Turkiye - Budget

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

# Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Without further ado, here is the total expenses (plus minus) for my Turkiye Trip.

Date of travel: 4 April 2015 - 11 April 2015

Durations of travel : 8D7N 

Places visited: Qatar (Doha), Turkiye (Istanbul, Denizli, Selcuk, Cappadocia)

FLIGHTS:

• Malaysia Airlines KK - KUL (return) : RM 300.00
• Qatar Airways (KUL - DOH - SAW) and
• Qatar Airways (IST - DOH - KUL) : RM 1880.00 (includes taxes & insurance)
• Visa on Arrival (Hamad International Airport) : RM 100.00

Total : RM 2,280.00

ACCOMMODATIONS:

• Fendo Hostel, Istanbul : TL 33
• Planet Paprika Hostel, Istanbul : TL 30
• Kale Hotel, Pamukkale : TL 45
• Arif Cave Hotel, Cappadocia : TL 40.50

Subtotal : TL 148.50

TRANSPORTATIONS:

• Taxi from Hamad International Airport to city centre Doha (return) : SAR 83.00
• Havatas Airport Bus, Istanbul (return) : TL 28
• Istanbulkart (includes card deposit TL 10) : TL 70
• Turyol Bosphorus Cruise : TL 12
• Kamil Koc (Istanbul to Denizli Otogari) : TL 80
• Dolmus (Denizli Otogari - Pamukkale) : TL 3.50
• Pamukkale Turizm (Pamukkale - Selcuk) : TL 30
• Dolmus (Selcuk - Ephesus - Selcuk) : TL 5
• Train (Selcuk Gari - Denizli Otogari) : TL 15.75
• Nevsehir Sahayat (Denizli Otogari - Goreme) : TL 50
• Kamil Koc (Goreme - Istanbul) : TL 50

Subtotal : TL 344.25 + SAR 83.00

ATTRACTIONS:

• Ayasofya, Istanbul : TL 30
• Yerebatan Sarayi, Istanbul : TL 20
• Topkapi Muzesi Sarayi (include admission to Harem) + Audio Guide : TL 65
• Pamukkale & Hierapolis Site, Denizli : TL 20
• Ephesus Archaeological Site, Selcuk : TL 30
• Conservation Site inside Efes : TL 15
• Goreme Open Museum, Goreme : TL 20
• Green Line Tour : TL 100

Subtotal : TL 300.00

MISC:

• Bagaj Storage : TL 30 
• Food : TL 320
• Souvenirs / Postcards / Stamps : TL 225

Subtotal : TL 575.00

TOTAL : TL 1,367.75 + SAR 83.00

• TL 1,367.75 x 1.47 = RM 2,010.60
• SAR 83.00 x 1.15 = RM 95.00

TOTAL : RM 2,105.60

TOTAL DAMAGE: RM 2,280.00 + RM 2,105.60 = RM 4,385.60

Read: Please bear in mind, financial management ni depends on individual. Lain orang, lain cara diorang spend/manage their $$. Trip kali ni banyak save on accommodation sebab few times aku naik overnight bus. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye - Arif Cave Hotel, Cappadocia

Property: Arif Cave Hotel

Date:  9 April 2015 - 10 April 2015 (1 night)

Price: Euro 40,50 (~RM 191.00)

*They ONLY accept Turkish Lira, Euros & US Dollars for payment*

Room Type: Private Double Room with Ensuite Bathroom (Rate is for single guest only)

Booked via booking.com

# Entrance to Arif Cave Hotel

# First view upon opening the door. My room is in the first level. Just in front of the reception room.

# Spacious

Bilik sangat luas siap ada living area gitu. And the room is all for myself. Boleh baring guling-guling either atas katil or atas karpet. Malam tu lepak makan lokum + ngeteh atas katil. Sambil packing & kira balance Lira.

# Modern bathroom. Water heater available.

# Yang ni aku snap dari depan bathroom.

# That's the stairs & door leading to my room.

Haruslah gigih ambil gambar setiap sudut bilik sebab sudah janji sama bestie. Kiranya antara highlight Turkiye trip aku. The most expensive accommodation I stayed at during this trip. Lagipun ndak naik hot air balloon jadi logik lah aku spent more on accommodation. Bila lagi, untuk diri sendiri juga. 

