(Turkey) I got out of country at the last day of 90 days staying

[15/08/25~09/08 (D+1469)]

For the lunch, I had typical Turkish meal, meat on charcoal. Turkey was not that much cheap for a low budget traveler. The meal at the restaurant was usually 4~6 dollars. I thought that if I made a video of eating, I could pay my lunch. So I often went to a restaurant. But later I realized it was just too lunatic plan.

Every day there were a few male drivers stopped and asked to give me a ride in Turkey, which I had never experienced in other countries. When I said no thanks, some of them kept following and asking again and again.
Some males on a motor cycle or car just kept following me quite often. One guy on a car was kept following me and made u-turn and followed again at the area I took above the picture. I just ignored. But then later he stopped his car at the shoulder and looked at me disgusting way and said disgusting thing. Ignorance was not helpful that I insulted him. After it, I was scared that I stopped at the street vendor and looked at the back. But he didn’t follow me anymore. Those kind of males only gave up when I finally insulted them.

As cycling in Turkey, I felt that there were many apartments. The picture was taken at the small town. I could not understand that they had big land, but why lived at the flat? Interesting thing was none of house had air conditional, which was common at Central Turkey. It was always big mystery why Central Turkey didn’t use it although they had hot summer.

I was invited at local people’s house before the sunset. The left down on the picture was traditional kettle for making tea. There was water at the bottom and there was tea at the top. So they could make weak or strong tea.

What did he drop? The road was covered with beautiful color.

Turkey was such a big country that they had many different kinds of nature and I loved it.

At a small town, I found a cheap hotel that I took the rest for a few days. Good thing in Turkey was that I could find a cheap hotel at a small city, which was around $12 to $15.

Turkish money

On a bicycle again, I had to find a place to sleep around the dark. I decided to stop at a small village. There were not many houses, which were all at the right and left of the middle on the picture.

When I asked to pitch my tent at their yard, they invited me at their house and shared dinner with me.

I liked this kind of empty road.
I could only stay 90 days in six months. I counted how many days I stayed and I realized I had only 7days left and 700 km (437.5 mi) to cycle to the border. It meant that I must cycle every day.

There was one hard uphill which was very difficult to cycle with the heat. So I took the rest just on the shade at the shoulder.

After downhill, I could not find a restaurant that I had snacks and pop for lunch.

Usually I saw a farmer using cow or donkey for farming in other countries. But I saw all farmers using a farm tractor in Turkey that I felt Turkey was much richer than other neighborhoods.

At the night, it was very difficult to find a place to stay that I had to cycle until the dark. The hotel was too expensive although it was small town. So I had to get out of the town and look around people’s house.
But then I saw the most amazing night sky in my life. It was the night sky I wished to look at. I had been salt desert, sand desert, and high mountains. But always the night sky was not that much amazing. But the galaxy on the sky I was looking here was gorgeous ever in my life. I could not believe how come near the town having light pollution could have amazing night sky more than in the desert. I doubted that to see the night sky in the desert could not be important. At that time, I was too nervous to take the picture because I had to hurry to find the place to sleep. But definitely if someone asked me what the best night sky was I would answer the small town in Turkey, not a desert or high mountain.
Later I was invited at local people’s house again and could finish my day safely.

At the next day morning, there was hard uphill. It was very hot day that I could not cycle well. I didn’t push my bicycle, but I had to stop quite often.

I thought the uphill was finished, but actually it turned to hilly road.

I started cycling at 6:30 am, but I arrived at 12 pm at the top. I met German couples and they told me it took only three hours for them. They were much older than me something like 40?50 years old in my memory. It meant that the age didn’t matter for cycling the world.

The view from the top

I met other travelers on two wheels and soon I met German couple again. We had chat with joyfully. Always people on two wheels became my bestfriend on the road.

It was impressing tattoo on one of moto biker’s arm. By the way….. what does it mean? X)

German couple turned to the left and I turned to the right later at a crossroads. They told me they would cycle along the sea soon. When I saw an altitude map, it was extremely hilly at the sea. So I decided to cycle on Central Turkey.
For lunch, I had same food as before and it was so tasty.

It was impressing to see they baked bread for pizza.
These days, I was invited at people’s house always. Actually it was like in Finland that people denied or let me sleep at the inside of house when I asked to pitch my tent at their yard. So I really didn’t sleep at the tent for last one week in Turkey.

Before the sunset I couldn’t find a village that I got nervous. Almost around the dark, I saw lights that I went to that very small village. I saw one big family and asked them for a tent. One of them told me leave my bags and bicycle to invite me to their house, which was 15 minutes far by car. They lived at the apartment. It was interesting why they liked to live in a tall apartment instead of detached house. I felt like they were going similar to South Korea such as living at the flat. (But there is different reason that people in South Korea live in an apartment because of tiny land with a big population.)

At the next day, they dropped me where I met them first and I started again from there.

I should have cycled for a few days more like above the picture that the road would be very quiet. Sometimes it was difficult to buy food or find a restaurant when I wanted.

After many hills, I entered into a valley. It was just next to a river that it was easy going for cycling.

