Article Ten
Hevis to Ankara
Of like startled gazelles at sparrows in the dark we left Hevis, after returning the keys at 0600, and argued all the way to somewhere when finally by mutual opinion we simply had to turn back and find the right roads! Eventually, by more good luck than map reading in the dark, we stumbled upon the M7 Autobahn which we raced up at 160 klicks…why the haste? We had to be at the airport (theoretically) by 0900 for our international flight at 1155.
All went well after the first fiasco until we missed the turn from the M7 to the M0…simply because the ‘airport’ aeroplane emblem on the M0 signboard first appeared fifty metres down the M0, that is we were fifty metres past the turnoff when the airport sign was spotted. Some three miles later we took a side road hoping that it would lead to a loop-back to the Mo. Wrong! We ended up in the middle of suburbia, rural style telling God and everyone else whose fault it was to miss such an obvious sign or to get us hopelessly lost!
Stopped at a local shop and bought a map, which we didn’t really need and received directions as to how to find the airport…Quite simple really, go down this road, through Diosdic Village and then onto the Mo Autobahn, continue on the M0 until you reach Dzesregy and then turn onto the M5 and follow the signs to the airport. What we weren’t told is that overall it was about 50km and each section was totally blocked with hundreds of trucks trying to get past the various road work gangs, which reduced our lanes to one! Much swearing and accusations of ‘so-called’ navigators who got us lost and we suddenly cleared the road-works and there were the signs for the airport! We duly arrived at the correct terminal a little after nine am and then had to wait for our flight!
Spent the time spending our remaining ‘forint’ the Hungarian currency, which cannot be exchange anywhere else, and Pat bough up big on cosmetics at the duty free. We cued up for some considerable time to get our baggage checked and ourselves checked-in only to discover that somehow, we had been upgraded to Business Class. On arrival at Vienna we again had to undergo security inspections even though we were transit passengers and this time the big fat oaf kept asking what was causing the machine to go off…He simply didn’t understand about hip implants, metal, titanium or anything else he could not physically see…the Supervisor finally came to my rescue…Titanium Implants I announced and with an imperial wave, he passed me through and took the big fat oaf off to one side!
Thought that our troubles were over for the day. Arrived at Ankara/Turkey and we had to go buy a visa…no problems. We found the car rental place and collected the car, a Hyundai, and away we go…”straight down the one-way road, there is a turn near the service station, make a U-turn and come back the other way, turn left at the service station and straight on to the hotel…”
We beetled out of the airport, down the one-way road and instead of a U-turn, the road turns into a tunnel with twin lanes above down the right-hand side. We went down the tunnel and then five miles before we could turn around and go back through the airport and up the one-way road again. Managed this time to take one of the non-tunnel lanes and sis a U-turn only to find us on the main road back to the airport again. At this point we noticed the service road, way over there…So, back to the airport, up the one-way road, took the other above tunnel lane and this time managed to get onto the service road. Back to the service station and turn right and after about five klicks we thing we may be wrong. Back to the service station, no, you are on the correct road…keep going. This we did and about 10km later there is this huger hotel in the middle of wheat fields...a massive edifice made of marble with atriums and internal streams and waterfalls…unbelievable.
Finally, we have arrived and we could get a drink! Wrong…Ramadhan started last night and the bars are closed for the duration!!!! Room service is the only way…we are now very apprehensive about the resort…maybe its restaurants and bars are also closed for Ramadhan! Tomorrow we will find out!
Just to top things off, we have also discovered that we have an extra day in Turkey! The resort has us booked from 15 to 22 Sept and our airline bookings, car-hire etc, all revolve around the 23rd of September…Wrong…the resort is seven night ie, eight days overall…we are out on our collective ears on the morning of the 22nd! NOW we know where this hotel is, especially in respect of the Airport…we will book a night here and then join our itinerary as from 23rd September as we planned! What else can go wrong! Heaven forbid even thinking about such things.
Oh Yes, one more thing, I forgot to mention, there is no Internet access in this hotel and very little, if at all in Turkey!
Left the Ankara hotel about eight thirty after an hour of rather unpleasant discussion with the hotel manager…The Hotel’s computer system was down so he has no way of knowing who has paid for what. I pointed out that I have given him a pre-paid voucher, which stated just that and that the pre-payment included “…room, hot buffet breakfast and evening dinner…” I had some beer sent up from room service and that was all I was prepared to pay for. Five times he presented the bill, either including one of the meals with the room service charges and/or the room charge. Finally, I saw an English/Turkish dictionary in his safe and borrowed it to show him what ‘pre-paid’ in English translated to in Turkish…Immediate understanding and we paid the bill and departed.
