Turkey / Bulgaria. A long way from home.

Wow. A lot has happened since my last post. Our sleep regime has gone to the dogs as our trip through Turkey was engineered to cause as much sleep deprivation as possible. Overnight buses and early morning balloon flights meant that any sleep we got, day or night was cherished.

Goreme, backpacker capital of Cappadocia was as amazing as the tourist brochures told us it would be. The fairy chimneys reminded us of the Pinnacles in Western Australia albeit they are bigger, more varied and located over a vaster area, however the concept is the same. Strange shapes jutting out of the ground caused by erosion of volcanic and softer rocks over many years.

The best way to experience the area was in a hot air balloon and so we woke at 5:00am for our flight. Unfortunately the wind was floating the wrong way and our flight was cancelled. The next day we were up at 4:00am for our flight which fortunately was not cancelled.

Ballooning in Turkey was one of the great experiences of our lives. The company we travelled with are very experienced (http://www.kapadokyaballoons.com/) and often the balloon was located only 5 metres above the fairy chimneys while we hung out of the balloon taking photo after photo. Having never ballooned in Melbourne, I am not sure if they have the control to be able to drop down and pick fruit from trees in the Yarra Valley, the Cappadocia blokes brag that they can do it, and dropped down to look for Apricots. None were on the trees but it was great adventure for the troops.

The other highlights of the area are the underground city (built to confuse enemies and provide protection for entire communities and their stock for 6 months) and the local cuisine. The locals cook a stew like concoction in a terra cotta pot and break the pot open in front of you when it is time to serve. Obviously the crockery is a use-once item and the restaurants hang them out the front to advertise the meal for passing tourists.

Speaking of which, apparently Aussie and NZ tourists make up most of the tourists in Turkey as every place has an Aussie or Kiwi flag flying proudly.

A day in Istanbul followed Goreme after another overnight bus trip. 12 hours on a bus is never fun and I won't whine that I am bigger than the average bloke to boot. Nevertheless, not a lot of sleep for me on either trip. In Istanbul we allowed ourselves the pleasure of a Turkish Bath at a 500 year old bathhouse. It was a great experience, especially when the man puts on the sandpaper glove and scrapes the dead skin from your person. Obviously I had some desert dust in my pores as my skin came off in great strips, much to the amusement of the Turk. A massage and a steam finished the afternoon and we prepared for our overnight train to Bulgaria.

The overnight train was brilliant. We had our own cabin and it did not take long before we fell asleep. At 2:45 we were woken to be told that we were at the Turkish border. We alighted from the train and got our passport stamp. Having fallen asleep again we were woken at 4:00 to find the train had not moved but the Bulgarians were wanting to check our passports. OK, we waited and then fell asleep again and we were woken up at 4:30am for the actual passport check. Finally at 5:00am we started moving. Therefore in 3 hours we went nowhere, got woken up 3 times and made it to Bulgaria, once again quite tired.

Our first stop was Plovdiv, the second biggest city in Bulgaria and apparently the "real Bulgaria". A beautiful little city which I highly recommend for a 5 hour visit. We stayed all day and became quite bored by the end of it.

So much so that for A$2 we decided to see the film "The Aviator" on the big screen. Wow! What an experience as we were led upstairs into a Soviet style power station in pitch darkness. On the second floor was a small room with a projector and speakers no larger than my ipod headphones. We watched the film and endeavoured to listen as best we could (no THS - The Audience is Listening or Dolby Train in Plovdiv!). When the film finished we emerged in pitch darkness again to find that everyone had gone and we had to let ourselves out. Reasonably frightened we scurried home.

Unfortunately for us our kind landlady and her husband wanted us to drink a traditional Bulgarian beverage. This grape beverage was apparently 60% proof and tasted like Ethanol. After consuming a full glass, I signalled that it was time for bed. NO NO I was told, another glass for you. Shit I thought, I kind do any more of this vile liquor (I had drunk about a litre of water as well). But drink it I did, and finally I was released from the table to toddle off to bed. As Cathy said, no wonder the Slavs have liver problems in Australia.

We arrived in Sofia today and not a lot can be said for Bulgaria's capital really. Just think of a ruined Soviet style city with things falling off buildings and roads that look like they were made by the Romans for their chariots. Cathy has objected to this place and stated that "there is nothing lovely here" and cracked the shits. She is probably right but the people watching is fantastic and certainly beats anything that the Bourke Street Mall can dish up.

The best thing is the quality of food and beverage you get for $A10. Two course meals and beer for 10 bucks is not a bad thing at all I reckon.

Hopefully a trip to the Rila Monastery tomorrow (the holiest place in Bulgaria) and Velico Tarnovo (the postcard picture small town with the fortress) will cheer things up.

OK, that's all from me. Things look to be progressing nicely at home, looking forward to returning for Finals time, where the smell of cut grass will once again make Melbourne the best place in the world to be.

Cheers

Rounders