Turkey - ANZAC DAY TOUR

23.04.2012

The traffic in Istanbul is insane, people must be killed everyday either in crashes or just plain being run over, there doesn’t seem to be any real road rules and even when the traffic lights are green you’ll still get people trying to T-Bone you, I would never ever drive here. There are about 18 million people that live in Istanbul and 4 million cars and it’s not a huge place in comparison to other cities I’ve been to & very wisely no-one rides bikes.

Our bus drove out of the city and towards to Gallipoli Peninsula, as we got further out of the city the rural areas were full of agriculture and the houses were very different to back home. There is no real structure to how they are laid out, they all have a little square of land just plonked anywhere and there might be 10-15metres between their border and someone elses but no-one cares for the land in between, hard to describe but a bit odd. We stopped half way for a break and there I found my first experience of dealing with squat toilets, just basically a hole in the floor that you need to try and pee into, a lot harder that it looks and you just know that the liquid on the floor you are standing in isn’t just water, surely they want to move with the times, they had normal toilets there too so why not make them all like that?

The landscape doesn’t really change so after a while everyone fell asleep, eventually arriving in the town of Eceabat where we would later catch the ferry across to Canakkale to stay for the night, but we first had a lunch stop.

We all paid 23TL each for a set lunch at a restaurant and were told that there was no real other option for lunch, we felt pretty ripped off with what we got, some rice, lettuce, tomato, cabbage, cold chips (about 5), and six 1 inch sausage things in tin foil.

After that experience, we went to ANZAC cove, was fantastic to go there before the event although I would have preferred it maybe a week earlier to see the place without the stadium seating etc. The first thing that blew my mind was the cliffs that our boys had to climb up, the thick scrub to battle through to get up there would be hard enough let alone carrying all their gear and also getting shot at, they must have been gnarly guys, just amazing, and the NZ boys got the highest, right to the top and they held it for a brief time before all being killed L

We went to a couple of the cemeteries that were on the waters edge, and I was more than impressed with the upkeep of the graves, in between each one there were flowers planted, the grass was lush and the trees were all in full spring bloom, amazing time of year to go.

We stopped and looked at the Australian Lone Pine Memorial, the Turkish 57^th Regiment Memorial and then lastly on the top of the hill was the NZ Memorial. Right up the top of the hill they have restored some of the Turkish trenches back to how they were so they were really neat to see and to know that our guys held them for a short time.

After a whirlwind and very tiring day, we headed back to Eceabat to catch the ferry across to Canakkale for the night, the ferry was packed full of tour buses and we didn’t think we were going to fit on but they seemed to be just enough space to squeeze the coach on and then a little yellow car drove around us and onto the ferry. The driver and our guide got out and they all started yelling and the driver of the yellow car grabbed our drivers ties to pull him in closer, but thankfully that all blew over pretty quick and we still got the bus on just without the ferry back gate being able to be lifted up properly.

Canakkale is a really beautiful little town on the Dardinelles, we all felt like spoiling ourselves so we went to a lovely restaurant on the waters edge, they didn’t speak the greatest English so took us into the kitchen area to show us what was on the menu.

I got Calamari and whole Sea Bream, the Bream was flame cooked I think, completely whole and was so delicious, it didn’t come with any real sides but it was plenty enough.

The beer to drink in Turkey is called Efes, very similar to NZ lager, and for a decent glass the prices range from 4.50TL to 7.50TL depending on the place.

24.04.2012

Today was very cruisy, started at 11am and we went to Troy. I was expecting a lot more at Troy, don’t really know what but its mainly just lots of rubble bricks with a few things here and there still together. There was a brick ramp in one part where they believe could have been where the Trojan Horse was brought into the city.

We weren’t there for long and we headed back to Canakkale, on the way we stopped at a supermarket to stock up for the long haul night of staying at ANZAC cove, just got myself some chips, olives, bananas, chocolate & water, was crazy trying to find your way around a supermarket when it’s all in Turkish and they eat quite different foods there.

Had free time for the rest of the day till 6.30pm so we all went and drank beer on the water front, tried Turkish Coffee and I also bought a little bracelet. The coffee was black with sugar in it, it came in tiny porcelain cups and you can only really drink 2/3s of a cup cause 1/3 of it is a brown sludge, but its definitely drinkable and all good if you just need a coffee hit.

We had a fantastic kebab at a place opposite our hotel (ANZAC Hotel), finally some decent food!

6.30pm we headed towards Gallipoli on the ferry again, but we first had to stop for the BBQ party dinner for those that had booked it, and once again it was held at the place where we had lunch and once again those that got the meal felt it was a rip off. I didn’t buy it cause they wanted 15 euros for it and I had a feeling it would be just like lunch and it was.

