Lalalaland...

Traveling by train in India

2012-01-27T00:35:00.000+08:00

The best way to experience the real Indian train experience is by travelling in the second class or the sleeper class for the longer journey. It is dirt cheap and a good way to meet the local people from all walks of life, although usually only the poor and middle class travel in these carriages.

I really wanted to try it but as I was travelling alone and taking an overnight train, I thought it was best to go for the more civilized and comfortable journey. Save the hassles for future travels, when I come again with a travel buddy. Susah senang bersama bak kata orang. :p

OK so there are several classes of accommodation on the train, namely:

Second Class (SC) - the cheapest class it is almost free but be prepared for the crowd. It is overcrowded as those who aren't able to secure a ticket in sleeper class will cramp in here. These basic carriages have hard wooden seats so it is best to avoid it for longer trips.
Sleeper Class (SL) - there's six beds in each compartment. The beds are stacked in three tiers on either side of the compartments. During the day, the middle beds must be folded down against the compartment walls to allow passengers to sit on the lower beds.
Air Conditioned Chair Car (CC) - designed for daytime short distance travel, found almost exclusively on superfast services and consists of comfortable reclining seats.
Three Tier Air Conditioned Class (3A) - similar to SL; it has six beds in each compartment but it is air-conditioned and much more comfortable. Sheets, pillow, blankets and towels are provided in the evening.
Two Tier Air Conditioned Class (2A) - there's only four beds in each compartment. The beds are stacked in two tiers on either side. Sheets, pillow, blankets and towels are provided in the evening. Additionally, it has curtains at the entrance to each compartment for more privacy and individual reading lamps.
First Class Air Conditioned (1A) - The most expensive class. Compartments have lockable doors, carpeted, washbasin and either two or four beds, stacked in tiers. Sheets, pillow, blanketss and towels are provided. The only problem is that you cannot specify if you want accommodation in a two bed or four bed compartment when you book.

The choice is yours. The officers at the reservation office will usually recommend you the 3A or 2A, depending on the availability.

For the tickets, you can book it at the train station. Alternatively, you can book online through Indian Railways' official reservation site or Cleartrip. Cleartrip is easy to use but they impose some service charge.

If you fail to get the tickets, try the Foreign Tourist Quota, a quota specially allocated for foreign travellers. The tickets can only be booked through the International Tourist Bureau though, and you need to show your passport.

There's actually much more options to get the tickets. You have Waitlist (WL) or Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) tickets. Quite tricky to explain all these cos I don't really understand it myself. Go google it ok. hehe...

If you land in New Delhi, you can go to the International Tourist Bureau at New Delhi Railway Station. Reserve and buy your tickets here, not at any 'government approved booking office' which are clearly fake.

Once you enter the train station, head to the first floor above the main departure building where the reservation office is located. Some touts will tell you that the office was burnt down or relocated, but don't be fooled by them.

main hall

go up to the first floor

the office

You can buy tickets to/from anywhere at this reservation office but first, you need to fill in this form.

Once the form is completed, get in the queue (or just get the form, queue and fill it up while queuing) and wait for your turn to be served. If you don't know the train number, you can leave it blank first. The officer will then check the departing and arriving stations, the dates of your journey and he will recommend the suitable trains for you.

the platform

Sleeper Class (SL)

Two Tier Air Conditioned Class (2A)

Here are some pictures just to give you the ideas how the carriage looks like inside. These pictures are on 2A class that I rode.

#1 During the day, passengers sit on the lower beds. Blankets, towels, pillows and sheets are provided for the night.

#2 To secure your bags, chain and lock your bags to the hooks provided under the lowest bed.

#3 The compartment, with 4 beds each. I prefer to take the lower bed everytime I travel in an overnight train. How about you?

#4 The compartment is complete with mirror for you to see your ugly face in the morning :p and power socket to charge your phone, laptop etc.

#5 Inside the carriage, each compartment has a curtain to give passengers privacy. You don't want people to see your terkangkang style of sleeping, do you?

#6 The toilet. There are four toilets in a carriage, two at each end. The toilet was surprisingly clean. Don't expect the same if you travel in the second class though.

#7 Washbasin outside the toilet to brush your teeth and face in the morning.

#8 Ready to leave. Back on foot carrying my Deuter AirContact Pro 55+15 SL backpack. T_T Gahh I really need to learn how to travel light.

The sound of chaiwallah shouting 'chai, chai' passing each compartment selling chai kept on playing in my ears, the image of little child playing by the train tracks, the blaring train horn in the middle of the night, the curious locals greeting you. It was indeed one of the most interesting part of the journey.

You definitely have to try it whenever you're in India! Oh for the record, no I didn't see people sitting on the roof.

India : New Delhi

2012-01-25T16:00:00.000+08:00

The trip was supposed to be with the Chickpeas. But during the initial discussion, they wanted to take travel package once we reached there. As for me, I prefer to go backpacking and arrange everything on our own. I thought of objecting the idea but it would be selfish of me to drag them on my adventure.

So, one day out of boredom I browsed through AirAsia's website, looking for destinations to go for my year end break. I thought of going to Beijing and Shanghai but I was afraid I couldn't stand the freaking cold winter. The next destination on my mind was Cambodia but the big flood across Southeast Asia made me crossed the country out of the list.

Then, out of the blue I selected New Delhi and tadaaaaa... they were having a promotion. So apelagi, I bought the ticket without thinking twice. Selfish I know for leaving my friends, but I guessed it was better that way. Both parties will be happy. They will be happy following the tour package and I would be happy with my adventure.

So yeah.. another solo travel for me.

When I told my parents I was going to India alone, they didn't object. My dad just said, take care and don't accept anything from strangers. I took it as a blessing so with that, I packed my bag and started my journey.

I ♥ AirAsia... hehehe...

Flight to New Delhi took about 5 hours, the flight departed at 9.50am and reached there about 12.30pm. India is 2 hours and 30 minutes behind Kuala Lumpur, FYI.

I had landed in India yo!

Once you approached the immigration area, you'll be greeted with mudras. These are hand gestures that are essential to Indian classical dance, yoga and visual arts.

There are 9 mudras altogether and each of them carries a different meaning. Read all about it here.

One of the popular areas for backpackers in New Delhi is Paharganj. The area got mixed reviews from travellers, some of them recommending it as the accommodation is very cheap and the location is good but some said the place is noisy, dirty and rather dangerous for solo female traveller.

But given the close proximity of the public transportation; the area is within walking distance to New Delhi Metro and New Delhi Railway Station which is convenient if you wanna catch the early morning train to Agra, plus the cheap accommodation (yeah yeahh.. I am a cheapskate) I decided to stay in that area.

From Hostelbookers, I booked Kuldeep Friends Hostel. They offered free airport pickup which was really a huge help. So as soon as I passed through the immigration area, I walked to the arrival hall looking out for the hostel's representative. Easy cos he's holding a placard with my name. Felt like a VIP yo!

Driving from the airport to Paharganj took approximately 40 minutes. As we entered the neighborhood, I looked around curiously. The area was indeed dirty, dusty and very noisy too.

Things I noticed in Delhi (and all other parts of India that I visited), drivers like to honk their car horns and urine stench and cow dungs were everywhere. Also, the cows walked across the roads like a boss, stopping all vehicles in their directions.

The guy then stopped the car and I saw a signage...oh we've arrived.

He led me to a narrow path.. ermm.. what place was this?!

And this was my hostel.

The entrance wrote Hostel New King so I wasn't sure I stayed in Kuldeep Friends Hostel or Hostel New King. They are under the same management though. Well as long as they didn't charge me extra rate it's fine.

Before checking in, I requested to see the room. You should do this too whenever you look for a room.

The room came with a TV and hot water.

It looked a bit shabby but I only paid INR315 (around RM20) per night so I won't complain.

While checking in, Harpreet, the owner of the hostel, asked me what's my plan in India. I told him my plan roughly and asked the direction of the train station as I wanted to buy the tickets for my next destination. He looked shocked upon hearing that I haven't made any onward travel arrangements as according to him, the year end is a super peak period.

He told me there are two booking offices, one at the train station and another one in the city centre. But he advised me not to go to the train station as it would be crowded. He then said, 'I'll take you there.' It made me wondered, wahh why you so nice? He had an agenda actually.. you'll know later on.

I went up to my room after completing the check in process.

This was the view from my room's window. Classic! Well, that's Paharganj for you.

After resting for a while, I went down to the lobby and met Harpreet. He asked me to follow his friend, Dave, who was waiting at the hostel entrance, to the booking office.

Dave drove me to an area not far from Paharganj. He brought me to an office at a shoplot, claiming it was a government approved booking office. I was suspicious cos it actually looked like a travel agency. I've read the scam stories in my travel books so I had rough ideas of what to expect. But I went inside anyway.

Once inside, I told the officer I wanted to buy train tickets. He helped me checked my desired dates of travel and the destinations but unfortunately all were sold out. I asked him to check for the tourist quota tickets and guess what he said? 'The tourist quota tickets are only for travel agents so if you want to get the tickets you can follow our tour package.' Wahh.. you've got the nerve to fool foreign visitors to your country. I knew the tourist quota is a special allocation available for foreign travellers, not a special allocation for travel agents, but I said nothing, pretending like I knew nothing.

He then asked me how much was my budget and proceeded to offer me their tour package. I knew it! It was a conspiracy. Harpreet and Dave brought me to this travel agency, and they would get commission if I signed up for the tour.

I politely declined the package, telling them I was a student and I was strict on my budget and walked out of the office. Just as Dave and I got in the car, the travel agent guy came and asked me how much was I willing to pay. I told him I still wasn't interested and asked Dave to drive off to the train station.

On the way, Dave told me it would be hard for me to get the tickets and why I should just follow the tour package offered just now. Wow.. these guys were persistent ok! Nevertheless, I was firm with my decision to go to the train station. I told him, I would just try my luck.

And thank God, it was the best decision ever. I got my tickets though tickets to some of my initial intended destinations were sold out. But still, at least I managed not to fall into those travel scams.

From the train station, I crossed the main road back to Paharganj. At night, Paharganj transformed into a lively bazaar. The Main Bazaar Road is full of locals and travellers looking for bargain buys. Clothes, bags, books, jewelleries.. you get it all here.

I walked around just to see the bazaar and get the feel of India. It actually took me some time to really digest that I was in India. It felt so surreal being in the country that I once thought was never going to make it in my list of to go places.

Couldn't wait to explore the city!

India : Visa

2012-01-13T00:30:00.000+08:00

OK.. forcing myself to write about India. If I don't do it now.. maybe I'll finish writing about it one year later like my other trips. -_-

First thing first, you need a visa to enter India.

