The Seven-Minute Comeback

It was a game of two halves. Arsenal played with their hearts in the first half but were unlucky to concede two goals. The half-time team talk helped and we dug ourselves out of the deep pit we found ourselves in, kept our composure and went on to win the match. And for the first time in a long while, we were actually awarded penalties. Not one but two penalties. The two goalscorers for Villa turned villain by conceding penalties to Arsenal. Hahaha!

In a month that is closely resembling November in dire results thus far, our only wins have been in the FA Cup rounds. Hopefully, we will build on this win. There’s still a lot of football to be played until May.

Rambo

Rambo felled

RvP converted

Bizzare goal from Theo who’s been putting in bizzare performance of late

Kos fouled

RvP converted

RvP & Titi ;')

Bac’s back!

Field Trip

This trip was arranged back in March to avail of some offers (although when we finally made up our minds to go, the fare had gone up). No tour arrangement was made and I only made hotel bookings a few days before our departure. To make things more challenging, there aren’t that many write-ups on transfers within the area but we still decided to stick to not making any tour arrangements.

Sunday, 22 January 2012
A very early start today as our flight was at 0750 and departing from the cattle terminal (aka LCCT). Met up with Aud at 0510 at the bus stand at KL Sentral (now relocated to near the KLIA Express train departure area). We took the SkyBus, not knowing it’d detour to pick up passengers at One Utama. This resulted in us reaching the cattle terminal only at 0630. We went in to the departure area after I had performed prayers.

We took off at around 8 am and before long, were flying above the mountains of Sumatra. We landed at Padang Minangkabau Airport just before 8 am local time. The airport is by the sea.

There was a long slow queue to clear immigration. I noticed different treatment applied on different passengers. Some passengers had to scan their finger prints (all fingers, both hands), some had to look into a camera, and some had to do both.

Finally we were out. How do you know you’re in Indonesia? When you smell kretek and when people start approaching you, wanting to take you places. We initially thought of taking a bus to town and from there, change for another bus to Bukittinggi. However, a chap approached us and offered us seats in a vehicle for Rp45K (although when we were seated, he asked Rp50K from us. We protested of course. Funny how prices can inflate by Rp5K within a few minutes but that’s Indonesia for you). The journey would have taken us about 2 hours but because of a couple of inconsiderate passengers, it took us 4 hours instead. We had to detour miles to drop them off (at least 30 minutes each way). We were not in a hurry but it is really annoying that we had to go out of our way to satisfy some incosiderate selfish oaf.

We were dropped at our hotel and fortunately for us, we could check in immediately. We spent some time in the room before venturing out to the town centre. We took an angkot to the lower market and then walked up to the upper market. The lower market sells mainly food stuff - fruits (I think the vegetables are in the covered area) - and as you ascend up, clothes and various stuff.

We walked around the Jam Gadang (Clock Tower). It being a Sunday, there were a lot of people at the Clock Square. There is a tourist information centre conveniently located off the square so we paid it a short visit. The guy was very helpful and informative - I think he’s someone who loves his job and city - and after giving us some suggestions, we left.

We walked to Lobang Jepang (Japanese Tunnel/Caves) and paid for admission - into the grounds. Turns out there’s a separate charge to enter the tunnel. Apparently the tunnel is 1.4 km long. We left soon after and decided to walk to Benteng Fort de Kock. On the way, we sighted a small restaurant with durians outside so we decided to stop for a short break. I had durian and tea.

Feeling refreshed (after all, we didn’t have any lunch), we walked on to Benteng Fort de Kock. There were so many people there (Indonesians sure love public spaces. This explains the crowds at KLCC park) and we decided to return the following day instead. We walked back to the Clock Square and checked out Plaza Bukittinggi. It was getting dark when we emerged, and we descended down to the lower market. Dinner was had at Bakso Bandung, a small restaurant at the junction.

We had to change angkot and waited a while before the second angkot made its move. Spent the rest of the evening online at the hotel lobby and resting.

Monday, 23 January 2012. Chinese New Year
We had breakfast at 7 and left just after 8. The roads were clear this morning. We took an angkot before changing for another bound for the bus terminal (Terminal Aur Kuning). We boarded a Harmonis bus bound for Lake Maninjau. It was some time before the bus even moved. Sigh. Welcome to Indonesia.

The bus ride to Lake Maninjau took us 75 minutes. If you are from Bukittinggi heading towards Maninjau, there are 44 road bends that you must navigate as you descend. The view all the way down was breathtaking.