We got to the cove at about 10pm, went through security like at an airport, they had scanners and went through everyones bags. Then we were handed cool welcome packs, with a wrist band, beanie, poncho, programme of events guide, history book & pencil.

I walked in with Mark & Jenny, and already all the grass was taken, there were thousands of people lying like sardines next to each other and there was just no hope of us 3 finding a spot together. I bailed from them and found a slither of grass on the edge of the walkway next to an Aussie girl who was fast asleep by the time I got there. Her boyfriend was awake though and asked if I could squeeze in, they had no issues so I began setting up camp.

Got out my poncho and lay that down first, then got out my emergency bivvy – like an emergency blanket but shaped like a sleeping bag. Got myself in my sleeping bag then inside the bivvy, used my jacket and backpack as a pillow and I was super warm and comfy, Liz & Brian walked past me and managed to find a tiny patch of grass to squeeze into so they lay down behind me.

After a couple of hours sleep I woke up to the screeching voice of the singer from the Australian army band who pumped out a few songs at 1.30am, there were documentaries running all night on the big screens which I’d wake up and watch then fall asleep to. At one point they played the next part of a symphony being put together ready for the 2015 anniversary, they got composers from OZ, NZ & Turkey to put 2 minutes or so towards a song, every year for the past 7 years they have added to the song. So they played the song so far then played the new bit for 2012, they turned out all the lights and we listened to this spine chilling beautiful music while staring up at the million stars above our heads, I couldn’t help my think that these same stars were looking down on our ANZACs as they battled here 97 years ago and it brought a tear or two to my eyes.

I fell asleep again and woke up an hour or so later, I put my hands between my bivvy and sleeping bag and realised that it was so toasty warm that it had created condensation and my bag was getting wet, so I got out and lay my bag on top of the bivvy, then lay my NZ flags over my bag to protect it from the dew.

I didn’t get cold once and I only used my puffy jacket in the morning when we were standing up a lot but really it wasn’t freezing like in previous years.

There was over 7000 people there last year and this year only about 4500, and it was still crammed, not sure how they are going to cope with 20,000 expected for 2015, I’d say that if you are going to go then do it next year of 2014 cause it will be quieter and you’ll enjoy the experience so much more.

At about 4am everyone began to stir, the official dawn service began at 5.30am and was a very touching & emotional service. The karakea by the Maori women stirred me to my core and brought a tear to my eye, the sun had not come up yet and the energy in the cove was, well I’d like to say electric, but not sure that’s the right way to describe it.

Julia Gillard got up in her awesome Australian accent (not), and the representative for Turkey got up and spoke a few words, then our dude got up and shed some tears while doing so and that got me going again. Finally after everything they had the last post, and I don’t think there was one dry eye in that cove at that point, the sound of the bugle just went right through you and everyone else around you, it was like it echoed off the cliffs behind us and we could feel that cove was full of the spirits of those fallen ANZACS & Turks, we all knew they were there with us and it was overwhelming to feel them by your side.

The sun slowly rose and the cliffs behind us where we lost those men were lit up, everytime I looked up at them I just had an overwhelming feeling of disbelief that a) we even attempted to battle up those hills and b) that we managed to get to the top of them!

Ended up that I didn’t eat anything the whole night cause I was so comfy and sleeping, so after the dawn service I had to pack up everything and throw away my food cause I was not carting that up those hills.

With the masses I began walking with Liz & Brian, firstly along the coast until I came to the turn off to Shrapnel Valley Cemetery where my Great Great Uncle Frank Binns is buried. I had seen a few cemeteries a few days earlier and thought they were beautiful but this one took the cake for sure, flowers between each grave then 3-4 trees in bright purple blossom, what an incredible place to have as your final resting place, just stunning.

I spent a while in here taking lots of photos and spending time next to Frank, I placed a poppy on his grave and said goodbye and that I’d see him again soon then left to continue up the hill.

Liz really needed to find her Great Uncles grave also, he was buried in the 4^th regiment cemetery and it was so hard to find, so we asked some local police looking guys who couldn’t speak English then this Aussie voice behind us said ‘Why do you want to go there?’, we explained why and he ask us ‘Are you ok with going bush?’, of course we were so we followed him along his shortcut up the mountain.