You know what? A few days before my trip, I read Dr. Halina's tweet that she will be going to India with her husband, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (the astronaut). Done packing and all excited, on the day of her departure, he realized that he forgot to apply the visa for them! O_o So, the trip had to be cancelled. Moral of the story: Please check whether or not you need a visa before going to any countries.

Anyway, all India visa applications need to be submitted with Online Visa application form. Go here and click the online application link. Fill up the form. After that, print out the form in one page (front and back) and attach 2 visa photos. Indian visa photo is similar to USA and Japan visa photos, with white background and measuring 2"x2". Also, you can attach any supporting documents if necessary. Not forgetting, your passport, of course!

You can apply either for single or multiple entries. The fees are the same though, so just apply for multiple entries in case you wanna repeat the trip. :D For the fees, I paid RM168 last December 2011. But note that for normal tourist visa, they will only issue the visa for a maximum of 6 months. And from one visit to the next, you need to have a gap of 2 months between both visits.

After everything is ready, you can submit the application to India Visa Centre office at Lebuh Pasar Besar, KL. From what I read on High Commission of India's website, they don't insist you to go there yourselves so you must apply the visa at India Visa Centre, an outsource visa application centre by the High Commission of India.

I was quite busy before my trip so the easy way was to ask my office's travel agent to submit and collected it for me. Hehehe..

The visa will be ready within 3 days.

You can refer to India Visa Centre website here and the High Commission of India website here.

Happy applying and enjoy your trip! :D

-- Just read about the suspension of AAX's route to New Delhi and Mumbai.. oh nooo!!! I can't repeat my trip then. Eh wait! They didn't mention anything about other routes to India. Means Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata and Tiruchirappali are safe?

Number one

2012-01-08T19:30:00.000+08:00

Since this is my first post in 2012, lemme start by wishing you guys a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Ohai... I am back from India!

Wanna update the story on my trip but I am so lazy now. hehehe..

Lemme rest first ok.

Have a good week ahead peeps! :D

30 things to do before 30

2011-12-31T00:30:00.000+08:00

Well instead of writing about new year resolution, I wanna write about what I want next year. I was hanging out with my friends one night when we talkedabout travelling. Lisa wanted to do solo travelling. She said that is one ofher things to do before 30. Oh yeah.. we’re gonna hit the number 3 next year.:o Then Mel added, as for her, she wanted to travel to India before she hit thebig 3-0. That got me thinking. What do I wanna do before I hit that big 3-0myself?

I thought through the night, and hence... this list!

1. Solo travelling – DONE

2. Backpackingin Europe and India

3. Travel to all 13 states and 3 federal territories in Malaysia

4. Goto all 4 Disneylands in the world

5. Get a scuba diving license – DONE

6. Furtherstudy

7. Run a full marathon – DONE

8. Takepart in a triathlon

9. Conquer Mount Kinabalu

10. Skydiving

11. Bungy jumping

12. Learn to ski or snowboard

13. Purchase property somewhere

14. Eliminate my debt (credit card, car andstudy loan)

15. Khatam Quran

16. Reach 50kg again!

17. Master an amazing dish (since I am not agood cook!)

18. Record my life in videos, photos, writing– DONE

19. Dye my hair a crazy color

20. Schedule a health check up

21. Do volunteer work

22. Fall in love

23. Get a new job

24. Plant a tree

25. Help a stranger - DONE

26. Make profit from my used items – DONE

27. Appear on national television – DONE

28. Sing on stage in front of a crowd – DONE

29. Write for medias – DONE

30. Buy my own Chanel

Looks like I’ve only done 9 items from that list. I don’tthink I can achieve all those 30 items before my 30^th birthday nextyear but well.. I have a lifetime to achieve it right? Damn I feel so old... but I’ve been saying this “Age ain’t nothing but anumber” to console myself. Hahahaha...

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you, whoever you are, my readers. :)

Namaste

2011-12-26T12:30:00.000+08:00

As you're reading this, I am on my way to India! \(^_^)/

Bought a one way ticket to New Delhi and we'll see how it goes...

Wish me luck!!

Turkey : Istanbul (part 5)

2011-12-24T18:45:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

I'm gonna fly back to KL today. T___T

Home is where the heart is but I haven't finished exploring Istanbul, let alone Turkey, so I didn't wanna go back!!

After traipsing Turkey for 10 days, it was finally time to leave. I wish I could stay longer to explore more of the country but my workload didn't permit me to leave the office for so long.

So I started the day early. I thought of going to Taksim, walking around the area that I saw from the Bosphorus cruise. But I guessed it would take a lot of time to really cover everything so I diverted to my next option, walking around Sultanahmet area.

The first stop was the Sultanahmet Camii or popularly known as the Blue Mosque. The mosque is actually located very close to Hagia Sophia but I skipped it earlier as my sister already visited the mosque prior to my arrival. Plus, the mosque is closed during the prayer times so I guessed the best time to visit it was early in the morning.

gateway to the courtyard

It is said that the west entrance to the mosque is more beautiful but visitors are required to enter through the north entrance.

ablution area

Okay so the mosque is not blue on the outside, it is grey. If you wonder why the mosque is nicknamed the Blue Mosque, it is because of these beautiful blue Iznik tiles decorating the interior.

prayer hall

the humongous pillar inside the prayer hall

As you're visiting a holy place, it is advisable to dress modestly and women should cover their heads. Also, you need to take off your shoes before entering the mosque but they provide plastic bag for you to carry along your shoes inside as you'll exit from a different door.

What's unique about this mosque is its 6 minarets but sadly, I couldn't capture all those 6 minarets in a photo. According to some sources, the 6 minarets caused quite a stir as Masjidil Haram in Mecca also had 6 minarets. The problem then was solved when Sultan Ahmet 1, the sultan who commissioned the mosque, sent his architect to Mecca to add a seventh minaret.

The mosque is open everyday.

Visiting hours are from 9:00 to 18:00 except during prayer times and Friday prayer.

Entrance fee is free of charge.

Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Sultanahmet.

Out from the mosque, I continued my walk along the pavewalk passing through shops and restaurants.

While walking and looking around, an old local man I passed by greeted me. He asked me where was I from, blablabla.. Being a polite young lady *cough cough*, I answered him nicely. One question led to another and soon, he offered to show me around. I was actually hesitating cos I don't really trust men, somemore a stranger, whenever I walk alone. Just before I met him, a young guy who helped me take my pictures also offered to show me around but I turned him down. But I thought a local knows more about the town and he's a grandpa so he's not a threat. If he tried to do something bad to me I would just punch and kick him and then run. Easy eh?

So we walked together. He asked me to call him Dede, which is what Turkish people call their grandfather. He's actually a retiree lecturer from a nearby college so he always come to the area to meet his old friends and just go sightseeing to kill the time.

We walked passed Sirkeci Train Station so he brought me in. This is where the train from Bulgaria, Romania and some other long distance destinations arrived.

There's a small museum inside the station exhibiting the history of the train station, some old train stuffs and other cultural objects.

The museum is open everyday except Sunday, Monday and national days.
Entrance fee is free of charge.
Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Sirkeci.

We then continued walking to Eminonu and there, in front of me, was the gorgeous view of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.

Galata Tower on a clear day

Galata Bridge

Fffffffffuuuuuuuu!!!! I should've taken the cruise today. T_T
But there's no time to sulk so I just enjoyed the view.

Overlooking the Golden Horn at the end of Galata Bridge, is this beautiful Yeni Camii or New Mosque.

From afar, I think it looked almost similar to the Blue Mosque. There's a square in front of the mosque, and from this square you can see the entrance of the Spice Bazaar.

Though the name is Spice Bazaar, they don't only sell spices here.

In this bazaar you can find Turkish delights, different kind of teas, dried fruits, nuts, gifts etc.

dried tea leaves

different kind of teas

The bazaar is open everyday except Sunday and public holidays.
Opening hours are from 9:00 to 19:00.
Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Eminonu.

Dede asked me whether or not I wanted to buy any souvenirs for my family and friends back home. I told him I wanted to buy some Turkish Delights so he brought me to his friend's shop. Of course I got discount from the shop owner thanks to him. :D

Dede and I

Done with some souvenir shopping, it was time to part ways with Dede. He was happy chitchatting with his friends there so I told him to stay and I would be fine on my own. He then gave me his evil eye charm and asked me to take care of myself.

evil eye

In Turkey you can find evil eye everywhere cos it is one of the most common and famous superstition there. The Turkish people hang it on the wall in their houses and shops, women wear it as bracelet, necklace, earrings etc. They believe that this blue eye keeps evils and bad luck away.

So when Dede gave me his charm I was so touched I almost cried. It meant that he really cared about me. I had a great time with him as he treated me like his granddaughter. Before we parted, he asked me to write him a letter and posted the pictures that we took together which up till now, I never did. Cos he never gave me his address. :|

My wandering then brought me to the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest covered markets in the world.

It is very large that you can get lost in it. Seriously. Because I did. How can you not when there is more than 58 streets inside there? It can become a confusing maze, especially when the shops look all the same. It was kinda hard to remember where did you turn and how to go back to that one particular shop. I guess you can forget it if you go with your friends, get separated while shopping and say, "See you at this shop.", "Meet you at blablabla...". Chances are, you will not find them.

Anyway, the range of products here will overwhelm you. Luckily the bazaar is divided into regions based on the main goods they sell; jewelry in one area, carpets in one area, leather goods in one area etc. It was interesting to walk around and see the items on display but I didn't buy anything here. Enough with shopping already!

drinking fountain

The Grand Bazaar has four main gates and a number of small gates so yeah, finding your way out is a problem too. I needed to ask the police how to go to the gate I came in. #truestory

police screening people entering the bazaar

The bazaar is open everyday except Sunday and public holidays.
Opening hours are from 9:00 to 19:00.
Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Beyazit, Universite or Sirkeci.

I went back to the hotel after having late lunch at a nearby restaurant. It was time to head to the airport.

I will definitely be back. Though not so soon la.

Turkey : Istanbul (part 4)

2011-12-17T13:18:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

My phone battery went dead as I was about to send that one important text message. Damn it!!! We already agreed to meet up so I felt bad if I didn't show up. The cruise driver could actually drop me off somewhere in the city but I had no choice but to go back to the hotel.

Cordial House Hotel

Eh I haven't shown you the hotel, have I?

common room

dining hall / common room

The hotel also has kitchen if you wanna cook your own meal. It's a hotel that provides hostel facilities too. :D

my dorm

OK back to the story. Everything was so rushing then. I quickly went to my room and charged the bloody handphone. Turned on the phone and I got a message from Arina asking my whereabouts. So I told her of my situation and she agreed to wait for me. Thank God. So I waited for a while until I felt my battery was charged enough to last me till I met her.

