Gϋle-gϋle, Tϋrkiye!

Bursa is where Iskender kebab originated, naturally we headed for the original Iskender restaurant for lunch. Food presentation was somewhat similar to the Iskender kebab we had the day before in Istanbul. Taste wise, we all felt that the one in Istanbul was better as it was more tender and less salty.

My mom and Karen ordered coffee after our meal and were shocked when they were served turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is quite different from the coffee we all know. It is served in a small cup (like espresso) and tastes very bitter and powdery. Even seasoned coffee drinkers like Karen and my mom couldn't take it. Karen tried to look for some plants around to empty her cup but too bad, there wasn't any. I took candid shots of her as she struggled to finish her coffee.

We started to make our way back to Istanbul after our late lunch. It was already near sunset when we reached the port. As the vessel sailed off, we stood at the deck to enjoy our last Turkey sunset. An entourage of seagulls followed closely behind us as if they know we were leaving Turkey tomorrow and couldn't bear to see us go. It didn't take me long to realise that it was actually the food which people threw overboard that they couldn't bear to let go :P Nonetheless, they provided us with beautiful evening songs and dances as they glided gracefully against the setting sun.

As our vessel reached Istanbul, the sun has also completely set and the songs of the seagulls could only be heard in our memories. The darkened sky was like a curtain closing on stage, signifying the end of our trip. However, we were not sad. We've had a wonderful time for the past two weeks and the memories will last us for a long time to come.

Gϋle-gϋle, Tϋrkiye!
(Bye bye, Turkey)

My First Turkish Bath

Early in the morning of 16th Aug, our friend drove us to Bursa. It was a few hours drive from Istanbul and we had to take a vessel across the sea, together with the car. We drove past the Bosphorus bridge, leaving Europe behind us and reached Asia in just 10mins (the Bosphorus strait runs across Istanbul, separating it into Europe and Asia continent).

We saw endless mountains and plains along the way that it became hypnotising after some time. Most people would think that I've tried turkish bath before since I've been to Turkey many times but it was in Bursa that I tried it for the first time. We reached the hotel where the turkish bath was at around 1.30pm. There were separate areas for men and women. The charges were 16YTL (S$18.40) for entrance, 15YTL (S$17.25) each for scrub and massage. Wow, that was cheap, I thought, not knowing that the massage was only 10mins.

Due to language barrier, we had a hard time trying to figure out what we should do after we entered. We saw a few Turkish women in the resting area, some topless and some wrapped in cloths (yes, cloth and not towel). Initially, we were unsure where the changing room was. When we got in, we wondered if we should change into our swimsuits as all the locals seem to be wearing the emperor's new clothes. We decided to wear our swimsuits even if it meant looking like aliens to the locals.

We entered the hotbath where the water was supposed to be from some nearby hotspring. Well, it wasn't as hot as I thought and it didn't felt like water from hotspring either. We were the only Asians in the pool. Surrounding us were all the fleshy naked Turkish women, young and old. I felt like I was in some Italian nude painting that came alive. All eyes seemed to be on us which made me a bit uncomfortable. A strand of hair in the pool got caught between my fingers, it made me wonder how often they clean the pool.

Thinking that the massage area is outside of the bath, we got out of the pool and headed for the door. A mid-sized Turkish woman stopped us and got us back in again. Little did we know that she was actually the masseuse and we were to have our massage done on a marble bench in the public bath area. To make things worse, we were stripped before she used a common soap and sponge to bathe and massaged us, using the lather as lubricant. How should I describe this experience? Terrifying, embarrassing, eye-opening.... Thank God the 'massage' only lasted 10mins. To me, it was more of bathing than massaging. No wonder it was called 'Turkish Bath'.

We were glad when it was finally over and we left hurriedly, but not without taking a picture to remember our 'ordeal'.

Back in Istanbul

We were back in Istanbul on 14th Aug afternoon. Didn't do much, simply rest. We visited Olivium shopping mall, Taksim Square and the upmarket Kenyan shopping mall the next day.

Olivium Shopping Mall
This was the very same mall that we visited on our first day in Istanbul but I wasn't quite in the mood to shop back then. This time, we came specifically for a bags shop that carries designer brands at outlet prices. We had a good time shopping and I bought 4 bags ranging from 19YTL-29YTL (S$22-S$33) each. Karen and I also combined our purchase and got 3 T-shirts from United Colors of Benetton for only 20YTL (S$23). Very good buy indeed :)

Lunch was at Iskender, in my opinion, the best Turkish meal thus far. It was a simple foodcourt style of eating place with cheap and good kebab in sliced form. Prices for a set meal are 5.90YTL, 6.90YTL and 7.90YTL.