We went completely bush, there was a slight track but if you were on your own you’d have no clue where to go, and we followed the Shrapnel Valley up the hills. To our left we looked down into the valley where Simpson carried the water to the ANZAC’s, he pointed out all the places where we were fighting including where we were walking was in the thick of it, kept my eyes peeled for a bullet shell but no such luck. The whole was up the hill we looked down on Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, got some amazing photos of the cemetery from a distance, but it was just so special to be taken up the hill the way our guys went, not on a tar sealed road.

Eventually we got to the 4^th battalion cemetery where we found his grave, no one was in the cemetery but us cause to get to it from the other side was off the beaten track too, so we chilled out here for a while in the shade and I kept looking for shells, still nothing.

After 10 mins or so Rebecca came into the cemetery, a girl who was on our tour but in a different bus, she’s a kiwi chick from Timaru.

I then stuck with Bec and started heading towards the NZ memorial and Liz & Brian headed to the Aussie one at Lone Pine, we had a wee friend to accompany us along the way, a friendly stray dog walked the whole way up the hill with us.

We stopped in at all the cemeteries along the way, some with incredible views down the mountain and out to sea, and our dog kept by our side as we did so, not sure when she decided to leave but one moment she was there and the next she was gone.

The NZ service was good, just like the dawn services we have at home except at lunch time instead, only problem was there was not enough seating for all the NZ’ers, the stadium seating was only for about 500 people and there was easily 1000 kiwis there, so those that couldn’t get into the stadium seating around the memorial sat on the grass outside & watched it on big screen. It was so hot by this point, my back was soaking wet from sweat but gladly I wore merino so it dried real quick.

After it was all over we went to the meeting point to catch our bus, it’s the same point for everyone so there was a few thousand there, the NZ army bad set up and played a few tunes for everyone which was nice. Still the sun beamed down on us, Im so glad I had my flags with my to keep the sun off my arms, also I must is a hat, sunnies just don’t cut it, you need a hat.

I still hadn’t eaten at this stage, so was starting to fade a bit, was glad to get in the airconditioned bus and to the town to get some food. The only thing I would change if I went again would be to take a bigger backpack with me, you need food during the day and lots of water and it sux if you can’t carry it.

Had a pida filled bread thing, went the veggie option, it was tasty and made me feel heaps better, got on the bus and fell asleep, didn’t really wake up again till Istanbul.

Had to do my washing when I got back to the hotel and have a decent shower, then hit the hay as we had another early start the next day to do a tour of Istanbul.

26.04.2012

Last day of the tour and everyone was pretty tired, but still managed to rally enough energy to do a few hours around Istanbul. Firstly we visited the Blue Mosque, called that by tourists cause of the amount of blue tiles used to decorate the inside. My chosen attire for the day wasn’t quite appropriate for a mosque, had a dress on, so they gave me something to cover my legs, I had a cardi on so didn’t need one for my arms, they didn’t require you to cover your head. Outside the mosque the have a heap of taps with seats in front of them where everyone washes before going inside to pray, they have a special routine they do always starting with the right side of their body.

The inside was so beautiful, but of was jam packed with tourists and cause we had to take our shoes off the place smelt like smelly feet.

Next we walked through the hippodrome, where back in the day they used to have chariot racing etc, unfortunately most of the structures were destroyed in one of the many earthquakes Turkey gets, but there are still a couple of things there.

The spice markets was next on the list, made sure I had my bag on the front of me as the place was crowded, every stall they tried so hard to get you in to their shop and  they’ll say anything to do so. The funniest one was ‘Excuse me you dropped something’, so you’d turn around to look then accidentally get eye contact and they’ll try to drag you into their shop, but after the 5^th time you just start laughing at them.

I bought a bracelet from there made of beads called Evil Eye, a blue bead with a white circle then a blue dot in the middle so it looks like an eye. This Evil Eye goes back to the story of Medusa and if you look into her eyes you will be turned to stone, same thing goes with my bracelet, it protects me from anyone with bad intentions, so if anyone looks at me with bad intentions then the evil eye will get rid of them, thought it was a good thing to have while traveling on my own.

After the Spice Markets our tour was over, I still had one night to go so had the afternoon to fill, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do, Turkish Baths or Hammam Baths. I had heard about them years ago and always wanted to do it, so no better time than the present, plus I was so tired that I needed a bit of relaxation. I had no idea where to go and our tour guide, Selcuk (pronounced Selchook) had nothing to do for the day so he kindly walked me through Istanbul for about 20 minutes and to these amazing Baths. By the way walked past some incredible shoe shops, apparently they are for all the Russians that live in the city.

There were a couple of options to choose from but I went for the deluxe, cost 117TL so about $50, and our guide said he would be back in 1.5hrs to collect me to walk me back through the city to where I was staying.

