Getting to Kalkan
Kalkan day 1

It turns out that the Holiday Inn at Gatwick was a great idea. We both managed to get a good few hours sleep and awoke at 03:00. A quick turn around and we were outside the hotel waiting for the Gatwick Hoppa a shuttle bus that goes around the hotels before dropping off at the airport terminal.

We dropped off our bags, but before we could do so an attendant ask to see our boarding passes, because we hadn't checked in we didn't have them so he went and sorted this for us. We needed these to drop off our bags at the self-service machines. These machines ask for us to place a bag on the scales and then scan the boarding pass. The scales did not register the weight of the bag. It turns out the instructions were the wrong way round, Boarding Pass then weigh bag.

Security was pretty easy getting through as it was so early, there was hardly anyone there so no queue and through in less than 10 minutes. The only issue I had was the zip in my shorts set off the alarm.

We had breakfast at Small Batch, it was really good and the staff were lovely.

When we got to our gate I explained that the App was still showing that our flight was in 14 hours and because of this Susan and I didn't have seats next to each other. The person checking our tickets said there was nothing they could do and the flight was full.

The flight was very nice, even though Susan was sat behind me. The plane was not full, in fact there was a seat next to me across the aisle.

After landing we got to passport control, we walked to the end one as there was no queue and were threw in less than a minute.

The Baggage claim took a little while longer, about 20 minutes.

Transfer

I was a little worried about our transfer, as the App (Susan has remained it, "It's a Crapp not an App") was associating the transfer with our flight. It turns out there was absolutely no need, none of the Tui Staff used the app and we were shown to "The tall man over there". He took us to our driver, who then took us to a luxury 6 seater minivan.

We put our bags in the back and then sat down, expecting more to join us. He brought us some ice cold water and then jumped in and drove off. All told from collecting our bags to being on the road was less than 10 minutes.

The driver, Yousef, was brilliant, he passed us some crisp snack and half-way to the hotel he stopped at a garage, I thought it was to get fuel. But he just wanted to check if we needed the bathroom and he got us an ice cream each.

In total the journey took us about 1 hour 40 minutes. I looked out of the window to see what animals I would see in Türkiye. It was pretty sparse and I didn't see many animals along the side of the road. I did however see thousands of poly-tunnels and greenhouses.

Oasis Hotel Kalkan

When we arrived at our hotel we greeted by Tania. She told us to leave our bags and took us on a tour of the hotel. The hotel is split over a number of levels. On the ground floor there is reception, there is a spa on the first floor. We were taken to the third floor where there is a swimming pool with a bar, we were introduced to the bar manager Josef, who told me that they'd be able to show the British Grand Prix. Also on the third floor is a terrace where breakfast is served.

Then we were taken into another lift to the roof top Al A Carte restaurant, which looks amazing and we shall eat there at some point.

Finally, Tania, showed us to our room and moments later our bags arrived. Our room is on the seventh level, they really don't have floors and the hotel is not just one building but many. We have a sea view looking out over the bay of Kalkan.

Once we unpacked we relocated to the bar where we got some lunch, watched the Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc won, and Susan had a swim. Oh boy was it hot, even though we were in the shade and under a fan. The only non-alcoholic beer they have at the hotel is Peja, it is a bit empty on flavour but was cold.

We had a short break in our air conditioned room, before heading out for a walk to explore Kalkan. We walked up a steep hill to Kelebek Hotel, where our friends are arriving tomorrow. we then walked past the police station and back down the hill back into the village.

We went to eat at The Lime Garden, I can highly reccommend the Chef's Special Kebab it was amazing.