Exchange in Istanbul: Update and visiting Izmir

I haven't wrote anything here for long time. November went by so fast with studying, doing mid-term exams and partying and December seems to do the same. Last night we celebrated Christmas together with exchange students and ended up being very drunk night. First time for me being drunk during Christmas as I don't like to do that in family environment. Nothing much has happened, I have now get used to the life of Istanbul. Last week there was however one really hard day. Snow came to this city and traffic was after total chaos. It took me 5 hours to get back home from university. If I see any snow again in this city I definitely lock myself inside or at least I'm not going to the university.
Next week starts our final exams which means my time in Istanbul is getting short. I will leave at the start of February back to Finland but the university already ends for me at 10th of January so I will have couple weeks free in Istanbul. Most likely my time goes to preparing going back to Finland but hopefully I got some time to visit some sights I haven't yet visited.

Since my last blog I haven't really been any special place in Istanbul. I visited in Istanbul Modern, the modern art museum which was ok but not the best art museum I've been in my life. View from the museum is however amazing! I walked around in Fatih district which is located west from Sultanahmet (the area containing Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace & Blue Mosque). It is really interesting part of Istanbul and it's also location of Chora Church which contains amazing frescoes and mosaics, the best ones in Istanbul. I also visited in the old fortress of Rumelihisari which is located in a very beautiful area of Istanbul. Otherwise I haven't really visited any remarkable places here anymore, just living the daily life and hanging out with friends has taken most of my time lately and I don't complain because I like to do that. It's funny to read my earlier blog post about the things I miss. Some of them don't bother me anymore and actually I don't really miss anything from Finland at the moment. At here I'm feeling really happy and I would like to extent my stay but unfortunately it's not possible...

 I made 3 day visit to Izmir which was nice breakaway from Istanbul's traffic chaos. I stayed with local geography student and he showed me around the city and I really enjoyed my stay there. I also visited in the ancient city of Ephesus which is located near Izmir, one-hour train ride away. Ephesus was nice experience as it was first time for me to visit in ancient Roman archaeological site. And Ephesus is really well-preserved. I'm surprised it's not World Heritage Site yet. It's was also really quiet during mid-December day, not much other tourists around. In Izmir my favourite place was the bazaar area Kemeralti. It's really huge and easy to get lost. I lived in this area called Bornova which was full of young people studying in the nearby Ege University. I would like to visit Izmir again in summer and see the city life full on then.

And like for many other exchange students around the world I went and found my soulmate in here. I'm dating seriously a local and because of that leaving from here soon feels really horrible. I'm trying not to think about it much and enjoy the time we have now together but still the future haunts in the back of my brains. But we will see now one day at the time what will happen.

So if I doubted anything when I was coming here all those doubts are now gone and I feel really happy that I came here and experienced this all. I love my life at the moment and I've never been happier. :)

Exchange in Istanbul: Trip around Turkey

Not much has happened since I last wrote. Studying is going on but this week we have holiday because of Kurban Bayramı or Eid al-Adha as it is known in other parts of Muslim world. I planned to travel this week but unfortunately I was too late for buying bus tickets, everything was sold out on the dates I planned to travel. So I'm staying this week in Istanbul and see the sights I haven't visited yet. During my time in here I have usually visited every weekend in some new places in the city. I visited in Basilica Cistern which is underground palace with water covering the floor. I don't really understand what is so special in it, I think it was quite boring place. Grand Bazaar is grand but very touristic, so is smaller Spice Bazaar also. Eating fish bread in Eminönü is however recommendable touristic activity, but buy the bread from the boats, not from Galata Bridge restaurants. In Ortaköy I went taste the best kumpirs in city. Kumpirs are baked potatos with all kinds of things in it, so delicious! Ortaköy's famous waffles however were expensive but worth of trying. Otherwise my weekends have been full of partying like it should be during Erasmus exchange, good places to go are places like Eski Beyrut and Araf, no entrance fee and quite cheap beer. 

 But now I will write about my trip around Turkey which I made before university started. 

So I started my trip with shuttle bus from Baghdad Street to Ümraniye bus station which is on the Asian side of Istanbul so most travellers don't use it. I used bus company called Kâmil Koç. In Ümraniye there is no traditional bus station but every company has their own station. When I arrived I was first quite confused how everything was working but soon I figured out that I should just wait patiently and everything will work out fine. And so happened, my bus came just in time and then I was on my way to Ankara. Buses are quite luxurious in Turkey, you get free drinks & snacks on the way and there is always tv (but signal is mostly bad). I arrived to Ankara in late afternoon. I took metro from bus station to centre and found my hostel easily, it was located very near of metro station. I didn't visit any interesting place because Ankara was just resting stop for me on my way to Cappadocia. I walked around centre, went to eat and tried to buy medicines in pharmacy and that was my experience for that evening of Ankara.

After nice breakfast in hostel I went back to bus station and took bus towards Göreme which is the touristic centre of Cappadocia region. Cappadocia is famour for it's rock formations called fairy chimneys and many of them host carved caves where people used to live or they were churched or other holy places. From Ankara I used bus company called Nevşehir Seyahat. On the way to Göreme we passed huge salt lake, it was really interesting sight and I wished we could have stopped there. The bus arrived to Nevşehir bus station where I changed to minibus for the last 20 minutes to Göreme (minibus was included in the price, ask your driver what is the right minibus because there are some cheaters on the station). The views were amazing when we got closer to Göreme. I didn't expect that the town was also full of these fairy chimneys. I walked to my hostel and I realised on the way that 90% of the people in this town were tourists, and of them 90% were Asians but surprisingly I didn't care about this (like in Ubud I think touristness ruined it). I stayed in a place called Nomad Cave Hotel. They had one dorm room for 12 people but on my first night there were only 3 people with me there so it was really peaceful. Hotel was really nice and I recommed it to everyone! I went to at a restaurant and that was all I did that day. Rest of the day I was hanging out at the hotel and talked with other travellers.

Next day it was time for sightseeing. But first I stopped at one tourist office to buy tour to Mount Nemrut. I had wanted to visit this mountain since child and when I heard about the tour I wanted to take it immediately. The tour was 3 days, 2 nights, including all tickets, transportation & food and costed 180 Euros which in my mind is very good price. The tour was going to start next morning. After buying it I walked to the Göreme Open-Air Museum. On the way I made couple extra walks to take pictures of the amazing landscape. Weather was really hot that day, and I think it was only day I used sunscreen. Göreme Open-Air Museum is an area full churches carved in the rocks. Some of them have lots of frescoes, some just few. The place is worth of visit but it was really packed with tourists when I visited there. You had to line in to almost every church and wait while the tour guides were explaining the frescoes, good thing in that was that I got all that information free! For one of the churches you have to pay extra fee and it is really worth it. It had the best frescoes and not many other tourist because of the extra fee. After touring around I walked back to Göreme and took minibus to Uçhisar, town next to Göreme. The drive was only 10 minutes and the distance is walkable but it's uphill so I wasn't really in to that. In Uçhisar I went to see the Uçhisar castle, which is the highest point in Cappadocia. Eventhough it is called castle, it is not man-made building but one of the rock formations which has been carved full of caves. The views from the top are amazing but climbing down the stairs afterwards can be quite exciting. I recommed visiting the castle.

