What’s afoot? Wearing high heels in Kalkan and other adventures!

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Do I hear sniggers?
Well,  shoes are an important subject and I don’t think they’ve been addressed yet in any of the travel literature I’ve waded through in my research.   Whilst for some people it may be enough to gaze at images of Kalkan bay, wondering what it will feel like when they finally dive into that crystal clear, deep-as-forever water,  for others the pressing question of what shoes to pack has been known to cause anxiety and unplanned chocolate consumption when no answer is forthcoming.
So, this is where we put that right.  We will tackle the shoe problem that often underlies hidden tensions in the preparations and packing department at home.  If you’re wondering what on earth I’m going on about – have I been at the wine already perhaps? – then you must be a man,  travelling alone possibly.  Maybe you’re just a little unaware of the sheer variety of footwear that must be considered when packing for one’s holiday in Kalkan.
Look at the options.
Suppose you are looking forward to a week in Kalkan;  seven glorious days of sunshine doing as much or as little as  takes your fancy.   Fantastic!  In fact we could pause here for a little day dreaming…but, we won’t.   No; we will focus on shoes.
Perhaps you don’t know Kalkan well.   You’re thinking you may need high heels, low heels, kitten heels or no heels, white shoes, black shoes, silver shoes or gold shoes, trainers, walking boots, deck shoes or swimming fins. Well, assuming you are arriving in 21st century style – by plane and car with a teeny weeny baggage allowance, rather than 19th century Grand Tour - with huge entourage of servants, camels, horses, carriages, boats and more – then I fear you will need to ‘rationalise’.
It’s tough, but Dr Who tardis style suitcases simply don’t exist and the need to select ‘a few’ pairs of shoes is all too clear. For the men this may mean just two pairs – sandals, which they may choose to wear with socks of course, and flip flops. For women though, it’s not so simple. You may feel you need high heels to complement your outfit. But, in Kalkan wearing high heels may need to come with a safety warning! The steep hills which give the town its charm, provide daily cardio-vascular exercise and enable roof-top dining with stunning views also make tottering along on stilettos a somewhat hazardous activity . But hey! You’re coming to Turkey where exciting and adventurous activities abound.
Perhaps you’re planning to celebrate the Royal Wedding with a bit of ‘royal highness’. There could be no better to excuse than this to indulge in a pair of Prince Court Glitter shoes from Schuh. Sparkling like an impromptu Kalkan firework display, they will definitely get you noticed round town; and not just because you’ll be standing nearly 6 inches higher than usual! Like Kate and Wills you may need an entourage to support you in your mission to show these off to their best advantage. You may wish to astonish the neighbours as you step out from your place of residence – however palatial that may or may not be. But I suggest you have have a taxi waiting round the corner. Either that or someone with a pair of flip flops to change into! The taxi will mean you could intrigue onlookers as you process downtown, royally waving at them as you pass. The flip flop bearer will offer a slightly less royal package, but it will be a pretty essential one. The hills of Kalkan need respect!
Maybe one of your reasons for going on holiday is to step up to new challenges and enjoy new experiences. Turkey certainly has plenty to choose from. From Kalkan you could choose kayaking, paragliding, scuba diving, white-water rafting or many other fantastic life-enhancing activities. You can book before you leave home or sign up to when you’re wandering around the cobbled streets of the bazaar in magical old Kalkan in the evenings.
Did I hear you say you’ll need to ditch the high heels for these activities?  Not necessarily. High heeled trainers may not have seemed a must-have item in 2010 – but that was so last year.  Now you could sport a pair of Diesel high heels ( in distressed denim).  Just imagine the impact you’ll have when you turn up at Patara beach for a spot of horse riding or kayaking in a pair of these!
I’m stil researching the latest in fins for your snorkelling and scuba-diving experience; available in Kalkan: harbourside with the Dolphin Scuba team and also at the Kalamar Beach Club with the Kalkan Dive Centre.   But I think it’s safe to say that high heels will play no part in this.   Instead you will just have to dive into the crystal clear Kalkan waters and do a little fish watching.  Give your feet a break!
Step into whatever shoes you choose for your Kalkan holiday and let them take you where you want to go. Your holiday is the chance to make your dreams come true – and Kalkan is an amazing place for that to happen.
In the words of William Yeats:
“I have spread my dreams under your feet
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
Just don’t forget the flip flops!

