James Slocum

20110411 - Hiking the Lycian Way Turkey

Hiking the Lycian way is a great way to escape the crowds, see real Turkish villages and also enjoy some spectacular scenery along the Aegean Coast. Descriptions below, and Garmin route map links also below for each section of the hike.

Waking early in Fethiye (well, breakfast starts at 8am, the Turkish aren't too keen to get up earlier than that in Spring!), we took a 5 lira Dolmus (a mini-bus... which means "Stuffed" in Turkish) to Esen. We then took a 50 lira "taxi" (a beat up, old 4 door sedan) the 20 km from Esen to Alinca for the start of our hike. Hiking through pine forests, it was downhill the whole way to Kabak... the views were amazing. We stayed at the Olive Garden, a cliff top restaurant-cum-hotel run by a former chef. The views and food were absolutely stunning. Day two we hiked only a few hours, along a level contour to the village of Faralya... again, more ridiculous views, plenty of bright red poppies and other mountain flowers. Frankly, I'm surprised we didn't see Julie Andrews singing, it was that scenic. We unloaded our packs at George House (ok, but not as nice as Olive Garden), ate lunch, then climbed (yes, "climbed", not "hiked") down to Butterfly valley - home of the Tiger Jersey butterfly who wasn't around because it was too early in the season. The valley was still nice, and the weather was good enough to hop in the Aegean for a bit (cold, but not too bad). We then climbed back up (easier than down climbing), then watched the sunset with a bottle of wine and enjoyed a traditional dinner. NOTE: dinners here were all vegetarian... not sure if this is cultural, or the proprietors are just usually health conscious, but we weren't complaining! Day 3 we hiked along mainly dirt roads to Ovacik where we caught a Dolmus back to Fethiye. We had another day and a half in Fethiye, and mainly just relaxed and ate yummy food at Mozaic Bahce, a wonderful eastern turkish restaurant that also sold Turkish lamps (we bought one, of course).

Alinca to Kabak: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616919

Kabak to Faralya: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616923

Faralya to Butterfly Valley: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616929

Butterfly Valley to Faralya: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616937

Faralya to Ovacik: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79616941

20110410 - Afrodisius & Hierapolis Turkey

Waking early in Selcuk, we drove several hours inland to Afrodisius, a beautiful and quiet Roman ruins in a tranquil valley. This was far quieter and a more pleasant experience than Ephesus, but again, it's rather remote. We spent about 1 1/2 hours here, and could have stayed longer, but we had to drive another couple of hours to Hierapolis. Hiearapolis is a UNESCO site, but it was a little appaling to how badly it's been ruined, and I'm surprised the UN hasn't gotten around to removing it's status. The calcium travertine pools were all basically diverted or ruined in some way during the tourist boom of the 80s and 90s (I'd like to take a minute to lambaste the baby boomer generation for yet another thing they ruined). At any rate, the ruins are interesting, and if you get here with time, you can even walk barefoot on the calcium from the village up to the roman ruins... very cool. We then had to drive another few hours to Fethiye, so no time for dithering (which is fine, because Hierapolis is totally over run with tour groups).

The drive was pretty enough, but it started snowing (yes, snow... very novel coming from Bangkok) over one of the mountain passes. Luckily it wasn't cold enough to stick, and our 4 door diesel Renault handled just fine. We arrived in Fethiye, checked into the Yacht Classic Hotel (recommended) and had the evening to relax.

20110409 Selcuk Turkey

Flying from istanbul to izmir, we rented a car and drove south to Selcuk, home of Ephesus (library pictured), the Temple of Artemis (one of the original 7 wonders of the world) and some beautiful countryside. We stayed at Naz Han in Selcuk, recommended by the Lonely Planet, but we didn't think much of the place. Selcuk was a quiet little town, a relaxing change from Istanbul. We were able to drive up to a cute little village (Sirince) for an evening drink and some wonderful dolmas.