I was feeling guilty as I made her wait so I wanted to reach Taksim Square, where we were gonna meet, as fast as I could. I figured the fastest option should be by taxi as taking a tram required me to hop on to another line to reach Taksim. So I stopped the first taxi in sight. As a result, instead of paying 2 TL for the tram from Chemberlitas to Kabatas and another 2 TL for funicular from Kabatas to Taksim, I had to pay 24 TL. It was supposed to be 10 TL but the taxi driver bloody cheated me!

no I didn't take the tram

no taxi pic so I put tram pic

He was all friendly to me while he drove, then suddenly when I was about to pay, he showed his true colors. The fare was actually 10 TL as shown on the meter but he demanded that I paid the fare in Euro. Clearly, some of the taxi drivers there are taking advantage of foreign travellers. I argued with him as I wanted to pay in the local currency but then he started to shout at me. I continued arguing but after some time, afraid of my safety (you know I imagined he would lock the door and drove me somewhere and do something bad to me.. God I have a big imagination!), I just stashed 10 Euro at him and quickly got out of the cab. T_T

Taksim Square is an open space where people just like to hang out. Arina texted me and said she'll wait at the monument. OK where the hell was this monument, I thought. I looked to the left, right, front and behind but the unfamiliar place made me so blur. Then suddenly, somebody patted my shoulder. I turned around and to my relief, it was her! We hugged like friends separated for years! Or rather... I, hugged her like friends separated for years! hahaha.. I was relieved I guess. She said she saw me from afar and how I looked like a lost puppy. hahahaha...

We talked and talked and talked while walking (till I forgot to take pictures of Taksim). I guessed she missed Malaysia so much so meeting a Malaysian really made her day. As for me, making new friend in a foreign land made my day.

Taksim Square is connected to Istiklal Street, Istanbul's prominent pedestrian street. At anytime of the day, the street is full of people strolling along the myriad of restaurants and shops.

We passed by S. Antonio di Padova Catholic Church. This is the largest church that is still used for religious activities in Turkey.

S. Antonio di Padova Catholic Church

Istiklal Street

There's an old tram passing by this street. Take a ride and just enjoy the journey. The tram may look old but the track is not.

the vintage tram

We then took a ferry to the Asian side. Asian side is more quiet as here's mainly consisting of housing areas unlike the European side which is full of places of interest. But nevertheless, we walked around the area while she showed me the places that she always go. And yeah.. no pictures cos we were busy talking.

She then brought me home to meet her parents in law and had dinner together. Her mother in law actually cooked special meals that day to welcome me. *tears* They couldn't really speak English so we were practically using sign language to communicate, and smile smile smile. haha.. But they really tried to make me feel comfortable though I was a stranger. *tears more*

I miss you!

After dinner, it's time to go back. Although I said I could go back on my own, Arina and her husband insisted to accompany me going back. It was already late that time and he needed to go to the office the next day but still, they insisted cos they said I was their guest. So okay.. we walked to the ferry terminal. Then I thought they would just accompany me till there but they bought ferry ticket for me and the next thing I knew, all three of us were on the boat crossing the Bosphorus.

As we arrived in the European side, I was ready to say goodbye but again, they insisted to accompany me to my hotel. They really took care of me. *tears more and more* God, I am so thankful for the lucky moment where I met them in Cappadocia.

Till we meet again sister!

Turkey : Istanbul (part 3)

2011-12-16T13:21:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

The hotel can arrange booking for some tours too. So before I went to sleep that night I booked a place on Bosphorus Cruise the next morning.

I woke up early then to maximize the day. Refreshed myself and I was out by 7.30am. I was expecting the morning rush to office by the locals but surprisingly it was quiet and a very relaxed morning. My cruise would only start at 9am so I just took my own sweet time walking around Sultanahmet area.

While walking, my stomach made some noises as I haven't had my breakfast yet. Not many restaurants were opened in the morning but there's always McDonald's to the rescue.

But I can eat McDonald's in KL anytime. So I walked to the nearest bakery and bought this.

This is Simit, a crispy and crunchy round bread with sesame seeds. Some people call it the Turkish bagel.

It's cheap too, only 75 kurus (less than 1 TL).

Done with my breakfast, I walked back to the hotel as the Bosphorus Cruise people would pick me up from there. After picking up some other people, we went to Eminonu dock. But to our dismay, it was so foggy that morning. FOL. We couldn't cancel the tour. Double FOL.

To delay some time hoping the fog would go away, we were driven to the nearby Pierre Loti hill. On a beautiful day, this hill is famous as you can catch the beautiful view of the Golden Horn and the old city while sipping the Turkish tea.

There's actually a cable car to go up or down the hill but it wasn't functioning that day. haihh.. why so unlucky today.. -_-

After some time, the guide brought us down. It was STILL foggy but somehow they decided that the tour must go on.

So we started the cruise from the Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus.

Galata bridge

See how foggy it was. Paid 30 Euro for the tour and this was the view I got. Huwaaa.....

We passed by Karakoy Cruise Port, where international ferries or star cruises carrying tourist groups from outside Turkey stop.

The Bosphorus is a 32km long strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, that separates Europe from Asia. We didn't cover all 32km but we saw a lot of attractions and learned the history of them along the way.

#1 Galata Tower

The tower was built in 1348 and it is 62m high. Definitely a great place to have a wonderful view of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.

#2 Dolmabahce Palace

Built in the middle of 19th century, it has an impressive frontage on the Bosphorus.

#3 Ortakoy Mosque

Built in 1854, it is situated at the waterside of the Ortakoy pier square, one of the most beautiful locations on the Bosphorus.

#4 The Bosphorus Bridge

Embracing the European and Asian continents, the bridge occupies a very remarkable place in Turkey's transportation network as it links the main arteries of Istanbul.

#5 Rumeli Fortress

Built around 1452 on the European shore in order to control commercial and military traffic in preparation for the siege of Constantinople.

#6 Kucuksu Palace

Built in the middle of 19th century, it was used as summer residence.

#7 Beylerbeyi Palace

On the Asian side of the Bosphorus, this palace was also built in the 19th century as summer residence.

#8 Maidens Tower

Also built to control the traffic of the ships on the strait, it was then rebuilt as a fortress during Byzantine times and now it houses a restaurant and a cafe.

Despite the foggy weather, the cruise was exciting. The view was very fascinating and I discovered some sites that I wanted to explore on foot.

The cruise I took didn't stop at any of the mentioned attractions, but some other cruise would stop at some of them especially the full day cruise. There's a lot of cruises available so you just have to choose whichever suitable to your budget and time.

The tour ended at almost 1pm. I was supposed to meet Arina (remember her from this entry? ) after that but my phone's battery was dying. I was worried it would be dead before I met her. And it went dead just as I wanted to text her 'Where should we meet up?' Super bad luck day!

Turkey : Istanbul (part 2)

2011-12-11T23:55:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here...

You wanna know how long the journey from Nevsehir to Istanbul was?

It was 12 freaking hours!! My ass hardened from the sitting T_T

Well actually it won't take that long. Supposed we would arrive in Istanbul by 8am but as I told you, it was the end of Qurban Bayrami holiday so the road was all jammed up.

As soon as we stepped down from the bus, I was relieved. We had a few pit stops along the way but still, it was very tiring. We then took a minibus to Sultanahmet and checked into our previous hotel, Cordial House Hotel.

Refreshed ourselves, had lunch and we were out and about in Istanbul again.

First on the agenda was Hagia Sophia or Aya Sofya as it is known in Turkish. The building was originally built as a church, but after the Ottoman conquered the city from the Byzantine, it was proclaimed as a mosque in 1453. For almost 500 years, it remained as a mosque until 1931 when Ataturk, the then president of Turkey, converted it as a museum.

infos and history of the museum

entrance to the main hall

It definitely has a history that can be described as unique. Inside the main hall, the Islamic calligraphic make a fascinating religious contrast with the Christian mosaics.

main hall

During my visit, some areas were being restored, thus the scaffolding inside there.

9th-century mosaic of the Virgin and Child, the oldest of the surviving mosaics in Hagia Sophia

mihrab, which is a niche indicating the direction of Mecca

You can go up to the mezzanine level, where some of the best Byzantine mosaics are in place.

Christ with Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus and Empress Zoe

Virgin and Child with Emperor John II Comnenus and Empress Irene

the Deësis Mosaic

Vestibule of the Warriors and the Mosaic of the Donors

the Mosaic of the Donors

The museum is open everyday except Monday.

Visiting hours are from 9:30 to 16:30.

Entrance fee is 20 TL including visit to the upper gallery floor.

Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Sultanahmet.

Just across the street from Hagia Sophia is the Basilica Cistern, an underground waterway previously used to supply water to the Great Palace. Since it is hidden underneath the street, you can look for the entrance to the cistern opposite the yellow building of the Tourist Police in Sultanahmet.

After descending underground via a flight of stairs, you can walk along the concrete walkways, enjoying the reddish lighting and watching fish swim!

If this place looks familiar to you, it is because this cistern was once featured in one of the James Bond movie, From Russia with Love. Remember the scene when Bond is rowing in a small boat through a marble of columns? Yeah it was here.

Walk all the way to the corner of the cistern, and you'll find two Medusa heads positioned weirdly. One upside down and another one tilted to the side. Both heads are used as column bases but why their positions are like that remain a mystery up till now.

The cistern is open everyday.

Visiting hours are from 9:00 to 17:30.

Entrance fee is 10 TL.

Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Sultanahmet.

Just a short walk from the cistern, is the Million Stone.

Though what remains now is only a pillar, it used to be the very point where distances of the major cities of the empire from Constantinople (former name of Istanbul) was calculated by.

Done with the sightseeing, we went for dinner and went back to the hotel. My sister was going back to Turkmenistan that night. Back to being #foreveralone.

hahaha... no lah.. I didn't cry.

Anyway, part 1 is here.

Run for a greener PJ.. and a darker me

2011-12-08T23:00:00.000+08:00

The sky in the Klang Valley has been gloomy these days. But a fewSundays ago, I ran the PJ Half Marathon, and was burnt under the scorching hotsun. T_T

We ran a new route again. This time, we started the run at Stadium Petaling Jaya, then along the Federal Highway. Made the U-turn atthe 'Penang Bridge', back to Federal and then headed to Subang Airport. We U-turned in front ofSubang Airport, and run back towards the stadium. With the sun up there shining without mercy.

Improved my timing over Putrajaya Night Marathon. I think it’sverified now. I run well in the morning.

Fortunately, I got the medal. Hehehe... It was actually forthe first 200 finishers only for each category but it seemed that most girlspreferred to take part in the 10km category.

So I got the medal as only around 180girls in my category. But it also meant I was among the last. -_- Oh well... I run for fun, though I tried notto be the last one. I have an ego to take care of :p

We waited until the event finished because of the luckydraw. TVs and iPad2 were among the prizes. So everybody waited patiently untilthe lucky draw time. What’s so funny was that every time a number got calledup, and after 3 times the emcees called the number and nobody showed up, wewould shout ‘BURN’. Loudly and happily. Because that means it increased ourchance of winning. Hahahha..

