Dharma & Nita travel blog

Day 9–Topkapi Palace and Bosphorous Cruise

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Dharmesh

Another small surprise today at breakfast, our friend Ahmet had apparently visited the hotel yesterday evening – luckily we were out!!! This guy was turning into a serial stalker…. Angry smile !! He had left us two boxes of Turkish Delights with a long “love letter”!! Me and Jayesh were cracking up big time, the girls had invited this upon them. The only good thing out of this were the sweets.

Next stop was a visit to the Topkapi Palace, again a walking distance from our Hotel. We loved the location of our hotel – Efendi, so central.
The walk took us past the Blue Mosque, the central square was very crowded today, lots of tour buses were around – three cruise ships had docked, and it seemed most of their passengers were out an about.

Made our way through the Palace main gates to big open yards.

(Entrance to Topkapi Palace)

Got to the main entrance where everyone was being scanned and all bags were being x-rayed, it is there after all the queues we realised we needed tickets to get through!! Doh!! Me and Jayesh headed back to outside the entrance to purchase these, how did we miss that! Finally got them, we were now able to go inside without trespassing …. wooohooo !!

(inside Topkapi palace, and the amazing views of the Bosphorous from its Balcony)

Next was lunch, decided to have that at the Topkapi palace cafe, which had amazing views of the Bosphorous as well. With the limited number of tables, Nita reserved a seat for us, whilst the rest of us (3) went to get the lunches – it was a buffet system. In the queue we were stalked!!! our serial stalker Ahmet was back, and he wanted more, Priya could not believe her eyes when he tapped her Devil ….. He started asking about how we had not turned up at his recommended restaurant, to which Priya came up with some interesting twisted stories… he had called the restaurant to confirm if we had turned up or not (this guy was real creepy). He soon left us alone in the queue, and we were like phew!!! On with our buffet and more laughs at Priya…… However this was not the end, he is no ordinary stalker, whilst we were in the queue, he somehow managed to find Nita, and got a seat right next to the one Nita was reserving for us. Nita during that time could not think straight at all, she was alone at this table and Ahmet was there asking her why they had not turned up at the restaurant… and Nita lied that we had!, ….. now we had two stories, even Ahmet was confused!! LOL Rolling on the floor laughing . He grilled Nita on what we had done in the last few days and what our plans were going forward, all along Nita made some crap up and kept feeding that to him , apparently he was enjoying that story!! We were surprised to see him sitting there next to us, Priya chose a seat the furthest from him and all sat down totally ignoring him. It was only towards the end, we said some very very quick byes and thanked him for the sweets and left. That was the last we saw of Ahmet…. phew!!!

(on the way out of Topkapi Palace)

We then took some alleyways exploring our way to the river piers for the afternoon cruise. It was a nice long walk, passing some amazing tea houses.

(lots of cats around the place)

And some side street browsing….

We reached the pier around 3pm, and had a mass of tour guides trying to sell us the different cruises. Luckily we had read up on this, the smaller operators were just a reap off, and we could explore the same thing on the government operated cruises on much larger vessels. We even had some operators blatantly lying that the government vessels were cancelled etc…. some really good reasons coming up.

(cruise pier)

Finally we got on to the cruise and were off at 3:30 pm. The boat was big and nicely air-conditioned –which was a big plus, given the Istanbul afternoon heat. The cruise was very relaxing, with some very scenic sights going past us…

The cruise finished around 5:30pm, we walked back to the Sultanahmet area. The walk was at a leisurely pace. Reached the dinning precincts (opp Blue Mosque) and headed for Dubb Indian again! Girls were in no mood for Turkish cuisine.

We met their head chef, Vinod Chawhan, real nice guy and he made our last dinner in Sultanahmet very nice.

Called it an early nite, everyone was quite tired, last sleep in Sultanahmet, tomorrow we are off to the new Istanbul side – Taksim!

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Day 8–Istanbul (Istinye Mall, Bascilica Cistern & Gelata Bridge)

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Dharmesh

Plan today was to first visit Istanbul’s largest mall, following that, finish of 2 local sights close to the hotel.
Breakfast first, now getting used to the Turkish style morning foods and was loving their cake varieties. There was also a small surprise from our friend Ahmet this morning… he phoned in the hotel and the lady at the reception handed me the phone (good timing, we were all down for breakfast…how did he know), he was inquiring if we enjoyed the restaurant last night, having not really discussed much with him at all, decided to give the phone to Priya, after all the girls did make him friends, so they can do all the explaining! Priya then made a story of how nice it was and quickly ended the call. We were all a bit surprised at the call and how he had tracked us down, apparently the girls had told him about our hotel, so that explains.
(But this was not the last of Ahmet!!)…

On the way to finding a Taxi to Istinye mall, we came across a restaurant that offered some amazing views of Istanbul from the rooftop terrace. Decided to book that place for the evening…

(rooftop terrace)

Found a Taxi to Istinye, ride was just over 30 minutes. The place did look big, but not to the sizes we were expecting – when compared to Oz malls and what we had seen in Hong Kong.

