Say I love you in your language "Seni Seviyorum" in Turkish

Say I love you in your language in Turkish "Seni Seviyorum"

약 10여년 전에 그것도 고민고민 끝에 산 저렴한 넷북으로는 도저히 동영상 편집을 할 수 없어, 친구의 노트북을 빌려서 8분짜리 동영상을 만드느라 밤을 꼬박 샜다. 잘 만들지도 못했는데 시간은 어찌 그리 잘 가는지...
이 영상을 멀리 그리운 터키의 친구들에게 보낸다. 세니 세비요룸.

I couldn't do anything with my 10-year-old netbook for making a video.
I just borrowed a good laptop from my friend, I stayed up all night for editing. It's not perfect, but time flies. I hope you will enjoy my gift for you.
I miss you guys very much and Seni Seviyorum!

Q10. Where did you sleep when you didn't have a place to stay ?

I do couchsurfing and warmshowers quite often.

But in small villages, people don't know what is couchsurfing.

When I don't have a place to stay,

I sleep everywhere.

1. In the forest

Sometimes sleeping outside is better than inside.

I met Brano in Bratislava by chance when I didn't have a place to stay,

He was a really nice guy,

He showed me very good place to camp in the forest.

He said that one day he watched TV show about a guy who visited Slovakia.

Nobody tried to help this guy,

Brano didn't like that,

when he saw me, he decided  to help me.

Now, I can pitch my tent with my eyes closed.

But in the beginning I didn't know how to do that.

My friends in Bratislava taught me how to pitch my tent.

The forest had the natural swimming pool.

There were many friends of Brano,

So I felt very safe, we spent very good time together.

2. Ask local people 

I don't want to sleep just on the street.

Because while I'm sleeping on the street, 

a bad guy can come to me and attack me.

Normally I ask local people if they can let me pitch my tent 

in their garden or next to the house.

It was rainy season all day all night.

So I stuck in my tent for four days.

3. In the fields

It's better if you can find a roof.

Because when you wake up in the morning, it's too hot.

4. In the desert

Under the tree is perfect.

I was bit worried about wild animals.

Fortunately nothing happened.

You need to be careful of ants.

And don't forget to have much water to drink and clean always. 

It was not in the desert,

but you can find this kind of big tent in the desert as well.

If Bedouins let you work, you can help them and stay with them.

5. In the park

In the dark, you are happy to meet people,

or you are unhappy to meet people.

It's better to have some important stuffs with you in your tent.

6. A deserted house

It looks peaceful in thee morning,

but in the night, it seems bit scary.

Be careful of ghosts.

You can also find squats.

No electricity, no water, sometimes even no toilet.

But you can go to the library later.

And of course, it's always better to be with someone than being alone.

7. Monastery

It was not my plan to sleep in the monastery.

But it was too late to go home.

I've slept in the monastery in Montenegro.

You can also try churches and mosques, I had seldom tried though.

Because basically, I don't want to disturb anyone.

Practically, I'm disturbing couchsurfers though.

8. A parking garage or storage

You need to be careful of the smell of gas.

Think about ventilation twice.

Some people want to help me,

but we need time to trust each other.

I can understand them,

they don't let me inside home,

but they allow to use their storage.

9. On the chair

Of course, it's not very comfortable,

because you can't move very much.

But if you are tired,

it doesn't really matter, you can sleep anywhere.

10. On the roof

It's very hot in summer

I prefer to sleep on the roof,

it's cooler than inside,

you can see many beautiful stars in the sky in the night. 

Of course you need to prepare something for mosquitos.

11. A caravan

My friend hosted me here in the caravan.

It's nice, but it's very hot inside in Summer.

12. On the beach

It's better to find a place where is not very crowded.

When I slept here, people used to sing and walk around me all night long.

I couldn't sleep properly.

It didn't happen here,

but one day, annoying kids came to me and threw mud into my tent.

When I went out, they were hiding somewhere.

I was not in mood to play hide-and-seek.

I tried to sleep again, but they threw mud over and over all night long.

I couldn't sleep at all, and I didn't want to fight either.

I just tired to find another place to sleep.

Sometimes, when you traveling, you always meet the same people everywhere.

when I was traveling in Croatia, I met these girls many times.

We all didn't have a place to stay.

So I decided to be their bodyguard for one night. 

Because I'm a MAN!

13. Vineyard

You can have some grapes for your breakfast or for the road.

Sorry for farmers.

14. Near the police station

15. Gas station

I used to sleep next to gas station many times.

