Tulips Galore

We were so lucky that we were in time for the tulip season in Turkey. When we first caught sight of these flowers from the bus, the women in the bus got very excited. They lined the streets and roundabouts; they made the cafes and mosques more picturesque; they were everywhere and came in multi-colours. By the time we ended the tour nine days later, the tulips were wilting and making way for roses.

We always associated tulips with Holland, but the truth is tulips originated from Turkey. Bulbs were brought to Vienna from Istanbul in the 1500s and started the craze for tulips in Europe. In Holland, the interest was so intense that brought about the "Tulip Mania" when people invested in tulips like people do now in high-tech stocks.

Credit to Lin Ajis for the last 3 pictures.

Pamukkale

Pamukkale means Cotton Castle. It is named for the hot springs, travertines, and terraces of carbonate minerals that measure around 9000 feet long, and 500 feet high upon which the ancient city of Hierapolis was built. It is located in the Denizli Province of southwestern Turkey and was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1988.

Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the second century BC by the Romans, and the city was named to honour Hiera, wife of Telephos. Many patients came to stay in Hierapolis to soak in the pools as prescribed by their doctors for their ailments and they formed a thriving city until a series of earthquakes demolished the city in the 12th century.

When we reached Pamukkale, it was near sundown and raining so we could just see from our bus what looked like a snow-covered hill.

The next morning, our bus took us up the hill, and the view from up there was spectacular. We soaked our eyes in the view and our feet in the thermal pool.

The weather was cool so the European tourists came decently clothed. The Turkish tourist police force was very quick with the whistle whenever they see anyone going in the pool with footwear on.

There were remnants of Roman architecture and a museum there but we didn't have enough time to explore them. Gah! That's the peril of travelling with a tour group. We had to hurry to catch the next destination.

The pictures are grey because they were taken between 7 and 8 plus a.m. and the weather was cloudy until we hit the roads. (The first two pictures are courtesy of fellow traveller, Lin Ajis, the one in white coat).

Anecdotes from Turkey - Yogurt, honey and poppy seeds

Turkey is breathtakingly beautiful. I wonder how the Turks can take it; to me it is almost intoxicating. The country is thronged by tourists round the year that led me to believe that tourism is the country's number one income generator. But no; it is agriculture. It was very evident throughout our travel; the land is always planted with one crop or another like wheat, cherries, grapes, hazel nuts or olives. Even the lands that are covered in stones will be made workable after the farmers clear them patiently by hand-picking the pebbles, sometimes over years. They produce so much food that they export to all over the world.

On our way to Konya from Pamukkale, our local tour guide stopped the bus in a village for us to sample yogurt with honey and poppy seed. See photo. It's delicious. The poppy seeds add crunchiness and a nutty taste to the yogurt. A serving costs 5 Turkish Lira. I was contemplating to buy the poppy seeds but was worried of the Malaysian Customs at KLIA. My guide told us that once, he took an extra helping of the poppy seeds which resulted in him not remembering what happened the rest of the day.

Poppy in that village is planted with the blessings of the government solely for the patronage of their Ministry of Health. One time, our tour guide stopped his tour bus near a field of poppy and some tour members went after the flowers. Soon after, a truck full of armed villagers swerved by. So he advised us not to pick the flowers should we stop afterwards. But we were not so lucky; the villagers have just harvested the crop; otherwise we would've seen carpet after carpet of red flowers. The photo I enclose here is a patch of wild poppy flowers we saw at Hierapolis.

Data Security

I stumbled upon this piece, and I like it.



Credit goes to Custador, at unreasonablefaith.com.

On 4th day of January...

..I went to Kemaman! Say what? Yup! 'Twas a one-day trip to and fro, y'all. A friend drove, so I sat comfortably, chatted with my driver buddy and enjoyed the scenery. With the new highway, a trip from KL shoul take only 3 hours. But ours was over 4 hours, because my friend drove below or at the speed limit, and I suspect at some point we got off the highway and took the trunk road instead.