(Istinye mall)

Nothing too exciting here, just another mall mainly catering to the high end markets. Were out of there early afternoon and headed back to Sultanahmet.

Quick pit stop at the hotel, then visit the Bascilica Cistern – an underground water cistern built in the 6th century. There are numerous cisterns around Istanbul, this seems to be one of the more famous ones and it is close to our hotel!

Spent over an hour inside the cistern, a great piece of engineering from the 6th century!

Out on the streets, headed to the Blue Mosque area, lots of people in the parkland square between the Blue mosque and Hagia Sophia, found a nice spot to watch Blue Mosque at dusk. Felt good to just relax and watch the afternoon slide away into the evening. Got to try some more street foods, unfortunately the guy from the previous nite making stuffed bread was not there…… that will just have to wait for another time. We sat there for over an hour, just watching the sights, the people and the place!!! The call of prayers echoed from the mosques, a very surreal experience.
It was so calm, peaceful, this is something I would recommend to anyone visiting this place. Seeing the highlights is one thing, experiencing it is totally different.

(street vendors making fresh juice)

(experiencing the evening call of prayers at Blue Mosque)

Headed to the rooftop terrace restaurant just around the corner that we had booked earlier today. Seemed liked not everyone was in favour of the menu and decided to ditch that. The major complaint for both the sisters was the lack of good spicy food. Asked around and were able to find the an Indian restaurant “Dubb” very close to where we were, seeing the name, the first thought that came to mind – our brisbane “dubba” mates!!!
The food turned out to be fantastic, after a few days of trying out the Turkish food varieties, this was a very welcome change.

Next stop was the Gelata bridge, quick stop first at the hotel to grab a jacket – nite was getting chilly. Took the Tram to the bridge, were there in under 5 minutes, however the ride was far from smooth, the driver was stopping and speeding randomly and it was a task for most on-board to hold on to the rails!!
Finally at the bridge, lots of people mingling around, tea houses lined the river banks, whilst the restaurants under the bridge were still busy – this was getting in around 10 pm. The bridge itself was lined on both sides with lots of fishermen – and yes the fishy smell was very pronounced!

Walking back to the tram, we caught some amazing views of the Bosphorous Suspension bridge, with the low moon adding a nice touch on a very clear night sky.

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Day 7–Istanbul (Bus Tour and Spice Bazaar)

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Dharmesh

Cold and cloudy morning greeted us today with chances of rain. Decided to take the hop-on-hop-off tour buses going through regions of Istanbul and visiting major sights.

Bus departed at 10:30 from our area. Made our way the Gelata Bridge, famous for connecting the new and old parts of Euro Istanbul. The bridge has a lower level lined with Fish restuarants – we could all smell the “wechaat” fishy smell, not the most pleasant one.

(Gelata Bridge area, old Istanbul side, New mosque near the bridge)

Over the to the new side, things did not really look that much different, till we moved further in. This had a more euro feel to it, the bus stopped by at the famous Taksim Square – the place where just a couple of months back were scenes of riots and mass protests. There were no signs of protesters, however we could see some of the damage caused and the repair work going on.

Approaching the massive Suspension Bosphorus bridge, its size is only realised when viewed up close. It is over 60 meters above sea level and over 1.4 km long, this thing is big! Being so high, the gale force winds combined with the cold were not making things too comfortable in the open top section of the bus that we were in!!

Across the bridge, we entered the Asian side of Istanbul, the only stop here was the Beylerbeyi Palace. Got off there to explore that on the Asian side.

The Palace itself was not that great, the entrance on the other hand was nice….

(waiting for the Bus)

Caught the bus back, got off just after the Gelata Bridge on the old side. Good lunch place near by, grabbed Pizza and Sandwiches – we were opting for more non-turkish cuisines now.

(Lunch time @ Saray)

Lunch was good, now to explore some side streets.

Somehow we ended up at the Spice Bazaar, which was great, Nita & Priya were after some Saffron, time to explore that.

This place had lots of spice, food, sweet stalls. Found a place that seemed to offer good saffron, only to work out towards the end of the transaction that he was inflating the prices with crazy margins, luckily we walked out of there without buying anything and this was after he had offered us all the Turkish teas and sweets !!!

(Turkish tea time)

Moving on from there, we headed out of the bazaar taking one of the numerous alleyways leading out…. and these were crammed with people, walking through them was a task in itself. The alleyways were a bit strange, they were connected to the spice bazaar yet the shops were selling stuff from discount variety to water pumps/hardware and kitchen stoves, everything and anything was there!!

We emerged near the “New Mosque”, opp Gelata Bridge. Time for some Mosque visiting.

Finished off the Mosque sightseeing and decided on a walk to the hotel, we had to cover off so many streets. Ended up passing the street directly outside the Grand Bazaar and remembered the coffee/cake shop there, good time for a coffee break. The place had some very good chocolate and cake varieties.

