On Wednesday 3rd November, after leftover pizza for breakfast, ma & pa came over around 12.30pm as we were booked in to Bistro Blue for lunch. I’d invited Ann along too, as we all enjoy it there, the weather was nice again so we decided to sit outside and we all ordered drinks and food. I decided just to have a main course but my parents shared some cheese rolls and Ann ordered onion bhajis as a side dish to the main. My Dad and Ann both had the chicken and bacon salad, Mom had a prawn salad and I had a rather filling beef wrap with chips. It was absolutely delicious and I couldn’t finish it all so I took 1 of the beef wraps home for later. It was our last Bistro Blue lunch of this season and we had a great meal with excellent company.
Unfortunately my parents had to go at 3.30pm because they were having some doors replaced and the workman was coming to do the fitting. Ann and I decided to call for a drink at Tez bar on our way home and then ended up having 2, as you do, sat in the sunshine. While we were there two lots of friends arrived who had not been introduced before so we left the 4 of them getting acquainted. I had the rest of my beef wrap leftovers for dinner and then decided I needed another early night, while my parents found that the doors were too short and had gone to Jiks for their dinner. I was asleep by 8.30pm but then the Jazz bar started their live music and I was awake at 10.30pm until 1.30am! Just typical when I had to be up relatively early tomorrow as we had plans.
The building work next door woke me up earlier than I would have liked on Tuesday 2nd November, the lovely sound of hardcore being dumped. My hangover was pretty bad as I’d drank 6 large glasses of wine last night, which is the most I’ve drunk in a long while. It was now officially the winter season here in Dalyan so our pool and garden man had drained the pool, he still hadn’t tidied any of the debris and litter left in the garden borders I noticed, when I went out for lunch with my parents. Dad had decided we would go to Yener’s Place who might be closing soon and the sun was shining again so we could sit out with a river view. We sat outside even though the leaves were falling from the trees quite a lot now but we were catching the sunshine while we still could. My parents went for one of their favourite lunchtime meals, tuna sandwiches and I decided to see how an İskender kebab would go down with this hangover I had, especially as quite a few people had recommended I try the one at Yener’s. It was good but gave me a bad stomach after eating only half so I took the rest home then ate the rest of it once I felt better in the afternoon.
Mom and I went to Migros supermarket for some essentials while Dad had already gone home. At the shop I bought the following items, priced in lira:
1 tub of quark 6.90 2 bottles of Activia probiotic drinks 7.50 1 pack of sanitary towels 10.00 24 toilet rolls 29.92 1 box or washing capsules 47.50
Total spent 101.82 lira (£7.60)
Vanessa had mentioned that she has probiotics every morning to try to help with her dodgy tum so I thought I’d have a go too. That evening Vanessa came over with a bottle of wine and we decided to get a Pizza 48 takeaway. We ordered a salami and mushroom one and a beef, onion, and peppers one on the deal that comes with chips and a can of pop. I also decided to try the chicken nuggets and we paid half each for the takeaway. When we got home they hadn’t given us the chicken nuggets we ordered and paid for but I didn’t have any credit on my phone to message them to let them know. The pizza was good but we couldn’t manage it all and I couldn’t manage much wine either as I’d had too much the previous night. Vanessa and I did have a good laugh putting the world to rights and planning to have some fun while both her and her husband, Matt, are in Dalyan.
The month started with cloudy and rainy weather on Monday 1st November and I woke up, feeling chilly, to a photo from Captain Caveman of a cute frog on the window at Elements Collection. I was missing waking up with Captain Caveman and having the weird wildlife to look at in Phong Nha – it had been a while since I’d seen Carrot, the dog, heard the geckos having an argument or seen a beautiful butterfly or dragonfly. I had my cornflakes with milk for breakfast and Captain Caveman sent me the bill for the earthquake and home insurance policy to pay because he has no access to his online banking in Turkey. It cost 1311 lira so around £100 for the year and is just a basic policy. I tried to find out how to get more photo and video space on my wordpress joloyolo blog but it turned out that without upgrading to the business plan I can’t, so I wasn’t sure what would happen with that once the space I had left got used. I finished off last night’s pide and salad as a second breakfast and for lunch I nibbled on cheese, olives and gherkins. I had a couple of visitors in the afternoon, 2 baby pigeons who were actually quite sweet and they just looked at me through the balcony door. My mom had decided she was going to be cooking at home tonight as she had some meat to use up so I made a chicken and mushroom pasta for my dinner which was really delicious, I had 2 portions of it before we went out.
