The Pursuit of Happiness

We ate our way from Turkey to Croatia. As Julee said, most of the time we were really not hungry, we were simply greedy. But how could you NOT? Just take a look at this...

* Breakfast on the terrace of Hotel Kelebek, Cappadocia, looking at the Rose Valley

My absolute favorite is the ice-cream. Turkish ice-cream is more creamy while the Croatian counterpart tastes like gelato. They both offer lots of varieties especially with the flavor of fruits which U.S. does not have. My face was glued to ice-cream whenever I saw a stand which was practically everywhere.

The ice-cream man was "playing" with the ice-cream in Fethiye. Julee had the world's largest cone.





We found the midye (mussels) across Galata Bridge in Istanbul. They were stuffed with rice and tasted lemony.


Fish sandwich by the Bosphorus was our cheapest lunch but incredibly fulfilling. I took the cash and pushed my way through the locals to get to the grill. Two local guys actually let me purchase ahead of them, meanwhile quite curious about a foreigner eating their street food. We sat down on the curb and ate the sandwich among the locals. I did not see any other tourist. They did not know what they missed.

Seafood in Croatia was to die for. These mussels were served in Split in wine and garlic.

In Turkey, Julee negotiated in the fish market for our dinner produce. She tried to teach me how to see if a fish was fresh or not by staring at its eye balls and opening its "face". She said if it were fresh, it was supposed to look alive. Yuk! I trusted her pick.





We had one chance to dress up and go to a bar in Fethiye. My packing principle is to use an item at least twice but the kitten heels were really not easy to stay on after days of walking in flats. We had fancy drinks with their little firework show.





We both LOVED salt so the salted sardines or anchovies were our favorite appetizer. I suspect I might die young due to the over consumption of sodium.

Our favorite restaurant was in Trogir. Alka has the best grilled squid and I loved the anchovies and olives.





A fancy lokum (Turkish delight at a bakery shop). We usually have tea and dessert around 3 PM.


Seafood pancake (crepe) in Sibenik. Baby shrimps were stuffed inside. The shrimps tasted sweet.

While Julee had her crepe, I had prawns, heads and all on the plate. They were finger licking good.



Beer was great in both countries. Ephes was the most popular Turkish beer. In Croatia, I tried local Croatian beer and beers from Slovenia. They were all good on a hot day by the sea.

* In Sibenik having lunch by the harbor.

We do not waste food!

*Julee dipping the bread in the last bit of the sheep brain and tongue soup in Selcuk.





Kebebs are popular and fast eats. We discovered adana kebeb which was spicy mixed lamb and beef. We both liked the kick. On a day where we did not have time to sit down we would order a roll to go otherwise we sat down to enjoy it on the plate in Oludeniz after the paragliding.

Day 17 - Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic

We stayed in an apartment within the old town wall. It was 80 steps up into one of the many side streets from the Placa town square.We used the clock tower at the end of Placa as an anchor point to navigate through Dubrovnik's meandering cobbled streets. This way we could always make it back to the Placa. We learned the way to navigate the streets of Croatia was to find an anchor that did not move. For example, a boat that docked at the harbor would not be a good reference point since by sunset it might have sailed off.

There were cruise-load of people filling the town center and all souvenir shops. It only got quieter after sunset last night where we had dinner outdoors and listened to a concert in the Domino Church.

This morning we spent three hours walking the city walls that circled the old town Dubrovnik. They were built from the 13th to the 16th century and are still intact today even after the bombing in the early 1990s. I noticed that the new roofs replaced after the shelling were of a brighter yellow than the original roof which had a more subdued earthy tone. The aerial view of the terra cotta roofs against the turquoise sea and sky was breathtaking. I think the coast line of Croatia with such vibrancy and refreshing clarity redefines the color of blue.

Our favorite restaurant "Capital Konoba" was the 7th street from the Clock Tower. We had grilled fish with broiled potatoes and spinach. The sea bass was so fresh, it tasted sweet. Later we will have ice-cream for dessert, and find an outdoor cafe to just chill and read.

Day 16 - Julee, get up! Time for Dubrovnik...

