Say 'marhaba' to Turkey!

Turkiye

ISTANBUL

MUST go to!! -" its one of those cities which you can keep going back to" .Personally,  I really do like this city, but I dont think I could keep going back to it.

Busy Streets of Istanbul

Though ofcourse it has everything - Food, Shopping, Clubbing, Sea, Beaches, Partying, Hookah and a lot of history, and very beautifullllll so a definite go-go!

Hotel - Marmara Pera

Clubs 

Club Reina - over rated

Sortie, Suada - they looked very upscale and really fab - but didnt have the time to go there

Isticlal Street - full of restaurants, clubs, bars and free drinks for ladies. There is this shot bar called 'tektekci' and 'Shots Shots' (yummy shots and yummy deals). So, you can literally go club hopping from one bar to the another.

Marmara Pera- Rooftop Bar - Beautiful view

360 degree - posh rooftop bar

Tektekci- Shots Shots Shots with the colourful gems and crunchy snacks

The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmahet)

Most historical touristic place are in the Sultanahmet Region. Be sure to see Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya), Blue Mosque ( Sultanahmet Cami), Basilica Cistern ( Yerebatan Sarnıcı), Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Hippodrome and Topkapı Place. If you visit Topkapı Palace during lunch time there is a nice restaurant in the garden with a very nice view. It serves traditional Turkish food and the taste is not bad. Just a bit expensive.

See Dolmabahçe Palace as well. It is in the Orkatoy Region.

Bosphurus Cruise - It is a very boring cruise but interesting enough to cover all the touristic sites.

Taksim is a touristic region , the main street is usually packed with people. Nowadays Taksim square is under construction . If you visit Taksim ask your tour guide to take you to French street as well. It is a small street with some nice cafes around. If you are vising alone be careful of the small streets around Taksim. 

Ortaköy is a touristic place near the Bosporus. If you visit Ortaköy be sure to make a boat tour around Bosporus. Try kumpir ( potatoes stuffed with anyting you choose). If you take a walk around try Mado Cafe’s ice cream.

Beautiful place to sit around. There is a restaurant at the far end with a beautiful sea facing view

Nışantaşı region is not so touristic but an elegant place in İstanbul. If you have time, take a tour around. Nice cafes and restaurants as well as high end shops. There is a small shopping mall in Nışantaşı as well named City’s. On the upper floors there are many restaurants too. 

CAPPADOCIA

Cappadocia is like visiting a fairy land, it is also a must see place in Turkey. Hot Air Balloon Ride - highly recommend to do it there. 

Stay in the Gerome Area. You can go cycling, or take atv bikes and move around or better still put on your hiking shoes.

Stay in a original cave hotel. Do the underground city tour.

Buy spices and dry fruits from a Spice Store at Urgup. Urgup is again a very small town. 

Things to see:
Gerome Open Air Museum
Dervent Valley
Pasabag Valley
Kaymakli Underground City tour
Uchisar Castle
Avcilar
Pidgeon Valley

Pidgeon Valley

Hotel - Garimasu Cave Hotel - Very far from the city. Please stay at a hotel at Gerome.

BODRUM

Bodrum is a very popular summer destination even among Turkish locals. It has a very lively center and a very good night life. Very good place to enjoy beaches and sea.

Things to see:

St. Peters Castle

Breathtaking view from St. Peters Castle

Mausoleum

The Amphitheatre

Hotel - Marmara

Recommended Clubs:
Bordrum Bar Street
Halikarnas Club
Victoria Club
Bitez Beach
Xuma Beach club
Ebow Cafe and Bar
Ox Wine n Burger
La Passion
Street Party - Its massively crowded and is something what you should look forward to.

KUSADASI

Stay at a good hotel. Visit the Bar Street. Kusadasi and Irish clubs are good clubs there. Good Shopping. 

My favorite place in Turkey.

Fab Hotel Fab stay at Kusadasi - Charisma De Luxe Hotel

Visit historical place named Ephesus. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is considered one of the seven wonders of ancient world. It is an interesting place in my opinion.