The intention was that we would just go for one drink, maybe two at the most. Because in November lots of establishments will close for the winter, or even for a holiday before they reopen for the winter season, we were keen to visit places before they closed and also find out last dates for those that were closing. I suggested we walk up to Aşkın’s for a drink and when we got there, all dressed in our winter wear, we had a drink and sat chatting. Aşkın let us know that after this weekend he was going to open just at the weekends and we ended up having 3 drinks in there. The wine is good quality and they give free tasty bar snacks, the staff are friendly but not too imposing and they have comfy seats so I like this place. On our way home we accidentally decided to have 1 more (last) drink at Bistro Blue and we sat outside because we were wearing warm clothes. They were also going to be closing at the weekend and so we only had 1 week left of being able to come to one of our favourite bar and restaurant places. There was a couple sat inside and I happened to ask them if they wanted the door open or closed, I recognised their accent and asked where they were from. Would you believe it? They were from Sheffield – the night was about to get a bit more lively! We had a right old laugh talking to Wendy and Greg and then Tina joined us, after she had been to the quiz night at nearby Wonky’s, to join in the fun. When Işmail, the flower man, came by Wendy even bought Mom and I a beautiful rose, which was such a nice thing to do. Annie and Selahı also joined us and were the perfect hosts, as well as the staff being super efficient and friendly, as always. I didn’t even remember the next 2 drinks and getting in after 2.30am! I didn’t quite recall booking in for lunch and dinner later in the week, or walking home from Bistro Blue. Apparently, my dad was so drunk and my mom had trouble getting him home to bed. It was certainly one of those nights!!
My Google searches in October were far fewer than usual and were all in Turkey. Here’s the list in alphabetical order:
1. Antalya to Dalyan in km 2. Activia probiotics 3. Allergy testing 4. English to Turkish 5. English to Vietnamese 6. Flight Radar 7. Grand Prix 8. Naïve Melody (this must be the place) by Talking Heads 9. Online jobs 10. Trainline 11. Virtual assistant jobs 12. Weather 13. worldlifeexpectancycoronavirus
There was some excitement on Sunday 31st October as I was about to meet up with a good friend from Sheffield, who I’d not seen for almost 2 years. I woke up and was looking a bit better for having slept in and I had my cornflakes for breakfast without any issues. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was doing well in Phong Nha and didn’t really seem to be missing me too much. I was missing him but I played it cool and pretended I’d been too busy to notice even though I was missing his cooking and foot tickles a lot! It was a bit cooler today but it wasn’t raining yet, as predicted, although I did get my warm slippers and the old raincoat out. Vanessa and I had arranged to meet for a Lukka bar Sunday dinner at 2.30pm and when I got there she was already there with a white wine and soda – we were so pleased to see each other and we did have a hug! Mehmet could see that I might need more than a glass of wine and so I got a bottle of red wine while we caught up on quite a few things; family, health issues, Dalyan plans and lots of digressing in-between. We both had the roast beef Sunday dinner and it was really good, this time I managed to eat almost all of it and still have room (after a good rest) for the apple crumble and ice-cream. We both have similar stomach issues and both think we have food allergies/intolerances so when I told Vanessa my plans to get tested after being here 6 weeks, she was also up for joining me. The gravy, cauliflower cheese and Yorkshire pudding are usually a no-go for me but I was pretty good after eating it all. My parents joined us for a drink, by which time we were merry, Sarah and Katrina had also sat down next to us and I couldn’t finish my wine. We decided to leave Lukka with my wine being saved behind the bar with my name on, Vanessa went home and I said I’d join ma & pa for dinner, even though I was still quite full from lunch.
They had chosen to go to Kebapçı Yusuf again and it’s always excellent service with great food at very reasonable prices. I had a mixed pide but had to take more than half of it home, my mom had a chicken shish and dad had meatballs, we shared some chips and they gave us a complimentary salad which I took half of home too. My parents, who hadn’t been drinking in the afternoon decided to continue their night but I just couldn’t carry on so I took my leftovers and went home. Instead of being out doing anything Halloween related (which I don’t celebrate anyway) I was in bed by 8.30pm reading a post on Facebook that reminded me that, although I wouldn’t have to automatically self isolate in England when I land, if anyone tests positive who have been on any of the same planes, I would have to – that was a bit rubbish as I could see in various Facebook groups that it seemed to be quite a common occurrence!
The end of October had definitely come round very quickly and it was hard to believe that I had been in Turkey for almost 6 weeks. I had been living an almost normal life with less walking than I’d have liked and more alcohol than probably wise. Having said that, I was 0.5kg lighter on the last day of October than I was at the beginning. I’d been lucky enough to meet up with friends and was organising more of that right through to the end of the year. I’d visited more new places and revisited old favourites with the highlight of the month being getting to see my parents again for the first time since 25th October 2019! Of course I wished Captain Caveman was able to be here in Dalyan with me, enjoying all the trips and good times but I also understood that it would not be that easy for him to return to Vietnam and we could not put his job at risk, I just hoped we were lucky enough not to have to wait a whole year to see each other again. There were still things I missed about being in Phong Nha that I had to keep putting to the back of my mind, knowing that coming to Turkey was the right thing to do and had ultimately meant I could become a resident here, in Dalyan. This blog was doing well and had 353% more views this month than the previous one, I was now looking in to ways I could monetise it without compromising it too much, ready for next year. In October the top countries for viewers were UK, Turkey, Vietnam, Netherlands, Australia and USA and it was good to see a couple of new countries popping up on the stats, including a couple of views from Azerbaijan.