Filed Under: Enjoy Kalkan Features Tagged With: flip flops, holiday, Kalkan, Kate and Wills, kayaking, paragliding, royal, royal wedding, Schuh, scuba diving, shoes, Turkey, white-water rafting

Kalkan - Love at first sight

The Kalkan Phenomenom - Love at first sight
view from the rooftop bar of Tera Mare's  Kalamar Meltem Apartments**

There's clearly something about Kalkan, Turkey that encourages love at first sight.  You can tell just by looking around at people. There they are, lets call them A and B for simplicity.
A and B are sitting having a drink in a bar, chatting to each other, as you do - probably about the weather or the price of stamps; all perfectly normal stuff that takes place all over the world.  But then suddenly, just as A (quite likely a man) is explaining why it is utterly ridiculous that there are no postboxes around and people shouldn't be expected to walk all the way to the post office to send a card he notices that B (probably a woman) is gazing at a spot about half a mile behind his right ear, with a most peculiar expression on her face,  Concerned, A stops in mid rant to ask B if she is alright, and B - with a gentle sigh and contented smile mutters that everything is absolutely perfect, possibly adding a comment about the blueness of the sea or the general loveliness of, well everything... And that's happening all the time here.  It's understandable, even predictable - this beautiful little place is out to capture hearts and souls and has all the charms to succeed in this.
So what is it about Kalkan that  makes it so uniquely perfect?  There is important research into the Kalkan phenomenon with a growing band of people willing to sacrifice their time to investigate the causes of Love at First Sight in Kalkan.  You may even notice some of these undercover operators if you visit Kalkan this year.  Stationed across the village in restaurants, bars, beach clubs, and around the harbour these people may appear to be doing very little apart from drinking in the atmosphere - or drinking up their ice cold Efes.  But don’t be deceived - they are working.  It’s a tough job but someone has to do it...
You may be wondering how you too could sign up for this project.  Researchers are in constant demand - after all, statistics tell us that 89% of all surveys can not be verified scientifically because they are too small*.  So how can you get selected for this role?
Firstly, the Love at First sight in Kalkan project does not just take anyone.  You must demonstrate your training and qualifications for this position.  Observational skills are paramount and I suggest three ways of honing these.

1. The infinity pool lookout.   Practise this one several times a day until you have perfected it (could take years though).  Float at the side of the pool, with elbows on the poolside - apparently gazing at nothing but that view of the bay.  Drink in the view.  Thus positioned you are ready to report on any changes at sea, like the sun glistening on a passing boat or something.  It could be important, or not.  Variations on this approach are useful.  You may find that lilo manoeuvres (in pool or sea) can be similarly effective observational platforms.
2. Bar and restaurant work. Again, this may take years and years of undercover work to get a full picture of what is going on in Kalkan.  I suggest you try out a number of different bars and restaurants,  sitting at different places, observing the Kalkan way of life and making mental notes.  Please don't write anything down as it may get into the wrong hands.  Who knows what someone else might do with this research.  It is important to keep yourself hydrated and healthy during this arduous training so ensure you always have a full glass of something - maybe an Efes, an ice cold glass of rose or even an apple tea - ready to hand.

3. Mingling with the publicThe important thing is here is don't let yourself be spotted.  As a researcher you need to blend in seamlessly and appear to be just another happy person in Kalkan land.  So go shopping and spend, spend, spend!   What better way is there to appear that you are not just loitering and observing than by buying beautiful and essential items such as jewellery, leather bound books or beautiful lampshades.  You know it makes sense.

Are you still interested - knowing that this challenging training needs time and commitment if you are to get it right?  Good.  Well get training and I'll let you know the next steps very soon...
* based on a ten day study of holiday habits conducted under blazing sun with four participants, one of whom couldn't do the maths...
**Extensive range of accommodation available on Enjoy Kalkan website including some of  the Kalamar Meltem Apartments.

