Oasis, Days 1-5

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Saturday 23rd April 2011 - Day 1 Oasis

I had a pretty crap sleep last night as a guy was snoring like a lawn mower! I had to put my music on full crank just to drown him out which clearly didn't assist with the whole sleep thing. Eventually I got up at 7:30am, headed down for breakfast with all the Oasis crew and at 8:30am we were on the road. The truck that would be our home for the next 37 days was parked outside the city in a truck park but it only took us about half an hour to get there. There we met Fanny. Why a huge yellow truck was given that name was not exactly explained to us but once it is named it stays forever we were told. It was the truck that had been travelling through Africa for the last 2 years and Nev decided to change his route to the Middle East so the truck came with him. We got a quick run down of the truck and where everything was before storing out packs in lockers under the seats inside which was really cool - if we needed anything on long journey days we could just lift up the seat and all our stuff was right there. The seats were set out along each side of the truck rather than in rows like on a bus which was awesome, it meant we could face each other to have chats, plays cards etc.... There was also a bed at the end which was Dave's and named "the beach" which we could use during long days to have a sleep. The roof over the beach opened up so on a nice day we would have the sun shining in and also meant we could take great photos as it virtually sat on top of the truck roof. The tour was sold out so 24 passengers in total being: Me, Jess, Di (aussie), Andy (english), Simon (aussie), Nathan and Sam (kiwi couple), Amanda and Gav (canadian couple), Andrea (english), Emma (english), Stacey (kiwi), Fiona (english), Eleanor (english), Amin aka Young Pup (somalian/norwegian/english), Jennifer (english), Ted and Angela (american couple), Karli and Ben (aussie couple), Gareth aka Pop (kiwi), Grace (kiwi), Bonnie (kiwi) and Joseline (kiwi). Once we were all sorted we hit the road heading towards Gallipoli. We stopped twice for a toilet break which is signalled to the driver by a buzzer in the back, once for lunch and once so that Cook Group 1 could get food for dinner and breakfast - we were split into 6 cook groups, each cooking dinner and then breakfast the following morning. I was in cook group 6. The countryside as we drove towards Gallipoli was surprising, it was very green and reminded me of parts of home. I don't quite know what I expected the turkish countryside to look like but it was beautiful. Our first stop was a town called Ecebat, our first bush camp! It looked like an industrial car park and initially I thought we were just stopping for fuel or another toilet break but nope, this would be home for 3 days. There was no nice grass to pitch the tent on, it was sand, dirt and rocks - lucky I had brought one of those self inflating mattresses. We got a crash course on how to put the tents up which were exactly the same as the tent I had at home, a simple dome tent just a little more industrial to handle the many different terrains. No sooner had we learnt how to pitch the tent, the other Oasis truck arrived. Their tour had been going in the opposite direction to us, Cairo to Istanbul so they were on their last few nights whilst we were on our first. We used both trucks to shelter both camps as we were right on the waters edge so the wind came whistling through at a great rate a knots. Once our tents were all pitched we headed for the Boomerang Bar, our entertainment whilst there. It was actually very cool as it was full of kiwi and aussie memorabilia that people had left there before or after attending Anzac Day. It was very surprising to see a little trurkish bar in the middle of nowhere packed with kiwi/aussie stuff - there were flags, tshirts, paintings, writings, you name it! My first pint was a Boomerang Beer - a beer you would think was their own but later we discovered they simple glued their own label over the original one for a novelty sort of thing. Not the greatest tasting beer so I went back to Efes, tried and trusted. Our first dinner was chicken, pasta and veg with a tomato sauce which was really nice. The cook group did really well given that it was our first dinner and it's really hard to judge how much food you need for 26 people! The other Oasis truck had dinner at the same time so we chatted to some of them about their trip up and how it went. We asked them about the situation in Syria which we had been advised was getting worse. Whilst they had no issues passing through Syria, they did have to leave a day earlier as the unrest became worse and the FCO issued a "only essential travel" warning which for us was not a good sign that things would be settled by the time we were due to enter Syria, although we all had our fingers crossed that things would be ok. After dinner we headed back to the Boomerang Bar where the night consisted of drinking, dancing and a number of beer funnels - which I did not take part in (I figured it was a little too early in the trip to be throwing up in front of everyone which was highly likely given I hadn't done a beer funnel in years!). As the night progressed the craziness began, instigated by me and Jess. We decided to just let loose and have a bit of fun on the dance floor so we pulled out all sorts of stupid dance moves - the shopping trolley, the lawn mower, a beyonce style booting dancing and at one stage a swimming fish which I think I simply made up at the time. Others then joined the mayhem and more dance moves were thrown in. It was a great first night and got everyone a little more relaxed around each other.

