The Travel Blog by TravelPod

Manzara is TravelPod’s Local Expert for Turkey. He’s always got a funny street sign to share with us or an interesting travel news update. Besides that, of course he is well versed in all things Turkey. He took the time to answer some questions about living in Turkey for me.

David Chadwick is TravelPod's Local Expert in Turkey

Why did you become a Local Expert?

Travel is very important to us. We usually plan a four-week ‘long-haul’ holiday each year, in addition to exploring Turkey where we now live. We research our holidays in deadly detail and for a number of years have been offered excellent advice from forums such as TravelPod. Becoming a Local Expert, allows me to help ‘pay back’ the superb help we have received in the past and which has ensured our holidays have been enjoyed to the full.

What are the best and worst things about living in Turkey?

There are so many good things about living here and we have had no regrets following our decision to abandon the UK Rat Race. We now enjoy a much simpler and more relaxed lifestyle; live in a safer environment; eat more healthily with so much fresh food on offer; and, of course, living in a small fishing village on the tip of the Çeşme Peninsula, we have a choice of so many spectacular beaches with crystal-clear waters for relaxation.

After living in Turkey for over twelve years, what we would have considered the ‘worst things’ in our first few years, are now considered simply ‘minor irritations’! Turkish bureaucracy, for example, can often try your patience. We used to miss some of our favourite foods but the choice of products here has grown tremendously in recent years.

What are the top five things for travelers to do outside of Turkey from your personal experiences?

(In no particular order)

1. Snorkel in the Red Sea
2. Visit Jordan and include Petra and floating in the Dead Sea on your itinerary
3. Spot a tiger, leopard and other exciting wildlife at Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan
4. Swim and snorkel off Elephant Beach, Havelock, Andaman Islands
5. Explore the paradise beaches of Zanzibar (such as Pongwe Beach) and find time to visit Jozani Forest to see the Kirk’s Red Colobos Monkey, Zanzibar being the only place in the world to see this rare, endangered (and very playful) species.

What are some of your best and worst travel experiences?

As we plan our holidays so carefully, we haven’t had any really bad experiences. The reason I spend so much time researching them is that although we don’t mind surprises on holiday, we don’t want any bad ones!

Probably our best experiences have been the superb snorkeling in the Andaman Islands (especially Havelock) and in the Red Sea, and the sensation of floating effortlessly in the Dead Sea during a visit to Jordan earlier this year was quite amazing!

I suppose the worst experience was in Sri Lanka when, on the penultimate day of our stay. We had arranged for a car and driver to take us from our hotel in Unawatuna to the capital Colombo for our flight home the following day. Looking at the map, it looked as though we would have plenty of time to visit (not enough research here, David!) Sinharaja Rain Forest – Deniyaya entrance. I think the problems began when our driver couldn’t find the Deniyaya entrance and consequently the experienced guide we were supposed to meet there. Anyway, our driver who wasn’t to be beaten ‘picked’ up a passing wood cutter and ‘employed’ him as our guide. To be honest, we didn’t see a great deal of exceptional flora and fauna apart from a few purple-faced Langur monkeys high up in the trees. But there were the leeches of course – always included in abundance in any respectable rain forest.

Tracker Elaine (always prepared for everything, clever so and so) placed plastic bags over her socks which stopped the leeches dropping down the sides of her shoes and attaching them to her feet. I didn’t and the result was typical. I had leeches all around my feet and legs. Then a long drive – five hours less would have been a bonus – to Colombo and our overnight stay. Not one of our better days out!

What is your proudest accomplishment?

I hope I am allowed to substitute the word “accomplishment” with “experience” on this occasion. Call it writer’s license. I have to go back to the mid-1970’s. I was traveling through India with a colleague monitoring foreign aid projects on behalf of UK voluntary agencies. We were fortunate enough to arrange two meetings with Mother Teresa at the Missionaries of Charity convent at 54A Lower Circular Road, Calcutta.

We met in her modest office and although a tiny, almost frail looking woman, her spirituality, gentleness and quiet determination filled the room. I shall never forget spending time at the convent, meeting the other sisters, joining them in the chapel for early morning prayers with the whole group singing “in our honour” their hymn ‘Something Beautiful for God’. A truly amazing experience.

Where are you planning on traveling in the future?

Well, we always seem to adding to the ever-increasing list of places we plan to visit. Malaysia is certainly one and possibly one or two of the South Pacific islands if our budget will allow. However, some travel decisions are suddenly being made for us. With a son now living in America and a daughter moving to Western Australia in January 2010, another two destinations are now in the pipeline!

What do you do with most of your time?

Elaine would say I spend most of my time at the Laptop! It’s not strictly true, but I keep up with the TravelPod Forum (of course!), I am Destination Expert for Çeşme on Trip Advisor; SuperMod (think that’s a misspelling of SuperMAD!) on Turkey Central; and complete the occasional questionnaire on behalf of Lonely Planet’s Travellers’ Pulse. Oh, and there’s always the next holiday to research, of course! We also enjoy quiet socializing with friends at our house or theirs. Only very rarely does this involve a bar or restaurant. Our social spending is on our overseas trips and enjoying different food in hotels and restaurants on our travels – and ensuring our shared children and grandchildren enjoy their holidays with us here in Turkey.

What’s a typical day like for you?

The answer to this depends whether it’s summer or winter. In the holiday season, we welcome guests to our two self-contained apartments in the picturesque fishing village of Çiftlikköy, close to the resort centre of Çeşme in western Turkey. Elaine is busy preparing the apartments for arrivals and ensuring the change-over day cleaning is carried out to her (very high) standards. I sort out the administration and communications concerned with inquiries and bookings, carry out airport transfers personally and offer a varied selection of full day and half day trips to places of interest – the usual’ must see’s’ of this area such as Ephesus, for example, but also visits to places well away from the usual tourist spots. The summer is also a busy time for family visits, too.

The winter months are much quieter. A time to relax, do some exploring ourselves around the region and beyond. Visiting friends or welcoming them to our home for quiet socializing over tea, coffee and home made cake. Maybe a game of ‘Rummikub’ (English version of the popular Turkish game ‘Okay’) or Triominoes. We really know how to enjoy ourselves here, you know!

Winter or Summer, I pour myself the first glass of wine at around 6 p.m. – sometimes even a gin and tonic (living dangerously now you see!) – followed by a lovely meal together and just a couple of hours television or DVD. Hope the excitement of our lifestyle isn’t too much for you all!

What’s your favourite part of the TravelPod forum?

It’s the exciting and ever-surprising variety of topics, questions and information which invariably receives such friendly, helpful and often comprehensive responses (can’t say that for all forums, you know!). However difficult and sometime bizarre the question may first appear, there’s always someone out there with something to offer.

So, to get back to the question (off topic again!) my favourite part of the forum is appreciating the wealth of knowledge and travel experience of members, complemented by the added ingredient of regular humour. Although it seems rather clichéd to say so, TravelPod Forum does achieve the feeling (for me certainly) of being part of a huge international family.

Ask David about Turkey in the TravelPod forums