The video was cut off at the end, but you get the idea.
~Josie
Ephesus
February 25th, 2010 § 0
And then there was Ephesus. I was ecstatic about this one. Probably the most amount of history that I have taken in at once. We waited until late afternoon to go to avoid the tour buses and the brain melting heat.
We spent hours walking around. It was almost dark when we left. If you ever visit Turkey, please go to Ephesus.
And, because I can’t go 10 minutes with out talking about food, here is a picture the an EPIC fruit salad as part of the free breakfast at the Boomerang Hostel.
~Josie
Selçuk
February 21st, 2010 § 0
After what was most likely the worst bus ride on this trip, we arrived in Selçuk. Not only are overnight buses uncomfortable, claustrophobic, soul stealing modes of transportation, but they drop you off at such an awkward time, making it frustrating when checking into the next humble abode. It was very early morning and our hostel (Boomerang Guesthouse) wouldn’t let us check in until 11:00am. We had to, literally, sleep on the roof and wait for our room. Ok, so the roof was a killer hang out lounge, but still.
We checked in, got a few hours of sleep, then headed ‘downtown’ for some food. Once again, we followed our guide book and decided to eat at Ejder Restaurant. Selçuk is a very small town so it was incredibly easy to find.
It was great! All the seating was outside and situated right next to the Byzantine Aqueducts.
We ordered our Turkish favourites; veggie kebabs, lentil soup and ice cold beer. Mehmet Ejder served us himself. He was so friendly it made us feel right at home. After finding out how we ended up at his restaurant he asked for our book and excitedly ran to show his wife the review. We made sure to go back.
Our whole reason to visit tiny Selcuk was to see Ephesus. Most people just do day trips on huge tour buses, but that’s not our style. We had all the time in the world so we decided to stay a couple days; it gave us time to take in the local culture. However, I wasn’t quite ready for a whole day of walking and site seeing in 35c heat so we decided to hit up Pamucak Beach instead.
Simply stunning. The sand was powder soft. The water was crystal clear and most importantly, there was (almost) NO ONE ON THE BEACH! Heaven. We camped out under one of the many available palm trees and spent the whole day there.
The next day, we did a mini site seeing tour. Right near our hostel was the Isa Bey Mosque (built by the Seljuk Turks) and the Ottoman castle.
We could see the Temple of Artemis from castle so we decided to walk. It was farther than we thought….
After many wrong turns and sweaty pounds shed, we made it! At first, dozens of huge tour buses blocked our view. Then we realized almost no one was actually going down to see it. Most people just stepped one foot off their air conditioned bus, snapped a photo and left. Unbelievable! I admit it wasn’t that impressive looking, but the history behind it was captivating. It’s one of the Seven Wonders of the World; I had to give it a touch.
So much history in such a small town. Tomorrow Ephesus!
~Josie
EVERTON!
February 20th, 2010 § 0
One of the best parts of our apartment in Bangkok is that I can watch satellite football. Everton beat Manchester United 3-1 tonight. If you don’t follow football, this is a big deal.
EVERTON! EVERTON! EVERTON!
- Neil
Istanbul-Archaeology Museums/Last Days
February 18th, 2010 § 1
One of our last days exploring Istanbul, it rained, but it was so excruciatingly hot every other day, it was a pleasant change.
However, it called for a change of plans. Originally we planned to visit the Topkapi Palace, but it’s mostly outside. So, we opted for the Archaeology Museums. Honestly, it wasn’t on our ‘must see’ list, but we figured why not.
This place was fantastic. I couldn’t believe that we almost didn’t go. We spent half a day there, just wandering around in awe until the point of starvation. There was simply too much stuff to see.
There were three buildings:
1. Archaeological Museum (Main Building)
2. Museum of the Ancient Orient
3. Museum of Islamic Art (Tiled Kiosk)
(We spent the majority of our time in the first two buildings)
These artifacts were old. Not just old, but bloody old. Ancient. Some pieces were from 1200 BCE. I was impressed how preserved everything was. Living in Canada, the closest I’ve been to a piece of ancient history was in Drumheller when I was 10yrs/old. Ok, so dinosaurs are pretty old, too.
The rest of the day(s) were spent eating, not sleeping (hostel life), shopping, smoking shisha…
Unfortunately, the last day in Istanbul I was ILL! ILL! ILL! Seriously sick. We already checked out of our room and had hours(!) to kill before taking a 12 hour over night bus to Selcuk. Not fun. Besides me laying in a public park in 35c heat shaking and experiencing cold sweats, I really enjoyed everything about Istanbul. Hands down one of my most favorite cities in the world. I will most definitely go back.
On to our next adventure, Selcuk!
~Josie
Happy Birthday Josie <3
February 15th, 2010 § 2
Plans Include: French toast and coffee in bed, shopping in Siam Square, dinner, and a movie.
- Neil
Music!
February 13th, 2010 § 1
During this trip my ipod has been a life saver. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve needed to blocked out whatever or whoever and just listen to some tunes.
Below is the completely random shuffle selection from my 12 hour overnight bus ride from Krabi to Bangkok. (6pm-6am Gross!)
