Turkey anyone?

Turkey is fabulous. The weather is just incredible. A beatiful 25 to 30 degrees, all dry and sunny with a lovely breeze coming off the Mediterranean all the time. We have travelled along the south coast, along the Med, and we are now resting in Bodrum, a larger seaside village with two harbours and a big castle. Lots of tourist shopping, ice cream and kebabs all around.

Today we are going to head out in the car and see what beaches we can find in the area. Being a spoiled child, I've usually shunned the European style beaches... sometimes you have to pay for a lounger or a cushion and umbrella, and lord only knows what the drinks will cost, but I think we're going to go in for a try. The water is cool, but very swimmable for us Canucks.

The new slideshow at right has a few random shots. One day I'll have time for captioning, in the meantime you'll have to use your imagination.

Sick of eating out yet ?

We went to this restaurant that Frommers says will feed you the "best meal in Turkey". It's right in our town; who are we to pass up such an opportunity?


After getting our meal, we wonder if we read it wrong and it said, "the biggest meal in Turkey"... have a look! (Yes, this meat is just for Mike.... thank the LORD I didn't order this dish, described as "Leg of Lamb"... we didn't know it was the WHOLE leg!!!)



We said good night to the restaurauter at the end, and Mike commented that perhaps the meals were a bit on the large size. The cheecky French owner just looked at Mike blankly and said, "well, I have two dogs to feed....". Hahahaa

The Crazy Part

So, they do this parasailing thing over the beach at Oludeniz, near Fethiye in Antalia, the coast of Turkey. They drive 45 minutes up a big hill over the beach, some 1500 metres or something, don big protective suits, helmets, sensible shoes and take a few steps off the mountain. Half an hour later, it's practically raining paragliders down onto a big runway running down the beach.

It costs only maybe $100 or so to go, and seriously, I hadn't ruled it out, except we were visiting that beach only for the day, and I had the convenient excuse of my bruised toe to justify the consolation activity of a ringside, beachside table at a comfy restaurant with a burger and beer instead.

I was still half considering it, but would you beleive that in the two hours we were in town, we saw not one, but TWO crash landings? These were not tandem rides like you get from an experienced "pilot" supposedly, but perhaps more inexperienced riders. But who knows, who tells the tourist observer anything? All I know is that I saw two of these parachuters come down on top of buildings/awnings/overhangs just nearly missing coming down into a table of restaurant guests!

Maybe next time....

Crazy, Colourful

The Mediterranean is impossibly blue right now. Indescribable.

How's this for a try....colourful enough for you?

Sensible Shoes

I have always belittled, berated, ridiculed those who hike wearing sandals. We see it all the time in Vancouver... silly tourists who don't know any better walking on trails with roots and rocks in their little flip flops, or worse, high heels. I can't say why, but I've just always felt it was not right, not respectable, not well, the Canadian way for goodness sakes. What person in their right mind would do that?

Now I can justify my critical view..... this was not even a hike! Just a little walk in some ruins off the beach...

I'm just trying to keep it up a bit between walks.... it's just bruised, don't worry!

Patience and Networking

When you're in a foreign country, the webpages of international sites tend to load in the local language. It can be difficult to find your way around, to say the least. In some languages read right to left, the site may also be mirrored, so you can't rely on you hand memory to find the right button!

I've just spend half hour trying to update my facebook profile photo to the touristy pyramid shot I have, to no avail. It's a sunny day on the Mediterranean, so that will be the total of my effort for now. Better things to do!

Cheers,
K

Egypt - some touristy shots

Quiet Time

I've always loved this part of the day. All is quiet, the sun is rising over my left shoulder and is already sending it's warm glow my way. Just me and the birds, tapping and chirping. My balcony overlooks a quiet bay ringed with small greek islands close to the Turkey coast. It's going to be another beautiful day!

Happy Friday!

It's HOT in Egypt! And hard to keep up with ourselves with jet lag in the middle of a hot dessert, but we have enjoyed our quick trip to Cairo and Luxor nonetheless. 37 degrees in Luxor today, and that's in the shade. Throw in a sleeper (not!) train and bad food, with some jet lag and you can try and imagine for yourself what that felt like.

Saw some pretty incredible sights and am blown away with the whole King Tut excesses. The smog and traffic in Cairo is amazing, proving yet again what a lucky kitty I am to live in such a clean and lovely country. Aaahhhh....