When I came back to hostel our room got 4 new inhabitants. I decided to go eat first with one of them and then after that we all went for beer with group of consisting people from Finland, USA, England, South Africa, Australia & Slovenia. It was really nice evening with interesting persons.

Next morning it was time for the tour. After amazing breakfast that the hotel offered I got picked up by the tour company. We went to pick up all the others who were also joining and then we were on the way. Our group consisted of 6 persons: me, one guy from Hong Kong, one guy from Australia, 2 women from Taiwan and one woman from Iran. Our first stop was old caravanserai in small village of Karadayı. It had just been renovated so it looked really clean. Funny thing was that inside the old camel room it was still smelling like camels. There was old lovely lady guarding the place with couple children, they were quite excited to see foreign people. Then we had long drive ahead. We were driving in quite amazing landscapes through Taurus Mountains. Our guide said we can stop whenever we want to but it would have been all the time because the views were amazing all the time. We stopped for lunch in small place called Tekir which I heard is famous for fish food (and it's middle of mountains???). After some driving we arrived to city of Kahramanmaraş were we had famous ice cream called dövme dondurma and it was super delicious! We didnät had more time to see the city but it was located quite interestingly on hillside. After that we had still some hours of driving and then we arrived to our final destination of the day, the city of Kahta. We checked in to our hotel and then had dinner and after that it was time for sleep as we would have really early wake up next day. Before falling asleep I watched some Georgian Idol from tv; the hotel had quite interesting channel options.

 Wake up call was at 3am so I think I had nice 4 hours of sleep or less. Then it was time for ride up to Mount Nemrut. When we arrived to the car park we had still lot of time until the sunrise so we had some tea before walking up to the summit. Mount Nemrut is famous for it's artificial summit amd it is believed to be the grave of Antiocus I Theos of Commagene and some of his family members. There are 2 man-made terraces on the summit which are decorated with statues of king Antiocus himself and Greek gods. We first went to the eastern terrace and waited there for the sunrise. There were other tourists too, some part of group tours, some came with their own transportation. Sunrise created interesting light on the statues but unfortunately my camera is not professional enough to capture those kind of lights. After the sun had risen we visited the western terrace where the statues are in better conditition. After that it was time to walk back down. Driving down the mountain was also quite interesting experience. There was no fences between the road and the canyons and sometimes you had to go quite close to the edges. Or pass sheep and cows. We stopped to see ruins Arsameia and the Roman time Septimius Severus Bridge. When we arrived to hotel it was time breakfast, short resting and then drive towards the city of Şanlıurfa, which for short is known as Urfa.

Most of the driving went by sleeping. On the way we stopped to see Atatürk dam which built on Euphrates River. We also stopped at Göbeklitepe which is an archaelogical site, newly opened for visitors. Göbeklitepe is the location of the oldest religious buildings made by humans in whole world and they even could be the oldest any buildings made by humans. Research is still going and there were many archaelogists working at the site when visited there. It looks mostly just pile of stones but there are some very fine carvings. And the views from the hill are nice too. After walking around the site we drove the last kilometres to Urfa.

At Urfa we left our stuff at our hotel and then went for lunch. I ate eggplant which was filled with lamb meat, it was delicious! After lunch we started to walk around the city. Soon I realised that this city was quite different from Istanbul and Ankara. There were not other tourists to be seen and everybody was staring our group. I got last time this much looks in Indonesia. We visited the famous fish pools and mosques around them, they're located in a park which is full of locals, especially women with children. Then we walked through the bazaar, had some drinks in café, and then went to see the oldest mosque in the city. After that sun was already getting down and we went back to our hotel. From my hotel room I could see a wedding party in neighbouring building and unfortunately I also could hear it. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and then it was time for bed for everybody eventhough we planned earlier to go walk around to see Friday night life in Urfa. But I needed sleep and it would be again tomorrow early wake up.

On the drove back to Göreme we only stopped to eat in Tekir again like on the way to Nemrut. We arrived to Göreme in the afternoon. I went to the same hostel I stayed before. When I went to have dinner I met one of the guys from our tour group and so went together to eat. My hostel room was full of Koreans who didn't have any respect for the people who were already sleeping. Next morning I woke up early, backed my things and went to wait for the bus to Ankara. While I was waiting I got to see the sky full of hot-air balloons, very interesting sight. In Göreme it's popular to go see sunrise from a balloon but I skipped it because it's expensive. Bus came and I was on my way to Ankara (with a change in Nevşehir again).

In Ankara I had the same bed in the same hostel as last time I was in the city. It was late afternoon when I arrived so there was no time for sightseeing anymore. I went to walk around to find pharmacy which was quite hard task on Sunday evening. All the pharmacies I saw were closed. I had dinner and then went to ask help from my hostel. They gave me directions to a pharmacy which was open and again it was nice to try explain what was wrong with and what I need. It helped a lot that I had written the key word up: ishal. Yep, my stomach finally had problem with Turkish food. Next day I went to visit in Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. I took metro to the nearest stop and I walked from there. All guide books say that it's hard walk but I found it very easy (and I'm in bad shape) and the neighbourhood you have to walk through has some old buildings which is nice sight in mainly modern Ankara. Museum was partly closed but there was still some nice things to see, I liked the special exhibition of Troyan jewellery. There was American tourists group same time with me and I followed them to get free tour. After I had enough of Hittite carvings I started to walk towards
Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of Turkish Republic. It is long walk and not easy to walk but at least you can see lot of the city during the walk. I for example passed the largest mosque in Ankara, Kocatepe Mosque. The mausoleum was very refreshing place after walking through the busy city. Large parks surrounds it and the park is surprisingly quiet. The mausoleum is huge complex and it includes of museum about Atatürk. I really recommend visiting it, the most interesting place in Ankara and the Roman architecture of the mausoleum attracted me. After walking around the complex I took metro back to the hostel where I just picked up my stuff and then it was time for bus station again. At the station I took a bus towards the town of Safranbolu.

I arrived to Safranbolu's bus station around midnight and one staff member from my hostel came to pick me up. So nice service from them! I stayed in Efe Guest House with bunch of Asian tourists, I was the only western tourist there. In the morning I went visit in house museum and then walked up to the hill fortress to see the views over the small town. That was it basically. There is not much to see in Safranbolu. After walkign around I had lunch and then I went back to hostel. I was little stressed out because I needed to do my course selection for the university at the same time so I spend rest of the day at the hostel doing that. The hostel owner made dinner and to my surprise the 2 Taiwanese woman from my Nemrut tour were also in the hostel having the dinner! Small world! Next day I took bus back to Istanbul and that was my really nice trip in Turkey!