I got relax that I took the picture of myself.

I had cycled for a long time but always I had one thought when I faced this kind of road. “So, after this curve, it would keep uphill? Or finally downhill?”

The scenery on the valley was fantastic. But I was curious why only that part was so colorful. Maybe people should not drink water from river, I guessed.

It was interesting to see a nice house in a small village all the time in Turkey. How so many houses in a village were nicer in Turkey? Do they become rich country?

I was very thirsty, but I was not sure what it meant. So I decided not to drink that water.

I expected that I could see a small grocery, but there was not. I was dying with thirsty and even there was a big hill coming.

The view from top, which was much beautiful than the picture

Again just before the dark, I went to somebody’ house because I saw there was people. But actually the house was under the construction. They told me they lived in a city which was close and I could sleep at the empty building. They invited me at their house by car that I could take shower and they invited me dinner. Later they gave me a ride back to the empty house.
But the problem was the next day. In the morning, there was somebody watching me when I left. He told me “Police, Police”. I thought maybe he thought I was a trespasser. I just ignored him and I kept cycling becasue I didn’t do any wrong thing.
Later one police officer and three soldiers caught and stopped me on the middle of the road. I could not understand why they didn’t bring anyone who could speak English and didn’t try to look for people speaking English on a phone because I met people who could speak English almost every day in Turkey. Another thing I could not understand was that the owner of house was a mayor of a small city, so the police might know who lived there and they should make a call the mayor first before holding me. They just held me on the road without any solution. I woke up very early morning to avoid the hot sun. But it became useless. Somehow I got out of them and kept cycling. They didn’t follow me thankfully again.

The hardest part in my trip, unbelievable a gradient of 100 degrees

The view on the downhill

I cycled at a small road. It looked like there would be rain soon, so I had to hurry.

Thanks that I was invited again from local people’s house.

At the next day, again usual thing in Turkey happened that a male driver followed me for a while such as moving very slowly next to me and then made u-turn and came to me again and again. I asked other male cyclist who traveled in Turkey, but he said he didn’t meet a driver who followed or asked to give a ride every day.
I had manual for those kind of Turkish males.

1. Ignore
– They ignore my ignorance that 100% they kept following me.

2. Shout to scare or insult loudly while I stopped or passed.
-99% they stopped following and disappeared.

3. Take many pictures of them like above the picture
-90% they stopped following and disappeared

4. Change to the other shoulder of opposite lane
-One time I was very nervous because it was around sunset and I couldn’t see the village. Then one big fat male on a big truck asked me to give a ride. I said no. But he kept following and asking (or begging) to give me a ride more than 10 times. I was too scared to do #1,2,3, so I went opposite lane and he finally gave up and went away.

I met bad males on the street as more as I had met so many kind and nice people in Turkey. These days, the reason why I minded going to the country which was known for kind and hospitable people was I had to face these kind males more and more. (Sometimes there were exception like former Yugoslavia which was so close to the western Europe that people were kind, but there were not bad guys or racist to Asian on the street.)

It was very beautiful and quiet road, but I was actually a bit nervous with the thought if some guy followed me here, what I should do.

I had break at a gas station for buying snacks and drink and going to a toilet.

Please tell me the road at the front was not the one I should cycle. Oh.. please…

No way… it was the one I must cross to go to the sea side! I never had this experience such as cycling on this kind of mountain, very steep and bumpy gravel road. It was impossible to cycle that actually I pushed all the way. At the middle of cycling, there was thunder-storm even.

After hard challenging, I got to the top.

There were two ways to go down, the left side and right side. I decided to go to the right side, but it was not downhill that I had to push my bicycle again almost for one hour. I saw one van which took many tourists(?). I asked them it was okay to cycle on this road. They told me it was extremely difficult road for cycling and even there was up and down. They advised me to go to other side. Above all, it was about to sunset.

I went back and started to head to left side.

There were one steep downhill and uphill. Actually I had to pass small stream and my shoes wet while passing. What an adventure. After that, it was downhill. But the problem was that it became the dark, the right side was just steep cliff, the road was too bumpy with rocks, and it was too narrow. One good thing was there were no more cars since the night came that I felt safe. I was too scared to set up tent just one hill before. After that there was no any place to set up tent, because there was only cliff.
The road turned to extremely steep downhill just next to cliff. I could understand why there were no more people on the road and google map showed this road as thin line. I could not imagine how people drove here at the day time if there was another car coming from opposite side.
Why the hell did I cycle here in the night? Because I was too scared to do wild camp. For sure, it was the most dangerous situation ever I had done with my bicycle.
At the opposite side of cliff, I could see the light of people’s houses in the dark that actually it was so beautiful something like the scene of animation or the dream. I was too nervous to take the picture. However, I must say it was one of an amazing and fantastic scene on my trip.