Bit of difficulty identifying which road we needed to take but once sorted we were away at 160 klicks on yet another autobahn. All went well until we reached the town of Ilgas which our information about the resort said “…once the town of Ilgas is reached, pass by the city and travel on up the Ilgas Mountain and on the left hand side you will see a sign identifying the resort…”
What it didn’t say was or should have been, “drive straight past Ilgas on the road to Kastamonu and pass by three villages. The entrance to the resort is the SAME entrance as that to the Ilgas Forest Reserve…” This was 25 km past the town of Ilgas and almost on top of a 4000metre mountain. We made four passes up and down the mountain switch-back precipitous road, harassed by huge trucks going in both directions and hogging the middle of the road…at some points the drop-off was about two thousand feet almost vertically down from the road cutting…there are no barriers or spare room. There was only one sign indicating that the Ilgas Mountain Resort was 2km further up the mountain! We couldn’t find it!
Becoming rather desperate and in need of a toilet, we decided to enter the Forest Reserve and se if we could find someone to help us. Then we saw it…THE sign…identifying the resort as in the Forrest Park in one inch high letters under the Government Park Title.
Here we are, this really must have been a swing place in winter about twenty years ago…most of the place is clean and well looked after but need refurbishing badly. However, our room (apartment) is very good, two bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, bathroom and even a dishwasher. On entering there were no plates, knives, forks cups pots whatever…these all appeared later once we had agreed to sign a ‘signatory’ for these articles. Then the real truth came out. This is a skiing resort and in summer most of the facilities are not, available…the local ‘supermarket’ sells papers, lollies, souvenirs and soft drink but NO FOOD. The nearest supermarket is Ilgus or Kastamonu either about 40 km away! Also there is beer/drinks available in the bar but because of Ramadhan, not available in the resort supermarket or any in Ilgus or Kastamonu.
I had a quiet word with the Turkish supermarket operator and convinced him that as an infidel, non-Muslim but a believer in Islam’s right to enforce Ramadhan but I would likely die if a source of beer was not forthcoming. And offered to pay in US$ and his face lit up and immediately I was in the possession of six cold, small bottles of .5% “EFES” Pilsen which is Turkey’s finest for the huge price of $15.00 The Resort Bar charges the equivalent of AUD$10 per small bottle!!!! I know where I will be spending some of my US$ this week.
We did complain to the Resort Manager about the lack of Signage and no plates, etc. He has just arrived at the resort, two days ago! A few hours later he tracked me down to make a very generous offer of seven days of meals (B,L,&D) or B&D or only Dinner for about AUD$5.00 per head per meal. We accepted the dinner only option. About an hour after this, idly looking at the TV (all Turkish channels) when the one I was viewing suddenly switched to CNN! He is looking after us. Then he came to tell me there is WI/FI in the Lounge area. I will have to try it out and see if I can get this damn computer to access the radio base! All in all things are looking up!
We made a fast dash into Kastamonu and found a small supermarket WITH a parking space outside and bought some wonderful Turkish bread, some eggs butter, fruit but nothing else not knowing what we would have to cook with…we now have a two plate hot-plate, microwave and various pots and frying pan etc…we will survive. Tomorrow possibly a trip to the Black Sea Coast?
Today, Sunday, Pat has a bad dose of sitting on the toilet half the night!
Tried to cvook some breakfast and the microwave went 'bang' and half the lights went off in the apartment. So get dressed go see the management and, ten minurtes later a little man with a huge pair of pliers walks in, takes the back off the microwave, does something, and plugs evrything back in...everything now works again! Amazing!
Wel as you can see, the WI/FI works here...now I will see if I can edit this damn joiurnal and get some commonsense into the sequence of entries. Tomorrow we head for some famous castles, towns and firstly we must buy fuel...the various serfv ice stations quote their display prices as NTL (New Turkish Lira) NTL2.34 per something. We are hoping that the signs mean Gallon but we have a sneaking suspicion that it is NTL 2.34/litre for unleaded...NTL01.00 = AUD$1.10 so that means about AUD$2.60/litre...we will; have to cut down on our travelling around!
