Whimsical Cappadocia #Travelmadedifferent

Its been 2 weeks ever since I came back from Turkey but I vividly remember how enjoyable it was. My second city after Istanbul, was Cappadocia which is known to be one of the best places to take a hot air balloon ride. One activity accomplished from my bucket list!

Cheap flights are generally available from Istanbul Ataturk Airport to Nevsehir (Cappadocia).
I took a morning flight out with Turkish Airlines and flight time was about 1.5 hours.

Do make sure that you've pre-arrange airport transfer from Nevsehir airport to your hotel because taxis are very costly to town. The trip takes about 40 minutes. 

After browsing countless sites, I booked a room at one of the traditional cave hotels, Kelebek Hotel.

BEST DECISION EVER!

They had the warmest welcome ever, one of the reception guys were assisting us with the luggage because there were steps to our rooms. I mean you don't expect a cave hotel to incorporate a lift so that helped alot.

The hotel was located at Goreme (one of the areas in Cappadocia) and it provided a spectacular view of the valleys and town itself. 

Poolside

Since this trip was only planned about 2 weeks before departure date, most of the rooms here were fully booked. There was only a basic double room left which did not turn out so bad! Only problem was maybe there was insufficient lighting in the room.

Every morning, I wake up looking forward to have breakfast at the terrace. 

Honestly, it was one of the best places I ever had breakfast at apart from Sirmione's hotel with Manisa. 

Let the pictures speak for itself!

Whenever my mum and I had time to spare, we will often be hanging out at the terrace.
This was my favorite spot.

The turkish ladies who kept the pixies of the hotel, keeping it all clean.

They were amazed by the Gopro because obviously the city will not be able to keep up with the advancement of technology .

Every corner of the hotel was so photo worthy.

                      

Taking a little hike down to the town so that we could get lunch!

My mum had a very good workout (which she has not done in a long time) hiking up back to the hotel. Initially, I was quite bummed out that it started to drizzle because the plan was to do horse-back riding but thankfully, the clouds started to clear gradually and the sun was out!

 Horse-back Riding

Throughout my 21 years of my life, I have never tried riding a horse, this was my virgin experience.

Booked a 2 hour sunset tour with Dalton Brothers for 100liras ($50sgd) .

Along the way to the horse ranch, we had a good chat with the son of the ranch owner. 

He was assuring us that it will be safe and the horses are extremely disciplined.

Everyone was assigned to horses suited to their body specifics.

I had Julia and she was beautiful ;')

As soon as we were all assigned, the tour guide (Forgot his name lol) assisted us to get up on the horse. My mum has a fear for horse riding and they were very accommodating with it. Basically, her horse was roped with the tour guide's horse.

                  
                  

Her facial expression tells it all.

 

The guide brought us through the beautiful trails of all the valleys. There were certain routes that the horse needed to gallop in order to pick up speed. That was when I started to freak out because it was completely new to me?! 

Goreme Sunset Point

There was a short break at the Sunset point for the horses to hydrate themselves.

Panoramic views of the valleys.

 The experience was truly unforgettable. Anyone visiting Cappadocia should not miss this!

Reservations for dinner at one of the top cave hotels were full so we had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. Turned out to be pretty good!

 Hot Air Balloon Ride

Waking up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the hot air balloon ride!

The hotel did the bookings for us, everything went smoothly with no mishaps.

It was 165 euros per person including breakfast, champagne, flight certificate and hotel transfers.

Our balloon starting to ascend to 5000ft.

Balloons doting the skyline.

There are many tour companies operating the hot air balloon rides. Our company, Butterfly Balloon is ranked 2nd on tripadvisor so do make sure you do your research before making your choice!

Mum has a fear of heights so to be able to overcome her fear and take the hot air balloon ride with me is an accomplishment!

The balloon ride was 60 minutes in total. Throughout the flight, our pilot, Tamer pointed out a few significant sights that we should not miss out.

Carrying me out of the basket might be his biggest regret lol

Next up, was to pop the champagne!

 

After a smooth landing, the whole group was helping out to deflate the balloon. The staffs had to be really strong because the bag weighs about 250 kg.

All packed!

Thank you Butterfly balloons for making this a memorable experience.

                  

 To wrap up the post, I personally felt that the cities out of Istanbul were much more impressive. I love how tranquil the town was, yet has so much to offer.

Big thanks to Travelmadedifferent! Do check out their Instagram page @travelmadedifferent to stand a chance to win $4000 worth of vouchers!

Love,
Amelia