Amazing Race to Bursa (part 1)

Ok, nih citer amazing race saya..Al-kisah hari rabu, saya nak p Bursa..Saya tau nak ke Bursa memang kena awal pagi, kalu x, kena tinggal kapal... So, pukul 6.10 pg dah keluar hotel, x sempat nak breakfast kat makcik Angel Home...hu..hu... Hari masih gelap-gulita tp jln short cut ikot Masjid Biru (gate F) dah bukak. So, we followed the short cut. Tunggu tram kat sultanahmet untk ke sirkeci. Punyalah mengong, dah 5 hari kat Istanbul pon boleh terlupa arah mana nak p...rupanya, kami duduk kat salah arah...metro dah dtg..kena keluar balik... Tp kami x nak tap istanbulkart dua kalik, so, panic punya pasal, lompat pagar metro... tersangkut kat palang Metro... Adoi, tersepit pulak...! Terlepas gak..kena tunggu yg lagik satu...seb baik x yah tunggu lama... mula2 ingat nk jln kaki aje ke Sirkeci..tp x yah lah.. x sampai 5 minit, another Metro came.  Sampai Sirkeci, kami berlari2 tunggu train yg nak ke Yenikepi.. Seb baik dh ada train kat situ tunggu penumpang... The railway station to the train yg we all naik ni just opposite the tram station.

Inside the train to Yenikepi. So empty as it was still very early

in the morning. 

This is the main railway station in Istabul where we caught the train to

Yenikepi that morning. This photo was taken a day before

our Bursa trip. 

Ada tourist info centre juga di Train Station

We arrived at Yenikepi at about 7.10am. Burung pon baru nak

keluar p kerja. 

Smpai ja Yenikepi dah kol 7.10, cruise 7.30 jalan..mcm si ayam dan si itik we asked  direction from the guard at Yenikepi railway tu.. mika ni ramah2..walau x tau ckp pon, still very helpful..bahasa isyarat sumer keluar... lepas tanya, agak2 paham direction die, kami pon berlari2 ke yenikepi feri terminal. Seb baik ada pintu gerbang besar...leh nampak dr jaoh..Berator nak belik tiket, penat berator, rupanya kena amik nombor.. Adoila.. p plak amik nombor.... Ramai penumpang lain pon merungut pasal dah penat beratur, then have to take numbers plak.

Top: Ambik nombor kat mesin ni dulu then tunggu nombor

dipanggil. Bottom: Tempat beli tiket.

 We waited for our turn...masa belik tiket, i told the lady..”Can i have the seats next to each other?” “Yes, i know", jawb ticketing girl tu ngan muke eksen sekalik. Rupa2nya, die kasik tiket, sorang dok utara, sorang selatan...huh, mcm paham minah tu... Lepas tu, die tanya nama plak, konon nak print kat tiket.. I spelled my name  to her...die pon type...Instead of Farikica (bukan nama sebenar), die p tulisnya Mrs Senin Sael. Jaoh panggang dari api.. Senin? Memang sengal...Lantak die la..dah lewat dah ni... 7.25 am kami naik...7.30 kapal jalan. hrga tiket 25 lira one way.

Tengok nama tu...Senin Sael...

This is the big  cruise ship... For passengers with vehicles, they need to

park their vehicles at the ground level of the cruise. 

Dalm cruise tu, seb baik, org x kisah sngat dok mana2 pon... Kapal tu besar...mcm titanic... Ada playground resto, bilik solat, supermarket, dll... 3 tingkat. Tingkat bwh for cars, ting 1 for economy class and atas for business class passengers. Perjalanan dari yenikepi ke Bursa, ambik masa 70-90 minit aja... We didn’t buy anything on board. I assumed it was very expensive and it was!

Some of the facilities inside the cruise ship

The sight inside the cruise on that day. Ramai org!

The view captured 10 minutes after we left Yenikepi. Beautiful, don't u think?  

Sampai Bursa, ada bas dah siap tunggu...there are 2 options, samada kita naik bas sampai city centre (7 lira one way) atau naik bas sekerat jalan dan stop kat metro. Sampai metro stesyen, naik plak metro sampai town (2.00lira + 2.50 lira aja). Masa pergi, kami naik bas all the way to the city, malas nak turun kat metro.

