BACK FROM TURKEY

Pookie is happy and occupies her usual place again !

I am back from my roundtrip through Turkey and I can only say it was beautiful ! So many historical things to see ! My head is full like a balloon, I have to sort it out first. In 7 days we made about 2000 km (1243 miles) from the south up to the north until Istambul and then down again.

The group I travelled with was a flemish speaking one, because the french speaking group had been cancelled. It didn't bother me at all because I understand dutch very well and flemish (should) be the same with a slight difference in pronounciation.

The only hick was that I didn't count on the mentality of flemish (belgian) people ! I always never want to generalize but unfortunately they had all defaults what is usually said about them. Stubborn, narrow minded and not social at all. We were supposed to be a group, travelled together and had our meals together but everybody kept his "own" group. I never knew the names of all of them ! That was the first time such a thing happened to me.


our bus

The "group" was a buddah like woman with a stiff stick husband who never said a word, I don't even know if he can speak. She also had her brother with her a retarded man who had a permanent grin on his face so that I baptizised him "Smiley". She had to lead him by hand all the time and the poor man wore a suit and leather shoes and outfitted like that stumbled through roman and greek ruins.

The next "group" in the group was a red blond orang utan man with a potatoe nose who spoke a dialect that even our turkish guide who had grown up in Holland and spoke perfectly dutch couldn't understand. He was with his wife who were a kind woman (the only human in the group) who laughed a lot and spoke perfectly german and also english and french. She was the only one who spoke another language then flemish. She had her niece with her who was anorexic, a walking skeleton who didn't touch any food (which her uncle swallowed with pleasure, so he had two plates) only some fruits and a bit cheese. Then there were two old sisters, who chatted non stop in a strange flemish language all the time we were in the bus and also outside. They watched each other like watchdogs and faught and were afraid of everything especially thiefs and went to the buffet with their handbags !

A young couple was there too, she looked like a spider with long skinny arms and legs and was always busy to take pictures of her poor little daughter 5 years old who had to make this tour and also climb through the ruins and listen to the explanations. Her husband was just an accessory never opened his mouth and just trotted behind them. The last "group" was a couple which seemed to be normal besides the fact that they didn't make any contact either.

At the end I became a sort of complaint office, everybody came to me to complain and to bitch about the others, the old sisters against buddah, stiff stick and smiley, and vice versa, the anorexic against the old sisters etc. I took it with humor and made fun of it.

Fortunately I could very well understand the guide and that was the most important thing. But at the end of the trip I disappeared quickly just waving a good bye, (without bye) and sweared to myself never ever going with a flemish group again ! I really wonder why these people travel ? They never asked a question and didn't seem very interested either. Probably it just was to be able to tell their neighbors that they had been in such and such place in Turkey !

The rest of my holidays (4 days) I spent in Kudasasi a little town with a big cruise port where I could see every day another cruise ship. It was a very typical little town and there I also found an Internet café. The hotel also had Internet service but at the modest price of 10 €/hour (!!!) in my little café which a taxi driver had recommended to me I only payed 1 €/h ! A slight difference !

Of course I will report more about my trip, this is just a short message that I am back again.

Kudasasi view out of my window

My Internet café