We got down and walked to the lakefront. I was surprised to find that the waves were pretty strong. We then checked out a guesthouse and walked around the village. It was a hot, hot day and there was no wind at all. Lunch was had at a restaurant that said it served Maninjau food. The fish we had were definitely from the lake.

After performing prayers, we left and walked to the junction where we were dropped off. Had to wait some time before a long bus came. It was full (some had to stand for some miles) but we went in anyway. Somehow we managed to doze off along the way.

Back at Bukittinggi, we took an angkot to the city and climbed up to the Animal Park. The park housed two elephants, a camel, two kangaroos, some deer, a tapir, birds, a wild boar... Admission was Rp8K (as it was a public holiday); Rp5K on other weekdays. We checked out the museum before crossing the Limpapeh Bridge to Benteng Fort de Kock. The fort didn’t look anything like a fort and looked pretty modern too (not like a structure built decades ago). We crossed the bridge again, exited the park and made our way to the covered double-storey upper market. I had to buy some shirts for Abah and prayer attire for my niece.

The shops at the upper market close at 6 so after our purchase, we went to the Clock Square. There were a lot of sellers at the square, selling souvenirs, prayer attire, t-shirts and snack (popcorn, cotton candy). We sat at a bench and people-watched for a while before checking out some textile shops and a shoes shop. Dinner was again had at Bakso Bandung. We decided to walk back to our hotel. The walk took us 25 minutes.

Tuesday, 24 January 2012
After breakfast, we checked out and took an angkot. The driver mentioned we could take Tranex (short for Transportation Express. Good thing they didn’t call it Transex instead. Heh) besides trafel (an MPV that can accommodate 6 passengers). We decided to check out Tranex. Now Transportation Express the name may be but the service frequency is anything but express. We stood up waiting for more than 30 minutes before one came. We reached Padang after two hours.

From the terminal (which didn’t look like a terminal at all) in front if Ion Hotel, we took angkot no. 4 to where our hotel is. We checked in and rested for a while before venturing out. It was too hot to venture out any sooner anyway.

We went out after 3 pm and it was hot, hot, hot. There wasn’t much of a beach near our hotel, just the ocean and the waterfront restaurants. There were also the occasional chap selling fresh fish and other seafood like crabs. We turned and walked around a bit. While asking for directions, a man told us where we could buy crackers (tapioca, pumpkin, cow skin etc) so we headed there. I didn’t buy a lot as my bag was almost full, just enough as snacks at home.

We returned to the hotel and stayed there until 7 when we ventured out for dinner. Dinner was had at Luang Nasi Mama, an eatery at Jalan Veteran serving Nasi Padang. After dinner, we walked back, stopping at The Sriwijaya Hotel to check out the rates (lower than where we were staying). We then arranged with a cabbie to pick us up the next morning and send us to the airport. We agreed for him to pick us up at 0645. We bargained for the fare and finally agreed on Rp90K.

The rest of the evening was spent resting, packing and watching TV.

Wednesday, 25 January 2012
I woke up with rumbling sounds from my tummy which turned out to be mini-diarrhoea. To add to my discomfort, my right contact lens decided to orbit my eyeball. Thankfully I managed to coax it out (the last time that happened, it took a few hours before I managed to coax it out).

We had breakfast just after 6 am (the spread wasn’t much and I was bothered by my tummy). Aud gave me some anti-diarrhoea pills (how did I forget to pack that?) which I ate quickly.

We left at 0645 and as promised, the cabbie got us to the airport in 30 minutes (most people told us the journey would take at least 45 minutes to an hour). We went up to the departure area, paid the Rp100K departure tax and went through immigration. The queue was long enough and the process slow enough that I was able to visit the washroom again and still only three persons had been processed...

After custom, we went through security check before boarding the plane about 15 minutes later. We landed at 1030 and I quickly trekked back to the terminal and on to the bus stop for my bus to KL Sentral (the direct Skybus service to KL Sentral would only depart at 12 noon so of course I took the yellow bus). I was home by 1230. Unpacked, cleaned the kitchen mess, had a quick lunch and left for work at 1315.

Hope you had a good Chinese New Year break too!