After the run, my friend brought us for a breakfast atVillage Park Uptown Damansara. Had their famous nasi lemak which was voted thebest nasi lemak in Klang Valley.

Didn't know about it but the nasi lemak was indeed yummylicious! Post-run carboload! hehehe...

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011

2011-12-07T22:55:00.000+08:00

Small country, big dreams.

That would sum up the marathon. According to the organizers, this year's event garnered a total of 65,000 runners. Definitely a record. But at the end of the day, they should sit and think, is this small country able to accommodate such big crowd?

the never-ending runners of the full marathon category

I ran the half marathon category and the run started at the bridge entering Sentosa Island. It was a smooth run until we reached the 2km point where all the runners headed to a narrow pathway. Can you imagine the chaos? 20,000 runners in this category running through a small pathway meant for joggers.

It was indeed a disaster.

I was caught up in the bottleneck but luckily I was among the front runners so it wasn't that bad. After the turning point, I could see the traffic was at a standstill. Pity them. They just started the run full of excitement and energy, but suddenly they were forced to 'lari setempat' cos of the bottleneck.

Other than the narrow pathway, running through Sentosa was exciting as we had nice view of the beach and all the attractions. Then we entered the interesting part of the route, the Universal Studios Singapore yo!

As usual I stopped to take pictures. :D

After running through the bus carpark, we were out from the island and headed to the East Coast Parkway. Oh I hate this part too. Again, the route was small. From the 3 lanes, they only allocated 1 lane for us. So at some points, I gave up running cos zigzag-ging through the walkers was tiring ok!

Plus, there were a lot of flyovers. Flyovers = hills = sucks!

Finally when we reached the Esplanade I was happy again. The crowds lined up from there all the way to St. Andrew Bridge and the finishing line, giving support and cheered us tired runners.

But as soon as I crossed the finishing line, there in front of me, was another bottleneck to collect the finisher medal. *sigh*

Last year's race attracted 60,000 runners but I didn't remember having these bottlenecks problem. The organizer really need to do something about these problems for next year's edition. Either they limit the participants or find a bigger venue. But how to find a bigger venue in this small country? I know the organizer aimed for the run to be certified as a gold label event, but I am not sure if number of participants is one of the criteria.

But it's hard to organize such big events so I understand their difficulties. Apart from the bottlenecks problem, I actually enjoyed my run.

And definitely enjoyed my trip to the Lion city. The christmas sales has begun so shopping laa apa lagi! hehehe...

Satisfied my cravings too!

Anyway, my condolences to the family of the runner who died after finishing the half marathon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I still haven't written my PJ Half race report and my maiden full marathon journey.. and I need to finish writing on my Istanbul trip. Too busy now. -_-

Turkey : Cappadocia (part 2)

2011-11-22T15:30:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

We were sent back to the hotel after the balloon tourfinished. I wished I could go to the inviting comfortable bed but sleep canwait.. So after breakfast, we’re out again.

First on our agenda was the Devrent Valley. Now, this valley does not have cave churches like the other valleys in Cappadocia. But it is still a favorite spot for people visiting the town. What makes it famous is the unique landscape.

According to our tour guide, this was formed by volcanic eruption in the region. The volcano, Mount Erciyes, erupted around 2000 years ago and its deposits of volcanic ash, lava and basalt made the beautiful landscape that can be seen today.

Some people also call this place Imagination Valley cos well, it's a place of imagination! If you look closely, the rock formations resemble some animals.

a lizard on the rock

the resting camel

Use your imagination to define what each rock means to you.

Then, we headed to the Fairy Chimneys. As you can see in the pictures, the rocks have mushroom tops on them.

Amazing right? Another wonders from the volcanic eruption. They were formed when erosion wiped out the lava that covered the compacted volcanic ash, leaving behind these stand-alone pinnacles. Since the fairy chimneys were quite soft, the people dug into them to create dwellings and churches.

We then had our lunch at one of the restaurants overlookingthe valley.

I could just sip the Turkish tea and enjoyed the view all day long...

houses in Cappadocia

But there's still more to see. So we left and continued with a visit to GoremeOpen Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Entrance fee to the museum is 15TL per person.

This open air museum is a huge monastic site. There are more than 10 cave churches along with rectories, dwellings, and religious school carved out of a ring-shaped rock formation.

No photos are allowed inside most of the churches. But mostly when you enter the churches, you'd see colorful and beautifully painted murals dating from 900-1200 AD. Each church is unique from the other with a different theme.

Then there's also the Dark Church where you need to pay additional 8TL if you want to enter it. Apparently, this church had been restored and contains beautiful paintings of Orthodox saints and frescoes of scenes from the life of Jesus covering nearly every inch of the wall and ceiling space. Not that the other churches don't have paintings and frescoes, but it seemed like this church is more preserved.

We went back to the hotel around 4pm as we would be goingback to Istanbul that night. Our tour guide sent us to the bus station. He gave us the bustickets and after saying byes and all, he left. We then went to the bus counteronly to find out that our tickets were changed. Our actual route was we would beback through Ankara but we were changed to a direct bus to Istanbul. Soundsbetter right?

But we went through quite an ordeal dealing with the bus operator. Itwas the end of Qurban Bayrami holiday so many people were rushing back toIstanbul. After going here and there, we were told that all tickets to Istanbulfor the day were sold out! Whaddahell man!!! My sister was so furious as shewould be going back to Turkmenistan the following night.

After some negotiation,we were finally put on an 8.15pm bus to Nevsehir, and from Nevsehir direct toIstanbul. It was around 6pm then. Bored waiting, we went walking around the bus station. But there’s nothingmuch to see so we walked back to the bus station. And thank God, we met one ofthe nicest couple in Turkey.

While we were waiting, a lady suddenly came to usand asked whether we were Malaysians? We said yes, and guess what? She’s fromMalaysia too! And she lived in Istanbul. She got married to a Turkish lad andthey were in Cappadocia visiting his grandparents. They invited us for dinnerand even offered to take me out sightseeing in Istanbul. A blessing in disguiseindeed. If we were to board the earlier bus to Ankara, we wouldn’t meet them for sure.

After dinner, we bidgoodbye as they were leaving on a 7.45pm bus. We boarded the bus to Nevsehirhalf an hour later. Reached Nevsehir at9pm and it’s waiting time again. Our bus would only leave at 11pm.

Finally, it’s time to leave. Istanbul, we'd meet again!

Turkey : Hot air balloon

2011-11-16T23:59:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

The next morning, we needed to wake up at 4.30am. Wonder what we’re up tothat early?

We’re going to have a ride in a hot air balloon! Woohoo!!!

Cappadocia is one of the most famous hot air ballooning spots in the world so how could I miss that special experience.

We were picked up at 5am from the hotel and brought to an open space somewhere in Urgup.Urgup is around 10km from Cappadocia. I was so sleepy but as soon as I saw the balloons, my eyes woke up!

We got to see the whole process, right from the balloon inits flat condition to the filling in of the helium gas.

After the balloon was ready, it was time to get into thebasket.

The basket can fit in around 10 persons.

The pilot briefed us some safety procedure and we're up.

Up up and away...

As we went up, I could see so many balloons around the area..

The balloon moved slowly and relaxingly, so much so that we barely noticed that we reached altitudes of almost 3,000m above the ground.

We gotta watch the sunrise!

As we passed the cliffs and the valley, the sun started to shine in its full glory, casting bright rays upon the landscape below us. It was really beautiful!

Our pilot navigated the balloon towards the hills andthe rock cones.

our pilot

At times, I was afraid we would crash onto the cones but worrynot; the pilots are all good (I hope so!).

Sometimes our pilot would lower down the balloon for us to enjoy the beautiful rock formations and the valley. Sometimes he drove us closer to other balloons. And then, he would take us higher and higher. For us the passengers, it was like a littlecompetition among the balloons, all wanting to be higher than the rest.

Finally, it’s time to go down. We went down slowly, and Icould see that there were a lot of pickup trucks on the roads.

As we were nearerto the ground, I saw a truck following us. Then the pilot informed us that the truck actually would be ourlanding base.

Anddd... we landed safely!

The balloon tour lasted for 1 hour and a half. We then hada little gathering; where we had a toast and were presented with a certificateof achievement from the captain.

For 90 Euro, it was really an unforgettable experience. I definitely will return for another ride.

Turkey : Cappadocia

2011-11-15T22:11:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

Done with the pool, wehad lunch and visited some Onyx factory. Wonder what is Onyx? Yeah I've neverheard of it too before my trip to Pamukkale. According to the worker who briefed us, Onyxis transparent or translucent material which has interesting pattern, formed byhot water springs waves in the underground. It is from the same family asmarble.

Too bad we weren't allowed to take pictures but this is one example ofOnyx in case you wonder how it looks like.

We then went to the Touroffice to get our bus ticket for the next destination, Cappadocia.

But somehow they messed up thereservation and unable to provide us direct ticket from Pamukkale to Cappadocia.While they were working out the solutions, we went for a walk around Pamukkaletown.

The walk brought us back to the lake in front of the beautifultravertine. We just lingered there, enjoying a drink while waiting for thesunset.

After sunset, we walked back to theoffice and thank God, they had solutions already. We were put on a minibus toDenizli bus station, which is around 16km from Pamukkale. From Denizli, we rodean overnight bus to Goreme. Goreme is in Cappadocia area actually but all long distance buses into Cappadocia arrive at Nevsehir's bus station.

But unfortunately it wasn't a smooth ride. The bus stopped at a gas station for Subuh prayer, and after that the driver couldn't start the engine! After almost an hour, the bus was finally on the road again. Pheww... but but but... 15 minutes later, the bus broke down again. T_T

So there we were, waiting by the road side in the middle of nowhere. Luckily,15 minutes later another bus came and picked us up. We arrived in Goreme around9.30am.

The bus operator helped to contact our tour guide. I think he cameearlier but couldn't find us so he left. Turista representative then came 45minutes later, and sent us to meet our tour guide.

What an introduction huh?

This time around, there were a few other travellers joining us. We started with Taskinpasa, whichis a typical Cappadocian village.

This is a Medresesi, an Ottoman theological school.

Next, we visited a Roman ruins of Sobesos which was recently excavated.

It has a very nice ground mosaics.

Next, our destination wasSoganli Valley which is about 55km far from Goreme. The area was formed byearthquake, and erosion of soils resulted in deep valleys and canyons. It wasoccupied since the Roman period during the early Christianity.

The rock cones found on the slopesof the valley were used as graves by the Romans, and the Byzantines later usedthem as churches.