Exchange in Istanbul: Things I miss

Ok, I haven't been even 2 months in Turkey yet but there is so many things already that I miss from my home country Finland. I will list some of them here. But don't get me wrong, I love to be in here and I would not change it to anything!

- Milk: this is on top of my mind now because today I bought again milk, and I always buy different labels but unfortunately they all taste wrong! All milk they sell here is kept in warm not in fridges so of course it's different in taste than the ones in Finnish fridges. So I think I will stick with ayran (yoghurt & salt water drink) because it is the closest taste of normal milk I have found.

- My apartment: I need privacy and that is only possible in your own apartment. My roommate is nice but I'm used to live alone :)

- Empty public transportation: in Helsinki there is maybe once a week a situation where I can't find free seat in bus or tram, here it is everytime I enter bus, tram or metro.

- Knives: they don't use knives in this country, wtf?!

- In Finland you don't have to ever hear that somebody is too busy serve you even when you have specifically reserved a time from that person to serve you. So no matter if you get early time for your residence permit appointment, they probably will tell you to come again in 2 weeks.

- Oven: there is no oven in our apartment, how can I cook????And also no microwave!

- Cheap tuna: canned tuna is expensive!

- Frozen pizzas: my basic food doesn't exist here, but we don't have oven so I couldn't warm then anywhere anyway...

- Kebab: yes, I'm in Turkey and I miss kebab because lamb meat is not my thing, sorry...

- Toaster: and we don't have toaster. I could of course buy these things but for only half year it's not really necessary

- Cheap & tasty university lunches: I will never ever complain about the taste of the food in Helsinki University's canteens

- University staff: You could think that everybody in university could speak in English but no. So good luck in copy center!

- Computer classes: There is no open computer classes in our university, or possibility to print by yourself

- Public transportation card: there is only one kind of monthly ticket in Istanbul and that is useless unless you travel like crazy

- Spotify: it doesn't work here! And YouTube is slow most of the time!

-  Recycling: doesn't exist here, everything goes in the same trash can and then to street where somebody collects them.'

Exchange in Istanbul: University starts

Almost 2 weeks since I last wrote and again many things has happened during that time. So my time in Fatih University started on on lovely Tuesday morning.  I was supposed to meet my friend Nora at Mecidiyeköy metro station and travel together to the university but somehow we missed each other and ended up traveling alone until we met in Avcılar. The trip to the university is quite experience for me. The traveling time is exactly 2 houra for me. I first take metro from Taksim to Mecidiyeköy and then metrobus from Mecidiyeköy to Avcılar where I change to other metrobus to TÜYAP. And from TÜYAP there is fre shuttle bus to the university. But we didn't know this shuttle bus possibility on first day so we took local bus from Avcılar to the university. That bus was the most crowded I've ever been in but we met some other exchange students in it who were also coming to Fatih. Thankfully the bus was getting less crowded during the trip and I even got a seat.

When we arrived to the university we had orientation presentation where told us all the important information for example about registrations. It was also nice finally to meet other exchange students. Otherwise nothing much happened during that day but me, Nora and other girl went to see if we could get student travel cards already but unfortunately the office was already closed. Next day we had tour at Istiklal Caddesi which was very short. Some of us went for tea and nargile and it was really nice time to get know each other. In the evening few of us went to watch football match together in a bar. It was very nice to see Turkish fans' reactions during the game but unfortunately the local team Galatasaray lost against Manchester United.

On Thursday we were supposed to have a tour in the newspaper called Today's Zamaan but it was cancelled so the day was free. But in the evening there was first official Erasmus party which I took part. I met first with my Finnish friend Arttu and with other exchange students Bence and Tomas and we went to have beers under the Galata Tower which is great spot for having beers if it's not closed by the police like it sometimes is. Me and Arttu's friend Inka had time between her flights in Istanbul and she joined us for the party. It was crazy night and thankfully the next day was free also.

On Saturday we had tour with all the exchange students around Sultanahmet area where is located all the famous landmarks of Istanbul: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. We visited them quite quickly but I will go there some day again on my own because I have now card which allows students enter for free. In the evening I had party with Arttu, Bence, Bence's girlfriend who came for visit and 3 Korean exchange students.

So first week was quite party oriented but on the second week the courses started. Everybody was saying before I came to Turkey and also in here that the lessons are not going to in English and education in Fatih is horrible conservative. After first week I know this true on some courses but thankfully not in the ones I am. All my teachers are not from Turkey originally so they speak good English and not Turkish at all (except for my Turkish language teacher). I have courses from many different years and the ones which are meant to for second or third year students feel like high school classes in Finland. Teacher has to remind students to be quiet and sit still. I could maybe understand this if the students would be 18-year-olds but they are 20 or over. But I also have to say that Turkish students are really friendly and helpful and interested in exchange students. I have enjoyed a lot talking with them but unfortunately most of them are shy to use English eventhough they're studying in that language! I have one sociology class where to teaching is totally different. Every student speaks good English and the subjects of the course are on the level I'm expecting the university courses to be.

So I would rate Fatih University positively at the moment. Teachers and students are really nice and classes seem to be interesting. Some negative things are that staff of the university doesn't speak English at all which makes you rely on the help of the other students all the time when you're trying to take copies in copy center or buying food in the canteen. And I don't get pricing system in the canteen yet. And the traveling time to the university but that is my own choice basically. Funny thing about the university campus is that you can find everything from there. There is supermarket, book store, 2 hair saloons (one for men, one for women), post office, fast food restaurant and many cafés. Also there is really nice view from the university to the Lake Büyükçekmece because it is located in top of the hill.

After the first week we Erasmus students decided to relax together at Galata Tower but unfortunately police had closed it that night. We then found good spot in a park in Kabataş where you could see the Asian side in it's night lights and the Bosphorus Bridge with it's light show. It was again crazy night and while writing this I'm still recovering from it. It is interesting to see what the next months will bring with them, especially when the weather starts to get colder because it is still very warm and even hot if the sun is shining from clear sky.

Exchange in Istanbul: Princes' Islands & getting apartment

A lot has happened since I last time wrote this blog. I had little over week long trip around Turkey but I'm going to write about that later. I'm now back in Istanbul and university should start next week. I rented a room right next to Taksim Square which was not my original plan. But I will write more about that later in this blog.

Before I left for my trip to central and south Turkey I spent sunny Saturday with Can on Princes' Islands which are located right in front of Istanbul on Sea of Marmara. We took a boat from Bostancı towards the islands. We were supposed to go on Büyükada which is the biggest island but Can mixed the islands and we ended up first on the island of Heybeliada. We first checked how we can go to Büyükada and because there was some time until next boat leaves we walked around the village of Heybeliada. The village is small but full of beautiful wooden houses. Cars are not allowed on these islands so it's easy to walk around. Horse carriages cause sometimes troubles though. After the walk it was time to have a short boat trip to Büyükada.