Welcome to Bursa. Actually nama port ni Guzelyali. 

On our way to Bursa. The journey to Bursa is about 30-45 minutes.

Sampai Bursa CC, kami breakfast at McD. Pas tu jalan2 kat Ulu Camii,  Masa kami sampai, tengah ada ceramah sementara nak tunggu masuk zohor. Cantik gak masjidnya but not as grand as the Blue Mosque. There’s another mosque but we didn't go there. X sempat.

The entrance to the mosque. 

Ulu Camii

Still inside Ulu Camii

Shoe shine...shoe shine.... outside ulu camii

Then, we went to the bazaar...IMO, bazaar @ Bursa lebih murah dari grand bazaar. Ada banyak sangat towel cantik2...i bought some towels and fridge magnets.

Bursa CC

The bazaar @ Bursa

Makan dulu lah...

Towels dekat Bursa memang cantik2... Memang Bursa terkenal dengan towel2
comel

The towels that I bought. Dlm RM2 ja satu...:) Terlalu cantik,

sampai sayang nak pakai.

Makan lagi...

When we were there, we contemplated whether we wanna go to Uludag or not. Takut x sempat but at last we decided to give it a shot. This was like a suicide mission,  kalau x sempat balik dngn kapal pukul 6.30 ptg, we had to wait for the next morning ship and automatically we would miss our flight to Rome. That was the biggest decision i'd to make during this trip. X pa, kite pergi..ha..ha..! Citer lepas ni lagik sadis dari tersangkut kat divider...:( Wait for the story in the next post.

The beautiful flowers @ Bursa

10 TIPS & TRICKS TO KIDZANIA

Salam semua,

I still have a few more posts before i end my Istanbul's journey and proceed to Rome. Click here for my previous Istanbul Journey!  However, I guess I better write this one 1st since it's still fresh in my mind: 10 tips n tricks of Kidzania. My kids and I went to Kidzania a few days ago since we were having  a long CNY holiday. The entrance fee for kids has been increased to RM60 and parents still pay RM35.  Visiting Times would be: 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays (single session) and 10.00 am to 3.00 pm (1st session) and 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm (2nd session) for weekends and public holidays.  You can buy your tickets online or you can just buy them at the entrance. Even though I was there only once, I guess some tips and tricks for other visitors can be quite helpful, right? Alright, here goes...

Flashmob  by the staff at the opening of Kidzania at 10 am and closing at 5pm. 

1. Avoid weekends or public holidays attached to weekends.  The kids will end up queuing most of the time. Each establishment takes time as only a few kids can go in at a time. Most of the establishments accept 4-8 kids per session. So, imagine how long they have to wait for their turn to come [sigh].  Although they have kids’ activities like colouring, singing and chanting while waiting but as u know… 'waiting’ can be so tiring and boring even though with activities. I am not suggesting the kids to skip schools or things like that, what I suggested is, perhaps u can go during long festival holidays like Chinese New Year Holiday. I went to survey the place last Saturday and the Q was short as many people traveled home to their hometown. I even interviewed the workers there asking about the amount of people coming on that day.  As a matter of fact, if u go during a weekday, u will have more time wandering inside the place. If u go on a weekend, u will only have about 5 hours per session.

An activity conducted by the staff for the awaiting kids

2. Pilot is the highest earning salary of all with 15 kidzos per session.

Kids will get 15 kidzos per pilot training session.

There's an indicator like this one at each establishment informing
visitors of the particular activity.

3. If the Q at the bank is too long, just skip cashing out yr cheque. U don’t need money (unless u want to enter the university, attend cooking and art classes, etc), u will earn money! My son didn’t use his kidzos at all when he was there.  U can cash out yr cheque later when others are busy in the establishments.

4. In real life, it is 'compulsory' nowadays to enter colleges/universities and obtain a degree. But here in Kidzania, don’t bother to spend your 10 kidzos just to get an increase of 2 kidzos in salary. For example, the salary for being a surgeon is 10 kidzos. Nevertheless, if u have a degree, u will get 12 kidzos instead of 10.

Top: Kidzania National College Entrance
Bottom: Inside the college.