In addition tothe churches, there are thousands of carved bird aviaries, caves and shelter alongthe valley.

the paint on the caves' wall showed the early Christianity

dining place and the kitchen

The walk along the valley was almost 3km and it was quite a captivating scene.

Continuing the tour, we were brought to visit Derinkuyu underground city.

There are so many underground cities in Cappadocia. This cities were largely used by early Christians as hiding places before they became an accepted religion. The exact number of cities is unknown but the biggest and deepest is Derinkuyu underground city that we visited. There are eight floors and extend at a depth of approximately 85m.

You mightwonder how they lived their live down under, but the underground city atDerinkuyu has all the usual amenities such as wine and oil presses, stables,cellars, storage rooms, and chapels. And also, they have good ventilation system.Their air shaft’s are up to 30m deep.

However,the uniqueness of Derinkuyu underground city is a spacious room with a barrelvaulted ceiling which is located on the second floor.

It has been reported thatthis room was used as a religious school and the rooms to the left werestudies. Between the third and fourth levels is a vertical staircase. Thispassage way leads to a cruciform church on the lowest level.

Done exploring the underground city, we partedways with the other travellers at the bus station. They would be heading backto Istanbul while we would stay overnight and continue our exploration ofCappadocia.

Turkey : Pamukkale

2011-11-08T21:00:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

As early as 6am, we woke up and got dressed. Had breakfast at the hotel andchecked out soon after. The driver sent us to Kusadasi bus station.

Got on an8am bus and 3 hours and a half later, we arrived in Pamukkale. This is a smalltown that receive a lot of visitors due to its natural wonders, the beautiful travertineand the hot springs.

Our next tour guide was already waiting at the bus station, and straight away drove us to our destination. Pamukkale means cotton castle in Turkish, and from afar, that’s exactly what the travertine looks like. It also looks kinda like snow covered hill.

The driver drove us uphill. Entrance fee to this area is 20TL. We were first brought to an ancient city of Hierapolis. This ancient city is adjacent to the hot springs. It is believed the Hittites (2000BC – 1000BC) was the first empire to form a city here and they chose the location because of the hot springs.

We walked around the ruins. I’ve seen a lot of ruins over the last 2 days but the fact that a lot of the ruins are still somewhat intact after thousands of years, well I can’t think of a word to describe how incredible that is. One that caught my eyes was this Theater.

Not as big as the one in Ephesus, but still, it is impressive. Perched on the slope of a hill, we had to walk to the top to enter the Theater but it was well worth the effort. The stage area was being restored during my visit but overall, it was in extremely good condition. Sitting at the Theater, we had an amazing view of the valley below.

Walking down the hill, we stopped at the Cleopatra Baths.

You can swim in the ancient pool for 25TL. The water in the pool is the same hot, mineral water that feeds the pools in the travertine.

They had also sunk some of the ancient columns from Hierapolis into the bottom of the pool to give it a more ancient feel.

Finally, just a couple of hundred metres from the Hierapolis ruins and the ancient pool, the amazingly beautiful pools and the white stone waterfalls lies before our eyes.

Oh my God. Seriously I was speechless upon seeing the natural beauty in front of me.

The terraces were formed by running warm spring water, at a temperature of 35°C containing calcium bicarbonate. The warm calcium-rich water bubbling out of springs on the hillside has cascaded over the rocks for centuries; as it cools it leaves mineral deposits which form a series of natural shelves and pools.

Not surprisingly, its popularity with the tourist in the past had put much of its beauty in jeopardy. People used to soak themselves in the pools as the hot springs were believed to have healing powers. It must not have created a problem when it was relatively small numbers but over time, more and more people taking advantage of the healing waters.

This increase, coupled with the extra drain on resources caused by the construction of some new hotels built at the top of the mountain caused serious damage to the pools. UNESCO has worked with the local authorities to rehab the area, first tearing down the hotels at the top, then by closing off sections of the travertine so they can recover, and finally by limiting where and when people can access the terraces.

Not wanting to miss the opportunity to soak ourselves in the pool, we walked to the bottom of the falls. Walking downhill through the pools with water running down, barefooted, I was expecting the rocks to be slippery but fortunately, it wasn’t. We manoeuvred our way without any problem.

I had time for a little facial too. Hehehe...

They say the water and the mineral deposits are good for the skin. :D

Alternatively, you can start walking from the bottom of the hill. There’s another entrance there. Do note that shoes need to be taken off because they aren’t allowed in order to protect the mineral deposit.

The experience was totally awesome. This is certainly one of the best natural wonders I’ve ever seen in my life.

Anyway, both the Hierapolis and Pools of Pamukkale are listed as World Heritage sites of UNESCO in 1988. It’s easy to see why isn’t it?

Turkey : Ephesus

2011-11-04T14:00:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

Our nextstop was Ephesus, located about 3km west of Selcuk.

For many years, thisancient city was the largest city of the Roman Empire; ranking behind Rome, theempire’s capital. Ephesus had a population of more than 250,000 in the 1stcentury BC, which also made it the second largest city in the world.

There aretwo entrances; the North Gate which is above the hill whilst the other one, theSouth Gate is downhill.

Entrance is 20TL per person. We entered from the North Gate, and the first thing that caught my eyes as we went in was this Odeon.

My excitement level rose up, anticipating what's more to come.

As we continued walking, my jaw dropped in awe looking at the surroundings.

Walking through the ruins was surreal. Seeing how intricate the pillars and the buildings were made me wonder… how did they do it? How did they build all these structures thousand years ago? Amazing indeed!

We then walked down the hill through the main street.

main street

I could wander here for hours, imagining how the actual city was like during its glorious days. The hustle and bustle of it. The city was actually located near a harbour but over time, the harbour silted up.

entrance to the temple of Hadrian

mosaic tiles

The Romans left behind a legacy of fine buildings including the massive 44,000 capacity Theatre which is believed to be the largest outdoor theatre in the ancient world; and the Library of Celsus, which has become a symbol of Turkey tourism industry. These two ruins are definitely the highlight of Ephesus.

The library in all its glory stunned me with amazement.

the crowd!

the Library of Celsus

It was still in impeccable condition. Some say it looks very much like Petra in Jordan but I haven’t been there so I reserve my comment. Should plan to go there someday.

Then there’s the public toilet; which my guide said was like a social meet up place.

People would gather there to exchange news, chat and generally have a great time. I asked, wouldn’t it be smelly? I wouldn’t wanna be in the toilet for long. But his answer was unexpected; those Romans had an excellent water system that masked the smells.

A great place like this, you may want to engage a tour guide to have him explain the history or the details of the ruins to you. Alternatively, you can bring a guidebook or buy one at the entrance. Otherwise, your visit is not fully beneficial, not knowing what is what. Also, bring your own bottled water. There aren’t any stalls inside.

The last thing we saw before exiting was the huge amphitheatre.

Woahhh... man, it was really huge! Can you imagine how great the architecture was before?

After we exited, there was of course a place to buy souvenirs. I saw this.

Genuine fake watches. Fake watches. But they are genuine. Then are they fake or real? Hahaha...

More of Malaysia with less moolah!

2011-11-02T12:45:00.000+08:00

Thisblog entry is part of AirAsia Bloggers Programme.
Interestedto blog for them?
ContactJayne (jayneeloisekam@airasia.com)

Whenever I travel, I always play Malaysia’s littleambassador to new people I meet. The excited looks on their faces when I tellthem why they should visit Malaysia are priceless. Plus, the country is veryaffordable to explore if you know the drill.

Normally, tourists will have the Petronas Twin Towers, KLTower, Batu Caves and Chinatown in their mind. Those are the popularattractions but Malaysia has a lot more to offer. Thus, I will (virtually)bring you to see some other parts of Malaysia, on a budget!

Putrajaya

If you love photography or just an architecture lover, youcannot miss this administrative centre of Malaysia. You will go “oohh” and“aahh” admiring the beautiful buildings. The majestic Prime Minister's Office--thePerdana Putra, Putra Mosque, Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Palaceof Justice, and Seri Wawasan Bridge are some of the many great architecture tobehold.

Putra Mosque

Perdana Putra

Wait till it’s dark. The city offers a breathtaking viewwhen the lights are on.

Perbadanan Putrajaya complex

Because of this, night runs in Putrajaya are famous too.Never missed participating since I started joining the running bandwagon (wellthat's another story to share).

Good news is, it's quite near to the LCCT (Low Cost CarrierTerminal). So, you can head there straight after you’ve landed. There is afeeder bus to KLIA and from there, hop onto the KLIA Transit. Putrajaya is justa station away. From there, you can take the Nadi Putra bus which operatesaround the city. When you're done, head back to the station and you will reachKL within half an hour. Total ‘RM’ spent is less than RM20!

Genting Highlands

Now who doesn’t love a cool, breezy sunny afternoon?Malaysia has a hot and humid weather all year round so if you want to escapethat for a while, head to Genting Highlands for a change of climate. Headto ‘Snow World’ at First World Plaza for a winter experience! But that's notthe only attraction in Genting Highlands. This place just spells fun!

The flying coaster

There are the outdoor and indoor theme parks to explore,with attractions ranging from kiddy rides to the adrenaline pumping ones. Youalso get to feel how it's like to be able to fly with Asia's one and only windtunnel. The excitement doesn't end there. You may enjoy the cinema, bowling,shopping or if you have a little more budget and you think lady luck is on yourside, try spinning some money at the casino, the only gambling area inMalaysia.

You can reach Genting Highlands from LCCT by Aerobus foronly RM35 per way. Another option, if you are from KL, get a package fromGo Genting at KL Sentral. For RM47, the package includes return bus transfer,return cable car ride and the entrance to its outdoor theme park! But if youare too scared to take on the challenge of the roller coasters, you have achoice to enjoy the buffet lunch at one of the restaurants. Sounds like a gooddeal, no?

Malacca

Next, let's go down south to this historical state ofMalaysia. I spent seven years of my life studying in this state, from highschool to getting my degree. You wouldn't want to know all the excuses I madejust to go back to KL. But true as what people say, you will miss somethingwhen it's gone. After graduation, I miss Malacca so much! Once, my friends andI drove to Malacca for a day trip just to do some sight-seeing and eat!

Well, it's not difficult to get there. It's 2-hour drivefrom Kuala Lumpur or you can take bus from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan. Buses toMalacca are abundant and frequent. The fare is only RM12.30, cheap eh?

Jonker Walk along Jonker Street

Once you're there, the happening Jonker Street is a must-go.Mind you, the street is more alive at night and on weekends. Every time I visitMalacca, this is the one place I never miss to visit. You can find uniquesouvenirs from the many stalls and antique shops. Also, try the mouth-watering‘Cendol’ *salivating*. Ahh...writing this makes me want to go there right now!