Let me take you through my experience at the baths, it was definitely something else, unlike anything I have ever experienced before and definitely something I would do again in a heartbeat.

Firstly they give you a couple of tokens that say what you are getting to hand to the ladies that are looking after you, then you are taken to the locker rooms to get changed, or undressed I should say, you just have like a giant tea towel you wrap around you and some black undies they give you to put on, however at this point they hadn’t given me the undies so I was just naked and thought that’s just the way it was. Then they point you towards a huge wooden door, you go inside and it’s like looking back in time, the ceilings are so high and the entire place is made of marble, it’s a huge octagon shaped room with a giant octagon marble slab in the centre. Around the outside of the room is running water in small troughs and little stools beside them, then there are also smaller rooms with running water in there too with stools if you want to hang in there and wash.

On the marble slab lying along the edge of each side of the octagon is a woman getting scrubbed down by an obese older woman who is wearing nothing but black undies, completely topless, so the client is nude except the undies and the lady washing is the same.

I realised at this point that I should have gotten some black undies too, but before I could say anything she had ripped off my towel, she made this funny surprised noise when she saw I was naked and quickly got my a pair, I had to laugh.

Then she lay the towel down so I was lying with the head towards the centre of the octagon, the marble slab was heated and so lovely to lie on, there was a lady around from me that I caught eye contact with, she smiled but in a way that told me that she was absolutely terrified.

While I lay there getting hotter, I began to take in what was about to happen to me, and I took a deep breath, let go of any modesties and rolled with it.

First she moved me to lie lengthways, on my back first, then she poured a whole bucket of warm water over me. She then got another couple of buckets of water with soap, had a piece of cloth, and began scrubbing me all over, it was so nice. Turned over and she did my back etc, then she grunted at me to sit up and she scrubbed my shoulders, had to close my eyes as not to experience gigantic boobs right in my face at that point. Then she pulled me up to standing and took me over to the troughs at the side of the room, sat me down and began washing my hair, loved that bit.

Once I was scrubbed, she pointed to the next room, which was a spa room but really was just a small swimming pool of 1.4m where you just chill out for 20 mins or so and relax.

After there I went to another room where I dried off and got a real towel, then through to the part where you can have a drink and sit down for a bit, I had a Turkish Apple Tea, was so yum.

Lastly was my oil massage, went through and I nearly fell asleep, it was just a relaxation massage but it was so lovely especially cause I was so tired.

I felt so great afterwards, Selcuk said I looked like I was shining at the end of it ha.

Walked back through the city to my hotel, and he said for me to have a few hours sleep and then he’d show me the New City at night time, was super tired but agreed, really had wanted to see that part of the city plus at night I would never have been able to do that on my own, so thought I’d make the most of it.

At 9pm we taxied into the city and the place was buzzing with people, he reckoned that some times during holidays or special events you can get 4 million people there, luckily there wasn’t that many people there that night but it was still a mission to walk down the street.

We went to a place for some food, was so good to have something other than a kebab, but I still really want some veges, like broccoli and carrots etc, they just don’t seem to do whole veges very much here.

After that we walked through this courtyard place which was under cover of huge ceilings but still felt like it was outside, there were huge tables everywhere with people dining and drinking, awesome atmosphere.

Came out of that and there were markets still going, selling fish and fruit etc, came to a bar and walked up a few flights of stairs where it opened up to look out over where we just walked. Had a couple of beers there, then moved on to a shot bar, they have lots of these places in Istanbul.

We got a tray of 13 shots, all different flavoured vodkas, but they weren’t full strength vodkas. Had ones of different flavours like orange, kiwi & lemon, they were all pretty sweet and sickly so I wasn’t a huge fan.

Next we walked down to the river to a bar that was under the bridge, here I had to try Turkish Raki, a clear alcohol that they mix with water and it turns cloudy. You sip this, then take a sip of water, then you have a piece of cheese, I wouldn’t say it was the nicest stuff, it was just super strong, 50% alcohol apparently, only in a small glass though, like an over-sized shot glass.

Was so great to see Istanbul like that, didn’t think I was going to be able to but Selcuk was so great to show me around.