Just Passable Outing (JPO)

I flew to Johore last Saturday full of shopping hope. My Firefly flight was re-timed but no matter, as I had planned to go to Johor Premium Outlets on Sunday anyway. My friend and brother were already waiting when I arrived and after paying for the parking (what a slow queue at the autopay machine!), we drove off for an early dinner at a restaurant at Gelang Patah.

The restaurant must be popular because there were two tourist buses from Singapore when we arrived. From the restaurant, you could see the Port of Tanjung Pelepas on your right and Sembawang (Singapore) on your left. We walked out to the platform while waiting for food to arrive. The restaurant was already packed by the time we returned to our table (when did they arrive??) and our food had also arrived. The food was great by the way.

After dinner, we drove to Kulai as my friend wanted to collect her clothes. We then drove to Seelong to where our resort is. Trust me, you don’t want to go there. It was such a disappointment. Pathetic, tacky and tasteless and situated in the middle of nowhere too.

On Sunday, we checked out early and went to Pasir Gudang as my friend had to work in the morning (which she just found out on Friday). We only left after 12 and arrived at JPO after 1. It was drizzling all day in southern Johore but there were some covered walkways. There were a lot of shoppers (a lot from Singapore too) already there.

We walked around, walking in and out of stores. I must say I was quite disappointed. I reckon I can get some things in KL at more or less the same price during sales or promotion. Honestly, I can’t see myself making a return trip there. Foxtown it definitely isn’t.

We left after 3 and went to Senai town for a late lunch. After that, we went to the airport and they waited with until I boarded my flight.

Thanks dear for the great hospitality but I don’t think there will be a return trip any time soon. Really, had it not been for their company, my weekend would have turned out worse.

The Year That Was: 2011

It was another mixed year. There were ups and downs. Happy and sad moments; new places visited and old destinations revisited; new friends made, old relatives and friends reacquainted with...

Alhamdulillah, I managed to continue travelling, a recap of which is as follows:

January
Namaste! I visited the Golden Triangle of India (Delhi, Agra and Jaipur) after a few days in Srinagar in Kashmir.

February
1) Checked out the Universal Studios Singapore and did a little side trip to Batam.
2) Local trip to Lenggong

March
Didn’t make any travel plans

April
1) Revisited Kota Kinabalu with Abah on the weekend of Mummy’s birthday
2) Flew out to Europe (and Tunisia) via Amsterdam

May
Traipsed in the Balkan and Baltic countries before making my way to Switzerland via Italy and then continuing on to Amsterdam before flying home

June
Went on a short shopping trip to Singapore. Took the coach there and flew back the enxt morning

July
1) Flew to Miri for a short weekend. Checked out Niah National Park while there
2) Went on a road trip to Temenggor Lake.

August
Flew to Kuching for a short weekend. Checked out Bako National Park while there

September
Flew to Sibu during the Malaysia Day weekend

October
1) A short day-trip to Singapore, availing of cheap air fares
2) Set foot in Sandakan. Checked out the Rainforest Discovery Centre and Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre

November
1) Attended a conference in Singapore
2) Took the train to Hat Yai. Also made a detour to Songkhla

December
Visited Turkey and had a fantastic time!

