THE ODYSSEY

it was a sad day the other day…ı left koh tao on may 18 on the 9:30 am boat to koh samuı where ı caught the plane to bangkok ınternatıonal aırport. the samuı aırport ıs small and nıce not unlıke the aırport ın huatulco, oaxaca. it was sad because, as many of you already know, i left behind a few very special people whom i will not soon forget and will indeed see again one day soon. the buddha necklace i was given on may 1 remains a integral part of my wardrobe. the fond memories of my small bit of paradise and the genuine smiles i received daily from my south asian friends are forever imprinted in my mind. doubtless i will return there again and again and again.
ı arrıved ın bangkok after a short flight and after a couple of hours in the airport waiting area had a most pleasant surprıse ın the form of my frıend sonja whom i’d met on koh tao. turns out she was on her way to srı lanka and was waıtıng to go to her gate. we had not seen each other for a week or so and so had a great catch up and a few laughs and memory lane yucks. in the airport book shop i picked up a copy of “thailand fever” cowritten by a western guy and a thai woman and which is written in both thai and english. the book is a “how to” guide to thai-western relationships and although it speaks primarily to the western man-thai woman connection, it also has invaluable information on the differences in general thoughts and behaviors between the two cultures and how to work out the differences (eg., compromise, communication, expectation, family and monetary values, etc.) in order to successfully grow in a bi-cultural relationship. fascinating stuff and gave me some good insight as to why the thais act the way they do. doy, you say, they’re different. yeah, no sh%t they’re different. nobody could or would explain to me exactly how they are different, certainly not they themselves cuz how could they possibly explain these nuances to me, and so the book shed a bit of light on practical matters associated with close relationships with thais. this was an eye opener, although i doubt i’ll need to use many of the pointers myself (marriage, dowry, family commitments and monetary support for same), however it did explain the fundamental principles of generosity, loyalty and saving face even in circumstances where “noble lies” must be told in order to maintain harmony. the book also explained how the position of body parts (head and feet) are significant in how they communicate and show respect. for instance, one would never point his or her feet at something as that is considered offensive; nor would one touch another’s head as that is offensive too. one always sits below head level of the more respected or higher caste when they sit together in a room. there are lots of other tips to clue us farangs in on thai culture but these seemed the most important in my estimation. and it’s a funny little book with silly – but spot on – illustrations.

back at bangkok airport sonja and i agreed on parting that we would try to catch up with each other again once i got to london, where she lives.
after a more or less uneventful flight to doha, qatar, i arrived to hot, dry desert heat in the middle of the night. i was unsure how to proceed as i’d made a reservation at a youth hostel that i had read was really far from the airport and that i had no clue how to get to. as i approached the passport check desk, they looked at my passport and found that my travel agent at airtreks had arranged for not only a hotel room for me but transport to the hotel that night and also back to the airport in the morning! funny that they knew and i didn’t have confirmation of same on arrival. still, i was very relieved to know that all of these details had been arranged for me as it was nearly 1am before i arrived at the hotel (which was only 15 minutes from the airport).
while waiting for the shuttle i met a few engineers en route to algeria, a thai man, a philippino man and a taiwanese man, all staying at the same hotel with the same arrangements that i had. the thai man and i chatted quite a bit and i found the “land of smiles” stayed with me, reassuring me as i entered into the strange and mysterious world of the arabian middle east.
i didn’t see much of doha but what i did see were lots of black burqas on women and white robes on men. the women were especially striking as all you could see on most, though not all, were the blacks of their eyes beneath the black veils. some women even had their eyes covered by very sheer, black veils and i wondered how they could see let alone breathe behind those things. it must’ve been 90 degrees even at midnight!
waiting at the airport after a brief (4 hour) “sleep”, i met and chatted mostly in sign language and his barely intelligible english with a pro wrestler from somewhere near the caspian sea. he was a nice enough guy and was missing about 1/2 of one of his ears. a work related injury, he’d gestured. he kept saying to me “beautiful” and making a circular pattern around his own face then pointing to mine. this was especially endearing to me, although slightly unnerving considering it was about 7am and i’d had only 4 hours sleep and was more than a little bedraggled, and considering i’d only learned that (a) he was married, (b) he was middle eastern and therefore (sorry folks for the stereotype, but in my position i deem it to be true from what i’ve seen so far) a little bit pervy considering he’d begun chatting me up and that’s always awkward for a solo female traveler, and (c) our communications were so stunted/fractured that nothing could really be said beyond where we were from, how many children we had (he: 1; i: none) and where we were going (he: paris for a match; me: istanbul). these are the kind of experiences in traveling that make all the hassles and confusion worth while. random acts of kindness and quirky conversations over gargantuan language barriers are the stuff that humbly make one truly happy to be alive outside of one’s comfort zone.
i arrived in istanbul in the afternoon beat but with eyes wide open. on first glance of the city, after hailing a cab easily into the city center to the hotel where i planned to meet up with caitlin (my SF friend), was how beautiful and different from any other city i can recall seeing it was. the roofs are all  red tile and the pretty city is spread out over mellow hills with the massive bosphorus river bisecting it. it’s a city steeped in mystery, just like all the travel brochures say.