Not sure if I will return to Istanbul for a holiday, maybe to pass through to go somewhere else

Last bits of London & off to Istanbul

20.04.12 - LONDON

Today I died and went to heaven...for about and hour and a half...one of the highlights of my trip so far...the shoe section of Harrods.
Today I held in my arms shoes that I couldn't even dream of, and I vow that if I ever win lotto that I am getting on a jet plane and spending $20,000 on 6-7 pairs of the most incredible heels ever.
Every designer you can imagine was there in all its glory including the likes of Jimmy Choo, Alexander Mcqueen, Prada, Chanel, and Gucci. And then I saw them, the most incredible pair in the entire room, they were Gucci, they were 1500 pounds and they nearly brought a tear to my eye I wanted them so badly. Nude coloured satin encrusted with tiny light blue swavroski crystal diamantes all the way down the heel also, just beautiful. Then as I held them in my hands, wearing my little blue backpack, puffy jacket and geeky traveling/walking shoes on, the assistant came over to me and asked if I was ok, I said that I was in heaven and clearly my accent meant he had no idea what I said and just stared back, so I said it again, still no response, then the third time was just awkward and the moment was lost but I said it anyway and he finally got it, smiled and walked away.

Had to purchase something in Harrods, so I went to the makeup section in search for MAC, got myself some new foundation and a new bright red lipstick.

Cracks me up when you go into the produce section of Harrods, where you can buy your onions and potatoes etc, for about 3 times the price you would normally pay, and there were clearly people with way too much money doing their weekly grocery shop there, obscene.

A friend told me that the staff at Harrods enter the building through tunnels from another building close by, they then go into hair & makeup plus there is a tailor there too for any last minute adjustments, I do have to say though that all the staff look immaculate.

Popped in to the science museum for a nosy, killed an hour or so and there were some interesting things in there, heaps of space travel stuff, really interactive as well but all in all it wasn’t as great as I thought it was going to be.

It had 4 levels, the last was called ‘The Future’, and all it was was 3 round tables with projector images on them telling you about ideas of the future like tiny robots you swallow and they go directly to the place that needs fixing, like a cancer tumour and they will remove all the cancerous cells without damaging any other healthy cells in the future.

That evening I caught the tube to Notting Hill and met up with Josh & Monique, went to a local pub that had a Thai restaurant out the back. They put a time limit of an hour on your seats cause they are so busy, I asked for a Chicken Green Curry, the lady brought me a Red Curry and when I said about it she got all upset and was saying how I ordered number 20 and that is the Red Curry. I tried to say that I didn’t even use a number nor did I even look at the number and she basically said that I had to have it ha, it was great anyway.

21.04.2012 - LONDON

It was the weekend which meant I got to hang with Sam, Lydia & Mel properly which was great, we went to Camden markets which were as brilliant as they were 10 years ago, then went out to lunch.

Finally found amazing coffee and where do you have to go to get it? A NZ owned restaurant that roast their own coffee onsite, I guess they arrived at the same conclusion I did and figured that to get good coffee you have to make it yourself. So it’s definitely worth the tube to Old Street, its tucked down a side street, but its called Ozone, with Kiwi staff and amazing food (I had the steak sandwich). They also have an awesome cocktail, blood orange snow cone in a glass with  a double shot of manuka honey 42 below to pour over the top, totes making that one when I get back home.

On a quest to find this minotaur Dad was telling me about lead us to Postmans Park near St Pauls, I googles Minotuar Sculpture London and for some reason it came up with this park, there was no minotaur there, however there was a big wall with plaques from back in the late 1800’s to memorialise people who gave their lives to save anothers. For example people that had drowned while trying to save someone, or a man pulling 11 people out of a house fire only to succumb to the fire himself.

So will need to look further into where this minotaur could be so I can find it when I’m back in London.

Had some drinks at home then headed off to The Duck to have farewell drinks for Andy Smith (Faz) who is returning to NZ soon. Had an awesome night out, the pub closed at midnight thank god cause I needed to be up at 4am to catch a taxi to the airport. The previous night I double checked my flight details cause for some reason I thought I was flying at 9amish, and I got an email the other day saying that BA is looking forward to seeing me at 7am on Sunday, I figured they meant check in. Anyway, I found that I was in fact flying at 7.10am, which meant I needed to be at Heathrow for 5am, with no tubes running then I would need a taxi, there goes 30 pounds I won’t see again, could have bought more MAC with that.

Got back to the flat and on the menu was toast with peanut butter & cheese, cheers Sam for introducing me to that, mowed a few slices then had to say my goodbyes to everyone as I was getting up in 3 hours time.

Had a wicked time staying with Sam & Lyds, amazing hosts and made life while in London so easy, I couldn’t have asked for more and I thank them heaps for everything, hope I can repay the favour sometime.

22.04.2012 - ISTANBUL

Not sure what it is about Kiwi’s but they look a certain way, take away the Kathmandu puffy jackets, the NZ themed T-shirts and hoodies & the greenstones, they still look like Kiwi’s, especially the guys. So they were everywhere, along with the Aussies, taking over terminal 5 at Heathrow all catching the same flight to Istanbul. It felt like I was back in NZ, that was until I got a coffee and was thrown back into the reality of being in London.