Taksim Square
We saw a different side of Istanbul on the way to Taksim Square when we passed by some old but charming backstreets. There were also some beggars, which are not present at the main touristy areas. We parked our car at an underground carpark, which looked spooky, and were almost breathless after we walked up the stairs. Interestingly, there was a lift but no one wants to take it because it was unreliable. Who knows you might not be able to get out of it, our Turkish friend said. Well, it's better to trust the locals.

Taksim Square is a pubbing street and I was told that there are about 1000 pubs/bars in this area. We walked for quite a while but only managed to cover 15% of the place. We saw this little cafe in one of the side streets and thought the mini tables and chairs were cute. How the big-sized Turks managed to sit on them without breaking it remains a puzzle.

Nearby, a bookstore caught our attention because there was a big fat cat snoozing on the books, totally oblivious to the passing crowd. And the shop owner was busying playing chess with his friend on one of those mini tables and chairs. What a relaxing afternoon...

Very often, we would find some surprises round the corner of the streets. This time, we discovered a narrow alley called Cezayin Sokagi. Also known as French street, this charming alley is lined with cafes and bistros of different styles and beauty. If only we could spend a lazy afternoon here in one of the cafes...

Kenyan Shopping Mall
After experiencing the terrible evening traffic jams, we finally reached Kenyan, an S-shaped open-air upmarket shopping mall. We went into this shop that sells a lot of designer stuff, of course the prices were out of our budget. These robots caught our attention as they were 'guarding' the entrance to this shop. I also like this knife set that costs a whopping 260YTL (S$299).

Sotong @Kusadasi

We had our last breakfast onboard in the morning of 14th Aug before checking out of Ocean Monarch. Our ship had already docked at Kusadasi, Turkey. It came as a shock to us when we had to fork out another 24Euro per person as gratuity or tips. This was not told to us previously. We guai guai made the payment since our passports were in their hands.

Upon disembark, we sat at a Burger King by the sea since our taxi driver will only arrive at 12.30pm. It was barely 9am in the morning. The past few days' of mad rush and lack of sleep has finally taken its toll on me and I was feeling a bit flu-ish. My eyes were dry, red and uncomfy again just like when we first arrived in Istanbul.

Sotong incidents always seem to happen when I'm in this state. When we were about to leave Burger King, I suddenly 'realised' that my glasses were missing. Panicked, I asked my mom, who has been sitting opposite me all this while, where my glasses are. She replied 'aren't your glasses on your nose?'. I heard her voice but somehow, her words did not get registered in my mind. I asked her to catch up with the rest first while I ran to the toilet to search for my glasses. I was there earlier, hence thought I might have dropped my glasses there.

As I was about to reach the toilet entrance, my senses returned to me and I noticed my spectacle frame from the corner of my eyes. My mom's earlier words were replayed in my mind and I suddenly realised that my glasses were on my nose all this while :P I walked back giggling to myself. This must be the aftereffect of lack of sleep ;)

Mykonos, lovers' paradise

Endless coastline of sandy beaches, dynamic nightlife and dazzling white alleys running between the cube-shaped whitewashed houses. We have arrived at Mykonos.

Mykonos is the final destination of our Greek Islands tour. Arriving at Mykonos harbour at 6.30pm, what greeted us was the spectacular sunset and the buzz of nightlife. It is no wonder that this cosmopolitan island of 85 sq km is a favourite among the Greek islands. Like the other Greek islands, the typical cobbled streets with whitewashed houses could be seen everywhere. While we enjoyed panoramic sunset views from the cliffs on the other islands, here in Mykonos, we were walking just next to the sea with the distant sun setting over the horizon.

Once again, we raced against time to capture as many pictures as possible before sunset. A picture speaks a thousand words, need I say more about the beauty of Mykonos?

Chilling out over a glass of martini, taking in the glorious golden sunset and listening to the songs of nature from the Aegean sea, Mykonos is truly any couple's dream come true. My regret is that we were unable to savor the scenery to the fullest as we had to rush from the harbour to the other end of the island, Alefkandra, also known as "Little Venice", where the windmills stood.

Catching a last glimpse of sunset at Alefkandra....

After sunset, we combed the shops along the narrow lanes, not wanting to miss out on any goodies. Public toilets were hard to find on Mykonos. We decided to go back to our ship for dinner before it got too late. The dinner that night was the best in the last three days and I actually had a second helping of spaghetti and brocoli.