BBC News - London 2012: Olympics tickets website 'crashes'

BBC News - London 2012: Olympics tickets website 'crashes'
Ok, I left it late to buy tickets for the Olympics. This was due mainly to the cost. However, at 9 pm I started to select and buy some tickets. I wanted gymnastics ones, maybe some diving too. And after a bit of umming and ahhing at the price I put in for a couple of tickets for the opening ceremony too. Everything seemed to go slowly until I started to pay.

I can never remember my passwords for these things. It's not the cards so much as the other checks - some of them want numbers and letters. Some even ask for punctuation. 2 or 3 months ago I had asked myself a cryptic question, the answer to which would put my card through the system. But I had no idea what it was. I have nearly learnt my mobile phone number - after about 3 years. I'm still not quite sure and have to look it up to check. Anyway, I went through the process and discovered my secret answer - I have to admit it was damn clever! But that's all I can say!

I then tried to resume my purchase but ... the site crashed. Great! It was 9.35 There then followed about 2 and a half hours of trying to log in again. Sadly, I had no knowledge of my password, having skipped that step with an activation email, so I had to go back to square 1. For a while there was nothing, but then the website started to acknowledge my existence and seemed to put me in a queue. I waited, and waited. Then I decided to check my emails. But this had the effect of closing down my application. So I had to start yet again. I learnt from my mistake and kept the site on screen - but nothing. An hour, hour and a half; two hours passed - no joy.

Then at about 11.50 the site let me on. More than that it took me to the checkout where my basket of sporting goodies from earlier awaited me. This time I had my secret codes written down so I wasn't caught out and this time it all went through. Yeahhhh!
Whether I will be able to afford the tickets if I get them is another matter. But at least I feel I've done my best. Hopefully, I'm on my way to the 2012 Olympic Games. Brilliant!

Magic in Kalkan

Izzi and Sophie were dressed up and ready to go.  Dave had secretly put his sat nav in mama's bag so he could take it apart in the restaurant, between courses, and discover why it wouldn't work in Kalkan.  With mama determined to find a nice place to eat off they trotted into the old part of Kalkan.  It was such a treat to wander along the harbour and up and down  those narrow streets.  Traders and restaurant managers invited their custom at every turn, but it was all so good humoured - and all really tempting.  Dave thought it would be good to find somewhere reasonably cheap - as the day had been a little pricy so far!  Clare nodded, silently disagreed and continued in her quest for the perfect meal that evening.
As it happened, the restaurant at the top of her list had just 1 table left, overlooking the harbour, and they offered free starters and free drinks after the meal.  Mama didn't hesitate long enough for Dave to notice that it was a tad pricier than he may have wished and within 30 seconds they were sitting, looking out over the bay of Kalkan as the sun started to set behind the hills. It was so beautiful; couldn't be lovelier - or so thought mama.  But she was wrong!  The evening was all set for real magic.
It wasn't long before the waiters were gathering round bringing drinks and menus and the choice seemed just right, for everyone.  The restaurant manager appeared and welcomed them to Kalkan.  'Was it their first night?'  His friendliness and good humour rubbed off on them and they were able to discuss how many ways they could use the 3kilo bag of lemon salt as well as who they could realistically give barbeque spices to as Christmas presents, for the next 3 years.
The meal arrived   - amazing.  Rarely does everyone get exactly what they want from a meal, but that evening Dave had his Turkish sizzling steak, mama her stuffed sea bass, Izzi her parmesan chicken and Sophie her chicken amaretto.  It was all sublime mmmm.  The restaurant manager returned to check it was all ok.  Lovely.  The food that is; well and the restaurant manager too actually.
Sophie, looking stunning in a strapless white dress seemed to be having trouble with her hair.  She kept tossing it this way, and that way, tying it up and then letting it loose.  Her eyes seemed to be following something too.  Oh yes, it was the restaurant manager.  His visits to the table seemed  to become more frequent as the evening progressed whilst Sophie still seemed to be having difficulties keeping her hair in order.
Dave got his sat nav out of mama's bag and started to look closely at it, presumably hoping to find a special hidden Kalkan switch.  Izzi and mama giggled at this, but Dave didn't even look up.  Sophie was completely oblivious to the sat nav situation as she was still having enormous problems with her hair and trying not to look as if she was watching the restaurant mangager.  This was difficult as by now he was circling the table every 30 seconds or so, seemingly unpeturbed by the sight of satelight navigational equipment in pieces on the table.  He was nice!  He was funny and he looked good.  He asked to sit down.  Actually he asked to sit down where Dave was, but that wasn't going to happen, there were too many bits of black plastic laid out carefully in that place.  So he sat down and chatted.  Sophie was finding her hair completely unmanageable by now and was tossing it around like a 60s go-go dancer.  The restaurant manager's questions  curiously seemed to be aimed more at Sophie than the rest of the family.  Had she been out much in the evenings?  Did she like Kalkan?  Could he help her with her hair?  Would she like to go dancing? 
Sophie looked at him and decided that perhaps she should be doing his hair, giving hers a rest for a while.  And so Izzi and mama watched as the two of them tossed their heads around in the most bizarre headbanging type of courtship dance ever seen in Kalkan.  Meanwhile, Dave was under the table looking for the small black bit that had come off his sat nav kit.  Luckily, an impromptu firework display lit up the street at that moment - illuminating the missing widgit.  A look of puzzlement crossed his face briefly as we saw his daughter sticking flowers into the restaurant manager's hair, but really he had much more important things to do - he was sure he'd almost cracked the sat nav problem.
  Izzi and mama sat happily watching the fireworks, Sat Nav Man and most of all  the hair dancers.  Two lovely young people who had just met and clearly couldn't keep their eyes off each other. Was it love at first sight?  Well, It really was a magical night! 
Did Sophie didn't go dancing that night? Find out in the next post

