G'day, how you goin'?

Turkey was immensely enjoyable. I loved the people, the landscapes, the culture and the food. I will treasure my time there for years to come. Though I was there for just over 3 weeks, I could easily spend another few months, as there was so much more to do and see that I barely touched on. So, rather than feeling like I’ve seen enough of Turkey, I feel just like I was at the beginning of my discovery.

From the apricot centre of Malatya, to the sweeping horizons of Mardin. From Adana to Ankara, Istanbul to Erzurum. Each town or city had its own identity and felt completely unique. Finding a favourite amongst these would be nigh on impossible.

I tried a Hamam at long last in Adana. It was a really enjoyable, thoroughly relaxing experience. I came away feeling completely refreshed with skin feeling tighter. The building itself was typical of the Hamam design. Several domes could be seen from outside, with several tiny, spherical glass windows, which presumably helped heat up the chambers. The walls inside were all white, and the seating was, as with the rest of the interior, made of an opaque-white marble. 

 

Each dome was a different chamber or room. There was the main entrance leading into a room with a huge vat of presumably cold water, then the main chamber, which had more sections surrounding it. In the centre of the main room was a large raised, circular platform where you laid on your back facing the ceiling, feet pointing outwards. On the perimeter of the chamber were several wash bowls, also made of a solid piece of marble, above which were two stylised taps. After you had relaxed yourself and lost half your weight in sweat you washed yourself in these basins, with a plastic bowl.

Australia

My flights started from Istanbul, stopping in Singapore for 4ish hours, then heading on to Sydney.

The flights themselves (my first in maybe 7 or 8 years) weren’t so bad. I had no idea how cramped economy seats could be though! Barely enough room to stretch my legs out on either plane. In comparison trains and most of the buses I’ve been on have a luxurious amount of space. I was impressed by the inflight meals though, and getting free beer on any trip certainly boosts points that little bit higher. Perhaps it’s a different story on the more budget airlines. I used Qantas and Turkish Airlines.

Though I barely slept on either flight (too much entertainment available in the headrests infront) I did catch a few glimpses of a stunning sunrise as we were coming in to land at 5.30am. It was unlittered by buildings, spread out above a vast quilt of cloud. Then I got my first look at the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge which had me grinning with the gradual realisation that I was indeed in Australia.

Once I’d given myself a day or so to recover from the jetlag I really started to enjoy Sydney. My early thoughts, as I was wandering around sluggish and travel-worn, were that the city looked as I’d imagine a big American city would look. With the wide roads, endless skyscrapers that teased the clouds with their height and colourful, brightly lit advertisements. This was certainly an incomparably different place to Turkey - and that was just the beginning.

From the Sydney airport my first priority was to find a place to lay my head down for a few hours.

After I’d taken some cash out from the Airport cashpoint and armed myself with a map containing locations of a bunch of hostels, I took the Airport Link underground train to the centre. Once there, it took longer that I would normally take to decide on a hostel, but I was tired and confused so kept walking in circles for some reason. All part of the fun.

I finally settled on a place named ‘790 on George’ (as in George Street) and paid some AU$80 or so for a three-day stay . I really like the Australian Dollars... they come in bright colours, have a plastic see-through window and are apparently ‘surf-proof’. There’s also a familiar face on the back of the coins and on the $5 notes! 

 

The hostel had 7 floors and a seemingly endless stream of people going in and out. There seemed to be a large proportion of Australians staying there, which when I thought about it made sense, given the size of the country. The other nationalities you are likely to bump into are (in no particular order) English, Irish, Japanese, Malaysian, Chinese and a maybe the odd New Zealander (even though I can’t tell their accents apart yet). I also got talking to a Turkish guy who noticed I was using a Migros (Turkish supermarket) bag.  

Once I’d paid and got a handful of bedding I took the lift to my dorm room on the 6th floor. Once there I lay down, shut my eyes and promptly passed out for 7 hours, from 9am to 3pm. When I woke up and checked my watch I was surprised at how much time had gone by, while still feeling immeasurably knackered and like I’d been run over.

I decided to go for a walk and get some air. I even managed to gather my thoughts enough to buy some socks from a little army surplus store - to replace the one's revealing big toe. After I’d eaten and wandered around a bit more I spent the evening doing a whole lot of not very much. 

On the third day I was feeling more awake and the jetlag had all but disappeared. I walked across the Harbour Bridge and took some pictures just as it was getting dark. I’d ended up in a residential area, facing the Opera House and the distant skyscrapers – a great sight as night drew in and everything was lit up. 

 

 

So after three brief days in Sydney I decided to make my way down south...

I went to the train station after I'd checked out of the hostel and hoped to do my tried and tested method of looking at the departures board and going somewhere that sounded cool. On this occasion, there were works going on on the New South Wales lines, so this wasn't going to be how it was.