I managed to read 57.5 books (started the 58th a few days before year-end and finished it a couple of days into 2012), up from 52 last year. This may not be a high figure but do remember that I am juggling two households along with my hours in the office. That’s twice as much housework – ironing, sweeping, cleaning and mopping. I hope to finish at least 60 books this year. We’ll see.

~~~~~~~~

I think I’ve heard it all in 2011: a couple married for a dozen years got divorced; a woman I know who got divorced and married for the third time to her old boyfriend (in every sense of the word); a single lady going out with a married man; a recently single again man with a number of kids starting a relationship with a single lady... I don’t think anything else will surprise me any more.

And my, the number of colleagues I know that have been diagnosed with various types of cancer... it’s scary how quickly and quietly this disease spreads. It’s a reminder of how fragile life and health is. Don’t ever take them for granted. Reduce your intake of acidic food and increase intake of alkaline food. Know what foods are acidic and alkaline. Let’s take care of our health and keep our bodies acid-free; we owe it to ourselves.

I’ve continued to distance myself from Facebook, only using it to share photos and quotes, and news of interest to me like football, travel and business. I’ve been a victim of malicious tweets from a mean, spiteful witch who harbours a grudge against me, so much so I was even advised to take measures to stop the witch and her tweets altogether.

Cesc broke my heart when he left Arsenal to return to Barcelona. I’m still not healed. Fortunately, I do have some help... from some of the lads below.

Twelve

Arsenal’s ‘new’ No 12, y’know, the one with 12 letters in his name, struck his 12th goal in 12 appearances against Leeds 12 minutes from time. In 2012. How about that? He made the fans go wild, became the MOTM and cost the bookies over £1m.

The Return of The King

The Beckhams were there too

Va va voom!

The King is back y’all. With style and swagger. He isn’t here to stay but we’ll take what we get.

My Turkish Delight

I had always wanted to visit Turkey but had reservations before because of its secular state. I do try to keep an open mind especially since I met a lot of Turks in the Holy Land. Surely not everyone is that secular? Besides, Malaysia is equally secular. But I’m glad I went when I did (I had thought that I was meant to go to the other destination I had planned from signs that I received but it was not meant to be yet and as it turned out, God wanted me to visit Turkey first).

What I discovered:
- Warm and friendly people
- A very clean country. Very clean. Too clean. You can go to the countryside or some pump station in the middle of nowhere (to use the washroom) and you’d be hard pressed to find litter anywhere. Why can’t Malaysia be like that?
- You can find squat toilets in addition to sit-down toilets in some areas. Most sit-down toilets have an integrated bidet. I wish we have more of these toilets with integrated bidet in Malaysia. It will definitely mean fewer wet bathrooms around
- A lot of cities/towns have some factory outlets in the outskirts. Not surprising as Turkey is a major clothing producer and exporter. Most are local brands though we did see some outlets of Marks & Spencer and Docker’s
- Patient people. You can be stuck in a crawl for miles and no one even used the horn
- Many, many furry cute cats everywhere. Not just at restaurants or fish markets but also at ruins and historical places. Most are black and white but we did find some calico cats
- The love of sweet stuff. I cannot even finish half of a baclava but they can do that and more!
- Turkish tea (cay) and coffee. They are served at most shops that we visit
- ‘New’ stuff like apple tea, pomegranate tea, rose jam and cherry jam
- The same food at almost every meal (even breakfast at some hotels): salad (red cabbage, shredded carrot, lettuce), bread, the occasional yoghurt. And lentil soup. Nice but not good for me (windy!). I don’t know how they can eat the same stuff over and over again without trying to vary the menu
- Many different kinds of cheese for us to sample
- They serve pork openly at some hotels’ breakfast buffet
- Don’t expect to find any halal sign at restaurants. Take it as a given. Though the same establishments may serve alcohol too. What did I say about it being a secular country?

Will I visit again? Probably another trip to Istanbul or other towns with Roman remains. And in spring time please. It will be my pleasure to tell you when that happens.

My Christmas Turkey: Fourth Bite

Friday, 30 December 2011
Erkan had mentioned that we would leave slightly later today at 8 am after the previous night’s debauchery but of course we only left at 0815. We drove towards Ankara, stopping en route at Tuz Gölü (or Lake Tuz) meaning Salty Lake. İ had seen the lake miles before our stop and no wonder, it is after all, the second biggest lake in Turkey. There was a small shop selling products based on the salt from the lake. We walked to the shore of the lake as Ekran explained about it.

We continued on to Ankara, the capital of Turkey since 1923 for its geographical location and lack of association with the Ottomans. We rolled in at around noon, just perfect and in time for lunch. Lunch was had at Traihi Gar Restaurant at Ankara Garı (Ankara Train Station). There were many photos on the wall of the restaurant and most had Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in it.

After lunch, we headed to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Atatürk, on top of Rasattepe Hill. This enemy of Islam died in Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul and his body was brought to Ankara to rest, initially at the Ethnography Museum before being transferred 15 years later to this mausoleum which overlooks Ankara. We spent about forty five minutes at the War of Independence Museum and the tomb before leaving Ankara.

We drove on to Bolu, a town roughly half-way between Ankara and Istanbul. Murat had driven a lot of miles today and apparently, there is a daily limit on the number of miles that a driver can legally drive. We spent the night at Yurdaer Hotel.

Saturday, 31 December 2011
We left at 0715 today and drove to Istanbul, passing Izmit en route. During the ride, we all agreed to go on the optional Bosphorus cruise. The cruise usually costs $60 for adults and $30 for children below 12 and Ekran managed to negotiate the rates down so that the cost could be offset by the refund from the hot air balloon ride that Ekran had managed to get for us.

We took the 1115 cruise and I was very glad that we went on it for it provided wonderful views of the buildings overlooking the strait. It wasn’t a very clear mid-morning but it cleared up briefly.

The cruise lasted slightly more than an hour. We got down and made for the Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar). It had started to drizzle by then and we were glad of the shelter. The bazaar derived its name from the many spices imported from Egypt during the Ottoman period. We were only given half an hour to shop (boo hoo) and unsurprisingly, were late for our rendezvous with Ekran and the rest in front of the New Mosque (Yeni Camii).

Next up was lunch at Tamara Restaurant in the Old City. After lunch, we headed to Topkapı Palace, the primary residence of the Ottaman Sultans during their reign. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a major tourist attraction and contains important holy relics of the Muslim world including the Prophet Muhammad’s cloak and sword and large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armour and displays of Ottoman treasures and jewellery including a gigantic piece of diamond. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers but only the most important are accessible to the public today. We spent two hours at the Palace.

After the grandeur of the Palace, we went to the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) to experience the splendour of the covered bazaar and the delights on offer. To be honest, I much prefer the Spice Bazaar as the sellers are friendlier and more willing to entertain you. At the Grand Bazaar, even if you’re interested, the seller may not care to entertain you, nor will they care to call you back if you walk away to another stall. Even if you stand there and the seller decides he doesn’t care to sell to you, you won’t find yourself being served. Well, at least that was what happened to me.

We spent more than an hour there before heading to the car park area to meet up with the rest. It was time for dinner and this time, we went to Grup Restaurant in Sultanahmet area (near Hippodrome). After dinner, we requested that Murat take the route passing Taksim Square. As it was only 8.30 pm, the New Year revellers were not there yet. We passed the square twice before heading to our hotel (the hotel we stayed at on our first night in the city).

I hardly ever celebrate New Year. I always sleep right through it

Sunday, 1 January 2012
Can you believe it, it was now time to say goodbye to Türkiye?! Well, like they say, time flies when you’re having fun. We went for breakfast later than normal, at 8.30 am. Then we went for a brief walk around the hotel before heading back to the hotel.

We left the hotel at 1145 and headed for the airport. We checked in immediately and went into the duty-free area. After performing prayers, we headed for our boarding gate for our flight to Bahrain where we would transit for more than six hours...

Monday, 2 January 2012
We boarded the flight back to KL at 0100 this morning and just as we were about to take off, el niño threw up. He vomited repeatedly throughout the flight and I must confess that I was getting panicked. I asked for anti-motion sickness pill from one of the air stewardess and while she told me it would not be effective as we had taken off, I still insisted on it. Poor boy.

We landed at KLIA at 1420. Our bags took so long to make their appearance (I had gone to perform prayers and back and still the bags were not out). They finally appeared at 1450 but alas, we were unable to catch the 1500 train.

So that was my 2011 year-end and 2012 start-of-year break. How was yours?