After the Spices

It seemed best to move on, put 'The Pricy Affair at the Spice Shop'  away on a top shelf,  and try to rescue what remained of the day.  And so it was that Mama, Dave, Izzi and Sophie found themsleves in a tranquil and slightly far out beach club in Kas. 
After a good lunch, a swim, a siesta and some music from The Doors (although Riders on the Storm may seem as innapropriate for summer in Turkey as the other favourite - The Titanic theme tune!) everyone was in better humour and the shock had started to wear off.  However, it wasn't until that evening that they started to see the funny side of Spice Shop Horror Story.
The journey back to Kalkan was beautiful and the family decided to book an excursion to Kekova, rather than drive themselves there, in an effort to save money.  It all proved to be a much better idea!  It was also decided that a nice meal out would be a fitting way to end the day.

Surely not a bad day in Kalkan

Almost unbelievably, the day got off to a rather bad start.  Yes, even in Kalkan things can go wrong, feathers can be ruffled and sweaty brows become ruffled with displeasure. ( In order to save embarassment and huge legal bills I will create some nom de plumes for the participants in this blog - unless they have nothing to lose from being named!)

Anyway, as I was saying, it was a bad start to the day.  Mama had decided that a trip to Kekova, the sunken city, was in order and had got up early, had a swim, lay down on the sunbed, got too hot, had another swim, lay down on the sunbed etc etc, until deciding that it was about time everyone got up so they could set off on this amazing sounding adventure.  So mama sang and whistled as she made breakfast, cheerily calling out to Dave, Izzi and Sophie to come and partake of  the spread of water melon, toast, cheese, olives, yoghurt, chocolate (what?), yes chocolate and all the other goodies that she could find.  Let's just say that the loggerhead turtles on Patara Beach would have completed several trips around the bay before these family members managed to drag themselves from their beds.  Ok, so perhaps if mama had mentioned the plan to go to Kekova there may have been more of a turn of speed - but she was ever so slightly sulking at this point and didn't see why she should share.
It was, therefore, somewhat later than the 9am start envisaged by mama when the family set off in their somewhat battered hire car, muttering the usual prayers that the car would manage the ridiculously steep hill that they had to climb, and sometimes slide back down - just a little - towards the deep blue waters of Kalamar bay. 
As usual, Dave set about organising his Sat Nav to guide them on their way.  He bristled a little at the giggles, but being a man, was able to rise above any hasty retorts.  A sat nav is clearly a very useful toy, sorry tool, in a man's collection of stuff, but not in Kalkan.  Kalkan is off the sat nav radar, (well this one anyway).  This sat nav had suggested many twists and turns on the journey from Dalaman airport to Kalkan, and had found no roads at all in Kalkan itself.  As a result the journey from the airport had taken about 5 hours instead of the 90 minutes suggested in guide books.  The guide book was pretty useless too, mainly because it was still sitting back in Sussex on the table with a map, mama's mobile phone and digital camera.
However, you can't go far wrong when you're looking for a sunken village. Who needs a map!!!  Mama had read it all up on the computer earlier that day and with her photographic memory nothing could go wrong. All they needed to do was to stick to the coast road until they came to a little village beginning with C, or G, or possibly Q.  Then they could hop on a boat and enjoy themselves.  Indeed the drive along the turquoise coast with it's hairpin bends and awesomely beautiful views unfurrowed mama's brow and restored family harmony. 