Still, pretty fun altogether. Unlike Bali where all the people addressed us by name and we were really the monarchs of our hotel, no one in Cairo seemed to know us, except they were certainly all wanting to meet us and talk to us when we went to the Bazaar last night!! hahaha. We got out in one piece through and had time to spend in a pretty cool Egyptian restaurant last night for a better feel of the local culture. Not that much time for it in our quick trip, but we had some great enthusiastic and knowlegeable guides who were also fun to spend time with, so we are satisfied. We stayed in two former 19th century palaces while in Cairo, so were well accommodated.

We are at the airport now waiting for our flight to Istanbul. By cocktail hour this evening, we will be in Cappadocia, staying at a cave hotel, Yunak.com. Looks better than it sounds! We are there three nights. I'll try and post some photos or tell you more, when I can.

Starting to miss Vancouver, but I think it is mainly because of the hot, dry, smoggy, and sandy air. Otherwise, we are still happy to be on vacation.

Cheerio!
Kate

Justification

Why we didn't leave Komeneka Basmi:

1. The infinity pool: 2. The Breakfasts: 3. The Room

4. The Balcony overlooking the Rice Padi

5. The designer-y Lobby

6. Did I mention the infinity pool?

Spontaneity and Middle Age

So we are like 45 minutes away from packing up to move to our next destination. Now the weather has cleared up and we are having a swim in the MOST beautiful infinity pool EVER, and Mike begins questioning the whole need to move at all. We have been in Ubud now for 6 nights and we have four more in Bali. I think these Komeneka hotels have brainwashed us or something. He goes to the front desk and because the hotel is woefully under occupied at present, they continue to offer this outrageously inexpensive rate so we can stay longer. The coast looked good, but it's very BASIC and honestly, I don't know who could resist staying.

What I've learned is that you don't need a beach to enjoy hot weather and a pool. I'll post photos soon to prove it to you, and you'll see why.

I'm worried we might be getting too lazy, and this is surely a sign of middle age, but I'll think about it again after our afternoon nap.

Ciao,
Kate

Moving Day

We have decided to spend our last few nights on Bali on the East Coast in a little fishing village called Amed. The cost is steep and filled with little coves, one after another, each with a different sort of sand. Apparently the diving and snorkelling is good and there is a big shipwreck close to shore to explore.

Here's where we're staying... http://www.apakabarvillas.com/accom.html Doesn't it look charming?

Four more nights on Bali then we are off to Cairo. I think that contrast may be a bit jarring. The people here are so warm and lovely and friendly and sweet. Not to pre-judge or anything, but every single source warns in Cairo that that City, the tenth biggest in the world, is full of theives and shysters. Our weather here is HUMID and there it will be bone DRY. Anyway, I'll let you know when I can how the diving went. I don't know when we'll have internet next.

Miss you all! Hope the Vancouverites amongst you will be okay without the Canucks.
Kate

Rained out!

It's too early on a nice morning to muck around with cameras, cards, card readers or cords, so you'll have to see the photographic evidence later. Take my word for it that we were justified in calling it quits in the middle of our road trip yesterday. We arranged for a driver for the day and started off with a visite to an "original" Bali village where time has stood still. We were with the local guide at his house (looking at the weavings and crafts he wanted to sell us) when it started raining. And RAINING, like mad. Luckily he found umbrellas and we sloshed back through the muddy gravel road to the car. We drove on and the rain lightened so we were encouraged, but at the next temple the rain found us again. We stopped at the big roofed meeting place there and by the time we found courage to cross the road in the rain, the water was up to our ankles.

We decided to pack it in, because one of the main purposes of the trip was a scenic road with beautiful rice paddies, but this wasn't going to work out. On the way back we could see first hand how asphalt is lifted by gushing water. Water was lifting up right through the sidewalks, becuase it is carried underneath the sidewalks and the sewer was full. Ironically, the worst areas, repeatedly, were bridges... They were always a low point, and no one had thought of putting a few drainage holes at the curb.

Anyway, it was a quiet afternoon and evening in our palatial hotel room. Mike hasn't downloaded those photos either! Amazing how a long holiday takes the weather pressure off a particular day though! Today has dawned sunny and we are wearing our swimsuits to breakfast.

K

The price of martinis

... In Indonesia is horrific! For some illogical reason, there is a 200% tax on imported liquor so we checked at a local retail outlet and a bottle of Absolute Vodka is a whopping $75! Makes for expensive drinks in the restaurants, especially when contrasted with the ridiculously cheap meals and handmade merchandise here.