It's safe, you can get water for cleaning.

Sometimes, you can also meet friendly guys.

I really recommend you to go to gas station when you don't have place to stay.

16. Construction sites

You need to be careful.

You may meet some bad guys or not.

17. A small shop near borders

It was rainy season in Balkans,

I spent hard time to cross the borders.

I stuck in the mountain, 

it was too dark to ride a bike,

My clothes got all wet in the rain.

I had to sleep in a small shop,

people went back home after they finished their work,

it was freezing, and I was scared a little bit,

I couldn't fall asleep at all.

On the way to Turkey from Bulgaria,

it was too much snowy.

I couldn't imagine to ride my bike,

and it was even difficult to push my bike, because it was very slippery.

It was too dark, and too much snow all day all night.

I had to sleep next to the bus station, I didn't want though.

I thought I might die, I tried to make a fire,

but it didn't work, because everything was wet.

There were no cars, no people, no villages.

I barely found a car, and it was big enough to put my bike and everything.

But he said NO! and left me in the mountain in the snow.

Unfortunately no photos with me.

If you see some photos in extreme situation with people,

I don't think the situation is really extreme.

Because if it's really extreme,

You can't even image to take your camera, take picture of yourself.

You think only about this,

Live or Die !

You can also try a bus station, fire station, school or wherever you like.

I wish you and myself, be alive anywhere always!

Anyway the conclusion is that 

There is no place like home!

Boat Hitchhiking, Sailing in the Mediterranean sea from Israel to Turkey [around the world by bike]

After I traveled in Israel, Palestine territory, and Jordan,

I had to decide where to go next.

I had two options.

Syria or Egypt.

The problem was that both of them were not very safe.

I was confused where to go, because many people were dying in Syria and Egypt.

It was not very good time to travel by bike there.

Some people said, 

"Go to Syria, Syria is fine. The war is only on TV. Do not trust them."

And the others said, 

"No, no. Are you crazy? Go to Egypt. 

The situation in Egypt is better than Syria.

If you go to Syria, I think you are going to die."

I was close to Syria geographically.

I saw only negative news on TV.

And it was forbidden for Korean people to go to Syria,

because it was dangerous. I guess still it is. 

If Korean government will know that I've been to Syria,

I will have to pay a lot of money or I will have to go to jail.

But I also saw the news that Korean people were kidnapped in Sinai peninsula Egypt.

Where should I go then ? 

I tried to find a boat to any countries in the Mediterranean sea.

Greece or Italy was perfect, Turkey was fine. Libya? NO.

Basically boat hitchhiking is not easy always.

I'm not insulting girls,

but if I was a girl, I may get more chances.

But I know it's also risky for them.

Sorry, this is one of my prejudices, 

but I thought If I'm not a girl, he will not take me.

If you know how to sail or how to repair boats,

or how to cook, it will help you to hitchhike a boat.

But unfortunately, I didn't know how to sail, how to repair, how to cook.

I know only how to eat!

And normally you need to pay at least for your food when you are sailing.

But you know I'm broke.

I couldn't pay for anything.

I was not a girl of course.

I didn't know anything about sailing.

I couldn't pay.

I had a bicycle with 50kg stuff.

I was the worst person, very problematic. 

Who wants take me ?

It doesn't make sense at all.

Sailors didn't need me.

I felt I was very miserable.

What I can do is just TRY always.

I don't want to think about possibilities before I try. 

I came here Jordan from South Korea without money,

Does it make sense ?

I thought if I didn't find anyone who could help me,

I could go to Syria, I didn't want though.

I found a website called findacrew.net.

I found only one person who had a boat in Israel, 

He was heading to Turkey, I've sent an email to him.

But I didn't expect very much to have a reply from him.

 You know, I didn't send 1,000 emails, I just sent only one.

If he wouldn't answer, Syria was waiting for me.

But he did!

When I read his reply, 

I was so startled that my heart almost stopped beating.

He was the captain David, from the United States, 

77 years old man(couldn't believe his age, because he was so energetic and healthy).

He was not sure if he could take me or not.

He was waiting for an answer from somebody else.

I was not a priority for him.

Because he might want to take somebody who was better than me.

Somebody who can pay money, more experienced, more helpful and so on.

Apparently, many people applied for him in the beginning. 

But all of they canceled in the end.

Oh, Thanks God!

David found only me.

He couldn't sail alone, he needed someone's helps.

He decided to take me to Turkey for free! Yeah!

Now, I can survive!!

David told me he liked my email.

