March 28, 2023
Reflections on our travel choices.
We are only 2 weeks into our journey, but our ideas on our approach have been developing as we go. We arrived In Fethiye, with 2 hotel nights booked and a vague outline of the route we wanted to take to Istanbul. Our next milestone is a flight to Goa, which determined our date of departure from Turkey.
Some Australian ex-pats living in Turkey, whom we had met while waiting for the ferry in Rhodes, suggested we visit Pamukkale, the site of the famous travertines, just north of Denizli, a town we were planning to pass through. We had already determined that we were not interested in just ticking off all the must-see sights in each country we visited.
Izmir local rail and metro Lots of buses Athens shiny metro Izmir bus to Bus Terminal
This is more about the journey, using local transportation, and experiencing, if only a little, the ways of the country. But we were passing near-by Pamukkale, with the luxury of not having any pre-booked travel in Turkey.
We remember all too well our experience of travel arranged through tour companies. Always met by English-speaking guides and having pre-arranged transport to hotels, selected by the tour company.
Part of our enjoyment comes from travelling independently. Peter would prefer not to stay in last-minute grotty accommodation, but the freedom outweighs the risks…for now!
Sunset in Piraeus All aboard! Big ferry What a view…
We keep reminding ourselves of the tea-houses we slept in on our trek in the Himalayas: freezing cold rooms with cardboard thin walls, outside toilet and washing facilities. Cleanliness was a distant memory and at our highest altitude, we slept 6 to a room; surely we will be able to manage with whatever we come across (and even our Himalayan experience was preferable to our first night in Tibet, when we travelled with Chris and Kirsten in 2001!)
So our plan is to stay in Pamukkale tonight before spending a couple of nights near Ephesus. We have chosen a route from there which will involve a local train, the light railway and metro in Izmir followed by bus to Bandirma and ferry across the Sea of Marmara to arrive by water to Istanbul.
Which way Greece? Disembarkation Catamaran ferry Heading onto Sea of Marmara
It would have been quicker and simpler by bus all the way, but that’s our plan, and only time will tell whether we are allowed the satisfaction of navigating it.
We were glad to have the use of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to circumvent what seems to be a Turkish internet blockage of of using Booking.com to reserve domestic hotels. VPN allowed us be able to access Booking.com as normal for non-Turkish residents.
