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

Turkiye Day 3 - Balik Ekmek / Taksim Square / Kamil Koc

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

After spending more than 4 hours exploring Topkapi Palace, I exited the palace & walked to Eminonu. Opted to walk instead of hopping on the tram because I wanted to enjoyed the city on foot. Lagi best! Feeling tu terus meresap dalam jiwa.

The distance isn't that far from Topkapi to Eminonu Pier but I took nearly an hour walking. Sambil jalan, sambil cuci mata. Sambil click sana, click sini. Santai. Bukan ada apa yang mau rushing sangat pun.

6 April 2015
Istanbul 

# Gulhane Tram Station

# Some street along the way to Eminonu

# Another shot of Yeni Camii (New Mosque) 

To get to the Balik Ekmek boats area at Eminonu Pier, I passed by Yeni Camii once more. Kena ikut underground passage. Still drizzling masa ni tapi ku gagahi juga. Demiiiiii Balik Ekmek.

# The boat where they make the fish (Balik) sandwich (Ekmek). 

Memang ndak plan to take away pun. Sit-down experience is what I aimed. Lepas order sama Abang sado, I quickly search for a vacant chair. Abang muka garang tapi tiba-tiba request aku ambil gambar dia. Ndak payah poyo mau cari meja kosong, janji ada kerusi. Alhamdulillah, I didn't struggle much to search for a vacant space. Pusing kepala dua-tiga kali, tadaaaa...meja & kerusi kosong right before my eyes. Magic gitu!

# My TL 8 Balik Ekmek. Harus asingkan onion dulu. 

My verdict? Superbly delicious! Generous amount of fish fillet, walau the bread a bit keras. I enjoyed my luncheon. Before this trip, I came across comments from few people who dislike the taste of this fish sandwich. Some said it's too bland. While some even suggest one should bring their own chili powder or MSG. Amazingly, I just consumed the sandwich as it is & sangat sangat suka! Tuang jus lemon & sprinkled a bit of salt. Walla!!! Makan ndak tengok kiri kanan. Siap beli lagi satu. Tettttt!

# Walau cuma jual street food, lampu deco gerai tetap kebabom kan.

Lepas mencekik, perut kenyang...senang hati. Tiba masa untuk proceed to next plan. I took the tram back to Taksim Square; cancelled my plan to walkertapaki because it rained heavily soon after I hopped in the tram. 

# One of the colorful staircase at Findikli, Istanbul taken from inside a moving tram.

One of my regret during this trip is not being able to witness all those beautiful rainbow staircases at Findikli & Cihangir. If it's not because of the heavy rain I would have pose-ndak-hengat-dunia at all those staircases. Never mind, next visit harus akan ada misi yang ni. Insha Allah.

Back to Taksim, before balik hostel untuk packing...kill time ronda Istiklal Street. Syukur juga masa tu hujan redah sikit. But still kena beli payung. Nampaklah orang jual payung transparent, terus niat mau beli colour pink. Walhal di Eminonu tadi punyalah banyak orang jual tapi kau jual mahal, kan Bie? Sekali sampai Taksim, nan hado yang jual pink umbrella so si Err pasrah beli polka-dots transparent umbrella. 

# Mau masuk WC pun mencabar. Underground! And yes, it ain't free!

Public toilet or WC memang susah sikit mau jumpa di Istanbul. Jadinya when I saw WC sign, haruslah singgah! Walaupun kena turun tangga Harry Potter. Actually WC ni dalam masjid. Kiranya cuma tempat wudhu' jak yang free...yang mau membuang before beribadat, silalah masuk WC berbayar. 

# Hujan di bumi Istanbul

# Stand for EXO. *flip tudung*

# Lori sampah comel yang langsung tidak berbau. Relaks jak aku jalan tepi lori ni.

# Singgah sini untuk tunaikan pesanan kehormat from someone back home.

# Istiklal Caddesi

# Singgah beli lokum untuk bekalan dalam bas.

Habis ronda cuci mata, I went back to my hostel. Mandi manda. Packing. Pastu check out. Aku memang request for late check out & the manager charged me half day rate. Next, tinggalkan anak gajah di luggage storage. Luckily the storage is only a block away from the hostel else harus patah pinggang mengangkut. 

