Excessively Comfortable in Kemer
Kemer, Turkey

Fethiye to Kemer

After seven nights in Fethiye I made the jump over to the famous summer party escape of Kemer, located about an hour or so south of Antalya.

I was taking a bit of a gamble on my new host, Hasan. His e-mail communication was good, but was brand new to CouchSurfing. He had no friend associations or references in his profile.

The wooden stove heating the restaurant my bus stopped en route to Antalya

I didn't worry too much about showing up after dark in the stormy weather alone, but perhaps such a scenario wouldn't have been the best to place the family in, should they have been traveling with me.

But tonight, on my 171st continuous night of CouchSurfing, I seem to have uncovered one of the best hosts in the region. For the 28-year-old Hasan has turned out to be the owner (or manager) of an established restaurant and pension in town, and has been put up in a full-blown hotel room!

I've been blessed with wildly generous (and pretty damn cool) host that seems intent on making sure I eat and drink meals free of charge out of the restaurant, and sleep in a comfortable private room for as long as I'd like.

Kemer is totally and completely dead during the winter season (typically busting with Brits and Russians during the summer), so Hasan and his friends and staffers pretty much just hang out together in the restaurant and idle the days away.

It feels so strange to be in a hotel room alone. I haven't known such a thing for the entirety of my time in Eastern Europe and Turkey—hell, not since SE Asia in 2007 have I stayed in one.