# The cafeteria at night. Located on the second level. 

# Cappadocia town at night. Taken from the reception balcony. 

# Boleh direct view hot air balloon mendarat early in the morning. 

This hotel is actually located at the highest point of Cappadocia. Less than 200 metres away from the Sunset Point. Hence view of the hot air balloon is super amazing even just from the balcony or open space area in front of the dining room.

# Breakfast spread. 

# View from in front of the dining room. That stairs on the right lead to guest room. 

I am quite satisfied with pretty much everything the hotel offers. I super love my room. And the healthy breakfast spread. Not to forget the view of the small town from the hotel. The owner; Mr Arif is friendly. I emailed him few times asking endless Qs about the town before arriving & he replied them on time. Every messages I sent does not go unanswered. 

By the way, I made reservation for the Cappadocia Green Tour from Mr Arif himself. Via the email that was. Convenient gila kan, unlike owner Fendo yang cakap berapi sudah email aku kunun tapi sebenarnya nan hado! Tetttt.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye - Kale Hotel, Denizli

Property: Kale Hotel

Date:  7 April 2015 - 8 April 2015 (1 Night)

Price: TL 45 (~RM 66.15) per night

Room Type: Private Double Bedroom (Ensuite Bathroom)

Booked via booking.com

# The hotel facade. By walking to the right side of the hotel will lead to the famous Pamukkale Travertines. 

# My room. Double private with ensuite bathroom. And a balcony which I didn't get to enjoy lepaking at. The night was too cold during my stay. Water heater in the bathroom works fine.

# The Lobby. Cum reception & dining area.

# Super super filling breakfast. Yup, breakfast is free. It's included in the accommodation rent already.  

Those who plan to travel to other city i.e Goreme, Selcuk, Istanbul; after Pamukkale, u can buy the bus ticket from the Pamukkale Turizm building located next to the hotel. The bus will pick up passengers in front of the building hence they don't have to go to Denizli Otogar. 

I went to Selcuk after Pamukkale, and took the bus in front of the hotel. But the bus still make a stop at Denizli Otogar to pick up passengers. I would have wasted TL 3.50 if I were to followed my initial plan that is to take the dolmus to Denizli Otogar & later take a bus to Selcuk from there. Big thanks to the Ahjumma at Kale Hotel for informing me about the ticket counter in Pamukkale.

To conclude, I enjoyed staying at this hotel albeit having stay for a night only. It's near to the Pamukkale Travertines (less than 10 minutes walking distance) & surrounded by many restaurants.

Anyway, if u happened to go Pamukkale Travertines...go to White House Cafe to feed ur tummy. It is among the top recommendation for restaurant in Pamukkale by Trip Advisor. I promise, u won't regret dining there.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye - Fendo Hostel / Planet Paprika Hostel, Istanbul

Property: Fendo Hostel

Date:  4 April 2015 - 5 April 2015 (1 Night)

Price: TL 33 (~RM 48.90) per night

Room Type: 2 Bunk Beds Female Dorm (Shared Bathroom)

Booked via booking.com

# Bar owned by the same owner of Fendo Hostel. This is also the hostel's reception area. I collected my room keys & made payment here. 

# My bed (lower bunk) & locker.

# The kitchen; located on the same floor as my room. It is just outside the dorm actually. The door on the left leads to the Male Dorm.

# Bathroom on the left. That door with the chalk paper on it is where the Female Dorm is.

# Water heater works just fine but the water tend to slow down or worst; stop when someone used the bathroom at the lower levels.

# Oh yeah, this kinda staircase is normal for most hostel in Istanbul. I called it the Ron Weasley's Staircase.

Property: Planet Paprika Hostel

Date:  5 April 2015 - 6 April 2015 (1 Night)

Price: TL 30 (~RM 44.10) per night

Room Type: 4 Bunk Beds Female Dorm (Ensuite Bathroom)

Was actually forced told to change hostel by Fendo's owner on my second night in Istanbul. More about it here. 

# Located just a few blocks away from Fendo Hostel

# A dorm that can accommodate up to 9 people. And I had this room all by myself that night.

# Another Ron Weasley's Staircase.

It got rather cold at night during my stay there. And I had to inform the hostel's manager twice; which means turun naik tangga berlingkar dua kali! In the middle of the night some more. Best advice, do remind the manager to switch on the heater before u get into the room. Remind him many times else u'll end up freezing like me. 