People I knew seemed not to be following the Corona numbers any longer, due to various reasons, but I couldn’t shake that habit off and checked daily. Here’s a Corona data October summary for the 3 countries that have an impact on me and the people close to me:
Vietnam: October Cases 130,367 October Deaths 2,782 October Recoveries 211,503 October mortality rate 2.13% Total Cases 921,122 Total Deaths 22,083 Total Recoveries 820,334 Total mortality rate 2.4% Population 98 million
Turkey: October Cases 850,000 October Deaths 6,557 October Recoveries 880,000 October mortality rate 0.8% Total Cases 8 million Total Deaths 70,611 Total Recoveries 7.5m Total mortality rate 0.9% Population 85 million
UK: October Cases 1,200,000 October Deaths 3,970 October Recoveries 1,040,000 October mortality rate 0.33% Total Cases 9 million Total Deaths 140,632 Total Recoveries 7.36 million Total mortality rate 1.56% Population 68 million
In Vietnam the number of Corona cases in October were a third of the number in September which was good news that the strict lockdowns were definitely reducing the number of cases, it was reassuring to see that the number of deaths in October were only a quarter of the number of deaths in September. The number of recoveries were less in October to the previous month and the mortality rate had reduced too. A good news story but would it be short lived as the number of people with 2 doses of vaccine were still very low and now most of the lockdowns had ended people were free to move from infected areas to go back home, would this mean an increase and another wave for Vietnam? In Turkey, although the number of cases and deaths were still high, there was some good news; the number of cases and recoveries for October were 1,000 more than in September but the number of deaths were 1,000 less. The mortality rate had decreased too and hopefully as the winter months followed things would continue to improve. I still didn’t like not knowing how many cases there were where I lived but I guess it was still better than being told there were cases nearby when there wasn’t, like we were in Phong Nha. In the UK the number of cases in October were a 20% increase on September cases, the recoveries had increased too and the number of deaths were slightly less in October than September with the mortality rate showing a decrease. I just hoped it didn’t get any worse or result in lockdowns or travel limitations before I could visit. The world data was showing improvement with the number of cases and deaths dropping but the total number of deaths in the world attributed to Corona had now passed the 5 million mark.
My November was looking promising; I had another 12 days with ma & pa, I was finally going to find out what foods I was allergic or intolerant to, there would be more day trips, nights out, nights in and even my 2nd Pfizer vaccine so I had a lot to look forward to while Captain Caveman looked forward to getting on with his job at Oxalis!
It looked like it might rain on Saturday 30th October as I ate buttered toast for breakfast and read the Vietnamese news where an article lead me to believe my Vietnamese vaccines should be ok to enter the UK with: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20211030/uk-recognizes-vietnams-vaccine-passport/63868.html However, there was still the issue that I would be returning in to Turkey from England with Vietnamese vaccines and I didn’t trust that it would be recognised by check-in staff who would want UK or Turkish vaccination proof. I called round for my parents as we were off to the Saturday market at 11am, I still had quite a bit of stuff left as we weren’t eating at home much so I just bought onions, lettuce and plums, all for less than a pound. On the way back we called in the Şevikoğlu supermarket where I bought vinegar so that I could make pickled red cabbage, which I love!
After our browse around the market we decided to have an impromptu lunch at Bistro Blue, we always enjoy a meal there and it still looked like rain so we were hoping to get stranded. We sat outside but were near to the canopy should it rain and we all ordered steak salads and drinks. I had been looking forward to a steak and blue cheese salad for a couple of years now so I was excited, my stomach had been fine for a while now and I was going to continue to eat what I wanted. It tasted even better than I remembered it and, as the staff took the chair cushions inside, we ordered more drinks and I moved undercover.
It then fined up and we ordered desserts which was definitely a bit ambitious for me as I couldn’t finish all of my brownie. Mom and Dad did well with their sundaes and I think Dad ate his limoncello pud quicker because it had booze in. I often get a bad stomach when I have chocolate brownies and today it happened again.
While all this enjoying ourselves was happening I was having our apartment cleaned and so I didn’t want to go back too early. I’d said not to wash the stairs because I find them too slippy when they don’t dry off but it wouldn’t be Turkey without a surplus of water all over the place when I got back and she’d done a lovely job of the cleaning. We all agreed that after such indulgence at lunch time we would be staying in tonight, I knew whatever I ate for dinner had to include lettuce as I had loads of it. I had a nice sandwich and we cancelled plans for a boat trip tomorrow – our province of Muğla had heavy rain and floods forecast for the rest of the weekend.