So with my Bulmers Cider hangover and terrible coffee I boarded the plane, sitting next to a Kiwi girl of course, her name was Claire. Hoping to get a bit of shut eye during the 3hr 15min flight, the screaming baby two rows in front of me, she screamed and screamed and would not let up, and we hadn’t even taken off yet. Then her 2 year old sister decided that she needed to join in but had to make sure she was louder and produce a more ear piercing scream, awesome, the little men inside my head that were already hammering away then got their jackhammers out.

Time passed relatively quickly considering the noise pollution, also magically managed to get a 20min nap in which was an unexpected bonus, flying into Istanbul is really lovely, the country side is beautiful and really green this time of year.

If you are a kiwi then getting into Istanbul is just as easy as if you were a local, no need to get any visas, just walk straight on through, the Aussies and Kiwi’s were separated at this point cause they all needed to go buy visas where as us kiwis got through way quicker.

Collecting baggage was funny, it was a case of spot the non-kathmandu pack, and you had to double check your baggage tags to make sure you hadn’t picked up someone elses pack.

No customs, well there was a red and a green door but just like in London no-one was even standing there, go through the big doors and there was a wall of peoples names in front of me so just had to start at one end and work my way down to try and spot my name eventually found it and the lovely man to pick me up took me to where the rest of my group being picked up today were, had to wait here while he tried to find the last girl. So it was then that I met Liz & Brian from Australia, who have spent the past 3 weeks traveling around heaps of real interesting places including Israel, however they wouldn’t recommend going there, just a nightmare with security everywhere. The weather is gorgeous, just like it is in Nelson when I left, not too hot but real sunny and the same feel in the air.

The last girl didn’t end up showing so we left, took about 40 minutes to get to the hotel from the airport in crazy traffic for 1pm. The city is way greener than I had imagined and a lot cleaner, there are tulips everywhere at the moment leading up to their tulip festival next week, so there is heaps of colour around. There are loads of parks throughout the suburbs and city, and the locals make the most of it and there are heaps of families enjoying the sun in the park. There are mosques everywhere, and they are stunning, some are absolutely massive and stick so clear up out of the skyline, not many high buildings so the towers are clear to see for miles.

I got dropped off at my hotel and Liz & Brian then got taken to their hotel, tried to have an hours sleep before I was to be picked up again to be taken to the conference about the tour but was too excited I think although I was so tired and starving. Got picked up and went to the conference which was awesome, a Turkish man gave us all a run down on the story of what happened and it was so interesting, then he went through where we are going and what we are going to see along the way, Shrapnel Valley cemetery is right in the middle of things so it’ll be super easy to get to. The whole tour is so well organised, everything has been thought of and we basically just need to turn up, the guides are super lovely and are funny people, great sense of humour here.

Have the room were silver tops from Australia, who clearly didn’t look into what they were signing up for before they came out to this. The questions from them were unreal, and they all had horrified looks on their faces when they were told about sleeping out on the grass, about how far we will have to walk from the bus to the service area etc, it was really funny, I just hope they do cope and don’t cause too many dramas. But we later found out that they are going to be on a different bus to my group which was awesome to hear.

The sun was setting as we drove back from the conference, and the sight was spectacular, gutted I couldn’t stop for a photo but the sun put bright pinks and oranges across the city and the light and colour bounced off all the mosques and the city looked like it was out of a fairy tale.

Found 2 more people that are staying at my hotel tonight, Mark from Oz who lives with his wife Jenny from Germany in Germany.!

After the conference, I was dying for something to eat so Mark, Jenny and I went walking the streets for some elephants foot, or if you aren’t my Dad, a kebab. Didn’t have to walk far before we were accosted and sat down at seats outside this shop, lovely people, just pushy when it comes to wanting to sell you something. I ordered a mixed kebab, chicken & lamb, cause that was the favourite of the waiter, cost me 10TL, Mark got the same and Jenny got a salad. The meat was super tasty, however I still would rate Akbabas on Bridge Street as still better. The kebab here was served completely open, well the meat, lettuce, tomato and rice was on a plate and the just had a piece of folded flat bread sitting on top of the plate. Mark and I didn’t quite know how to go about eating it, we just did the best we could but there was no sauce on it so was pretty dry, it was tasty and after not eating anything since 7am on the plane I would have eaten anything. After dinner we went for a beer, not sure of the kind of beer it was we just ordered ‘Beer’, cost us 7TL for a pint and it was great. Got to know Mark & Jenny a bit better, she is in her final year of becoming a vet and Mark is working in a bar in Berlin and reckons that even if you cant speak German that I would have no trouble finding bar work there if I wanted to work for a bit.