At Büyükada we met Can's friend Yusuf whose family owns a house on the island. We had first quick snack which was kokoreç, bread with lamb intestines. Good thing was that I didn't know what I was eating but it was bad anyway. Spices were good though. We then rented bikes eventhough I was quite suspicious of that first because I have bad experiences with them. And the island is very hilly. And the first bike I got broke down soon after I jumped on it. Next bike also had some problems but we fixed them and then it was time for bike trip. Route was surprisingly easy because it was mostly downhill on the way where we were going. The roads were lined with very beautiful villas but it was hard to marvel at them when you had to look that you don't hit tourist or horse or chickens. At one point villas ended and we cycled through pine forest. Soon we were at the middle point of our trip, a bicycle park at the bottom of the tallest hill on the island. We left our bikes there and then started to walk towards the top of the hill. The hill is very steep and the walk took at least 30 minutes. Thankfully there is one point where you can fill your water bottles by the path. Towards the top wind was also blowing harder which gave some relief. Finally at the top we visited the small monastery of St. George, established by Greek Orthodoxs. Then we had dinner at the restaurant which was located next to the monastery and had nice views towards Istanbul's eastern districts or on the other side towards Sea of Marmara. After dinner we walked down the hill and then cycled back to the village of Büyükada where we started the bike trip. Sun was setting down when we entered the boat and it was dark already when we arrived to Bostancı.

Next day I planned my trip to Anatolian Turkey and went to buy bus ticket and new smallet bag for the trip. I found very good one for very cheap! And then on Monday it was time for trip but more about that on other blog post.

When I returned from my trip I picked up my luggage from Can's home and then I moved to Chillout Hostel in the centre of the city at İstiklal Caddesi and in the hostel I met my Finnish friend Arttu who is also coming to study at Fatih University. Together we decided that it's not probably good idea to go living in university dormitories so we started quickly to find rooms for us. After sending some emails we went to see some apartments. All of them were very nice but unfortunately from the more expensive side of the price range. I however decided to take one room right next to Taksim Square. It is quite expensive on Turkish prices but affordable. And the location is amazing, near all the important places, except Fatih University :D Arttu decided to try university dormitories for some time and I went with him to see the dormitories. As soon as we arrived there I was sure I had made right decision to stay in the centre of the city. The neighbourhood where the dormitories were located was quite unfriendly looking and it was still 30 minutes from the university. After saying goodbye to Arttu and to other exchange student from Hungary which I met at the dormitories I took some very slow bus back to Taksim. After arriving back to centre I went to hostel, took my stuff and moved to my new room and now I have happily lived here for one day :) As I have lived alone in Helsinki it takes me for some time to get used to have a room mate but Ehad, my room mate, seems to be very relaxed and friendly person.

Exchange in Istanbul: First days

This fall I'm doing an Erasmus exchange in Istanbul, Turkey. I'm trying to write this blog during my stay but let's see how it goes when the university starts. My university will be Fatih University which is located quite far from the centre of the Istanbul on the European side in the municipality of Büyükçekmece. I'm planning to stay in the university dormitories which should be a very interesting experience too.

But I'm already here in Istanbul 3 weeks before the university starts to get know how Istanbul and Turkey works. I'm staying first with my Turkish friend Can and his family. So far my plan has been very good: without Can's help and this slow introduction to Istanbul I would be probably totally culture shocking and wondering what the hell is happening around me. Thanks to Can's family I have got chance to get know Turkish food with easy way and public transportation is slowly getting more understandable for me. So far it seems that Turkish people aren't that good in English but they know enough so that I can survive here. And yes, I will be studying in English and my Turkish skills at the moment are nonexistent. But slowly Turkish words are starting to stay in my head.

Can lives in an area called Caddebostan between Kadıköy and Bostancı on the Asian side. I've been staying mostly here and we had walk with Can in Kadıköy and Üsküdar areas. Kadıköy has nice narrow walking streets full of restaurants, bars and cafés and in there I see only few other tourists. I recommend visit this area if you're staying longer in Istanbul. Üsküdar had more tourists because there is couple famous mosques and you can see the beautiful view over Bosphorus Strait to historical district of Istanbul with silhouettes of Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace and Blue Mosque. Also the famous Maiden's Tower or Kız Kulesi is located in Üsküdar and there is nice café by the water where you can sit and enjoy one of the most beautiful views in this world. We also went to visit in Taksim Square and İstiklal Avenue on the European side where we met my friend from Finland who had extra time between her flights and she wanted to quickly visit in Istanbul.

The area where I'm staying is called Caddebostan. It is affluent area and famous Bağdat Caddesi or Baghdad Street is going through it. This street is full shops and restaurants and buzzling with people all the time. Caddebostan seaside had very nice park which locals really love. It is said to be one of the most liberal places in the city where everybody can hang around freely. The views from the park are nice too: you can see famous Princes' Islands from there. There is also public beach in the park.

So far the stay here in Istanbul and Turkey has been good. Let's see what future brings!

Singapore

Day 33

On my first full day in Singapore I decided to first walk around the neighbourhood where I was living. I was staying near Kampong Glam but first I needed to exchange money. I found after some struggles money exchange point in a small shopping centre and then it was time for Kampong Glam. It was already lunch time and I was hungry so I tried to find a nice place to eat. In Kampong Glam the houses are really interesting looking and colourful so I enjoyed my walk in there. There seems to be also many bars and cafés which look very hip. I found a restaurant which had same concept as the one restaurant in Seminyak, Bali. Kampong Glam is Muslim area so there is many Malay and Indonesian style restaurant there is this was one of them. Food was good and cheap. The place was located neart the Sultan Mosque at a street corner. I walked then to Sultan Mosque and shopped some souvenirs at the touristic shops next to it.

Then I decided to go see the Marina Bay area. This was probably the place I wanted to see most in Singapore. I took a bus from Kampong Glam and soon I was at Marina Bay. It's a walking distance but I wanted to save my legs for future. I left the bus in the middle of the skyscrapers and as I skyscraper fan I was very excited of this environment. I started to walk towards the newest attraction in the area: the Marina Bay Sands. Marina Bay Sands is three skyscrapers which are connected on the roof with garden and swimming pool. The complex is mostly hotel but there is also fancy shopping centre and casino. There viewing platform on top of the buildings and I wanted to visit there. The ticket price is 20 Singapore dollars which is quite a lot. You can see little bit of the garden and swimming pool from the platform but to actually visit you have to be a hotel guest. But views from the platform are nice and usually there is restaurant on the top but it was now closed. After the visit on top I walked around the shopping centre at the bottom of the buildings and bought my new favourite drink pearl milk tea.

I decided to walk back to the apartment. On the way I passed Singapore's symbol, the Merlion statue. It was very hot walk and I stopped on the way couple times in shopping centres to cool down. When I got to the apartment I tried to contact the bus company staff about my lost hat but they said to me that they're still looking for it or that they didn't found it at all. This made me annoyed. I went to eat at some Chinese place near the apartment and when I came back Kuni was also home and he offered me beer and we chatted little bit.