Every night we left the window open so we could breathe in the cool air from the Cappadocia mountains or the Dalmatian coast. To catch the bus at 5:45 for Dubrovnik, we were informed by the ticket lady to show up at the bus station at 5. I set the alarm clock last night for 3:50 to get ready and finish last bit of packing. It was a Friday night and we did not know that Trogir, a tiny town would party all night. We did notice that the population in Trogir were very young. Most people we saw on the streets were under 35 years old. We thought the majority of the town were just young men in their teens and early twenties. A car alarm broke out honking every five minutes from 12 to 1. All night long scooters went zooming by on the cobbled street below our window with loud screams. The disco music was romping in the next door bar, possibly the only one in town and in the neighboring towns since we saw the local bus number 37 carrying drunk young men out of Trogir bus station at 5 AM. At 3:30, I gave up my attempt to fall asleep since I was going to get up at 3:50 anyways.

When I stared at the alarm clock next time, it was 4:20. I woke Julee. Twenty minutes later we were at the Trogir bus station. Time passed slowly and it got chilly. I kept asking Julee the time and we were counting down the minute when the bus should show up. At 5:45, the bus still did not show up. We got very concerned and of course based on our previous situation of being stranded on islands, we blamed it on the Croatian bus system which seemed to be a little fickle. Julee went inside the bus ticketing center and I went to check other waiting buses. A moment later Julee came out and said "The clock in the bus station says it is 4:55 right now and my watch says 4:55. Did you set the clock back an hour?" "No. I just took it out and used it. You were the one that set it in Turkey." I answered knowing she's going to kill me now. "The Croatian time is one hour back!!! You made me get up at 3:20 to catch the 5:45 bus." I ran away from her.

I am now officially no longer the clock keeper. Hey the good news was the bus came on time. We got on and arrived on time in Dubrovnik.

Day 15 - Krka National Park and Šibenik

We were standing at the bus stop this morning waiting for the bus to Šibenik. The traffic was really bad considering Trogir is a town of merely 1600 people. We figured it was a crossing between larger towns such as Split and Šibenik and that was why there was so much commotion at the two-lane street in front of the old town entrance. Our plan was to take the intercity bus to Šibenik then from there to the Krka National Park. We did not know the schedule as it was not published anywhere at the bus station or provided by the Trogir travel info center. 20 minutes later, no bus showed. Frankly in Croatia, we were never sure whether we were waiting at the right spot, at the right time, or waiting for the right bus. Compare to the supreme Turkish bus system, the Croatian bus system, especially in the off peak season was a little confusing for us.

Suddenly out of nowhere we heard a greeting from a passing car. It was Jasha and Christian, the two German backpackers we met last night over dinner at Capo. At this local seafood restaurant, we had to share a table with others since they only had long table with simple wooden benches and we got into chatting. Jasha and Christian drove from Germany to the Balkans. "Are you heading to Šibenik?" We hopped off to the street and chased the car. They said they were going to the Krka National Park and it was so kind of them to pull over to the side of the street and agreed to give us a ride.

An hour later, we arrived at the Stradin, the town that serves as the west gate of the Krka National Park. From here, we thanked our gracious German drivers and went to explore the town. The National Park offered much better and more organized tourist services. A nice glassy building housed the tourist information center. We learned that we could catch the 12 PM ferry to see the Stradin Buk (the waterfall). The ferry schedule was written on the board clearly in front of both the departure and arrival docks.

The ferry ride took about twenty minutes. We walked five minutes before we heard the sound of water. Then behind the woods we reached a bridge, where the Stradin waterfall stepped down from the top of the hill and dropped to the bottom of the bridge and calmed into a natural swimming pool of green water. The part of the park where our time allowed us to visit was very tranquil and green. Waterfalls were everywhere, small ones merging into large ones, forming a nice terrace of waterfalls.

We took the ferry back to Stradin around 2 and asked the info center to call a taxi for us to go to Šibenik since the only bus to Šibenik was at 5 PM. Michael, a man who worked at the harbor and lived in Šibenik happened to come into the center and overheard the conversation. He offered to drive us back to Šibenik right away for half the taxi price. Stradin is a harbor town so there was not even a taxi stand anywhere. We did not know when the taxi would come. Michael cleaned his car for us and for the second time in the same day, we got a ride out of pure coincidence. The ride to Šibenik was unbelievably scenic. Every little town along the coast was etched in a perfect painting with blue sky as backdrop and terra cotta roofed houses dotting the hillside or island.

We visited the St. James Cathedral in Šibenik which was also a UNESCO world heritage site. Lunch by the Šibenik harbor was perfect. I had Buzara od Škampi (large prawns cooked in tomato wine broth). Julee had shrimp crepe.

