Thursday, January 26, 2006
Back home
Dear readers,
Last night, Wednesday 25 January, we reached Pijnacker again. Soon I will publish the latest details since Niedernberg, Germany. Thanks for reading.
Last night, Wednesday 25 January, we reached Pijnacker again. Soon I will publish the latest details since Niedernberg, Germany. Thanks for reading.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Kids
Hans and I always had a desire to do this trip. Hans wanted to go on a motorcycle but I was not sure about that. It never crossed our minds that we would go one day in a VW bus with 2 sons in the back. Although not many people travel with such small kids for such a long time in these countries, we decided to go and try. We are fortunate to be experiences travelers but traveling with our own transport and 2 kids was new to us. In 2004 we tried it in the summer holiday, but soon realized that every age of the kids have new challenges. Originally we planned to leave in February 2005 but had to postpone it to September. When we saw a toddler crawling in the dust on the Douz’ campsite in Tunisia we were very happy Rik could already walk and he was not walking yet in February last year! Even though Rik often went for a walk on his own and we had to go after him…
I thought they would often find local kids to play with, but most kids we saw already went to school and smaller children were often inside the houses or courtyards beyond our reach. If they met any language was usually not a point, but especially Bart wanted me to ask them to play – impossible for me in Arabic of course. Although we did not bring a lot of toys, in the countries we visited it was often much more than the kids possessed, if they already had any toys at all to play with. Our kids had difficulties to share their toys but were very quick to play with toys from other kids. And some people we met had up to 14 kids while we already feel it consumes a lot of time to manage only 2!
In Istanbul we already reached Europe, but crossing the border with Greece means we are even back in the European Community and a Euro country. The weather is not great, all campsites are closed and we continue via Thessaloniki towards Macedonia. We spend the night on the parking of a hotel and I enjoy an ice coffee (frappe) while typing. The border crossing with Macedonia is pretty easy and soon we see more snow. The main road is clean so we do not worry too much about it. About 25 years ago Hans was already here visiting Byzantine churches but this time we only throw snowballs and enter Albania. We have to pay 20 euro for a visa, but also 3 euro for a basin of disinfecting water. Hans remembers this from his previous trip through former Yugoslavia but I think it is ridiculous to pay for this dirty water bath. The comment from Bart: "At home I already knew you would not want to pay these ridiculous amounts". That gave us a good laugh.
The first part of our trip through Albania is windy. We are surprised to see a lot of Mercedes cars that drive around. We were still thinking of horses and carriages but people spend money over here too. A lot of new bars and restaurants right next to the road provide us with a parking place to sleep. All the staff leaves around 6 pm and only the guard remains with us behind the locked gates. We are surprised the restaurant is not open in the evening but feel very safe of course.
The next morning the road turns out to be completely different: the worst of the whole trip! Huge potholes slow us down to an average speed of 40 km/hr. The road leads us straight through the town centers, with no road signs at all. So we have to ask frequently but hardly anyone speaks English. Nevertheless they usually explain very friendly where we have to go. Still I was really looking forward to reach the border with Servia-Montenegro. To our surprise we had to pay road taxes of 4 euro per day to the Albanian officials. Maybe they actually use it to upgrade the pavement one day. In Servia
we find a shortcut on the map, but it turns out to be a major challenge. The higher the small road takes us the colder it gets and soon snow borders the road. It does not last long before snow is still on the road and after passing a last village our world is completely white. No space to turn around and no snow chains to use. With a faster heartbeat we slowly continue in first gear. Fortunately the road does not get too steep and after finally reaching the top we see the green fields far under us. It takes another 20 km to reach the lakeshore and here we face rain. I am sure the lake is beautiful when the sun shines, but we arrive in the wrong season. We park in the center of Igalo, where Hans’ mother went last year for a holiday. While she enjoyed massages, sauna etc we enjoy a good meal in our car before going to sleep.
The next morning we enter Croatia and see the beautifully restored city of Dubrovnik. In the Yugoslavian war it was heavily attacked. It is hard to believe that it was only 15 years ago. While driving we try to see remains of the war but are never sure if the houses were abandoned before or during the war. And maybe only my imagination creates repaired bullet holes in the walls of houses.
