nateniale's travels

{ November 2009 - Cappadocia, Turkey } We started the day cold and early for a hot-air balloon ride. We were initially reluctant to spend the exorbitant amount of money for the ride. However, we thought it could probably be a once in a lifetime experience as it would be the first time for both of us to be up on a hot-air balloon . After reading many great reviews, I was looking forward to it. And it was simply breathtaking! Although I do have to admit that it was quite scary whenever I looked down, the view and the sunrise was amazing. The surreal and moon-like landscape that looked weird the day before , was even more interesting from above. We saw the fairy chimneys and the rock-cut houses, the pigeon holes and the vast landscape of Cappadocia. At some point in time, we were more than 1000 metres above ground! After around an hour, we landed - directly onto the truck to save them from having to pull it back up I assumed - and were presented with champagne and certificates...

{ November 2009 - Cappadocia, Turkey } We reached Urgup in Cappadocia early in the morning. We waited in the cold for our transfer to the hotel but it never came. Some helpful guys at the bus counter helped us to check our bookings, but we found that there has been some mistakes in the bookings. After an hour or so, we finally ended up in a quaint little bed and breakfast managed by an extremely nice Turkish man. We believed that he converted his home into this bed and breakfast. He offered us some breakfast and allowed us to clean up before getting ready for our trip that morning. Our initial reactions upon reaching Cappadocia was the vastness and the weirdness of the landscape. While we did expect it and has done enough research and saw many photos, it did not really prepare us for the real thing. Even after a few days when we were about to leave the place, I kept thinking and saying “It’s so weird!”. The so-called fairy chimneys were the result of a volcanic eruption and thous...