Just a short distance from Jonker Street are the DutchSquare, Stadthuys, A’ Famosa Fort, and Menara Taming Sari. Don’t forget tocheck out the Malacca River cruise. Most of the attractions are free or withjust a minimal ticket fee.

The Dutch Square

A’ Famosa Fort

After all that sightseeing, savour all these yummyliciousdishes--‘Asam Pedas’, ‘Chicken Rice Ball’ or ’Cendol’, which caused myexpanding waistline during my student days. Sheeshhh...

So now you know you don't have to fork out afortune to enjoy this country. What are you waiting for then? Your budget tripstarts with low fare flights which you can only find with AirAsia.

Turkey: Selcuk

2011-10-30T23:00:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

Just 20km northeast of Kusadasi, lies a district full of history. Selcuk was once a town in Kusadasi, but it became a district on its own in 1957. Nowadays, it is one of the most visited district in Turkey due to the close proximity to the famous Ephesus.

Heading to Selcuk from Kusadasi, you will come across Ayasuluk Hill. Here is the site where several thousand years of history have left their trace.

We started with a visit to an old mosque.

Built in 1375, IsaBey Mosque is one of the oldest mosque in Turkey. It was restored in 1934 and now still a working mosque, open to public except during prayer time.

The construction of this mosque is unique as it contains columns and stones from the ruins of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis.

Inside the mosque,intricate marble and woodwork are fine examples of craftsmanship of the time. Additionally, there are also a collection of beautiful prayer rugs that coverthe vast floor space.

the minaret

On the same hill, lies another treasure, the Temple of Artemis. It was originally built around 550 BC and dedicated to Artemis, a Greek Goddess. Said to be the largest temple in the world during its glorious days, this temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World but sadly today, only a column is left.

It used to look like this.

The hill is crowned by a massive Ottoman castle. However, at the time of my visit, excavations were taking place, so the castle was closed to visitors.

Three periods of history in Selcuk: Temple of Artemis (front), IsaBey Mosque (middle), the Ottoman castle (far)

Next, we went to the House of the Virgin Mary, which is up a windingroad on a mountain above Ephesus.

This place of pilgrimage visited by thousands of tourists every year, maintains its holiness for the Muslims as well as for the Christian world.

According to the traditions, this is thehouse that Mary, Mother of Jesus lived in before she died.

The house is very small; there's an altar, with images of Mary and candles. Except for people lining up to pay respect to Mary, there's nothing much to see so, we followed the path out from the back door.

I roamed outside the house, where there is a park and nature preserve.

faucets to get holy water

places to attach prayers

This reminds me of Japan, where people write a wish and put it on an ema stand.

Finally, we went to visit the main attraction of the town, the Ephesus. But main attraction like that deserves an entry of its own. Wait for it...

Turkey : Kusadasi

2011-10-29T16:33:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

Located90km south of Izmir, Kusadasi is popular with tourists as it's very near to thehistorical sites such as the Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary and Isabey Mosque.

Butit is also a beautiful town on its own, with numerous beach resorts overlookingthe Aegean Sea. Various Mediterranean cruises dock at the harbour, so the townis always happening.

We started the day by visiting all those historical placesbut I'll write about them in a separate entry. For this entry, I shall writeabout Kusadasi. Because I want my map to be in order. :p

Turkishcarpets or rugs are famous around the world; they are known to have highqualities and valuable. Believe it or not, you can sell your handmade silkcarpet and make profit over it. So my sister was very eager when we went to acarpet store as she was kinda interested to buy one.

We were attended by their manager and firstly brought to see the carpet weaving demonstration.

Most ofthe carpet weavers in Turkey are women. I was amazed seeing their hard work.Imagine that big carpet in your living room, one woman weaved it on her own and one very big carpet can take years to complete! These women are not paid an hourly wage, but rather for the completed carpet.There are many criteria used to determine the amount she will receive such asthe intricacy of the design, quality of the materials used, and if it is acarpet, the number of knots per square centimetre.

We werethen ushered to a big room full or carpets, and they told us all the tales ofthe Turkish carpet and what makes them so great. They also shared stories on how during the older days, a girl had a greater chance of marrying if she was a skilled weaver andwould offer carpets as part of her dowry to her future husband.

While at it, ofcourse they will try to sell the carpets to you too. Standard la kan? :p

But atthe end of the day, it was a very educational visit. I had a chance to see alady actually making a rug right before my eyes, how silk is made from silkcocoons, how the wool is dyed with natural products and most importantly, I nowknow how to differentiate a handmade carpet and a machine made carpet. Mysister got her carpet and everybody's happy.

After ourtour finished, we asked the driver to drop us at the harbour to enjoy thesunset.

Beautiful, isn't it? We continued walking around the nearby bazaar and theshopping street. Oh yeah, another thing you should buy when visiting Kusadasiis their leather.

Turkey isone of the world’s leading producers and exporters of leather goods and I wastold that Kusadasi is the best place to buy it. Walking into each Kusadasileather store is like walking into a leather heaven.

You can get leather in allcolours from classic browns and blacks to all the colours of the rainbow, fromconservative styles to the more fashion-forward ones. Let’s not mention the varietyof different skins: from nubuck to suede, from napa to the so-called‘silk-leather’. The price? You can get them from as low as USD50. Very good deal I suppose.

Finally, what's a visit to Turkeywithout buying the Turkish Delight?

Made from starch and sugar, they come in various flavours and packaging, making it a popular souvenir from Turkey.

Turkey: Troy

2011-10-26T23:36:00.000+08:00

Continuation from here ...

What's up with the horse? If you've watched Troy the movie before, then you'll know this legendary horse.

In fact, this Trojan Horse, used in the film, was a gift from Brad Pitt to the town.

Our tourguide picked us up at the hotel and off we went to visit the ancient city ofTroy, famous for the legendary Trojan horse from the times of Beautiful Helen,Queen of Sparta and Paris, the Trojan Prince.

It is only a short drive fromCanakkale town, around 20 minutes or so.

Upon entering the site, we weregreeted by a giant replica of the Trojan horse.

You can climb inside andpretended to be Greek soldiers who helped sack Troy.

The ruinsof Troy are fascinating; among the highlights are the former city walls and theRoman Odeon where concerts were held. The foundations of many buildings as wellas street plans were visible too. I would suggest you visit this Troy with atour guide because except for the explanation in a mini exhibition outside thesite, there weren’t any on site.

Accordingto our tour guide, the city of Troy had been built and rebuilt nine times overthe centuries; each succeeding city has been built over the previous one afterdestruction from war or earthquake. We went from ruin to ruin, with the guideexplained all of the cultural, historical, and folkloric background of eachsite.

The firstcity of Troy existed during the early Bronze Age around 3000 BC. Over thecenturies, leadership of Troy went from the Mycenaeans to the Achaeans to theGreeks to the Romans to the Byzantines before disappearing by 1462. The townwas subject to frequent devastating earthquakes and the silting up of their harbourwhich contributed to the city losing influence.

Troy had originally been a coastal, mercantile city; its location allowed thecity to control the Dardanelles Strait and consequently all the ships thatwanted to pass from the Aegean to the Black Sea (through the Bosphorus Strait).

These days, however, the sea levels have receded and Troy is now standing atopa huge hill formed partially by nature and partially by the rubble of theprevious settlements, surrounded by fertile farmland in all directions. Theflat former sea-bed allowed us an unrestricted view back to Canakkale.

During myvisit, there was an active excavation going on.

The excavation site wascordoned off and covered up by a huge canvas shade cloth. It is estimated thatonly a third of Troy has been excavated with much left to be discovered.

Done with this UNESCO World Heritage, we were on a bus again. This time, it was 6 hours journey to Izmir.

Then from Izmir, we took a bus to Kusadasi and spent the night there.

Gotta recharge for our next tour...

Turkey: Gallipoli

2011-10-23T02:05:00.001+08:00

Continuation from here.

The next day, we checked out from thehostel as we’re gonna start our tour with Turista Travel. Their representativewas supposed to pick us up at 6.30am but we waited until 7am and nobody showedup. My sister called the agency and we kept on getting ‘we’re on the way’replies. I thought we were conned. Finally a guy showed up with a van at almost 8am and said we needed toget to the bus station fast. Our bus would be leaving at 8.30am. Whaddeeee??!!

The next thing I knew, we’re on the roadspeeding like F1 drivers. We reached the bus station at 8.30am sharp and luckilythe bus hadn’t left yet. Pheww!!! The guy gave us the bus ticket, said bye andwe’re off leaving Istanbul.

I was so jakun when I hopped on the bus. I'll show you why...

The bus was like an aircraft ok! Aircraft has in-flight entertainment for their passengers during a flight and this bus has a similar in-bus entertainment. Woot!

You can watch the route you take, or watch movies and listen to the radio during the journey.

Awesome kan? And the similarities with an aircraft didn't end there.

Look! They had snacks onboard too. Double woot!

those cakes were yummylicious !

inside the bus

We followed a tour so everything was paid for already but I took note of the bus fare just in case I want to make a trip of my own in the future. The fare was only TL30 and you got all those services like boarding a plane. I wish Malaysia has this kinda bus. Or is the Aeroline Coach to Singapore like this? I don't know since I've never boarded one.

Oh I should tell you about our tour. Itwasn’t like a grouped tour where you move in groups with a tour guide in achartered bus or van. The tour that we took is like a link-to-link tour. We’renow on our way to Gallipoli. Then in Gallipoli a tour guide would take care ofus. Next, when we moved to another area, another tour guide would take care ofus and so on.

We reached our destination, Eceabat at 1.30pm. Met our tourguide, had lunch and started our tour of Gallipoli.

This place was where the Gallipoli Campaign took place nearly 100 years ago. Once a battlefield in the World War 1, it is now a serene site and a national park.

We werefirst brought to visit the ANZAC cove, a beach where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) troops first landed.

memorial of Anzac Cove

The history was that the Allied forces set out to capture Istanbul, the then capital of the Ottoman Empire. The battle failed and more than 10,000 New Zealand and Australian servicemen were among the 100,000 soldiers killed in the eight-month combat.

the Sphinx, one of the battlefield's most distinctive physical landmarks

We were also brought to Lone Pine Australian Memorial and Chunuk BairNew Zealand Memorial, Johnston’s Jolly and Kaba Tepe Gallipoli Museum.

Australian cemetery at Lone Pine

the Turkish memorial and cemetery

Hill 60 - the New Zealand memorial

I walked around the cemeteries and noticed that the average age of the soldiers were from 18-22. How brave the youngsters back then!

a statue of a Turk soldier carrying a wounded Australian soldier

underground tunnel and hide out place

the trenches

Luckily, we had an excellent guide who knew heaps of details about World War I and the Gallipoli landings from both sides of the conflict. He made the history sounded interesting. I should've gone to visit these historical places before I sat for my SPM history paper. Might get an A1 then!