~~~~~~~~

I was very satisfied with the tour package. It was well-planned. We were very lucky to get Erkan as our tour guide as he was very patient and accommodating. He bent over backwards trying to make us feel comfortable. For instance, when we told him the hot air balloon didn’t even last half an hour, he called up the company to negotiate a discount. He even negotiated a discount for us for the Bosphorus cruise. He waited patiently for us and answered our queries patiently, never mind that he had explained the fact earlier. He helped keep us entertained in the long road trips with his DVD movies. I also like the fact that he had two maps in the vehicle – one of Turkey and another of Istanbul. He also brought along books when we visited Ephesus to help us visualise how the place looked like before. He helped make us understand and appreciate everything easier. Murat the driver was also a calm, nice and patient chap. He may just be a driver but he is the epitome of professionalism. He’s always neatly-dressed with a necktie to boot and not a single hair out of place.

And the best part? We paid RM1,200 less than another group of 14 from Penang and RM600-700 less than another group of 19 from KL. There were only seven of us in our group. What group discount? We hit jackpot alright. Alhamdulillah.

My Christmas Turkey: Third Bite

Thursday, 29 December 2011

We had agreed on the previous day that we would ride on the hot air balloon over Cappadocia this morning – it’s quite costly at $220 per adult and $110 per child below 12 (that’s USD y’all. Turkey accepts use of the greenback extensively), add $10 if you use your plastic but hey, it’s one of the 1000 things to do before one dies. We left after morning prayers (the vehicle was to leave at 0610 but of course it didn’t as we had to wait for some people. No prize for guessing who) and went to Royal Balloon premises where we had our breakfast. Then we drove off to the ‘launch site’ and boarded a balloon (we had help to board. Some of the workers carried and dumped us into any of the four basket compartments of the balloon!). We took off before long and soon had a bird’s eye view of the fairy chimneys (or hoodoos) below us – the rock sites of Cappadocia are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a very cold morning and it even snowed briefly – tiny snowflakes.