# The reception cum dining area. 

I don't have much to say about both hostels. Had quite a bad experience with Fendo Hostel's owner. But if u asked me about my one night stay there; I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with the facilities offered. Clean dorm & bathroom, comfy bed, good free wifi connection & the the power plug at each bed is such a bonus. By the way, both hostels did not provide free breakfast for their guest. But worries not, there are plenty of kedai makan scattered around the hostels.

As for Planet Paprika Hostel, the only downside of it was the room heater. Didn't get to know the owner as I checked in pretty late & went out the whole day the next day. And am also glad that he let me checked out late. Dapatlah mandi, bersiap & packing before I left Istanbul for Denizli late in the evening. 

Please check booking.com or Agoda for more information about these hostels.

Read: Sampai sekarang belum get over kes Fendo Hostel tu tau.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Turkiye Day 8 - Last Day in Istanbul

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Previous entry (here).

And finally! Siap juga entry trip Turkiye after nearly 2 years of dilly-dallying. Tahniah Bie! Akhirnya 'pulang ke pangkal jalan'.

11 April 2015
Istanbul

# Parking kereta. 

Adalah diselubungi rasa risau gila while dalam bas on the way to Eminonu from Eyup. Massive traffic jammed. Masa ni lah berdoa sungguh-sungguh supaya sempat buat semua yang diplanned. Soon after arriving at Eminonu, terus berlari pi tram station. Perlu naik tram sampai Kabatas & from there naik funikuler pi Taksim pula. 

Eyup ---> Eminonu (Bus No 99A) ---> Kabatas (Metro Tram) --> Taksim (Funicular)

Taksim Square

Sampai Taksim, terus pi Bagaj. Bukan mau kutip anak gajah, tapi mau tukar baju & tudung. Sambil tu mau touch up sikit sebab tahap rimas nearly hit the highest level. Sebelum kejadian hilang mood or merengus ndak tentu pasal, baiklah aku tunaikan hajat 'minda' duluan. First & foremost!

# Where I stored my anak gajah before leaving for Denizli few days ago.

Sudah yakin wangi & bersinaran, aku walkertapaki pi Hard Rock Cafe. Ada pesanan tambahan dari tanahair; geng Mak Jemahs mau tambah koleksi katanye. Haruslah tolong tunaikan hajat, fridge magnet jak pun bukan dia suru aku hangkut bukannya tugu di Taksim Square pun kan.

Settled tunaikan pesanan orang, aku pun buang masa cuci mata di Istiklal Caddesi (Street). Sambil beli sebiji dua souvenir untuk diri sendiri. Kalau untuk diri sendiri haruslah beli yang melibatkan 'pengisian perut'.

# Tengok ni jadi gila. 

# Apa yang diorang display tu, macam tulah banyak nuts dalam each package. Sedap gila, each time nampak gambar ni mesti telan liur berkali-kali. Taaaapun!

# More chocolates & Turkish delights. 

# Tapau Kumpir (among my favorite Turkish food). Selamat sampai Malaysia hokey!

# The nostalgic Istiklal Caddesi tram at the Galatasaray stop. 

Bila tengok balik album Turkiye ni, rasa sebak dada. Mau lagi part gambar-gambar di Istiklal Street. I still cannot imagine how the horrific incident could happened here. Suicide bombing attack took place near the Istiklal Avenue; a central shopping street sometime March this year. And the incident caused at least five deaths. Evil!

# One for the album. Yours Truly at Istiklal Caddesi.

Alhamdulillah such incident didn't happened while I was there. Because according to the news I read, at least 12 foreign tourists were among the injured from the attack. Ntah apa bingai betul lah manusia sekarang ni. 

Anyhow, lepas habis cuci mata di Istiklal I headed back to Bagaj. Masa sudah time untuk gerak pi airport. Biarlah sampai airport awal untuk elak kelam kelibut. Manalah tau jalan jammed ka apa kan. Ndak lah stress sendiri dalam bas. Kang nanti traffic light merah pun kau maki, kan Bie?!

Dari Bagaj, walkertapaki jak pi parking bus untuk airport limousine. Walau dekat, sempat jugalah sakit pinggang & bahu sebab suddenly berat anak gajah bertambah. Padahal bukan banyak pun aku beli. 

# Last view of Taksim Square. Dalam hati sempat berdoa moga diberi kesempatan untuk menjejak bumi bertuah ni lagi. Insha Allah, amin amin.

