OR, THE POST THAT GOT AWAY SIX YEARS AGO.
Just looked through some stuff to clear the space so to speak and discovered this. From huge opulence to poverty is indeed an interesting spectacle. So just for old times sakes, a time when I had more options open to me!
BULGARIA IS OFF THE LIST, TURKEY (OR HUNGARY) IS THE WINNER.
“After years of debating where I’ll put down roots, Turkey is now the clear winner due to it not taking shit from everyone and protecting its sovereignty. Hungary came in a close second but sadly, is landlocked. I might yet eat my words and still opt for there, but I think it’s settled…..”
Well, that’s already old news as I am looking at Hungary again as my cousin reminded me he has a place there and my old mate is also there. The rapid changes and logistics these days make it a head-whirring descent into hell.
Try as one might, finding a place in Europe is now not as easy as it used to be when you want to travel and live solo in this dystopian new world. I just want a place to grow my own stuff and return to making my sculpture. Too difficult? Apparently, it is.
Any suggestions on my plight to get off-grid as much as possible?
Here I will show some of my previous Turkey tasters that led me to the final conclusion of where I want to be. Obviously, I would have chosen Mexico, were it not so far and that I speak Spanish, and adore it but with this tumultuous ever-shifting dystopia harsh decisions have to be made.
Turkey it is. (Well maybe!)
Anyway I’ll now add my experience of Hungary to the end of this ffs
Now I just have to find my small farm with a fruit orchard (most have over there) and vineyard. I will build an outdoor kiln to make my ceramics and hopefully do a modest trade in my wares.
TURKEY
My last trips over there were either with my pal Sam to cheap and cheerful destinations such as Dalyan and Xania for beach and a bit of ‘kulcha’ (for indeed there is a lot of both there)
My other trip there was very high-end on a luxury yacht owned by my then-partner. It was a difference such as chalk and cheese and I wouldn’t really have remembered much without the photos on an old decrepit, very temperamental hard drive.
It was a revelation to see what remained of these pics as it was pre-Google so there were no memories to be found in the cloud there. It was a horrible shock and made me very pleased that I had been very diligent back then in my pre-blog days to download at least some of the memories which I will share with you all now. This leads me to a top tip.
Top Tip: Old birds do not trust the Cloud in any form. I horrifically lost a bunch of old stuff which was irreplaceable and have lamented long and hard about those photographs and videos that I relied on, to jerk my memory, as well as illustrate travels. Go through the photos each trip methodically and select and download to your computer and then to a decent external hard drive. You then always have the pics chosen of your trip at hand with or without WiFi. There is much to be said not to be slothful with these tidy organised practises, and execute them as second nature. You never know what might happen in the future and you don’t want your precious stuff being held to ransom or wholly lost. Beware, and follow my advice.
TURKEY, A FEW YEARS BACK.
I found most of my pics from the excellent journey I had on the ‘Soho’ boat and so will begin with this trip which would take me across to the Greek Islands and finally to Athens where the boat was over-wintering and going into dry dock.
I don’t have dates on these photos but remember flying to Istanbul to a huge wild crowd at the airport as it was a public holiday of some merit it would appear. It was a solo travellers nightmare as this is the time you need to be able to keep your place in a queue while nipping off for any extra paperwork that might need filling and stamping by bored and difficult officials that give not a shit to your predicament. I know it took about two hours and then another hour to sort the cab and get to the boat. It boded ill as I felt shaky at the fuss there and could only remember ‘Midnight Express’ while waiting and feeling more and more intimidated. I am naturally a guilty person and although I knew I was doing nothing wrong was a nervous, ticky, shaky wreck after the torture at the airport.
It took a bucket of wine and fags to talk me down from hysteria when I arrived on board.
I remember feeling jumpy for another couple of days until I got into the swing of it, for there is no doubt that it’s a much larger shift travelling to Turkey like this than going on an all-inclusive resort deal. Going into the centre solo was weird and required much more grit and determination when planning on seeing the beautiful palaces, mosques, museums and art galleries. Its more authentic nooks and crannies were harder to come by as it’s geared up to cater for groups and prefers you not to be a solo nuisance. It’s a well-oiled tourist machine that pins you to the places it can herd you. Anything off-piste must be planned.
