8/22/05
This morning I said goodbye to my friends from Kosovo and basically spent the day just wandering around Istanbul.
Todays Specs
Weather: 80 F sunny
Distance: 0 miles Istanbul
8/23/05
Well deciding I needed to see more of Istanbul I signed up for a tour bus. Yes you heard correct the great motorcycle traveler hung up the helmet and sense of free will and boarded a tour bus, really I dont know what I was thinking. As I sat on the top deck of the tour bus the first thing I heard was Harrold Hurry up and get on the bus said by a old lady from Texas. But being my usually optimistic self I put the head phones on, switched the button to English and prepared for an exciting tour of Istanbul. As I looked around I quickly realized I didnt fit in, I wasnt overweight and didnt have a fanny pack. Well the tour was quite disappointing all the person speaking on the headphones said was the name of the buildings as we passed them and nothing more. After 15 minutes we came to our first stop which was near the center of the city so I hopped off and figured the 10 euros was a loss. Now that I was on my own I was enjoying the city once again, looking at the shops and general perving on Turkish women, life isnt too bad. I came across a movie theatre which had all the movies in English. Figuring I wasnt going to have a chance to see movies in English or a while I caught a double flick, Fantastic 4 (which I quite enjoyed) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (good movie but just lacked something, more of a renter than a theatre movie). Now some of you are probably thinking Josh you are in Istanbul and you are sitting in a Theatre, Yes I quite enjoy movies.
After the movie got out I wandered around some more and enjoyed a Turkish pancake (the Turkish version of a quesadilla). After dinner I noticed 3 bouncers all dressed in nice suits standing in front of a non-descript 6 story building. As I watched this for a minute I noticed several pretty people getting in and out of the elevator going to the roof. So I walked over and tried to get in. Being in jeans and a t-shirt (my best attire) I attempted to get in, after a lengthy discussion the head bouncer finally nodded and let me in. It turned out to be quite a swank open air salsa club on the roof the building with an amazing view of the city. Unknown to many people I am quite upset at my parents for being white with no rhythm, all I could really do was watch as all the pretty people danced, damn cursed genetics if I had only been born browner (is browner a word).
Todays Specs
Weather: 80 F sunny
Distance: 0 miles Istanbul
8/24/05
After packing up my things I headed out of Istanbul with the idea to head south, no particular destination in mind. I had heard that there are several resort type cities on the Turkish Rivera along the midstream, so that seemed like a place I should try to find. Well as I headed out of Istanbul my mood suddenly toured sour as I had to stop and fill up the bike. I couldnt believe my eyes, $8 per gallon of gas. So all you people back home complaining about your $3 per gallon gas price, well you dont know how good you have it. Then on top of the gas prices for some reason my GPS decided it couldnt find satellite reception. Oh I was in a grumpy mood, I guess not everyday can be roses.
I made it to the town of Kutahya where I found a cheap hotel, actually quite luxurious accommodations for $8 a night. The hotel deskman spoke a little English and was extremely friendly. Not to many motorcycles and even less Americans come through this area so before long I was feeling like quite a celebrity. Turns out Kutahya is a center for making porcelain, just a little info for you guys, trying to sound intellectual and like I am exploring different cultures. I know this because one of the hotel guests was a porcelain maker guy well that and I saw several signs saying it was the center of porcelain.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95 F sunny
Distance: 300 miles Istanbul to Kutahya
8/25/05
Today was one of those days that make me love traveling. After leaving Kutahya I made it about 120 miles by noon when I had to stop and fill up the bike, again paying $8 a gallon but I was quite over it and figured it is what it is and it is the price I pay to be here. So after filling up the bike I sat down at the café next door and had a soda and some rice and meat. As I was sitting there a man came up to me and handed me his cell phone. I gave him a blank look, I mean really this was kinda odd, he quickly said Talk Talk So I put the phone to my ear and a man on the other end asked if I was on a moto and before I could reply he said that he also had a BMW and I should follow his friend to go and meet him. Well not being one to turn down hospitality and this guy seemed friendly enough off I set following his friend. About 4 miles down the road we came to a power sub station where my mystery friend had said he worked. As we pulled in my new friend came running out standing next to his 1978 BMW with a huge smile on