to fall asleep for about 3 hours. In the meantime, Captain Caveman had arrived in London and was heading to his parents’ house in Barnes. I went to Ela’s Kitchen to say hello to Nicola and Sev, bumped in to Melanie and Gareth and had a big bottle of water before going back towards town. Later on, I decided to have a rosé wine and soda in Grandma’s Garden and enquired how much their rooms were per night for next month. It was out of my price range unfortunately but the owners seemed very nice. I called at the bank to withdraw some money as I was meeting the tenants and Jamie for a drink at Lukka later and then I decided I was hungry so I called at one of my favourite restaurants.
It was quiet at Duble as I was early and I asked for the chicken soup as a starter, a large bottle of water and then for main I chose the chicken and mushroom pasta to be made without chicken. The food was lovely, especially the soup but I did notice that the prices had definitely gone up a bit and my mushroom pasta was still the same price as the chicken one. The water was only 55 lira, the chicken soup was 120 lira and the mushroom pasta 350 lira. My total meal came to 525 lira (£12.59) which was more expensive than I’d expected but it was rather tasty. Luckily, it did mean I had 500 lira (£12) left to get me a drink at Lukka and for any emergency at Dalaman airport. I arrived before Jamie and the dogs and introduced myself to our tenants. They ordered proper drinks for them but I just ordered a soda water to keep it cheap. They were very nice people and we had a bit of a laugh as well as discussing concerns that were all to do with our pool and garden company. Jamie was taking me to the airport so he wasn’t drinking either so when it came to pay, I said I’d get Jamie’s. Unfortunately, the bill came all 4 of us together and we decided to split it, although I put in 500 lira (£12) for mine and Jamie’s drinks, but it wasn’t enough and Jamie had to add more for our half. I hoped my flight wasn’t delayed as I now didn’t have spare cash to get anything at the airport. Norman and Edna came to the airport with us and it was a first for me to say bye to pets at Dalaman. I said bye to Jamie and the flight was still as scheduled. The queue to check in was huge and it took a while, the man behind me got quite shitty about the special assistance queue having so many people in the entourage of the disabled person – one wheelchair user got a group of 14 checked in together and he nearly lost it. Once through security, chaos ensued and my flight was delayed by 2 hours.
By the time I woke up on Thursday 4th July, my parents had already left for the airport so I didn’t get to go and wave them off. Ordinarily, this would not have happened but given that I would see them in 13 days time none of us were upset about it. I had tea and toast for breakfast then got my stuff packed to move accommodation. I worked in the morning and then ate the rest of the blueberries for lunch, sharing them with Norman and Edna. Blueberries are meant to be good for dogs so Edna wolfed them down, Norman was yet to be convinced. I left some stuff at Jamie’s, including my laptop, as I was off on a moonlight boat trip that afternoon. It was another one of the ‘Ladies only’ ones that I had helped to organise with a friend. We boarded Captain Fuat’s Adil boat around 4pm, bound for Köyceğiz. As we were setting off, one of the ladies went to the shop with the Captain to buy a last minute purchase and then it was time to go. Captain Fuat shared some fruits from his garden, the fresh figs were amazing, as well as a delicious cake made my his daughter. We had a mooch around Köyceğiz where I tried on a dress for a forthcoming wedding in Penrith. It was a nicely fitting, off the shoulder, green and flowery number but I noticed it was coming apart at the seams a little. It was also 1200 lira (£28.92) so I decided it was out of my budget. We all left the shop and I was the last one to go, as I was leaving the older lady of the shop started to turn angry with me and accused me of ripping the poorly sewn garment. I walked out without saying anything and decided I wouldn’t be going in that shop again. Back on the boat, we had a very lovely evening with more excellent food including hot chips after our first swim stop, courgette fritters and chicken nuggets to nibble on before dinner. One of the ladies had sold her parents’ house and wanted to share with us her good news so she had bought a couple of bottles of fizz for us all. I had a couple of glasses of rosé wine with a couple of the other ladies but I noticed most of the women weren’t drinking much, if at all – it was very civilised. Not everyone swam but a friend and I went a few times round the boat and the sunset was amazing. We had a delicious tomato based soup as a starter and then the main course which was a mixture of dishes to accommodate meat eaters and vegetarians. I really enjoyed it and the evening was finished off with fizz/rosé and stargazing which was very relaxing. We didn’t get back until almost midnight after what had been an amazing moonlight boat trip. The cost was £30 (1,250 lira) and Captain Fuat always looks after us very well.
