... but along the way, the power went out in Side
Trip Start
Jan 06, 2006
1
16
120
Trip End
Sep 02, 2008
Side,
Turkey
Monday, February 6, 2006
The city's ruins were supposed to be enticing. They were interesting, perhaps, but when I arrived it was raining very heavily and I declined to explore them in detail. The one thing I noticed, though, was that the ruins closely lined the entrance into town (I think Side's city planners built the road right on top of an ancient road). Those same planners must have restored these ruins to their current condition, making them the most Disneyified ruins I have ever seen. "Can we go to ancient Side, mom, please, can we?" What an entrance. Something inside told me that, with this sort of red carpet, there would be deals inside.
The road into town passes through a one-lane ancient archway. Beyond that, the ruins trail off into pedestrian streets crammed with shops peddling knock-off clothes, leather and watches. Upon arrival, I just wanted to find a place to stay, but there were lots of guys who would have loved to help me set up a new wardrobe (actually I may need it already - but knock-offs are not always a deal - I bought a Nike hat for CDN 4.00 and every seam is crooked). Being a summertime tourist trap, unfortunately most of these inns of quality listed in that same guidebook were closed.
The first place I went into (yes, the "first" place - there is a story here) was procured for me by a fellow whom I met on the street. He was chatting with a pal, all innocent like and friendly, and he said hello to me as I passed by and asked me if I needed a place to stay. After twenty minutes of hiking around already in this shopper's paradise, I paused a moment and said okay. I named a price range and in an instant, the building right beside us became a hotel, as his friend went in to find a room. A yappity conversation ensued between the friend who climbed up to the third floor balcony, the landlady who came out, the fellow who first spoke to me and myself. After some bickering and my stubborn insistence, the landlady agreed on my price and I went up to examine the room.
Once I entered, she pulled back the curtains to reveal a great view of the Mediterranean coast. The fellow who went upstairs in the first place asked me Tamam? (okay?) and I said Tamam. I dropped my bag and went to use the toilet. Oh oh. A naughty piece of disposable latex floated in the bottom. I became suspicious. I went back into the main room. There were no blankets on the bed. Nor in the closet. Nor heating in the room. And the balcony door had a draft and it didn't lock. Safety door? What kind of place was I in? Well we all know exactly what sort of place I was in and before my half an hour was up, or whatever it was there, I fled. That was one of those times I'm glad I didn't pay in advance.
I did find another place later on. I was a bit too pricey but it was clearly a more decent place than the first place I found. There wasn't much to see in Side for the person who doesn't want to shop. I went a ways out of town to a slightly more local area, and found an internet cafe. I quickly tapped out the first entry on Antalya. I wasn't completely happy with it, so I went for dinner with the intention of some revison (that night). It took me a while to find a semi-decent price for dinner (after all I was in the vacinity of the quintessential tourist trap). After I was done it was completely dark and I walked back the kilometer or so to my hotel. Part way along, the rain (which had calmed down after I got to Side) picked up again in earnest. By that time everything was closed anyway, and there was no point in dithering along. I prepared for bed and charged my camera.
Boom - lightning began to crash nearby. The thunder was some of the loudest I've ever heard - and my camera battery stopped charging. The electric heater in the room went out. Perhaps it was an omen of things to come.