Day 34

My last full day in Asia. I started my day with a visit to Little India. Kuni lives in so good location that it is walking distance to all important places. So I walked from there to Little India. Little India was little bit like Kampong Glam architecturally: small colourful houses but here the Bollywood music was playing from every shop. I tried to go see Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple but it was just closed when I came there. I wanted to eat Indian food so I started to walk towards one of the food courts in the area. On the way I stopped to buy small Ganesha statue which I have wanted for long time. At the food court there was surprisingly more Chinese and Malay food for offer than Indian. But I found one stall and ordered some vegetable dish with naan bread. I shared table with tourists from India and we had talk, for my surprise, about Finnish long-distance runners.

After the big meal I decided to go see Chinatown. I took a metro this time and soon I was in the middle of busy Chinatown street. I walked first to see Sri Mariamman Hindu temple and there I realised that I have already seen enough Hindu temples for a while. Next I went to see Chinese temple called Buddha Tooth Relic Temple because it has tooth of Buddha inside. When I entered there was ceremony going on. I stopped to watch it for some time and continued to explore more of the temple. The temple is new and you can see how shiny and clean everything is still. Then I got lost in some weird shopping complex and I decided there was nothing interesting to see anymore in this part of the city so I decided to take a metro to Orchard Road.

At the Orchard Road I felt like sitting down somewhere and maybe eat a little bit. It turned out to be more harder task than what I expected. I only saw McDonald's but I didn't want to eat there. There was some cafés but I wanted to have some heavier that muffins for food. I then decided to just buy some fresh sugar cane juice and I started to walk back towards the apartment. Orchard Road has nothing special to offer for me but for shoppers it's heaven. When I got closer to Kuni's apartment I decided to buy sandwich from Subway because I was hungry. In the evening when Kuni came back from work he invited me to eat and also his other surfer which I have seen only once before this evening eventhough he has been here since I came to Singapore. We went to eat a food court near Kuni's apartment and Kuni's friend Jen joined us. This food court was very nice place and I had cendol there for dessert last time! After we came back to the apartment the bus company contacted me and said that they have found my hat! I could get it in the morning from the office.

Day 35

Last day and I was feeling little sad. I first went to get my hat from the bus company office. I felt so happy when I saw the familiar yellow plastic bag waiting for me on the sofa. Jen had recommended me last night the exhibition at the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) so I decided to go see it. I had first lunch at the food court in Chinatown where URA is also located. Jen told me about this popular chicken rice stall there and it was quite easy to find it: it was the only stall with huuuge line. It was lunch time and the food court was packed and it took me time to find one single place to sit. For me the chicken rice was average and I had better in Sungai Lembing market, Malaysia. I had also first time dragonfruit juice which is now one of my favourite juices ever. After luch I went to see the exhibition. But it was very nicely made, lots of interactive screens and some fun games which help you realise what problems small city state faces. And the exhibition is also free!

After that I started to walk back to the apartment through business district. I stopped to see Thian Hock Keng Temple which is small, very old Chinese temple in the middle of the skyscrapers. I also found out that Boat Quay is very nice place to stop resting while sightseeing in Singapore. I went to see also the biggest fountain in the world which is called the Fountain of Wealth. I don't know if it's still the biggest in the world because for me it seemed kind of small. At the apartment I packed my stuff and then went to eat at the same food court where we ate last night. From there I came back to the apartment, packed the very last things and then I took the metro to the airport. 

Singapore's Changi Airport is absolutely my favourite airport. Free computers to use with internet access, water bottle filling opportunities, lots of different eating possibilities, nice gardens and many things other things that I didn't even had chance to try. The flight departed on time and it went smoothly and I had good sleep. Again I had time to watch only one movie of the many choices. 

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I woke up when we were almost in Germany already. The weather was grey and rainy in Frankfurt, a totally different world from sunny Singapore. I had too much time between flights and Frankfurt airport is one of the most boring airports I've been. When the plane was landing to Helsinki to weather was very different again. It was snowing hard and everything was white. It was cold too. I experienced a total climate change on that day :D But it was also nice to be back home with amazing memories from the amazing trip!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3

Day 30

I arrived to Kuala Lumpur around 1am. I walked to nearby hostel and went to sleep in there. In the morning I was feeling fresh again after shower and nice breakfast. Mason had arrived home and I met him there. We had lot to talk about and most of the day we spend talking about everything you could talk about.

Finnish presidential elections were going on and I went to give my vote in the embassy of Finland. It was quite difficult walk from the nearest metro station to the embassy. I had to cross highway and walk along it without any sidewalks. I got quite many looks from locals; stupid tourist on the move. After I entered the embassy I felt like I just came in small Finland in the middle of Malaysia. It was also weird to talk with Finnish persons. After I voted I went back to Mason's home.

Day 31

My last full day in Malaysia. Jon came back from Penang and joined us. I went to buy bus ticket to Singapore for the next day. In the evening we went to have my last dinner and then me and Mason wanted to go clubbing. Jon also came but they didn't let him in because he didn't wear shoes (he had flip flops). So he had to go back home but me and Mason partied hard. It was very nice last evening in Malaysia.

I liked Malaysia and Mason was very big help and one of the reasons I liked the country. Malaysia is very developed so it was also totally different from Indonesia. This time I only visited in West Malaysia so next time is maybe the time for Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. But I'm definitely going back there again. Malaysia is probably the easiest country to start a trip in Southeast Asia (well, Singapore is easy too).

Day 32

I felt little bit hangoverish when I woke up. Me and Mason said goodbye to each other and in the afternoon I took the bus to Singapore. Bus ride was long but I was already used to sit in the bus in Malaysia. What I like in Malaysia is the places where buses to stop so you can buy food and go to the toilet. Well, there is same kind of places in Europe too but these places have the Asian feeling with open air kitchens and much better food.

Bus only stopped in Johor Bahru bus station on the way and the next stop was the border between Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysian side went easily but then I had lots of problems at the Singaporean side of the border. We had to take all our stuff from the bus because of the customs check. So I took my backpacks but I left my Indonesian hat in the bus with my food and drinks. So first I had to fill the immigration card but I didn't have my own pen so I had to wait to somebody to borrow it to me. Then at passport checkpoint the lady asked me some questions which took time. Then there was the line for customs check where they checked the luggage. So when I finally arrived to the bus waiting area I didn't see my bus. I asked from guard if he happened to see the bus. He answered that the bus just left. I almost stopped breathing.

I called to my Singapore host and asked if he could go to the bus terminal and see if my bus was there and pick my hat. He was living next to the bus terminal so it was ok for him. Meanwhile I was running around like a headless chicken asking how I can go to the city centre. Local buses had huge lines and I had no brain functions left to start to understand where they are going. So I decided to take a taxi but then I had a problem again. I had no Singapore dollars yet. So I went for the taxi and I begged the driver if I could pay with Malaysian ringgits. He agreed (mostly because my smallest note was 100 ringgits and the taxi trip was only 15 Singapore dollars) and he took me to the bus terminal. I went to the bus company's office where I met my host Kuni and his friend Jen. They already had a fight with the people in the office and I was continuing it. They finally gave us contact number to the Johor Bahru bus station where my bus was located. Then we went to Kuni's home and I tried to calm down. Jen offered me dinner and then she called to the bus company and they promised to call back next day. That calmed me down. But thinking back it was quite a big fuss over a souvenir hat but hey, I don't know if I can ever go back to Indonesia to buy a new one. :D Finally it was time for sleep.

