Ace, Gen and the World: May 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

May 21 - 28: Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey

After at least a month (some would say two) of annoying everyone with new excuses to celebrate our departure, our friends have finally gotten rid of us and hopefully managed to get some sleep (thanks everyone, it was a great couple months!). So off we go, completely exhausted with less than 15 kilos of luggage each and our new iTouch with all of our best friends' music as a soundtrack for the next year.

Disclaimer :) Before we go any further, we will admit that it feels a little weird to be writing a blog... not used to writing about our lives, but hopefully you enjoy reading about our journey.

One week into our stay in Turkey, we’ve quickly decided that it’s a place that everyone should visit. We’re not sure exactly what we were expecting, but it’s definitely more developed and more beautiful than anticipated. The Turks are very friendly (and in an honest way, not only to get your money), punctual and hard working. The country is full of delicious food (big smiles from Gen), which is typically a combination of tapas-like dishes that they call mezes and some type of meat cooked in a clay pot – the prize meal usually being the lamb – finished off with some baklava covered with ice cream, or maybe some Turkish delights… Miammm!!! (from Gen, again)

Istanbul offers a great combination of historical sites and modern infrastructure – leaving a lot to be desired in Montreal! For a city of 20 million people it is very safe and inviting. During our 4 days in the big city we visited the Blue Mosque (amazing), Aya Sofia, the Topkapi Palace (blah), did a fantastic boat tour down the Bosphorus strait, shopped in the local markets, introduced Gen to her first hookah pipe (it’s only apple and tobacco, Mom), and of course had a few drinks on the best rooftop patio in the city.

Cappadocia was our next stop and is equally impressive, with the most amazing rock formations created by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago. In ancient times the Christians carved out the soft rock for shelter, and the result is these structures that look something like smurf houses (but not blue), and buildings from a Star Wars movie (without the ewoks). There are also 140 inter-connected underground cities up to 14 stories (85 meters) in the ground. On top of visiting these, we did a hot air balloon ride and met a great couple that joined us for an entire day of getting lost in the hundreds of kilometers of hiking trails, and told us everything we need to know about traveling in India.

Up next… the Turkish Mediterranean coast… we’ve done way too much this week and it's time to relax!

Photos - May 21-28: Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey

Fun Facts

To avoid dehydration at high altitude, it is suggested to drink at least 4-5 liters of water per day!
To support his cocaine trafficking operations, Pablo Escobar once bought 15 planes and 6 helicopters. He reportedly spent $2500 a month purchasing rubber bands to wrap his stacks of cash.
Rodriguez, an American musician that had little success in the U.S. in the 70’s, went platinum and became highly influential in South Africa. However, his fame remained completely unknown to him until 1998, when his eldest daughter came across a website dedicated to him.
Table Mountain alone has over 1,500 hiking trails, as well as 1,500 species of plants, more than the entire United Kingdom.
South Africa has the cheapest electricity and the third most safe, drinkable tap water in the world.
The average annual salary in Zanzibar, Tanzania is US$250.
The African Masai are Polygamous, and there is a famous Masai leader who purportedly has 42 wives and 240 children.
From standstill, the cheetah can reach 100 km/hour in merely 3 seconds.
A tiny jellyfish called the Box Jellyfish, not the great white shark, is the most deadly and dangerous marine species in Australia
You can rent a surfboard at the post office in Crescent Head, Australia
The 10 most venomous snakes in the world can be found in Australia
A Gatorade at the corner store in Australia costs $4.50
Singapore has the highest percentage of millionaires per capita in the world.
Ever have those moments when you’re travelling and wake up in the middle of the night unsure where you are? Oddly enough, after almost 5 months of travelling through 11 countries you have those memory lapses awake, in broad daylight ☺.
In Bali, everyone’s first name is determined by the order in which they were born. For example, the oldest male in the family is named Wayan, the second is Made, the third is Nyoman, the fourth is Ketut and the order repeats itself after the third male. This becomes somewhat confusing, because almost every fourth male has the same name!
Ever seen an upside down rainbow? We have!
The Dutch government plans to prohibit the purchase of cannabis by tourists in Amsterdam in January 2013 (a “green card” only issued to citizens will be required thereafter).
Although quite rare, certain vineyards still use egg whites to filter their wine. This traditional method, whereby a thin layer of egg whites are poured into the cask and filter down through the wine over time, is believed to retain more flavor than the more typical filtering process.
Gaudí died after being struck by a tram on his way to church. Assumed to be a beggar because of his lack of ID and shabby clothing, he did not receive immediate aid. By the time he was recognized at a very rudimentary hospital the following day, it was too late to revive him.
Christopher Columbus is buried in Seville, Spain – or is he? This is a controversial subject, as it is also believed that he is (mostly) buried in the Dominican Republic.
Gen’s last name (Guay) means “cool” in Spanish. As if she wasn’t already cool enough! ;)
What do 3 North Americans at a Spanish house party have in common, other than their nationality? White teeth, according to an apparently common Spaniard stereotype.
To become a smokejumper, you have to be able to do 7 pull-ups, 45 sit-ups, 25 push-ups and run ¼ mile in under 11 minutes. Of course, Ace is sure that he can do this – Gen, not so much :)
Turkish regulations prohibit any construction in tourist regions during the tourist season. Something more countries should adopt!
Apparently (and a little surprisingly ;), Ace has a long lost identical twin that happens to be a European football/soccer star. In our first week, the Turks have asked us twice if it was indeed him… the second group had even bet on it amongst each other. Why did he end up being the boring banker? ;)
Turkey is the only country in the world that sits on two continents - the Bosphorus strait separates the European and Asian regions.
In Mexico it is illegal for stores to sell alcohol after 2pm on Sundays. One might think that this relates to religion, however it’s actually because Mexicans get so drunk on Sundays that if they sold booze in the afternoon no one would go to work on Monday (okay, this one comes from a pre-Turkey boys trip down south last month… but I thought it was still amusing enough to merit a bullet point – Gen, not so much).

Stupid Mistakes (hopefully to be a short section)

Gen attempting a 5-hour hike at 4,000 meters before being fully acclimatized. NOT recommended!
Packing your favorite Swiss army knife in your carry-on bag when about to take a flight. Bye bye knife ☹
18 hours of bus to visit San Gil, possibly the worst ecotourism capital in the world!
Ace dropping our iPad on our MacBook Air. Note: a new MacBook Air screen costs $500!
Expecting to book a diving trip to Sipadan (potentially the top dive site in the world) 2 days in advance – to find out that it was fully booked for the next 2 months.
We found some really cheap “first class” train tickets leaving San Sebastian – but it turns out that “first class” tickets that have “unassigned seats” really mean you don’t have a seat whatsoever, so if the train is full you end up enjoying your “first class” experience sitting on the floor.
After waiting in line for about 1 ½ hours to watch the Euro semi-finals in an open air stadium in Seville with about 5,000 people and an amazing ambiance, don’t step outside once regulation time is over. Why not? Because, unlike the quarterfinals, the semi-finals have overtime followed by penalty kicks, and no matter how clueless and innocent a tourist can try to look, security won’t let you back in!
When going to see the highlight attraction in a city, charge the battery in your camera. After learning from that mistake by bringing a backup battery the next time, make sure that one is charged too.
Before we left Canada, as we were walking towards the Turkish embassy to apply for our visas we agreed to include a “stupid mistakes” section on this site. When we showed up, the embassy evidently asked us for our passports, which, believe it or not, we had both forgotten at home. First stupid mistake: Check.

Blog Archive

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

May 21 - 28: Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey