Hitchikin'
We were on our second bus next to the driver for 20 minutes before we got off the highway and stopped at the back of a massive line of cars and buses. Two of the bus attendants came up and were talking farely loudly with the bus driver, and it was clear they weren't too happy. The bus driver got on his cell phone, and vehemently using his hands in what I could tell was an expression of "damn these clueless foreigners". I finally realized at that point that our real bus was somewhere in this line of cars, and they had been told to take us to it. I could see through the reflection of the front window that the passengers were anything but pleased with the current situation. Then, to my right, I could see the bus attendant running on the edge of the line of cars, talking to a few drivers. He proceeded to rush back yelling "Geliniz, Geliniz!", and we were hoarded out of the bus and taken to a small SUV where the attendant shuffled us into the backseat and said something to the driver all the while running back to his bus. It was probably about 5 minutes that went by, us 3 in the backseat scrunched together, looking around us like vulnerable children.
The car we were in was no taxi or company car. We had simply been "hitchhiked" by the bus attendant, as this driver had no idea who we were. Luckily enough for us, the first thing the guy said was, "So do you all speak English?" In this situation of utter confusion, that familiar sound was all it took to put our speeding hearts, at least temporarily, at rest. Despite the akwardness of the situation, our driver talked with us quite a bit and said we would have no problem finding our bus. Sure enough, after a good 45 minutes - 1 hour, at the end of the line boarding the ferry, was a small Turkish man in a white shirt and red tie, asking every driver in a white SUV for 3 lost foreign travelers.
3 buses, hitchike, and a ferry later, we arrived in the beautiful city of Izmir at 9:30 AM. We met Aman (and surprisingly two UK @ers working in Ankara), and boarded the bus to Çeşme, a small, less discovered resort town 85 kms west of Izmir. We almost got off at the wrong place, but luckily (definitely the word of this weekend), we had a few English speakers that helped us get to the city center of Çeşme. Exhausted and ready for the beach and some beer, we got a room at the first hotel we found. Not as cheap as we would have liked, but the place was between the beach and the concert venue we'd be attending later that evening. We threw our shit in the hotel, put on suits and sandals, and trekked towards the beach. But of course, as many other days go, we had to get some Turkish food before beach time. Turkish food is definitely something I'm going to miss like crazy, as Durums, Doner, Iskender, Pide, have become marginally holy and sacred to my diet. During lunch, we started a long series of sorts, that being our first beer of the day (1). After a durum and (1) we hopped on a dolmus and headed towards Pirlanta Plaj. The other passengers were a little confused with where we wanted to go, but an older man (extreme beach bum) told us he'd help us get to Pirlanta. The Turkish people even had a hard time understanding this guy's Turkish, so it was quite hilarious when he tried to speak with me at a mile a minute. On top of his speech, he looked like the "Great Scott" guy from Back to the Future after multiple sunburns and a bottle of scotch. Despite our shortcomings in communication, Great Scott took us to the beach and headed off in his own direction.
Pirlanta Plaj: windsurfing, volleyball, football, beach chairs, white sand, sand castles, waves, beautiful water, amazing view, cheap beer. I hadn't been to a nice beach in years. And with all this beach had to offer, what did the 3 of us do? We got in the water for a minutes, sat down on the sand with some beers (2), and woke up 2 hours later. Yes, we passed out on the sand, exhausted from the battle against time that was the previous night. I had sand ingrained in my skin, even water from the ocean couldn't get it out. And despite my fear of a horrendous torture from the sun, my sunburn wasn't too bad, especially considering I basked in the sun unconsciously for 2 - 3 hours. Exhausted, burnt, and embarassed by our passed outness, we headed back to the hotel around 5 PM, picking up beers on the way. Before we got into our hotel, Saurabh went to buy cigarettes, and was assured by the shopkeeper that he could help us if we needed some "misses".