I was up very early on Friday 5th July as I needed to walk over to Jamie’s to say bye to Drew, Nick and Mark before work. They were off back to the UK after a lovely holiday/stay. I called at Migros to buy a thank you bottle of wine for Jamie and I grabbed some noodles which were on offer. I spent just 337.90 lira (£8.10) and I even got Angora wine for that. I needed to get my laptop and a few things I’d not taken on the boat with me last night. It was only 24°C at 7am but there was an excessive heat weather warning for later and I also wanted to check Captain Caveman’s apartment complex again. I had been told by the pool and maintenance bloke that they had worked there this morning so I was going to inspect. When I arrived, it was less than satisfactory and obvious that no one had been that morning, or even in the last few days. Dead plants, dried leaves and generally weeds needing sorting which were easy and obvious jobs. I wasn’t happy and I messaged the maintenance man, who once again told me that they had been this morning. He blamed it on not having a hose and that there was nothing he could do as all 10 apartments needed to give him money for a hose. I told him to go buy one and I would pay and I didn’t hear back, only to say he had ordered one. I checked on Trendyol and the most expensive one was not more than 2000 lira (£47.96) and I just wanted the place clean and tidy for our guests – it was proving far too much to ask for. I sent the pool and garden man photos as I was stood there and he said that he also had photos from his brother and that it didn’t look the same – how dare they call me a liar! I suspected his workers were either tired, lazy or lying and so he promised me he would personally check every day – he had already promised this several times so I didn’t hold my breath! I also let the rental agent know but she was on holiday and the guy left in charge wasn’t able to get through to the maintenance company either. It was a joke and I really wished we’d never agreed to rent the place out. The ironic thing is that Captain Caveman and I had never agreed to this maintenance company but we had been told we were outvoted. The Aussies downstairs had not experienced any complaints from their tenants (of which they had several different customers) so it was unfortunate that only my tenants were being affected. Because of all the faffing about, I wasn’t back ‘in the office’ until 11am, having picked up a bottle of water and a couple of simits for a bargain total of 31 lira (74p). I worked all day then had a video chat with Captain Caveman, he was flying from Dong Hoi to Saigon tomorrow to start his journey back to the UK for his holiday. In the evening I headed to the tea gardens for dinner with my my new house mate. We had sandwiches and soft drinks followed by an ice-cream for a total of 400 lira (£9.64). The place was very busy but there was a lovely breeze and the staff were very efficient. We went back home and arranged to get up early to go to Ortaca before work tomorrow.
Wednesday 3rd July was a lovely day for me in Dalyan. Jamie and the boys were still celebrating Mark’s birthday so I gave the dogs their breakfast and made sure they had their wees and poos before it got too hot. I also took my measurements in readiness for weigh-in at Fat Club this afternoon. I had put 5cm on my waist and hips but there was no change to my bust. This was not good news and would definitely mean I had put weight on too. I had strawberries, olives and a simit for breakfast then cracked on with some work on the patio. Midmorning I popped to the shops for some essentials;
Migros Supermarket Quark 29.95 Skimmed milk 37.95 Soda water 40.00 Total spent 107.90 lira (£2.60)
I called at the bank to deposit cash (English and Lira) so that my total amount was met for July in regard to the residency rules. I worked more until it was time to face Carol’s scales at Fat Club. After 17 weeks away and without my own kitchen I knew I should not expect miracles but I was certainly hoping I’d managed not to put too much weight back on. I was pleased to see I had only put 0.1kg (0.2lb) on since last week and just a total of 1.4kg (3lb) in the time I’d been away from Dalyan. My last Dalyan Fat Club weigh-in had been at the beginning of March and now I was just 2.1kg (4.6lb) over my target. That wasn’t too bad, although I was off to the UK in 5 days time so I couldn’t see it being easy to stick to the plan there. At Jamie’s, the guys were back and we were booked in to celebrate Mark’s birthday with a fancy meal out at Le Bohème that evening. I had to close up my outdoor office as the wine was being poured and the guys were having a dip in the pool. Nanny Kay and Hannah joined us at the villa for a cheeky pre dinner drink. When we arrived at the venue, there was a lady outside having some sort of allergic reaction which Mark and Hannah went to help with while ex nurse Nanny Kay and I swerved the situation and went on inside.