We follow the beautiful coastal route even though it is fairly slow, but from Split we take the highway and cover nearly as many kilometers in one hour as before in nearly 3. Just before entering the mountains we find a place, have a goulash dish in a restaurant and keep the roof closed while sleeping. Too cold, although Bart and Rik still enjoy playing on the slide for a while.
The next day brings a lot of snow until we reach the coast again, but even close to the sea in Slovenia we see snow next to the road. We never realized Slovenia is also a part of the European Union so we even learn something while driving home. Many Italians go for winter sport here as well as in Croatia, as it seems to be much cheaper than in Italy. We want to go to Venice and leave the snow behind. Mario and Rosetta welcome us in their home and please us with real Italian food at Italian times. So the boys eat at 6 pm and we eat when they already sleep in our bus. Of course we want to visit the city of Venice and go by bus and boat to the St Marco square. Many other tourists are around and we are happy not to visit in summer time. Beside the restaurants there are also local bakeries, grocery stores etc for the local people living here. The level of the water is low but you can see by the level of the plants that it can be higher than some doors! The highlight for the boys however is Teddy, the dog, and to walk the dog is a great experience they enjoy very much. "Come Teddy" says Rik and even though the temperatures are low Bart wants to walk Teddy 4 times the next day.
From Venice we want to see our friends in Geneva, but Mario says it is too far to drive in one day and arranges another Servas visit north of Milan. We stay with a family and the house contains a lot of toys. Bart and Rik hardly know which item to play with first. Of course we eat more pasta and put the boys to bed. Not in the bus anymore, that is finished with the freezing temperatures. Rik sleeps with a large truck next to his bed and Bart chooses 2 Disney figures for one night. The next morning they hardly take time to have breakfast and want to play again. We find some time to talk about all kind of things and enjoy being part of the Servas organization again.
In Geneva we meet our friends Rose-Marie and Jean-Marie again after 5 and 13 years. We met them for the first time in Zimbabwe in 1991 and share good memories. We have a splendid time together talking about travels, jobs and all kinds of other subjects. They prepare a Swiss Raclette (cheese) dinner; we go swimming, drive up the mountain and finally buy some winter jackets for the boys. From Geneva we drive north to visit Cornelia and Johannes we met in Tozeur last September. They also give us a warm welcome and we practise our German once more. In Niedernberg, Germany, we surprise our friend Roland by our arrival. We could not reach him to say we would arrive Sunday afternoon but he welcomes us anyway. We met him in Chang Mai, Thailand in 1993 and kept in touch. Roland and Conny have a daughter Mara who is nearly 2 months older than Rik and the boys find another Eldorado to play. We are happy to stay especially as my intestines are not 100%. Problems with the European drinking water?? Anyway the boys play happily, we type the stories and take a bath while Roland and Conny work. We are still not sure how to spend the last 3 weeks of our leave but until now we do not regret going on this trip the way we did.
I thought they would often find local kids to play with, but most kids we saw already went to school and smaller children were often inside the houses or courtyards beyond our reach. If they met any language was usually not a point, but especially Bart wanted me to ask them to play – impossible for me in Arabic of course. Although we did not bring a lot of toys, in the countries we visited it was often much more than the kids possessed, if they already had any toys at all to play with. Our kids had difficulties to share their toys but were very quick to play with toys from other kids. And some people we met had up to 14 kids while we already feel it consumes a lot of time to manage only 2!
In Istanbul we already reached Europe, but crossing the border with Greece means we are even back in the European Community and a Euro country. The weather is not great, all campsites are closed and we continue via Thessaloniki towards Macedonia. We spend the night on the parking of a hotel and I enjoy an ice coffee (frappe) while typing. The border crossing with Macedonia is pretty easy and soon we see more snow. The main road is clean so we do not worry too much about it. About 25 years ago Hans was already here visiting Byzantine churches but this time we only throw snowballs and enter Albania. We have to pay 20 euro for a visa, but also 3 euro for a basin of disinfecting water. Hans remembers this from his previous trip through former Yugoslavia but I think it is ridiculous to pay for this dirty water bath. The comment from Bart: "At home I already knew you would not want to pay these ridiculous amounts". That gave us a good laugh.