The gent behind the counter pointed me towards the bus ticket office the floor below and there I purchased a ticket that was valid for 3 months, for as many stops as I'd like between Sydney and Melbourne. The price seemed right so I went for it. It turned out to be perfect timing aswell, as just as I was waiting for my bus, it began pounding with rain outside, bringing the stint of amazing weather to an abrupt end.

I made just two stops along the way, mainly because I was getting tired of actual COLD weather (in Australia?!). I stopped in the town of Nowra, which turned out to be quite quiet and mediocre. Essentially a typical suburban town with a few rows of shops and some small restaurants. I ended up spending the night (the most expensive night I've spent anywhere I have to point out!) in a cosy 3-star bed and breakfast calling itself the White House. It was an incredibly comfortable place, furnished in a traditional style with big old-fashioned furniture and creaky floorboards. It cost me $99 for one night. 

My other stop was the more upbeat and picturesque Eden. This place, being bang on the coast had the benefit of a couple of beaches, though still incredibly cold due to winds from the sea. I stayed for two nights in a dorm above a pub, of which I was the only occupant. During the day I walked along the beach and it was good to breath in the fresh air and read amongst the shelter of some rocks.  

From Eden I headed straight onto Melbourne, where I have been for maybe 12 days. I will stay here until the 8th November, waiting on a bank card and a Tax File Number (which I will be needing when I start earning) before heading slightly north. I'm enjoying Melbourne and slowly adapting to the Aussie lifestyle, which includes good beer, kangaroo steaks, amazing weather (mostly) and more of a laid-back attitude to life. 

In other news, I've booked 28 days in Sydney from the 15th December until the 11th of January 2010. The cost - $915.00.

Glad to see the back of Athens and trying to grasp some of the Turkish language

About time for my bi-monthly post I think!

Well as you may tell from the title, when it got down to it, I didn't particularly enjoy Athens.

There were a few reasons for this. The main complaints were that it was probably the most touristey city I've been to, usually yeah, it's escapable and you can find somewhere away from the crowds. With Athens though, you'd lose the crowds, and there'd be absolutely nothing of interest to reward the wanderer. I did manage to get a haircut though, despite the language barrier, for a mere 5€ - luckily I had an appropriate picture on the wall to point at. Have to say I'm not quite worked up enough to get it all shaved off!

Anyway another reason I didn't quite enjoy Athens was that the place didn't feel Greek once you'd looked past the tourism. Yeah there was the Akropolis and the other associated relics, and the new museum wasn't bad, but aside from that it didn't feel genuine anymore. Maybe I was missing something, but 4 days was definitely too long for Athens!

Anyway, moving on from that downer...

From Athens I worked out a little bit of island hopping. First to Santorini, then to Paros. From Paros I would then hop to Samos, and to Turkey again. 

Both islands were beautiful, and I wish I'd allowed more than a day on each one, and they certainly did feel Greek. There was more of a relaxed attitude and lifestyle on the islands, and outside of the port areas, not much in the way of a police presence. 

Santorini was a picturesque, postcard island, with the typical white, stonewashed houses, beautiful beaches and perhaps an over excessive amount of quad bikes and scooters whizzing around. I decided I was going to eat out that evening and wanted to sample some Greek cuisine outside of the brilliant, but samey Pork Souflakis (think of a kebab, but with Tzatziki and fries).

I ended up going with a recommendation for 'The Volcano' restaurant. It was the most packed place and I had to wait for 15 minutes or so, but in the end it was worth it.

On my way I'd be browsing all the other overpriced menus and shrugging off the 'specials' some of the waiters would try and decide for you. A good way of being left alone was to say I had already eaten, and was looking for tomorrow.

It was a round 10€ I paid for a moreish Moussaka (think Lasagne, but Greek) and a side of stuffed vine leaves, with some Amstel. It felt like money well spent.

I was staying in the only hostel on the island, which turned out to be okay, and participated in daft drinking games until the wee hours.

Which brings me back to the lawless nature of the islands.. 

It got to something like 3am and some people were lining their stomaches with some indulgent crepes (not sure why Greece have adopted these, not that I'm complaining) to finish a night of drinking.

Out of the blue a guy parks next to the Creperie and, barely being able to walk or stand upright, with a huge grin drawn on his face, orders a crepe. The guy was obviously trousered and the locals barely battered an eyelid as he poured himself back into his car and drove off. Obviously we gave him a wide berth before walking back to the hostel!

The next day, after retracing last night's steps to the Creperie and getting something to set me up for the day, I went for a bit of a wander before my ferry at 3 o'clock that afternoon. I wasn't able to go too far, but I did find a church that looked like it was carved into one of the hills and so in the meditteranean? heat I clambered up the crumbling steps to get a closer look.

It was worth the buckets of sweat and the views up there were something else. I sat in the tiny bit of shade there was left (unfortunately the church was locked) and caught my breath while enjoying the landscape laid out before me.