Once we reached Kemaman, we headed straight to the famous Hai Peng coffee shop which has operated since 1940. I know it's famous and all, but I still find it surprising that a lot of Malays patronized the shop. It's Trengganu folks, aren't they more orthodox that we KLites? But according to my buddy, in the days of old, the shop served as a pit stop for fishermen returning from the sea. The taukey brewed his own coffee and the nasi dagang and kuih-muih were commissioned from the kampong ladies. The tradition carries on and now they also serve non-fishermen, like me! I ordered traditional kopi-o kawkaw, toast with kaya and margarine, and best of all, yummy nasi dagang. Sedak belako... Definitely a must when you come to Kemaman.



We then tended to business that took less than 30 minutes, then headed home. Just after the arch that demarcates the border of Trengganu and Pahang, we stopped for the obligitary keropok/sata shopping to be presented to our loved ones back home as proof that we indeed went to Kemaman.

When we stopped for solat I discovered that my spine had been realligned from sitting too long in the car. Looks like I have to sleep on the floor tonight.

Beckoning the New Year...

I slept the night before amidst the thunder of fireworks. On 1st January, 2011 after breakfast, I watched The Social Network -- excellent, excellent movie about the founder of Facebook. Right after it, I went online and deactivated my Facebook account. I felt strangely liberated.

At about 4 pm, my friend Peanut, her auntie and I drove to Banting to see a friend who is recuperating from a surgery. It has been 10 days since her gall bladder removal; thus she was strong enough to take us to the famous kerepek haunt in Sungai Lang. En route, she pointed to us the office of the infamous lawyer awaiting trial for the sensational killing of 4 persons or more last year which stands right opposite the gleaming Banting district Police HQ.

There are many kerepek enterprises in Sg Lang, but my friend chose to take us to Fazz Enterprise. Its "Kerepek House" -- its retail/wholesale outlet is situated in between the homes of its proprietor. My friend remembered the house then was a typical kampung style wooden house. From the internet I researched that the business was set up in 1983, and it managed to penetrate foreign markets with its kerepeks, until the year 2000 when domestic demand was so great that it was enough for the company. Since then, that wooden house has grown into two identical (wink, wink) brick and mortar bungalows.

When I was there, there was a steady stream of buyers who came to shop. They, probably, like us, were happy to bring something of Banting back to KL. There were a few Chinese too (getting ready for Chinese New Year?). Subhanallah! Walhamdulillah! I am happy to see its success.

Co-incidentally, Fazz Enterprise Kerepek House was patronized by arwah Datuk Sosilawati on 30th August 2010 just shortly before her gruesome murder.

Christina Hendriks aka Joan Harris nee Holloway

Top: Gorgeous everything.


Below: CH and her mom, Jackie.

Adieu!

A thing that I acquired in 1981 while I was doing an English course in St. Paul before enrolling in U of M. With much sadness, I am finally chucking it. You have served me well, my sweatshirt...

Congkak

This picture always amuses me. The bigs boys are playing congkak. The rules are too intricate for the 2-year old to follow, and the big boys are getting irritated by the young one's intrusion. Solution? Mak Long gives him a pseudo-congkak that serves him just as well. All he needs is a concave thingy to put the marbles in!

He's as happy as a clam.

Sabar ya Embak

From Abu Huraira: Rasulullah said, "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger." (Sahih Bukhari Book #73, Hadith #135)

Radix Fried Chicken, mai seketoi!

Setelah sekian lama mendengar pujian mengenai francais ini, semalam Embak berpeluang makan di kedai RFC pertama di Malaysia, iaitu di Sg. Petani. Mungkin semalam waktu bekerja dan kami tiba pon selepas jam 2 ptg, kedai tersebut lengang sahaja. Tetapi menurut saudara Embak, pada sebelah malam, pelanggan melimpah ruah dan terpaksa beratur panjang.

Menunya semacam dengan KFC, bezanya RFC menggunakan ayam organik dan bahan-bahan keluaran HPA seperti sos cili dan kordialnya. Abah Embak yang sebelum ini belum pernah makan KFC, nampaknya boleh gi dengan makanan segera ini.



Embak punya komen: Sedap! Tengok sahajalah pinggan Embak ini.