Ancient Ruins of Epheseus

Do visit the church of virgin mary and there is a wishing wall. Write a wish and wish it true :)

PAMMUKALE
Bollywood Fans, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif music video was shot here from the movie Ajab Ghazab Ki Prem Kahaani. (Kaise bataye kyun tujhko chahe)

You have to go here. It is a basin of hot water springs. Not hot really, but beautiful landscape of blue springs in the midst of white calcium sands. 

Water Springs amidst White Calcium Salts - It is not snow!

There is a cleopatras turkish bath too.

Do trek it up to the amphitheatre at Pammakule- It is worth it.

 Hotel : Ayapam Boutique Hotel. We just stayed there for a night. It is not a 5 star but a pretty decent hotel for a night.

ANTALYA

Antalya has very nice natural beauty especially many waterfalls. Antalya is mostly famous for its very luxurious hotels. They are usually away from the city centre so if you are staying outside the city centre there is not much to do if you want to go outside of the hotel. Yet again very picturesque location to enjoy the beaches and sea. Preferably stay in the old city area if you want to enjoy the night life.

Waterfall at Antalya

Spotted a white fluff duckling enjoying the waterfall

Hotel -Marmara - Revolving Hotel - really liked this hotel.

Internal Travel Route
Istanbul to Bodrum via Flight
Bodrum to Kusadasi via road
Kusadasi to Pammaukale via road
Pammukale to Antalya via road
Antalya to Cappadocia via flight
Cappadocia to Istanbul via flight.

Food

It is not difficult to find vegetarian food in Turkey. However wherever you go just check for traditional home cooking restaurants, they will have vegetables cooked with olive oil. and usually they are served cold. If you see vegetable dishes that is hot and does not have meat be sure to ask whether they are cooked with meat sauce or not. There is a traditional turkish dish called 'pide'. It is thin bread with some toppings. You can ask it with just cheese, just spinach.If you can have cheese there is another turkish food called 'börek' and it is layers of thin bread and you can ask it just to have cheese in it. Again in some places there are jack potatoes called 'kumpir' and you can fill them with vegatables as well. Another dish is called 'gözleme' again it is thin bread with some stuff in it and you can ask it to have just spinach ,just cheese or just potatoes. All of these dishes can also be made without meat so ask them to put what you want.

SHOPPING

In İstanbul If the tour guide wants to take you to outlet malls as an extra service my advice is dont go because outlet malls are far from the city center.you would just waste your valuable time . Nowadays most of the the brands started to go on sale so sale prices on stores are now at reasonable levels.

If you are looking for a shopping mall where you can find almost every brand from high end to reasonable ones at İstinye Park at Istanbul. Shopping malls in İstanbul are open from 10 am to 10 pm.

I mostly enjoyed shopping at isticlal street. Almost all brands are there.

Istiklal Street - Yeah, thats what Im talking about- crazy crowded

Local Turkish Brands-

LCW: Very cheap and not bad quality clothing. they have stores almost everywhere
Other good quality Turkish brands

Batic -Love it!!

De Facto - For Mens Wear , pretty good stuff at reasonable rate

Collezione - Departmental Store

Penti - lingerie , swimwear

Taksim Mix - Clothes

AMBAR

Miss Poem

Grand Bazaar at Istanbul

Istanbul forum Mall

Aquaflorya Mall


So, I hope you are going to be saying 'marhaba' to turkey soon ! :)

Taming the Lion - Singapore

Time of Visit - September

Transportation - MTR , Taxi - very accessible. MTR shuts down at 11 p.m. Try getting a taxi number to contact, because after clubbing late in the night, the taxis just refuse to take you. You could be waiting for more than an hour.

