How exciting to come to this city which I have heard so much about! Normally, I will ask people which countries they have visited and which they prefer the most.. Turkey came out on top for most people so I had to verify it on my own. Will it be better than Cappadocia?

Taking the Havatas bus back to Taksim and walking all the way to Marti Apartment (Changed name to Violet Suite) in Feridiye Caddesi is a short walk of 10 minutes. Not recommended to stay as they are dishonest and double charged us but luckily Agoda solved it for us after some time. See the map from previous post for more details on the Havatas bus.

Day 1 itinerary
There are 5 main attractions to go in Istanbul and 1 day is definitely not enough to see all of them. We went to Archeological Museum, Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque first. I think these 3 attractions are enough as the other 2 are not really worth it. More will be discussed below. We went archaeological museum first as we needed to understand the background, history and architecture of Turkey before we head to other attractions.It was a good read but after a while I just want to sleep as I am not that into history.

Sarcorphagus at the Archeological museum.. look how elaborate they are! Funny how they like to invest more into burial rituals than for the living people...

Hagia Sophia is definitely the most interesting, which explains the steepest entrance fee too. You can spot the Muslim vs the Christian work in this museum and their ambitious plans to overhaul the place and restore the previous works is kind of amazing. It seems there is much more to be done but it is already majestic in this half restored state.

The legendary Hagia Sophia.. doesn't look that special outside though.

Hagia Sophia with Islamic letters..

Hagia Sophia with Christian's drawings

The picturesque blue mosque

Day 2
We went to the remaining Topkapi Palace and Basilica Cistern. I absolutely dislike the queues at Topkapi Palace which already started from the ticketing booth. My personal opinion is that the snaking queues are not worth it to check out the lavish lifestyle that was once the Sultan's palace. I feel that China's palaces are much more intricate than this. .

Long queues add to the disappointment of Topkapi Palace

I like to do handstands...

I like to sleep sideways..

Day 3
Went for the ferry and took it from Kabatas to Buyukada (Princes Island).Nothing much actually, just that there are no cars there and only horse carriages. Kind of over rated if you ask me, so we left early.

Then we travel to Kadikoy by ferry to check out moda street and picnic near the pier. Relaxing day in a foreign island, reading and resting. What better way to spend a vacation!

Day 4
We are more greedy than exploratory I think. We travelled to Ortakoy mainly to try the kumpir and I would give it 2 thumbs up and a definite must try rating. Kumpir is a baked potato that is bigger than normal size and they add sinfully delicious toppings on it like olives, cheese, salt, corn, carrots, and many other food that I don't recognize. But it's really awesome, better than KFC's cheese fries haha.

Travelling by the bus was a hassle from Taksim Square as they have unofficially moved the bus stop to a place which has no signboards at all but nearer to Taksim Square. Some locals did not know it too and waited with us. If not for the nice locals who informed us, I do not know how long we will wait for the buses that would not come. DT1 is the bus to take.

Bosphorous bridge is also near Ortakoy

Day 5
Ultimately, we need to go shopping, That's my top priority after all the sightseeing! Istiklal Caddesi is like Orchard road of Istanbul and I really spent my whole day there. Zara, Mango, you can also check out Istanbul's very own Mavi stores and others. Snack at Krispy Kreme nearby and dinner is to try Shake Shack burgers!

My fav restaurant is at Zübeyir Ocakbaşı. The chicken kebab are to die for!.

Try the value for money kebabs at Kofteci Ramiz chain.

Craving for something different so.. Shake Shack burgers!

What's on your bucket list?

Bucket list means the things you would like to do before you kick the bucket. For me, to be up on a hot air balloon is definitely one of them. And the most famous place for this to occur is Cappadocia. It's a place that reminds me a lot on Grand Canyon due to the rocks but yet they have their own quaint, rustic beauty.

Ok, let me start from the top with my free and easy itinerary. Definitely you have to read Part 1 first. To travel from Ataturk Istanbul airport, I took the Havatas aiport shuttle to the Asian side to get to Sabiha Gokcen Airport. Mainly because the flight from Ataturk to Kayseri Airport at Cappadocia is 5 times the price of a plane ticket (~$500) from Sabiha Gokcen. We didn't mind the travel, as that is the fun of backpacking.

The Havatas airport shuttle is right outside the airport exit, just cross the road and you will see it. It cost 10 TL to get to Taksim Square terminal where most people will get down. You can head to your hotel if you are staying in Istanbul first. Otherwise, at the same place as you alight, change bus to Sabiha Gokcen Airport which cost 13TL.

For the exact drop off point in Taksim, just google 'Abdülhak Hamit Cd No:66, Kocatepe Mh., Beyoğlu, Turkey' or see the map below.

Map of the Havatas drop off point at Taksim

I booked Divan Cave House for the experience in staying in a cave. It's not the cheapest, and does not have the best location but judging from its popularity and price, I would say it is value for money. I had a very good impression of them as their replies through email is prompt and their service is really good. I got the airport shuttle through them as the airport does not have other modes of transportation. Just that you need to wait until the shuttle is full before they leave.

Divan Cave House entrance

One of Divan caves...

The scenery of rocks rocks rocks!

Day 1
Anyway, for my first stop, Goreme Open Air Museum (15TL). Divan offered free shuttle service to the museum. Nothing much, just looking at caves and rocks. I feel that the Christians have very strong adaptability to be able to build a church in those caves and draw such nice portrayals too. We also took some photographs while putting on turkish costumes at the gift shops... it was worth the 10TL in my opinion.