our hotel, the grand londres hotel, was a victorian relic of infinite charm and chintz, albeit a bit long in the tooth in parts and, much like the city on the whole, filled with oddities both old and new – including antiques filling every crevice and a modern massage lounger chair free of charge and free internet. we got a good deal on our room and plenty of space to spread out. like so many of the other turks i met along the way, our hotel staff was nothing short of gracious and helpful.
we spent 2 nights and days in the city wandering around, enjoying the sights, sampling lots of tasty mezze and other turkish delights before heading off to the southwest coast and the mediterranean sea…the promise of sun, beaches, and relative calm lay ahead after the hustle and bustle of busy istanbul.
we took a short flight to dalaman and made our way to our new friend umit’s cousin’s hotel just outside fetiyeh. we were collected in fetiyeh by our host and drove the 1/2 hour or so to his suburban lodgings. the hotel was nice, clean, and comfy with an olympic style swimming pool and al fresco covered bar/restaurant. we lounged and swam and walked through the tiny neighborhood taking pictures of wildflowers and generally just kicking back.
next we bused down the coast to kayakoy (kaya-coo, is how they say it) where we experienced our most luxurious digs to date at a pansyion (inn) set on a massive plot of land also with swimming pool, gorgeously maintained gardens and views of the craggy mountains beyond. the country lanes in kaya village are what you’d expect to see in any rural, agricultural area – small dirt roads lined with hedges and cacti and remnants of 10th century stone walls (maybe older, i don’t know). kaya also offers a fairly intact ghost town, which we spent hours exploring before becoming starved for mezze and thirsty for good turkish wine.
kaya’s ghost town had been inhabited by greeks up until the 20s or 30s when the (some say radical) turkish leader ataturk gave them all the boot. when the greeks evacuated, for some reason or other the turks opted not to occupy the 2,000-odd buildings remaining and so they sat empty and decaying and are pretty much how they are today. you can still see evidence of the inhabitants and roughly make out how they lived – a major church in the center, an even more major church high up on a tall hill, some red and blue paint remaining on many of the walls of the abandoned and crumbling houses. mostly it’s just goats and some cows who hang out there now, munching on the flowers and grass that’s growing in and around the structures. it was a little eerie as we were apparently the one 2 people wandering around up there besides the goats and cows (though i’m sure there were several ghosts lingering and watching our every move).
after a luxurious stay in our mountain hamlet we caught the bus to kas, a midsized waterfront village with no beaches to speak of but a bustling fishing, diving and yachting community just two hours south. we shacked up at the hideaway, a lovely hotel not far from the center of town and steps away from a lycian age amphitheater still mostly intact (dating from 400 BC). kas (pronounced ‘cash’) is one of those cute touristy towns with lots of outdoor restaurants and cafes, narrow cobblestone streets, and a mellow pace common to seaside towns. our hosts, ahmet and marie (turkish and belgian, respectively) were very kind and helpful to us all during our stay and even agreed to a discounted price for us just for asking. both spoke exceptionally good english and they turned out to be a wealth of good information on things to do and see as well as helping arrange transport away from kas.
next we rode a bus, sharing the iPod, another 2 1/2 hours south to cireli (‘cherellah’ is how it’s pronounced). finally we were at the beach! we’d looked into rooming in a tree house but the tree house was neither in a tree nor could reasonably be described as a “house”. it was a dive – small, buggy, with nothing within but 2 flat twin mattresses and a holey mozzie net and was exorbitantly expensive for what you got. needless to say, we opted not to stay in the “tree house”. instead we got a motel style room in a motel style pensyion across the road from the beach. this proved a much better option as the staff were friendly (the tree house staff were surly), the place was practically devoid of other inhabitants save several chickens and a feisty little cat called piccola, located on a lovely plot of land with lots of fruit trees, flowers and plants.
we met caitlin’s cousin sally and her husband jeff and jeff’s mom there and all of us pretty much just hung out at the beach, ate a lot, chatted a lot, walked through ruins a lot and generally had a pretty good knees up the whole time. sally was fun and entertaining (she loved to take the piss with the waiters in turkish, often uttering the expression “allah hallah, meaning “oh my god” rolling her eyes dramatically in exasperation) and jeff is the only US ambassador i’ve ever met who liberally uses the word “dude” in casual conversation. obviously, we got along famously. jeff and sally were also great sources of information on all things turkey and travel and sharing the love of travel and exotic places meant that the conversations never dulled. jackie and jeff had lived in southern california, jeff attended high school at valhalla high and jackie remembered my uncle dick who had been a teacher there. small world moment. we all took turns smoking the nargilah one night (everyone got ash in their mouths), which was more or less pleasant but mild sweet tobacco got a bit too sweet for me after a few puffs, paddled along the stunning mediterranean coastline in their inflatable kayaks, biked and then hiked up to the chimaera (the eternal flames burning up through the earth from a methane gas mixture, the same which lit the very first olympic torch) and more or less enjoyed visiting and hanging around in the sun.