Penang, Malaysia

Day 27

We spend the day resting as next day we would travel to see the island of Penang and it's biggest city George Town. We checked the best bus company to use and planned what to visit and where to stay.

Day 28

In the morning we went to Pudu Sentral bus station and took a bus to Penang. We stayed awake very late last night so most of the trip went by sleeping. I woke up for short time near city of Ipoh and I saw impressing rock formations next to the road. Next time I woke was at the bridge to the Penang Island. I woke up Mason to see the view of turquoise sea. The bus left us at Sungai Nibong bus terminal where we took a local bus to George Town's Komtar Terminal. Our first mission was to find hostel. We had checked a good hostel from internet and we found it easily. Unfortunately it was full but they recommended other hostel for us. The next hostel was full too but they had also recommendation for us. It was new hostel called Room Mates and they had space! The workers in the hostel were very helpful and friendly and I really recommend it to everyone. The hostel was also very clean and perfectly located in the heart of George Town.

First we went to find food. Hostel staff recommended us some places to us and we went to see one of them. For dessert I had cendul, my new favourite dessert. After eating Mason really wanted to go see Kek Lok Si Temple outside of the city when me and Jon wanted to stay today in the city and go see it tomorrow. Somehow Mason won and soon we were in the bus going to Kek Lok Si. During the bus ride it started to rain and when we arrived to Kek Lok Si it was still raining hard. We started to to walk up to the hill and heard from people that were walking back down that the temple was closing soon. The temple has 2 levels, upper and lower. We had quick look around the lower level and then we climbed to the upper level where the big statue of Buddha is sitting. In there we had even quicker look because the temple was closing in a minute. Well I had more quicker look than the others because I had to make a bathroom break on the way. Thankfully it had stopped raining and on the way down I enjoyed the colours that sunset created on the clouds. Mosques also started to call people for evening pray and that sound created even more magical atmosphere.

Jon had actually lost Mason and I at the temple and we found him from the supermarket at the bottom of the hill. We took a bus back to city and then had dinner at the evening street market. After dinner we walked to the beach and found nice a spot to sit down behind Eastern & Oriental Hotel. Moon was shining from the clear sky so the view was nice. After sitting there some time we walked back to the hostel and passed some nice colonial buildings like St. George's Church. The buildings are nicely lit in the night.

Day 29

I must say that all kinds of stupid drama happened between the three of us since Melaka and I had enough of it this day. But drama is always there when you travel with friends. Soon you will know why I mentioned this.

I was first one awake in the hostel. I was also first one to go to sleep last night because I was feeling quite unsocial. Soon Mason joined me and then other hostel guests but I while I was alone I had nice talks with the hostel staff. When Jon woke up and had his breakfast we went for a walk. We visited in Kuan Ying Ten Temple which was near the hostel. Then we decided to visit in Pinang Peranakan Museum which was only short walk away. The museum is an old mansion of wealthy Peranakan family. The style was too European for my taste (well I like old European style but not outside of Europe) but it was very pretty museum.

From the museum we walked to the harbour to took some pictures. On the way there we passed some very European looking big buildings. I must say that I like very much the look of the George Town's historical centre. Penang is also famous for its food but I didn't had anything that was better than in other parts of Malaysia. But the island is must place to visit in Malaysia for beautiful George Town and impressive Kek Lok Si Temple. Mason wanted to go see the botanical gardens but we had trouble finding out which bus would take us there. I got frustrated and decided to skip it and stay in the city while Mason and Jon could go the gardens. I walked along one of the heritage paths that was marked on the map and I saw too many Chinese temples, some mosques and a Hindu temple. 2 days was enough for me in George Town but if you want to explore more of the island I recommend you to stay there longer.

While I was taking a break Mason texted me that he and Jon didn't go the botanical gardens but instead they went to a beach resort which was far from George Town. I got now very frustated (and I already mentioned in the beginning that I had been little annoyed couple days) and decided to leave back to Kuala Lumpur with or without them. I texted that I bought already bus tickets and they can come with the same bus or with some other bus. The bus left in the evening I was hanging around the city while waiting for it. Mason didn't come with the same bus as I. Jon decided to stay still one day in Penang.

Kuantan & Melaka, Malaysia

Day 23

Mason’s holiday started and in the afternoon we took a bus to his home town Kuantan. Kuantan is located on the east coast of Malaysia. We arrived to Kuantan in the evening and first we went to eat. After eating we drop our stuff to Mason’s home and then went to hang out to the beach. It was Friday night so the beach was full of locals spending their weekend. We had ice cream and sneaked in to the hotel’s private beach.

Day 24

After waking up we catched a bus to the village of Sungai Lembing which is located near Kuantan. Mason’s grandmother and cousins live there and we went to see them. Grandmother had made a delicious meal for us and we spend the evening eating the delicious food and also delicious mango cake which we brought as a gift.

Day 25

In the morning we went to visit with Mason’s cousin to a local museum. The museum was about the history of the village which used to be one of the biggest mining centres in whole Southeast Asia. There was also market in the village and I had some delicious chicken rice there and some sweet Malay pies.

Mason’s cousin took us back to Kuantan and we had dinner with Mason’s family in a shopping centre. Later back home we had different meats with satay sauce for evening snack.

Day 26

After the quick visit in Kuantan Mason and I decided to make a daytrip to Melaka while Jon went back to Kuala Lumpur. So after breakfast Mason and I took a long bus trip from Kuantan to Melaka. On the way I had good opportunity to see how Malaysia looks like outside of the cities. Well, it looks like oil palm plantations. That’s it pretty much. I saw couple time monkey crossing a road.

We arrived to Melaka bus station in the afternoon, 2 hours later than what we thought. After little confusion how to get to the city centre from the bus station we found little minibus which took us cheaple straight to the town square. Melaka is an old colonial town and its town square is made by Dutch so it has very European feeling. Also British and Portuguese people had lot of influence in the area; British people painted the town square red, Dutch people originally made the houses white. After taking pictures of the square we went to find a place to eat in Chinatown. Mason’s friend had recommended a good restaurant and we found it easily (maybe, because later we found restaurant with same name so we are not sure which one was recommended). The food was good (it was laksa) and I had my first cendol and I’m now a fan of it.

