Distance cycled: 86.4km from Konya to Ortaca
Average speed: 17.4km/h
Moving time: 4h58m
Total distance: 8952km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 10 lira.
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Thankfully this is the last day of the less than appealing plateau region of Turkey; the last couple of days have returned me nothing other than head-on wind and the onset of a mental breakdown due to complete boredom from the vast nothingness of my surrounds.
Although having said that I did have locals entertain me today with not only with their generosity where I didn't have to pay for tea, lunch or Internet access but also one guy beside his truck who was... um, how do I put this... giving his wrist a workout when i unluckily passed by but when I passed he got back in his truck to drive ahead of me to do it again... The only explanation I have is that he was gay or must have thought I was a girl.
Stopping twice today to use the Internet I was shrouded with locals wanting to meet me and add them as a friend on Facebook. Normally I would say no but they were quite insistent, they will have fun browsing my friends lists and photos as they didn't hesitate to do so as soon as I reluctantly added them.
The Turks using google-translate today I was again asked the typical questions that are usually gestured when I encounter the locals, surprisingly it's always in this order:
"What is your name?"
"Where are you from?"
"How old are you?"
"Are you married?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Chai?"
They honestly can't understand that someone my age isn't married, judging by their reaction they feel perhaps sorry for me but they understand that it's a different world out there.
Over the last few days I have seen many workers lighting fires to burn the copious amounts of plastic garbage that litters the gutters, sides of the road, towns and countryside. This begs one question, why aren't the locals taught that littering is bad for the environment? Burning the plastics especially, given it isn't nearly as bad as in India but still it's awful. *Sigh*
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