Until two weeks before D date, our itinerary is not fixed
yet, we are still trying to get visa to visit Greece. It is so difficult to get
visa from Greece embassy in Jakarta, although we already had a guarantee letter
from our relatives there, had sufficient amount in our bank account, covered by
travel insurance, they still asked for some documents that is hard to provide.
We decided to forget about Greece and focus on Turki, one week before D date,
we finalize our itinerary and booked the hotels.
Dina is always a good partner in crimes, she has no
objection to the crazy itinerary and hotel arrangement I made, although I still
have no idea how to get to from one place to others. I am a bit picky on hotel
arrangement though, crave to get the clean - comfy - good location in a low
price, thanks to TripAdvisor.com, got plenty useful info from them. Bismillah,
qui sera sera whatever will be will be. Here we go, 14 days exploring Turkiye,
Dina call it “glamping”, not a fancy trip, neither a backpack trip as well.
Time to Fly
Yippie the day is come, 24th May! We meet at
Soetta Airport Jakarta right on time to check in. Each of us brings one
cabin-size luggage and one day-backpack, plus camera bag and small bag for our
snacks. We minimize our carriage, to ease us on travel around the country by
public transport.
My note:
- It is nice to have a special request for meal on flight, caused they will prioritize to serve us. Low calorie meal is usually very healthy, mostly steamed food and fresh fruits.
- If you have connecting flight, it is better to check in for your next flight once you arrive at the transit airport, no matter how long your transit time will be. A month before departure date, we received email notification telling that our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul will be rescheduled from 0200 am to 0900 am. Luckily we prefer to go directly to the transit board when we arrived at Abu Dhabi around 2300 pm, shockingly we were informed that we will fly as per previous schedule at 0200 am. Save by the bell :)
Day 1 – Welcome to Istanbul
- It is nice to have a special request for meal on flight, caused they will prioritize to serve us. Low calorie meal is usually very healthy, mostly steamed food and fresh fruits.
- If you have connecting flight, it is better to check in for your next flight once you arrive at the transit airport, no matter how long your transit time will be. A month before departure date, we received email notification telling that our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul will be rescheduled from 0200 am to 0900 am. Luckily we prefer to go directly to the transit board when we arrived at Abu Dhabi around 2300 pm, shockingly we were informed that we will fly as per previous schedule at 0200 am. Save by the bell :)
Day 1 – Welcome to Istanbul
Landed safely at Attaturk airport as scheduled, 15 minutes
queue at Visa On Arrival counter (Indonesian kena tarif USD25 saja), another 15
minutes queue at Immigration, get our passport stamped, 5 minutes for baggage, then
we go to foreign exchange inside the airport since we do not have any Turkish
Lyra in our hand. There are four cash exchange outlet nearby the baggage claim
area. The exchange rates are similar, as well the commission fee. Finally we are ready to get to the town. We decided to take metro (subway) as the
economist and easy transportation, just follow the direction board and go downstairs
to the subway line, get the token at Jetonmatic machine by inserting coins or
notes, one token for a trip costs 3 Lyra.
The first destination is Best Town Palace Hotel at Sirkeci
area, we need to drop our luggage before exploring the city. From the Airport’s
Metro, we transit at Zeytinburnu station, take the tram to Kabatas and stop at
Sirkeci station. We could see the
Istanbul University and Sultan Ahmed main tourist destination, Hagia Sophia and
its surrounding on our way. Sirkeci area
is very close with the famous Galata Bridge, only two stops from Sultan Ahmed,
therefore it’s a bit crowded with people walked in and vehicle passing by. It is
so easy to find souvenir stalls and restaurants, local or franchise i.e. Burger
King. We stop by at one of the local resto selling kebab, the price is about TL 5-6 for durum kebab (served with tortilla)
and TL 10-12 for porsiyon kebab (served with fried potatoes or rice). We also try Turkish coffee, it served on
small cup like espresso, nice.
Upon check in and have enough rest at the hotel, we go out and
catch tram to Kabatas wherein the Dolmahbace Palace is located. Unfortunately the
residence of last sultan of Ottoman Empire is closed for public at 05.00 pm, so
we could only go round the perimeter and take picture of clock tower in its
yard. Back to tram station, we meet
street stall sells Baklava and Simit (Turkish simple bread), good to try. I
like Simit, it tasted like Bagel, only 1-2 TL per piece and it’s big enough. The
baklava is a bit different to the one I tried in Saudi, Turkish baklava is sweeter,
seems like they spread lots of honey on it.