One thing to note: arrive at Ephesus at the main (south) parking lot 10 minutes before the place opens and run like heck to the library to get some great pictures. Snap pics of the ampitheatre and surrounding sites along the way, then move uphill and start your tour from the top while walking back downhill. this beats the crowds (which mainly all start from above) and you'll be walking downhill with the heat of the day (which is better than walking uphill). the audio guides aren't great, but rent them if you don't have a decent guidebook.

Selcuk is a nice place, but really deserves only a night or two, depending on arrival and departure times.

20110406 - Istanbul Turkey

Arriving in Istanbul on the red eye from Bangkok, we immediately headed to the Hotel Dersaadet in Sultanahmet. April is an amazing month to visit Turkey... there are fewer tourists, prices are reasonable, and the fresh Spring air was a relief from Bangkok's humidity. The proximity of all the major sites is quite remarkable, within just a few square kilometers, there is more historical buildings and museums than one could possibly soak up in a week (we had 3 1/2 days).

We headed off to see the Blue Mosque (which is basically next door to the hotel). The mosque is quite incredible, probably even more striking from the outside than from within. We then headed the 300 meters over to Aya Sophia (Haghia Sophia), which was a Byzantine church build 1,000 years prior to the Blue Mosque. Frankly, while not as beautiful from the outside, it was a lot more interesting than the Blue Mosque. We spent the better part of the morning there, only stopping for fresh pressed pomegranite juice and Turkish coffee.

We meandered over to the Basilica Cisterns, and seeing a well usually isn't all that interesting, but the beautiful engineering and the eerie glow of the place make this a necessary stop. We then walked up to the Grand Bazaar. Now, for those of you coming from the West, the bazaar might seem a little overwhelming, but frankly, Chatuchuk Market in Bangkok is more frenetic, and probably about the same size and scale. We even saw similar products (at obviously inflated prices). However, it's worth a stroll, as the colors and architecture are amazing. We stopped for lunch (which was expensive and horrible), then moved on for more window shopping, and decided to buy a Turkish coffee set. We settled on a price and moved on to the Spice Bazaar. Again, a tourist really wouldn't buy much here (apart from Turkish Delight), but the architecture, sounds and smells are worth the walk down from the bazaar. We walked right by a local place that was grinding fresh coffee (locals only in line), so we obviously had to stop and buy some coffee.

After walking through the spice bazaar, one comes out in front of the "New Mosque" (which is 400 years old. It's a beautiful building, and right across from the Galata bridge. As our jet lag hadn't quite set in, we walked over the bridge towards Galata Tower (a Genoese fortification), but now fortified with cute stores and restaurants.

We spent another 1/2 day in Topkapi Palace, where the Ottomans ran their empire. Definitely worth a 1/2 day for any visitors coming through, but get here early, as it's a popular tour stop.

We also spent another 1/2 day on a Bosphorus cruise up to the Black sea and back. You can stop along the way, or take the ferry to the end, hop off, catch some lunch, then hike up to some ruins, then catch the ferry back. It's very nice, especially if you're tired or just need an escape from the streets of Istanbul. Again, coming from Asia, Istabul (while very populous) isn't as crazy as say, Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok, but if you're coming from suburban America, this cruise is a welcome escape.

We also were able to take in a Turkish Bath... now, this is recommended, but depending on who you are, you might need to be very careful where you go. For couples, we went to Suleymaniye Hamami (next to the Suleymaniye Camii), and would recommend it. If you're male, then you can pretty much go anywhere, and for single women reading this, well, I really have no idea.

All in all, Istanbul is one of the world's top 10 greatest cities, and if you're an experienced traveler who doesn't really like museums, then 3-4 days is plenty, but for real history buffs a week is recommended.

20100815 - Hosting Guests (and a short tour of Bangkok)

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. Benjamin Franklin

Now, Ben Franklin didn't have refrigeration, so we'll cut him some slack. What I've found to be helpful in hosting guests is to start asking questions from the second you know they are coming. What one person expects from a trip to Bangkok certainly doesn't align with another person's expectations. Anyone who is smart enough to avoid package tours which tout the highlights of Bangkok probably has something in mind, and it is much better to understand that desire than to have it surprise you. This might not seem like rocket science, but trust me, not many people think this through.