I woke up loads of times all through the night and in the early hours of Friday 29th October because of my achy arm from my Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday. While still in bed I read the news, including an article from Vietnam which stated the obvious but which seemed to be reporting a common problem, even here in Dalyan, that people think that if they are vaccinated they can’t spread Corona, when in fact it could be easier to spread it because of lack of symptoms, here’s the info: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20211029/uk-study-finds-vaccinated-people-easily-transmit-delta-variant-in-households/63840.html There was also and interesting read in the UK about having 3 jabs, which I found useful given my own situation: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/travel-vaccine-three-jabs-b962139.html I had a filling breakfast of cornflakes, toast, grapes and a plum and I had got some chicken curry out for later before our usual Friday night out. The building site next door was also coming along pretty quickly as the wooden shuttering was put up around the sides for the ground floor and I was curious to find out if it would be someone’s home, I hoped it wouldn’t be a noisy bar. I decided to have the chicken tikka masala with potato wedges, it was delicious and a good meal to have before music bingo at Lukka bar. Penny and Phil were already there and we joined their table, the bingo this week was a bit more tricky because it was Halloween themed and some of the songs were alien to us all but we still had a good laugh and I won the first round which was a drink (a nice glass of red wine), then Penny won the second round which was a gift from Maizie Moo. Mehmet is so funny at reading out the answers although his English pronunciation is getting better each week and so not as funny when he says it correctly. The place got wild later on with some more excitable customers getting a bit carried away on the homemade dancefloor and one customer had his top off, it was hilarious as most of the local expat community frowned upon these unruly holiday makers. It was great that Penny had won as she’s been coming for weeks and it’s her first time of winning but even she was not up for half naked spanking dances.
Debbie (Darling) had arranged a private boat trip for a few friends, including us, on Thursday 28th October with Captain Turgay. His boat is certainly one of the livelier ones and is renowned for having more of a party atmosphere, than a relaxing scenic day out. My arm really ached this morning from the jab but I had no other side effects at all and my parents arrived at mine early and excited for the boat trip. We were very lucky to have gorgeous weather and it looked to be a lovely day out with friends. The attendees were Debbie (Darling), Ann, me, Mom, Dad, Sue, Pamela and Mark, 2 of them had been drinking until the small hours this morning and were either still drunk or hungover. Debbie (Darling) had called for a beer on the way and had one as soon as she got on the boat – she’s hardcore!
We went down the river to the back of the beach where my parents and I got off the boat and went for a short walk to the sea. Dad had a bit of a dip but we didn’t and we saw friends Ray and Phil who were with the Riverbums, clearing litter from the area. I missed joining them this year but my leg still wasn’t good enough to be able to walk far or get on and off the boat for litter collecting, I’d even needed help to get off of Turgay’s boat to go on to the beach. We spotted 2 pairs of children’s shoes and wondered what had happened to the owners, had they forgotten the shoes or was there a more sinister reason for the shoes being left?
I hadn’t bothered with breakfast and my first drink of the day was bang on midday – a glass of white wine and soda back on the boat. Mark and Turgay had a crab which looked like it was smiling, there was a big turtle in the water and I struggled to get a good photo of it but it was swimming really near to the boat and my Mom once she got in, luckily it didn’t try to bite her bum. We had a boozy day, a great lunch and some good tunes to dance to. The buffet lunch consisted of meatballs, chicken, cornbread, broccoli, amazing garlic mushrooms, salads and great chips – it was as delicious as always. Turgay even caught fish with his bare hands but he let them go by throwing them at Debbie (Darling). Pamela was getting a flight back that night (and wasn’t drinking) so when we returned to Dalyan for us to get off there was an option to stay on the boat to go to the lake. We had already agreed to leave to meet friends that night for dinner and my mom was worried that my dad would be too drunk and injure himself so we left all the rest of them heading up to the lake to get right on it.
We decided to stop off for 1 more drink at Tez bar where people were coming out for a pre-dinner drink and it was pretty clear we were already sozzled and would be going nowhere later. We saw Penny and Phil who were with friends and arranged to join them tomorrow for music bingo at Lukka which was now a regular hobby! Having realised we were too drunk to do anything else with the evening we ended up changing our plans and getting a pizza at Pizza 48 instead. The pizzas were great and I took some of mine home so I could have the rest for breakfast tomorrow.
I was excited to be getting my 1st Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday 27th October at the Dalyan clinic, just along the river. I arrived 5 minutes early just as the nurse was going off for a sit down with her cup of Turkish tea. The weather forecast had said cloudier today but by the time my appointment of 9.30am was due, it was sunny and a few of us were stood outside. The nurse said to come back at 10am so I said I will wait where I was, then the doctor, who I had seen a couple of times now, said 10 minutes. After 7 minutes we were called in to the waiting area inside the clinic and I had to give my phone number and my residency number to a woman who put it in to her phone and then was going to vaccinate me while standing up in the small queue – I’m a natural fainter so I asked to sit down. My bum had barely got on the seat and I was done and told to leave, they don’t mess about in Dalyan. There is no receipt or card given out, I asked what date I could have the 2nd one and was told to come back in 4 weeks. I walked home and made myself a turkey ham sandwich for brunch. I was extremely happy to have got my 1st Turkish vaccine. By 10.20am my arm ached already, it felt very heavy and I started to get tired before 12. My parents popped round to see how I was and I said I’d take a nap while they went to Jiks for lunch and I had decided to have curry and rice for dinner tonight so would stay in and take it easy because we had plans for tomorrow. I managed to eat my dinner and go to bed early. I was just nodding off to sleep when the nearby Jazz bar started playing very loud music which would go on for some time!
