escaping winter - september edition

Yes, it is still winter in Melbourne in September.

Off to Turkey this time.

Places visited:
Istanbul - Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace and Harem, Sulemaniye Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Egyptian Spice Bazaar, Galata Tower, Galata Bridge, Basilica Cistern, Dolmabache Palace, New Mosque, Blue Mosque, Bosphorus river, Taksim Square, Sultanahmet area.

Also went to Pamukkale and Cappadocia.

I'd say Hagia Sofia was really amazing but I left my heart in Goreme, Cappadocia. The tranquil scenery at night and the hot-air balloon, it was grand.

Facts and quirks:
- Turkey has seven weather regions. In Istanbul it was around 20 something when we went and at the same time in Cappadocia, it was around 15.
- Raki is an alcoholic drink from Turkey. You either love it or hate it. I don't mind it.
- There is a website for all restaurants serving deliveries including chinese food, japanese food, KFC and McDonald's. Order online, select method of payment and boom, food will be delivered to your door. What a beautiful world.
- Every hotel can arrange for airport transfers which is pretty handy.
- Breakfast at the hotel we stayed always consist of bread, jam, cucumber, tomato and cheese. I am not a vegetarian, again I am not a vegetarian.
- Calling of the prayer. I'm used to it because I'm Indonesian but for Europeans/Americans/Australians it was probably a cool thing to experience.
- In Istanbul everyone is friendly, overly friendly I would say. But maybe that's because they're trying to sell you stuff.
- In Istanbul wherever we go, we were always asked if we were Japanese or Korean or Chinese which of course we weren't all of those. Some even go further and asked if we were from Afghanistan?
- Someone called one of us Pikachu. I was once called Sultan. I wish right?
- Someone from a restaurant asked where we're from and when he found out we were from Indonesia he said this, "Oh Indonesia, very beautiful country. I've never been". OK...
- My friend gave the same person an Indonesian cigarette and didn't like it.

I don't know why but everytime I travel I always bump into Chinese tourists and they have always managed to piss me off. This time it was at Topkapi palace and we were trying to take a photo of a scenery but they managed to run into the frame so we had to wait for a bit. So afterwards, when they were trying to take a photo, it was our turn to run into their frame. An eye for an eye right?

There was also this one time at Dolmabache Palace where there were two guided tours, one was for Turkish people only and the other one was for an English-speaking guide. These two Chinese tourists went along the Turkish one and was asked to join our queue. The attendant explained that they weren't supposed to be in that tour but instead of complying one of them became hostile. Such behaviour.

Generally Turkey is a really nice place to go to, quite photogenic, people are friendly and prices are quite cheap compared to Australia. Good food, great coffee and tea too. I really miss the mash aubergine in Goreme dubbed the Sultan's Favourite in that particular restaurant.

The manager at the hotel we stayed at in Goreme asked me if I wanted to sell my (new at that time) iPhone 5 because they didn't have it for sale yet. He also gave us a free upgrade to the Presidential Suite for free. Maybe it was one of his efforts to get me to agree to sell my iPhone? It was really nice though.

It was a great trip, also for reasons I won't divulge here and I wouldn't mind going back. Not right away though. Maybe someday. And I definitely will want to go back to Goreme.

Next trip? I'm going home for Christmas and will be spending New Year's eve and New Year in Bali. Yeah typical right? But there's also a back to Japan trip coming up in March next year so stay tuned.

Turkey trip pics are up on my Flickr. Enjoy.