Just spent a week down in Side with the wife, little Oz Kanka and my mother who is out here on holiday. We rented a two-bedroom apartement which I found on some website. Sent a cheque over to some English bloke who owned it and, as practically no one was there we had the communal pool to ourselves. Especially with a little kiddie a much better way of staying down at the coast (and much cheaper than the good hotels).

Two gripes though, most of the beach at Side (to the west of the city and also further along to the east) is taken up by the big hotels which have all inclusive policies and therefore you can't even buy a beer or rent a sunbed if you wanted to. This privatization of the beaches may not be complete but it is a pain in the arse.

The only other hassle was the disco-strength volume of the music on a day boat trip we took out of Antalya. I guess I should have expected it. What I did love though were the clean beaches, the price of beer, and the fact that I heard that it was raining in Istanbul and Ankara