Balloons

After my major miracle in Istanbul, there was one other place in Turkey I really wanted to go to that was still worth visiting this time of year. It's called Cappadocia, and it reminds me a lot of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. It's basically composed of a ton of volcanic rock formations that took shape a bunch of years ago into these trippy spire-like formations that encompass the entire landscape right in the middle of Turkey. It's a pretty incredible place and perfect for the outdoors. Hiking, biking, camping, and hot air ballooning are all popular here. The must-do is the hot air balloons. Of course they're a little pricey, so I was debating with myself over whether to do them or not. I was with my Portuguese and French friends, Tiago and Antoine, who I had met in Tel Aviv in the cab on the way to the airport and who had stayed with me in Istanbul. We decided to all go to Cappadocia and we had an awesome hike on the first day. I felt like I was on another planet after seeing the size and shape of some of these strange rocks surrounding me everywhere.

On the second day, Tiago and I took to the skies and decided to get ourselves a hot air balloon ride. We had to wake up nice and early to catch our ride, which provided us with an incredible and memorable sunrise from above. It was definitely one of the coolest things I did on this trip. I highly recommend doing one of these rides, especially if you ever find yourself in Cappadocia. I had never been in a hot air balloon before and I was surprised at how smooth the ride was. They squeezed about 24 of us in one basket, which was a little tight, but other than that it was a great ride. There must’ve been over 30 other balloons in the sky with us. It was really a sight to see, and the views were unreal. The pilot was a pro, and would guide the balloon literally inches away from some of the rock formations as we flew at low altitude. As we gently cruised through the narrow valleys below, we eventually began to elevate to a height of almost 700 meters, which gave us the best view of the surrounding area. This is when things got a little scary, being suspended in a small basket in the sky at a high altitude made me feel pretty small in the grand scheme of the endless horizon surrounding us, but it was such a peaceful and surreal feeling. We then began to gently descend, and landed safely; not bad for getting back to the hostel at 7:30 in the morning. With the rest of the day ahead of us, the first thing I needed was a nap.

Sunrise in Cappadocia

We spent the rest of the day walking around a bit more, but nothing too crazy. The last thing we did was meet up with some of Tiago’s Portuguese friends who were also visiting coincidentally, and we all saw a beautiful sunset from a perfect viewpoint. With views of both sunrise and sunset that day it was time to get some sleep. I was pretty satisfied with my time in Cappadocia after that balloon ride, and the following morning we headed back to Istanbul.

I only had a day or two left in Istanbul when I got back, and all I had to do was pick up my Indian visa and prepare for what would be not just the next leg of the journey, but the next chapter of my entire adventure. I had officially committed to taking this trip around the world at this point, and India would be the bridge to take me from Europe into Asia. I spoke to quite a few people on my trip who had traveled to India and heard some pretty incredible things. Incredible things that had to do with the not just sights to see, but the way that India alone can change your life and completely transform your perspective on traveling and experiencing new cultures. This place sounded like the ultimate destination for the experienced traveler; the holy grail, the big challenge. I was more than willing to challenge myself to see if I could do it, and this is what partly led to my decision. I was so excited to go to a completely new place. I had been mostly traveling through Europe for the last 6 months and I was ready for something new. This was the beginning of when everything that I thought about traveling and culture would begin to change.