Around 8:30 pm, finally I got to a small village. I saw one mosque and the light. I asked people to set up my tent around there. But they told me they would close and it would be dangerous to sleep here. One of them invited me at his family house which was just in front. The house was very traditional that it looked special. It was built with the wood and the place I took shower was kind of wood room. Later his mom cooked fish for me. She joined my dinner, but she only ate small portion. I was not sure other family had dinner. So I left fish although it was tasty. At the end of meal, she asked me I finished eating and I said Yes. Then she took the plate of fish and…..threw away at the outside.. NO WAY!!!! I was so hungry that it was very delicious to me. I just left it because I was not sure she didn’t eat well for me to give all. Maybe she had dinner with me to not make me lonely. My delicious fish became the dinner for street cats.

Very kind people who took care of me for a night

At the next morning, I could see the road I cycled last night. Maybe if someone saw me in the last night, it would be interesting to look small light moving very slowly for a few hours.

It looked like this area had all unpaved road on the mountain. There were a few parts which was unpaved, but most of them had very good asphalt road on my side to the downhill.

It was really pretty scenery on the way.

When I close to the sea side, I sweated a lot. It was for sure that the temperature was lower than central area, but it was super humid. Even I saw many houses had (finally) air conditional.
The scenery was changed that I could see farming tea leaf, cars carrying tea leaf, and many factories for tea leaf. The smell was unique that I enjoyed cycling there. I thought this area was very famous for making tea.
Since I came to sea side, the road became so flat. I realized that the reason the map of altitude was crazy steep was because the map didn’t calculate tunnels. There were lots tunnels on the road!! I was sure even all the way on the sea side was very flat. If I knew it, I must take the sea side road than central area. Then maybe I didn’t need to cycle on the craziest dangerous road last night. I didn’t have dangeours thing on the mountain, so I should say it was the most amazing adventure road yesterday.

Turkish ate big bread all the time with meal.

It was so humid that my back was totally wet with the sweat, which didn’t happen at the central turkey.

After lots of sweating, I reached to the border just around the dark. I had had to cycle 700 km (437mi) for 7 days. But actually many days I could cycle only 80 to 90 km (50~56mi) because of hills and mountains. Fortunately two times I cycled more than 130 km (81 mi) that it was no problem to get out of Turkey on time.
Turkey had really beautiful nature and amazing tea culture that I enjoyed. Sometimes there were males who bothers me on the road. However, I liked to cycle in Turkey.
Now I had to cross the border to Georgia!

Here is food vlog! 🙂 Actually it was awkward to talk alone on the restaurant. Specially people were always looking at me weird way because of Asian girl on a bicycle alone in their country and to take of the video of myself on that condition alone made people give me more attention that I became too shy to talk. Last three videos were taken by friend I met in Cappadocia, so I could talk better.
Another thing was actually I didn’t know what to talk. Food was good. That’s all. What should I say more? haha. Anyway, give me some feedback for the next video. haha

Cycling vlog

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Route
Days in Turkey = 90 Days
Distance of cycling in Turkey = 2,195.70 km (1,364.34 mi)
Cities I stayed in Turkey= 20 Cities
Istanbul, Baliklidere, Around Demirtas, Beylikli, Pamukkale, Before Kaklic, Dazkiri, Karabedir, Cayiryazi, Kadinhani, Sultanhani, Goreme, Sarkisla, Hanli, Zara, Bogazkoy, Karaseyh, Orcbeyli, Karcam, Ardesen
Expenditure in Turkey = 1,500 $??? ($1=2.35 Lila)
(My laptop was in trouble and I had to do format after a few months later. So I lost the date of expenditure of five months. I just calculated with withdraw on the bank account. So, expenditure is not accurate. I saved important thing on D drive that other thing was fine.)

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The reason why I delay this much journals are two things.

Since I had a car accident in Russia on Nov 2014, I had stopped updating for two months with being shocked. After that, it was very difficult to start again because there were more picture and more videos as I much as I delayed. It gave me too much pressure to work easily.

The other one was that I have had very bad habit for a long time since maybe in the school. Procrastination and Worst concentrating. To write journals (specially in Enlgish) over four years are miracle to me. When I was in school, there was no test for ADHD. But recently I saw a test on online. I think I have ADD-Attention Deficit Disorder (It is called ADHD-Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well). I checked all questions on Predominantly inattentive, but nothing on Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive. I lost things easily, cannot concentrate on things easily, making mistake too often, don’t like to read the question until the end and just answer at the middle. (I can never write such as a Christmas card without mistaking that it was filled with crossed out mistakes all the time. Maybe because of ADD?) It was said ADD people has lots of curiosity. Maybe because of my ADHD, I could travel for a long time?

You might think I was too lazy last two months because of no updating. But actually I was suffering mentally when I saw myself that I could not concentrate on working.
I am trying to overcome at this moment about procrastination and worst concentration, which is miracle. If you like my new posts and videos on the blog, you can donate “thank you for keeping the blog for a long time although you have a problem with a bad concentration and procrastination. (or ADD).”

Recently I have worked 188 hours for 17 days for blog and other things with overcoming problems. After calculating my salary for recent 17 days, it was 58 cents per hour. If you want to raise my salary per hour, you can donate at me through PayPal at the bottom of my blog.

Your donation would help me to fight with Bad concentration (or ADHD) for writing as giving motivation.

Thank you for reading.