The hardest thing about traveling

Izmir, Turkey

I'm back in Izmir for the second time now. And not for the city, there's really not too much here. It's just a big city with a lot of university students. But the people here. The people here are worth a second visit and many more after.

It's a hard thing to explain, the connection you can make with a place without even realizing it. It's also pretty rare in my traveling experience but Izmir, a place I originally never intended to even go, has created a strong one. And the reason is all because of the people.

Before I left people often asked, "are you scared traveling alone?" "Aren't you worried?" etc etc. The answer was always no. I always said people are people are people. They're the same everywhere. As they say in Vietnam: "same same but different." Turns out I was right. At least for Europe. I've had no problems and have had only excellent experiences.

Someone asked me a few weeks ago (I think it was Jurgita!), "what's the hardest thing about traveling alone?" The answer is meeting others. Not the meeting itself, that's easy. Too easy. I've always been good at creating relationships and now I am even better. But meeting all these wonderful people in different places around the world and then leaving them after only a few short days, now that's hard. Even the leaving wouldn't be so bad if you were coming back, but you're not. Chances are good you'll never see them again. Since this trip started I've added more than 60 people to my facebook account and they're all fantastic. I've met a dozen people that could be best friends. I've even met a few girls that would definitely be keepers if I lived in the same place. Almost all of them I will never see again.

I know never is a long time and anything can happen between now and then. And I'm certain to see some of them. But it's true. The world has gotten smaller but it's just not possible to maintain a close friendship with so many people accross so much space.

Fortunately, there are some good things that come out of it as well. When you know you only have a few days with someone(s) than you make the best of it. You don't waste time because if you do (even though it sounds cliche) you'll never get another chance. It teaches you to let go and enjoy the moment because if you don't, you'll always regret it, even if it's just a coffee at Starbucks.

It's possibly the most important thing I've learned so far and I'll be taking that lesson with me the rest of my life. Unfortunately saying it and explaining it in words doesn't do it justice. All I can say is next time you go traveling, don't stay in secluded hotels and take taxis into the city center to enjoy a nice dinner for you and your traveling companion. Meet people. Meet everyone. Because even if a person is kind of dumb, everyone is smarter than you'd think.

I'll post some more about some of the places I've visited since Fetiye soon.

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Anyone want to buy my shoes?

Fetiye, Turkey



I finally got pictures to work. I am going to China in a couple weeks so when there I will catch up all the old ones. For now, here are some from Turkey and one from Estonia.


I don't have much to say about Estonia. It seemed very blah after seeing Riga and Klapeida and all these other wonderful places in neighboring countries. However, I did get a chance to shoot a bow. My first shot hit the center of the target! But I couldn't duplicate that unfortunately. I hit the target on at least half my shots though! Here is my epic photo with wrist protector and cape. That's right, I'm wearing a cape.

Shooting a bow in Estonia

I spent a week in Istanbul before coming here to Fetiye and it was a hell of an experience. I mean... Bangkok felt big but Istanbul is HUGE! It has 4 million more people than Bangkok in about the same amount of space. The nicest area is called Taksim and no, it is not the place that has the palace, or the blue mosque, or Aya Sofia. That section is Sultenamhet. Taksim is just one neighbourhood north of Sultenahmet across a stretch of water called the Golden Horn. Taksim is a bit of an amalgamation kind of like Istanbul itself. You can buy stuffed muscles and 'wet hamburgers' (actually really delicious) on the street and if you keep walking you find bars, shops and a tourist haven without all the tourists. There is one street with about 30 small pubs and restaurants where another Canadian told me 'eventually if you sit here long enough you will meet everyone you know on this street.' I think it's not too far from the truth.

Istanbul - Foreground is Taksim, water is The Golden Horn and background is Sultenahmet

Taksim


Looking at Sultenahmet across the Golden Horn

Sultanahmet has some beautiful buildings but is a little too crowded with tourists. And not normal tollerable tourists, but the ones who are holding maps, looking at the sky, wandering in all directions and snapping photos whenever possible. You know, the ones where if you sit in the corner where there is nothing interesting with the hopes of taking a break from them, they all come over to you because they think you're looking at something that's not in their guidebooks... grrr... Still, like I said, the places are beautiful.

