The continuing adventures of a blonde in Turkey

So the day dawned sunny and we were facing a 13hr bus ride to Kusadasi, via Bursa.  We were all dressed in super comfy clothes – leggings and jandals were the order of the day.  We were up early and after a small hiccup with the water (for some reason it was not turned on??) we were ready and rearing to go.  Due to a small mishap we were given a brand new bus and we were off.

I was pretty tired and looking forward to a snooze on the bus and some quality time with my ipod.  Our first stop was the ferry.  This was doubling as our first toilet stop.  I will admit that it had never occurred to me that there were going to be Asian style toilets in Turkey.  I had not really given it much thought.  So my first ever encounter with a squat toilet was on a ferry.  And I was busting to go.  So this self confessed princess got in there and did it.  It was not something that I want to repeat often, and that was the first and last time that I had done it to date.  Its harder for girls, we have to ensure that we don’t pee on ourselves.  Which I was happy to say that I did not.

As we pulled into Bursa which was to be our lunch stop, Alp our local guide cheerfully told us that the famous Ulu Camii Mosque which dates back to the 14th century, had burnt down the week before.  Gutted.  So we took a wander through the bazar and decided that we were going to be typical tourists and have McD’s for lunch.  It was quick and delicious, complete with McFlurry.  We sprinted back to the bus amidst a downpour to the warm safety of our bus.  It was on to Kusadasi.

We were quite lucky, when we arrived in Kusadasi, it was sunny and hot.  And our hotel was amazing.  Big rooms with balconies and a massive pool.  After being cooped up all day we were ready for a night out and some drinks.  We started by ordering cocktails by the pool.  I was just so hot that I was grateful for a cider.  However, I was not allowed it in a pint glass as normal, no no, I as a lady had to drink it out of a champagne flute.  Classy and hilarious.  The bar guys were again hopeless flirts. 

After dinner, and a gorgeous sunset, we walked the 45mins into the waterfront city.  It was a nice walk, warm outside and it was hard not to be enchanted by the sea right in your eyesight.  Its something that I miss in London, being so close to the sea.  We were lead to a bar called Kitty O’Sheas.  It was one of the girls birthdays so we were ordering cheap cocktails and getting ready to ensure that she had a great night.  Billy our guide bought her a cake and the night began to get a bit messy.  Jemma one of my new found friends jokingly (I think) wondered aloud if we could dance on the bar.  The words had barely left her lips and the bar staff were clearing it off and encouraging her up there.  This started a trend.  I believe that all of our tour at one stage or other were up there shaking it for all they had.  We were given T-shirts for free – with crazy slogans like ‘They say I was in Kusadasi but I don’t remember’ or ‘Kitty’s Crazy Chicks’.  I still have mine as a souvenir.  The staff there were all male and we were treated to a strip tease when the song ‘I like the way you move’ came on.  Hilarious.  We headed out just after midnight, and bartered for our taxi, Sam and I were in the hatchback boot, but I was glad not to walk the 45mins back uphill.

The next morning dawned a stunner as well.  And we were off to Ephesus.  I was excited as I love a good ruin and this is somewhere that I had heard about all of my life.  Many of our party were either too ill to get up, hungover, or just a bit jaded that morning.  It was hot even at 10am.  Sunscreen was needed and there was little shade.  A hangover would have been miserable.  We explored the ruins, there was a lot there, more than I expected.  Again I was surprised by the landscape, I really expected it to be like the desert, arid and dusty, but it was lush and green.  There were a few interesting things that happened there.  Our guide Alp told us about how he has a cat called David Gilmour and we saw photos of him.  He has an ID card.  This came up as all through Turkey there are manky cats and dogs that live on the street.  An Asian tour group were going mad over them and having their photos taken with them.  Ewwww.

One of our group who was young and very hung over stated that he didn’t get the big deal about a bunch of stones.  We advised him to skip the rest of Europe.  Another asked why the Black Sea was Black.  We were unsure why this was coming up at Ephesus.  Apparently there had been some confusion and he thought that we had been there on our cruise the day before.  Ummm no.  Nowhere near it.  But thanks for that!

I had Pooh Bear on one of these stones, when a middle aged Japanese man came past and got very excited about Pooh San.  He took a photo of him too, and then had his photo taken with him.  He was very sweet.

Pooh Bear at Ephesus

Again my mind was blown by the age of these structures and what was left.  We saw long drop’s complete with seats, we saw clay pipes, we saw fountains and prisons and tablets.  It was all a bit much for so early in the day and in that heat.  So we headed into the seafront area for lunch.  In what we were to realise was typical Turkey style, we ordered lunch and after an hour it still was showing no sign of showing up, so we cancelled our orders and headed out to explore.

 

Sunset from Kusadasi hotel

After a wander and a McFlurry, we headed back to the hotel, to laze by the pool.  Kusadasi is a nice little town, it’s a bit more relaxed given that it’s a resort town, you can wear shorts and singlets and the people don’t really mind.  The seaside is lovely and there are a few bazars there.  They are not too keen on haggling but stuff is cheap enough.  We decided to have a room party before heading out that night.  We got some chips and dip as well as vodka and lemonade.  It was a close call when we mistook Raki for Vodka, the shop keeper kindly helped us out.  Raki is made from the same stuff as absinthe apparently.  After my last experience on absinthe and seeing my friends spew on that in Amsterdam, I was in no hurry to get into that.  Once we had our supplies we lay by the pool for a while.  The sun was lovely, but not lovely enough for me to swim.  A bunch of us did, but I was content having a chat and a drink by the pool.  After a quick shower we were snacking and drinking and having photos with the amazing sunset before catching the bus back into town and back to Kitty’s.

This night in town, it got loose very quickly.  Our tour had the bar to ourselves that night.  There were three busloads of us there.  At 9pm, it’s way too early to see frank and beans of a man you don’t know up on a podium.  It’s far too early to be touched up by the male toilet attendant as well.  I was pretty warm and feeling a bit shit, so we sat outside in the cool and chatted to our guides and some of the other groups.  Then is when the fun began.  One of the younger members of our group (18 years) was dared to get EFES the beer brand tattooed on his butt.  Conveniently there was a piercing and tattoo parlour next to the bar.  We managed to talk him out of it, but a few of the group got piercings whilst we were there.  Again we bailed at about midnight, and had a kebab heading home, it was after they had been devoured that we found out that they were lamb intestine, but they looked good.  One of the girls drunkenly nudged a cat with her foot, which had us all in stitches. 

The next day was another early start – heading to Bergama and an early night before the big ANZAC oddessy.