After the tour ended, we boarded ferrycrossing the Dardanelles to Canakkale.

The crossing only took 45 minutes to reach Canakkale. We were sent to our hotel, located very near to the quay. We're free at night so I took the opportunity to roam the small town.

The area around the hotel was quitehappening. It was the eve of Hari Raya Aidiladha or better known as QurbanBayrami in Turkey. Nahh.. I didn’t see people making ketupat or rendang,instead I saw people drinking beer like it was the eve of Christmas. Well I guessedthey were tourists.

Continued walking around and I came across this horse!

and that was what to come the next day...

Turkey: Istanbul

2011-10-19T19:37:00.000+08:00

My flight to Istanbul from Doha only took 4 hours and 30minutes. And for information, Malaysian doesn’t need a visa to enter Turkey.

As soon as I landed, I called my sister. She arrived a day earlierfrom Turkmenistan. I told her I could take the tram and met her at the nearesttram station to our hostel. But she insisted to come to the airport to meet me.So I waited. 1 hour and a half later, she arrived. Actually she had a reasonwhy she wanted to come and meet me at the airport, she stored her suitcase atthe baggage custody services because she was lazy to carry it in the tram. Shecame to meet me, retrieved her suitcase and asked me to rent a car to ourhostel. Clever woman!

So we rented a car for 25 Euro. Driving from IstanbulAtaturk Airport to the hotel was only 45 minutes. We stayed at Cordial House Hotel. Well, itis a hotel but it also has dorms for budget traveller like me. I paid only 5Euro per night for the dorm. Super cheap considering it is located inSultanahmet area, the center of tourist attractions.

After resting for a while, refreshed myself and had a lightsnack, we went out to start playing tourist. This city is so rich of history,thus, the many historical spots. Roman Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, OttomanEmpire all played a big part of making what Istanbul is today.

First off our list was to visit the Topkapi Palace. It’s just a 10minutes’ walk from our hostel. This extraordinary and secret palace was theresidence of the Ottoman Sultans and the center of Ottoman might for nearly 400years.

entrance to the palace

There’s a lot to see in the complex; from stunningarchitecture to plush gardens; from unbelievable large jewelry to relics fromProphet Muhammad's life; from the baths to the bedrooms of the sultan.

the garden

entrance to the hall of holy relics

The Hall of Holy Relics is filled with artifacts belongingto various Prophets mentioned in the Quran and Bible. I was speechless seeingall those artifacts. It's unbelievable to imagine these items are still intact. Too bad photography was not allowed in there so I can't share it here. :(

Then, there's the Haremwhich is the highlight of this palace.

This Harem was where the wives, concubines and children of the sultan lived. Walking through the interconnected chambers, I was amazed. The walls were filled with decorative tiles and ornaments. This palace is still beautiful despite it being old.

ablution fountain

the toilet

It is actually very big with about 100 rooms in estimation, but we were allowed to see only a few of them.

We were then led to the Imperial Hall, where the Sultan would be entertained with his family and guests.

Beautiful hall I must say. At some parts of the walls, they were decorated with verses from the Quran and glass windows.

From the balconies of the palace, you have breathtakingviews of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

We spent a little over 4 hours there. Could have easilyspent more time exploring the palace if not for the approaching closing time.

The museum is open everyday except Tuesday.

Visiting hours are from 9:00 to 17:00.

Entrance fee is 20 TL. Additional 15 TL to enter the Harem.

Direction: Take Zeytinburnu-Kabataş Tram Line (T1) and stop at Sultanahmet.

We wandered around Sultanahmet area, and then settled at arestaurant for early dinner. 98% of Turks are Muslims so finding foods inTurkey is not a problem.

After dinner, we headed to Press Museum in Sultanahmet to watch Sufi Music concert and WhirlingDervishes ceremony. Paid 35 TL for the ticket. The Dervish Dancers are actually Sufis performing theirworship ritual. As such, it is an authentic ritual, and not set up to be atypical dance performance.

There was no introduction or explanation. It startedwith a number of musicians and singers playing lovely melodic instruments andsinging.

Next came the dancers, who started one by one to whirl.

Eachdancer had their own slightly different style. It was quite beautiful to watch,and I was amazed that they didn't seem to get dizzy. They twirled for more than30 minutes ok!

Watch my video to hear the music and to see the actual whirling...

The whole performancelasted about an hour. I found it to be fascinating, and Iwould strongly recommend this experience to other visitors though I saw somepeople sleeping halfway through it. For some, it might be boring or monotonous.Yeah, it is somewhat monotonous, watching people twirl for 30 minutes or so. Myadvice, you should do some homework first before coming to watch it. Do readinformation about Mevlana sufi before going to this show to really appreciatethis performance. When you understand what the performance means, you’ll findthe hour-long ceremony of Sufi music and whirling dervishes colorful andinteresting.

After the show finished, my sister went to Cemberlitas Hamam(will write about it later) but I was too tired, so I went back to the hotel tosleep.

to be continued...

Putrajaya Night Marathon

2011-10-18T12:49:00.000+08:00

I officially hate night run. Specifically in Putrajaya. It was so hot mannn!! I think I ran better early in the morning.

The run last Saturday was so bad. No, it wasn't the organizer's fault. It's just that I had a bad run. I suffered leg cramp as early as KM9. Bummer! The muscle cramp came on and off; starting from my calves, then at times moved up to my thighs. Maybe I didn't do enough stretching. And yeah, I didn't take ORS before the run either. My fault, I know.

But I partly blame my work schedule. I was tired because I had to go to the office that day. Working full day on Saturday. So sad right? I left the office at 6pm, then straight away drove to Putrajaya. My office to Putrajaya is quite near, I reached the venue within 15 minutes.

I've never been to any running events that early so I didn't know what to do. My sister and her friends hadn't arrived yet. So I stopped at Dataran Putrajaya and joined the hoardes of tourists snapping photos of the beautiful buildings. hahaha...

Putra Mosque

Seri Wawasan bridge

Istana hinggap

Done with my impromptu photography session, I drove to the parking lot. Finding parking was a breeze too. Changed to my running attire, then I just sit in my car listening to radio waiting for my category to start.

At almost 8pm, I went to the starting line to see the flag off of the full marathon runners. Met my sister after that in front of Perbadanan Putrajaya complex and off we went to the starting line. We were flagged off 20 minutes later.

This year's route was a little bit different from the previous events. We ran on some new routes; the outer loop of PICC, along Precint 9, Lebuh Perdana Barat, the big roundabout, Lebuh Perdana Ehsan and also Lebuh Ehsan. Nice change but I felt like the routes were forever as I were limping! T_T

Putra Mosque

Seri Saujana bridge

Apart from my bad run, the organizer actually did a great job. They had a lot of improvements from last year's event. I especially like their entertainment effort where they had drummers, marching band, radios and live statues at some part of the route. They added the fun and gave motivation to the runners.

What's good is that all 21km finishers got a finisher tee. Yeay!!

Okay.. I take back my word. Maybe I'll join again next year. :D

Serigala Besar yang Jahat

2011-10-13T22:48:00.000+08:00

I used to be an ulat buku before. Myparents instilled the reading habit in my siblings and I since we weresmall. Bambino, Kuntum andDewan Pelajar were our monthly reads. My parents would bring us to book fairsaround KL, and sometimes to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka to buy books. When I read the newspaper, I would readevery single news and articles, from front to back. Then, when I wasbored, I read the labels on foods. Yeah.. I was that nerd.

But nowadays, I realized that I read less.Less, I mean in terms of books. I seldom read books anymore. Magazines even. Ionly read things online - newspaper, wikipedia, blogs. I guess the world wide web has killed the bookworm inme.

Then last week my girlfriend sent me a linkto Big Bad Wolf Book sale.

I've never been to the sale before so I didn't know how cheap the books would be. My sister went there last weekend and came back with a few plastic bags full of books. I took a look at the books she bought and immediately wanted to go. How can you not after seeing the price of the books. Most of them are priced at RM5~RM10.

I decided to go check it out last Tuesday since it was quite near to my office.

I was lost when I first entered the hall. I was like, this place is sooo big and there's sooo many books where should I start? Luckily each area have signboards stating its category. There's bestsellers, travel, cookery, children, hobbies, parenting, self help, health and beauty, biography, sports and many more!

Ended up, I went there two days in a row and came back with these...

Total spent was only RM299 for 34 books. That's like RM8.80 per book. Super cheap aight?? I guess the whole books easily worth more than RM1500.

The sale is until this weekend peeps. Go check it out! Eh eh kenapa tiba-tiba jadi spokesperson tak rasmi ni? hahaha... But seriously, go check it out! The books are super cheap it's a crime not to go.

Adidas King of the Road 2011

2011-10-08T12:52:00.001+08:00

Post raya run.. It felt so good to run again after 2 months.

This Adidas King of the Road run is actually one of the 5 runs held across SouthEast Asia; Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines. Eachcountry hold the same run where the final run in Philippines will see thewinner being crowned as King of the Road after completing 84km run altogether.I wanted to take part in all 5 (berangan!) but I missed the Thailand leg. Singapore’sleg was held in Ramadhan, and then no friends wanted to participate in theIndonesian and Philippines leg. So I ran the Malaysian leg only lah.

I liked the fact that we ran on a new route. Starting infront of Sunway Pyramid and running on NPE highway was refreshing. I personallythink sometimes we need a change once in a while. Seeing all those new sightswhile running give a boost on the motivation, well at least for me. The usualDataran Merdeka route can be de-motivating because you know what’s coming upnext already.

My sister told me to wake up at 4.30am to get ready as sheplanned to get out of the house at 5am. I slept quite late the night before,and I forgot to set up the alarm, so yeah... I woke up late. In fact, shehad to wake me up. Like someone’s already late for work, I rushed to thebathroom and done within 5 minutes. Hahaha... But eventually, we went out ataround 5.15am.

Picked up my sister’s friends and off we drove to MRR2. TheNPE highway was closed starting from 3am so we opted for KESAS. Made a pit stopat Awan Besar R&R to fill the petrol and performed our Subuh prayers. Wereached Bandar Sunway at around 6.15am. The roads leading to Sunway Pyramid wasalready jammed up. After a lot of turns here and there, we managed to park ourcar in front of Sunway Pyramid Tower.

our parking agong spot

We thought we were lucky to get that spotbecause it was very near to the starting point. Kinda like parking agong la.Hahaha... Turned out when we wanted to go back, the hotel staff demanded RM10from us. The spot was actually the valet parking area. Pfttt.

The turnout was great. The starting line was already filledup with thousands of people. It was colourful as the running vest came in a fewdifferent colours. I got the yellow/white one.