After lunch we walked around Chinatown and visited in Cheng Hoong Teng temple which is the oldest Chinese temple in Malaysia. Also the mosque in Chinatown was interesting looking; I had never seen a minaret like that. We walked back to the town square and then started to walk up to Bukit St. Paul hill. On top of the hill are the ruins of St. Paul’s Church built by Portuguese. The graves inside of the church were mostly Dutch though. You could also view the harbour area from the hill and houses there reminded me a lot of Dutch cities. We then walked down from the hill and took pictures with Porta de Santiago, a gate which is the only thing remaining of the old Portuguese fortress of A Famosa. Then we had drinking break in a new shopping centre next to the hill and after that we took a bus to Melaka’s bus station. At the bus station we again had trouble to find a good company to take us back to Kuala Lumpur but we found good last minute deal. We arrived to Kuala Lumpur’s new bus terminal Bersepadu Selatan which was new experience for Mason too. Jon was already waiting for us in Mason’s apartment.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2

Day 20

Mason had work so I and Jon decided to go on a sightseeing tour around Kuala Lumpur together. Our first destination was Chinatown. We walked there from Masjid Jamek station. Masjid Jamek is a small but very beautiful mosque next to the station. In Chinatown we walked along Jalan Petaling which is said to be the main street in the area. Unfortunately it seems to serve more for tourists than for locals these days. But as we were hungry with Jon we found nice restaurant near the end of the covered part of the street which hosted only local customers. Jon’s skills in Chinese language were very helpful in this restaurant.

During eating we decided to visit next in Sri Mahamariamman Hindu temple. The temple was just short walk away from Jalan Petaling. This temple showed me clearly the difference between Hindu temples in Bali and in other parts of the world. And I love that you have to take shoes of in Hindu temple, it feels very good in hot weather. Some woman was celebrating her birthday in temple and she was offering free food for visitors. I had first some kind of porridge which drinkable but it didn’t almost anything. I was feeling full because we just had Chinese lunch and now the porridge but they already filled for me a cup of rice with beans. I didn’t like it because it tasted like coffee and I hate coffee. But it was very nice that they offered these foods for tasting. And I was certainly full after them.

Next we decided to go see the Masjid Negara, the national mosque of Malaysia. It wasn’t easy to find how to get there by foot because you had to cross river and big roads. Finally we found our way to the old railway station which is next to the mosque. This railway station is very beautiful and worth of visit. There was also some information about its history inside and it’s still in use even though it’s called old station. Then we walked to the mosque. There are strict visiting times for non-Muslims and we arrived just before one of the visiting times was starting. Jon was wearing too short shorts so he had to wear purple gown, my shorts were long enough so I didn’t get any special clothing. All female visitors were totally covered with gown and scarves and that was interesting because in other mosques I have visited in Egypt and Israel the clothing rules were not that strict. The mosque is modern and quite simple. The main praying hall has nice glass windows and there was also this smaller building with graves which was very peaceful part of the mosque. And I liked the spiky fountain outside of the mosque which was not working during our visit.

From mosque we went visit its neighbour the Islamic Arts Museum. Museum building is very nice and its collections are very interesting too. I think this must be the museum in Kuala Lumpur and I recommend visiting it very much. I especially liked the exhibition of miniature models of the most famous mosques in the world. Every exhibition room has amazing domes with careful decorations. From the museum we started to walk towards Merdeka Square which is the centre of Colonial District. Merdeka Square has huge flag of Malaysia and basically nothing else. Around it there were some nice buildings like Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Next we decided to go for a dinner in Little India. Finding an Indian restaurant in Little India turned out to be quite hard task. When we asked help people just told us keep on walking. We found many Malay food stalls and covered market street selling all kinds of useless stuff. Finally somebody pointed us to an Indian vegetarian restaurant which turned out to be very good place. We enjoyed our delicious meal and then headed back to Mason’s place after long day of walking.

Day 21

Mason was also working this day so I and Jon decided to go sightseeing together again. Our destination of the day was Batu Caves. Batu Caves has many Hindu temples but the most famous one is Temple Cave where you can enter after walking 272 steps. We took a train to the caves from Bank Negara station and the Batu Caves station is just next to the temples so it’s very easy to reach.

First there is a huge green statue of monkey god Hanuman greeting the visitors of the caves. After short walk you see the huge golden statue of god Murga for who the Temple Cave is dedicated to. The statue was partly in renovation during our visit. Before we decided to climb up the 272 stairs we had lunch in an Indian restaurant near the caves. I also had my first coconut milk fresh from coconut in here. Then we started to climb up the stairs. It was surprisingly easy task. I was little worried of it first because of the heat and my health problems but the climb went smoothly. Except there was one obstacle on the way: there is monkeys living in the caves and of them decided to stole my just bought big water bottle from my hand. And that monkey even knew how to open the bottle and started to drink from it. I was angry but at least other tourists got nice pictures. The Temple Cave was huge and cool but I was now scared of monkey attack. Well, they didn’t attack me again but against some stupid girls who started to eat their sandwiches near the monkeys. The girls got just what they deserved. What I liked most in the cave was a souvenir stall that was selling Hindu related stuff and one those items was a picture with non-stop Hindu song. The song echoed through whole cave and it was playing in my head the rest of the day and I can still remember it. There was also possibility to go visit other caves and get to know their fauna and flora. These tours are not free and it’s only possible to visit these other caves with guided tour. We didn’t go on the tour but it could be very interesting experience.

After the visit in Batu Caves I went back Mason’s place to rest but Jon continued his adventures in Kuala Lumpur alone.

Day 22

We spend the morning in home but we went for a lunch in Irish restaurant. I didn’t know before there could be Irish restaurants, only Irish pubs. After the lunch we walked around in Pavilion shopping centre and had ice cream. Then we went outside to have a walk in KLCC Park and took some pictures with Petronas Towers. That was basically all I did that day. My stay in Malaysia was very much about relaxing.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1

Day 17

I woke up very early. I went to the computers and the guy from reception was also still sleeping on the couch. Soon I got company when other hostel guest, a girl from Canada, woke up too. Receptionist guy also woke up when someone called him. We had breakfast together with the girl and enjoyed morning sun while talking about travelling. Soon other guests started to woke up also and I then started back my things up and get ready for new adventure in a new country. I said goodbye to other hostel guests and then I hunted for a real legal taxi. It took some until a real one passed me.

In Indonesian airports you should always remember that there is a tax to be paid when you leave from them. I forgot this in Bali airport and changed my all money to Malaysian ringgit before the point where you pay the airport tax. Thankfully it was ok to pay with ringgit too. I was hungry so I was looking for a restaurant where I could pay with card because I didn’t have any Indonesian rupiah anymore or US dollars, Singapore dollars, Euros, Australian dollars or British pounds which were ok in the airport restaurants but credit cards were not. Finally I found one café which accepted card payment. One good thing about the airport: toilets have aquariums.

My flight arrived to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the afternoon. At the airport I was surprised when they took my finger prints at the passport checking point. Later I heard that they only do this in the low-cost terminal of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I bought ticket to Skybus from a ticket booth inside the airport but it was quite hard to find the bus from the airport parking lot. At one point of the bus ride I thought the bus was going to break down when it suddenly made loud noise and smell of smoke came inside. Other passengers looked worried too. But in the end we all got safely to KL Sentral. And in there I finally met my friend Mason. He was meeting me with an American guy called Jon. Jon was couchsurfing at Mason’s place and he ended up hanging with us for my whole stay in Malaysia.