Ah, well, it all started to go wrong  when they got to Kas.  The main road stopped going along the coast and instead rose, higher and higher, taking it's users deep into the Turkish interior.  So map less and with the most useless piece of plastic ever to call itself a sat nav spouting rubbish in an Ozzy Ozbourne voice (it had become stuck on this near Gatwick airport), they decided to turn round and head into Kas and catch a boat from there.
This would normally have been no hardship.  But it was getting towards midday now and mama was not best pleased.  Even less so when the only boat told them it would take 5 hours to get to Kekova and they should have got there early in the morning!  So that was that.  No boat trip, no sunken island, just lots of midday sun in the middle of town.  Hmm.  Well, Dave decided to make the best of it and have a stroll around Kas, whilst mama walked 10 paces in front and Izzi and Sophie squabbled over hair accessories.  There were some nice enough shops around, lots of touristy places, clothes, hardware and then a spice shop.  Unable to resist the offer of free food or drink mama was sucked into this amazing emporium where huge quantities of spices were displayed in large open crates.  And mama and Dave bought.  Yep, saffron, turmeric, cumin and many others. Mixing them together as they went the very nice salesmen offered up most of the contents of their shop?  'Nougat maybe?'  'Yes please.'  'Apple tea?'   'Why not!'  'Try the lemon salt?'  'Mmm interesting'.   'Turkish delight?'  'Oh go on then.'  And guess what?  They threw in an extra box of apple tea FREE in case the 5 kilo bag they had bought should run out quickly.   All this for just 100 turkish lira.  No bartering, no hesitation, just out with the wallet and then off in the midday sun with about 20 kilos of barbecue spices that would cost them an extra 36 pounds in excess baggage on the journey home.

Love at First Sight - Kalkan, Turkey

There's clearly something about Kalkan that encourages love at first sight.  You can tell just by looking around at people.  There they are, lets call them A and B for simplicity. A and B are sitting having a drink in a bar, chatting to each other, as you do - probably about the weather or the price of stamps; all perfectly normal stuff that takes place all over the world.  But then suddenly, just as A (a man) is explaining why it is utterly ridiculous that there are no postboxes around and people shouldn't be expected to walk all the way to the post office to send a card he notices that B ( a woman) is gazing at a spot about half a mile behind his right ear, with a most peculiar expression on her face,  Concerned, A stops in mid rant to ask B if she is alright, and B - with a gentle sigh and contented smile mutters that everything is absolutely perfect, possibly adding a comment about the blueness of the sea or the general loveliness of, well everything... And that's happening all the time here.  It's understandable, even predictable - this beautiful little place is out to capture hearts and souls and has all the charms to succeed in this. 

But it's not just that sort of love at first sight I'm talking about. It's romance - and one very special romance in particular that is going to be the subject of this blog.  Just a girl and a boy - she's English, he's Turkish and it was pretty clearly love at first sight for both of them.