Trek The Unknown

Our 2nd day in Kusadasi was very exciting. We heard about a local village called SIRINCE (pronounced: shiringe) which is very picturesque.

In order to get the “full” local experience and adventure we used the local transportation. a dolmush is running from Kusadasi to Selcuk (pronounced: selchuk) and it’s written on the front part of the dolmush vehicles. It’s a pretty short ride of around 25 minutes and costs 4 Turkish lira, which is about 2 Euro per person. You get off in selcuk at the last stop (you’ll see many dolmushes around) and then take another Dolmush going to SIRINCE, This ride is also not too long and costs 2.5 Turkish lira.

The Village itself is one of kusadasi tourist attraction and therefore it’s main strrets a re also very touristy like with stores and coffee shops. We decided to wonder around the village and get to it’s upper part where no tourists are preset.

A local woman who spoke no English grabbed us in one off the allies and took us in her house. It was a single room house and very modest. She gave us some Apricots and then suggested some of the crafts she makes for sale. We didn’t really want to buy anything, but she was very nice and we felt somewhat uncomfortable, not to mention that what we bought was really low priced. so, we decided it’s worthwhile buying.

later on we walked around some more and reached a church. This church has a good view point over the whole village.

Our next stop was Ephesus. We saw the entrance to the site right before selcuk. It’s situated on the road between Kusadasi and Selcuk. Ephesus ( Or efes, as the locals says) is really close to selcuk, just a few minutes ride with a local Dolmush.

Ephsus is a Greek archiological site. It’s well preserved and beautiful. Entrance fee for the site is 10 Turkish lira per person. vocal earphones guide is availble for rent also.

The site is huge and has a few attractions that worth seeing. there is a big Amphitheater, A magnificant wall of an ancient library. One of the most beautiful ones is the rich houses terrace. It’s partly rebuild with the help of the Austrain Government and has additional entrance fee (10 Lira). It’s worth that cost!

Since it’s a big site it’s recommneded for a 2-3 hour visit. The place doesn’t have much shade so it’s good to prepare for that. Take a lot of water, sunscreen and hats.

In order to leave you need to walk to the main road. It’s 10-15 minutes walk. From there you take a Dolmush back to Kusadasi. We decided to try and hitch hike. well…It worked! a car stopped with 2 nice girls and their mother. They were on vacation too and were locals from Ankara. They didn’t only take us to the main road but all the way to Kusadasi. They had a vacation house there. We exchanged phone numbers in order to meet later on.

on the whole we think it’s defently possible going to Sirince and Ephsus on the same day. They are pretty close and both are beautiful place. We even had time at the end of the day jump into to swimming pool.

On my recent trip which I came back from, 3 weeks ago (3 weeks already?!) I traveled with one of my best friends. This was a special trip for me, I never traveled with a good friend and it was truly a great experience. We had our argues on what we want to do and where to go, but it was all on an open and very understanding atmosphere.

When we visited New Delhi, We used the metro to ride around town. It’s cheaper and faster than a rickshaw. one day an Israeli girl ( many Israelis are traveling in the far east , especially India) asked us how to get to a certain place in town. I told her that the best way to do this is to use the metro. She said, it sounded too complicated and she will just take a rickshaw to that place. I told her It’s much slower and much much more expensive. She didn’t really mind.

My friend was there at the same time and I told him I can’t understand why people are traveling to new places and just stay at the few touristy places they know and not trying to explore a little more from what they read or know about..just to do things aliitle bit different and that would make your trip a whole lot differente. I say, be a little adventurous, explore, experience….

He said I was being arrogant by thinking this. Not all people are the same and are very comfortable of being in strange different places by themselves.

I guess he is right. Not all people like the same way of traveling and although I’m not too happy about “classic tourism”, some people do like it ( Fully guided tours for instance). The problem is that these people are missing what’s so special about the places they are traveling. They don’t “feel” them.

The key is to find the right balance and even if you afraid of riding\walking\being someplace because It’s too much of a “challenge” for you, you should gather a tiny bit of courage and just try…

Remark: Mickey, Thank you for being a great friend and a great travel partner.

Marry Christmas everybody and happy new 2008!

hey!
Last Thursday I came back for a 2.5 weeks of trekking at the annpurna circuit trek.I’m currently in Pokara resting This trek was absolutely amazing. Everyday I wrote about the happenings that day, so I can update it in my blog. I will update all the info later , so you can get it from 1st hand and can plan your own trip to this great trek!