Up at 7am to catch the coach to Kos Town. From there we took a retro-futuristic bullet boat, which sped us to Bodrum in Turkey.
Upon arriving we took a bus tour, first up to a hill with six dis-used windmills. Views of the Bodrum harbour were breathtaking and also over the other side to Gumbet, which means ‘water system’ in Turkey. A solitary camel lay at the top of the hill minding its own business.
Bodrum harbour was very classy with yachting clubs, posh boats and ‘real’ designer boutiques. The bus then took us to Gold Centre where we were persuaded to spend thousands of euros on a piece of jewellery. We didn’t. We then went to some of the famed bazaars, quite excited as to what we might find. Sure enough it was a high octane and intense affair. If you so much as cast a slight glance at any product on any stall – quite difficult to avoid- you were hounded like I have not experienced anywhere in the world. “No I don’t want to try on a bloody thick hoody when it is 37 degrees and my body is wetter than a fish”
We escaped with 17kg of apple tea, in the form of a suspicious looking white powder, Turkish delights and great looking spice set with grinder.
Overall I was quite disappointed. The bazaars and most of the shops in the centre could be categorised into about 7 different types all selling exactly the same goods. Not a patch on many of the exotic markets one can find in London.
We climbed up a grassy bank up to the castle for more magnificent views and some great looking outdoor nightclubs in the grounds which would put even the superclubs in Ibiza to shame.
The intense heat prohibited us from being ouside any longer, even in the shade, so we headed for a marina-front bar which, rather ingeniously had fine cold spray coming out of pipes all around the tented roof. Great fun and well worth staying for beer number two.
Back at our hotel I sat by the pool for the first time. Felt really tired and lethargic, the bazaars having sapped my energy. Some most friendly waiters served our evening meal, and six of them stayed late waiting for us to finish. The cut-throat nature of the English industry would not allow such a thing, but I suppose that is the price you pay for living in an overcrowded yet very successful country.
We then headed to the beach for a midnight relax on the sunbeds – we didn’t have to pay this time 
Looking up at the stars and watching the Tigaki buzz from afar was a serene experience.