Places to Eat:
Thai - Jim Thompson, Dempsey Hill, Renn thai - Clarke Quay ( Both restaurants have a separate vegetarian menu)
Mexican -Margaritas Dempsey Hill (honestly, I felt the place was over-rated)
Continental -P.S. Cafe- Must go there for desserts - huge servings. Must go the dempsey hill one for the view.
Italian - Trattoria - Good meal deals, Marche ( love the restaurant - favorite)
Quick Snack to go - Pretzels ( Aunt Annie)
Lebanese - Shirraz mezzah
Places to eat at night which are open till late - Riverside food court.
You could also visit holland village
Chocoholics: Ladure, Royce,Max Brenner

The best meal experience ever!!

Clubs:
Pangea -one of the fancy clubs to hit it on a saturday night
Avolon - very fancy also!!
1 Altitude - amazing view of the city ( my personal fav)
Kudeta - must go there on wednesdays. its pretty buzzing through the week though. Again an amazing vie of the city.
Clarke Quay, Boat quay, Robertson quay - all these places are lined with lot of bars and clubs.
New Asia Bar - didnt get the time to go there but have heard good reviews on it.
Tanjong Beach Club at Sentosa ( a must visit on a sunday, i didnt have the time to go on a sunday, however did go there during the week... if you are vegeterian its going to be really tough to find anything to eat... and they have a pool which you can use while at the restaurant)

View from One Altitude

Tanjong Beach Club - Sunset

Shopping:
Malls- Vivo City, Bugiz Junction, Ayon Mall, 313, Wisma Atria, Plaza Singapura
Local Brands to look for : Dressing Lolita (313), BYSI, Rare Attitude, Yin Yang, Out of the box (technological funky stuff), Daiso (like a dollar shop), Camomilla (bags, though i think it is a italian brand)
Lovisa (accessories), JOOP (clothes, accessories), TYPO ( very cool stationery), Rubi ( cheap deals on bags and footwear), Kitschen
Mustafa - for indians , currency exchange, chocolates, gadgets, watches, etc.

Do not visit anchor point (outlet mall) - its pointless!

Touristy things to do:
LOTS!!!, but this wasn't my first time to Singapore, I had already been to most of the touristic places before and I am not a big fan of making an agenda for sightseeing!!

But what I did do this is I went to "Gardens By the Bay" - gorgeous, but Id suggest that you should go there late evening so you can see it by the day and lit up by the night and I think there is a laser show also.

Nature beckons!

Gardens By the Bay - Architecturally magnificent

Marina Bay Sands Bldg- definitely go to the top floor for the pool and the club.

Marina Bay Sands 

Sentosa
Harbour front - could dine there and see the other side which is the Sentosa Island.

NOT TO DO - if you've been to other universal studios or amusement parks and are looking forward for some real adrenaline rush, singapore universal studios is NOT the place to go. With the exception of transformers ride everything else was so childish. And also, bad luck, two of their only good roller coasters were shut when I went there. I was really disappointed.

And finally its of course the MERLION that you ought'a see!

This is how I spent a week in Singapore. Time flies!

Hong Kong & Macau - Shop, Eat, Party !! - the 'Ideal Life'

Time of Travel - October

Macau Hotel  - Galaxy hotel

Hong Kong Hotel - Butterfly Wellington

Weather - Pleasant

Visa is at arrival at hk!!! If you plan to go to macau first, then at hk airport there is a gate from where you can directly board the ferry to go to macau. We made a mistake and we exited to get our baggage and then obviously we could not reenter.

So to reach macau, you can take a bus, for which the bus ticket is available directly outside the airport and go to the ferry terminal. Bus ticket is cheaper than going by taxi and it is a very comfortable journey (no complaints there). On reaching the ferry terminal there are many options of ferries. We took the cotai ferry. Once you land at macau, whichever hotel you are booked in - the respective hotel shuttle bus will do a pick up for you for the hotel.

Casino to play at - Venetian. Hotel recommended to stay at - Venetian - It is better than galaxy.

Clubs - MGM has a club open till really late. Forgot the name but you should try it.

Restaurants - Portofino at venetian - very good food. Food court at venetian is also good. Hard Rock cafe - average. Food Court at Galaxy - not that good.