his face. I was quite excited about his bike and he quickly asked if I could take it for a ride but firstsdfa he showed me how he could do burnouts around the parking lot on it. After a short while he decided that I would be his house guest for the night and that was that. After we got done discussing motorcycle talk he sent his son (who was hanging out at the powerstation) to get some pepsi, a short while later his son returned with a 2 litre bottle. My new friend seemed to think I was really thirsty and that I should drink the whole 2 litres. My new friend had to work for another 3 hours so for the next 3 hours was spent learning about his culture, family, life in this town and his job at the power station. Turns out he has a very good job and makes quite good money, he will retire in 3-4 years at the age of 50 at which time he and his son will raise cows. He already owns 19 cows and has plans to own 100 over the next 5 years. Once he got off work we headed into town, where we walked around and he introduced me to everyone he knew, the town was quite small more of a village actually. He must have thought I was looking a bit scruffy because he took me to the barber shop and bought me a shave, it was the old school way with a straight razor. After that we went to the butcher shop, it turns out the fellow who had gave me the phone earlier was the son of the owner of the butcher shop. So after a tour of the butcher shop we went to the market and bought a bunch of fresh vegetables and other items for dinner tonight. I tried to pay for the vegetables and some of the items for dinner but was quickly berated for such a thought. His house was about 5 miles away in an even smaller village, so after we were done shopping we headed off to his house. One of the cool things about Turkey is along the roads will be fountains for drinking, these are usually in the middle of nowhere and there for the purpose of thirsty travelers, quite a cool idea. About half way to his house we stopped to get a drink of water and talk some more, life doesnt move to quickly here. As we drank our water we met a German bicyclist who was touring Turkey for 3 weeks, my new friend insisted that bicyclist come to his house also for the night.
My friends house was quite large by Turkish standards, he had built the house himself and explained that his son when he gets married will live in the house as well. He explained that his daughter who was much smarter would go off to school and later university. She had scored really high on her last exams and at the age of 14 she will have to go off to a better school since the small town they live in doesnt have a very good school. He said his son who wasnt as smart as his daughter would rather stay here and raise cows. We discussed the economics of raising cows and I was quite amazed on how much money was in the Turkish cow business. Who knows after my motorcycle trip I may return and get a couple good Turkish wives, not too many 3 or 4, and raise cows. My new friend was quite a savvy businessman and he even more impressed me with how much he cared for his family, they were clearly the center of his world.
At 9:00 we headed up to the roof deck to bar-b-q the mountain of meat we had purchased in town. As we gathered around the table the german bicyclist mentioned he was a vegatarian. All of sudden in a blur of motion the family ran back down the stairs and returned with loads of vegetables. So after Q-in up enough vegetables for 20 people we began bar-b-q-in up enough meat for another 20 people. How we ate dinner was as much a part of the experience and the food. We didnt use plates and the table was filled with so much food that there wasnt any room for plates. Everyone used forks to eat from the dishes and piled the food on the homemade thin bread. I even made some bar-b-qued tomatoes with minced garlic on top, these were quite a hit, thanks dad for teaching me that one.
It was one of those great meals where the food was great and the conversation even better. Only my friend spoke English, he learned English in the military 15 years ago when stationed with Nato troops, so he translated to his family but the conversation flowed very smoothly.
After dinner his two uncles came over and had tea and some of the food we hadnt eaten. The family network was very impressive as we learned several generations of the family made up most of the village.
Today was one of those days that very few tourists ever get to experience, definitely feeling lucky.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95 F sunny
Distance: 100 miles Kutahya to Keciborlu
8/26/05
Well this morning after a great breakfast I had to say goodbye to my new friends, they were a little upset as they wanted me to stay another night. I was very tempted but after a quick glance at the calendar I have less than two weeks to make it to France to start getting ready for Africa. I have been keeping a list of things that need to get done so I am ready for Africa and well the list keeps getting longer and longer.