Whilst there, the Priya & Nita made friends with an elderly man, hoping to get some info on the sights to see and not to see, places to eat etc. His name was “Ahmet”, and he was very helpful in providing lots of information on all the good things to do and see, even booked a “good” dining place (according to him) for us! Also wanted to take us home for dinner, which the girls cordially declined – am so glad I am for that!
(Interesting things to follow with Ahmet in the next few days …. ). Thanked him and headed backed to the hotel, with the evening plan already sorted by Ahmet, it was one thing less to worry about.

After a quick pit stop at the hotel, took a Taxi to the Turkish restaurant in Aksaray that Ahmet recommended, it turned out to be just a fast food lunch time style place.
Decided against that and took a taxi back to Sultanahmet, there were far more better options there. Along the way we came across a street with some nice restaurants and pubs, told the driver to stop there – time to explore this area, which we had no idea of where it was. Took us a while to settle on which one we wanted to go to, all the while people trying to lure us in – always hard here to look at the menu and not be pressured to come in!!

Decided to go to “KLAS” restaurant one with live music. Food variety seemed good there, a bit of mexican, sandwiches and grills, we should be ok. Drinks were very good there, we had cocktails, gin/lemonade, Red wine and Beers, all worked out good. Food was also above average and to our liking.

(Evening at KLAS restaurant)

Music was starting to get louder by the time we were through our meals, and our table being located next to the dance floor was great had the best sounds and views. The live singers were putting an awesome show and it wasn’t long before we all jumped in. We did not understand any of the words, but whatever they were singing sounded and felt real good!!

Finished off way past midnight, it had been a great night.

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Day 6–Istanbul Grand Bazaar

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Dharmesh

Plan today was a visit to the famous Grand Bazaar, but first was a shave for me and Jayesh, Turkish style. The local barbers place was around the corner from our hotel – everything was so close.

Shaved and feeling good, we headed to the Grand Bazaar, which was another short walk , being central to all the major sights is soooo handy
Some sights en-route to Grand Bazaar…

Along the way were lots of Jewellery stores which the ladies could not resist. The short walk turned into a rather long one (well in duration atleast)!!

Finally made it to the Grand Bazaar, too many people all flooding in. The place is huge and busy, having over 4000 shops. It was the very first undercover shopping mall in the world.

Every store person was trying to lure us in, and bargaining was a must, prices were always 200 % or more.
All sorts of stores were there, specialising in Shoes, Bags, artefacts, Sweets, Jewellery and many more….. to many to list. Nita and Priya found some interesting beauties.

The place also had lots of eateries, all within the Grand Bazaar and tastefully decorated. We had lunch at the the Havuzlu Turkish restaurant, food was average, Turkish food in Istanbul has been a big let-down, were expecting much more than this!!

Then it was more browsing of the bazaar….. lots of and lots to see. At every stall/shop, people would guess where we are from in an attempt to lure us in to the shop (there is lots of cheapy salesman style talk going on here).

Too much walking = tired feet, remedy = coffee break. Around 4 pm everyone’s feet were tired – had been through too much walking, was time for a coffee break. Found a coffee shop, also inside the grand bazaar.

(coffee shop in Grand Bazaar)

Made our way to the exit and started for our hotel. Had found a shorter walk and passed through some very picturesque streets..

The shortcut route to the hotel was great, we made it in under 10 minutes of walk time. Time to freshen up, then head out for the evening, plan was to first go out for drinks then to dinner. To many options here!!

At every restaurant and bar, people again luring you in by tring all sorts of cheesy lines.
Finally settled at the LOKUM Pub,

(Nita & Priya being lured into the pub)

Finger foods were not too bad but nothing to rave about, however what I was really loving and getting very fond of, Efes Beer – this was sooo good when perfectly chilled. The Pub was good to just chill out and relax. Spent around an hour there, it was around 9:30 now and we still had to have dinner. Headed out to find something that was NON-turkish, we had enough of Turkish by now. Ended up at the Rumeli restaurant, ladies ordered Italian – which turned out excellent, Jayesh and I were on a liquid diet and carried on with that – Efes Beer was just fine!!

Ladies thoroughly enjoyed the pastas, much better than the local turkish cuisine. Our waiter was great and shared some amazing jokes with us.

Water pipes were next, only had to go across the street from Rumeli for this. We happen to sit next to a german lady accompanied by a local Turkish guy – who our ladies thought was OOOOOOMG!!! Quickly made friends with him, he introduced us to the local Turkish drink “RAKI”, this was not too bad at all – an aftertaste of liquorice. Ordered two Water Pipes, Apple Mint and Orange Mint flavours, both flavours were very good. All had a great time there. Shared some great laughs

(Emil and his girlfriend, great company)

It was past midnight before we finished. Time to head back.

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Day 5–Istanbul Landed

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Dharmesh

Flight to Istanbul was long – 11.5 hours of flying time, but it did not feel that way at all, must be night flights, makes you sleep well.