Day 14 - Hiking and Hitchhiking from Stari Grad to Hvar

Lying on the bench in front of the Stari Grad harbor, exhausted and dehydrated, I peeked under my scarf that was covering the heat from the sun and saw that Doug was talking to some random couple at the ticketing office. Doug pointed at me while the man turned and stared at me. Meanwhile Julee wandered off to take pictures of the lonely harbor without taxis, buses, coffee shops or restaurants, and there was not even a souvenir stand that sold water. The ticketing office was closed too. We were told today was some public holiday.

It all started at 5:30 AM this morning when Julee and I got ready for our day of island hopping. Our destination of desire was supposed to be Hvar. A town on the Adriatic coast that is known to be the playground for the rich with fantastic scenery, harbor, and a castle. Last night Julee read the Lonely Planet guidebook about Stari Grad, the transitioning town where we should take a bus which will lead us to Hvar. The guidebook said Stari Grad was older than Hvar and had some sites worthwhile to see. Out of delusion, we decided that we would go to Stari Grad first after we arrived by ferry from Split around 11 AM. The town of Stari Grad was not near the port. It was 2 km away from the port. On the ferry, we encountered Doug, a backpacking traveller and a body double from Vancouver. Unfortunately, after hearing that Lonely Planet somehow recommended not to miss Stari Grad, out of the entire ferry load of hundreds of tourists, we were the only people who decided to head to the opposite direction from Hvar to go to Stari Grad instead. We walked two thousand meters against the traffic on the street without pedestrian pavement. Stari Grad was indeed a pretty little town but it was only worth two minutes of stroll on its picturesque promenade by the water.

It was too late when we found out that we missed the bus that connected from Stari Grad harbor to Hvar at 10:40 AM and the next one was at 2:40 PM. Julee and I had to catch the ferry back to Split at 5:30 otherwise we would not make it back to Trogir tonight.


*The never-ending road leading to Hvar...

At that point the only solution would be to hitchhike out of Stari Grad and into Hvar. We left the town and walked by the roads in the farmland full of olive trees, grapes, lavender and wild flowers. The country roads had no pedestrian pavement, we followed the safety rules so we would face the oncoming traffic and meanwhile we waved at all passing cars, trucks and vans going toward Hvar direction, which by the way were scarce.

At one major crossing, we stopped. One side of the road pointed to Hvar, the other pointed towards Selca. To our surprise, 8 out of 10 cars coming out of the fork decided to turn the other way, the other 2 out of 10 cars would not stop for us. We had drivers passing us multiple times, some put up two fingers indicating he was going a short distance only, others drove by opening both arms as if to say " What do you want me to do?"

Two hours and an estimated 7000 meters of hiking later, we were back where we started at the Stari Grad ferry port.

Doug walked to me and said "I think I got us a ride". "Really?" I immediately sat up and yelled at Julee to come back from the water front. This wonderful couple on vacation in Hvar from Austria, became our savior of the day. They loaded our backpacks into the trunk of their car and drove us to Hvar, whose distance of 17 kms seemed so impossible to reach on our foot only minutes ago.

Day 13 - Waiting for the Silver Lining in Split

Split is another jewel along the Adriatic Sea. It has a population of 170,000 people and is the second largest city on the Dalmatian coast. On the bus ride from Trogir to Split this morning, we saw lots of skyscrapers, a sight we had not seen at all on this trip. We of course, avoided all the industrial part of the city and headed straight to the Diocletian Palace, a walled old city of over two hundred buildings that still kept its medieval charm.

It was drizzling on and off throughout the day. We did not get much sunshine we had hoped for about six months since starting to plan the trip. The town would have looked picture perfect against the blue sky. We were a little disappointed. However the weather did not dampen our spirit, we still enjoyed the picturesque old town with all the quaint little houses, cafes and cobbled streets.

I completely fell in love with all the pretty windows of green and blue shutters and flowery plants hanging from the balconies. I would have to post pictures later since pictures are better than a thousand words.

Day 12 - Thunderstorms in Trogir

We were almost tearful leaving Turkey today. We had so much laughter and so many fond memories. We loved all the places we visited and the food. What we loved most and would miss most would be the Turkish people, who are so hospitable and wonderful.

