A competent guide, he is!

Abdul is his name! Big and burly, he appears quite formidable as a tourist guide! His matured looks belies his tender age of 31!

I find myself taken to him probably because I had not expected well spoken English from a Turkish guide! His 2 years in USA explains his fluency! 

No doubt the guides assigned at the other countries I've visited were just as informative, Abdul however, went an extra mile to the extent of elaborating his narration with printing materials complete with pictures and all, for our easier comprehension!

Ever so patient, never giving up, raising his voice every now and then to combat the non-English speaking miniority who were busy rattling as he narrated! 

History which had always been a dull subject during student days was somehow interesting shared by him!

Bidding him farewell with my bearish hug, I find missing him more than I missed Turkey!

As Noor, my tour mate remarked, it has always been the people that we missed, rarely the countries that we visited!

Thanks Abdul, for a job well done!

     

Phew! Am I busy......

Yes, I've been pretty preoccupied conforming my Facebook to the new Timeline design! While at it, I created 3 new albums..Blown up 2012, Turkey 24/04/12-01/05/12 and My four legged kids!

Man! I worked through 3am for several consecutive nights rearranging pictures of each photo so that the description of each photo relates to the other into a story!

It may seem crazy but I had always been meticulous about the order and sequence of events.

Siew Hian triggered off my Facebook fever sometime December 2011 with the setting up of the Ng Family Group to connect family members from far and within! That was my first Facebook experience!

Then, I had foolishly gone around clicking on familiar faces whenever I saw the 'Add Friend' thinking they would find me arrogant if I had not added them! Silly eh?

Whatever, I have advanced one step further in the cyberworld.....

Merhaba! Nasilsin?

Hello! How have you been?

I have just recovered from the jet lag and a low grade fever of 38.2 Celcius, upon returning home last Tuesday.

Hitting straight to bed without first dry blowing after a hair wash and a shower, I had awakened to a sore throat and a runny nose after a 3-hour sleep! 

The air conditioner blasting direct on to me, must have been the cause of the rise in temperature!


ME! with Peace signs resting on the Tour Guide's shoulder!

The 10 days 7 nights, 22/04/12 - 01/05/12, package of Rm5,971 inclusive of insurance, was over too soon!

Well, was there ever a vacation that never ends too early??? sigh...

As Tuinny mentioned, I've always enjoyed my travels regardless of who I went with and where I visited!

Ain't that logical to ensure that every ringgit spent is fully stretched for optimum pleasure?  

We set off from Istanbul cruise along Bosphorus strait that divides Europe from Asia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, St Sophia to Cappadocia hot air balloon, land of ancient volcanic and undeground cities, camel valley, pigeon valley, carpet factory, belly dance to Pamukkale, Konya Sultanhani Caravanserai - rooms for merchants and animals, thermal pools in hotel, Cotton Castle - fantastic white lime cascades formed by hot mineral springs, Virgin Mary's stone cottage to Kusadasi Ephesus - one of world's finest archaeological sites, harbouring splendid facade of Library of Celsius and amphitheaters which is still in use for concerts, Turkish delight shop to Canakkale, Ankara Pergamom - ancient kingdom, Troy - wooden horse and ruins, cable car to Acropolis - temple of Athena and famous Library, Ataturk Mausoleum, and back to Istanbul Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar.

Obvious that we had been living out of our suitcases, huh??!!

While some, those who had visited and even some among my group, have found the vacation to Istanbul distasteful, I being the outdoor type, have enjoyed all my walks through the ruins, ancient and underground cities.

I'm awed by the vast expanse of land and sea that encompasses most destinations, whereupon I experienced the exhilaration of a freedom to embark on a journey to nowhere!!

The fine weather of between 8 - 18 Celcius, I avoid warm climates when visiting as more often than not, we would be engaged in outdoor activities, alongwith an excellent guide and the cordiality of tour mates, contributed to the success of my vacation!

My elation is clearly depicted in my photos! For the first time, I was not CAMERA SHY!  

I felt and looked good! Egoistic, huh??!! My ego tells me you're bitterly jealous if you choose to disagree!!! Till then .... Gule Gule meaning bye'.........

   

Reservation about the brand name.....

 

At Gurney Plaza, last November, I picked up this pair of shoes without hesitation. A jeans wearer I am, they will be amply matched!

My appreciation was short lived though! Within the day of wearing, flakes of paint came off!

Aghast at the thought of being shortchanged, I took the shoes back to the counter and demanded an explanation. 

"The paint will also come off your car bumper should you knock it against anything!" said the supervisor, sarcastically!

That very statement infuriated me! "Hello! Look here!" I exclaimed, and gently peeled the coat of paint off a new section!

"See this???! This is, without a doubt, a defective product. Whatever it is, if nothing favourable arise out of this, I will take the case to the Consumers Tribunal!" I threatened!

Weeks later, a directive came from their head office to have the pair of shoes replaced with another design. Why not the same design? Obvious, right??

I compromised, and settled for the sandals depicted below....

It wasn't until March 2012, that I started to wear them to my belly dancing and yoga classes. There, at the classes, we go barefooted!

The sandals have never been exposed to dampness even on rainy days, as my car sits right under the car porch and bays at Penang Swimming Club are sheltered!

What can one conclude from the adhesive wearing away so easily???  

Preparing for the dumpling festival!

A hands-on workshop organised by the Yoga group at Penang Swimming Club demonstrated by our instructor, Mrs Lim.

Try as I would, I was not able to get the dumpling moulded into shape with the leaves.

Yeah, it was fun laughing out loud at each other's butter fingers! 

Despite claiming that I wouldn't be partaking the dumplings as I watched everyone kneading and digging into the fillings, I nevertheless finished off a whole dumpling earnestly, the minute the dumplings were removed from the steamer and distributed to us!!

Whatever, we each got to savour two different kinds of dumplings...... Nyonya chicken in glutinous rice and, in brown rice and rolled oats!!