Flight landed in Istanbul around 5am, before clearing immigration we had to get our VISAs sorted. The process was super quick, interesting was the lack of uniform for the VISA staff, everyone behind the counter were wearing casuals…..must be a very chillx’d place. Immigration was also quick, no forms to be filled out, just a simple check, stamp and thru. Smile Got our luggage and getting out through the green zone was also a breeze, it was around 5:40am when we got out into the arrivals hall. First step was to withdraw some Turkish Lira, then found the Hotel info desk to check if our Hotel would have rooms available to accommodate us 2 days earlier than our booking. Got the green light, the person also sorted out a Taxi (mini van) for us.
Stepping out of the airport, we were hit by the COLD weather of Istanbul, what a difference it was from the HOT and HUMID HongKong weather.

Taxi ride took just over 30 minutes, along the way were numerous historic sites, some good initial sight seeing. Approaching our Hotel, we were starting to get nervous, the Taxi was going through the smallest lanes and the quietest streets, this hotel was supposed to be near all the major sights in Sultanahmet, yet seemed so quite. Hotel was small but clean, the receptionist was very good and polite. The rooms were not available till midday, so another half day to roam about. The receptionist offered us the buffet breakfast which was great, at around 7:30 am we headed out of the hotel to walk around the place – we had another 4.5 hours to kill.

First impression was the better comfort level due to the cooler weather, it felt so nice to be in the fresh cool temperatures rather than the hot humidity of HongKong. The cobblestone paths were very different to the concrete HK region. This place reminded us so much of Switzerland.

Unlike HK, lots of shops/bakery’s were already open, their window displays looked sooo yummy with all the local sweets and baked goodies….

Walking along, we caught the first glimpse of the magnificent Blue Mosque & Hagia Sophia Mosque, both very beautiful structures.

Did not go inside the Mosque, the ladies did not have their head scarves, left that for the evening visit.

Walked around the Mosques towards Topkapi Palace, got to see some amazing sights. Morning viewing was very good and a bonus not many people around. One slight problem, the cool morning breeze was a bit too cold for us. Asked around if there was a shopping centre etc nearby – we needed a place to escape the cold winds – an enclosed place.

We were told to go to Cevahir (pronounced “Jawarhir”) mall. We grabbed a Taxi and headed that way. The mall did not open till 10 am, we still had close to an hour to kill – headed to the Starbucks directly across the place. They had the best White Cholocate Mocha!

It was funny, we were in Starbucks having a coffee waiting for a mall to open so we could do something…… we were now among the crazy people who wait for malls to open then run in, kept joking about that!

Lunch was not that great…..Made our way back to the hotel and checked-in to our rooms around 2 pm. Quick siesta – very much needed, then back on the road at 6:30pm.

The streets that looked nice earlier today, were looking even better with the night lights….. it has a very different feel to it…. very Euro like…

Made our way to the blue mosque and Hagia Sophia…these imposing structures looked magnificent at night…

(blue mosque)

The Mosque did present a very peaceful environment, similar to what we felt in Amritsar @ the Golden Temple!

Stepped out and across the archways was the Hagia Sophia

Jayesh could not resist the street vendors cooking fresh bread with stuffed potatoes…. that bread was delicious, street food here is sooooo tasty,…….

Heading back to the restaurant areas,… well they are everywhere!, we were going to an area we had walked past earlier and liked, we (and everyone else) were being haggled by every store/restaurant person, trying to pull in customers, people kept trying to guess where we were from, ….guessing India, Pakistan, Iraq, London!!! All getting surprised at the mention of Australia.
Being in Turkey, we had to try Turkish, again as per lunch food was average, nothing to rave on about, for some reason the LAMB in Turkey has a very strong taste to it, or it may be the marinade they use, something different which none of us were liking!

Post dinner, we headed down the streets, it was so much fun to just walk around the place…. stopped by at a traditional Turkish Ice Cream place, the serving process is a show in itself. Very entertaining and fun.

So far, other than the food, Istanbul is looking very promising for our next 8 nights!

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Day 4 – HongKong Island

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Dharmesh

Day 4 last full day in HongKong, our plan was to visit HongKong Island, Victoria Park, and TimeSquare. and somehow squeeze a late lunch at Woodlands again. Evening was planned on catching up with Rex (Jayesh/Priya’s ex Staff from Canberra) then heading for the highest club/bar in HongKong ….. well that was the plan!?!

Breakfast today was across our Hotel at a hidden gem, “Charlie Brown Cafe”, this place is all themed around the Charlie Brown comic characters, very tastefully decorated. Coffees were great, however food was just average.

Next was hopping on MTR to Hong Kong Island, we were getting good now at switching trains and making the most of the MTR system. Fortunately no seats were available on the train which allowed Nita and Priya to show some of the pole handling skills on the packed train!! It was a sight!