When I woke up on Tuesday 26th October I knew it was going to be a good day, my shoulder was much better and the cyst was only producing a very small amount of clear liquid. The building site next door was at the concrete floor pouring stage today which was interesting to watch. I had my breakfast outside in the sun on the balcony and read in the news that the Vietnamese daily Corona cases were down to 3,600 per day and 65 deaths – much better than before.
My stomach was still not great but I was able to function and went to meet Ann, Ali and Sharon (all Jamie’s friends) at Lukka bar. I just had a drink but they all ordered lunch which looked great. In the afternoon Debbie (Darling) came to meet me and we went to the Dalyan clinic to ask if we could have a Corona vaccination. The doctor told me that they only vaccinate in groups of 5 or 6 so I should come back tomorrow for the Pfizer vaccine at 9.30am but unfortunately she told Debbie (Darling) that she didn’t need a third one because here they are only vaccinating up to 2 jabs and no boosters yet so I was lucky to get booked in. This was all great news and it fitted with my plans for me to be classed as vaccinated in Vietnam, Turkey and the UK so all would be fine for my visit (and return) to England in December with 3 days spare after the 14 days since my 2nd Pfizer vaccine! I walked back along the river to Lukka bar for a wine, a last drink with Jamie’s mates as Ali and Sharon were heading home tomorrow, it was a nice civilised afternoon with a lovely evening out planned.
I had booked a table for 6 of us at Egehan Boutique hotel for dinner with Maddie, Angela and Nick and as an added bonus Onur was playing live music there. I’d not been before, I had heard good things about the food and it was one of Maddie’s favourite restaurants in Dalyan. The place itself is very lovely with an intimate fine dining kind of vibe going on and excellent toilets. The tables were by the pool and the menu was quite fancy but not particularly expensive, we all decided to have wine and most of us had starters. We got a cute little amuse bouche to get us going with some fancy bread crackers, I had prawns to start, Dad and Nick had chicken soup and Mom had what looked like an amazing octopus dish. Most of us went for the steak for mains except for Dad who fancied a spot of salmon. The wine and chat flowed easily, the music from Onur was delightful and really made the night special with some expertly chosen numbers which Onur knew were Dad’s favourites. Maddie amazed us with her rendition of Valerie as she’s got a lovely singing voice. As the night cooled down and Dad tried the crème brûlée for dessert I got one of the blankets with toddles on, which I absolutely loved as they were so cosy. My stomach wasn’t too good still so I had to limit the amount of wine I had to just a couple of glasses but I really enjoyed the evening and I definitely would like to eat there again. We walked home with a stray dog following us, as is often the case on the streets of Dalyan. He was such a cutie and when he picked up a discarded disposable mask off the street I told him to drop it and he did – he was probably a pet that had been dumped.
By the time I got up on Monday 25th October I was feeling a bit better and quite hungry. Despite the 5 or 6 imodium tablets and a Gastropulgite yesterday, my stomach was still not good but I forced down my dinner from last night. It was very nice but it didn’t stay in my stomach and I had to have a little rest and drink lots of water. It was a cloudy day and I wanted to go to the bank but I couldn’t risk being away from a bathroom for long enough. Mom had suggested we should go somewhere cheap for dinner as we had been going out quite a lot but when we referred to the list of places we still haven’t tried my parents thought we could give Caretta Caretta restaurant a try. It’s named after the famous turtles but they don’t eat turtle here and it’s situated in the square near to the mosque. When we arrived the restaurant was very busy and had lots of families in, I decided to have a glass of red wine, hoping my stomach could handle it. The menu is vast and so Dad and I weren’t sure what to choose at first, Mom ordered lamb chops and I thought trying traditional Turkish dishes would be a good idea. Dad ordered the Çeltik kebab which was beef and chicken on a bed of chipstick style fried potatoes in a tomato sauce and I had the beyti kebab which was meatballs wrapped in bread and covered in tomato sauce. We were given complimentary lavaş (balloon bread) which I only had a very small amount of because of my stomach. Mom enjoyed her meal and said the lamb chops were beautiful and tender, Dad wasn’t keen on his as he said the tomato sauce was too sweet for him and had maybe chose the wrong dish. My beyti kebab was nice and I liked that it came with a side salad and nice chips and rice, the tomato sauce was a bit too sweet for me too but I still enjoyed the meal. After eating I suggested a drink at Bistro Blue and we had a couple sat outside there, even though it was starting to be a bit colder at night now, 19°C.