Erkan had told us the flight would take us an hour so it was disappointing when it lasted barely half an hour. It did take us an hour getting into the vehicle from Royal Balloon premises to getting into the vehicle again after our ride. The foggy morning reduced visibility somewhat and I thought we didn’t flow over the hoodoos long enough (after a while, we were no longer flying over the hoodoos. Boo!). We subsequently told Erkan this and he called up the company to ask for a refund ;’) (of $50/adult and $25 for el niño). It would be better to come in spring or summer as visibility would be greater but I can’t see myself forking out another $220 for that hot air balloon ride.

We were given directions on how to land: you need to push yourself against the back of the balloon compartment, hold on tight to the ropes and bend your body slightly. We didn’t really make a very smooth landing and our basket was tilting until some personnel of Royal Balloon came to help steady it

We reached the hotel at 8.20 am and had another round of breakfast. Erkan told us to meet again at 9.15 for our tour around the place (but of course we left way after that).

Our first stop was Kaymaklı Underground City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent forty minutes in the underground, walking in the tunnels and public areas. There are stables, storage area, churches, kitchens and cellars. Only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.

We drove around and then went up to the Uçhisar Hill and Castle, a viewing platform (where I fell down for no reason at all. Strewth!) before heading to a gem store (selling mainly turquoise jewelleries) and then to another area to view the hoodoos up close. Then we went for lunch at Uranos & Sarikaya Restaurant in Avanos, a restaurant carved into the soft tufa formations. A satisfactory lunch was had by all.

After lunch, we headed to a carpet store/showroom. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets so was just content to sit back and admire the beautiful silk carpets. After the carpet shop, we drove on to Göreme Open Air Museum, the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent about 40 minutes there.

Our next stop was a pottery shop/showroom. The Cappadocia region is famous for its earthenware pottery, even back in the times of the Hittites. The red silt from the local river, Kizilirmak (Red River) makes good pottery although white clay potteries are better. We were given a demonstration on pottery-making and when the potter was done and asked for a volunteer, unsurprisingly el niño volunteered. After that, we wandered around the showrooms (there were two). I had wanted to buy some plates and was happy I managed to find some pieces there.

We returned to the hotel. It would be Turkish Dinner tonight at Yasar Baba Restaurant. We were initially reluctant to go (if only we had packed instant noodles, we’d happily stay in!) but was persuaded by Erkan to go. He even promised to get Murat to drive us back half-way through dinner. So we got dressed and just before leaving, realised our room key was missing... we ended up spending the next fifteen minutes frantically looking for it (the key ring had become separated from the card), looking in our bags and on the beds. Finally, we found it in at the bathroom sink counter and called Erkan who turned around to pick us up. We walked through the door, had some sweet drink and descended down to the restaurant area. There were many long tables with other tourists already seated there. We had some appetiser then the main meal (beef and pilaf rice). As for the dances, first we were treated to the whirling dervishers (didn’t last long) and then some traditional dances. Towards the end of the last traditional dance, the dancers invited the diners to join them (we didn’t). The three of us left way before the belly dance.

No, count me out of audience participation!

To be continued

My Christmas Turkey: Second Bite

Monday, 26 December 2011
We left the hotel at 7.15 am (had to wait for the family of four, didn’t we. And this became a ritual. They were always fifteen minutes late. ALWAYS) and drove to Bursa. Bursa is about 80 km south of Istanbul and is the fourth largest city in Turkey. We boarded a ferry (vehicles too) to cross the Sea of Marmara to Yalova where we continued on by road. At Bursa, we stopped for a while to change money before heading for the cable-car station for the cable-car ride up to Uludağ National Park. El niño was so excited to see snow and I was so glad that he had the three older boys to play with because I’m not fond of the snow. I don’t hate it; I’m just indifferent to it. I do hate it when the snow melts into sludge and especially hate walking on ice because I’m bound to fall like a sack of potatoes. Which I did. %#*)_~!!