Le Bohème was very nice and we had a lovely table where Emma and Yusuf were already waiting for us. We shared the beautifully presented mixed mezes for a starter and had some white wine between a few of us. For main I chose the chicken with halloumi, spinach and potatoes and it was really tasty. I was thoroughly impressed with all the food, the service and the ambience of Le Bohème. I think my share of the meal came to about 1600 lira (£38.55), including thirds on 2 bottles of good wine. It was more expensive than where I usually eat but not extortionate for what we had and I would certainly recommend for a special occasion or treat. After the meal some of us went to Aşkın’s bar for another drink and to round off the lovely evening. A round of 3 drinks came to a reasonable 450 lira (£10.84) and is definitely one of our go-to bars. Back ‘home’, I was meant to set my alarm for tomorrow as my parents were leaving for the airport at 7am.
On Monday 1st July I did some work first thing and then joined my parents, Adam, Kath & Kate on the yellow boat trip to Köyceğiz. Like an idiot, I forgot to take my phone so there were no photos of the day out. Kate and I headed to the market as soon as we got there while everyone else went for a drink. I bought what I would have got from the market in Dalyan on Saturday, if I’d not missed it; strawberries and a bit of veg. At Carrefour, I bought 2 bottles of Prosecco for 720.05 Lira (£17.35) ready for tonight as Jamie and the boys had invited me, and Nanny Kay, for dinner again. For lunch we all ate at Tuana where I had a chicken burger and some lemon soda as I didn’t fancy alcohol, for a change. I nipped to the supermarket on my way back for some treats for the house and bought the following, prices in Turkish Lira;
We had a lovely chilled out evening at Jamie and Drew’s, with lots of laughs and a very tasty chicken salad for dinner. Drew’s homemade croutons were definitely a hit, Nanny Kay’s chocolate brownie with jelly was so good and I really enjoyed the meal.
I woke up early on Tuesday 2nd July and had tea and toast for breakfast. Tomorrow was weigh day and I’d completely gone off track this week with the food and booze. Jamie and the boys were off on a trip for Mark’s birthday, just local, but I was going to spend the day with Norman and Edna. I did some washing and then got on with some work. Edna wanted to help send some emails and got on my knee to get nearer the laptop. By 9am I was in the newly kitted out köşk enjoying the fresh air while I worked. I saw an unusual critter on the table and the temperature shot up to 35°C in the shade. In the afternoon, I attempted to arrange to meet up with our elusive pool and garden man but, unsurprisingly, he wasn’t forthcoming. Our tenants were arriving again in a few days and I was concerned that Captain Caveman’s apartment complex still looked a mess and it was getting very frustrating. I worked some more in the afternoon and in the evening I was meeting my parents for our last meal in Dalyan. They were off to Göcek tomorrow with their friends so I needed to say bye to them tonight. They would fly back to England on Thursday morning but I would see them in Sheffield in July.