After 34 days of eating all the things I thought I could be allergic to, without much reaction, I thought I was safe to go on a full day trip on Sunday 24th October – I would be very wrong! When I woke up I saw some news from Vietnam and was glad to hear from Captain Caveman that everyone in Phong Nha was safe, unfortunately people in Tam Ky hadn’t been so lucky – here’s the article: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20211024/vietnamese-province-evacuates-2500-residents-due-to-floods-landslides/63742.html. In Dalyan we were very lucky as the weather was dry and it was meant to be hot later in the day but at 8am it was pretty chilly, as I got ready for my pick up for the Mediterranean Highlights trip with Volkan Adventures. Our friend, Murat, picked me up and there was already a couple in the minibus. The next stop was to pick up ma & pa who were also very excited for this trip as it included a visit to Patara, where none of us had been before, and was also the last one of this particular trip for the year. We continued to pick up the rest of the customers which included a family of 7, a single lady and our friend, John. Then we were off for our short drive to the first stop which was for a hearty Turkish breakfast in a nice little spot. When we arrived Murat explained that we were early and the staff were getting our breakfast ready so we had a bit of time to take some photos. The sun wasn’t out yet and so we were all a bit cold, this was the coldest I’d been for a while and I had to put dad’s jumper on over my hoody, while John got out his travel towel and a buff. We sat at the breakfast table and we all got a hot drink just to warm our hands up and then the food started to come, there was a lot of it. I had a precautionary Gastropulgite sachet in case anything gave me a bad reaction then I tried a spinach filo pastry, a small amount of cheese, honey, jams, bread, chips and a savoury doughnut type of thing and it was all very lovely. Unfortunately my stomach decided this was the time to not accept such a feast of a breakfast and I was feeling a bit out of sorts after 2 toilet visits before we left for our next stop.
Unfortunately, the main highlight of the Mediterranean Highlights trip was closed. Murat explained that we were no longer able to visit Patara ancient town or beach and so our next stop was going to be Kalkan. I’d not been before and it had been some years since ma & pa had visited the town so we were a little disappointed but still fine as we know Murat and Volkan’s tours are usually really good. We hadn’t been travelling long when Murat stopped the minibus and went to a small shop to get waters and a sweet treat for everyone. I followed him for an impromptu toilet visit in the staff squat toilet which I was very grateful for, my bad leg wasn’t such a fan though. I felt a bit better and took one of mom’s imodium instant tablets, even though I’d already had one of my normal ones. A bit further along the journey we had a quick stop at the roadside to admire a view, by which time my mom said I looked grey and I felt terrible. I got off as I thought I might be sick and wasn’t sure whether I should ask to stay there and get a taxi to come to take me home while the others continued on. Murat reassured me that it wouldn’t be a problem to continue on and they would stop at any (or every) services they could for if I needed the toilet. The next couple of stops had very good western style facilities which I took full advantage of, all had toilet paper and soap, one even had toilet seat liners, but I wasn’t feeling any better. As everyone had a complimentary choc-ice I had to head back in to the toilets and this time I was vomitting. On the bus I put my mask on, had my hoody on and tried to sleep for a bit, but I felt cold even though the temperature was warm.
When we got to Kalkan it was a picture postcard type of town with very steep winding streets and a harbour, the beach was pebbled and it was nice and sunny as we headed to a restaurant called Gusto for our (included) lunch. Obviously, I could barely look at the menu so I had just a soda water and no lunch while my parents ordered a beer each and chicken wraps for their’s. Next to me were the grandparents of the family, who both had a mussel casserole (that didn’t help my sickly feeling one bit) and the mother of the family sat opposite me, had calamari. Others ate halloumi salad, pasta, noodles and generally everything I thought best to avoid. Although lunch was included the drinks were not and so when my mom went to pay for the beers and soda I was astonished that the beer was 45 lira (£3.44) and the soda 20 lira!!! This was almost twice the price of Dalyan and so rather than go somewhere else for drinks we decided to walk to the beach. Because both me and mom have bad legs we found it hard to walk on the pebbles so we decided not to go in the sea, Dad was going to but then he changed his mind and left the beach. I’d popped my shorts on and so had to hurry to catch up, then we walked back to where we started and bumped in to John. We had a little saunter along the harbour front, John got an ice-cream, I felt ill still but now there wasn’t really any going back and I didn’t want to ruin the day for my parents so we decided to carry on. I had more toilet visits and imodium, thinking I’d not be able to go for a week after this but they just weren’t working. One of the ladies on the trip said it could be the Norovirus which had been going round and I thought she might be right at first, or food poisoning but everyone ate the same and they were all fine.
I managed to get to Kaş where Murat lead us on some steep streets and we had a little tour of the lovely town. He also pointed out a meeting spot for later and gave us free time to do what we liked. I thought I’d try to check out some ideas for a girls weekend away as everyone was up for a visit to Kaş but I didn’t get very far as I found it harder on my leg than I thought I would. I found it difficult to concentrate on finding a place to go for a drink because I was trying to will myself to feel better too. My Dad’s eyesight was ok but he wasn’t forthcoming with suggestions and my Mom just said it’s up to us – all I wanted was to lay down and sleep! A lot of the places on the front were very pricey so we decided to go down the back streets but lots of places weren’t serving alcohol. Eventually I spotted a gorgeous little place called Frida’s and we plonked ourselves down. My parents had a couple of beers at a more reasonable price of 32 lira each and I avoided alcohol again. From there we had a short walk to the meeting point and then we walked to the bus as a group, we drove about 10 minutes to where everyone (but me) would eat our evening meal.