Rocks, caves and church at the Goreme Open Air Museum

When you leave the museum, you can wait for the bus at the opposite road to the ice cream stall, or just walk down. Mind you, the bus has erratic hours and we waited for a while before we decided to walk down to the main Goreme area. It's not too bad, you will see nice pottery house and caves on the way. The pottery is one of their main trade there, they use it mainly to cook stew and surprisingly, it is not reusable... oh well.

Pottery on trees?!

Pottery kebab.. signature dish there...

Borek is like popiah but with cheese and other stuff...

Topdeck is not at the top deck though...

Day 2
My highlight of the trip! Thinking about it makes my heart lift.. I booked the Butterfly tour hot air balloon through Divan. The initial part when getting up to the basket is quite fearful as it sways this way and that while they were warming up the balloon. Once it starts ascending, you will feel a sense of calm settling over... it's so peaceful, so breathtaking, every problems seem to fade away. I feel humbled by the beauty of nature yet strangely empowered by the vastness of the land.

Ready...

Get set...

The tonnes of other hot air balloons make a picturesque view...

Up and off to the sun rise!

Nicest view that I have seen so far..

We head to the underground tunnel after lunch, which is also another mandatory UNESCO attraction. I chose the Kaymakli one as it is nearer. Just head to Goreme main bus station and take the bus to Neveshir (2.5TL) that leaves every half an hour. Tell the bus driver where you are heading and they will ask you to change bus at this place 15 minutes into the journey. Switch to the bus heading to Kaymakli (3TL) which will take another 25 to 30 minutes. Cross the road and walk straight, you will see the tunnel. Take note to dress in shorts and comfortable shoes as you will be crawling and climbing. It's absolutely cooling inside there though due to their wide ventilation shaft.

I think it's their living room? Bedroom? Stable? Not sure..

We went back in time to join the hotel's guided tour to Rose valley. Totally worth it to join as you would not know where to hike without their directions. And of course... it's free!

Rose valley is named because it has a rose colour.. no roses around though..

Day 3
Took the bus to Uchisar castle by taking the bus from Goreme main station to Uchisar and walking 15 minutes towards it. Mind you, the bus stations do not have signs to signify it as bus stations and only locals will know where it is. I had fun posing for shots at the top of the Uchisar tower and you can try to spot the love valley.

Left is the bus stop and walk east towards Uchisar Castle

A few stairs up to Uchisar castle and see the top view.

After lunch, we explored the Urgup but found nothing much. Just some cheap doner and kebab shops.. this area is more like the locals neighbourhood.

Urgup.. they have Turkey flags everywhere!

Walk to the hamam... dun get lost like us!

Distinctive hamam building

Day 4
I also booked the ATV through Divan's reference as they will ensure you are charged reasonably. When I tried asking the price on my own, they tried to carrot-chop me by setting a high price =.= We ATV through love valley and really enjoyed it. You don't really get to do these things on a regular tour.

One of the things we saw is the evil eye trees.. the eyes are said to keep evil away. But the name evil eyes sound like it's evil haha.



That marks the end of this fun filled, adrenaline rush trip. Onwards to Istanbul!

It was a nice break just in between changing of jobs. This the best time for holidays as there will not be any emails to check, no customer/bosses calls, able to go for 2 weeks without worrying about lack of annual leave.... just get away from work and relax fully.

Istanbul is world's top destination for Tripadvisor in 2014. However, Turkey is not a popular vacation spot as there are some common misconceptions:

High percentage in Turkey! (Source: themusliminc.com)

1) Turkey is a Muslim country
Turkey was declared secularism since 1928. The misconception comes because more than 97% of the Turkish population is Muslim.The secularism is also why Hagia Sophia is so famous, the only mosque is the world with both Islam and Christianity aspects. You will see many ladies covering themselves leaving only the eyes, and they are not Turkish but Saudi Arabians! Not all Turkish women wear the hijab (headscarf).. in fact, they used to ban it.

Turkey flags everywhere!

2) Turkey is not a safe place with lots of unrest
I understand that Syria, Iran and Iraq are all its nearby neighbors. The recent ISIS insurgence has also started some battles ongoing at the outskirts and tourists may avoid it. You may not feel it in the touristy places especially in Istanbul as this article and many others claim that Istanbul is one of the safest city in the world. The people there are really friendly, even more friendly than Americans from my experience. Once you hold up a map, they would approach and help you out. It seems so easy to travel around with their warm, helpful demeanor!

Nice and succulent!

3) Turkey meat comes from Turkey
Hahaha. this is totally irrelevant but I get this a lot. Turkey meat is definitely from North America, which explains why they like to eat this during Thanksgiving. Interestingly, it was a mistake that gave rise to the same name and you can read more about it here.

The only hassle I can think of is that I cannot find any money exchange in Singapore that can help me to change SGD to Turkish Lira. I have not tried Mustafa so let me know if you did exchange some this year. Heard there were more money exchange dealing with Lira in the previous years but definitely not in Aug 2014, where I tried everywhere in the West area.

Even the Changi Airport do not deal in Lira and Ataturk airport in Turkey do not accept SGD.

What to do? End up we changed some Lira using the Euro/USD that we have. I would encourage you to bring some USD to get some loose change in order to board the airport shuttle. After which, we went through the ATM to get more money. At Taksim square near the metro station, the money exchange does accept SGD but the rate is really much worse than ATM.

Onwards to Cappadocia and Istanbul!