Van – Muş

31st August 2014      28-35℃       238km
Van – Muş

I started the day visiting ‘breakfast alley’ in Van, a collection of streetside stalls, serving up delicious small dishes, like tapas, of breakfast delights. Cheese, fresh honey, olives, bread, fried eggs, and of course copious amounts of strong Turkish tea.  I picked a stall and was immediately taken by the arm by the waiter, who guided me around, arm-in-arm until he found me a place to sit.  Tea was served, followed by a selection of dishes.  The table of Turkish ladies next to me tried to start a conversation, even feeding me some of their food, until one of the older ladies suggested I should get together with her friend… I quickly closed that offer down, finished my delicious breakfast and headed back to the hotel to pack the bike.

Riding out of Van, past the lake was a very enjoyable ride and I made good time. One of the major hazards in Turkey, aside from the drivers, is the roads in the towns.  They seem to wash the roads with soapy water from a truck, but they never rinse the soapy water off the road.  The result is that the road is permanently slippery.  It is seriously dangerous on a bike, and I’ve locked up the front wheel on more occasions than I want to remember.   Sometime even putting a foot down at the traffic lights, causes a skipped heartbeat as my foot slides out under the weight of the bike.

Arriving in Mus, I found a great, cheap hotel right in the centre of the main street, and the guy on reception suggested I park my bike in the lobby.  Score again.

I headed to a nearby cafe for dinner, where the waiters & waitress all pointed out that I look like a Turkish actor, again. Showing me a photo of the actor that I supposedly bear some resemblance to.   This was all good fun, until one of the waiters came over and showed me a message using Google Translate, that said “You are very handsome”   To which I said Thank You.  A few minutes later he reappeared with a new translated message which read “I’d like to be your oral”

I don’t know exactly what this was supposed to mean, but I’m guessing it was an attempt at a pick-up, using Google Translate. Probably the first time I’m been hit on this was thanks to Google.  Thinking he was just having a joke, I laughed off this proposition, only to see the look on his face.   He disappeared and I was served by a different waiter from then on.   Fortunately the food was excellent, and after a good meal I headed back to the hotel for an early night.