This time around, I will talk about all the tips which I got and read before going to Turkey. And what I actually experienced in Turkey for the whole 7 days. Hope it will be a great help for u guys if Turkey or negara2 sejuk will be ur next holiday destination. I really learnt my lesson there. Hope I will be fully prepared for my next destination too.
1. Skincare tips.
Ok...ini yg paling penting. I went there right before winter. Masih dlm transition to winter. Tapi Mashallah... sangat la sejuk. Yuyul dh bgtau bawak winter coat, bawak vaseline untuk kulit kering and so on. Yuyul is my baby sister btw. She's currently living in Enschede, Netherlands for her PhD and she was on a holiday in Malaysia for a month until Christmas. It was a great thing to catch up with her.
But being the stubborn old me, I refused to heed her advices. FYI, I love the cold weather. Once, my previous GB pernah masuk Bilik Guru and terkejut tgk my desk. Ada table fan right in front of my face, the air-conditioner facing my desk and also the ceiling fan rite above my head. She was quite shocked and she was very polite about it instead of mengamuk dengan I. Macamana la bil elektrik sekolah tk tinggi.. Hehehehe
So before going to Turkey, I boasted a lot about the cold weather. Konon bole tahan la. Surprisingly, while travelling to Cappadocia, it started to snow. Alhamdulillah.. mmg best. But what come after the snow was beyond my expectation. Sejukkkkkkk with the capital KKKKK!!!! Nasib baik bawak jacket. Gloves sila la bawak.. Invest on leather gloves. It really helps...trust me! I secara tak bawak. Kena beli wool gloves kat sana for 5 lira. Jadila kan.. :( Plus, please bring appropriate jacket or winter coat there. Please check the weather beforehand.
Yuyul pernah cakap masa mula2 dia duduk Belanda, kulit kaki dia jd sgt kering dan masih tk boleh hilang sampai sekarang. Dia suruh bawak Vaseline. But macam biasa, why on earth should I ikut cakap dia kan. Sedangkan Vaseline tu ada je kt rmh. I bawak benda lain = aloe vera gel. Serves me right, that gel jatuh dalam bas on our first day of the trip. My palm became so dry and it cracked. Subsequently, it bled terribly due to dryness. Memang horror la. Nasib baik ada one of the hotel provides body lotion. Kaki pn kluar rashes yg seakan mcm stretch marks...Uwaaaaaaaa I guess it is one of the way our body is adjusting to a new weather.
2. Tukar duit.
Before going to Turkey, it is advisable to change our RM to Lira, USD or Euro. Tapi tak semua money changer ada Lira. For JB residents, hari tu I tukar to Lira kt Angsana, Aeon Taman Universiti and Holiday Plaza. Better terus tukar Lira. Rugi kita kalau banyak kali tukar currency. Sebab duit kita makin rendah, Nak senang ingat kalau belanja 1 lira = RM2.
3. Toilet (WC or Tuvalet)
Time ni baru rasa sangat bangga dengan toilet kat Malaysia. Hehehe Kebanyakan toilet yg weolls pegi mmg bersih. Tapi....tapi... tapi...
Ni yang I lemah ni... bidet toilet. Tapi ok la drpd toilet yg takde air langsung mcm kt China. Paip dia kt tepi. So kite kena adjust kite punye ehemehem after we did our business. Toilet kat Turki mmg ada sedia tissue. My tips, bawaklah wet tissue jgak masa jln kt Turki. Kalau buang air kecik no problem kut. Tapi kalau buang air besar, Mmg adussss.
I read a lot about toilet charges before datang Turkey. Mmg betul kebanyakan toilet kat Turki kena bayar 1 lira. Even kt Blue Mosque pn sama. Dh RM2 sekali masuk. Tapi setelah beberapa hari di Turki, we learnt our lesson. Toilets in retaurant kebanyakan free. So ape lg, setiap kali makan, kami akan gunakan benefit yg diberikan. So bila pergi mesjid, terus amik wuduk. Jimat skit. Ada certain RnR stop yang tak charge for their toilet. So ikut nasib jgak la... Kalau dh terpaksa nak buat mcm mane kn.
4. Coffee are damn expensive.
Lemme rephrase, Nescafe are very expensive in Turkey. Diorg mmg pakai Nescafe. Kebanyakan kedai mmg serve Nescafe. Gula kita masukkan ikut preference kita. My dad is a coffeeholic. He cannot do without a cup of coffee a day. Dahla sejuk.. so mmg perlu hot coffee to warm our body. Paling murah kami pernah jumpa 5 lira per cup of Nescafe. Even dalam feri pn 5 lira. Paling mahal 10 lira per cup.
The first three days, mmg terpaksa belilah. Itu pn beli 1 cup kongsi 3 org.. Cheapskate gile. So bile jumpe Istanbul thermos cup mcm kt bwh ni for 15 lira kt Cappadocia, terus grab.
So before leaving the hotel each day, ktrg buat bekal Nescafe sendiri. Bolehla 2 kali minum. Tips lagi, sila bawak small flask setiap kali pergi negara sejuk. Buat kopi sendiri. Dear Yana, tolong ingat ye!!