There is a Swimming pool at galaxy with the Waves function - so it is fun.

BUT macau also has bungee jumping and other touristy places. Also, if you do venture out to buy food or alcohol - do ensure you have macau dollars because local stores dont accept HKD.

P.S. - DO pick up souvenirs from Galaxy Hotel - and its free. Its a fancy pack of playing cards and a torch.

Hong Kong

Restaurants -  At mid levels, central and soho - lot of restaurants and bars
i-dragon - for dimsum brunches through the week.
I-Caramba for mexican food.
Koh thai - for thai food at lkf - opposite tonic.
Habibi cafe for lebanese food, right next to Butterfly Wellington.
Kyoto Joe - for sushi!
Ebeenezers for late night pizzas - at LKF
Mask of Si Cheun, Kowloon - definitely worth a visit.

Shopping  - Local Brand LAMB- nice for clothes and shoes.
If you Want to buy cheap shoes - one mall in tsim tsha tsui - same bldg as bossini - cheap shoes and bags and good to look at to.
Cotton On - Another place at central.
Forever 21- Causeway Bay else H&M, Gap, Zara - you will find at Central.

Mens - shop from bossini for sure!! or g2000 or giordano.
Ffolio for watches.
Swimwear - Sabina's or ozzie pozzie(central, lkf, midlevel area - you can google it)
Street Shopping - for neons and funky stuff at central.

Clubs - LKF -all the clubs - tonic highly recommended. You can buy alcohol from 7/11 if you find it too expensive outside.
Aqua- rooftop club at peking at tsim tsha tsui next to harbour bay.
Tsim tsha tsui - also has a small open bar street.

Bachelorette items - available to buy at central on the streets .

Cake - Cake-A-licious - you can buy cupcakes, bachelorette cakes (lyndhurst terrace at central).

Tip - IFC Mall in Central has access to airport baggage check in - so please check that , if you are living in central.  And it is a good mall to shop in and munch on some garrett cheesy fries :)

So, we spent an entire week eating, shopping and partying hard!! -LKF is the place to be, if you are a party animal!. Somebody even did tell us on the last day of our trip that there are some nice places at the beachfront also - so if you do get a chance, do make a trip there.

Photos - coming up soon....

If you do need information on the touristy things to do - I could even send you the same as this was my second time to hk. The first time all I did was sightseeing!!

Jodhpur - A city of 'blues' and 'hues'

Popularly known as the 'Sun City', Jodhpur is a land of historic beauty of India.

How to get there : Train, Air or Bus. Only two airlines frequent there - Jet Airways and Air India.

Hotel - We stayed at Pal Haveli at Ghantagarh. Its a heritage hotel. Given its prime location in the market area, its beautiful architecture and the warm hospitality, it is definitely a place to stay in a budget of 3000 per night.

Touristy things to do : Visit Mehranagarh Fort and Umaid Bhavan Palace.



Mehranagarh Fort
Entry Fee - Rs. 50 for an indian.

Sheesh Mahal at Mehranagarh Fort

If you are a fan of architecture, history and arts, Mehranagarh is definitely a place to visit. It is one of the most well preserved and mantained forts of India. And you definitely must see the sheesh mahal. It is unreal.
And even if you are not a fan of royal history, you could visit the fort for its adventurous activity. The zipline by Flying Fox. It is for Rs. 1200 and there is student discount also so do not forget to carry your id cards. And I highly recommend everyone to do the zipline. It is SAFE. And yes, please do carry your own keds, because if you dont you will be wearing the sweaty sticky stinky shoes of the person who wore them before you. And that I am sure you would like to avoid. The sweaty gloves, I doubt you can avoid wearing those as I doubt most of you would not have a pair of leather gloves lying at home, but if you do, do take it.

Batman was shot here at Mehranagarh Fort

Blue City view from Mehranagarh Fort

P.S. -  This is from where you see the city turn 'blue' so keep your eyes open.