Our Greek Islands tour ended after a short 3 days cruise. To me, this was like a preview as we did not spend much time on each island. Nonetheless, I'm happy that my dream to visit Santorini has come to pass. Being able to visit the other Greek islands was a bonus. Someday, I would love to come back again, but I'll definitely stay in one of those swanky hotels that overlook the Aegean sea.

Piraeus

I could hardly wake up on the morning of 13th Aug, the last day of our cruise. With 4.5hours of sleep, I didn't have much appetite for breakfast, which was the same old, boring stuff as yesterday. I thought about dao suan and I could almost see the steam rising from chee cheong fun sio sio :)

We have reached Piraeus this morning . We disembarked after breakfast and were approached by a taxi driver who offered to bring us to the Acropolis in Athens for 70Euro. We thought the price was a bit steep and rejected the offer. Another taxi driver approached us and offered 30Euro for the same place. Wow, what a big difference!

I must say the Greek are smart people. After the driver drove off, he started to upsell to us and offered to bring us to the Olympic stadium, Parliament House and shopping for another 10Euro. We didn't have much choice as we were already in his car and since it's just an additional 10Euro, we accepted the offer. We passed by the stadium while on the way, stopped at the Parliament House to take a photo and headed straight to the Acropolis. We have only 1.5hours in Piraeus. The driver drove as if his car was a Ferrari.

We were only given 15min at the Acropolis, a magnificient historical site of the 5th century. George and Karen ran ahead to take pictures, my mom and I followed closely behind. We felt like journalist on the move, rushing around while trying to get the best shot in the shortest possible time. We made it within 15mins but we only saw the exterior of the Acropolis. To see the entire Acropolis would require an entrance fee and the luxury of time.

The driver drove us to a nearby souvenir shop and we got our stuff within 10mins. Off we hopped into his cab again and he drove at 110km/hr bringing us to the port within a short time. As we did not have the exact amount, we gave him 50Euro expecting a change of 10Euro. But our dear driver outsmart us once again but insisting on a 5Euro tip. In the end, we only got back 5Euro change. What a quick way to make money, from 30Euro to 45Euro within 1.5hrs!?

Our ship set sail at 11am for our final destination, Mykonos, scheduled to arrive at 6.30pm in the evening.

No meteor shower

12th Aug night, meteor showers were supposed to be seen according to what I read earlier. With great anticipation, we went to the deck at 12 midnight despite our tired bodies and sleepy eyes. We waited for quite a while but it didn't happen. In fact, much of which I imagined did not happen. We did not laze at the deck to enjoy the sea breeze while watching the meteor shower because the deckchairs were too wet. The sea was rather calm that night compared to the previous night where the strong northern wind almost blew us away. And the star of that night's show did not appear.

Our only consolation was my mom's witnessing of a shooting star. None of us saw it as we were backfacing the sky where it happened. She was so elated and she made a wish - a lousy wish that the ship would not rock so much, so that she could have a good night's sleep. Well, her wish really came true.

Dream came true - Santorini

Goodbye Heraklion, hello Santorini. As our ship sailed towards Santorini, our cruise director Cristina made the announcement and everybody scrambled to get a glimpse of the caldera that we were sailing into. I could tell that I wasn't the only one who was so excited about this island.

We transferred to a smaller boat and reached the port in Santorini slightly after 4pm, 12th Aug. The island has an area of 76 sq km with a coastline of 69km and 7500 in population. We boarded the coach as part of our land tour package but it did not set off till some 45mins later. I was feeling anxious as we need to be back at the port at 7.30pm and I wanted to see as much of the island as possible.

When the coach set off, we were given a visual treat of the Aegean sea as the coach slowly ascended the cliffs of Santorini. Our first stop was Oia (pronounced 'Ia'), a quiet town in the northern part of the island that offers spectacular views of the volcano of Palia and Nea Kameni and the island of Thirassia. Situated on top of an impressive cliff, Oia is a traditional village with charming whitewashed houses in narrow streets, blue domed churches and sun-bathed verandas. I fell in love with this place instantly.

Many shops and art galleries lined the narrow cobbled streets of Oia. Everything looks so appealing to me and I wish I could buy all of them. I wanted to bring home a piece of Santorini and simply couldn't resist the miniature churches and whitewashed houses (see video). Call it a blessing in disguise, I had wanted to purchase some souvenirs in one of the shops but was put off by the shop owner's bad attitude. I walked away only to find even better and cheaper souvenirs in another shop down the street.