Sun goes dusk, we go back to Sirkeci, enjoy the panoramic
Galata Bridge and have a light dinner, we walk round the Gulhane area and find
out some souvenir shops that offer good price without bargain, seems it’s a
good alternative if we have no time to visit the Grand Bazaar. It was 11.00 pm
and the city was still so lively, but we need to take a rest.
Day 2 – Istanbul - Yalova - Bursa
For the second day, we already booked a hotel at Bursa city,
so no matter what we have to find a way to get in there. It is recommended by
the hotel manager to go to Bursa by fast ferry, but the schedule is either too
early or too late. We prefer to take ferry to Yalova city at 11.30 am so we can
have enough time to enjoy our breakfast.
It is a good decision though, having breakfast at the 5th floor
of Best Town Palace hotel is a must have experience, breathtaking views of
Galata Bridge, Marmara Sea, Galata Tower, Gulhane Park area is over the top,
too precious to be passed. The food is also nice, plenty choices of salad, meat
and cheese, among the best from other hotel we visited in Turki.
Leave the hotel at 09.00 am, it takes only 10 minutes and TL12
to IDO ferry terminal at Yenikapi by taxi. The boat costs TL 19 and the cruise to
Yalova city will take 40 minutes, much faster compare to intercity bus. While
cruising, we could sit inside the passenger room as our seat number or at the
windy balcony outside and enjoy the scenic view of Aegean Sea. Traveler with big luggage could store it on
the rack provided at the deck, just make sure it is locked properly. Few
minutes before arrival to Yalova, we stood over the balcony enjoying fresh air
and the city's mountainous view. Back to the passenger room, i was a bit panic
to find my seat is empty, my snack bag is gone. Apparently, one of the crew
keep it safe at the crew's room, thought it was left by the owner. Nice isn’t
it. And we leave the ferry smilingly, knowing that we are in a land of good
people.
Feel hungry we get to the food stall selling kebab nearby the jetty. This time we try Doner Porsiyon, meats and pilav (rice), and mineral water. When the restaurant manager looked at us put a sachet of chili sauce to our meals, he asked if we have another sachet for him. It is a Sambal Terasi (shrimp paste), and it smell something weird for him. He tried and we laughed looking at his expression.
There are Dolmus (minivan) terminal closed to the jetty but if we want to go to Bursa we have to change twice, so we decide to take intercity bus, costs 12TL for 2 hours ride. The bus is nice and clean, TV in each seats with some movies options, unfortunately it’s in Turkish and no subtitle. I notice the bus agent took note on the passenger gender for seating arrangement, alone female passenger must be seated with another female, or they will let her alone, never mixed female and male, unless they are couple or buy together. It’s so thoughtful, following Islam rules to separate female and male unless they are “muhrim”.
Arrived in Bursa, we have lunch at bus terminal and take taxi to the hotel. Some people say we could take a public bus, but we are too tired to wait. It takes 20 minutes from bus station to hotel, taxi costs 36 TL. The Aloft hotel is located at Nilufer district, not too far from Uludag mountain, it’s perfect for those who want to go skiing on winter or come to Bursa for business trip since it is close to the business area. I love their interior design very much, fancy young elegant, and it costs so cheap. Unfortunately, our main destination is on the old town, and we have to take tram to get there, and we have to walk a long way from Aloft hotel to nearest tram station. We almost get lost on direction, until we meet a friendly guy, Osman, who is so kind to lead us the way to the metro (tram) station. Metro from Nilufer (Acemler station) to old city (Sehrekustu station) cost 2.5 TL and takes about 10 minutes.
Feel hungry we get to the food stall selling kebab nearby the jetty. This time we try Doner Porsiyon, meats and pilav (rice), and mineral water. When the restaurant manager looked at us put a sachet of chili sauce to our meals, he asked if we have another sachet for him. It is a Sambal Terasi (shrimp paste), and it smell something weird for him. He tried and we laughed looking at his expression.
There are Dolmus (minivan) terminal closed to the jetty but if we want to go to Bursa we have to change twice, so we decide to take intercity bus, costs 12TL for 2 hours ride. The bus is nice and clean, TV in each seats with some movies options, unfortunately it’s in Turkish and no subtitle. I notice the bus agent took note on the passenger gender for seating arrangement, alone female passenger must be seated with another female, or they will let her alone, never mixed female and male, unless they are couple or buy together. It’s so thoughtful, following Islam rules to separate female and male unless they are “muhrim”.