Got off at Causeway Bay station, this side of the town is definitely more newer looking than Kowloon side. Walking to Victoria Park, we made a detour to a supermarket!! This one had everything under the one roof; Bakery, fresh fruit, Sandwiches, Sashimi, Sushi, Alcohol, Meats, and lots lots more, it was a very impressive setup….We were able to get some very nice baked goodies, Jayesh was in heaven with the variety of fresh fruit juices. Ended up grabbing a few things for a spur of the moment picnic basket – lets use it in Victoria park for a picnic.

Then off to Victoria Park, most of the places were occupied, finally found a bench area – we had our location for a mini picnic.

After a good half hour break, it was time to head towards TimeSquare, the walkways today were jammed pack with people, locals here do come out in the thousands on weekends – this Saturday was no exception!

En root to our destination, Nita & Priya stumbled across Forever 21 store, not sure what it was, but had them both excited, this was a ladies shop and had too many customers in there with no seats!

Poor husbands were bored, we headed across the place and found a small area on the side walk way and took refuge! Sitting on the ground, we had a great view of lots of different styles of legs and bums going past us!!

(bored, waiting, …. please help)

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the girls emerged victorious with shopping bags in hand!!

Next stop, another mall, Hysan Place and then onto TimeSquare. That place is very impressive yet strictly window shopping for us!!

(TimeSquare HongKong)

(4 escalators are required to move the mass of shoppers!!)

Finished off around 3pm, and headed out for a late lunch at Woodlands, could not get enough of that place! Unfortunately reaching there, we were told the kitchen had just shut and the chefs were out till 6pm Sad smile , bit of a bummer!

Headed out and walked along the row of pubs trying to decide where to eat, when Nita Priya caught a glimpse of High Tea in Shangri-la, that was it, had to do that instead. Girls had high tea buffet, me and Jayesh went ala-carte.

High Tea menu was good, with lots of desserts & cakes, there was also a hot buffet included. Jayesh ordered an amazing Thai Green curry, I opted for a Tandoori wrap. Everything turned out nice, the exception being the Thai Green Curry, simply mind blowing, the best we have tasted to date.

Finished off high tea post 5 pm and headed back to the hotel. We were meeting Rex around 7:30 and then going out for drinks & dinner at the Ozone Rooftop Bar (Ritz Carlton) – the highest bar in Hong Kong on 118th floor, our last night here had to be special!

By 7:20 Nita was all ready for the big night…..

Rex was already there, all met up and headed out together, grabbed a Taxi to the Ritz around 7:40, lucky we were able to squeeze 5 in the one cab – these taxis can fit 2 adult passengers in the front seats! Traffic was horrendous, there were jams everywhere – Sat night in Hong Kong. During these traffic waits, Rex started telling us about an approaching Typhoon estimated to hit HongKong the next night, apparently this was the most powerful Typhoon since 1970’s and on a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 10 for severity!! This was not good news at all, we frantically – whilst stuck in traffice, began dialing Turkish airline numbers to get an idea of flight options, Rex meanwhile confirmed that HongKong airport was to cancel ALL flights from 6pm the next day – which would not affect us then, but there was no dates of when they would resume. Also would the ferries to Macau be in operation tomorrow, if they do, then can we get back to the airport from there on our checkout, will the seas be too rough,…… too many questions, we contemplated a few scenarios, and in most, the end results meant we could lose a few days in Turkey.
Could not get thru to any turkish airlines contacts and could not really get an airport phone number that could assist us. Checked our itinerary, our flight on Monday was @ 11:25pm, we assumed the same flight would also operate today (nothing was coming up in the Hong Kong airports departure site!!). We made an instant decision to turn back to the hotel, pack-up and head out to the airport ASAP for the 11:25 flight – which we had not idea if it existed or not, nor did we know if any seats were available. This decision was made at around 8:05pm.
The Taxi driver was great, whilst stuck in traffic, he swerved around, made illegal u-turns and somehow got us out of the traffic jams. Took us a further 20 minutes to get back to the hotel. Once there, we gave ourselves 10 minutes to quickly pack-up everything and vacate the hotel….. We told the reception what was occurring and to keep our rooms just in case our efforts to get on an earlier flight failed, we would be back.

Around 8:45, we were in two cabs, rushing to the airport. We were anxious, however the ride did show us lots of different HongKong sights which we had not previously seen. Got to the airport just after 9:15, we all rushed out of the cab with our luggage into the departures hall. Could not see any flights on the departures screen… things were not looking good…. then Nita saw the Istanbul flight at 11:25……how did we miss that, there was some hope!

Headed to the check-in row where it was being boarded and asked the servicedesk to assist in getting us on this flight due to the upcoming Typhoon. Seats were available, however it was going to cost us almost the price of an additional ticket …. this was extortion, the lady behind the counter (local HongKong person not Turkish) could not care less, that was the price if we wanted to go – basically take it or leave it. We were very disheartened, not sure what to do next. Jayesh and me approached her again and requested her to check with her superior and see if any exceptions could be made – we made a story of how we did not have much cash left and could not really afford that ticket price….hehehe Winking smile , even that did not help too much, as she kept on about how she was not sure if the manager would come by or not, we insisted we would wait and hope for the best. Jayesh also suggested a strategy of all standing directly in front of the service desk, and all put on our saddest faces!! We needed her to feel how helpless we were Sad smile … Laughing out loud .