After feeding the dogs and watching Norman confidently patrol the property perimeter, I went to call for Ma & Pa. I still needed to see Sonuç to pay hım the £30 (or 1200 lira) that I owed him for the airport pick up when I arrived, so I popped over to his new office. It was very smart and looked good. Our next stop was for a cheeky drink in Cafe Ivy where they do a nice white wine at a reasonable price. For dinner we decided to try Sea Breeze, as we know the owner, Suha, from when he was a waiter at Bistro Blue restaurant. It was the day of a football game that we wanted to avoid so it looked like a nice quiet place to eat. An older waiter took our order and we decided not to have starters. We ordered a bottle of house red wine which was 750 lira (£18) for the cheapest Buzbağ brand. We got a bottle of water to share for 80 lira (£1.93) and we all had a steak. My parents had onion steaks, I had a blue cheese steak and the price was 850 lira (£20.48) each. When it was served, it was presented on wooden boards which I really don’t like so I asked for a spare plate and transferred it over. It’s very common in Dalyan to serve meals on wooden boards but I find it not only looks bad, it’s unhygienic and impractical, especially if having a sauce. This was evidently not the cheapest place in town but the food quality and taste was excellent. We all really enjoyed our dinner but I felt a bit uneasy about the waiter and wondered if he regularly worked there. He asked us to put a review on Trip Advisor before we’d finished and, when he cleared the plates, he ate a leftover vegetable from Dad’s plate. This was the first time this had happened to me ever in any restaurant and it did take me by surprise. I usually do leave reviews but this then put me off doing one and I haven’t bothered. I paid the 3,380 lira (£81.45) on my credit card and Ma gave me cash so I could continue to add money to my Turkish account to keep up the residency requirements. I didn’t think £27 each for a decent meal was too bad and it did include a free appetiser of olives, warm bread and dips. I wanted to get back for Norman and Edna so I invited my parents over for a nightcap. We went to Yaman Büfe off licence on the way and bought a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine for just 590 lira (£14.22) – and we splashed out on Angora. Dad and I shared the red, Mom had some of the white while we had to pretend to give Edna red. I was giving her water from a glass behind my red wine but when she realised we were hoodwinking her, she wasn’t too happy. It was gone 11.30pm when my parents left and we said goodbye – Norman had already fell asleep but Edna came to say farewell, unaware she wouldn’t see them again until September.
I’d planned on going to the weekly Dalyan market on Saturday 29th June, however, I had work to do and it was too hot by the time that I’d finished. For lunch I joined my parents at the Kefal tea garden where I had a lovely chicken sandwich and some lemon soda. After lunch I went over to Captain Caveman’s apartment complex to better inspect the garden so that I could let the pool and maintenance company know that I wasn’t happy with the lack of work being done. Back at Jamie’s villa, Norman and Edna had been in the pool with the boys and were trying to keep cool. I had a shower and then got ready for a dinner at ‘home’. I’d been invited to dine al fresco with Jamie, Drew, Nick & Mark and we had a delicious chicken pesto pasta dish with garlic bread. I’d drank too much yesterday so I kept it to just one glass of wine with dinner and then retired for an early night. I still wasn’t caught up on sleep from missing a night of it when I came from Vietnam.
I worked all morning and until 2pm on Sunday 30th June before heading off to meet Kate at the bus station. Kate had suggested we go to Günlüklu restaurant for lunch, where she’d been told there was some music on. It sounded good and it was too hot to walk so we got the bus. Kate and I had totally got the wrong end of the stick where the music was concerned as it wasn’t even in the restaurant part. There was a small copse in the nearby woods where a stage area had been made, ready for a bit of an afternoon shindig but we had already ordered shandies and food. Kate and I shared haydari, fava bean dip and bread with our beers and it was rather delicious. After eating, we walked to the area where we had seen a few familiar faces taking cooler boxes and fold-up chairs to see what we were missing. On first look we both agreed the gathering wasn’t for us today, it was already getting late and no musicians had started playing yet. Kate was wearing an all in one outfit which would not be conducive to peeing behind a tree, if needed either. We said hello to a few friends, walked to the underwhelming water wheel then left. I had to get back to feed Norman and Edna as the boys were on a day trip and wouldn’t be back until later. In the evening I finally got round to booking my appointment and paying £219.50 for a UK passport express renewal service. I had an appointment at the Passport office in London in 8 days! It was expensive but I wanted a guarantee it would be completed and in my hand the same day.
On Friday 28th June my parents and I had quite an adventure. Ma & Pa had booked the 3 of us on a Captain Boris boat trip for the day and I was so looking forward to it. I woke up at 6am feeling happy to have the temperature cooler than I was used to in Vietnam. By 8am it was still under 30°C outside but it was definitely getting hotter as I left for our day on the boat. Captain Boris is one of the more luxurious boat trips with exceptional food, hosted by the lovely Rebecca & Basrı. The cost was £40 per person and included a massive lunch with lots of different dishes. Rebecca was a bit miffed that they had 2 lots of bookings today and she had to go on the second boat, leaving 16 of us in the safe hands of Basrı and Anıl. We headed out to sea and, although there were parts where the sandbanks were high, we got through. The sea was very rough and I was glad I’d taken a precautionary sea sickness tablet, as did one other passenger. After we got to a nice calm bay we had a swim stop and there were crisps and dips to help ourselves to. A BBQ and full buffet (including prawns) was served for lunch just after 1pm and it was absolutely amazing. The prawns and the chicken casserole were definitely my 2 favourite dishes. Ma & Pa stuck to beers but I had rose wine and we were all having a great time with a fantastic bunch of random people. Just before 3pm, there was a bit of a disaster when something happened to the engine and the Captain instantly called May Day on the walkie talkie. I looked over the side and there seemed to be a fire or something causing a lot of smoke – it didn’t look good and we were out at sea in very choppy waves.
