Antalya. Turkey. Day 8
We headed towards Antalya on Day 8. We will be staying at a 5 star hotel for one night (no money to stay on for more than a night) along the beachside.
Spun sugar sweet. On the way to Antalya
Antalya is a beautiful place, famed for its blue seawater (Gulf of Antalya)on one side and the majestic Taurus mountains on the other side. It is a busy modern town, catering for the half a million population that lives there and the seaside tourists.
La Mer hotel room
We reached our hotel sometime in the afternoon. La Mer hotel. There were so many five star hotels all along the coastline, they were literally next door neighbours. We had to drive along a bit to hunt for our hotel as we did not know how it looks like and finally we found it. Big, nice and comfy. Hah! Money counts.
Poolside
We checked into our rooms. We spent the whole day in the hotel because everything was paid for (good deal). Drinks were free flowing until 2 a.m. (except foreign liquors which you will have to pay extra but turkish brands are free), buffets for breakfast, lunch, tea-time and dinner. And in between light snacks buffet, ice-creams. Sigh....the good ol' days (sorry, not days but day!)
Poolside and parasailing
Motor sports are not free, you will be charged extra. Most of the people there spent their time by the poolside, tanning, relaxing etc. A majority of them were Russians, having their summer holiday in sunny Antalya. There were plenty of activities for you to participate in if you are feeling bored like aerobics and contests. There were many hotel co-ordinators as well who were in charge of all the games, activities etc sort of like a higher end Club Med. Hmm, have not been to any Club Med so I don't know how "high end" it is.
La Mer hotel's beach and the backdrop mountains
The rough pebble beaches stretches several kilometers with all the hotels dotted along the coastline. It can be a bit painful on the soles because of all the pebbles and rocks that you have to pass through in order to get to the sandy seafloor. But the water is clear and has a really nice shade of aqua blue.
Blue seawater
I liked the location of our hotel because on one hand you can feast your eyes on the beaches and sea and on the other, the beautiful looming mountains.....dramatic backdrop.
Parasailing, anyone?
I had a fun time just sitting in the sun and swimming in the sea. Avoided the poolside because there were just too many people there. We missed the lunch buffet and the mini-lunch buffet after that but caught the tea time buffet. I was starving! And I missed the ice-cream too! We were standing in line for it and when it came to our turn, they said they ran out of it!
Buffet dinner
Dessert....half eaten
Then came dinner time. I was famished, after swimming and the lack of lunch. I was ready to attack the table! But you know how it is when you are so hungry and then after you eat a bit, you feel full? But I still managed to eat most of the food I liked. Yummy!
Rakı mixed with water, resulting in a milky solution
Have you tried Rakı before? It is a Turkish alcoholic beverage (45-47% alcohol content) made out of grape and is strongly flavoured with aniseed. You can also make Rakı out of other fruits as well. There are many ways to drink Rakı which is clear and colourless in the botol. Either you drink it straight, with water mixed in or as cocktail. White cheese is a perfect accompaniment to Rakı. I tried it before when I was in Japan but it was just too strong for me.
Spun sugar sweet. On the way to Antalya
Antalya is a beautiful place, famed for its blue seawater (Gulf of Antalya)on one side and the majestic Taurus mountains on the other side. It is a busy modern town, catering for the half a million population that lives there and the seaside tourists.
La Mer hotel room
We reached our hotel sometime in the afternoon. La Mer hotel. There were so many five star hotels all along the coastline, they were literally next door neighbours. We had to drive along a bit to hunt for our hotel as we did not know how it looks like and finally we found it. Big, nice and comfy. Hah! Money counts.
Poolside
We checked into our rooms. We spent the whole day in the hotel because everything was paid for (good deal). Drinks were free flowing until 2 a.m. (except foreign liquors which you will have to pay extra but turkish brands are free), buffets for breakfast, lunch, tea-time and dinner. And in between light snacks buffet, ice-creams. Sigh....the good ol' days (sorry, not days but day!)
Poolside and parasailing
Motor sports are not free, you will be charged extra. Most of the people there spent their time by the poolside, tanning, relaxing etc. A majority of them were Russians, having their summer holiday in sunny Antalya. There were plenty of activities for you to participate in if you are feeling bored like aerobics and contests. There were many hotel co-ordinators as well who were in charge of all the games, activities etc sort of like a higher end Club Med. Hmm, have not been to any Club Med so I don't know how "high end" it is.
La Mer hotel's beach and the backdrop mountains
The rough pebble beaches stretches several kilometers with all the hotels dotted along the coastline. It can be a bit painful on the soles because of all the pebbles and rocks that you have to pass through in order to get to the sandy seafloor. But the water is clear and has a really nice shade of aqua blue.
Blue seawater
I liked the location of our hotel because on one hand you can feast your eyes on the beaches and sea and on the other, the beautiful looming mountains.....dramatic backdrop.
Parasailing, anyone?
I had a fun time just sitting in the sun and swimming in the sea. Avoided the poolside because there were just too many people there. We missed the lunch buffet and the mini-lunch buffet after that but caught the tea time buffet. I was starving! And I missed the ice-cream too! We were standing in line for it and when it came to our turn, they said they ran out of it!
Buffet dinner
Dessert....half eaten
Then came dinner time. I was famished, after swimming and the lack of lunch. I was ready to attack the table! But you know how it is when you are so hungry and then after you eat a bit, you feel full? But I still managed to eat most of the food I liked. Yummy!
Rakı mixed with water, resulting in a milky solution
Have you tried Rakı before? It is a Turkish alcoholic beverage (45-47% alcohol content) made out of grape and is strongly flavoured with aniseed. You can also make Rakı out of other fruits as well. There are many ways to drink Rakı which is clear and colourless in the botol. Either you drink it straight, with water mixed in or as cocktail. White cheese is a perfect accompaniment to Rakı. I tried it before when I was in Japan but it was just too strong for me.
posted by AL LEE at 11:29 PM
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