when you relied on the brochures. We picked Gumbet as we were imagining a
quaint little Turkish village. Well it wasn’t! I didn’t like Gumbet but did
enjoy my holiday. We had a nice hotel, a pool and found a couple of good
restaurants. The two funny things I remember was my OH throwing a fit at the price
of sunglasses- it was just before they devalued and there were a lot of Zeros.
I had to quietly tell him that they were actually 50p!! And then there was the time when he didn’t
want the 20 pairs of boxer shorts for £1, he would be happy if he just got 5
for the same price. The shop owner refused to only give him 5!! We haven’t returnedto Turkey though. Probably we are missing some great places!
We used to go to Greek islands every year. One- Poros –turned out to be more expensive than we thought. This was at a time where we
had cash and Traveller cheques and no credit cards. We were there for three
weeks. We always had gone out early on for the evening. This time we stayed on
our balcony for a couple of drinks before going out. We now always just sit and enjoy the peace of
our balcony for a drink first. On a positive- Poros was where we found lobster souvlaki ina little taverna a bit off the beaten track! We also found Hydra on a day trip-
the most beautiful place I have seen in Greece.
Then we had a brilliant holiday in Saigon. One daytrip involved a variety of boats and going down the Mekong Delta. At one point we
were divided into 3 canoes and our tour leader( who fought in the Vietnam war)
went on the first one with some of the tourists. We were in a canoe with a few
Americans and I think one Japanese man. Our boat ended up stopping at a little
wooden pier but our guide’s boat continued on. The Japanese man looked as if he
knew where he was going and strode off. We all entered into the jungle, where
it soon became apparent that he hadn’t a clue. We were lost in the jungle- pre
mobile phone days. I was trying not to panic! We kept walking and came across a
ram shackle hut with some men sitting outside. They looked at us and then
pointed in a direction. We followed it and found a short while later a wooden
home with tables set outside and our guide and his boatload of tourists. What I
will always remember was the look of surprise on his face. Was he surprised we
found it? What side had he fought on ??We petted the pet python( or was it a
boa?). Well I didn’t! We had refreshments while we had a local girl singing and
3 men playing local instruments. They were songs woman sang when their men were
away fighting. We had so many experiences on that holiday. I loved it- even if
we almost made headlines- tourists lost in the jungle!
Finally for now- we flew out on the second day of Heathrow terminal 5 to Mumbai and then on to Goa. We got to Mumbai- no luggage. It would
supposedly be with us the next day…… We went the whole holiday with no luggage.
We do carry cabin bags and I learned to always pack a few essentials- clothes
to last a couple of days. We just arrived in Goa, took 30 seconds unpacking and thenwent out to enjoy a cool drink. I noticed a clothes shop- went in and bought 3
blouses and 2 skirts- I think that came to about £20. Goa is though the place
you would choose if you had to lose luggage- nobody cares what you wear! I had
my hair straighteners- that would have been a disaster if they had been lost!!
No make up and just two pairs of sandals. We had a great holiday! And my OH
took great joy in pointing out how little you need. Actually, it has made me
change how much I pack! Our luggage eventually appeared about a week after we
got home. It had earned a gold card with the BA airmiles it had flown. I think it
went something like Aberdeen- Terminal 5- Nice- Terminal 5- Mumbai- Terminal 5-
Belfast- Terminal 5 and then finally home!! We also had problems getting home
from Mumbai, where we were stuck at the gate for hours and some Indian
passengers tried to incite a mass walk out! But that’s another story!!! Anyone else with stories to tell?
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Edited by
Fiona
2017-07-27 21:25:53