The food was fantastic
Short video of the boat
Captain Boris had to arrange for us to be rescued from our boat trip after we tried to get a tow but the waves were strong and Basrı needed to get out weight off this boat. Already he had neighbouring boats helping, including Princess of Ekincik who we were on last night and a cooperative, smaller boat. It became essential that we were going to have to climb over from our boat to the rescue one while bobbing about. I started to feel a bit worried for my parents; my mom has a dodgy leg and my Dad’s eyesight isn’t great. To be honest, I wasn’t sure my balancing skills stretched to straggling 2 boats of different heights while at sea. It was a bit of a to-do but we all made it – with all our bags! Boris and Anıl kept calm and efficient during the mini crisis and they got us all on to the cooperative boat safely. We got took off to the beach to wait for Captain Boris to get sorted out but unfortunately, we had forgotten to bring our shoes. Ma braved a walk to the toilet on the beach but the floor was red hot so I didn’t attempt it. By 5pm we had been rescued and were back on Boris’s Boat, the way we had got on but in less choppy waters. We saw yellow boat and also another Captain, Simon, who came by paddle board to say hello. We got towed to Magic Lake and Basrı insisted on a free bar to apologise and, of course, Dad and I made good use of this to help encourage other guests (a couple were first timers). We were meant to be back by 5pm but it was more like 6.45pm when we got off the boat. My Dad was on a mission to carry on the night but my Mom was insisting he’d had enough so we all went home.
Of course, Dalyan wouldn’t be Dalyan without a bit of drama and it turned out neither my parents nor I would stay in that evening. When I arrived back at Jamie’s, the 4 fellas (Jamie, Drew, Nick & Mark) were waiting for me to join them for a drink at Lukka bar. It was their Friday music bingo night and the boys were booked in for food. My parents had a shower and Dad decided they were going to meet up with other Dalyan Dwellers in Tapa and Tez bars. After a shower and change for me, I joined the guys for Lukka music bingo and it was brilliant. I had some cheesy chips and some wine, to see me through, I had a good boogie and a sing to the first half of the bingo. At the interval, Jamie had decided we were moving on to Sofra bar to enjoy the rest of the night but Mark and I decided to stay a bit longer to hear Joseph sing Sweet Dreams and have a sing-along to the start of the second half. At Sofra bar the rest of the gang had met up with some of the regular characters and were having a good time. I nursed a pint of beer for the rest of the evening as I’d overdone it but I managed to have a go on the karaoke and probably did a bad Adele or something. I bumped in to Jack, Stan and Nigel and I enjoyed watching Jack perform one of my old favourites, Psycho Killer. It was gone 1am when we finally went home and it was a good job I was working flexible hours for tomorrow.
On the morning of Thursday 27th June, I didn’t get out of bed until 8am Turkish time, but that was midday in Vietnamese time. By 10am I had set myself up for a working day at Books & Cookies, not far from where Captain Caveman’s apartment is located. It had AC, was very quiet for using it as an office, and had good Turkish tea. I treated myself to a savoury pastry for breakfast and got on with my tasks. By 1pm, I was peckish so I had a linden tea with some delicious homemade cookies. The owner was really lovely and we had a little chat. My bill came to 360 lira (£8.67) which I thought was reasonable.