Close to 10:15 and still nothing, hopes were dying. Around that time, the service desk girl, left for her break, during which I approached another service desk person – a very young boy and requested if the manager could assist here…….. all he did was nod his head, picked up the phone and started talking in Cantonese,,,,, had no idea if he was helping me or ignoring me. This went for around 5 minutes, during which I stayed at the counter with the most saddest face I could make….., although when Jayesh took my pic, it was making me crack up Smile was hard to keep a straight face

then another lady was there assisting him and soon we were told we could get on the flight with a nominal charge of $50AUD per person!! This was better than buying a new ticket. Instantly paid them and handed over the passports, it was still not over, the tickets had to be reissued and this was taking a long time!!!

By the time we could check-in, it was close to 10:45, the lady processed us as quickly as possible and told us to run to the gates. Said our byes to Rex, poor guy, we had planned a dinner night with him, and all we could offer was a trip to the airport and back!! Sorry mate!

We were quick through immigration and then it was sprinting to the train that links to the departure gates terminal. Got through on the other side, and there were Turkish airline staff awaiting us, ushering us towards the gates and running with us. It was funny, everyone was looking at our group running through the terminal.
We made it to the gates at around 11:15pm, phew, it is something special to be the last persons to board – everyone stares at you as you walk through the aisle of the aircraft. We must have been super duper lucky, we were in the last row of the plane occupying the last 4 vacant seats and they were all together!!! Just amazing.

There were some regrets for sure, on missing Macau, the rooftop bar, however this was much safer option, we did not want a situation where our flight from HongKong would be further delayed.

A very interesting evening with lots of quick and amazingly lucky decisions being made. All seems to have worked out in the end, now lets hope our hotel in Istanbul can accommodate us earlier – but that is the least of our worries, at least we will not be caught up in any delays.

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Day 3–HongKong (Mall hopping!)

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Dharmesh

Day 3, plan for the day was Mall hopping!

Today we were better prepared, had a late breakfast at Delifrance – only 2 minutes walk from our Hotel – started the morning late since HK did not start till around 10:30.
First stop of the day was Granville Road – this street is full of outlet style shops and was the next block to our hotel.
Getting into the street, we were surprised to find all shops still closed at 10:30! Asked around and apparently it was a PUBLIC HOLIDAY today, which meant street shops would open at midday or after!!
Decided to head to the next Mall on my list – China City Mall. For some strange reason, we were seeing lots of people with Suitcases (small and large) coming in this centre – this place must cater to some serious shoppers!!
The mall did not seem to have many stores, but was packed with people with suitcases!! Headed to the next floor and only then realised the reason for the people with luggage – this was also the ferry terminal for international departures/arrivals to Macau and the near regions. This worked in our favour, we had not yet booked our Macau transfers and were quickly able to sort that out. Got 4 tickets on the turbojet – Hydrofoil ferry.
Macau transfers now sorted, we decided to head out on the streets to see the near by – high street stores – Armani, Gucci and others ….. and whilst visiting these, we some how ended up in another upmarket Mall – HongKong seems to have an abundant supply of Malls all intervened together!

After an hour of roaming around, it was time to head out – but wait, which way was the exit, this place was sooo big all we could see is Shops and cafes, no windows to see out to the streets. Found an information screen, click on it expecting a touchscreen map, however on the screen came a live feed of a Customer service person, we could directly ask her what we needed, she was interactively explaining the route to us using the map on the screen – very impressive……
Out on the streets again (was around 1 pm), it was lunch time calling, decided to do Woodlands Indian veg resturant, which was only 3 blocks from where we were. Walking to it, our ladies spotted a big ESPRIT store and headed there – bit difficult to keep ladies out of shops! Back on the streets again and this time we had to find a washroom – ladies were bursting!! Why!!
Saw a nice hotel near by and stepped in. Noticed a big YMCA sigh there and everywhere else in there. Very confused, the interior was 5 star and yet YMCA signage and memorabilia everywhere, damn we should have just stayed here, so central & 5 star plus YMCA would be cheap right? Turned out this was the old sight of the original YMCA building and have been converted to a luxury hotel retaining the YMCA heritage.

(old YMCA building)

With the ladies relaxed now post washroom visit, time for the hopefully short walk to Woodlands. Outside temperatures were HOT and HUMID making things very uncomfortable, also we were walking on the main road near the harbour where taxis could not stop, attempted to hail a few with no luck. Decided to keep going , google maps was very helpful here.
Got to Woodlands, were sooo glad the place was nicely air-conditioned! The decor was not much at all, however they had lots of people there and the food looked good.
We ordered a Pani-Puri and 3 Thali’s and a Dosa special. The Pani-puri was soooo good another one had to be quickly ordered. All the meals turned out to be super excellent. All enjoyed thoroughly and were already trying to fit another visit here in the next day!