Umaid Bhavan Palace

Umaid Bhavan Palace

When I think Umaid, I think 'grandeur', 'splendour' 'royalty'.  When you dream of a wedding that spells of magnificence and ancestral royal lineage this is where you make it come real.
We had made a reservation for dinner. The dinner was very average and not many options to satisfy a vegetarian palette. And without booking our dinner, it would be difficult to enter the palace in the night unless you are staying there.
There is also a museum there which we missed out on as we couldnt make it on time, but that is accessible at a nominal fee.

Foodie Places to go to in Jodhpur
'Gypsy' restaurant at sardarapura C road. It serves all kind of cuisines. We tried the thali there.
At the same road there is a chole kulcha street vendor.
Jodhpur is known for the rajasthani food, kachoris and mirchi vadas.
If you are a true connoisseur of food you must eat the street food at jodhpur. Its deli!! And you must also try the sweet matka lassi and soda pop to drink.
Hanuwant Bhavan for dinner - You must seat yourself on the rooftop and take in the breathtaking and mesmerizing view of the Umaid Bhavan Palace.
On the Rocks - If you still are missing out on the city life then you can find some cocktails here.
I had breafast at the rooftop hotel of this restaurant. You must have the aloo parathas there, its yumilicious!!

Shopping
Sardarapura C Road is mainly the shopping area as well as the market place in and around ghantagarh.
Handicraft industry is really popular. You could buy mojdis from here.

Travelling In and around Jodhpur - Use auto rickshaws. There is no fixed price so do use your bargaining skills well.

This is it for now about Jodhpur!! 
P.S. - Photos will be soon uploaded.

Koh Samui - It has something for everybody!

Time of Travel - Early March

Weather  - Warm interspersed with heavy showers for short durations everyday.

How to travel from India - Take a flight to koh samui via bangkok (expensive ticket around Rs25k return). Alternatively a cheaper mode of travel (saving upto 10k)
1) Fly from mumbai to bangkok.
2) Then fly from bkk to surat thani.
3) Then take a car or a bus from surat thani airport to the pier for a ferry .This trip is usually 45 to 1 hour. If you take the bus, it is cheaper and most of the times the ferry ticket is included with the bus ticket. Last ferry is about 6 pm, some times they have a 7 pm ferry.Seatran Ferry, operates several trips per day between Don Sak (Surat Thani) and Koh  Samui, from 5.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. The trip takes about 90 minutes.
4)Then from the pier at Koh Samui (Na-thon), again take a taxi or a bus.

While taking a taxi or a bus - you will have to negotiate. Koh Samui is an expensive city with respect to travel by taxi.

If you take the 2nd alternative route to travel - its a really long tiring journey, and will take you the whole day. ( The question then to choose how is to weigh time against money).

Accomodation
Hotel - Q Signature Samui at Choeng Mon Beach

It is a BEAUTIFUL HOTEL - Huge rooms, beautiful view , huge bathrooms - you must check out the website.
It is connected to the choeng mon beach. There are a lot of restaurants at the beach side. The pool is an infinity pool - they have a main pool overlooking the beach. And a second pool right next to the villas, which you can even dip in at 4 a.m. Service is also excellent. If you only like indian food then there is an indian restaurant also in this hotel to cater to your appetite, but we did not quite like the indian food.
The only downside to this hotel is that if you are young and here to party, then chaweng beach is a more idle place to stay. Choeng Mon beach is more relaxed, more for people who have come for a leisurely spaced out holiday. This hotel would mean more luxurious stay.

Chaweng beach is 15 mins away from Choeng Mon Beach if you use a taxi. A taxi ride to Chaweng Beach would cost 300 bht - for a 15 min ride- if you negotiated you could get it for 200bht also.