# More info about this left luggage service here. 

Settled with the anak gajah, singgah beli bread & bun di Simit Sarayi. Then I walked to Kamil Koc office. Was told to wait for the shuttle bus that will bring me to the bus terminal at 8pm the latest. Bus will pick me up at 830pm. Si Err datang awal so lepaklah dia kejap di waiting room. Sambil charge segala devices yang ada. 

# Cuma angkut that small backpack. Nasib baik muat.

Shuttle bus arrived on time. It started to rain heavily again soon after I got on the bus. Sepanjang hari bumi Istanbul disimbah hujan. Tapi memang perfect timing! Kan aku naik overnight bus, haruslah bakal tidur lena. 

# Is Park. 20 minutes from Istanbul. It is home to many popular bus companies in Turkey.

# Kamil Koc waiting tent. 

Besar sebenarnya building Is Park ni tapi aku tiada mood mau menggambar malam tu. Hujan satu hal. Sejuk satu hal. Then masa pi WC, aku super malas mau korek camera dalam bag. I totally forgot about the existence of my handphone. Jadilah kan dapat gambar seketul dua.

# Kamil Koc coach bus.

# My ticket. 

From Istanbul it will take approximately 10 hours to reach Denizli. Bus departed at 920pm sharp. Luckily I got to choose my seat upon purchasing the ticket. Nampak jak seating 2+1 terus laju si Err pilih single seat. Senang kerja. Tidur kuak lentang macam mana pun tetap ndak ganggu orang sebelah.

# Inside the bus.

# Free food & drink.

# Power point at each seat.

Less than an hour after we left Istanbul, steward cum bus assistant started serving light supper. Rasa macam naik flight pula kan siap ada snack berhidang bagai. FOC pula tu. TV pun ada. Tapi aku ndak lah melayan movie sebab nan hado movie English. Ada 2 usb ports for charging. Lengkap! Toilet jak tiada. Tapi aku bersyukur sebab aku ni kan ada penyakit 'hantu tandas'. Kenapa bersyukur? Sebab bila tiada toilet dalam bas, automatik pundi kencing tunjuk tahap toleransi paling tinggi! Langsung tiada rasa mau terkucil hokey! Grrr sangat perangai.

Regardless mindset has changed pasal toilet, aku tetap ambil langkah berjaga-jaga. Hence masa steward datang offer drink, aku cuma minta air mineral. And grabbed whatever snacks in the cart. Dasar piranha! Wifi onboard is free so I went online for a while prior dozing off. Terjaga juga few times tapi sambung tidur dengan jayanya. Bas ada singgah RNR twice if I'm not mistaken. And aku cuma turun sekali. Paling win, most of the big bus companies have their own RNR! Yang complete fuel station, restaurant, mini market. Bapak impressed aku wei.

Anyway, thanks to Merengmate for mentioning the ferry ride. Aku pilih seat jauh dari pintu depan & belakang. Because according to her, it will get extra cold during the ferry ride. "Aku rasa macam sejuk gila tapi aku tak tau kenapa Bie". Mampu statement gitu? Haruslah sejuk membeku sebab both doors of the bus must remain open throughout the ride as to allowed ventilation. Nanti ada juga passenger mati ndak cukup oksigen, kan. Aku sedar masa bas start masuk ferry, pastu ada juga terasa angin beku menerpa masuk once the driver opened the doors. But I managed to get back to my beauty sleep soon after that. Cocooned myself in my jacket...and off I went to dreamland. 

I woke up in Denizli the next morning. Tipu! Walhal terjaga awal because the bas stopped at few bus stations before finally arriving at Denizli Otogari. 

Part Denizli, yang tu kita continue next entry. 

eryantierdabdulkarim