When we arrived it was clear that there would have been time better spent if we had got there an hour or so earlier as the sun was just setting and it was a lovely alcove beach with a nice spot for swimming. Some of the family on the trip still went in the sea but it was too dark to see where we were going for me and Dad. I had started to feel like I could probably eat but I had a word with Murat to ask if it would be possible to get my dinner (also included in the trip) to takeaway, which of course was fine. It was like torture for me when I had to dish out food to the others on the table and I really wanted to eat the garlic prawns but of course it wasn’t worth the risk – I had a 3 hour drive back to survive yet. As the evening was drawing to a close Volkan and his dance partner did us a few dances and they were pretty impressive. I drank only soda water (a bargain 5 lira) and willed myself to be able to make the minibus ride home without incident. At this last place, which was 10 minutes outside of Kaş, the drinks were normal prices and the food looked delicious, by this time I was looking forward to eating some of my doggy bag when I got home. The drive home was uneventful and we arrived back in Dalyan just before midnight – I was so ready for bed but I ate 2 small cubes of chicken shish, a slice of bread and some salad before bed. The cost of the day trip was £75 but it was a shame I had been too poorly to really enjoy it and I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see Patara. We even joked that instead of a Mediterranean Highlights blog, I would be writing a bog blog about this day! I looked forward to next season when we could enjoy some more of Volkan Adventures trips and be in better health.
On Saturday 23rd October I was very hungover, more building work was going on next door and I could have done without the sound of metal bars being cut and hammered into place. I joined my parents for the usual walk to the market where I bought the following items; Radishes Grapes Baby potatoes Plums Dragon fruit
The total spent was 66 lira (£5) of which about 50 lira (£3.80) was for the big dragon fruits – very expensive compared to only 5 lira for a lot of grapes. It was the opposite to Vietnam, where grapes are expensive and dragon fruit is cheap. I needed a hangover breakfast so I suggested we go to Jiks and it was well received by ma & pa. They both had tuna sandwiches, as they had already had breakfast but I had a bacon and mushroom sandwich which was so good! I managed to get on the E-devlet app, which had crashed yesterday, but once in it, I had no idea how to navigate the different sections so I gave up. For lunch I had plums, grapes, cheese, olives and some bread and then I decided to try something new for dinner – mushroom risotto made in the slow cooker and without wine or cheese in it! The risotto turned out pretty well and I enjoyed 2 portions of it! Today had been a nice easy-going day of recovery, ready for tomorrow’s excitement, as we were off on a day trip.
My weekend did not start out as I’d expected or hoped for, at all! On Friday 22nd October I had been in Turkey 1 whole month and had been able to indulge in all the food I wanted to, so of course the weight and centimetres were going to follow – I was 1 kg heavier than when I arrived in Turkey which isn’t bad at all. I was also going to get retested for allergies but I had to eat everything for at least 6 weeks in order to get an accurate result. I didn’t have any breakfast because I had a very important appointment in Muğla with Sonuç for my residency application. The workmen next door were already working early as I waited for Sonuç outside, he was on time and it felt cold. We had all our paperwork in order and after a long drive we arrived and I went in to the building. I had to show my HES code at the security on the door and give my name, Sonuç wasn’t allowed in and was on the end of a phonecall for if there were any questions as I sat in the waiting room. I never went in to the meeting room and the immigration man came out to me, looked over the paperwork, asked some questions about it and then went away. When he came back he said that they couldn’t agree to give me residency without more paperwork from the owner of the property. We got Sonuç on the phone and they spoke at length and I left with all my paperwork and tears in my eyes. There was already another girl blubbing away and I’d given her my tissues, while her mother consoled her.
Sonuç was waiting for me outside the Muğla immigration building as I left my residency appointment feeling upset and worried. Without the residency permit I am only allowed to stay in Turkey for 90 days (which would take me to 21st December) and then I’m not allowed to return for a further 90 days. This meant that when I leave Turkey for England in December I would not be allowed in to Turkey again until March. All sorts of concerns were going through my head about where I would be able to live as I can not afford to move back to the UK, my money is in a Turkish bank and the lira is so high at the moment that when I convert any of it to English it loses about half the value it was when I put it in the bank. It just wasn’t an option and neither was returning to Vietnam, as the country is still closed to tourists. Sonuç was calm and was looking at a piece of paper which the immigration officer had put in to my document wallet. He explained to me that we could come back and they would accept me if we could provide officially stamped copies of the extra documents they asked for. Sonuç said it was the only way and it had to be done now or the application would be denied and that would be it! After a couple of phonecalls and adding more stress to a friend who agreed to help me we were on for getting the extra paperwork and I was so overwhelmed I didn’t know what to say. We waited at a cafe where we got some breakfast and a hot beverage and before an hour had passed my friend had done everything we had asked, she had emailed the required documents at the stationers to Sonuç and we were driving to find a shop with a printer. When I went back in to the immigration office I had to wait a little while as it was fairly busy and I was so nervous, the official who I saw previously was there but my file was given to another man. After what was the longest 30 minutes of my life he came back and asked if I was requesting 1 or 2 years and took all of the papers away with him. Another 10 minutes later, if that, he came out with my official paper to say I had been accepted and that my residency card would arrive in 4 weeks, he kept all the documents and that was it. I was still sat there in shock and he had to tell me we were finished. Outside, Sonuç was waiting and we took a selfie, he even posted on Facebook that Dalyan was now stuck with me for 2 years!!! We were so happy and the drive back towards Dalyan was chirpy!