For example, we've had 2 sets of visitors pass through here recently and neither of them wanted to see the Grand Palace or Wat Pho, Wat Arun, etc., etc. These are all major highlights of Bangkok, but in both cases, these were not destinations that would have made sense for our guests.

I could make a fancy matrix based on age, whether children are present, religion, etc., but in general, here are a couple of things to think about when visiting Bangkok (or anywhere, really).

1. How much time do you have?

This might seem obvious, but it's the first thing to think about (even before you ask the #2 question "where should we go?"). In bangkok, if you only have 2 days, then I'd say that you absolutely need to go to the Grand Palace, preferably by water taxi from Saphin Taksin, Jim Thompson House, sample the street food, and if you don't have children, catch the sunset at one of the Skybars, then hit the Suan Lum night bazaar. if you have another day, then add in Chatuchuk weekend market, and hang out at MBK and Siam Paragon malls (just to see how much the Thais love consumerism). 4 days gets a little tricky, as you could easily head up to Kanchanaburi for an overnight adventure, but that really depends on how ambitious one is. The other complicating factor is children. actually, it's not complicating, as traveling in Thailand (or most of asia for that matter) with children is SUPER easy. With kids, I'd definitely add in the Red Cross Snake farm, as it's a great show, and you will also learn a ton. If you are in your 20s and you don't give a crap about the buddhism stuff, then just spend your weekend on Sukhumvit... the party never stops.

2. Where should you go?

This really depends on how much time you have and really gets into the important questions: #3

3. What interests you?

I've got a single friend who couldn't give a crap about temples, so i would never say that he should go, even though it's a uniquely Thai experience, and learning about Thai buddhism is pretty interesting. he likes bars, so we go to bars. same goes for my friend Dietmar, who is married and has 2 little girls. temples are mildly interesting, but by noon, the girls are fried, so they just want a pool to relax in. So, the important thing is to remember that no matter what the lonely Planet tells you in interesting... if you don't inherently care, then you're not going to have a good time.

4. How much money do you want to spend?

I can have a lot of fun at a 2 starred michelin restaurant, or i can take that money and spend a week camping.

20100726 - Hong Kong

I feel that while there are many cities in the world that hold universal appeal, there are only 5 major ones that are set in a marine environment with stark contrasting mountains, a positive, energetic environment, great food and tons to do. San Francisco, Vancouver, Cape Town, Rio and Hong Kong.

A 2 hour 45 minute flight from Bangkok, Hong Kong is accessible (if only in distance). Hong Kong has tons to offer, from great food (dimsum), shopping (the malls are out of control) and sights (Victoria Peak, Kowloon, etc.). What a lot of people don't realize is that Hong Kong has some amazing natural sights as well, with great mountain biking and hiking trails just a short trip away on several outlying islands.

our whole point of going was to visit good friends who were passing through asia, but had just passed through bangkok last year. it was great catching up with sarah and Erik, and i'm sure that they will have a blast in indonesia and singapore (the rest of their trip).

as we had less than 72 hours, we decided to focus mainly on the food and alcohol part, with great dim sum trips to Maxim Palace at city hall and the mandarin in Kowloon. We also splurged (as if $70 USD set lunch at the mandarin isn't "splurging" enough) at Bo innovation - a molecular chinese influenced restaurant that was absolutely amazing. We also hit all sorts of crazy bars, most of which i really can't remember the name, but do remember the $20 USD cocktails.

the city retains a distinct english feel, complete with people with bad teeth, crappy little roads, where people insist on driving on the wrong side. also of note are the double decker street cars - which i find amazing! speaking of which, as a whole, the public transport is very comprehensive, even including over a kilometer of a moving escalator, although in general, it's a little more tired than bangkok's BTS and MRT.

i did my part for the economy, splashing out on some cole haans (although, $200 shoes really isn't splashing out in hong kong), and was mildly amused when i found out that they were made in India!

All in all, I think that Hong Kong is a great city to splash out in for 48 hours (a little like Las Vegas, but way cooler), which is why I would rank it 5th out of the 5 cities listed above.