Sunday 24th and Monday 25th April 2011 - Days 2 & 3 Oasis

Sadly I once again had a crap sleep but this time not because of a snorer but because I was bloody freezing! It was one of the worse nights sleep I have ever had! The wind from the sea blew all night straight through the tent and because I didn't have the best sleeping bag in the world, it gave me very little protection. I even tried the trusty put the head inside the sleeping bag trick but it made no difference at all. I think I got maybe 3 hours sleep in total before giving up at 7am. No one was up so I used it as an opportunity to have a shower before the hot water ran out. It had great pressure and the water was boiling which was perfect after being freezing for so long. I was surprised at how good it was given the location we were in. I was even able to take my time just enjoying the warmth as there was no one queing outside. The weather was awesome, not a cloud in the sky so I took one of the camp seats and went and sat by the waters edge waiting for others to rise. We had breakfast and spent the day lazing by the campsite or in the bar before being served up a BBQ for lunch. Unfortunately it was fish. I initially decided to just give it a go but once I saw they were putting a whole fish on the plate, head and all it totally put me off so instead I wondered into the little village once Jess had finished hers and got a kebab. I'm glad I did as most of the fish was cold or still frozen inside! Whilst in the village we found a bakery and picked up a chocolate cake and some candles as it was Nathan's birthday - he was turning 22. On the way back we saw 2 tiny puppies and of course I couldn't help myself, I just had to play with them. In hindsight not the smartest thing to do as they were clearly starved for attention so when I started to walk off they both followed me. I tried to shoo them back to no avail so in the end I actually had to pick them both up and take them back to their house. At 4:30pm we all congregated around the truck to present the cake to Nathan and sing him happy birthday. We then all piled in the truck and off to Anzac Cove we went armed with our sleeping bags, blankets and snacks for what was going to be a very long and cold night. The security at the cove was intense, they had airport style beepers with security guards, some with guns checking everyone's bags. Due to this, and the long walk down to the cove, we didn't get there and secure a spot until about 7pm. There was no space left on the grass so we all chose a grandstand to call home for the night. It was going to be hard to get any sleep on the chairs but better than standing! The other Oasis crew were also with us. Once our territory was claimed Jess and I set off to find an Anzac hoody after unsuccessfully getting one from Fanatics. Annoyingly, the people making the hoodies seemed to think only Australia was involved as there was not a single kiwi hoody to be found. In the end we had to settle for a kiwi singlet instead. We then waited in a huge line to get a kebab for dinner before cementing our place for the next 10 hours. During the night there was music and documentaries being played on big screens. At one stage we all tried to snuggle on the floor of the grandstand to get some sleep but just as I started to nod off a group of people arrived and we needed to get up and move to make room for them to sit down. After that there was no chance of sleep. At 5am we were given the wake up call by the presenter of the ceremony. Over the next couple of hours the VIPs arrived and messages from the New Zealand and Australian Prime Ministers were played - neither were in attendance. Representatives from both countries gave speeches as did other dignitaries. Pictures and info of some of the fallen were played on the big screen - so many fell. Two in particular brought a tear to my eye, a soldier who was from my home town of Whangarei and the other being the youngest known soldier to fall aged only 15 years! The "Ode" was played throughout the ceremony to go along with the lowering of the flags and the anthems were played. After the service was complete we were allowed to walk along Anzac Cove. The bay was so peaceful and calm that it was hard to believe that it was the same place that once terror rang through and the blood of thousands stained the water. We made our way to the Australian service followed quickly by the New Zealand service, passing by cemeteries and memorials - one being Quinns Post. The New Zealand service was right at the top of the ridge so we were all exhausted by the time we made our way up there. The whole service was very emotional and of course brought tears to my eyes more than once. I was surprised to see that there were so many young people that attended. I expected there to be more older people. At a guess there was about 80%!w(MISSING)ho attended under 30 years old. The band did lighten the mood a little at one point when they played crowded house which got a massive cheer. Despite the fact that we were at war with the turkish and more turkish soldiers fell than all others put together, they paid great tribute to the Anzacs and considered this day to be just as important and significant to them too. Their tribute to us read "Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well". Nothing about the Anzac Day experience can be described in writing, whether a family link exists or not it was our people, our history and needs to be experienced in person to get the true emotion of it all. After everything was done we waited for ages before the truck finally arrived to pick us up and take us back to the campsite which by this time was 3:30pm. I promptly went to sleep. I woke a couple of hours later and it was blowing a gale outside - I had sand all over my face that had blown in under the top cover of the tent. Everyone had sought shelter in the Boomerang Bar to keep warm. We had dinner inside the truck as it was too windy and cold to have it outside. We then all went back to the bar. Initially I wasn't drinking but after my power nap I was not tired at all so I had a few. Most people only stayed for a beer or two before going to bed - a lot of people had not had a nap like I did when we got back. Di and I met two aussie guys who were in the bar and got chatting away to them - Ryan and Jock. They were travelling for a couple of months together through Europe before Jock returned to oz and Ryan tried his hand living the life in London. Jock was in a band at home so he proceeded to borrow a local's guitar and gave us a jam sessions for a few hours which was really cool, I hadn't sat down and listened to the guitar being played in ages! The locals joined in often and one of them was an awesome drummer, using everything and anything to drum on, including a glass beer bottle I was holding. The guys left just before 3am as they had to catch a ferry to their hostel. Di and I stayed on so Di could use their kitchen to make herself on omelette which I found hilarious, they were so welcoming that they just let us use their kitchen and food. They tried to teach us some turkish words which are a lot harder to learn than other languages I have come across to date. The owner even insisted we take a tshirt each which we of course accepted before hitting bed at 3:30am.