The walk back to our hotel was surprisingly quick, we were literally so close to this place, yet had not realised that. Quick drop-off bags at the hotel then off to Granville Street. Wow this place was busy!! Walking through the streets was slow, too many people and too many interesting stores keeping our ladies very intrigued!

By 5:30 Nita’s legs were getting too tired, off to the hotel, on the way I stopped by at a pharmacy to buy 4 masks the locals wore to filter out the smoke (I think) – this was going to be a joke between me and Jayesh.

At 7 we all met up again at the lobby and were off to see the Symphony of Lights on the HongKong Harbour – apparently the worlds biggest synchronised light and music show.

Got to the viewing area near the Starferry area Kowloon side and the place was already getting busy. The HongKong Island skyline looked great from here!

Show started at 8pm, and although it was good, I was expecting more, got us all a bit bored after about 2 minutes of it!!

To make up for the lacklustre show, we decided to imitate locals and wear the face masks – (used to cover smog I think or hide the bad looks??)!!

Next stop was the ladies market, again lots of walking, browsing thru all the small stalls and bargaining things down well below half the first called price. Half way thru, both Nita and my legs were totally buggered. luckily in HongKong there seems to be a never ending supply of foot massage places, informed Jayesh where we were and then we were in our well deserved foot massage and pedicure (apparently my skin was not soo good and needed one!!)

Jayesh Priya joined soon after, by this time, the place was packed with others, however everyone except for us were super quiet!! We were the loud ones and talking to the masseuse and cracking jokes. We had a good laugh and was great relaxation for the legs.

Out of there, in the CAB and of to Tsim Sha Shui East Centre – this place is great, has a row of pubs/restaurants overlooking the harbour. We ended up at an Aussie pub, Waterloomooloo. By this time, Nita was feeling much better with her legs recovered, she got into the Mud Slide Cocktails, I stuck to my regular – Carlsberg Beer!. Also had some pizzas, these were one of the best woodfires pizzas we have hard so far – simply amazing.

A great nite at the pub! We were already making plans to visit this place again and try a different PUB tomorrow……

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Day 2–Hong Kong (Citygate & Peak)

Posted on September 21, 2013 by Dharmesh

Day 2 first morning in Hong Kong, did not have the best of sleeps for both of us, missing our bed…. Crazy it was, both of us were up around 5 am and just could not get back to sleep… Nita was busy chatting with Neha who obviously did not realise the chatting with mum at 9am (Fiji time) is 5am HK time! Well atleast it made Nita relaxed know Neha was having a great great time there.
At around 7:30, I checked in with Jayesh, he had just gotten up around then – since we had a lot to cover today, we agreed to all meet up for breakfast at 8am. The big day plan was due to our iPhone weather man having reported, Thursday being clear and the other days all rain! We had to cover off, Big Bhudda (for Jayesh/Priya – we had already done that), visit the Citygate outlet place and the Peak today.

Around 9 am , post breakfast, headed to the TST MTR station , destination LANTAU island, the train ride was quick and efficient, we were there around 9:45 – time was of the essence!

All decided to visit the outlet place first, Nita & me could head back with Jayesh/Priya’s shopping whilst they do Big Bhudda, however to our dismay, we found out the majority of the stores do not open till 10:30-11!! To make the most of the available time, we decided to split, Jayesh Priya could do Big Bhudda now, and we would all just meet up at the hotel later on.

We finished off our outlet browsing just after midday and headed back to Hotel, the plan was to have Sushi, had seen a good place across our Hotel. We were so busy chatting did not realise our stop go by and had ended up at Kowloon station. Got off, and to our surprise, this was the same station where we checked-in to our flights when flying out with the family 2 years back! Connected to the station was the Elements mall – memories all coming back now from 2 years. Headed there, we had seen some nice restaurants in our last visit however could not really experience that with kids! This was our chance, decided on a Sushi place – “San-ryo”, looked quite good. There were a few people waiting, got the to-seated place, was told to use the touch screen to enter details: number of PAX, and telephone contact, could not understand what was occuring, till I got handed my ticket number!! So we were in an electronic queue! Very cool system, especially for a restaurant.

(the sushi place, and Nita waiting for our turn)

We only had to wait around 5 minutes, and am so glad we did hang around …. food was excellent. Also interesting was how green tea, Nita requested one, waitress pointed out to the empty cup, the stash of green tea powder and the instant hot water outlet on every seat ….. that was impressive!

(nita making her green tea)

Got back to the hotel around 3:30 pm, break time. Jayesh and Priya made it back to the hotel soon after….. gave ourselves an hour to freshen and then we hit the roads again, wanted to finish of the peak during dusk.

We got to the Peak Tram station soon enough, were shocked to see the number of people there, apparently everyone was interested in seeing the views from the Peak at Dusk! The queue for the Tram was long, a 2.5 hour wait – this was at 5:40pm and we only had a further 1.5 hours of light left in the day.