Paros had the similar white houses and shops but had a slightly different feel to it. There were thankfully a lot less bikes to drown your brain. I stuck pretty much to the small town my hostel was in and wandered through the narrow market streets and took in the fresh sea air. Later on, the sunset was incredible aswell. This felt like an island I could spend weeks on, away from the madness of city life and free to go at my own pace.

Then it was back toward Turkey again.

This was after the hideous overnight ferry from 1105. I was allocated an open-deck seat, but I wasn't up to that so I upgraded for 6€ to get something a little more respectable, but not quite sleep-friendly. I managed a few uncomfortable fragments of sleep, before arriving in Samos at 5.30am.

So after a very cheap bus ride from the port town in Turkey and readjusting to the Turkish Lira, I was in Izmir for 4 days. 

I enjoyed this city. It's home to the huge Kemeralti market area (covering maybe 3km?) where I bought myself a kilo of Turkish Delight for 3TYL / 1,5€, which I probably shouldn't do too often. It was great to get lost in the endless streets, knowing full well that if you carried on straight, you'd eventually make it out, back into the real world again.

There are lots of little tea (chai) houses everywhere, aswell as men with kettles and glasses walking around the grassy areas, serving tea to anyone with a few coins.

The clock tower and the Konak pier are also apparently quite famous, the clock featuring on Izmir posters around town. It also, like everywhere in Turkey, has its fair share of mosques, with four or so prayer songs that are broadcast on the loudspeakers. 

There were no hostels in Izmir, but I did find a cosy little budget hostel that worked out at maybe £13 a night for a single room, with TV, air conditioning and some affectionate mosquitoes. 

I was happy to spend hours walking and getting lost and trying new and incredibly cheap foods. It's also easy to see why Turks drink buckets of tea, which is drunk black, in a little glass so you can see the blood red colour of it. It has to be said though, that I'm really missing having a kitchen at my disposal... at this point I'm crying out for something not containing pastry, meat, cheese or all the above. There's also a huge array of spices just waiting to be sampled.

Now, once again, I am back in Istanbul.

I arrived yesterday evening from a comfortable bus and ferry combination, and chilled at the hostel.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I've been saving up my facial hair in order to go for a real Turkish shave, cut throat razor and all. I'll see if I can stumble into somewhere that's reasonable.

Anyway, time to run, I'll see if I can find some vegetables to chew on.

Hamburg, Dresden, Prague

Hamburg was nice enough, though with the saving of money I wasn't upto much other than the usual wandering around. I ventured into the town and watched a bit of the Polizei(sp?) band playing some jumpy numbers before they packed it in when the rain started to sprinkle.

Dresden was beautiful. I enjoyed the Altstadt (old town) side of the bridge more than the Neustadt side, though the new town did have the golden horserider. Bet that's worth a pretty penny. Twas t-shirt-clingingly-hot again.

Following that I was out of Germany and into Prague to give it a proper once over this time, and it didn't disappoint.

Though obviously suffocated with tourists during most of the day, there is too much in Prague to pass on. Yesterday I spent a good 6 hours walking around the Old Town attractions including the Cathedral, the Old Town Hall, the Astronomnical Clock and of course Charles bridge (which was sadly half covered in scaffolding). The main square had a nice array of various food stands, from Jewish cuisine to chicken kebabs on a skewer... and of course pints of draught beer for less than a quid. Didn't take me too long to figure out the currency (1€ = 25Kc), can't wait until the denominations get ridiculous...

I've been gradually getting into meeting people in hostels again, though I was perhaps slightly indifferent at first (the conversations can tend to be a bit samey). Today a very talkative and upbeat chap introduced himself when I was sat alone like a plum, eating breakfast I'd bought, when unknown to me, it was provided free in the hostel. 

Anthony was another Couch Surfer and he spent a good amount of time showing me the ins and outs of the system. All I need to do now is pluck up some courage to give it a try, apparently at least 2 weeks in advance is a good time if you're looking for a couch to sleep on. 

Before rushing off to catch his plane back to London, Anthony showed an interest in meeting me in Turkey inbetween September 20th and October 20th, which would be cool.

After he he disappeared I got myself lost on the way into town. Might have had something to do with getting the tram in the wrong direction! This time amongst the beer drinking I caught the Jubilee Synagogue and Prazsky Hrad (Prague Castle) and more pavement pounding. 

Tomorrow is going to contain at least 15 hours of trains, aswell as a disgusting 840 start from Nadrazi Holesovice train station so I treated myself to a nice meal this evening, totalling about 200Kc / 8€ / £7someting. I had a good old beef goulash with a side of grilled veg and a pint of cold Gambrinus lager.

I've come to understand that its only reading books that keeps me awake on long train journeys. Music, computer and view gazing all do little to prevent the inevitable slip into daydreaming some 20 or 30 minutes after departure. Little bit irritating to be fair.

Anyway I can't believe tomorrow it will be a week already since I left home... time flies. Going to short my clobber out then try and get a good night's sleep.