Our next stop was in Ortaca, back to the Devlet hospital to see the doctor about my cyst. By the time we got there the temperature had gone from 12°C to 32°C and I was hot. We couldn’t see the doctor because he was in surgery and the nurse wasn’t confident she would be able to give me the right advice so recommended we come back. We drove back to Dalyan and straight to Lukka bar where Sonuç had a tea and I ordered a celebratory red wine. I didn’t drink it yet as I now needed to go to the post office to get a password for an app on my phone called e-Devlet which is used for residents to book doctors appointments and access other apps for adding proof of vaccines in. I paid 2 lira and got a password then tootled back to Lukka where Ann had now joined us to help me celebrate. Once Sonuç had sorted the app out it crashed and we had to leave it in favour of celebrations that our stressful mornings were behind us. Sonuç had to go and I said thank you and farewell, I’m definitely glad I used him to do the residency or I would not have managed to have got accepted and he’s much calmer than me in a crisis. We ordered a Lukka bar lunch, Ann’s prawn spaghetti looked great and I had a gorgeous chicken and mushroom pasta dish.
More wines flowed in the afternoon and then my parents were passing and came to join us. After 1 more drink with them at Lukka we decided to go for dinner at Geçit restaurant, a firm favourite from previous years and one that our friend, Arif, had introduced us to. We had the complimentary lavaş with garlic butter, some olives to nibble on and a bottle of wine. Dad ordered soup, Mom had cheese rolls and I had garlic mushrooms for our starters, which were all lovely. For mains my parents both chose the lamb shank (Dad’s with mash, Mom’s with chips) which looked fantastic and they enjoyed it. I had an excellent pepper steak and I was so full that I could hardly finish the wine, also really good.
To finish off the celebrating of me becoming a Dalyan resident we went back to Lukka bar for the music bingo night where we sat at an indoor table next to the pool table and had a right old laugh and more booze. Mom won the 2nd round prize which was a liquid hand soap from Maizie Moo which was very lucky as she had needed to buy more soap! We finished off the night with Dad and I playing pool – I must have been drunk!
Thankfully, Thursday 21st October turned out to be a lot calmer and I was starting to feel better from the cyst, even though I still couldn’t wear a bra. I didn’t bother with breakfast because I’d eaten so late last night and was still full. The building work next door was now at the stage where the shuttering was going up and I noticed that the remaining bougainvillea was sprouting some leaves on one of the trees. I decided to take a few books round for my dad because they don’t have a TV or internet at their place and he spends his free time reading, he was already getting through the books he had. I made a list for shopping as I planned to go on the way back to grab something to go with lunch. Tonight I had arranged for us to go out with Maddie and her family but my parents had organised a night out with their friends and Maddie’s parents were still in Kaş, so we weren’t sure if it might end up being just me and Maddie. When I arrived at my parents’ apartment my Dad had decided he was going to go for a shave and a hair cut at the barbers and my Mom gave him some spending money to go with. She and I went to Migros supermarket together to get some shopping and then went back home.
My shopping, for all of you who love a nosey at my shopping trolley. Prices in lira, as usual;
Bread 2.00 Tomato puree 3.95 Small bin bags 6.50 Quark 6.90 Mushroom soup 7.95 Crisps 8.00 Big bin bags 8.95 2 tins of sweetcorn 10.52 1 bottle of white wine 56.90
Total spent 111.57 lira (£9.46)
I didnt realise sweetcorn can be pricey in Turkey, especially compared to Vietnam, and there was even 25% discount! On the other hand, can you believe that’s including a bottle of nice wine, too!?
I ate a very late picnic style lunch then managed to squeeze in a bit of blogging and another episode of You on Netflix. By the time I was leaving to meet Sarah for a drink at Tez bar the building work next door was in full swing with the metal grid work already being laid ready for the concrete pour. Sarah was already there when I arrived, a little late, she ordered an Efes and a cheese toastie while I treated myself to a blonde ale at 38 lira (£3.22) but it was really nice and I enjoyed it as Sarah chatted on and then Süleyman turned up and joined us. I didn’t stay long as the sun had gone in, I was cold in my shorts and I needed to get ready for tonight. In the end we decided we would postpone going to Egehan until the parents could join us, I’ve been wanting to try it for a while so it was a good idea to wait until we could all enjoy it together. I was also quite happy to have a dinner at home – a good portion of Lancashire hotpot, done in the oven with a sprinkling of cheese. Ma & pa chose to eat at Kebapçı Yusuf for a second time and stayed out having a lovely time with their friends for a lot longer than I could’ve managed – I dont know how they do it! Before bed I read some rather concerning news that the UK daily Corona cases were 52,000 (this time last week they were 45,000) and this started to worry me about it impacting my visit in 2 month’s time. I could not afford to catch it or be stuck in a lockdown in England and I hoped they would be able to get it back under control before it got too risky again.
joloyolo 