Arrived in Bursa, we have lunch at bus terminal and take taxi to the hotel. Some people say we could take a public bus, but we are too tired to wait. It takes 20 minutes from bus station to hotel, taxi costs 36 TL. The Aloft hotel is located at Nilufer district, not too far from Uludag mountain, it’s perfect for those who want to go skiing on winter or come to Bursa for business trip since it is close to the business area. I love their interior design very much, fancy young elegant, and it costs so cheap. Unfortunately, our main destination is on the old town, and we have to take tram to get there, and we have to walk a long way from Aloft hotel to nearest tram station. We almost get lost on direction, until we meet a friendly guy, Osman, who is so kind to lead us the way to the metro (tram) station. Metro from Nilufer (Acemler station) to old city (Sehrekustu station) cost 2.5 TL and takes about 10 minutes.
Ulu Camii or Ulu Mosque is our main destination, takes about
10-15 mins walks from the station, the direction is clear, no worry to get
lost. The Ulu Camii, built before 1400, is so enchanting, especially the marble
fountain and the mimbar inside, also the calligraphy, beautiful. We feel like we
want to stay there for a long time, coz it’s so peaceful. All of sudden we hear
the Adzan Magrib, it should be a call for us to join the praying, unfortunately
I only wear short pants and I don’t bring my praying dress, no other choice, we
have to go out and leave the Camii. Sad. There are some more historical
buildings at the old town, but considering it is difficult for us to take nice
pictures in night modes, then we decide to go back to the hotel and enjoy the
room. We stop over to buy Turkish ice cream and tape the funny tricks they play
while serving it. The ice cream is delicious, sticky but so delicate. Well,
don’t believe me, wherever whenever, I am a good friend of ice cream, hahaha.
Day 3 – Bursa – Izmir – Selcuk – Ephesus
We left the cozy room of Aloft hotel at 0730, take taxi
(sorry dude, we are in a rush, excuse hahha) to the bus terminal, buy ticket
for first bus to Izmir, buy Durum Kebab, Baklava and Simit for our brunch. Bus from
Bursa to Izmir costs 30TL, takes 3.5 hours ride. They serve us with water,
coffee/tea and snack on board. The driver and assistant is dress up and cute,
though the road is long, we never get bored hahhaa.
Arrive in Izmir, we plan to take a Dolmus for city sight
seeing, before that we have to find a locker to put our luggage. Too bad,
mostly people in the bus terminal can’t speak English, we are lost in
translation this time, almost an hour we go round up and down with our carriage
to find locker, and no luck. Get dizzy and starved, we buy some breads and
decided to take bus to our next destination, Selcuk. Bye Izmir.
My note: It’s a must to take note on some local wordings
when you do backpacking to a country wherein English is not their main
language. I do memorize some, but it’s not enough though. Later at Konya we
just realize that Locker in Turkish is “Emanet”, and Dina told me, she
remembers there was an emanet sign at Izmir bus station. *sigh*
It takes 1 hour from Izmir to Selcuk by Dolmus, and costs
9TL. On the way to Selcuk, I keep calling Tom the CP of Artemis Hotel, wherein
we will stay for two nights to ask for direction, in hostelworld they promise a
free pick up. Tom says his friend Muslim will pick us up at the otogar (bus
terminal). Ok great. Arrived in Selcuk, Muslim easily recognize us and show us
the way to the hotel, on foot, hahaha no wonder its free. The Artemis hotel is
only 10 minutes walks from otogar however it kind of tough part if we have to
walk when we are tired and starved and have to carry our own luggage. Ga ada
ojek nih Din?
Tom is a very friendly person with excellent selling skills,
he shows us a map to explore Selcuk and arrange a day tour for us to Pamukkale on
the next day. The Artemis hotel is merely a hostel ++ for us, it is clean and
tidy, but the toilet is old fashioned. It’s not a big problem though, as long
as it works as properly.
Our plan for the afternoon is visiting the legendary
Ephesus. Tom said there is a dolmus to the northern entrance, but he recommend
us to take taxi from otogar to upper gate or southern entrance, so we could
walk downhill, then finish at northern entrance and we can take dolmus or go on
foot for 30mins back to the hotel. We
follow his guidance, pay 15TL for the taxi and 25TL for the entrance fee and
enjoying the wonderful Ephesus. Coincidentally we meet a tour group from Bank
Mandiri Jakarta, we say Hi and they offer their assistant to take picture on
us, cool. Dina meet some new “friends”, two photographers from China, one of
them greets her with fart in front of her, the other is more rude, shouting to
people to stay away from the front of Celcus Library, coz he wants to take
picture, helloooow.
More info about Ephesus, visit Wikipedia please hahaha.
From the northern gate, we take a dolmus for 5TL back to
Otogar. I was a bit pale coz of my PMS ache then we decide to have some good food
before we go back to hotel and prepare for Pamukalle trip tomorrow.
To be continued..
mampus khan semuanya to be continued wkwkkwkw
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