Sekarang sudah ada 9 kedai RFC di seluruh Malaysia. Tetapi belum ada lagi di Lembah Kelang. Yang paling hampir ialah di Melaka, berhampran Mydin Mall.

Syabas HPA!

South Korean Trip in Summary

Sorry friends, I have the lazy bug. So the Korean trip will not be covered like the other trips. Not that South Korea wasn't interesting; it was. I guess because age is catching up, doing it free and easy was not the best option to travel anymore. By the 5th day I was feeling tired and homesick. First time ever on a trip.

Some notes and observations:

1. There are a lot of millionaires in Korea,(in Won, anyway). A fresh graduate will earn about 3 million won a month. That's like RM8,000. Right away, you know things are more expensive there than in Malaysia. If you are used to shopping in Indonesia or Vietnam, brace yourself to pay more in Seoul.

2. Nami Island where they shot Winter Sonata to me is over-rated. It is a small man-made island with not more than 5km in circumference. No one lives there, except for squirrels and rabbits. There are structures made for tourists and of course, Winter Sonata sites and memorabilia. We had to travel one and half hours by train from Seoul, then took a taxi and a ferry to get to the island. Luckily the trees are lovely in November. That Friday, 5th November 2010, I think there were about 50 Malaysians amongst the tourists on that tiny island. Nak tergelak pun ada. So powerful the pull of Winter Sonata.

3. One good thing we got out of that trip to Nami Island was meeting a Matrade officer. She gave us a tip where to shop for brooches which is on 1st floor of Kwangjang Market, parcel nos 166 and 167. When we located the place, we were soon joined by three more Malaysians who apparently got the same tip. As for Korean silk, we couldn't locate the merchant even though we went to the right market, i.e. Namdaemun Market. These wholesale markets are seriously humongous; make sure you come armed with the right parcel number.

4. Insa-dong is a cute touristy place for souvenirs and tea-shops. To our delight, it is within walking distance from our guesthouse. We ate, browsed and bought some goodies there. But for serious bargain hunters, the place to be is Kwangjang Market which has more variety and better prices.

5. Seoul's subway system is pretty fantastic since they are catering to 10 million people of the city. It's cheap and tourist friendly and it's not that difficult to master. They even have facilities for paraplegics and for the old, they have elevators. On a few occassions, my friend and I wanted to feign ignorance by joining them. Luckily our conscience got the better of us.

6. We knew there is a mosque in Itaewon, but we didn't get to see it. We went to Itaewon for a very satisfying dinner twice in a row. It has a nice international crowd. And best of all we got to greet fellow Muslims with salaam. If I get to go to Seoul again, I would stay in Itaewon for its close proximity to the mosque and abundance of halal eateries.


7. Lonely Planet says the best time to visit Korea is in November. I agree. It's gorgeous as the autumn leaves are in season. The downside is the weather could be wintry cold thus resulted in most of my photos have me in my winter jacket, and my sensitive skin developed a rash that had me scratching from day one.

8. Koreans are polite people; they know we were not Koreans but did not stare. In the trains especially, they would take one quick look and soon after averted their eyes and put on that 'selamba' face. After the second day, I was already feeling comfortable sitting next to them in the trains. South Korea generally is very safe.

9. The Seoul Tour Bus is a great way to see the city. One thing we missed seeing was the rainbow fountain spectacle at Banpo bridge, as it is only on during summer.

Korea has a lot to offer. Jeju Island in the south for example requires at least two days to explore. and there's North Korea which is not very far from Seoul. Lonely Planet recommends a day trip there. But our Korean friends were aghast when we told them about it. They said South Koreans do not receive any coverage about their northern neighbour in the media. Hopefully I can come back in the future in a warmer time. Watch out for bargains offered by Air Asia. Some of our fellow trippers paid only RM400 for a return ticket to Incheon.

Fall-ing in Korea

Lonely Planet says the best time to visit Korea is November. What luck Air Asia had its inaugural flight to Incheon today. And my buddy and I are going to be on its second tomorrow! InsyaAllah.

Hope to blog about the land of ginseng (and Winter Sonata :D) when I come back. See you later, alligator.