By 3pm it was hot outside as I ventured to the bank. I needed to ensure I was depositing at least 26,000 lira (£627 at today’s rate of 41.5 lira to the pound), in order to keep my Turkish residency. On my way back ‘home’ to Jamie’s, I called in to see my parents who were on their balcony, and we had an Efes shandy. In the evening, I had booked the 3 of us on a moonlight boat trip with Princess of Ekincik. It was £30 each and included a BBQ dinner with a few swim stops in the lake and the sea. On our way to the boat my parents and I called in to check out the complex at Captain Caveman’s place to check the pool and grounds. The pool looked fine but there was no sign of any gardening company having removed old leaves or swept the floors in a while. The floor had not been sloshed down with water recently either so, I was disappointed with our pool and garden company.
On the boat we said hello to the other customers and got comfy as we sailed to Köyceğiz lake. A small Efes beer was 100 lira (£2.41) and a glass of wine was 150 lira (£3.61) which was more than what it was 4 months ago but prices and taxes had gone up a lot. To start, Ma & Pa had beers while I had a rosé wine to try it out and we had our first swim stop at just after 7pm. Our BBQ food was as amazing as I remember it being and Ismail cooked us a feast. A bottle of white wine was purchased to have with our dinner and, as I was a bit jetlagged, I felt quite tiddly. The boat trip was amazing and we all really enjoyed it, it was past 11pm when we got back.
My flight from Bangkok to Istanbul on Wednesday 26th June arrived 40 minutes early. I’d purposely not booked an earlier flight in case of delays, so now I had even longer to wait until my flight to Dalaman. Before 5am it was a very chilly 17°C and I was feeling the cold in the airport, even with jeggings and a fleece on. I retrieved my luggage and had a faff about with the trolleys which you have to pay for. My flight wasn’t until 12.15pm and I was feeling a bit jetlagged. I logged in to the free WiFi, which was easy to get at a kiosk using my passport, and let people know I was on track. I’d booked Sonuç to pick me up from the airport and he messaged to check all was as planned. At the terminal in Istanbul airport, I checked if I could drop off my bags earlier and to my delight it could all be done on the self service machines. I weighed my 2 hold cases which had lost 1kg since Saigon and were now 17kg and 7kg. Due to my tiredness, I completely forgot to take my laptop out of one of them and then proceeded to worry my case would get lost. My next bit of good luck was when I decided to go to the lounge, which I had booked for 2 hours before my flight. It was before 8am so I explained I was early and they checked to see if there was space on the 09:55 flight. It was already full so they told me I could still enter the lounge until my flight and didn’t seem to care I would be there for 4 hours. There is no alcohol in the Turkish Airlines lounge but it was breakfast time and I was really hungry. I’d been given a spicy dish on the plane which I couldn’t eat and the breakfast meal was omelette which I didn’t eat either. I got myself cherry juice, Turkish tea, herbal tea, water, croissants, pastries, bagels, cheese and olives and tucked in while using the free WiFi. The call to board came at 11.40am and the bus was directly from the lounge and half empty. I had chosen an aisle seat and we even got given a chicken sandwich and a water on the 80 minute flight. I arrived on time in to Dalaman and didn’t have to wait too long for my luggage, where I was glad to see my laptop had made it. Sonuç was waiting for me and carried the luggage, had water for me in the car and we drove safely to Jamie and Drew’s new villa. I had planned to stay there for a week or so and it was really kind of him as he also had other guests visiting. I was so hungover that I don’t remember much about that afternoon apart from seeing Norman and Edna, Jamie’s dogs, who seemed to be pleased to see me. The villa was gorgeous and I had a lovely twin room with an ensuite which I couldn’t wait to go to sleep in. I’d made it just in time for Fat Club but, unfortunately, it was cancelled this week. I had no idea about my weight but I did take my measurements after a much needed shower; Bust no change, Waist +1cm, Hips -1cm. I had a glass of wine with Jamie, Drew and their house guests, Nick & Mark, before heading over to see my parents, who I hadn’t seen since January. The weather was nice and warm but definitely cooler than Phong Nha.
That evening, we had our first meal together at Duble, one of our favourites. We all had the chicken soup as it’s so good, then I had a chicken shish, Mom had fish and Dad had a chicken casserole. Ma & Pa had beers but I stuck to soda water and we had 2 lots of fresh bread. The whole bill came to 1,720 lira (£41.25) which worked out less than £14 for a starter and a main plus drink and a free shot each. I’d expected prices to be worse given the moaning I’d read on Facebook so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t a late one as I had work to do tomorrow and I was desperate for sleep.
