April 16: Bodrum!

So we woke up at 4am after sleeping for about 2 or three hours and were picked up by an airport shuttle that literally drove at 90 mph the entire time. I’ve never been one to get motion sickness but I was pretty sure I was going to throw up the entire ride there. Seriously I’ve never been so happy to arrive at Ataturk’s domestic terminal. Well that glee wore off as soon as we stepped inside. So many things in Turkey are far superior and a million times better than in India or any other developing country but the airport is not one of them. Surprisingly the airport on the Asian side, the smaller and newer one, is much more organized and cleaner. Take it from me, fly out of Sabiha Gökçen if you can. Ataturk was pushy and crowded with people skipping the line and shoving in front of you the whole time. I was thrilled to get on the plane and get in another hour of sleep before arriving in Bodrum.

Bodrum is absolutely beautiful. Like I thought that Antalya would be my favorite beach town but Bodrum was better by far. Antalya is much more of a European beach town, it’s designed for tourists, crowded, has a lot of chains and is what you think of when you think of a beach town. Bodrum on the other hand was small and quiet and had a lot of Turkish tourists. All of the buildings are white washed and nothing is higher than two stories, mayor’s orders of course. After driving down the absolutely gorgeous and untouched coast of the Aegean Sea we arrived at our the hotel, Hotel Istanköy. This hotel was fabulous, anyone who goes to Bodrum MUST stay here. They had a very cute area with a pool, sun deck, bar and a delicious restaurant on site. We had complimentary breakfast and then decided on a whim to do the boat tour that the hotel offered. The season doesn’t start for another two weeks or so, so the whole yacht was empty other than the six of us and it was fabulous. We paid 25 Turkish lira each and got: the entire boat for 7 hours, a full lunch, tea and biscuits, and transport to a hot springs and three bays. It was the perfect thing to do after having to wake up at 4 am to get on a plane. We all just ate, relaxed, read our books and chilled.


Our own private boat!


P. Smurf, Pups, and I outside the hot springs!




Lunch on the boat


Have you ever seen water this clear?? Ah the Aegean Sea!



In the evening we all went to dinner at a waterfront fish restaurant. It was good but not as good as the place we went in Arnavutköy, Adem Baba. Afterwards Reuben and I checked out some of the the local bars. Damn I wish we had brought our cameras because one of the bars we went to was literally on the beach. Like you walk in from the street side and through the bar to tables and chairs outside that are a foot from the water. Luckily the Aegean is calm so there wasn't a lot of splashing just a still sea to look out over! Needless to say it was an amazing day. I’m so happy that my family is here to enjoy it with me. I’m so happy that they’re enjoying themselves and that I have been able to plan things that they liked!