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[Thoughts] #2: Autobiographies
In the 2000s, the fashion was on the blog. Everybody had a blog. And among those thousands of blogs, I came across the one of a girl who never put a picture of herself. She wanted to confide in this personal space, without judgment, without being recognized.His blog was a kind of session at the shrink’s, open to all. An honest, unfiltered analysis of his life, his frustrations linked to the precariousness of his work but also his lack of confidence and his recent love relationship.I don’t know why I liked his blog so much. Maybe to make sure that even a person that I considered my ideal at that…
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Practical Pamukkale Backpacking Travel Guide: How to get there, What to visit, Addresses, Advice
We recently left Istanbul for Pamukkale in a backpack. If you haven’t read it yet, check out our travel diary For tips, addresses and advice, this guide is for you. Enjoy! PART 1: How to get there You have different options to get there from Istanbul On an organized tour This is the option that I do not recommend because it is so easy to move around on your own. All agencies in downtown Istanbul will offer you organized tours (with transportation) from Istanbul to Pamukkale(including tour, guide, transportation) for one day, round trip by plane from Istanbul Please note that tour operators also offer 2-day trips from Istanbul to…
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Pamukkale (Turkey): No Water, Big Disappointment
Have you seen incredible pictures of the immaculate white basins overflowing with clear water, where people were happily bathing in white mud that was too good for their skin? Well, that’s the vision sold by travel agencies, because Pamukkale isn’t like that anymore: Day 1 : After a day in Selçuk / Ephesus, we take the bus at 4:30 pm with the company Pamukkale Turizm (40TL/person). 3h30 later, having witnessed an exceptional sunset from the bus, we finally arrive in Denizli. We are all transferred in a mini bus. In haste and incomprehension (nobody warned us in Selçuk that there was a change of bus), one of the travelers forgot…
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How to go from Istanbul to Ephesus: Tour, Backpack by Bus or Plane
To visit the archeological site ofEphesus, you have to go to the town of Selçuk, which is just belowEphesus, 2-3km away You have different options to go there On an organized tour This is the option that I do not recommend because it is so easy to move around on your own. All the agencies in downtown Istanbul will offer you organized tours (with transportation) from Istanbul to Ephesus (with tour, guide, transportation included) for one day Either you opt for night buses (cheaper) Either you opt for the (more expensive) plane: departure from the hotel at 5 am and return to Istanbul at 11 pm Please note that tour…
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Ephesus (Turkey) in a backpack – Travel Diary
This weekend we spend 4 days in the Lycos Valley visiting ancient cities and hot springs. Even if there is very little information for those who want to visit the area in a backpack, our experience in Cappadocia shows us that you can always get out of it. So it is only with two plane tickets and no other reservation that we left Istanbul Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary How to get there? We chose to do a large part of the trip by plane (istanbul – izmir) even if it forced us to get up at 5:15 am. We land with 15…
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[Travel Light] Our Tips for the World Tour
We went around the world with 8kg for me (Anh) and 16kg for JB. On the way, we gave up a lot of things to finish at 7-8kg for me, and 13kg for JB. How to travel light and not have back pain? Here are our tips! The backpack is so important The backpack decides everything. A quality backpack, with a reasonable capacity, here is the main key to travel light. Because psychologically, a half-empty bag = you want to fill it. So, a small bag = little stuff. If I opted for a 26L, JB opted for a 65L. If possible, avoid Decathlon bags, which are inexpensive but not…
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[Thoughts] #1: Living in the Present Moment
I decided to open a new category on the blog, which will gather all the thoughts I have during the trip. It’s very “personal development” oriented. One of my favorite topics. And these articles also answer the question I’m often asked: What do you get out of travelling around the world? Because if JB travels to escape the routine and discover new countries, I travel to discover myself. Background To give you a bit of context, before the world tour, despite an exciting job, a nice apartment, financial comfort and a lovely cat, I was completely stressed and unhappy. My body was letting me know, making me sick summer and…
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Istanbul (Turkey) #5: Whirling Dervishes Ceremony at Silivrikapi Cultural Center (Silivrikapı Mevlana Culture Center)
As this was a religious ceremony to which we were fortunate enough to be invited, out of respect we preferred to be as discreet as possible and not to take pictures. The photos in the article are from the center’s website. As not all tourists have the same delicacy, you can find photos on Google Images and even videos on Youtube. If you would like to see a touring dervish show that is more “touristic” than the experience described below, you can book a tour on the Viator website. If the whirling dervishes are famous, I must say that before I found out, I didn’t really know what they were.…
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Attend a Basketball match in Istanbul (Turkey)
After attending several soccer games, I must discover basketball which is also very popular in Turkey. I have to say that I am much less of a basketball fan than a soccer fan but I appreciate the intensity of the matches and the fact that I regularly have intense suspense until the end of the game. That’s good, the Euroleague (the European Basketball Cup) has recently resumed. It isn’t easy to find information on how to buy tickets. I notice however that the match Fenerbhace – Khimki Moscow is available for sale on the Mobilet website. EDIT October 2019: The Mobilet site no longer seems functional. Tickets must now be…
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Istanbul (Turkey) #4: Turkish Breakfast, Blue Mosque, Basilica Tank
Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary New AirbnbCa is there, we changed Airbnb. The new Airbnb is much cheaper (24€/day thanks to a big discount linked to our stay) and much better located. So much the better because I’m starting to feel the need to be closer to fast transports like streetcar or subway (the bus is too slow). From our different windows (yes there are plenty of them, the apartment is ultra bright), we can see well the hills that surround us and the Galata tower which isn’t very far. I let you watch this video made by JB if you are interested…