Because I said I know nothing about sailing, 

but I'm willing to learn.

David said, many people like to present themselves. 

"I know sailing, I know this, I know that..."

But many times, they knew nothing in practice.

And it was a problem for David.

He said it's better to be empty.

If you know something incorrectly, it will bother everyone including the captain.

He said he could teach everything to me.

So, dear my readers,

Sorry for my long introduction,

Are you ready to sail ?

I used to cook here.

You can say this is a "kitchen",

but as I heard, it's better to say "Galley".

David taught me about some sailing words kindly.

The name of boat was Sea Symphony.

This is my left hand.

We call the left side of boat PORT.

Right side is STARBOARD.

David wrote this on my left hand fingers for me not to forget.

I learned how to tie knots

Our plan

Wake up early in the morning, prepare to sail

Fuel and water are the most important things when you are sailing

I spent most of the time here in front of steering

Dinghy

I don't know why, but It sounds lovely in Korean

It used to make me busy

I'm not very good at cooking, 

but I tried to cook Korean food for David.

This is Bibimbop, the most famous Korean food.

Not all, but many Korean food is spicy.

David said he liked spicy food.

He seemed he was enjoying(?) my Bibimbop.

But he had to drink much water after our dinner.

The lights over the port hole

I left my bike near the generator next to my cabin.

Whatever you eat on the boat,

it tastes awesome.

David told me that even if you don't do anything on the boat,

your muscles are working a lot.

That's why everything tastes so good.

We docked in Cyprus on the way to Turkey

in order to get more fuel and water.

At the end of each days, we used to enjoy wines.

It couldn't be better.

The Captain David

Sometimes, we were sailing all night long.

It was very hard physically,

but it was fantastic.

Such a quite peaceful time.

The moon,

Calm,

Many stars in the sky.

No worries.

I can't describe very well,

I was falling into a trance.

I felt time stood still.

I couldn't hold my camera properly,

I got funny shapes of the moon.

We worked few hours shift,

navigated by the stars,

the stars were more correct than the compass.

Sometimes it was freezing, and adventurous enough.

Actually, in the beginning, 

I spent very hard time, because of the seasick.

I vomited a lot, and I almost died on the deck.

I couldn't move at all in the boat.

It was getting worse when I tried to go to my cabin and the galley.

After I took the pills, I felt better

But still I was not in good mood.

David didn't let me go under the deck.

He prepared food for me every time.

But I felt guilty, I really wanted to do something for him.

In Asian culture, if you are older than me,

I'm supposed to work more.

I found It very ridiculous when he served food for me.

It tasted very good though. 

In fact, food which cooked by somebody else is always tasty. :P

The island looked like a turtle.

For fun

We were only two people,

We used to talk a lot about everything.

He also used to correct my English.

I don't like my English, 

but he encouraged me very much,

he said my English was excellent. 

He decided to take me to Turkey without pay.

He taught me how to sail.

He taught me how to speak correct English.

He cooked delicious food for me.

He told me about many interesting stories 

when he was working as a lawyer before he retired.

I can't thank him enough.

I felt very sad, because Turkey was around the corner.

It meant time to say goodbye was coming.

Finally we arrived in Marmaris, Turkey.

It took us one week from Israel.

He said Marmaris is like his home.

He had many friends in Marmaris, he was going to meet his friends.

I celebrated my own victory!

With a glass of wine and Basamic sauce. 

I decided to help him little bit more for his next sailing.

Sailing with David was really great time,

I can say it was one of the best memories in my trip.

I was definitely lucky to meet him, I truly appreciate him.

And I miss him very much.

Dear David,

I think we were wonderful shipmates!

Now the situation is the same.

I tried to find a boat from Algeciras, Spain to South America  for one month.

Unfortunately, I found nothing.

But I think I was lucky again,

Because at least, I've tried and I learned that nothing is easy. 

And I came to Dakar, Senegal.

Now, I'm trying to find a boat again,

but as always I have to hear only negative news.

To be honest, it makes me very depressed.

I don't want to worry,

because my worries can't solve the problems.

But it's true I'm just a small person,

I really don't know what to do.

Should I finish my adventure here and go home ?

Is this my dead end ?

I always want to be positive.

I want to say to people and myself,

If you never give up, nothing is impossible,

You will see a ray of light at the end of a dark tunnel 

as I found it before in Jordan . 

I don't know if I will be lucky again,

Nothing is sure, 

it makes me excited and nervous too.

I will see what will happen to me.

This is the adventure!