Thought you'd like to know.

Right Place at the Right Time

Boy have we lucked out. We've been staying at a DELIGHTFUL hotel (see previous post) but they're full tomorrow and beyond. So we drag our feet, pout, plead and generally stay put until they offer us their sister hotel accommodationts for the same price, even though the rate is twice what we're paying here.... check it out.

http://www.komaneka.com/special/bisma/ The photos on there don't do it too much justice, suffice to say I'm rather excited and we're not leaving Ubud anytime soon.

Tonight is full moon. Our guide from the other day has offered to take us with hin to the holy water temple shortly to see the ceremony and hindu bathing rites which will be taking place in honour of the moon.

Should be interesting! We came across an AMAZING temple ceremony the other day and they were kind enough to let spectators in. For sure we have hundreds of photos to sort through which is why you don't see them up yet!

See you later!
Kate

The Benfits of Limes

Limes
Diet Nutrition
All citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C as well as other micro-nutrients, certain phyto-chemicals and fiber. Citrus fruits also protect against infection and cancer. They are an essential element in any healthy diet.
Limes are the most acidic of all citrus fruits and are best used in cooking. They are rich in vitamin C and bioflavonoids. Pure lime juice has powerful anti-bacterial properties and is an effective treatment when applied directly to spots and cold sores.

Morning Activity

Besides the consumption of the BEST EVER French Toast, the morning so far has consisted of watching the rice planting in the adjacent field. The resort, as many do, is bordered directly on some rice fields. The Balinese people ar so very proud of their tasty rice and efficient farming. They all know the price of rice and exactly how many kilos PER DAY their family eats. They eat rice three times a day, it forming the bulk of thier whole diet. A family of 6 or 8 probably eats about 2 kilos per day:


Have a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIrD7w5-2_0

There are some new photos too: if you click on my little slideshows to the right, you'll go to my Picasa photo album where you can see them larger. Of course, Mike's photo blog will have the best photos, when we get around to that. this is just a teaser!

Ciao! (Hugs) Kate

What kind of hotel does this?????

We are staying at a mid-range nice little hotel in central Ubub, Bali. It's called Komeneka for credit. Really, what kind of hotel gives you a freshly laundered and pressed bedshirt every night? The kind that will drop you off to your dinner reservation and pick you up again later just because you asked; the kind where every staff knows your room number, and the kind that when you go for breakfast, they dash in and make up your room so it's always fresh and never inconvenient?!!

This kind:

(Yes, they're rose petals and frangipani)

Oh, and I almost forgot! All you can eat cookies in your room every day. Luxury! Delight!

Life in Bali is gooooood!

Postcard from Ubud, Bali

Jasmine aroma at night, lemongrass flavours by day. Bali is lovely, if a tad hot for us.

Villa Natalie has forever spoiled us! Three people taking care of us, another three taking care of the property. Very relaxing.

Mike is just uploading some new photos of Singapore to fanphare, and I think we'll use this on-line time to find a place to stay next week. Right now we are in Ubud waiting for our lunch.\- my nasi goreng is starting to smell pretty good! We are staying here: http://www.santimandalavilla.com/Home.asp

Did I mention it is hot here? This morning we decided to take a walk through the neighbourhood which is leafy and green and borders on a river, which our hotel straddles. All the hotel staff we mentioned it too looked at us like we have three heads (each!). Walking is just not done. There are no sidewalks to speak of, and the driving is horrendous. So, I guess it's a bit too hot and too dangerous really, so there's no need to build sidewalks because no one is walking anyway. Well we did have a great walk through a traditional village atmosphere well south of the main town of Ubud. However, down the road about 45 minutes we met a fellow with a van who just happened to be going to our hotel to pick up a fare and he offered a ride back. We accepted. ;-)

We have a nice two level room overlooking rice padi's in our hotel. The most amazing thing about it is the absolute chorus of frogs at bedtime. Unbeleivable. And, it's about a km from the zoo and you wouldn't beleive the cacophany from that place at sunset. I assume it's feeding time or the zookeepers are going around murdering the inmates. The ruckus!

We loved staying in Canggu because it's not too touristy and we really didn't get the attraction to Seminyak as the touristy areas have been ruined by tourists and cars. The aforementioned lack of sidewalks makes that town a joke. They say it's a swanky high end area, but you're better off at the beach which is really lovely. We'll put up some more pics soon.

xoxoxo

Kate