# Limousine bus bound for Istanbul Ataturk Airport. Merasa lah juga arrival at & departure from Turkey's 2 main airports.
Fare: TL 14

# Taken on the way to the airport.

# Till next time, annyeong Istanbul.

# Camii / Mosque

# Valens Aqueduct; once was a major water providing system of the Eastern Roman capital of Constantinople. 

Istanbul Ataturk Airport

Arrived Ataturk Airport after one hour plus on the road. Mau masuk bangunan terminal, every passengers need to undergo double security screenings. Tabahlah angkut & letak anak gajah atas X-ray machines. One before entering the international terminal building, and second time after going through the passport control.

# Up to Third Level u go Miss Err.

# Aktiviti mengepos segala poskad yang ndak sempat aku pos. Semuanya sudah selamat tiba di tangan penerima a week after my departure.

Di Ataturk Airport ni, free wifi adalah nan hado. Sudahlah sampai awal, mati kutu wei ndak tau apa mau dibuat. Dan-dan masa tu juga badan aku start panas. Petanda demam will soon pay me a visit. Sangap gila tercongok depan troli, I decided to lepak at this one kiosk cafe. I saw their wifi signage (for customer only). Dari sangap tunggu masa untuk drop luggage, baguslah aku kill time lepak dulu. Sambil ngopi. Sambil surfing. Sambil sibuk whatsapps ntah siapa-siapa yang sudi layan aku masa tu. And sempat juga ngadu nasib bakal-demam sama si Merengmate; orang yang jadi bahan rujukan aku untuk Turkiye trip ni.

# Killing time.

Ada dekat 2 jam juga aku lepak di cafe tu. Yang pasti aku ndak dapat jelingan tajam neither from the staffs or people around me. Manalah tau ada orang mau melepak tapi tiada seat sebab seorang minah asing conquer seat berjam-jam padahal minum cumalah segelas ice chocolate. Rata-rata buat hal sendiri. I like!

# Realiti kicked in. Ndak mau balik!

Lepas dropped luggage, aku memang ndak tunggu lama di departure hall. Bukan ada mau dibuat juga so aku pun terus masuk boarding hall. Masuk awal, boleh cuci mata area sana pula.

# Boarding hall

# Food court. 

Plan aku cuma mau meninjau area ni. I walked from one lot to another. Sekalinya perut berdangdut lapar. Siap specifically minta nasi! Demand ndak hengat. Ingat murah kah makan di airport diorang ni. 

# Ku turutkan kata perut sebab Lira pun masih banyak berbaki. And aku pun memang teringin mau rasa makanan di food court diorang (alasan koh!).

Keluar dari food court, aku tengok information board. Ok fine, departure gate sudah ditukar. Maka berjalanlah aku pi gate. Dengan harapan dapat duduk & layan mata seround dua before naik kapal. Seat dapat, tapi ndak dapat melelap sebab bising sangat masa tu. Ramai family travelling with kids. Aku pasrah. Jadinya layan telek gambar yang aku ambil sepanjang 8 hari di bumi Turki (ayat!). Al maklum, wifi kan nan hado. Sambil tu sempat bercerita sama few Malaysians yang sama flight ngan aku.

Ada seorang minah ni kerja di Doha. Traveled to Istanbul with her husband & 2 kids. And diorang habis dekat RM 2k untuk teksi jak. Susah berjalan bawa anak katanya. Aku iyakan jak sebab belum ada experience kan. Dengar 2k, rasa mau gugur jantung aku. And bila dengar teksi, terus jantung mau berhenti. Drama! Tapi fikir punya fikir, memanglah minah tu ndak kisah sebab kan untuk keselesaan anak-anak dia juga. Win win situation. Parents dapat sightseeing dengan aman & anak-anak ndak rimas/penat perlu jalan jauh-dan-berbukit. Lagipun minah tu bagitau gaji 10k tu kira murah di Doha. So bolehlah imagine berapa gaji dia sampai RM 2k tu ndak banyak mana for her.

Borak punya borak, aku baru perasan kapal kami belum sampai. It was already time for our departure. Tanya personnel in charge, diorang suruh kami tunggu. Yang Pak-Pak & Mak-Mak Arab sudah mula menceceh. The kids started throwing tantrums. And aku masuk fasa annoyed sebab masa tu jugalah badan mau mengigil & kepala berhelikopter bagai. Slowly I told myself to hold on. Biarlah demam once touch down Malaysia. But not at that time. Aku kena transit di Doha; walaupun cuma two hours gap masa but I definitely will be needing the energy to walk to the transit hall & later to the departure gate.