5. Diorang mmg tkde chilli sos.
Tapi adat org travel, masuk kandang kambing mengembek. For me, time ni la kite nk rase masakan diorang. Mmg terkejut jgak bile tgk roti sebakul kt depan muka kita setiap kali makan. Pastu semangkuk besar salad. Pastu semangkuk sup yang my mom panggil sup pening...Hahaha. So for seven days, I actually enjoy their food. Instead of whining or complaining, why dont we embrace it. Sekali sekala,,,
For those yg rindu masakan Malaysia, sila awal2 bawak chilli sos (mcm peket McD tu), Thousand Island sbb salad dia sgtla basic. Jamie Oliver panggil Naked Salad.. ;) Ada org dlm my group bawak sambal mcm sambal nasi lemak n sambal hijau. Bertahan tiga hari.. Sambutan sgt2 menggalakkan..hehehe
6. Tips shopping for souvenirs in Turkey.
Ok ini lagi penting. Obviously, kite nk beli souvenirs for satu kampung bile kite travel. Ini pengalaman iolls kt sana. First thing first, be very careful dgn kedai yg tak ada price tag. Mmg sgt banyak kedai tak letak price tag kt brg diorg. So obviously, diorg bole sesuka hati letak harga. Bile kite tanya, ikut diorg nk letak berapa. Time ni la, I really appreciate our government.
Selalu org cakap shopping kt Grand Bazaar paling untung. But I dont think so. For those who dont know, Grand Bazaar is a huge place consists of almost 4000 stalls. I repeat... 4000 stalls. I'm not kidding you. Barang souvenirs diorg ni same je... kat mane2. Kat Konya kat Bolu kat Pamukkale kat Cappadocia. Semua same except certain item yg highlight tempat masing2. I lagi prefer Spice Market compared to Grand Bazaar. Takla pening sgt tgk byk sgt kedai.
These pouches iolls dpt 1 lira kat Cappadocia. Kat Grand Bazaar 1.5 - 2 lira. Ni borong secara banyak utk my colleagues.
Fridge magnet is a must. Mesti kena penuhkan ice box dgn ini. Harga lebih kurang sama kat mana2. Ni iolls beli kat Grand Bazaar. Range harga 2.5 - 3 lira.
Ok ni secara my favourite. Gelang mmg banyak jual kat Istanbul. Yang basic tu jual 1 lira. Tapi yg fancy sikit ni ada mahal sikit. Ni kat souvenir shop at Pamukkale Natural Park. Yang ada gunung putih tuh. 4 for 10 lira. Sgt best.
Ni tak tau ape. Maybe wall decorations kut. Dpt kt souvenir shop near Green Mosque, Bursa. Got them for 4 lira each.
Shawl kalau tk beli kt Turki rase mcm tk sah. Pashmina diorg mmg agak mahal berbanding Malaysia. Tapi kualiti dia mmg lain. Corak pn lain. Silk pashmina lg la.. Mmg iolls tk tgk langsung. Sangat mahaii. Ni borong shawl kt Grand Bazaar. Hmm agak reasonable jgak la. 7 lira each. Ada design cantek sikit 15 lira.
Yg ini semua iolls punye collection. Turquoise has always been my thing since forever. Then, baru dpt tahu warna turquoise ni berasal dr Turki. So utk jadi own collection, iolss borong warna nih. hehehe Ps: gelang yang kecik tuh secara kena tipu ea. Dia duduk dekat ngan gelang yg harganya 8 lira. Masa bayar amik ko... 15 lira. Tak pernah dibuat orang beli gelang bodo gitu sampai RM30. Ko ada? Takde kan... #modesakithatikenatipu
Maybe u guys bole beli sikit dulu bile sampai certain places. Assess the price first. Tapi kesimpulannya, shopping kat Malaysia lg best...heheheh No wonder Malaysia is one of the best destination for shopping kan.
One more thing, peniaga diorg mmg pandai guna sexual attractions... Hahaha sounds very X-rated. Dahla muka ala-ala Zayn Malik. Eye contact plak dgn si mata hijau. Aduhh.. mmg lemah lutut. Siap Mama Baba dgn my mom and dad. Mmg bole cair kalau tk kuat iman. Haahhah Almost every peniaga mcm tuh.. So sile kuatkan iman anda ye... ;) Jangan mudah goyah. But they were really friendly. Ada yg siap nk bergambar n asked my mom to take the picture. So funny. Nasib baik ada ibu yg sporting.
7. Hotel in Turkey
Hotel ni iolls tk bole nk komen sgt sbb the travel agency yg decide. Mmg iolls suke sgt hotel yg diorg pilih. Setiap hotel mmg provides wifi. Tp ada yg password senang ada yg password sgt leceh. Siap mintk no passport. Menyampah... Btw, kat Turki kebanyakan bas ada wifi. So bile travel dlm bas mmg heaven la bole update fb n insta. Yeeeehaaaaa
Happy holidays, u guys...