Now I’m back in my room about to hit the hay, up at 6.30am, going to be a long day, about 5 hours drive to Gallipoli from here and if the driving is as crazy on the way there as it was today then maybe it’ll be a bit longer, they are truly mental, all the cars have at least one dent in them.

So excited to be here, its an incredible city and its so surreal that I’m in it, bring on tomorrow.

London - Day 2

 Very glad that I did all my walking around London yesterday cause today the weather was so atrocious! Looking out the window this morning I wondered if it would really be worth the trouble of venturing out into it but I figured I’m not in London for long so may as well and hope that it clears soon.  Bought a London Pass the day before which meant free entry into heaps of places around London, cost about 40 pounds and if you manage to get a few things in it means you save a heap. So had a heap of things to go see today, first stop was Westminster Abbey and I really loved it. The ceilings were amazing and I loved seeing all the tombs of past kings & queens as well as heaps of famous people buried there like Charles Dickens, Issac Newton, Charles Darwin & Churchill amongst heaps others, really gutted I couldn’t take photos in there.

St Pauls Catherdral was next, got out of the tube station and walked to the cathedral in torrential rain, awesome, couldn’t even take photos it was raining so much. At that point I wondered if I should just head home and try again tomorrow but I trudged on and I’m glad I did.  Again with the hundreds of German teenagers, I’m beginning to wonder if when I get to Germany if there will be any Germans left there!!  The best thing about this place was the ceilings, the mosaics were so intricate and colourful and the dome was awesome, made my way up the hundred or so stairs to the whispering gallery. It’s a balcony at the base of the dome and if someone whispers on one side of it you can hear what they say super clear on the other side. Carried on up the stairs, 119 of them to the first outside balcony on the dome, magically the weather cleared for me when I got there and I could see for miles, headed on up again up over a hundred stairs to the second balcony higher up the dome and again the views were awesome. Definitely don’t bother with the London eye, you can see just as far by going to St Pauls and you get a butt and thigh workout in the process!

                                             The rain stopped me doing heaps of things that I really wanted to do but I made sure I got the Tower of London in and saw those incredible Crown Jewels. The history in this place is crazy, so many people were imprisoned, tortured and executed here, in the rooms where they held prisoners there were etchings in the walls by the prisoners telling their stories. Examples of the types of tortures they had included a device that would squash you into a crouched position and they reckoned people wouldn’t last longer than an hour in that thing. Then there was the most common device, the rack, where your arms and legs are pulled in opposite directions until your joints are pulled out of their sockets.

They now have a memorial in the place where the executions occurred, but they do have the original block used for some of the executions and the mask used by the executioner. 

   
 The Crown Jewels were as magnificent as I expected, the diamond at the end of the scepter is huge and the diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires on the crowns are so stunning. The armory was impressive, they hold all the old armour of Kings from donkeys ago, heaps of swords and weapons too. 

 

By the time I got out of there it was about 4pm so wasn’t much left on my to-do list that I could get done, but the London Bridge Experience and Tombs were still going to be open.

Normally costing 23 pounds to get into, I thought that this should be good, was told that I would hear all about the history of the bridge etc but unfortunately all I was told was that it got burnt down a couple of times and that was about it. Then you got taken through a ‘scary’ ride thing, where you have to put your hands on the persons shoulder in front of you and walk through some dark rooms with heads etc handing off the walls and some people jump out at you every now and then. Then randomly they put a spinning tunnel with fluorescent paint on it and UV lights that you have to walk through, which was cool and made you feel like you were falling over but had absolutely nothing to do with London Bridge. So all in all, definitely not worth the money.

London - Day One

Today started in Leicester Square, no real plans for where I was going to go or do, well the theme for the day was 'Free stuff to do in London', so I picked a direction and started walking, raining and freezing cold wind accompanied me on my way

Arrived at Trafalgar Square and went to the National Gallery while there, as I am not an arty person to start with I didn't really appreciate the works I was looking at and instead was more impressed with the architecture of the beautiful building. 
After a while though I came across some painting that caught my attention for some reason or another, including one by Corenlius van Haarlem called 'Two followers of Cadmus devoured by a dragon', plus I got to see works by Raphael, Michelangelo, Monet & Renoir, not to mention the Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh among other works of his, so ended up spending ages in there and loved it!

