"Hot Air Ballooning and Overnight buses" Laurenandy's photos around Goreme, Turkey

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• published: 26 Apr 2011
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Preview of Laurenandy's blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laurenandy/1/1215338040/tpod.html This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Goreme, Turkey Entry Title: "Hot Air Ballooning and Overnight buses" Entry: "Sunday morning, we were picked up at 4:45am for a sick hot air balloon ride (huge thanks to both our parents). It was crazy heading to this big field where the company was filling up a bunch of hot air balloons. We were the only people who opted for the longer ride, so we had our balloon to ourselves (others had as many as 20 people). Hot air ballooning is famous in this region because of the dramatic and unique landscape. It was a little tense at the very beginning, especially when you think of the physics of how the balloon is actually being controlled. We had unbelievable views of the landscape, sunrise, and other balloons. We overshot our landing a bit and ended up on a random farmer's hillside, who then came out to see what was going on. Upon landing, our guide quickly produced a bottle of champagne, flight certificate for us and a large tip box (see pic). It was an awesome experience floating through the air and one of the main reasons we headed out to Cappadocia. The rest of the day was spent touring some more of the landscapes and caves around Cappadocia. We had a good group filled with Aussies, Kiwis and Brits and about eight 18-year-old girls from Australia, traveling during their gap year. Around 8pm, we were scheduled to board a bus for the 14-hour overnight trip to Fethiye on the southwestern coast of Turkey (this was our last minute change). When the bus pulls up, we stow our luggage and get on, but there is no room...like no seats available. As I go to get off the bus to see what the hell is going on, the driver tries to get me to just stand and hold on. I explain in my most polite, **** off voice that there is 0% chance that I'm standing and even less so for Lauren. The driver, and now a couple other people, are still trying to convince me to stand (speaking only Turkish). As I'm now explaining to people with my best English swear words what they can do if they think I'm going to stand for a 14-hour bus ride, Lauren figures out from another French couple that the bus is heading to the main station in Cappadoccia (only 20 minutes away) and most of the people will get off there...I reluctantly agree and off we go. Ok, so the French couple turned out to be right, but how the hell was I supposed to know...imagine if you got on a bus and thought that you and your wife would have to be standing for the 14-hour trip. Anyway, the buses in Turkey are actually very good, clean and efficient. However, they have no facilities on board, so they stop every two hours for 20 minutes, turn on the lights, and basically wake everybody up...it's not super conducive to sleeping....plus I am always slightly paranoid, so Lauren slept while I watched our stuff. At one point, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, but was in desperate need of a pillow. We didn't have pillows or blankets and our luggage was buried deep underneath the bus....so, at one of the stops, I improvised and bought a medium sized teddy bear that turned out to be the perfect pillow (we still have him)." Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/laurenandy/1/1215338040/tpod.html Photos from this trip: 1. "Fairy Chimneys" 2. "Goreme town view" 3. "Filling up for the flight" 4. "Thanks for Mom(s) and Dad(s)!" 5. "Other balloon filled to the brim" 6. "Another balloon" 7. "Field where we landed and owner" 8. "Cave dwellings..up until 60 years ago" 9. "Frescoes in christian churches" 10. "Interesting natural formations..." 11. "Stretching for the overnight bus ride" See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0159-e21a-2686?ytv4=1