The first part of our trip through Albania is windy. We are surprised to see a lot of Mercedes cars that drive around. We were still thinking of horses and carriages but people spend money over here too. A lot of new bars and restaurants right next to the road provide us with a parking place to sleep. All the staff leaves around 6 pm and only the guard remains with us behind the locked gates. We are surprised the restaurant is not open in the evening but feel very safe of course.
The next morning the road turns out to be completely different: the worst of the whole trip! Huge potholes slow us down to an average speed of 40 km/hr. The road leads us straight through the town centers, with no road signs at all. So we have to ask frequently but hardly anyone speaks English. Nevertheless they usually explain very friendly where we have to go. Still I was really looking forward to reach the border with Servia-Montenegro. To our surprise we had to pay road taxes of 4 euro per day to the Albanian officials. Maybe they actually use it to upgrade the pavement one day. In Servia
we find a shortcut on the map, but it turns out to be a major challenge. The higher the small road takes us the colder it gets and soon snow borders the road. It does not last long before snow is still on the road and after passing a last village our world is completely white. No space to turn around and no snow chains to use. With a faster heartbeat we slowly continue in first gear. Fortunately the road does not get too steep and after finally reaching the top we see the green fields far under us. It takes another 20 km to reach the lakeshore and here we face rain. I am sure the lake is beautiful when the sun shines, but we arrive in the wrong season. We park in the center of Igalo, where Hans’ mother went last year for a holiday. While she enjoyed massages, sauna etc we enjoy a good meal in our car before going to sleep.
The next morning we enter Croatia and see the beautifully restored city of Dubrovnik. In the Yugoslavian war it was heavily attacked. It is hard to believe that it was only 15 years ago. While driving we try to see remains of the war but are never sure if the houses were abandoned before or during the war. And maybe only my imagination creates repaired bullet holes in the walls of houses.
We follow the beautiful coastal route even though it is fairly slow, but from Split we take the highway and cover nearly as many kilometers in one hour as before in nearly 3. Just before entering the mountains we find a place, have a goulash dish in a restaurant and keep the roof closed while sleeping. Too cold, although Bart and Rik still enjoy playing on the slide for a while.
The next day brings a lot of snow until we reach the coast again, but even close to the sea in Slovenia we see snow next to the road. We never realized Slovenia is also a part of the European Union so we even learn something while driving home. Many Italians go for winter sport here as well as in Croatia, as it seems to be much cheaper than in Italy. We want to go to Venice and leave the snow behind. Mario and Rosetta welcome us in their home and please us with real Italian food at Italian times. So the boys eat at 6 pm and we eat when they already sleep in our bus. Of course we want to visit the city of Venice and go by bus and boat to the St Marco square. Many other tourists are around and we are happy not to visit in summer time. Beside the restaurants there are also local bakeries, grocery stores etc for the local people living here. The level of the water is low but you can see by the level of the plants that it can be higher than some doors! The highlight for the boys however is Teddy, the dog, and to walk the dog is a great experience they enjoy very much. "Come Teddy" says Rik and even though the temperatures are low Bart wants to walk Teddy 4 times the next day.
From Venice we want to see our friends in Geneva, but Mario says it is too far to drive in one day and arranges another Servas visit north of Milan. We stay with a family and the house contains a lot of toys. Bart and Rik hardly know which item to play with first. Of course we eat more pasta and put the boys to bed. Not in the bus anymore, that is finished with the freezing temperatures. Rik sleeps with a large truck next to his bed and Bart chooses 2 Disney figures for one night. The next morning they hardly take time to have breakfast and want to play again. We find some time to talk about all kind of things and enjoy being part of the Servas organization again.
