Boiling in Bodrum

We arrived in Bodrum with open hearts and open minds, full of enthusiasm for a new place but with little idea of what to expect. We came knowing nothing about the place except that our hostel had no air conditioning (which we should have realised would be a huge problem). We eagerly checked in, and met Mehmet, the manager of our hostel. Zo and I immediately headed off for exploring time and traipsed up and down the many weaving lanes and streets that made up Bodrum. We headed back to the rooftop to socialise and get back into the hostel life after 5 days of private rooms and hotels, with no young people to befriend. We met Reece, Veronika and Natasha and soon had a dinner recommendation to a local place around the corner, we were warned they couldn't speak much English which worrie me with the gluten free situation, but we decided to at least check it out. When we arrived we were taken into the kitchen and shown everything they were cooking. Boiled chicken and potato, eggplant with mince meat, rice, roasted tomato and cucumber raita- a perfect gluten free selection so we asked for a taste of everything and were brought a huge tasting platter- each! We cleaned our plates and were given our first introduction to Turkish tea which was lovely, all for the cheap price of $14 Australian dollars. 

Drinks followed dinner and we tested cherry juice with vodka which turned into our staple drink, delicious! We were soon told that a group was heading to a club called catamaran, which I soon realised was so named, because it was on a boat! Zoe and I were in straight away, how often do you go to a club on a boat?! And we soon convinced a few others to join us and we were off! It became clear when we boarded Diamond, this was a prestigious boat and not a backpackers spot. Underdressed and under budget, we were stuck, by the time we ordered our first drink (a vodka orange for $15!) we had already set sail. I instantly opted for a sober night, and hit up the dance floor for a boogie instead. Boy could some of the guys dance on that boat. I like to think of myself as a pretty good dancer but I was blown away and found myself awkwardly bopping in the corner, too embarrassed to do my thing. Soon however my staring at one very extravagant and fantastically gay dancer became way too obvious, so he took my hand and brought me into the middle of the dance circle and for about 10minutes I felt like beyonce, shaking my booty and being queen of the world. Sadly, the music switched to salsa and some sexy Latino girls who didn't stuff up every time we twirled quickly replaced me. After my fall from fame, I stuck with our backpacker buddies and managed to score two free drinks, or at least we thought they were free until the bill was presented to us just as we were leaving the boat.

It was organisation time so after an omelette for an energy boost, Zoe and I set off to buy some bus tickets, and organise the rest of our turkey transportation. We bumped into Reece & Lawrence at the hostel and headed down for another beach session, at a very tiny rock beach, the length of a sun bed to be precise. I had lost my patience with tanning in Greece and with no air con at our hostel, Turkeynhad taken my tolerance of any heat too. Very quickly, I had had enough and had my mind focused on food, just for a change. Reece had heard of a sushi bar, and considering I hadn't had sushi since before I left home I was very excited to break my sushi fast. Finding the restaurant wasn't a simple task though, and 40mins later the elusive 'red dragon restaurant' continued to hide from us. Eventually, hot and flustered we spotted it and rushed into the air conditioned interior- heaven! Prices were extremely high, but it was sushi and we had hunted for so long so we gave in. This was a massive regret when 6 MINUSCULE pieces of sushi were brought out, I'm talking less than one Melbourne hand roll. I wanted to cry, but instead I wolfed them down in about twenty seconds and went to buy some Turkish delight for dessert. A lazy afternoon followed before we tagged along with the girls to the windmills to watch the sunset which was beautiful. On the way home, hungry again, we stopped off st the fish market for an incredible dinner experience. Sit down at a restaurant, order some appetisers, go next door to the fishmonger, order and buy your fish, instruct the restaurant how to cook it, and they will bring it out to you! Oh and don't forget the restaurant also has a live band playing Turkish music- icing on the cake! 2 pieces of salmon, salad, and stuffed peppers all for the small price of 25 lira (10 euro). We returned to a loud roar of Happy Birthday and joined straight into the birthday drinks, before piling into a minibus with what seemed like our whole hostel and rolling into Gumbet, the party spot of Bodrum. Our first stop was Temple Bar which I never left. A podium to dance on, old r and b classics, and free drinks all night from Mehmet's cousin who was the bouncer, how could I say no? After a free ride back on the bus I refilled my stomach AGAIN with a giant plate of doner meat and walked home to bed as the sun started to rise.

Groggily, I forced myself out of bed, into the shower and onto a boat for a day trip with 8 new hostel friends. Feeling worse for wear, I can safely say sitting in the glaring sun on the front of the boat did not help the situation, so I retreated to the shade, much to Zoe's surprise. It was a pretty fun day sitting back watching the world go by, jumping in for swim stops and snorkelling around, but after sail Croatia, no boat trip will ever impress me. The novelty Viking decorations on the boat were certainly something though, and rinsing off under a naked statue holding the shower head was definitely a new experience. I was all sunned out and sapped of energy when we returned to shore, no lunch on the boat didn't help me situation- turkey & gluten free, not a great combo- so Zo and I took the lazy option for dinner, a doner plate. Already Bodrum was coming to a close but I couldn't stomach the thought of partying again, even if it was our last night (our 6.30am departure the following day may also have had something to do with it). Luckily, everyone seemed to be on the same page as us, and we walked up at the perfect time to join in on nargile, Turkish tea and mixed nuts. A traditional and lovely night to cap off Bodrum before Pammuakle the next day!