(too many people queuing for the Peak Tram)
All agreed to take a taxi up, which was an obstacle in itself, seemed like lots of people were doing that. After 10 minutes we got lucky and landed a Taxi. Got to the peak soon enough.

The first stop was at the Peak Galleria, which is opposite the main viewing building platform. This had great views to the ocean side of HongKong.
Then it was off to the main Peak viewing tower facing the City side.

Caught some very good sights of HK skyline from dusk till dark, however the windy platform was not the most comfortable, soon after we made our way down, the plan was to take the tram down and then head out for dinner.
But the Tram was not meant to be for us tonight, the queue for going down was also crazy, change of plans, we decided to explore some more the peak galleria and surrounds – and am so glad we did that!

During our exploration, we came across the “Decor Cafe Bar & Grill” its atmosphere was good, but what caught our attention was the dessert menu – ladies got very interested!

(flaming creme brulee)

Food was very good, we had BBQ Pork ribs, Aussie lamb Chops! and Pasta, complimented by perfectly chilled Carlsberg – just the way I like it, and desserts was wow!

Got a Taxi back, which also required some bargaining – to avoid the massive queue for metered taxis.

Overall a great day and night. Smile

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Hongkong Landed

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Dharmesh

Early morning start, finally after months of waiting today was the day. Dad dropped us off at the airport around 7:30 am, flight on-time and check-in was very quick, we were thru in under 5 minutes, very different from the experience a couple of days back when we dropped off Neha!
Had a quick breakky in the departures lounge and then it was on the plane. Had not seen our boarding-cards till we were in the queue and only then realised we were seated way way way towards the back, row 74! Nita was hoping it was not near the toilets, hmmmm the aromas….!?! We were on the 2nd last row from the back, luckily it was not the toilets there….. phew relief!

The flight had a quick stopover in Cairns, weird that we all had to get out of the plane and then re-board in an hour! What a waste of time.
The long haul leg was next, back to our back row #74. Lunch service was shocking, by the time we got lunch it was past 3pm, flight had taken off @ 9:30 am (BNE time) and we were having the rumbles in the tummy! Being in the 2nd last row meant we were served towards the very end by which time they had run out of the chicken option! The hostess more than made it up by offering us Business Class meals, they were very good.

Flight landed just after 6pm (HK time), by the time we were out with our bags, it was already 6:45pm. In the arrivals hall, waiting for us were Jayesh & Priya, after booking this trip months in advance, finally the holiday was all happening. Found out from them, for reasons unknown their flight had departed over an hour earlier (lucky they were at the airport early) and they had been waiting for us for over an hour!
All on the airport express train to Kowloon – lots of memories flooding back from our prior trip with the kids! Smile
The train ride was just over 20 minutes and it went by quick – lots of catching up to be done between the 4 of us. From there it was on to the complimentary hotel shuttle from the Kowloon station ….. that shuttle should be renamed to the Roller Coaster!! We had the craziest driver who for some reason was trying to get to the hotels in record time!
Somehow we did manage to reach our hotel: Park Hotel in one piece, hotel was not as big as the Holiday Inn, but still nice and clean.

Priya was well organised with printouts of all bookings, she took charge of the checking-in process, got our rooms sorted, both next to each other on the same floor.
By 8:30pm we were all out on the streets walking to Gaylord Indian restaurant. Walk was just over 10 minutes, not too bad, however the ladies were in lots of distress, they had decided to wear heels and their feet were killing them!! Thank god for the boys flats!!

Got to Gaylord, lucky not tooo busy, got a great table directly opposite the live singers, coincidently this was the same table that we had on our last visit with the kids!

We were quick to get the orders in, everyone was starving!

Nita & Priya were on to the Mango Lassi, us boys could not resist KingFisher beer (typical us!)
During all this eating and lots of drinking, the live singers kept provided some great tunes. Wasn’t too long before we were requesting songs. Also there was a big group of diners requesting songs and at a point they had a couple dancing along. Did not take long for Jayesh/Priya to hit the floor and we had to follow, could not let the team down. Was a bit crazy, as literally there was not enough room , just a small area between the singers, and the large of group of diners…. was interesting and lots of fun.

It was a great first night.
(Nita missed you on the night Simz!)

By the end of it, girls were feeling the effects of jet-lag, made our way back to the hotel around midnight. A great evening Smile

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Two days to go…. Neha is in Fiji now

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Dharmesh

Only two more days to go, yet for some reason the excitement is just not there this time around! Must the sheer amount of stuff to be done at work, too many late nights leaving me totally burnt. Tonight I need to make an extra effort to start my packing.

Neha is now in Fiji, was an early start, and a long wait at the airport in the Pacific Blue check-in queue – how slow are these guys.
Our little one did not cry once at the airport, she is a brave soul, so proud of her! But Nita was all in tears!!
Have just finished talking to her on Facetime, she sounded positive and all settled in. Lucky she has got some really good family members there looking after her, thanks to the Dayarams Smile