So after a long goodbye I was on my way once again. As I made my way south I came to the town of Antalya, which is a large tourist city. It only took me about 10 minutes to figure out that this town wasnt really that interesting so on I moved. About 30 minutes outside of Antyala I came to a little tourist town called Kemir and decided I needed to go for a swim and lay on the beach for a while. After an hour on the beach I was back on the road driving west along the coast, quite a beautiful drive with the beautiful blue sea always on my left. As it was getting late I came to the town of Kas. Kas is much more my style, a small beach town with lots of little cafes and some culture to go with it. I spent the evening wandering around looking in shops and soaking in the Turkish Mediterranean atmosphere.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95 F sunny
Distance: 220 miles Keciborlu to Kas
8/27/05
Today I spent meandering along the coast towards before making it to Izmir about 6:00. Izmir was quite a confusing city and took me the better part of two hours to find the downtown area, a little frustrated at times but still in good spirits as always. I will say that is one of the joys of traveling alone is that if you are completely lost you dont have to worry about the frustrations of a traveling companion. Well Izmir has quite a nice waterfront with some quite expensive hotels, so heading a few blocks inland I quickly found a seedier part of town with quite a perfectly dumpy hotel for $10 a night, perfect. One thing I am really enjoying about Turkey is how safe it is here, even in the not so good part of town I really am not worried about the safety of my bike, granted I took all the usual precautions and the hotel deskman assured me he would watch very diligently through the window all night.
So after showering up since I was quite smelly from the days ride, for those of you who dont think I shower enough I just wanted to let you know I do actually shower, sometimes. Anyways as I was saying after showering I headed out to see some nightlife. I walked along the waterfront before deciding to go in an listen to some live music at a fairly nice establishment. The music was quite good and the bartender had the longest pour I have ever seen, after just 3 jack daniels I figured it was time to wander around some more. Not more than 100 feet out the door of the restaurant I quickly had a tour guide of the city who said he would show the best places in town with all the girls I could ever need and all he wanted was a beer as he had no money. So off we went to see the underbelly of Izmir, so after visiting several establishments I said goodbye to my drinking partner and hopped a cab back to the hotel. The cab driver did not realize I had several hours driving this town earlier in the day and new my around quite well by now because after several detours we ended up at our destination with a bill that was 3 times what it should have been. After much arguing he actually pulled out a knife and set it on his lap. I quickly started yelling at him and asked him if he was going to stab me, he sheepishly put the knife away and we settled the tab for what it should have been.
Once back at the hotel I said hello to the deskman who was actually sitting in front of the hotel with several other men all playing some type of dice game, after saying my hellos and called it a night.
Todays Specs
Weather: 95 F sunny
Distance: 300 miles Kas to Izmir
8/28/05
After waking up and shaking the cobwebs from head I headed off to find a café that had satellite television so I could watch the Moto GP race. I found a great litte café that had a large plasma TV that gladly put the races on for me. The races lasted 3 hours and well racing isnt that popular in Turkey as several customers grumpily complained about the lack of football on the television, but being a foreigner definitely has its advantages. I know it is wrong to abuse the hospitality of the Turks, but come on this is Moto GP we are talking about.
Well at 4:00 the races were finally over and I was once again on the road. Today I had another great biker experience, as I was riding down the road I came across an Italian on a Honda Veradero (Hondas equivalent to the GS). After following him for a while he signaled me to pull over at a café. As we enjoyed a bottle of water we shared stories, it turns out he was a movie producer from Milano and had just spent the last 3 weeks riding through Turkey and Iran. His bike was set up with all types of camera mounts and even had a monitor so he could see what he was filming. Seeing how envious I was of his technological superiority he quickly took one of the extra camera mounts off and insisted I take it since it would work for my digital camera. How cool is that. Well after saying our goodbyes and assurances that I would stop by Milan on my France we each went on our way. I say once again there is no similar culture to biker culture. I cant imagine any other people just randomly stopping and sharing stories and being so generous.