The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque


Aya Sofia - 1500 year old church turned to Mosque turned to museum

Me at the Palace and the Asian side of the city in the background

So where does the title of this blog come in? Well I was sitting in a park across the street from the tourist zone and a local guy comes up beside me and sits down on the bench. He lights up a cigarette and asks me if I smoke. I say no so he asks me if I want to buy some marijuana. I say no again and we make small talk for a few minutes before he mentions he owns a carpet shop in one of the bazaars. He wants me to go with him to see it and buy a carpet. The next few minutes passed with me trying fruitlessly to explain to this guy that I have no use for a carpet and that I can hardly carry it around on the top of my backpack for the next year while travelling the world. Eventually though he does let it drop and we make some more small talk. I tell him I'm staying with a girl in a neighbourhood called Fulya and he promptly asks if we can have a threesome... 'No,' I say, trying to keep a straight face. 'I don't think that's a good idea.' So he spends the next few minutes talking about the tightness of various bodily orafices and then looks down to notice my shoes. 'Those are nice' he says. I agree, thankful to change the subject. 'Can I have them?' I laugh. 'No, you can't have my shoes.' 'Why not?' 'Because I need them for walking.' He thinks for a minute and says 'Can I buy them?' he sees the look on my face and says 'Okay, I'll give you 30 Liras and my shoes if you give me yours.' I tell him no again. By this point I'm getting tired of new experiences and conversation with the locals so I say I have to go. He asks me for an email address and I get out a pen to give him mine, thinking he'll never write me anyway. 'No,' he says, 'I want an email for some Canadian girls.' I leave.

Fetiye is a beautiful place. Very different from Istanbul. It's on the coast of the Mediteranian next to a small area called Ölüdemiz which translates to 'The Dead Sea.' It's not the same famous one that you have heard of from Jordan but it is a beautiful area. I've been swimming there twice now and today in Butterfly valley, a place only accessible by boat or a long steep clımb down a cliff, I met a Chinese girl from Shanghai. You remember what I said about the universe working out if you put yourself out there enough? Well Shanghai is where I plan to teach in a couple weeks so she has agreed to meet up with me when I arrive and show me around a bit and help me get settled. The universe rocks.

2300 year old Lycian tomb in Fetiye

Butterfly Valley

Ölüdemiz - The Dead Sea

Something to Remember

Istanbul, Turkey

I wrote this in my journal while flying above the black sea feelıng a little sentimental. Thought I'd copy it here:

I want to wrıte about somethıng that I think is important.

Often when hearing about humans and our affect on the earth, we hear about our contribution to global warming, or increased extinction rates, or nuclear power, or water pollution, or the destruction of forests to build cities and farms, or, well, you get the idea. And these are important issues. More than important. And they're not being given as much consideration as they warrent or require and I thınk as a species, in our attempt to increase awareness with all these things and in some meaningful way try to repair the damage we have done, we become focused on the negative. On only the faultsö or what we have taken away from the planet. And maybe this is necessary too ın order to incite change at a faster rate. But I think despite all that, it's occasionally just as important to look at what we've added to the planet, lest we forget our magnificence while remembering only our faults.

Right now I'm sittıng in a plane, in the window seat lookıng out over the northern coast of the black seaç The moon is at half, and the earth is nearly as dark as the sea by which ıt rests, mınus of course for a strıng of a million tiny yellow lights, outlining the coast like fireflys all travelling in a lıne until they bunch up, denser and denser into a cıty. The lights twinkle like stars brought down from the sky, marking the land where humankınd had decided to settle.

Behind me, further back in the airplane, people are clapping rhythmically and laughing, as one teenager plucs at a sort of mini-guitar while others dance in the aisle. They're forced to stop as the plane begins to descend but suddenly there is a greater cheer in the fuselage. Others are laughing and talkıng with more vigor and soul.

These are things we've given the planet. These are things that shouldn't be ignored or overshadowed by the threat of global warmıng, because just as we've created pollution, we've also created lıght. And it's damn beautiful.