On Tuesday 25th June Captain Caveman was heading back to Phong Nha as he had a briefing in the evening. I was saying bye and flying back to Dalaman via Saigon, Bangkok and Istanbul. We ate the rest of our Mangosteen from Hoan for our breakfast and Captain Caveman decided he would come to Danang airport to see me off. We got a Grab taxi and went to check-in but, unfortunately, the woman on the Vietnam Airlines desk was not my friend. My allowance for all my flights was 25kg hold and at least 7kg for hand luggage. The domestic flight from Danang to Saigon didn’t specify that my 25kg had to be in 1 case but that rule was enforced as I tried to pass my 2 cases through. Captain Caveman came into his own when she refused them and instantly went in to ‘super-packer’ mode at top speed! I tried to hastily move my lacy red knickers and random dirty washing as he squeezed the contents of a case at 18kg and one at 7kg into the one case, with the laundry from my hand luggage. He triumphantly set it back on the scales and I thought he looked like he wanted a badge in recognition for it weighing 24.9kg. I managed to get an aisle seat so I was happy but I would struggle to carry that case at the other side. My international tickets both allowed me to take 25kg over 2 pieces so I could do a repack in Saigon. We said our goodbyes and Captain Caveman went to get a taxi to the train station for the 10.22am train to Dong Hoi. I went through the passport control and stopped at a shop to get a snack. I bought a croissant for 35,000VND (£1.09) and a pack of pomelo for 70,000VND (£2.18). The flight departed a little late and we landed in Saigon at gone 11am. I retrieved my bags and then rationalised the space a bit better by splitting the 25kg case back in to 2. I was meant to be getting a taxi to Kim’s house to go to eat pho, made by her mother. Keith (from Grimsby) was on standby to meet for a farewell drink too. The left luggage queue was chaos and it took me a long time to get to the front of the queue. When I reached the front there was a sign, pricing left luggage per item and a few ‘at owners risk’ notices displayed – and now I had 4 bags, 3 of which I wanted to leave. The cost of leaving luggage at the airport plus 2 taxi fares, teamed with having to check-in for the international flight in less than 4.5 hours, made me reluctant to leave the airport. I didn’t have a great track record with Saigon taxi drivers so I messaged Keith (from Grimsby) to ask his opinion. He had flown from Saigon recently and advised not to do it, the queue to leave Saigon had been long previously and had took over 2 hours to get through. I wouldn’t risk it for a delicious bowl of pho and a cheeky beer so I also messaged Kim to cancel. In the end, I had done the right thing as it didn’t feel long in the airport at all. I checked out the cost of a Burger King; a regular cheeseburger was 120,000VND (£3.74) so I didn’t bother. Instead, I spent 125,000VND (£3.90) on some cherry throat sweets and a pack of Mentos. At 4pm, I was peckish so I treated myself to a pack of crisps and a vegan baguette for 105,000VND (£3.27) from Puro Gusto and thoroughly enjoyed it. Once through security, which did take quite a while as Keith had warned, I splashed out on some Clinique moisturiser for $32 (£25) which I had been waiting to buy in a Duty Free. My next extravagance was a glass of red wine in Saigon Cafe, an airport bar, which cost a whopping 315,000VND (£9.82) and was the cheapest wine on the menu. It was very nice and I savoured it as I waited for boarding time. On the plane to Bangkok I had an aisle seat, the in-flight meal was a rather tasty chicken with veg and rice and a glass of red wine. I didn’t bother with any TV as the flight was ready to land as soon as we had eaten. We landed in to Bangkok an hour later than scheduled, it was raining outside and it was cold as we disembarked on to the shuttle bus. I only had 1 hour to get on the next plane, bound for Istanbul, which was quite a rush. I had a bad stomach so I had to go to the loo while in Bangkok airport and I was lucky to arrive at the gate in time. On the 3rd plane, I had a middle seat and I coped for quite a bit of the flight until the chap next to me, wearing a sunhat and earplugs, became more difficult to get past for toilet visits, so I moved to an aisle seat at the back of the plane. We were due to land at 5.25am tomorrow, Turkish time, where I had several hours to kill in Istanbul airport.
joloyolo 