Restaurants
1)Coyote Samui for mexican food -poor for mexican, even nachos were not done right, but the margheritas - outstanding ( better than any that i have had so far),
2)Khao Sum - thai food -- the papaya salad, thai curry, rice, everything was delicious and we did end up coming to this restaurant again in the week.
3) Pancakes and Waffles - Street Vendors.
4)Le percorenere - italian restaurant- yummy pizzas.
5)At q signature samui - The main restaurant (pasta +watermelon orange juice was good).
6)Choeng mon beach restaurant - do not remember the name but there is one restaurant which has thai folk dance entertainment.
7)There are a lot of shacks at the beach side.

Clubs
1)Green Mango
2) Sound
3)ARK BAR (check it our on wednesdays- there is some deal there).
4)There is a cabaret joint diagonally opposite green mango, if interested.

At Chaweng beach, there is a long stretch of clubs lined up right next to each other, and being girls - we did not have a tough time entering any. You can do bar hopping.

So, the idea of drinking in thailand is via buckets (tiny buckets - 150bht for a bucket - cheap) if you want to go cheaper, theres a 7/11 always around.

No surprises there, the clubs are open till 6 a.m. in the morning.

Now, to go back to the hotel we had an option of a tuk tuk or a taxi - you can use either - but again they took some 300 bht from us. ( on a rough basis , i think 100 bht a person)

Activities
1)Scuba Diving - There are a lot of divers clubs to choose from. We did it through easy divers.
If you want a PADI certification, you need to give it 2 days and 4 dives.

2)Full Moon Party - A trip to Koh Samui is worth it if you go for the full moon party - it is AMAZING!!
You can book your tickets through your hotel for the party. Along with the tickets you have a ride all the way to Koh Phangan which is an island so you have to get on a boat to get there.

On the day of the party this island is bustling with markets, shops, entertainment. It is like you have reached Neon Paradise. You can shop neon tops , accessories, shorts, bikinis to blend in the party mode. Alternatively, you can buy them from Chaweng market as it is a little more expensive at the market at Koh Phangan.
Basically, it is a long stretch of shack based clubs at the beach side, so you can keep dancing your way through different genre of music. Moreover, there are fire activities, lambada, a small water slide and lots and lots of alcohol. You also have the liberty to dip into the sea anytime. In short it is like a open house 'wild wild wild' party scene.
On the way back you can return at any time. There are ferries running back and forth till morning hours. But the later you plan to leave the longer the line. Just make sure to reach sometime before the last return journey of your speed boat or ferry.

3)Beaches
We visited only chaweng and choeng mon beach. You could do jet ski as well as banana ride at either of the beaches. chaweng is known for it but you could request somebody at choeng mon for the same too, as the number of jet skis are limited at choeng mon. Also, if you are sure you want to do it check the timings because they shut all sea activities by 5 p.m.

4)World Famous Thai Massage
Be sure to take a massage. They are good. They are even available at all the beaches!!

5)Touristy things to do
 Look up what you are interested in doing . Well, there are elephant shows, fish pedicure, monkey shows. Thai boxing was pretty average. What is worth seeing is the waterfall. There is a swing on top of the waterfall. Also,  for the animal lovers, there is a tiger there on leash of course. The thai food at the waterfall restaurant is really delicious!!
You can also do a full day sea safari at angthong by speedboat-you must do this trip - it is pretty and adventurous.
So you will find all these packages and safaris, so choose one as per your preferences.

5) Next to our hotel there was an island. You could swim to it. So given our sense of adventure and need for exploring, we waded upto it. It was fun. This is what it feels like being a part of the LOST series stranded on an island ;)

So to sum it, It is an amazing place to go. It has something for everybody be it tranquility, be it a crazy night out or just a week of leisure in your hotel. Definitely worth a visit. Go before it gets too commercialised.

Try to negotiate everywhere in thailand, you will find a better deal.
Caution: For any tour offering lunch to go with, be sure to tell them what can you eat, because even after specifying no eggs we were offered eggs.

P.S. - if not an animal lover, I should warn you there are domesticated well bred cats and dogs everywhere!!!

Will put up pictures SOON!! - hope you enjoyed my blog.