We flew via Vienna and arrived in Split around 2:30 in the afternoon. The bus system cannot compare to that of Turkey. We waited 20 minutes before we were told by a driver from an arriving bus that we were at the wrong bus stop. The one for Trogir is outside the airport on the road. We dragged our luggage to the street. I asked Julee to wait at the corner and I started walking to investigate more. 300 meters later in 85 degrees heat along a road under construction, I still could not find a sign for bus or bus stop. I finally gave up to turn back when I spotted a girl across the street standing under an orange box looking like a bus station. I waved at her and asked her if she were waiting for a bus. She said yes and she was waiting for the one to Trogir which was supposed to be at my side of the street. Because of construction, the bus stop was moved off the road. No wonder I missed it. We walked back to where Julee was, which was actually where the bus would now pick up people. Two minutes later, we hopped on the bus which was very old and just a simple city bus.

When we arrived at the central bus station in Trogir, we transfered by taxi and paid 60 kunas (12 dollars) for two minutes to cross two bridges. Our hotel Sikka is really close to the bus stop and it is right by the sea. When I opened the shutters of the window from our third floor room, there was a picture perfect view coming right from a post card.

We stepped out to explore the town in no time. Trogir has a population of 1600 people and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. As soon as we walked into the labyrinth of pebbled streets, boutique shops, bell towers, churches and courtyards, we were enchanted by its old world charm.

When we decided to sit down for a cup of coffee outdoors under the sun shade of a cute little restaurant, within minutes, the sky got dark and gloomy and it started to rain. The waiters came running outside and picked up all the cushions and table clothes leaving only Julee and I sitting there sipping our cappuccino and lemon tea.

It was as if the sky opened and water just poured down. There was lightening above our umbrella. I took out my scarf and wrapped my head and Julee quickly hid her camera. Lemon tea tasted great in the rain and there were drops of water dripping onto the back of my neck. We sat there looking at the people standing in boredom across the courtyard in the pizza shop. We felt lucky that at least we had a place to sit and a Croatian menu to learn some new words.

Eventually it got so bad the waiter came out from the kitchen and waved at me. We got up and took a dive in the rain and went into their kitchen. Our waiter and two other young men were baking a bread for themselves in the kitchen and cooking something off the stove top.

Later in the evening, in puddles of water we treaded in and out of the lanes and shops of Trogir. We absolutely loved everything. Julee is already contemplating of buying a house here, next to her house in Turkey. She said her leave slips are on their way.
By the way, I had the grilled squid for dinner. It was to die for. I can have this every meal in the next five days. However we do have to consider the mountain of fish, mussels, lobsters and shrimps that are lying around and not to mention the ice cream which is bound to taste like gelato. I warned Julee not to get in my way when I am in the mood for food.

We are from Chilaysia

"We are from Chilaysia." After being asked so many times where we are from or endlessly saying NO to the guesses of "Japan?", "Korea?", "Taiwan?", "Singapore?","Thailand?", and then answering separately that I am from China and Julee is from Malaysia, we decided that we would coin a country and say we are from there. Thus the birth of the proud country of Chilaysia. We now only have to create our national flag and national anthem.

* Courtesy of Bob Tobias at 9:33 PM Croatian time on May 20, 2008. We now have our national flag. :-)

Ok we are out now to my nightly dose of Turkish ice-cream. My favorite flavor of blackberry. Also in the center of Sultanahmet, there is Turkish Tourism Festival going on with a stage of live music, band and pop singers and lots of locals dancing around.

Day 11 - Grand Bazaar

*Entrance into the Kapali Carsi (the Grand Bazaar). It's really not that grand until you walk inside its four thousand shop maze. You could stay here for days if you are a shopper like me.

"How about I give you a good price, only for you!" Julee and I decided to pack all our shopping at the famous Grand Bazaar all in the last day. We started 10 in the morning and got out at 5 in the afternoon. There were so many bright shiny objects (in Julee's words) that constantly distracted me, I could not focus on any one thing before I leaped from one shop to the next, pointing at yet another discovery with all the excitement that I should NOT be displaying in front of the vendors. I am completely an impulse buyer. At the end of the day, I became a bag lady. Hopping with a backpack full of ceramic which I collect from all over the world and a double-bagged gigantic nargile pipe, which I regrettably did not purchase last year in Cairo.

Haggling-wise, it never felt right. I never knew whether we did a good job or not after comparison across different shops. The Grand Bazaar has over four thousand shops under ornately painted domes. It was not intuitively organized at least for us. The signs are in Turkish so we really did not know which way to go. Every shop led to the next which were all full of fancy intriguing objects. We were like kids in the candy store.

* Heaven for ceremic lovers. I love all the tiles in Turkey.

I was dizzy from the selections. Eventually a blue tree of life plate went home with me.