Nirvana-In Bloom
The Advantage-Bubble Bobble-Shark Skeleton
Quien es, Boom!-Brittle Britches
Kanye West-Celebration
The Notorious B.I.G-Respect
The Rolling Stones-It’s Not Easy
Flight Of The Conchords-Business Time
Seu Jorge-Suffraggette City
Dr. Octagon-Girl Let Me Touch You
Murderbot-Spring ‘05 Mix
Aphex Twin-Analogue Bubblebath
The Juan Maclean-The Time Is Running Out
Liars-Drum Gets A Glimpse
Tenacious D-Kyle Quits
Hood-The River Curves Around The Tow
DJ Krush-Anticipation
Arab Strap-Chat In Amsterdam
Bjork-Unravel
Spoon-The Beast And Dragon, Adored
Congo Natty-Jah Bless I And I
Chad VanGaalen-Phantom Anthills
Nirvana-Smells Like Teen Spirit
Radiohead-2 Plus 2 Equals 4 (live)
Final Fantasy-The Chronicles Of Sarnia
The Shins-Those To Come
No Age-Keechie
Talking Heads-Road To Nowhere
All-Time Quarterback-Empire State
Liars-Why Midnight Walked But Didn’t Ring Her Bell
Robert Nighthawk-Maxwell Street Medley
Caribou-Subotnick
Bloc Party-Always New Depths
Ugly Casanova- Hotcha Girls
M83-You, Appearing
Metal Fingers-Passion Flower
Neil Young-Down By The River
SS Cardiacs-Up At Night
Jennifer Gentle-Nothing Makes Sense
Sufjan Stevens-Jacksonville
Tyrannosaurus Rex-Trelawney Lawn
Four Tet-Pablo’s Heart
The Beatles-Got To Get You Into My Life
Death Cab For Cutie-Amputations
Maximo Park-Kiss You Better
Stephen Malkmus-Freeze The Saints
Digable Planets-It’s Good To Be Here
La Roux-I’m Not Your Toy
DJ Krush-Bypath 3
AFX-Boxing Day
Liars-The Garden Was Crowded And Outside
Gogol Bordello-Alcohol
Elliott Smith-Alphabet Town
Sunset Rubdown-Us Ones In Between
Cannibal Ox-Raspberry Fields
J Dilla-Bye
Arcade Fire-Brazil
The Unicorns-Sea Ghost
MF Doom-Kon Queso
The Microphones-Deeply Buried
Spoon-The Infinite Pet
Aphex Twin-Normal
Beck-Beautiful Way
~Josie
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
February 10th, 2010 § 1
The story thus far…
Vancouver to London [via Dublin] (Plane) London to Liverpool (Bus) Liverpool to Manchester (Car) Manchester to London (Train) London to Girona (Plane) Girona to Barcelona (Bus) Barcelona to Pamplona (Bus) Pamplona to Najera (Bus) Najera to Pamplona (Car) Pamplona to Barcelona (Bus) Barcelona to Dubrovnik (Plane) Dubrovnik to Tivat (Van) Tivat to Belgrade (Bus) Belgrade to Bucharest (Train) Bucharest to Amsterdam (Plane) Amsterdam to Leiden (Train) Leiden to Amsterdam, Den Haag, Gouda, and back again (Train) Amsterdam to Bucharest (Plane) Bucharest to Brasov (Train) Brasov to Zarnesti and back again (Train) Brasov to Sighisoara (Train) Sighisoara to Bucharest (Train) Bucharest to Istanbul (Train) Istanbul to Selcuk/Ephesus (Bus) Selcuk to Pamukkale (Bus) Pamukkale to Kas (Bus) Kas to Faralya (Van) Farayla to Fethiye (Van) Fethiye to Olympos (Boat) Olympos to Goreme (Bus) Goreme to Istanbul [via Ankara] (Bus) Istanbul to Bangkok [via Abu Dhabi] (Plane) Bangkok to Ko Samui (Bus/Boat) Ko Samui to Ko Phangan (Boat) Ko Phangan to Ko Tao (Boat) Ko Tao to Bangkok (Boat/Bus) Bangkok to Saigon (Plane) Saigon to My Tho (Van) My Tho to Saigon (Bus) Saigon to Phu Quoc (Plane) Phu Quoc to Chau Doc (Boat/Van) Chau Doc to Phnom Penh (Boat) Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and back again (Bus) Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and back again (Bus) Phnom Penh to Bangkok (Plane) Bangkok to Pranburi (Van) Pranburi to Hua Hin (Truck) Hua Hin to Bangkok (Van) Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur (Plane) Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands and back again (Bus) Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok (Plane) Bangkok to Ko Samui (Bus/Boat) Ko Samui to Ko Lanta (Boat/Van) Ko Lanta to Krabi (Van) Krabi to Hat Yai (Van) Hat Yai to Penang and back again (Van) Hat Yai to Songkhla and back again (Bus/Van) Hat Yai to Krabi (Bus)
As you can see we have quite a lot of catching up to do on the blog…to be continued.
- Neil