As I was horribly hungry without any proper food for whole day I ended up eating at the closest place from me at the KL Sentral: the McDonald’s. After food we went to Mason’s place. It was New Year’s Eve so we watched the New Year’s celebrations from TV and talked about everything what have happened since we last time met. Jon went to get Indian food for all of us and Mason had bottle of white wine so we had small New Year’s party. You could see the Petronas Towers from the building where Mason lived so we followed the official fireworks show from the balcony. So I started the year 2012 in Malaysia and I already knew that my trip in Malaysia would be unforgettable.

Day 18

On my first whole day in Malaysia and for the celebration of New Year I and Mason decided to get a haircut. My hair was definitely too long for this weather. We went to some shopping centre where Mason’s favourite hairdresser was located. Jon came with us too but while we were cutting our hair he was shopping. After the haircut we went to eat at IKEA. Eating at IKEA has become tradition for me and Mason. And I have never seen so full IKEA restaurant, Malaysians clearly love this place.

After lunch we took a metro to KLCC. Mason and Jon first looked for clothes and then we walked in the KLCC Park and marvelled the Petronas Towers in their nightlights. There was exhibition of United Buddy Bears in front of Pavilion shopping centre. I have seen this exhibition before in Helsinki with Mason so visiting this exhibition is also almost tradition for us. From the inside the Pavilion had amazing Christmas decorations still on display. Last thing for the day we had dinner in an Italian restaurant.

Day 19 

I don’t have any memories of this day. I have only 3 pictures from this day and those are evening views from Mason’s apartment. Most likely we stayed the whole day inside and probably ate somewhere in the neighbourhood.

Ubud & Seminyak, Indonesia

Day 13

I felt so horrible in the morning. I went to have breakfast and then went to buy more water. Fever didn’t seem to be so high anymore so I finally got some sleep. But soon I woke up to some singing and smell of something burning. I peeked from window and I saw some women praying behind my door. They were burning coconuts and that’s where to smell came from. They were doing that almost an hour and I was just angry because I wanted to get sleep. Later I realised that they didn’t do that to other rooms. Did the spirits tell that something was wrong in my room (me being sick)? If they were praying for my health it helped because after I woke up in the late afternoon I was feeling quite ok.

I went to the town to eat (in the same cheap place where I had eaten before). When I walked back to the hotel the centre was full of people selling last minute tickets to dance show in Ubud Palace. Because I wanted to see traditional Balinese dancing I bought one ticket. It was one hour until the show was starting so I sat down to wait in a bar drinking honeydew melon juice. Then I moved to Ubud Palace and I got quite good seat to watch the performance. They have these performances every day around Ubud and you can hear the music in the evening echoing around the town which gives a magical feeling. But this show was clearly aimed for tourists. Usually these dance performances last for hours but this was 1.5 hours long which was fine with me because I didn’t feel so well yet. They had 2 different dances in this show. First was short Legong dance performance and then longer Ramayana ballet performance. Both performances were shortened versions of the real stories. But I enjoyed this show and especially the gamelan music.

Day 14

This was my last day in Ubud. I was originally supposed to in Gunung Kawi which is said to be the most impressive ancient site in Bali. But I still didn’t feel perfectly healthy so I decided to skip it because I sometimes felt my head was little dizzy and walking hundreds of stairs didn’t sound very good at that moment. So I was still taking slowly. I went to Ubud Market to buy souvenirs and had lunch in place called Warung Ibu Oka. It’s recommended in every guide of Ubud and by Anthony Bourdain too so it was packed with people when I came there. I shared table with very friendly Australian-Canadian couple. The speciality of this restaurant is roasted pig and that’s what I of course ordered. And it was delicious! And surprisingly cheap! Although the couple told me it used be cheaper, but because Bourdain made this place famous they raised the prices.

Otherwise I didn’t do much on that day. I went back to hotel to rest because suddenly I started to feel little worse again. I organised a ride for me for the next day to beach town of Seminyak where I would spend my last 2 days in Bali. In the evening I went to have dinner in a guide book recommended Tutmak Café. It’s expensive and nothing special so I don’t recommend. 

Day 15

In the morning my ride came to pick me from the hotel. I shared the car with Scottish couple, Swiss woman and American woman. So there were six persons and their luggage in a 5 person car. It was little tight. But we had very nice conversations during the trip. All others left the car in Bali airport so was left alone for the rest of the drive to Kuta. The driver left me at some junction in Kuta and I took a taxi from there to my hostel in Seminyak. Breakfast was still going on so I was greeted with other hostel guests. It was actually nice to have other people around after I had spent many days alone in my hotel room. I had lunch in a restaurant which was other side of the road from the hotel. And the concept of this restaurant soon became my favourite. All the foods are on show and they you just point which ones you want and they fill the plate for you. And it was surprisingly cheap too, probably because many locals seemed to eat at this place too. And the food was delicious. I felt little tired so I decided to rest on my bed for a while. Well, that while became hours of sleep. Rest of the day I spend at the hostel with other guests, just talking and having drinks. I noticed it in Ubud too but here in Seminyak it was clearer because of bigger population:  Balinese people shoot fireworks every evening after sunset, probably to get rid of bad spirits. For dinner I had bad nasi goreng in a bar where other customers were drunk Australians. But it was only place open anymore. 

Day 16

Other guests recommended last night the massage place next door so I decided to try it out too. Full body massage for 45 minutes was only 6 Euros. It was very relaxing and I felt quite numb after that. Then I had lunch again at the same buffet-style restaurant as yesterday and this time I tried different foods. Then I walked to see the beach. The famous beaches of Bali. I must say the first sight was very magical. The smell of salt water, the sound big waves hitting the beach, the wind and the noises from traffic faded in the background. But when I walked closer to the waterline I started to see the truth. The water was full of trash. There were diapers, plastic bags, cans, bottles and even light bulbs. I started to walk south towards Legian and Kuta along the waterline. Suddenly the trashes disappeared from the beach but there was explanation for that; the hotel resort area had started. Beach was cleaned here so hotel visitors don’t need to see the truth. Yellow flags were warning of strong waves but people still in the water. Couple times I almost got sucked by the waves to the sea and I was just standing or walking in shallow water. Somewhere in Legian area there was a gap between the hotels and I got back on the streets. I was feeling so hot and tired so I took a taxi to take me back to the hostel. And as soon I sat down inside I realised that it was a fake taxi. Well, he took me to the hostel but charged a lot of extra; he used traffic as an excuse for that. After that I felt so angry. Again in the evening I was hanging out with other hostel guests. I had dinner in expensive Thai restaurant. We started to watch a Brazilian film in the hostel but soon I started to feel tired and I went to sleep.

I was waiting so much for tomorrow, the day when I would fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and see finally my dear friend.