In Geneva we meet our friends Rose-Marie and Jean-Marie again after 5 and 13 years. We met them for the first time in Zimbabwe in 1991 and share good memories. We have a splendid time together talking about travels, jobs and all kinds of other subjects. They prepare a Swiss Raclette (cheese) dinner; we go swimming, drive up the mountain and finally buy some winter jackets for the boys. From Geneva we drive north to visit Cornelia and Johannes we met in Tozeur last September. They also give us a warm welcome and we practise our German once more. In Niedernberg, Germany, we surprise our friend Roland by our arrival. We could not reach him to say we would arrive Sunday afternoon but he welcomes us anyway. We met him in Chang Mai, Thailand in 1993 and kept in touch. Roland and Conny have a daughter Mara who is nearly 2 months older than Rik and the boys find another Eldorado to play. We are happy to stay especially as my intestines are not 100%. Problems with the European drinking water?? Anyway the boys play happily, we type the stories and take a bath while Roland and Conny work. We are still not sure how to spend the last 3 weeks of our leave but until now we do not regret going on this trip the way we did.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Journey, winter in Turkey
By reaching Turkey the journey we prepared in advance stops. We only focused on Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Turkey is in our guidebook and we know we want to visit the Nemrut Dagi and Cappadocia but are unsure of the weather conditions. During most of our journey we were looking for shade when we stopped the car. It is strange when you have to search for the sun to warm up.In many places we met other travelers that were busy with their own journey. We had many nice, interesting conversations with them. Especially in countries where you can not have a large conversation with the local people because of the language barrier. Or the fact that you hardly meet women because men do all the business. Therefore we are member of Servas to be able to meet local people and spend time with them. In Egypt we did not have time to visit them and in Jordan we did not try. All the other countries do not have any hosts (yet) but Turkey does. So every leg of our journey is different: Tunisia with its Roman ruins, Libya with its extended desert, Egypt with its beautiful temples, Jordan with Petra, Syria with the beautiful markets and now Turkey with the hospitable people.
We have to wait at the border of Turkey because they have lunch first. Good idea, so we have lunch in between the two borders next to the mine fields…
It turns out we need visa for Turkey nowadays, we assume because of the problems Turkey faces with trying to enter the European community. For 40 euro (instead of $ 60) we can enter with the whole family, the carnet is stamped and we try to get money in the next town. But after the rain of Syria we now have to deal with snow!!! A few days ago we were still in the desert and now snow. It is a little bit too much to handle for us. Instead of continuing to Nemrut Dagi we decide to turn west to the coast, out of the snow and into temperatures above zero. Once we reach the highway we can speed to better temperatures and have a Turkish dinner in a restaurant before going to bed. There is even a Christmas tree, lights and the boys are excited about it. Our journey the day before Christmas does not end in a stable with a oxen and a donkey but in our own campervan.
The next morning the sun shines and we head for Cappadocia. By the time we have to climb a pass of 1650 m the sun is gone, the mist all around and the temperatures are dropping below zero once more. Within no time there is snow all around us: a white Christmas! That is rare in Holland, but not over here. We meet 2 Dutch guys cycling to Nepal, they wave us to stop and we have a chat on the road. Unfortunately our van is too small to invite them to come in but at least we can offer them some bananas to have more energy to climb the pass that is awaiting them. After that meeting we feel much better in the snow with our luxury van, comfortable and warm. Nevertheless we decide to stay in a pension in Cappadocia and find a room in a cave of Ufuk pension in Göreme. The wood stove is on fire, we have tea and enjoy the fairy rock formations covered with snow. The next day after the splendid Turkish breakfast we go hiking in the snow with Bart and Rik. In their rain boots they are not very well protected against the cold but the sun shines and there is no wind. It is beautiful to hike here and we visit the open air museum with several cave houses and churches with frescoes. Unfortunately the boys decide to start mourning and crying here and even the offered chocolate sweets from the South Koreans cannot stop them from doing so. 
Our second day we walk to the chimneys behind the pension. While Hans and Rik hike to the hills to have a better view I stay behind with Bart on a sunny spot and tell stories. It is another beautiful sunny day and we start the car to drive around to see more chimneys. The drinking water is frozen solid but the van starts and the main roads are free of snow. Our van does not like snow on the road, it could not climb even a small hill. Of course we do not carry snow chains. We were prepared for warm temperatures, snorkeling and even rain, but not for this.
In the pension Hans contacts a Servas host in Ankara and that is our next goal. Without problems we drive to his home. In Ankara we see a Toys R us and stop to shop for Rik’s 2 birthday. We expect good quality toys but are disappointed to find a relatively small collection of B quality stuff. Bart and I manage to buy a large car, 2 small ones and a bag of plastic blocks. It is wrapped up in Christmas paper, although I try to explain that they are birthday presents. Not easy when people only speak Turkish!