However I will not be living in any city in the future, and luckily went on those small all-inclusive which generally take you through the countryside and allows you to witness magnificent countryside while transferring you to resorts. However, the yacht and glittering palaces are worth a mention doncha think?
My wanderings and the blood sweat and tears of the endless tourists and massive queues in the sweltering heat were always punctuated nicely by the quiet and rest upon arriving back to that air-conditioned swankery of that posh and loyal boat.
I love the wilder travelling but I must confess that returning to that haven of cool showers and fluffy towels on board made for a reward of huge propensity at the end of a day of exploring. My cocktails while watching the glorious sunsets were indeed a huge bonus and I loved the crew like they were my family.
With slightly burnt skin nourished with soothing balms and a feeling of great achievement, I would plan my days from the top deck looking over the glittering lights of the city. Luxury is just that, luxury.
Also, visiting the huge bazaar is a must while quaffing fresh pomegranate juice from roadside vendors. The array of spices and lantern stalls makes for a very glittering array, not including the beautifully inlaid wood motifs on the chess and backgammon boards. A kebab under your ribs for your lunch and then back to that boat with the crew for an afternoon of much-needed rest.
RESORTS OF DALYAN AND BODRUM.
Non-solo trips when my mate Sam was not tied down to her doggy, were always eventful. Either me fishing her out of a swimming pool as she gurgled her way down to the bottom of the pool (DON’T ever swim drunk) Or us managing to visit very under-visited ancient towns amphitheatres et al or jumping into lakes from tour boats and going to turtle hatching beaches. It’s a very pretty town as they did
I went alone to Bodrum and had a picturesque trip. It’s a beautiful section of the coast and I had a great time lapping up the sun on the hotel’s private ‘beach’ which was in fact decking on the rocks with pasha-style draped sunbeds and a drinks and food service too. Jumping in and out of that limpid cooling water was great for me but not so good if you weren’t fit, as it also involved a hike up and down the steps for access after being dropped off by a dinky hotel transfer bus. It also put off parents with little kids which I must confess I was slyly delighted by.
The town is pretty if overcrowded but has its fort and fishing boats and was worth a quick look.
Clearly this is a doorway for other coastal towns and of course Ephesus, that ancient wonder, is just a couple of hours away. Now my experience with this was ghastly, in fact it was the reason that I became so adamant never to go on a tour again. Even telling the tour guide that I would not be joining him upon arrival for the ‘tour but would be going solo. This caused a huge stink and made that poor man quite hysterical but this is for another blog another day as in fact it was very funny and absurd.
HUNGARY
My trips over to Budapest were also relatively affluent and from when I had money to relax and splurge to a certain degree. Not a posh yacht but still a lovely hotel on one occasion and a beautiful apartment on the next. I spent two consecutive Christmas and New Years there as it is perfect for that nostalgic season and also because my lovely friend and sons one time nanny lives back there now.
For me it’s a no brainer so I can visit museums and galleries and be surrounded by beautiful architecture and art. I can also participate in mulled wine and Xmas markets and go between beautiful restaurants and ruin pubs. There is a little of everything there once you start looking around and also I had the luxury of Barbara babying me and going to the lovely spas and driving me out to the lake there for a bit of a different side of things.
Budapest is sharp and stylish and very much retains its independent attitude and sovereignty. It is not cowtowed by Europe. Although I would never consider living in a city or major town again I love it there.
Here I have to take a break and show you some lovely Hungarian stuff next time as things are altering where it is indeed better to go live. Indeed it might yet be there or indeed I might just go back to Mexico.
Since I wrote this things are changing again. There are now nuclear tensions aswell as the ridiculous Zelensky poking the Bear we now find that we here in the UK are being regarded by Russia as enemies. I hate how we have been manipulated into a proxy war that’s none of our business. I also hate the fact that now this makes people into Russiaphobes and everyone is split and hating one another for a bunch of invented reasons. How will we ever educate people to do their own research rather than being mugged off by MSM?
One things for sure my friends, I ain’t staying here.
Old Bird Travels Solo! 