We walked a bit to the restaurant and while waiting for our BBQ lunch, went to perform prayers. After lunch, we left and took the cable-car down. El niño was disappointed that he couldn’t go skiing but we were nowhere near the ski centre. We drove on to Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey, and checked into Blanca Hotel. It was a very nice hotel but there was no kettle/tea-making facility provided in the room. Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant.

Not us. We took the cable car both ways...

Tuesday, 27 December 2011

We left 15 minutes later than scheduled (guess why) and made our way to nearby Selçuk, about 80 km away from Izmir. It was a cold, frigid, freezing morning and Erkan decided to bring us to Elegant Deri Leather House, a leather outlet first. There was a brief ‘fashion show’ where the shop staff modelled various pieces of the store’s latest collection of leather jackets. (They also asked me and the elder son of the other family to model some leather jacket/outfit too. I LOVED red leather jacket that I was asked to model; so soft to the touch *sigh*). We were given some time to shop but I wasn’t looking for a leather jacket even those soft lovely jackets which the staff claimed could be worn in all seasons.

Then we drove on to Meryemana (House of the Virgin Mary) which is claimed to have been resided by Mary. While there has been doubt expressed about the site, the house has received visits from various Popes.

We left shortly after and made our way to Ephesus, an ancient Greek city which later became a Roman city. I fell in love with the ruins and had a marvellous time exploring the place.

We spent close to 1.5 hours there. All that exploring had left me feeling very hungry and it was aptly lunch time too. We had lunch buffet at Hitit Restaurant, Selçuk. Buffet it may sound but the spread was pitiful (read: too little) ;’(

After lunch, we set off for Pamukkale. Pamukkale means ‘cotton castle’ in Turkish and the city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left in the water. The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white ‘castle’ and the ruins are still there (not as many as at Ephesus). We arrived at Pamukkale just as the sun was setting (in the itinerary, we were supposed to do the site the following morning) so we enjoyed sunset there. Then, el niño and I went to walk at the terraces. The sun had set by then, the temperature was plunging, it was getting dark very fast (and not enough lights around the area too so we had to stumble in the dark) and we had to remove our shoes (wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits). So it was a funny thing (not in a ha-ha way) to be groping our way in the dark, feeling our feet slowly turning numb while stumbling over the uneven surface (it wasn’t smooth for sure. I felt like walking on reflexology pebble-walk). Still we continued. We finally reached some pools but it took some time before we reached warmer water. We spent about 30 minutes there before turning back.

We left after 7 pm and checked into Lycus River Hotel. Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant. The hotel has thermal pool and Jacuzzi but we were too knackered to check them out.

Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Another early start for us today as we had a long drive ahead of us (more than six hours). We left the hotel at 7.45 am and went to the base of the ‘cotton castle’ for some Kodak moments. Then we drove on to Konya, the old capital of the Selçuk Turks. It was another cold, cold day.

We were kept occupied by DVD movies on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire in our various legs of this trip and that is one of the things I like about the tour guide: he’s informative and knows how to keep us entertained. We stopped along the way to take some pictures at some marble blocks – yet another of Erkan’s way to help us understand the geology of the country. We also stopped every couple of hours for washroom break and he and the driver, Murat, would have a cup of Turkish tea (or coffee?) and cigarettes. Murat seemed to live on that diet alone.



We stopped at Sultanhanı Caranvanserai in Aksaray, a 13th century hotel for ancient traders and travellers for close to an hour before continuing on to our hotel in Nevşehir, Cappadocia, where we would stay for two nights. Dinner was had at the hotel restaurant. Our room was cosily warm, so warm we ended up switching on the air-conditioner!

To be continued

My Christmas Turkey: First Bite

I had initially planned to go to another country during the holidays and had booked and even paid for it. Unfortunately, the travel agent cancelled the trip due to public unrest in the last week of November causing me to alter my travel plans. I frantically tried to find another destination that would depart after 22 December (as I had an event) and finally, after scouring the dailies, I managed to find an agent offering a trip to Turkey on the condition that there must be at least two travellers. So I asked my dad to ask Akak if my nephew, el niño, could come along. While waiting, I contacted Yan, an old mate from varsity, and asked her if she wanted to join the trip. Both came back with favourable response so I called up the agent to book the trip.