To hide our interest from the shop keepers or to make an attempt to do so, Julee and I decided that we would use a code word - "Grilled octopus (our favorite food)" would be the code for "Hey Julee come here. I found something I really liked!" For Julee especially, who had absolutely no way to hide her interest when it comes to a rug or a gigantic necklace. She would go into a carpet shop, sing praises to the rug of her desire, kneel down and give me a 10 minute lesson on the differences between a kilim vs. a sumac and the varying knitting and knotting techniques. The carpet seller often looked at her in amazement and invited her to be their sales lady. I teased her "Why don't you just pay twice the price for this rug since it's so precious!"

After the shopping, we went back to the Galata Bridge and had dinner watching our favorite scenery in Istanbul, the Bosphorus. Tonight we will pack and tomorrow morning we fly to Croatia.

*Pack mule sitting outside Yani Cami (New Mosque) near the spice bazaar. At this point, I had my precious nargile with me. I made the guy double bag it. In fact, I almost lost it half an hour later since I forgot it at the shop outside the train station when I was buying a ring. When I realized I lost it, I let out a cry on the street that made other Turks around me jump. I ran back to the shop and had to say "No I've eaten already" dozen more times to the restaurant waiters trying to get me inside... but I had my nargile back safe and sound.

Day 10 - Half-way Point Back to Istanbul

*Sunrise before crossing on the ferry.

Nine hours bus ride later, I woke up at a ferry crossing when our Metro bus was waiting in line with other buses and cars to cross the river. We did not figure out the name of the river. In the East, the sun was rising. When the ferry moved across the waters, I saw the beautiful sunrise above the horizon. Another hour later, we were back in Istanbul.

Julee and I are so impressed by the Turkish transportation system especially the buses. Plenty of leg room, extremely clean, punctual, not crowded, friendly drivers and conductors, and easy service for ticket purchases. We did not use the bus companies Lonely Planet recommended. We immediately realized that all companies offer on-par services. Depending on your schedule, any company would work out well. The only improvement would be a website for the company to provide bus schedule, general pricing and length of journey to help travelers overseas to plan ahead. If we were able to get such information ahead of time, we would have had a chance to visit Pamukule and only stay for the day in Seçulk.

We took the tram after we arrived at the Otogar. At this point, Julee's already purchased a rug so we had an extra bag. We dragged and pushed everything and made it back to Kybele. Only this time there was a sense of finding home. We knew exactly where to go after hopping off the tram.

This afternoon's plan is to visit Topkapi Palace, eat the fried fish sandwich by the Galata Bridge, cross the Bosphorus by ferry, then head to the riverside cafe for nargile and Turkish tea. Tonight I might go back to Çemberlitaş.

We also met the Kybele hotel owner who was featured on Lonely Planet's small Istanbul handbook. He collected thousands of lamps that are hanging from the ceiling of the hotel including each hotel room, the lobby, the lounge and the restaurant. I shook his hand and sincerely complemented him about his lovely hotel.

*Outside Kybele hotel

Day 9 - Ephesus

We just came back from Ephesus, a five minute cab ride away from Selçuk. Ephesus is the best preserved Roman city in eastern Mediterranean. It was a sunny day. By 10 AM, it got really warm. Neither of us could keep the long sleeve on. Since it is Saturday today, there are lots of locals also visiting especially groups of children.

The most impressive sight was the Library of Celsus. It was built in 2nd century AD by Celcus Polemaeanus, the Roman governor of Asia Minor. The library was built between other complexes. In order to make it appear larger than reality, the central columns are larger than those at the end. The niches on the façade hold statues of the virtues: Arete (Goodness), Ennoıa (Thought), Epizteme (Knowledge), and Sophia (Wisdom). The library reminded us a little bit of the Treasury in Petra.

For an extra charge, we visited the Terraced House. The house was built on the hill and stood three storeys. There were elaborate mosaic on the floor and frescos on the wall, some of which perfectly preserved. It was the residence of Roman officials. The size of the living units, courtyards and complexity of the multiple bath houses inside all showed the kind of luxurious life the wealthy Romans led thousands of years ago.

After Ephesus, we returned to Rumeli, a local restaurant we found yesterday and had Turkish pizza for lunch. Julee had the brain and tongue soup and I had the mushroom soup. I tried a spoonful of Julee's soup. The brain was white and a little chewy while the tongue was dark red and slippery. The mushroom soup was delicious especially after a few drops of lemon juice. Pide is the Turkish pizza with finely grounded beef and spices topping. It was in the shape of an elongated American football. The pita bread curled up at the edge, making the crust thicker. Julee had lamacun, a thin crust pizza with the same topping.