We started the run at 6.45am for the 16.8km category. Itstarted slowly as there were too many runners. Right after I reached the PJS5 toll,I started to walk-jog-run; the result of 2 months of zero exercise andexcessive raya foods. -_-

The highway route was quite challenging as it’s acombination of flat and hilly course. Not a real hill, but there’s a numberof elevated parts and flyovers.

The highway was closed from 3am to 11am. When I passed bythe housing areas, I saw cars being diverted to other routes and it was quitejammed up. They must sumpah seranah us the runners. Well, if you can't beat 'em.. join 'em. Join us next year! Haha..

I reached the finishing line in 2 hours 30 minutes. Ughhh!!!

Seriously gotta improve my timing. Gottastart hitting the threadmill more after this. I have 2 half marathons beforegoing for my maiden full marathon next month. *gasp

Dream comes true...

2011-09-15T16:18:00.000+08:00

One of my traveling dreams is to step foot in the USA.

Alhamdulillah... I am here now. :)

It's time to celebrate...

2011-08-30T10:13:00.000+08:00

Ramadhan just left us. How fast time goes by kan? I am so sad. But at the same time, I am thankful for God has given me another opportunity to celebrate this meaningful day with my loved ones.

I'd like to wish everyone I know Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Sorry for all my wrongdoings and if ever, my writings hurt you in any way, thousand apologies for that.

Will be celebrating Hari Raya in KL. I know most people think raya in the city is boring but hey, home is where the heart is. And KL is my beloved hometown. Also, what matters is that you have your family with you.

I will be going to France on the 7th raya and then followed by USA after that for work meetings. Couldn't thank my bosses enough for the opportunities. Gonna miss a lot of open houses for sure but at the same time, I'm excited!!

Till then, SELAMAT HARI RAYA loves!

Turkish Delight

2011-08-20T13:18:00.000+08:00

Istanbul has been called the city where the two continents meet. How is that possible? Divided by the Bosphorus, the city resides on two continents of the world, Europe and Asia. Cool eh?

My next-door neighbour went on a trip to Istanbul last Ramadhan and when she came to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri at my house, she recounted her experience, telling how beautiful the city was. I was sold, immediately listing Istanbul in my places to go list.

Then, before Hari Raya Aidiladha, my eldest sister, who is now posted in Turkmenistan asked me to visit her at her new place. Being good little sister that I am, once again I obliged. Well, I wouldn’t say no to visiting new places :D

But Turkmenistan is almost like Russia, the procedure to getting their visa is quite tedious. Since we didn’t have much time left before the trip, we diverted to plan B. We went to Turkey instead.

Whenever I travel, it’s usually a DIY trip. Some people find it easy to just follow a tour package because everything is already taken care of. But for me, I don’t mind doing the research and the hassle of booking everything by myself. I decide what I wanna do and where I wanna go, and have my own sweet time exploring the place!

But for this trip, for the first time ever, my sister and I followed a tour package. Well.. not the whole trip. Just part of it. We covered Istanbul on our own. The rest of Turkey, we left it to our travel agent. Heh… We went to Turkey during Qurban Bayrami (that’s Hari Raya AidilAdha) week so it was super peak season. What’s more, it was kinda a last minute trip so we reckoned it would be hard to book the transportation, hotels etc.

We found a very reasonable package by Turista Travel, which brought us to cover almost half of this beautiful country.

Enjoy these photos….

Bosphorus Bridge - connecting Europe and Asia

Hot air balloon in Cappadocia

Fairy chimneys in Cappadocia North

Soganli Valley in Cappadocia South

The ancient classical city of Ephesus

Pools of Pamukkale

Wait while mama writes the story…

Nong & Jimmy Thai Seafood

2011-08-19T01:11:00.000+08:00

It’s fasting month but Imma show you FOOD photos. *evil laugh*

I found a heavenly crab. Seriously, it is so heavenly my friend even said, she had food orgasm eating it. Hahahahaha…

Wonder where I found it?

It’s here!

The first time I went there was early in the year, brought by my friend.

The food was really good so I spreaded the love to Chickpeas. And they fell in love with the crab too.

curry crab

grilled crab

As for me, other than the crab, I love this cute char koay!

Their tomyam is good too!

And this!

You see the fried rice is so 'empty' but seriously, so sedap ok!

We ordered these dishes too..

lala

grilled squid

kailan ikan masin

This restaurant is very famous I tell ya. It can be very hard to get a seat if you come during peak hours. I went there early around 6pm the first time I was there so we got seats straight away. Until we went back, a lot of groups came but there’s still lots of seats left. I thought that’s normal.

Well actually I didn’t expect so many people know about this restaurant because it’s not in the middle of the city centre. Plus, my friends also never heard about it. But when I went there with the Chickpeas one night, it was so full we had to wait for people to finish their food and leave before we got seats.

So if you’re planning to come in a large group, I suggest you make a reservation first.

Check out their Facebook page for more information.

Conclusion: don’t judge the food by its place. Haha…

California Dreams

2011-08-14T16:42:00.000+08:00

People wanting to go to USA would agree with me on one thing. The procedure to get the visa is very tedious. My boss asked me to apply for the USA visa since he might send me to the states for a meeting. He asked me to apply for it as soon as possible since sometimes the application will be pending for weeks.

The visa application needs you to attend an interview at the embassy so you can’t ask travel agents to do it for you.

First thing first, you need to take a USA visa photo. They have some requirements on the photos; white backgrounds, 2”x2” size and your face must be proportionate to some size. So detailed! Check out the requirements here. Then, you need to scan it or if you already have the softcopy the better.

Then, go to any Standard Chartered Bank and pay the visa application fees. Make sure you bring your passport together as they will need to check it. The fee was RM435 during my application. You will then given a receipt with a number.

Next step, fill in the DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form online here.

Here, you need to key in all your personal details, trip information, the visa fees number, upload the visa photo, schedule an appointment for the interview and also choose the passport delivery type, where you can choose for delivery or self pickup.

Also, you need to choose which type of visa you need. It’s B1 for business, B2 for tourism, and B1/B2 for both and many more such as student visa, immigrant etc. Can be confusing but I think most of the people will apply for B2 right. Hehehe… By right, I should select B1 but since the visa fee is the same for all three, I chose B1/B2. (^o^)y

You can check out everything about the US visa application in Malaysia here.

I scheduled my appointment at 8.20am. Appointment letter - checked, one visa photo - checked, visa application fee receipt - checked, IC – checked, previous passport – checked. You need to bring all those items for the interview.

Luckily it was school holiday but sometimes the roads in KL are unpredictable so I went out of my house at 7.15am. Took the elevated highway, parked my car at the open car park next to the Auto Bavaria building and walked to the embassy. I reached the embassy at 7.50am but there was already full of people waiting.

I showed my appointment letter to the security guard and he asked me to get in the right queue. Right queue, because the queue can be confusing. There’s the actual queue and also people for the later slots who come early crowding the area. So if you don’t know and simply just join the queue, you might end up queuing behind people from other interview slots.

You need to show your IC and your appointment letter to the guardhouse counter before being given the visitor tag. When you are allowed to enter the embassy gate, you need to walk pass through the scanner and scan your bags. Then, you need to surrender your handphone, camera, car keys with remote, smart tag at the security. Basically, whatever electronics thingy you carry in your bag. You’ll be given a numbered tag for your bowl of belongings. After that only you are allowed to go into the embassy building.

When I entered the embassy building, the guard checked my bag once again. Wah looks like every door you enter you will be checked. I was directed to wait at the waiting area on the right side of the building. But just as I sat down, my number was being called to the interview room on the left side.

Depending on which counter your number is called on; usually counter 1 and 2, go to the counter and submit your appointment letter, visa photo, application fee receipt and the previous passport.

Then, wait in the area. You will then be called to take your finger scan on counter 9. Scan all your fingers and on the second scan, only your thumbs. Back to waiting again. Well I guess it’s all about waiting during this interview. It’s pretty boring since I didn’t have my phone with me. Couldn’t play angry birds to kill the time. Hahaha… So I suggest you bring a book to keep you company while waiting and waiting for your number to be called.

I wasn’t sure how the number ran because it definitely didn’t follow the sequence. Sometimes when I was getting excited as my number was closer; it jumped to numbers after mine, and then to way earlier number before mine.

Anyway, I should tell you that the interview room is not like an interview room, if you get what I mean. I thought it would be a one to one interview like those job interviews. But I was wrong. The interview will be done over the counter, with the interviewer inside the glass panel window, talking on microphones. Everybody in the room gets to hear your interview yo! FYL.

Finally after waiting for almost 1 hour and a half, my number got called up. It was an American guy over the counter. He looked stern. Uh oh. So he began questioning me. Question numero uno; what is the purpose of the trip. I answered it`s for business meetings, spontaneously taking all my supporting documents out from the file - my business trip invitation letter and the company letter. But this was what he told me, ‘I didn’t ask for that’. Fine, just follow whatever he said la so I kept them back in the file. He continued with questions like how long will I be there, what exactly is the meeting for, do I have any relatives in the states.

Next thing I know, he said ‘OK we’re done. Collect your passport in 2 days time.’ That was it. The whole interview lasted less than 5 minutes. I made my way back to the security door, took all my belongings and drove to the office.

On Monday, I received email from the US travel docs informing my passport was ready for pick up. Wow so fast!

Since I opted for pickup, I needed to go to the US Visa Collection Center at Wisma MCA. I had to surrender my IC at the reception lobby. The collection center is at 19^th floor. As soon as I got out of the elevator, I saw security guards at the entrance.

Same procedure like at the embassy, the security checked my bag and took my handphone and camera. They pointed me a door and ask me to go in there. I went in. The room was quite small and there’s only 2 counters. Except for the lady at the counter, I was the only person in the room collecting my passport. She handed my passport and asked me to check all the information on the visa.

I’m good to go to the USA for 10 years! *sings California Girls*

Shape & Men's Health Night Run 2011

2011-08-08T06:10:00.003+08:00

Nothing new in this run except I managed to convince my friend, Lisa, to run her first 12.3km.

She initially wanted to run in the fun run category, but my sister and I asked her to run the 12.3km category. After much persuasion (well not really persuasion.. it was kinda like motivation.. hahaha).. she gave in.

After this 21km pulak jom beb!

my colleagues

I also convinced my colleagues, Pian and Adam, to run their first 12.3km. Looks like I motivated a lot of people eh? :D

Hunny Madu and Hafiz of FlyFM emceeing the event

my sister and I

Anyway, this run will always be my favorite run. Because its goodies bags are awesome! Kenko Fish Spa, Juice Works.. I like! The only thing I don’t like about it is the medal is only for the first 100 finishers in each category. Dang! Judging by the speed I’m running, I don’t stand a chance at all to collect a medal from this run. T_T