It could have been a breathtaking scene ...

With the COVID-19 pandemic, my travel life has been paused for quite a while. I had some free time to go through my travel photos and diary, which reminds me of a time I might have been in great danger on the road of Turkey.

Against strong winds, the rusty motorbike kept climbing uphill, curving the pavement that lady Moon had put down her silky carpet just for us. Suddenly the wind was gone and the light was left behind. Danger filled the air as darkness filled my eyes staring at the biker, a foreign man I met just an hour ago. Round and round goes the tires into the wild as scary thoughts entered my mind. How did I end up here?

Just an hour ago, I was sitting at the empty bus station exhausted after 8 hours squeezed on a crowded cooler-free coach. Any minute now a friendly host would pick me up and take me to a booked hostel room, offering me a beef kebab and chai tea. Dragging me out of my daydream was a rough man with tanned skin and a nasty beard. There was no social conversation. He just appeared facing me and jumped right into his intention: “Do you want to go up that mountain and see the lake at night? It’s beautiful!”. Within milliseconds, my adventurous heart was battling with my sore body whether I should go with him or not. As always, my wanderlust won. I could make any sense out of my mind, an instant YES slipped out of my mouth. Leaving 20 pounds of luggage at the counter, here I went with a heavy backpack and sneakers on. Little did I know what was in that quick blink between two total strangers who made the gas tank full for the trip. Without giving it a second thought, I got on the road with him, imagining the fantasy scenery of silvery moonlight over the twinkling water. Yes, it’s beautiful!

And then there were us on the rocky bumpy road going nowhere. We were only halfway there when I got really tired both physically and mentally. I did not think about all the worst scenarios that could happen to a lonely girl at night like this. I asked him to ride me back with a “truthful” reason: my tired body. The air thickened as he tried to change the destination to a restaurant, which I doubted if there was one in the middle of the mountain road like this. I commanded to go back. As if I was dumb enough to believe there would be any fancy dining place on this dark pass. He was pissed off and speeded up on the way back. Every single turn would give me the feeling that we would crash the side fence and die. 

My host got me off the bike with anger: “ Are you crazy? Do you know it’s dangerous?”. Then, he turned to the biker with strong words in Turkish that I did not fully understand. I moved on without turning back to ask if the strange biker would go for dinner. 

And yet, my only thought was just regretting that I did not see that beautiful lake. It must be breathtaking!

I love to travel, so I will again be on the road, and I will again taking risks for a breathtaking scene.