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Retirement trip
  • Juliet Sanders
  • Juliet Sanders

Retirement trip

Travelling to Antalya, Istanbul, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Meer informatie
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  • Het begin van de reis
    20 december 2025
  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Antalya Old Town

    28 dec. 2025–7 jan. 2026, Turkije ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The first leg of our journey was serious down time in Antalya. Not our usual choice in Turkey, but a direct flight from Newcastle was the clincher.

    We booked an apartment rather than a hotel so we could self cater and not be bound by a particular schedule. This turned out to be a good move in terms of a long trip. I don’t really want to eat out every day so being able to do some basic things was both cheap and freeing.

    We found a small apartment with lounge/kitchen, bedroom and shower room down a side street but within easy walking distance of key places and hunkered down for a few days of rest.    Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Sabina Hotel

    30 dec. 2025–4 jan. 2026, Turkije ⋅ 🌬 8 °C

    We arrived last night in teeming rain which turned into a waterfall down the street. However we have been lucky again finding a little gem of a hotel just down from the Grand Bazar. A good sized room, excellent shower and breakfast included for £28 a night! What’s not to like?

    Researching holidays can be almost as pleasurable as going on them and I love looking at options based on location, price and reviews. This was a little of a wild card but won on price and so far the staff could not have been better.    Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Little Hagia Sofia

    1 januari, Turkije ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    Today it snowed heavily. We got caught in a blizzard finding a new less hilly path to the centre. In doing so we found Little Hagia Sofia. Neil reckons it’s been 40 years since he was inside but it was a first time for me. Really lovely mosque and a much easier walk for the rest of our stay.Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Off to Thailand

    4 januari, Turkije ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    After a leisurely morning we have made our way to Istanbul for the next segment of the journey. The downside of airports is that you wait so long there and are a captive audience for food and drink. Just paid about £30 for 2 very small bottles of water, 2 coffees and 2 croissants. Feeling aggrieved!Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Street food

    5–12 jan., Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Having had a nap and settled in after the flight we had a short walk near the hotel to get something to eat. My go to dish is pad thai and Neil pointed at something on the menu so for the princely sum of £3 we got these plates of freshly cooked food. Neil’s was hotter than he liked but it’s going to be trial and error. We are in tonight and that was very successful, plus we got a ringside view of the fish tank.Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Night market

    8 januari, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Funny how different places look 20 years on! Totally didn’t have my bearings and ended up in some slums by the railway tracks. Very dodgy! However we did then get back to civilisation, grabbed some street food and managed to pick up some headbands, which are my new fashion accessory.Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Penthai theatre

    10 januari, Thailand ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    We had a lovely evening at a Thai cultural show. 4 courses of food from different regions accompanied by traditional dancing, puppetry and story telling. In a small intimate space with seating for only 30 people it felt a very special evening and great preparation for our move on to Chiang Mai tomorrow.Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Exploring Chiang Mai

    12 januari, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second city. We are working the old part, with a moat on all sides and about a mile square. We started to explore the surrounding streets where we are staying with unexpected temples around every corner. In the evening we planned to go to the large night market. According to Google maps this looked within walking distance however I managed to exit us by the wrong gate so we ended up doing two sides of a square, only to find we were at a food court, not the market we expected. Fortunately taxis are cheap and we were able to end up in the right place but it was a very long walk for Neil and has made me think it’s not as walkable as I’d hoped and will be more mindful in future. Still we both ended up with some cool trousers to bring home!Meer informatie

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  • Juliet SandersRetirement tripJuliet Sanders

    Blank canvas

    13 januari, Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    So we definitely overdid it yesterday! Neil was in pain with his leg. We had intended to go to the zoo today but instead are having a quiet one at the hut. During lockdown I bought a big cross stitch that I’d planned to do but only managed a few stitches before the charity took over my life, however I decided to bring it with me. Soon sitting with pretty much a blank canvas, which seems to be a bit of a metaphor of my life at the moment and wondering what design will emerge,Meer informatie

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