on our last day in cireli caitlin took off with sally, jeff and jackie back up to ankara where caitlin would spend the night before flying home to san francisco. i hitched ride with them, pack on my lap smooshed in the back seat, to the nearest road where i could catch a bus north and continue on my way. i got a ride from the side of the road “bus stop” in a minivan that took me to a more major bus stop where i waited a half an hour for the bus to kas. i got back to kas and went back to the hideaway but they were booked up so i ended up across the street at ahmet’s sister’s pensyion. the place was not as nice and my room not as large and there was no pool, but they did have a lovely and typical rooftop terrace with gorgeous view of the bay and all the boats bobbing below, as well as several small islands in the distance. the weather was again sunny and perfect.
ahmet gave me very good information on transport to greece and so i hung around for 2 days when i would catch the ferry to the island of meis (greece), about 1/2 hour by boat from kas, then a boat to rhodes (greece), then a short flight to athens. in the meantime, i met john who runs the pelican cafe near the waterfront. caitlin and i had met john before and lordy o lordy is that man easy on the eyes! he could easily be a part time model (inside flight of the conchords joke). alas for me he is married and has a small daughter, although he couldn’t have been more than about 28. he was very charming and nice and when i was asked to help write (because i have such great handwriting – ha!) the menus on his chalkboard signs, how could i refuse. so i was put to work. it wasn’t hard work but it wasn’t very good work, as my handwriting proved to be far less than perfect. still, i was happy to do the guy a favor and he in turn provided me with, for my efforts, coffee and a few beers at no cost. he was very appreciative and i felt useful, for a change.
after a peaceful nights rest, i awoke early and headed out to catch the ferry that ahmet had arranged for me (slightly dubious practice they have there of keeping your passport if you book a boat to greece, then an onward flight. i was a little worried at first that i may not get my passport back before i left, but of course i needn’t have bothered worrying since i got the thing back as soon as i boarded the boat), and was on my way in the sunshine on the ferry’s top decks to meis.
i killed about 6 1/2 hours on meis, a small and sleepy little island with just a small bay on one side lined with very typically greek looking buildings and businesses (blue and white mostly, like the flag) walking around, checking out some ancient ruins and just lazing in the shade in a cafe reading and drinking coffee. i met a man from australia who had family on meis and who gave me lots of information about meis as well as just chatting with me on all manner of topics. his wife had been there a week prior also but was now back in england where they live and he stayed on longer to hang out with his very old, blind uncle and other relatives.
he and i, as it turned out, flew out to rhodes on the same small plane and so could share a taxi to the airport and he (a little more than he needed, i should say) helped me with checking in and checking my pack and getting my tickets sorted out (in any other circumstances i would’ve thought he was being slightly patronizing assuming that i knew nothing about how air travel works, but he was genuinely sweet and kind so i forgave him his fussiness). we arrived in rhodes and went our separate ways, him to international departures and me to domestic.
after about 2 hours waiting, i took off for athens for a night in a youth hostel and then to london the next morning. athens didn’t really impress me much one way or the other. it’s busy. it’s crowded. i didn’t see much of interest, and the people i encountered were much surlier than in turkey but then again i was only there for about 12 hours, most of which was spent sleeping. at the hostel, which was in a very trendy part of town, i had my own en suite room for 55 euros. the mattress sucked but at least i had my own room. no dorms for me! there were lots of douchey american gap-year kids staying there that pretty much annoyed me with their general ignorance of foreign travel and adjustment to other cultures, but overall it was ok. the hostel offered decent breakfast in a courtyard and free internet. i had a late bite at a place that offered live music which was really good – a young guitarist and an older balalaika player played who sang duets of traditional greek tunes. gorgeous! and the waiter refilled my wine glass several times without letting me finish the first or charging me for the refills. he gave me his business card with his email address written on it i think because he saw me writing in my journal and possibly deduced that i was a journalist of some sort. at any rate, he was cool and i would recommend the moussaka if i could recall the name of the place now.
next day, i got my early flight to london and into the welcoming arms of many good long-time friends.

one of my favorite things about turkey, i must say, is the food. breakfast in particular, rocked my world: feta cheese, black olives, fresh bread and jam, a hard boiled egg, tomato and cucumber slices. the coffee was, like most places i’ve been so far, weak Nescafe instant coffee. fortunately there is no shortage of places to go for good, strong, chewy turkish coffee for when the caffeine deficit begins to make the head woozy. this breakfast beats the asian fish and rice breakfast by a mile. and the fact that the market stall folks will offer you a cup of hot apple tea, at no charge, if you hang around and chat with them for a minute or 2. you don’t even have to buy anything from them but the gesture does give incentive to do so.
the next entry will be full of tales of shenanigans and hijinx, i promise you that, dear readers. it’s been a whirlwind of activity since arriving in old blighty. i hope to not have such large gaps between entries in the future. since this is my last stop where i know people from before departing on my odyssey, it’s likely i’ll find more time to write silly scribbles for those who are still interested in my ramblings (i hear crickets…is this a bad sign?).
stay tuned…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am and is filed under Thailand, Travel, Turkey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.