Even then, it took a while for the trip to be confirmed. Firstly, we were on the waiting list for the flight out of KL (the agent has an arrangement with Gulf Air) – well, not altogether surprising, considering it was about four weeks before departure. In a busy festive season. The agent tried her best and finally, we managed to secure seats. Secondly, there was a problem getting a room at Manama, Bahrain (we had to transit there for a night). The whole trip was finally confirmed very near to our travelling date but everything was finally settled and we were good to go.

Saturday, 24 December 2011
I met up Akak and family at KLIA at 5 pm. Yan arrived after 5.30 and we joined the queue to check in our bags. The agent had earlier explained to Yan that our bags would be directly checked to Istanbul and that we should bring our change of clothes in our hand luggage. It was a full flight. Yan let us have the two seats by the window and aisle but our in-flight entertainment system didn’t work (nor did the reading lights) so I didn’t manage to watch my Chris Evans in Captain America. Yes, he’s mine, you know. I had some tummy pain (this happens whenever I fly. Blame it on gravity or wind) and was suffering throughout.

We landed at Bahrain International Airport at 2210 pm (Bahrain is GMT+3) and took the shuttle bus to the terminal. There, we headed for the transit desk where we met up the family made up of the mother and her two teenage sons (the eldest son would only join us in Istanbul the next day) before joining the immigration queue (no, I don’t understand the process either). Then we waited and waited while another group from Penang (14 of them) and for the hotel driver to finally decide to get moving. Le sigh. Welcome to the Middle East.

Our hotel is in Manama, some six km away from the airport in Muharraq. We checked in and quickly settled in for the night.

Sunday, 25 December 2011
We got up after 5 am and after performing morning prayers, went for a walk around. Sheraton Hotel is opposite our hotel and it is flanked by the impressive Bahrain World Trade Centre. MODA Mall, the ultra-exclusive shopping complex is located on the ground floor of the BWTC. We crossed the busy King Faisal Highway (only belatedly realising it was indeed a highway) to take more pictures before re-crossing and heading back to the hotel for breakfast. Barely 7 am on a Sunday morning and already so many fast cars with hurried drivers wishing to be somewhere else.

We left the hotel after 8 am for our 10 am flight to Istanbul. It was a smaller aircraft and surprisingly not full (considering it was Christmas Day) so we managed to hog three seats each and then stretch out.

After a four-hour-plus flight, we landed at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. There were about five flights arriving at more or less our arrival time so you can imagine the queue to clear the immigration. We then collected our bags, met up with our waiting tour guide, Mr. Erkan Kayiran, and went to check out the bureaux de change. Erkan said we could convert money elsewhere and that we didn’t really need money for that day. We then went out to wait for our vehicle and I quickly did my ‘transforming project’ – layering myself with my fleece jacket and donning muffler.

We left the airport and went for a ride along the Sea of Marmara to Sehir Restaurant overlooking the sea for lunch. The airport is in the European side of Istanbul by the way. I was surprised to find myself hungry especially as we were served food in the flight. We had kebab and as I’m not a big fan of meat, I didn’t manage to finish my meal. After our late lunch, we drove to the nearby Sultanahmet (Hippodrome) or Old City district. Our first stop was the Aya Sofya (aka Hagia Sophia), a former church before it was converted into a mosque and now a museum. There were excellent mosaics in the gallery, reached by a stone ramp to the left of the entrance (we descended from another ramp). Islamic features – such as the mihrab, minbar and four minarets – were added while in the possession of the Ottomans. For almost 500 years, Aya Sofya was the principal mosque of Istanbul and served as a model for many other Ottoman mosques, such as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque of Istanbul).

The guards rather rudely hinted for us to leave by gradually switching off the interior lights. The museum closes early in winter but it was way before closing time when this happened (fie on you!). We left and walked to Hippodrome, adjacent to Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque. This was the centre of Roman and Byzantine Constantinople; sadly, the building no longer exists. The sporting and social centre of Constantinople, Hippodrome is now known as Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square). You can find the Obelisk of Thutmose II, the Serpent Column and the Walled Obelisk still standing there.

We hung out at Sultanahmet Meydanı while waiting for the fourth member of the family travelling with us arrive. After that, we walked to the Sultanahmet Mosque (aka Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning its interior). We spent about fifteen minutes here before leaving.

Next stop was dinner. We stopped across the street from the fish market and went to Patara Seafood Restaurant where we had some nice grilled fish. After dinner, we had a quick look at the fish market before boarding the vehicle. We then drove to our hotel (near the airport). It had been a long day so sleep came easy.

I meant a different kind of Turkey, of course

To be continued