Day 8 - Selçuk

We took the bus at 6:45 AM at the Otogar (city bus station) from Fethiye. Five hours later we arrived at Aidin. There was no direct bus we could find with the schedule we were looking for therefore we had to transfer via a domuş (minibus) to Fethiye. The bus driver quickly asked a local boy to direct us to the domuş. An hour later, we arrived in Selçuk. This is another one of those towns where everybody knows everybody else. A man asked where we were staying. After telling him ''Homeros''. He said '' Oh, Derviş's pension. I am Derviş's friend. I will call him to pick you up.'' Five minutes later, a man in green plaid shirt came to the bus station. He opened his arms while he was still steps away and shouted '' Hallo, I love you!'' As he came to me and introduced himself, he picked up my hand and planted a kiss. '' I am Lei and this is my friend Julee!'' Derviş grabbed both our bags and led us across the street to his house, which was only three minutes away from the bus station. The poor man walked 60 staircases up the hill with my suitcase in his left hand and Julee's backpack on his right shoulder. By the time he got to his house, his face was red and he was sweating.

Homeros is a private house. We were greeted at the terrace by Derviş's mom who is the cutest old lady. We were served hot Turkish tea and a cookie. The room was on the first floor and we had two separate huge bathrooms for both of us. We have been treated consistently with hospitality and genuine friendliness throughout our travel. The Derviş family were no exception. We love the Turkish people.

This afternoon we would just wonder around in Selçuk and see the St. John Basilica, the Ayasoluk Castle and the Isa bey Mosque. Tomorrow we will go to Ephesus.

Day 7 - Flying Like an Eagle

Standing at the top of the highest peak in Ölüdeniz (1700 meters), I felt butterflies in my stomach. It took us 20 minutes of ride in a truck on the bumpy unpaved road uphill winding till Julee and I were dropped off at the clearing. Hali, my pilot did not waste any time to whip out the jump suit, helped me go in and zipped me tight before he put me into the harness with a stirdy chair in my back. My suit was purple. Julee got in her silver suit. With the helmets on, we looked like we were going to embark on a space travel tour. It was a perfect day. The sky was strikingly blue and the wind was perfect for flying.
''Run when I tell you, run fast and do NOT stop.'' Halı said. I repeated the instructions to myself and thought this was no point of return so of course there would be no stop. Hali opened the parachute and laid it out behind us then he hooked himself to my harness. When we were ın position, a third person walked in front of me, dragged the string and started running backward towards the cliff. As I ran sandwiched between the two men, I was sure I stepped on both of them. In the next second, the man facing me disappeared, I saw the slope below me and I was air lifted. This was one of the most exhilarating moment in my life as the wind took me and fiercely swung me towards the sea. The air was cold at first. My hands were freezing. My arms could feel the wind puncturing the jump suit. I adjusted myself so I could lean back into the chair. The ride was smooth. Hali explained to me the names of the cities below, the twelve islands near Fethiye and patiently answered my gazillion questions. The Aegean Sea was perfectly blue. Closer to the beach at Ölüdeniz, the water turned a little green and sparkled like diamonds. The terra cotta roofs of Ölüdeniz looked like tiny jewelry.
In mid air, it warmed up. I felt the sun on me. Hali asked me if I wanted to try the Spiral. From the name, I could tell it would be a very dizzy experience and could not have been positive for a motion-sick person like myself. ''Why not?'' I heard this stranger coming out of my body and answered very firmly. And that was when it started. I soon had the first hand experience of what people would say ''my life has turned up-side-down''. Everything in my vision was spinning around and I was in the center of the spiral. I lost my equilibrium instantly. The sea, the mountain, and the terra cotta houses went all over places. It was the strangest sensation.

When we got closer to the beach, Hali asked me if I wanted to navigate. I was so happy about his offer, I immediately grabbed the handle on each side and started pulling. Left straight down pull took us to the left facing the sea. Right side directed us to the beach and houses. I was having so much fun, he had to gently interfere and take over before we crash-landed over the roof. The landing was not rough either. As we were over the beach about 4 feet high, he said ''Stand''. I extended my legs and pulled myself up as straight as I could from the chair, I did not even squat down or stumble when I landed in the sand. My heart was liberated with excitement, it was pounding so hard. My ears were ringing from the spiral movement. As I got out of my jump suit and looked up, I saw Julee's red and white parachute right above. She was about to land too!