I rode till about 8:00 before stopping at a little campground on the beach . I pulled into the campground and a large Turkish woman came out of the café and told me it would be 10 Turkish Lira to camp. I quickly replied how that was too much but would gladly pay 5 Turkish Lira, she flatly said No, I slyly came back with 6 Turkish Lira, No, ok final offer 8 Turkish Lira, No, Ok then 10 it is. Damn I suck at negotiating. After going for a swim and having some dinner I called it night. It was so nice I didnt even bother to set up my tent and slept under the stars. But once again I seemed to find a place with those little bastard red ants, twice in the night I woke up to one of those bastards taking a chomp on my forehead, they quite hurt.
Todays Specs
Weather: 100 F sunny
Distance: 150 miles Izmir to beach campground
8/29/05
This morning was quite easy packing up camp and I was all set to go when I did my usual check to make sure I had all the necessities when I couldnt find my wallet. Easy enough it must have fallen in one of my Panniers. So I checked the right one then the left one then the top box
.hhhmmm
.no wallet
.Ok check all three again
.still no wallet
.well after 45 minutes of looking through all my stuff (and keep in mind I dont have that much stuff so to look through all my stuff for 45 minutes well you get the point) well after 45 minutes I was borderline frustrated when I stepped back and took the big picture in and well the wallet was laying wedged between the engine and the crash bars, stupid Josh stupid Josh. But with a smile figuring this was good fortune that I realized I didnt have my wallet before I set off, ah see lemons and now I made lemonade. Or did I just merely justify my idiocy for dropping it in the first place, hhhmmm.
Well the plan was to make it to the ruins that were once the city of Troy, so off I set. I came across some great bumpy potholed curvy roads which I even got to use my new camera mount to get some great footage, this thing is going to be awesome for Africa. For lunch I stopped and bought some bread and cheese in a small village. As I came out of the store I found my bike surrounded by 15 men and children, this is pretty much standard anywhere you stop in Turkey as they dont see many bikes. The great thing is all my gear helmet tank bag with camera are always right there unguarded in fact I even often leave the keys in the ignition. But it is so safe that I never really worry about it. The bad thing is I will have to get out of this habit once I leave here and work my way west to Africa owell I will enjoy it for now. So after the usual pointing and smiling I ate my bread and waved goodbye.
Well I made it to the ruins of Troy, gladly paid my 10 Turkish Lira entrance fee (about $7) and then was promptly disappointed. I guess if I was an archeologist this might be interesting but it was really just a bunch of old stones scattered around, you could make out an old amphitheatre and one street. This place was pretty ruined. I guess for something that dates back 8000 years I cant be too disappointed.
Well check that off the list of the been theres done thats.
Looking at my GPS I decided I would work my way towards Greece. After stopping for a quick dinner of Burger King, how does that saying go, you can take the kid out of the trailer park but you cant take the trailer park out of the kid, anyways after dinner I made it to about 5 miles before the border before deciding I would camp in some farmers field and deal with the border crossing first thing in the morning. So here I am sitting under the stars typing on my laptop, but my feet are itching really bad since I didnt put socks on and they were a main course for 10 hungry mosquitoes. Well I guess life isnt so bad if the worst I have to complain about is some mosquito bites.
It is also pretty cool cause it is so quite and there is a town not to far away, since I can see the lights on the horizon, they must be having some festival as I can hear traditional Turkish music with lots of drums.
Well life is pretty good tonight. Though I will say over the last 10 days I have really enjoyed Turkey and with the exception of Ireland this has been my favorite country so far (but it really isnt a fair comparison because I spent over 3 weeks in Ireland and Ireland is literally ¼ the size) so I guess if I had another month at least to explore this country I might even like it more than Ireland. This country has so much culture and the people are so friendly that 10 days is really an injustice to try to explore this country. I didnt even get to see the eastern half which is very mountainous and many told me much more beautiful and the people just as friendly. So after 10 days I feel that I barely scratched the surface of such an amazing country. If you people reading this at home are trying to find a place to visit dont hesitate buy a ticket to Turkey. I know where my next trip is going to start.
Todays Specs
Weather: 98 F sunny
Distance: 200 miles beach campground to farmers field outside Ipsala