Our Servas host Kemal arrives from work after Hans makes a telephone call and the boys do not mind to leave the bus for a bed in his apartment on the 7th floor. We have a glass of wine and good conversation about a lot of subjects and sleep well on a comfortable bed bank after midnight. The next day we do laundry and I really enjoy the clean and nice smelling clothes. Time to go home? We spend the rest of the day reading stories, painting, watching a DVD for the first time in our lives, making pancakes for dinner and only go out to visit a fast internet café to update the Dutch website. Kemal arrives late but we still have a nice time trying ayran (a Turkish salty yogurt drink), an undrinkable fermented carrot drink and several different olives.
Finally the birthday of Rik has come on the 30th of December and Bart could hardly wait for
the presents to be opened. When Hans gives Rik a present he says “present no” in Dutch. Only when Hans opens it and Rik sees the car he is all of a sudden very interested! The cars are a success and the blocks can also make cars so Rik is a very happy boy with a large smile on his face. Too bad for him that we are driving nearly all day to Istanbul to meet Oylum, our next Servas host. To compensate this we go to MacDonalds on Taksim Square for dinner and Rik loves French fries. The square is full of lights for the Year end party and all of us have a good feeling although it was not easy to drive by car in Istanbul to this center. When Oylum arrives I drive through the rain and still crowded streets to her living quarters not far from the Bosporus river. The street she lives in is really steep but I manage to park the car, we carry the boys to the 3rd floor and put them to bed again as it is already 11 pm. We have a beer and a good conversation with her and her cousin before going to bed at 2 pm.The next morning we go out for breakfast and take a taxi to a restaurant besides the Bosporus river. Oylum treats herself every weekend on such a breakfast and we are happy to join her. The boats go by, the sun shines and after the delicious breakfast with eggs, cheese, lots of honey and tea we stroll along the river. Although we could only stay 1 night she offers us her home for another night although she will not be there. We happily accept this and spend the last day of 2005 cooking a meal and playing a game of Colonists while watching the Turkish top 100 on tv. We do not wait for the New Year but try to make up for the last 3 nights we went to bed far too late. Only vaguely do we hear the fire works at midnight, but happy new year.
New Year’s day turns out to be a perfect moment to drive to the old town of Istanbul, along the Bosporus we find our way to the Aya Sofia and the famous Blue Mosque. The sun is shining and we stroll around. The Aya Sofia looks pretty ugly from the outside, but when we stand next to the Blue Mosque and look back it suddenly
looks a lot better. The Blue Mosque with its 6 minarets looks especially nice on the inside. Bart, Rik and I try to find out how many different colours are used in the tiles and paintings on the ceiling. Rik notices how high the ceiling is and the lamps that have very long cables. In the meantime Hans tries to take pictures. Every time during this journey he says he does not want to take many more but every time we see new interesting things that need to be on the picture! From Istanbul we drive towards Greece. It is a strange idea to have to leave the Lonely Planet of the Middle East behind us pretty soon while our journey is not yet finished. We spend the last Turkish night next to a Burger King and Migros supermarket with a playing ground for the kids. Turkey has many nice and safe playing grounds and Bart and Rik enjoy them very much. So we try to visit them during lunchtime if possible. In the supermarket we spend the last Turkish lira. Not a problem as we find the prices for food pretty high, many items are even more expensive than at home. Maybe we just outgrew the western standard of living after nearly 15 weeks.Islam
When I write this we are in Turkey, the last country during our trip through the Middle East that knows the Islam as the major religion. To be honest I am looking forward to sleep without waking up around 5 in the morning due to the call for praying. On the other hand most people we met on the road, in shops, camps and elsewhere were very friendly and helpful even if we had no language in common. Often they just explained us in Arabic or found someone to translate. The boys never received so many sweets before this trip and even if they misbehave in our eyes the people do not seem to mind, sometimes they even warn us not to be too hard because they are still small children!In Tunisia and Libya we saw how life is during the Ramadan when people are not allowed to eat, drink and smoke during the day. It affects them seriously as they love to drink tea and smoke water pipes or cigarettes. Of course we notice only the men doing this. Women that smoke in public are rare to see.
