Not planning too early, Mr. Vu Bao Khanh (36 years old, Hanoi) started his trip to Turkey in a very spontaneous way. From the feeling of wanting to go somewhere, he urged himself to pack his backpack and set off.
Strong impression
After a few days of free exploration in Istanbul, Mr. Khanh returned to the airport to pick up his car and begin his 10-day solo road trip, heading towards the east of Turkey. As a person who loves driving, he always seeks opportunities to conquer roads around the world. Before that, he had driven motorbikes in Ladakh (India), Taiwan (China), as well as driven cars in Thailand, Canada, Australia, Georgia before making this trip.
My road trip started quite true to self-sufficient tourism. Because of a card payment error, I was stuck at the airport for nearly 4 hours and when I drove the car out, the sky had turned to sunset. Therefore, on the first night of the journey, I slept on the car," Mr. Khanh said.
The Vietnamese male tourist excitedly started his journey the next morning with a plan to drive along the Black Sea coast to Trabzon and visit the Sumela Monastery - a work that left a strong impression on him. This monastery has existed for more than 1600 years, believed to have been built in the 4th century under Justinian I.
According to legend, two Greek monks dreamed of the Virgin Mary guiding them and found this vertical cliff to establish a place for cultivation. Through many historical upheavals, from the Byzantine period to the Ottoman Empire's takeover, Sumela monastery still existed and was patronized despite religious differences.
Inside, the Bible murals have faded with time, but it is that oldness that makes the space here more realistic. For Mr. Khanh, the most special thing about the monastery is not only the architecture or history, but also the fact that people choose a place that is almost impossible to live in to live, impossible to build to build and still preserved for decades.
The ancient city of Mardin, over 5,000 years old, is also a place that brings unforgettable emotions to male tourists. Mardin is located on a hillside overlooking the Mesopotamian plains and near the Syrian border, highlighted by its yellow limestone architecture and narrow alleys. It is likened to an outdoor museum with a "rope" of cultural intersection between the Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians.
The end point of the journey - the land that preserves the memories of Turkey - Safranbolu again has the almost intact beauty of Ottoman architecture with rubble-paved roads that make the male tourist feel like stepping into a medieval movie.
Mr. Khanh shared: "When walking up the slope in Safranbolu, I was walking and breathing. Suddenly, an old woman saw me and waved to invite me into the house. Although she and 2 others, probably relatives, were sawing firewood, she stopped to get water and invited me to eat an orange. A completely stranger, different race, different language, but kindness is the bond connecting all barriers.
Solo journey experience
Driving alone at the end of winter in Turkey, the male tourist has the opportunity to experience the clear diversity of the weather here: from sunny days and rainy days in Istanbul to snow-covered scenes when going deep to the East and when climbing high mountains.
Mr. Khanh said: "There are sections around completely covered by snow, creating surreal scenes. The limitation of winter drivers is that branch roads and small roads are mostly closed or very difficult to access. However, Turkey takes good care of and clears snow very well on highways or national highways, so it does not affect much.
From personal experience, Mr. Khanh commented that if you are used to driving in Vietnam, tourists can completely confidently travel abroad. Most importantly, tourists need to understand local traffic culture and remember driving principles like locals so as not to be lost when blending into the flow of travel.
Besides, it is necessary to absolutely comply with stop signs because this is a common type of sign in Western countries. There is a small tip when renting a car: you should equip yourself with a phone stand and charging method to use the map because Google Maps is a necessary application to orient when driving in a new country," he expressed.
The male tourist also added about the force majeure rule when renting a car abroad: "I always go around to take pictures of the entire car body and dashboard before leaving the parking lot. This takes less than 2 minutes but can avoid quite a few troubles when returning the car.
The trip had a total cost of more than 50 million VND, of which about 10 million VND was incurred due to a credit card incident when buying insurance. For Mr. Khanh, road trip is not simply a trip but a journey to explore the world in the most free way - where each route, each meeting and even unexpected incidents become a memorable part of the experience.