Tuesday 26th April 2011 - Day 4 Oasis

We packed up the tents and were on the road by 7am. We drove for a couple of hours before arriving in Troy. I was a little disappointed with Troy to be honest. Whilst I'm no history buff and maybe I have been watching too many Brad Pit movies but I was of the understanding that the Troy Kingdom and its subsequent fall due to the Trojan Horse was a big deal. Sadly the ruins did not reflect this at all. They had been left unattended so the grass was long and covered a lot of it - you had to look hard to try and work out what you were seeing even after reading the info boards next to each ruins. The town didn't seem to care about preserving it which was very so sad as it would make for one great site had it been looked after properly. Due to the disappointment by most of us we didn't stay as long as we had planned. I bought a little purse from the gift shop then we headed off again. We drove another 4 hours, stopping for a quick lunch before arriving in Selcuk, our next destination. We were staying in a place called Attila's which compared with the Boomerang Bar was paradise. It had grass for us to pitch the tents not to mention a swimming pool, an outside bar, a pool and pingpong table and a big area with cushions to sit and relax and play backgammon - backgammon is huge in the middle east, everyone plays it. They even had washing facilities so I promptly gave them a huge bag of clothes that were in dyer need of a wash. We had a great BBQ for dinner supplied by Attila and the rest of the night we relaxed on the cushions and by an open bonbfire.

Wednesday 27th April 2011 - Day 5 Oasis

The morning started off with some great entertaining scandal. Two of the girls were nowhere to be seen when we all gathered for breakfast. As we sat eating our breakfast we noticed Nev wasn't up yet so we gave him a friendly knock on the cab door to wake him up so he could have something to eat. He appeared a short time later and we soon discovered why he was still sleep and where one of the missing girls was - as we were clearing breakfast away Emma tried to sneak out of the cab! We all saw her of course and the jokes started immediately. The other missing girl Joss surfaced about 30 secs before we were due to leave for the day - turns out she had an away game too with someone from one of the other trucks! So with all the scandal put aside at least for now we headed a short distance up the road to the ancient ruins of Ephesus. We got a guide to take us around and explain the history but I was instantly bored. He couldn't speak english that well and didn't always seem to know what he was talking about so I ended up wondering off to explore on my own, joining back up with the group every now and then. The ruins were in great shape, which was nice to see, not like Troy. It rained for a little bit at the end of the tour but nothing major. We looked at a few of the shops outside the ruins but given how touristy it was, the prices were quite expensive. I randomly ran into Chris, one of the maintenance guys who I worked with at UBS. I said a quick hello to him, he was on a tour with Fanatics, then headed off to meet the others as the truck was due to pick us up and take us into town. Jess and I and a few others followed Dave and Nev to what they described as "the best chicken burger shop in town" - they were pretty good. Once we were done eating we had intended to have a look around but we got accosted by a guy (we think) who took a real liking to Pop and said "I like you too much" as he pointed right at him - it was very funny as it clearly freaked Pop out because he turned around and hi-tailed it out of there. We then got accosted by another crazy guy about 5 minutes later so we just gave up on the sightseeing and went back to the truck. I had to stop off at the pharmacy on the way to get some strepsils as I woke up with a really sore throat, not cool. When we got back to Attila's me, Emma and Andy went next door to the Diesel Factory shop. I was hoping to get some cheap bargains but there was not much of a selection and it was not what I would have called factory outlet prices so I walked away empty handed sadly. I relaxed for the rest of the arvo before having dinner off the truck then spending the evening relaxing on the cushions and by the fire. I taught Jess how to play Backgammon and she quickly got better than me, beating me more times than I beat her. Attila's was a cool place and the only down side was that the showers were cold, my first one for the trip so far but most definitely not my last.

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