In Damascus we could enter the Umayyad Mosque and I was surprised to see men and women in one prayer room, usually they are separated. But still every woman had to cover her hair. In Madaba, Jordan, we parked next to a Christian school when I realized that all the women did not wear veils or anything to cover their hair.
On the other hand we heard stories of Moslems secretly munching food in the back of the car during the Ramadan, men getting drunk in airplanes heading out of their country etc. The social pressure to live according to the rules seems high but also creates a society with hardly any petty crime. Very safe for the traveler, especially compared to the Roman Catholic Central and South America.
Leaving Jordan means that our photo and fingerprint is stored in a computer system and a exit tax of JD 15 per person. In Syria the weekly diesel tax awaits us and we decide to have only one week instead of the 2 weeks planned. Insurance, Carnet de Passage, entry stamps in our passports (we already arranged the visa in Holland) and we can continue to Bosra. This town has a black basalt fortress that contains a theatre, a nice place to have lunch. But to our surprise the town also knows a basalt area with streets, houses, pillars, temples etc where people still live on the edge, walk and cycle to work, home or school. The boys prefer to have a close look at Scoop and I have to explain the 4 flat tyres…
In Damascus we have a hard time finding the New Kaboun Campsite, but in the end we manage. Unfortunately no shoarma place in the neighbourhood and I refuse to get back in the car! So Hans prepares food. We feel the temperature getting lower and lower but are not yet prepared to start the heater. The overlanders here are still camping in tents and that is not for the fainthearted anymore. They all come from Turkey heading south and are all looking forward to higher temperatures. We fear what awaits us. But we have a great time in the Damascus souq buying winter shoes for Rik, eating chocolate cakes and more shoarma and visiting the large mosque. In the evening we are invited to join 2 Dutch travelers in a large coach and have a very good time chatting the hours away.
Because Palmyra is in the desert we head for the warmth and some more ruins of temples, streets with columns and theatres. To camp and have dinner watching the site from the Zenobia Hotel is a very good experience. The sun does a good job and we enjoy exploring the old stones before heading to the crusader castle of Crac de Chevalliers. This also means we leave the higher temperatures behind. By the time we reach the hills it is raining and the area is green. That is a long time ago. The bus needs to work hard to get up to the castle, the roads are windy and pretty steep but we get there. To have a break from all the time spent in the bus we have dinner in The Round Table restaurant and enjoy the various dishes and kebab, not to mention the French fries! The heater is on and it is very necessary too.
The next morning after all the rains the sun joins us on our tour through the castle, the boys ran happily through the enormous castle and the views are great. How lucky can one be? We try our luck even more by choosing a route to Hama following small local roads through various villages. Here signs are not abundant and Hans needs to ask every time the road splits. Time consuming but we reach the famous water wheels of Hama at lunchtime, just as planned. The wheels carry the water up to some canals and make a noise like a moped in full speed. Nice to see if you do not have to sleep next to them. From Hama we continue north towards Aleppo and have even more difficulties finding the Kaddour campsite than we faced in Damascus. It turns out that the campsite is about 25 km out of town…. Not very convenient, but by the time we get there the sun went down and we are tired of driving even though we have to pay too much money. I decide we stay 1 night and park in the city center the next day to spend 1 more night. This is really convenient, opposite the museum, close to shops, the souqs and the citadel of Aleppo. But this is Friday and for the first time we find many shops are closed for business today. In the previous countries we visited we never really noticed the difference between one day or the other. Even in the Christian quarter of Aleppo most of the shops are closed and the largest souq is pretty dark and not very lively today. Too bad, but the next morning it was raining and we did not give it a second try.
But I succeed in buying 2 jerry cans to carry extra diesel into Turkey as the prices are steep (euro 1,25 per liter) especially compared to the prices in Syria (euro 0,12). We fill them the next morning in the rain and drive north to the border. Within no time Hans says we have a problem: the diesel is leaking into the car and although we have placed the jerry cans in extra plastic bags we fear the whole car is soon one pool of diesel. In the end we empty them for 25% and that works out better, fill up the tank for our last Syrian pounds shortly before we leave the country and leave Syria. It was a short but pleasant visit.