Bila dengar announcement yang flight delayed for an hour due to bad weather in Doha, terus rasa jantung stop berdegup. I need to be in Doha at least an hour early sebab nanti dari transit hall aku akan kena lalu passport control lagi sebelum masuk departure gate. Jarak to both areas bukan dekat! Masa ni lah rasa mau tikam dada sendiri kenapa bijak bestari pi ambil flight with 2-hours transit time only. Berani mati kan ko Bie. 

Argh! The agony of waiting? How can I ever possibly explain that?! I prayed & waited patiently. Tried calming myself by talking to the Malaysian lady sitting next to me. It didn't help much though. Lagi stress ada sebab minah tu ada 4 hours gap time before her flight to Malaysia. Whilst me? It was 2 freaking hours! I looked at the clock on the wall without blinking (ok; tipu!). Ntah berapa kali lepas keluhan. Ntah siapa perlu aku blame. Bad weather, siapa manusia untuk kawal. Oklah tu delay, daripada kena naik 'roller coaster' lagi. Immediately teringat bad experience flight AMS-LGW. Fine, sila terima hakikat thing happened for a reason. Aku ulang ayat tu banyak kali, walau dalam hati sebenarnya masih risau pasal flight balik Malaysia. Ndak kan kena beli ticket baru wei!

# Alangkah kecutnya hati bila tengok di luar, plane from Doha belum sampai. Huwaaa!

We were so happy upon being told the flight that will take us to Doha, Qatar has arrived. Rasa mau lompat bintang tapi aku adalah lemah. Kan kunun-demam. Sampai jak Doha, aku terus pecut 100m pi transit hall. Rupa memang out gila. Dengan sling bag macam mau putus, dengan nafas tercungap macam ndak cukup O2. Immigration officer yang check passport aku pun siap suruh aku calm down & tarik nafas. Simply embarrassing! Nasiblah ndak payah claim pastu check in luggage bagai sebab luggage dari Turkiye akan direct pi Malaysia. Aku ndak fikir pun pasal anak gajah masa berlari pecut tu. All I want was for me to reach & board the plane to Malaysia a.s.a.p! 

I board the plane with super messy face. And lets not forget the heavy gasping. I swear with such speed I could make it to our national athletic team. Lulus jadi pelari pecut negara. Sampai seat, terkejut mat salleh sebelah nampak aku. Hairan kali sebab belum habis bercungapan. Tapi part paling best when one of the FA came & gave me a cup of water. 

"Cik minum dulu, and tarik nafas. Calm down eh, Cik dah kat dalam flight."

Tetttt. Memang kelibut sangat kah aku sampai FA pun perasan. Nasiblah badan. Janji dapat naik flight. Sebenarnya rasa rugi gila berlari pecut sebab flight take off 40 minutes after I boarded the plane. Ciskek hampagas betul! Rupanya kalau connecting flight macam ni, flight akan reschedule bila one of the flights delayed. Ndak mau rugi bayar gantirugi lah tu kan. Kalau ku tahu.....! Nangis dalam hati masa dengar Captain announced. Flight will depart a little bit late because of the late arrival of the delayed flight from Istanbul to Doha. 

Ndak apalah, pengajaran untuk diri sendiri. Next time kalau mau bertransit, pilih yang not less than 4-hours gap untuk elak dari berlari pecut lagi. Haru biru kejadian di tengah malam. 

# Aku sudah selamat duduk & layan lagu, diorang ni pula masuk plane dengan ketenangan & keyakinan tinggi yang diorang ndak kan kena tinggal flight. Tabah!

We safely arrived KLIA in the evening the next day. And aku selamat demam gigil dalam flight. Selamat telan 4 biji Panadols sebelum touch down. Tidur adalah sangat terganggu dengan haba badan sendiri. Langsung ndak selesa. 

Tapi magic, once keluar dari perut kapal & lepas ambil bag, and berjalan pi pick-up area; aku suddenly sihat. Demam no more! Memang demam nyang-nyuk betul. Or sebab aku excited mau melepak sama minah-minah Divana. Tu cerita lain entry lah kan.

Phew sangat, akhirnya selamat aku habiskan entry trip Turkiye ni. Dekat dua tahun stuck di Turkiye oii! Finally, 'balik' Malaysia. Lepas ni aku share info accommodations & cost untuk trip ni pula. Insha Allah! 

Harapnya, sinar Rajin masih bersisa dalam diri.

eryantierdabdulkarim