Back again in Istanbul!

After 50 years I returned to Istanbul and if my memory is correct the hostel is, or is close to, the hostel where I originally stayed.    Fortunately this old part of the city has avoided to a large extent the modernisation that has taken place elsewhere, there are still the wide open spaces, beautiful parks and Mosques and friendly warm hearted people who will quite happily stick 50% on the price of an article or service but generally wouldn't dream of stealing your bike!

Old city park 

Model of the Grand Mosque

Back street

The Grand Mosque at night

Local pastries

It was probably easier then!

4th C Egyptian obelisk

 

Exquisite furniture

Street cafe scene

Public spaces

A warm winter in the Island of Cyprus

The decision to leave Laos and come to Cyprus was not an easy one.   Although I had a second bout of food poisoning which had left me once again hesitant to eat anything I was still reluctant to leave South East Asia with which I had connected on so many levels.  However the instinctive need to go to what I hoped would be comfortable and hygienic circumstances with a diet that was familiar was very strong and in spite of cost and a long journey it has all been worth while.   Andy and Nicky, the workaway hosts, have been exemplary in providing a high standard of eveything I had hoped for and the work has been enjoyable and satisfying with the consequence that I feel fully recovered.   Since I arrived there have been Oleg and Irina, a Ukrainian couple and Sabrina, a German woman here as volunteers as well  and the conversation has been interesting and informative especially listening to the Ukrainians and their sad stories of a country being torn apart by meddling foreigners whose only concern is greed.  Last weekend we all had a very enjoyable visit to Nicosia visiting both the Greek Cypriot part as well as crossing the "green line" and walking round the Turkish controlled part of Cyprus.  The German volunteer has now left and tomorrow the Ukrainians are moving on as well.   This afternoon friends of Andy and Nicky have asked if I will undertake a small plumbing job (paid) on a property that they are caretakers for and I have also received a request to volunteer at a workaway project in Thailand which I will seriously consider in May or June although summer in Eastern Europe has its appeal!
  

We are the blue icon

View from the hosts balcony

Waiting for the pool to warm

Local landscape

Street scene in Nicosia

Restored building in Nicosia

Maroni

L - R, Sabrina, Andy, Nicky, Irina, Oleg

Andy & Nicky call in at the French workaway project on their way back to UK

Having now seen LuangPrabang I realise how lucky I am

I could waffle on for ever about how wonderful LP is but as pictures are worth a thousand words I will  simply offer mine and if should you want more then search in Google images.    Although my first hostel here was unbelievably cheap (6 euros per night including breakfast) it was infested by a lot of loud and inconsiderate American youth which, combined with compacted straw mattresses, resulted in my not sleeping for 2 nights ... however I have now found a charming guest house room for 15 euros per night which is ensuite and has a comfortable mattress ...needless to say i have already been out on a bike and city cycling here is just as thrilling as in Taiwan! 

View from my guest house veranda 

Street scene

Sunset over the Mekong

Footbridge over Mekong tributary

Local Architecture

Buddhist Temple

Sunday bathing in the Mekong

This looks more my style! 

Traditional weaving

Back street

My idea of paradise 

Another footbidge

Hostel rules

Traditional building techniques

Pork noodle soup & salad 1.5 euros

A pigs ear and a silver purse!

Sunday..... my proposed 120 mile bike ride was a disaster ... i arrived in Taitung from where I was going to start by train from Tainan ...  wonderful journey of 4 hours at a cost of about 12 euros ..   train and stations scrupulously clean ... landscape fascinating especially when we reached the south and started to follow the coast ... sun was shining and the sea was literally aquamarine ...   however as we began to slow down and draw into Taitung I began to notice that the trees .. hedges ... flowers etc although very beautiful and exotic were moving! ... and of course it began to dawn on me that being close to the sea there would be a breeze ... still "I'm sure it wil be light and intermittent" I said to myself but .... after collecting the bike and setting out it was very breezy and anything but light and worst of all it was against me ... i struggled on for about 10 miles literally getting blown about on the road with dust blowing up into my face especially when crossing a bridge and the crunch came when going down a fairly steep and long hill without either of the brakes on i realised that I was going slower down than another cyclist who was going up the hill on the other side .... when I got to the bottom it was then really blowing and even though I changed down to the lowest of the 21 gears I came to complete standstill.     It was at that point that I realised there was no way I could cope with another 110 miles and I would have to give up ..  with some despondency I turned round and headed back but as i was getting blown up the hill the humour of it all struck me and I literally burst out laughing.   On the way back I decided i would hang on to the bike and stay to look round Taitung for a couple of days which has turned out to be really good decision as there is an excellent bike trail folowing a disused train route which goes  through sheltered countryside .. a forest ... two parks and interesting parts of the town so I've had a very enjoyable 2 days.     Needless to say I'm disappointed on one level but i always said to myself as well as others that this was going to be a learning experience to see if i could cope with long distance cycling ...I think I might have made it if the wind hadn't been so strong and maybe I will have another go at another time but there's part of me which has concluded that maybe I'm the sort of cyclist who just likes potteringabout! 
Update .... While sitting in a 7-11 convenience store on Tuesday I got onto conversation with two women who were guides for a holiday group and during our conversation I told them of my unsuccessful attempts at long distance cycling and they pointed out that Taiwan has been experiencing the tail end of another mini hurricane and they had to cancel one of their day trips on that day as well !!

Wednesday ... Had another  marvellous train journey today  through the east rift valley from Taitung to Hualien ... the valley is about half a mile wide ... dead flat with high mountains either side.. and mile upon mile of rice fields ... total cost for the two and a half hour journey was about  8 euros ... hostel is very good ... 3 lots of bed  bunks ... I'm sharing with one local male and a Swedish female training to be a doctor .... have been out thus afternoon on a free bike for about 4 hours whizzing through the traffic .. what a hoot ....and along the coast on a designated bike path .... a friendly local came and cycled alongside me ... retired architectural teacher and he showed me a spot where the view was good ... really nice chap we talked for about an hour .... then his cousin came along so i continued on my way ... on the way back I tried some steamed meat balls which are very popular over here ... very good they were too .... weather is still t shirt and shorts although some of the locals have anoraks when on their scooters.    I will be here until Friday when I take the train to Taipei .... another hostel for 2 nights and then I fly out to Australia to see my sister .... after that .... well ... Laos looks interesting!

TAITUNG BIKE TRAIL

An interesting use of bamboo

Arriving at Taitung

A cavalcade at Tainan

10 miles north of Taitung

Youth of uk take note!

The charm of the Taiwanese