The next 1.5 - 2 hours was spent on the party porch. Yes, we had a party porch, and it had an amazing view of a massive tree whose branches nearly stretched into our room. Here we consumed some beers, numbers (3) and (4). I talked to David and Saurabh about the military and recent perked interest, and it was good to hear their opinions and also to hear myself talk about it outloud. After our beers and chat, we decided to head out early to the fishing village where Caliante beach club was. We grabbed a dolmus, paid our 2 lira each, and prepared for a crazy night.
The car we were in was no taxi or company car. We had simply been "hitchhiked" by the bus attendant, as this driver had no idea who we were. Luckily enough for us, the first thing the guy said was, "So do you all speak English?" In this situation of utter confusion, that familiar sound was all it took to put our speeding hearts, at least temporarily, at rest. Despite the akwardness of the situation, our driver talked with us quite a bit and said we would have no problem finding our bus. Sure enough, after a good 45 minutes - 1 hour, at the end of the line boarding the ferry, was a small Turkish man in a white shirt and red tie, asking every driver in a white SUV for 3 lost foreign travelers.
3 buses, hitchike, and a ferry later, we arrived in the beautiful city of Izmir at 9:30 AM. We met Aman (and surprisingly two UK @ers working in Ankara), and boarded the bus to Çeşme, a small, less discovered resort town 85 kms west of Izmir. We almost got off at the wrong place, but luckily (definitely the word of this weekend), we had a few English speakers that helped us get to the city center of Çeşme. Exhausted and ready for the beach and some beer, we got a room at the first hotel we found. Not as cheap as we would have liked, but the place was between the beach and the concert venue we'd be attending later that evening. We threw our shit in the hotel, put on suits and sandals, and trekked towards the beach. But of course, as many other days go, we had to get some Turkish food before beach time. Turkish food is definitely something I'm going to miss like crazy, as Durums, Doner, Iskender, Pide, have become marginally holy and sacred to my diet. During lunch, we started a long series of sorts, that being our first beer of the day (1). After a durum and (1) we hopped on a dolmus and headed towards Pirlanta Plaj. The other passengers were a little confused with where we wanted to go, but an older man (extreme beach bum) told us he'd help us get to Pirlanta. The Turkish people even had a hard time understanding this guy's Turkish, so it was quite hilarious when he tried to speak with me at a mile a minute. On top of his speech, he looked like the "Great Scott" guy from Back to the Future after multiple sunburns and a bottle of scotch. Despite our shortcomings in communication, Great Scott took us to the beach and headed off in his own direction.
Pirlanta Plaj: windsurfing, volleyball, football, beach chairs, white sand, sand castles, waves, beautiful water, amazing view, cheap beer. I hadn't been to a nice beach in years. And with all this beach had to offer, what did the 3 of us do? We got in the water for a minutes, sat down on the sand with some beers (2), and woke up 2 hours later. Yes, we passed out on the sand, exhausted from the battle against time that was the previous night. I had sand ingrained in my skin, even water from the ocean couldn't get it out. And despite my fear of a horrendous torture from the sun, my sunburn wasn't too bad, especially considering I basked in the sun unconsciously for 2 - 3 hours. Exhausted, burnt, and embarassed by our passed outness, we headed back to the hotel around 5 PM, picking up beers on the way. Before we got into our hotel, Saurabh went to buy cigarettes, and was assured by the shopkeeper that he could help us if we needed some "misses".
The next 1.5 - 2 hours was spent on the party porch. Yes, we had a party porch, and it had an amazing view of a massive tree whose branches nearly stretched into our room. Here we consumed some beers, numbers (3) and (4). I talked to David and Saurabh about the military and recent perked interest, and it was good to hear their opinions and also to hear myself talk about it outloud. After our beers and chat, we decided to head out early to the fishing village where Caliante beach club was. We grabbed a dolmus, paid our 2 lira each, and prepared for a crazy night.
posted by amartin4 at 4:05 AM
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