http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/journal/ en cath@walkerstrails.com Copyright 2012 2012-01-28T22:08:04+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/end_of_a_trail/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/end_of_a_trail/#When:21:08:04Z So the whole trail around the world is over.  Its been over for quite some time now I’ve just been a little slake about updating the website.  There are various reasons for that among them was trying to find something polite about China and not really having a very good internet connection at the moment. RTW 2010, China 2012-01-28T21:08:04+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/the_black_hole_called_china/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/the_black_hole_called_china/#When:14:05:47Z My time in China is almost at an end. I haven’t written much while I was here for a variety of reasons. One of them being that it seems my website is blocked in China since I can not access it. China seems to be a bit of a Black Hole when it comes to communication and information generally. You know, everything gets sucked in and nothing gets out? RTW 2010, China 2011-09-10T14:05:47+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/chinas_great_wall/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/chinas_great_wall/#When:18:15:33Z So I went to see China’s Great Wall, or at least I went to see part of it. Well ok a very small and restored part of it.  Still I did go mainly because it’s one of ‘those’ places that you kind of have to go and see if you go to a country. In China as far as I am concerned one of those places is the Great Wall. RTW 2010, China 2011-09-09T18:15:33+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/frustration_in_china/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/frustration_in_china/#When:16:57:34Z Note: I wrote these entries while I was in China but could not post them to the site due to the internet filter. It’s all well and truly over now but I figured I would post them anyway. I’m sitting in a cafe in Urumqi China, it’s raining outside and since I’ve finished my meal I figured I might as well start an entry for China.  China is proving to be somewhat frustrating. I’ve been in China for a week and I can not say that I have done much except try to organize transport and accommodation. I’ve come up against China’s Internet filter at least at a guess that is what it is since I can not access my website. It will be interesting to see if I can post this or not through the application that I am using to write it or if it will have to wait until I get home. RTW 2010, China 2011-08-27T16:57:34+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/lazy_days_in_olympos/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/lazy_days_in_olympos/#When:17:46:40Z No I’m not suddenly in Greece. Just thought I would say that first. I’m talking about Olympos in Turkey.  As it turns out it’s a sleepy kind of place and not really that big.  The dolmus (mini bus) that picks people from the main crossroad and brings you into town pauses and calls out the name of the accommodation before heading onto the next one.  That meant I could just sit on the bus until we pulled up right outside my intended accommodation the Saban Treehouse. Oh and substitute the word treehouse with log hut built up on stilts. RTW 2010, Turkey 2011-08-02T17:46:40+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/antalya_food_and_a_hamam/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/antalya_food_and_a_hamam/#When:17:44:01Z I had instructions on how to find the hostel that I wanted to stay in and they seemed really simple and straight forward. The worst kind, right?  I was arriving late again but this time since I knew I would make it to Antalya I had booked ahead. Back into a dorm room. Sigh. Now the first part worked out ok. I found the local bus, the correct one at that paid my fare and even managed to get a seat which is a novelty. Traveling along I kept an eye on either side of the road until I saw the McDonalds then got off at the next stop. All good, instruction 2 complete. It was the 3rd instruction that went slightly wrong. RTW 2010, Turkey 2011-07-31T17:44:01+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/konya_home_of_the_whirling_dirvishes/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/konya_home_of_the_whirling_dirvishes/#When:16:31:09Z I didn’t spend long in Konya. Then again I really don’t think I needed to other than Mevlana Museum and the Whirling Dirvishes there wasn’t much else I wanted to see there Unfortunately I found out when I got there at the Whirling Divishes, I hesitate to say the word show/performance/ceremony, only happens outside of the festival on a Saturday.  In the end I decided not to stay extra day just to see that. Of course you can pay to see a performance its only the free performance that is on Saturdays in Konya.  I heard two very different takes on the Whirling Divishes. RTW 2010, Turkey 2011-07-30T16:31:09+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/underground_cities_and_more_fairy_chimneys/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/underground_cities_and_more_fairy_chimneys/#When:10:19:32Z I decided on a day tour for my final day here in Goreme. Now I could have done these things independently however I think I got more information from doing the tour. There is also the little issue that you can go to the underground city ‘by yourself’ all you want. You will not actually be by yourself since this place, Goreme and surounds is a massive tourist draw. The price also wasn’t bad for the convenience anyway. RTW 2010, Turkey 2011-07-28T10:19:32+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/fairy_chimneys_and_the_hamam_in_cappodocia/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/fairy_chimneys_and_the_hamam_in_cappodocia/#When:07:23:06Z Getting to Goreme proved to be easier than I thought even if it was a little later than what I thought as well. I had read all these warnings that there was a scam where your bus ticket would say ‘Cappadocia’ and they would dump you in Nevsehir instead of Goreme. So of course it was late as I got off the bus in Kayseri, grabbed my bag and went to find the next bus. Since Goreme was only about an hour and a half away I figured I might as well continue on and get there. I got my ticket, looked at it and of course it said Nevsehir. Not Goreme. I clarified the whole thing with him. Hard to do when you do not speak Turkish and he finally wrote Goreme on my ticket. He pointed at the map and showed that the bus had to go through Goreme to get to Nevsehir. RTW 2010, Turkey 2011-07-27T07:23:06+00:00 http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/amasya_and_the_pontic_tombs/ http://www.walkerstrails.com/index.php/trails/comments/amasya_and_the_pontic_tombs/#When:08:04:01Z It was just some dot on the map to break the journey really. I was flipping pages back and fourth trying to work out how to get to Goreme, so Cappadocia from my current location. Everything including the locals pointed to Samsun first. Not to stay overnight of course. It’s just one of those places with a reasonably sized bus station with busses that go to a number of different locations. Looking at the places I could get to from Samsun I finally flicked open on Amaysa and it’s Phontic tombs. RTW 2010, Turkey 2011-07-25T08:04:01+00:00