Time flies when you're having a good time. We left the serene Oia and headed for Fira, the capital of Santorini. Perched above the caldera, Fira is a happening place where all the expensive hotels, hip bars and cafeterias are found. We were given only about half an hour in this picturesque town and that includes finding our way to the cable car station, which will bring us back to the port. Our guide told us that we have three options to get to the port - 1. by cable car (3-5mins), 2. by donkey ride (20min) and 3. walk down (30min). Since we were pressed for time, cable car was the only option.

The way to the cable car station was much farther than we thought. We were torn between taking pictures of the spectaular sunset at Fira and finding our way to the cable car station. I was the one figuring out the direction while the rest take pictures. It was a long uphill walk with many steps and my poor mom struggled to keep up with our pace. As I looked back to see where they are, I realised that I was right at the spot where many of the postcard shots were taken. I was awe-strucked by the beauty of sunset at Fira. The whitewashed houses at the cliffs have all been transformed into a glorious golden colour.

Eventually, we reached the cable car station at the eleventh hour and made it to the port at 7.29pm. With mixed feelings, I bade farewell to Santorini as the setting sun saw us off. I left my heart at Santorini....

Heraklion (Crete Island)

As faithful as the sunrise, our ship docked at Heraklion (Crete Island) at 7am on 12th Aug. As we did not sign up for any land tour, we leisurely took our breakfast at 7 something and slowly disembark after 8am. The port was huge but there wasn't much to see. We were also not familiar with the place since we didn't do our homework :P After taking some pictures and buying some postcards, we went onboard our ship again.

We explored the ship and entertained ourselves by taking pictures and doing silly things. We went to the deck where the wind was so strong, the chairs got blown n tucked beautifully under the table. Karen and I tried to recapture the moment on video but no matter how we tried, we just couldn't have the chair tucked under the table. This is the best that we can reenact the scene.

Most of the waiters on the ship were from Philippines or Indonesia. We had a good chat with one of them and got to know how they landed on the job and the working hours etc. In my younger days, I had thought of working on a cruise ship as the pay is good and tax-free. It is also a good way to see the world if you can't be a Singapore girl :P But after hearing the waiter, I was glad I did not pursue it back then. The hours are super long and it can be quite a tough job. During our few days' cruise, we saw that some of the staff held multiple jobs. They were receptionist by day, entertainers by night and when the ship is docked, they had to double up as coordinators to organize the passengers. Phew! This kind of job sure causes pre-mature aging :P

Greek Islands, here we come

11th Aug 2007. The day has finally come for us to tour the Greek Islands. We set off very early in the morning to catch our 6.35am flight from Istanbul to Izmir. From Izmir, we took a taxi and reached Kusadasi Port 50 minutes later. We sipped tea by the sea and had the best kebab at a roadside stall while waiting to board our ship 'Ocean Monarch'.

Ocean Monarch is considered small, with a capacity for 500 passengers but we still lost our way a few times when we went onboard. We set sail at 12noon and reached our first destination - Patmos island at 4pm. With 63km of coastline, an area of 34 sq km and a population of 3000, Patmos is considered quieter and more peaceful than the other Greek islands. Patmos has always been one of my must-visit places as this was where God gave the apostle John a vision of the endtimes and commissioned him to write them down. That formed the last book, Revelation in the Holy Bible.

We joined a land tour and visited the Monastery of St John, founded in 1088. As it was summer, there were a lot of visitors and we had to take turns to enter the church. Patmos is indeed beautiful, evey corner is worthy of photography, be it the church bells, staircase, cobbled courtyards or the panoramic view of the Aegean sea.

The Cave of the Apocalypse, inside the Church of Aghia Anna (St. Ann) was the place where John lived and worked while he was exiled by the Roman emperor Domitian in 95 AD. It was here that the book of Revelation was written. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the church.

We walked a lot under the scotching sun and were glad to find a drink stall at the hill. I bought a 1.5 litre of mineral water for 1Euro for fear that we might not have enough time to get it after the land tour. When we reached Skala, the main town and port in Patmos, we realised that we could get six 1.5 litre bottles of water at 1.80Euro. Chey...I carried 1.5kg for nothing.

I took some pictures of the nice little corners at Skala before we boarded the ship again at 7.30pm.

We set sail at 8pm and were scheduled to reach Heraklion, Crete island at 7am the next day. The sea was very rough that night and we could hardly walk a straight line, not to mention sleep. My neck, shoulders and back were aching and the constant rocking of the ship made it worse. I woke up at 2 something in the morning after barely 3hours of sleep. I got to know the next day that my mom and Karen also woke up around that time.