Saw Big Ben in the background, so headed in that direction next, going passed Downing St on the way, had seen them before but not up close or bothered to really look when I used to live here. Interesting that obnoxious German teenagers not only swamp Motueka they are here in London too, everywhere!

 Saw a sign showing the way to Buckingham Palace so that's where I ended up next, 

 continued on through St James park then walked the length of Hyde Park, had to take a photo of a more geekier tourist than me, I know I'm not the most stylish traveler but this guy had a union jack umbrella hat, didn't even know they still made those let alone people wearing them seriously! 
 
 Checked out the NZ war memorial that I didn't know was there, nice surprise.

 



Strolled past Royal Albert Hall and towards the museums,Natural History Museum was one of the things on the top of my list to do in London and it did not disappoint at all, again the building itself was magnificent and from the giant skeletons of dinosaurs to a collection of diamonds each a different colour there was so much to see.

Next door is the Victoria & Albert Museum, and as the name suggests, I wasn't sure what kind of museum it was, so thought I had better go inside to find out. I was wrecked by this point so didn't really give it the justice it deserves, but from what I saw it's a museum with a range of old stuff from all different periods in time. Funny the things that grab your attention, like there was a room full of wrought iron pieces, balustrades and gates etc and I really loved them, also there was a room full of old keys to different churches and cathedrals and they were just beautiful.
Tired and on the verge of hypoglycemia, I caught the tube to Piccadilly Circus for a brief visit, then back home.

Here I go...

After my wallet was stolen on Sunday night I was left wondering what else is in store for me on this trip, having all your bank cards and licenses stolen 12 hrs before flying out to Europe is not the most ideal of situations and although it upset me greatly I had an angel by my side to calm me down and regain a level head on the situation and therefore meant that total crises was averted. Then in a twist of good fate, the taxi driver who we flagged down to take us into the city for us to then catch the bus to the airport, gave us a wicked deal for cash and we got there early and cheaply, so I’m hoping in light of this that my wallet being taken was the last of my bad luck.

I’m not even going to go into the airport goodbye, gut wrenchingly awful, enough said.

So Cathay Pacific flight CX108 is currently carrying me to Hong Kong, and after watching Brokeback Mountain (yes Brokeback Mountain) for the first time ever I’m really feeling on my own for the first time in ages. Always wanted to watch that movie, but whenever I’ve wanted to there has always been someone there, usually male, who flatly would refuse and so I found it quite fitting that as I begin my travels on my own that I finally get to watch a movie I want to watch and there isn’t anyone around to stop me. Stoked to get 2 seats to myself, so best of both worlds for aisle and window, and also meant a decent sleep along the way. 

Now Hong Kong airport taught me a great lesson, have a look at the directory board first when trying to locate places to eat or have a coffee instead of just following the first knife and fork sign you see. After killing nearly 3 hours down one end of the airport, thinking to myself ‘Gee there’s not much here, thought Hong Kong would be busy as with shops everywhere and heaps of places to eat etc, but this is dead quiet, and only 2 asian café places!’. I had to settle for an awful tandoori chicken wrap thing that cost me a small fortune, then I went to go to my gate cause it was boarding and as I got closer the horror set in, the lights and music etc sunk into my brain that there was this whole other huge part of the airport, right next to my gate with everything you could ever imagine to eat and drink! With now only HK$11 in my pocket, which can buy you all of about half a chocolate bar, I sulked to my gate thinking of what could have been.

My hopes for a spare seat next to me on the second leg where quickly squashed when I myself was squashed between two Asian guys who seemed to have this unreal ability to sleep the whole way! Most disappointing when thought I was getting an aisle seat, can’t handle sitting down for longer than an hour at a time. So out came my gymnastic skills of climbing up and leaping over the guy next to me to get out each time. Didn’t get much sleep, so frustrating when you wake up from falling asleep thinking ‘Yes! I must have just killed a couple of hours there’  to then look at your watch and scream inside “DOH!!” cause in fact it has only been 20 minutes and yes you still have 8 hours and 57 minutes left to go – Onto another movie then…

Arrived at Heathrow, lovely to see they take their airport customs so seriously. No arrival forms, just hand them your passport, they don’t even look at you, collect your bags and walk out the door, green door or red door, no x-ray or dogs no matter what door you pick. 

Missioned into the city to see Sam, loved the quote of the day at Oval Tube Station – “Strangers are just friends we haven’t met yet”, thought that was pretty fitting for what I have just embarked on. Missioned back out of the city to Sam’s place, dropped my bags, shoes and socks off, bra off, cup of tea in hand and am now sprawled on the couch enjoying being horizontal for the first time in 2 days.