This is what u will get once u have finished college. There are 3
different types of courses to choose from. 

5. I know parents are eager to see their kids venture into various jobs, but I recommend yr child need to be at least 5 or at least they can read in order for them  to enjoy the whole thing. Younger kids tend to get tired quickly and they will end up sleeping after a few activities. There is a place called Urbano House for young kids to play around but that will defeat the purpose of going to Kidzania if u just spend the whole day at Urbano House.

6. Make sure the kids already have their eyes tested at Eye Care Center and purchase insurance at Allianz 

Insurance Company before getting their driving license. Once you get your

driving license, then only you can drive at Honda Malaysia Driving Street.

Driving Street

7. Head to the most popular establishments first like the Skyrider Training Area, KPJ Hospital and Fitters Fire Station to avoid long Qs. These are the 3 famous places around.

The three most famous venues around...:)

8. Make sure u and the kids eat heavy breakfast in the morning as u will use up yr energy in Kidzania. And parents too, will burn every calorie chasing the kids here and there. We do not want or energy level to deplete in the middle of the activity, right? There’s a McDonald just next to Kidzania where you can have your breakfast.

9. Food price inside Kidzania is quite affordable if u wanna compare with other theme parks. But pls don’t compare with food price at mamak stall, memanglah kalah…  A box of fried vermicelli is RM4.50 and a set of rice consisting 2 dishes with a soft drink costs RM12.40, cotton candy costs rm3.50 to name a few.

Eating outlets

10. If u wanna purchase the photos at Sony Photo Service, make sure you do it before 4.30 pm as parents will come and ambush the place after 4.30 and the Q will be quite frustrating. A photo will cost u RM20 and three photos of the same kid will cost u RM50. U can download the soft copy on the next day.

Well, that's about it! Those are just my own thoughts about the whole process and I hope u will gain some insights before going to Kidzania. Overall, we had so much fun. Not only that, kids get their precious knowledge and unforgettable experience while participating in the simulations.  Even me, as a mother was so thrilled and excited. How i wished we had a Kidzania when I was a kid!

Other jobs offered there: Dell Engineer, NT7 Technician,
PosLaju Courier Agent and dentist.

Attorney, Fire fighter, Artist (u need to spend kidzos for
the art class) and tour guide. 

My Istanbul Winter Trip: Miniaturk

The next destination while I was in Istanbul was Miniaturk Park. I love miniature. Wherever I go, if there's a chance to go to miniature park, i won't miss it for the world! Tp ada cerita sadis behind my trip to the park. As usual, in the morning, we will watch the weather news at our room to check the weather for that day. Everyday, it was forecasted to be rained and stormy in Istanbul. However, forecast2 tu semua x betul. Istanbul was sunny and nice for the past 4 days...So, hari ni pon announce akan hujan dan berangin tp kami x caya...coz hari2 pon diuar2kan akan hujan, tp x pon....he..he... so, i went out with my oz sweater yg x baper tahan sejuk tu..All this while if the weather was about 8-10, wearing that sweater was just fine.

Beginilah keadaannya pada waktu pg masa kami nak tinggalkan hotel..Mcm ok ja kan?

Rupa2nya, panas x sampai ke petang hari tu... it rained heavily on our way to Miniaturk and also when we were there. Since I was already there, so might as well just enter the park. Kami pon masuk. The entrance fee was 10TL. Oh ya, how to get to Miniaturk: You can catch Bus 47, 47Ç or 47E from Eminonu to Miniaturk. Miniaturk is located at the inner shores of Golden Horn, across Pierre Loti and Eyüp District. The bus cost 1.75TL (with Istanbulkad). You can even catch a taxi to go there, it will cost u 10TL per trip. Perjalanan naik bas dlm 20 minit mcm tu la... In the bus, there will be an indicator telling u where to stop. So, bila sampai stop Miniaturk, kita turun. Visiting hours: 9am to 5pm.

View from inside the bus on the way to Miniaturk

Dah sampai Miniaturk (view from the bus stop)

This is how the place looks like when the day is so fine...
Courtesy of http://www.miniaturk.com.tr/en/category.php?id=3

However...

When I was there...:(

Adala sorang dua umat tp bila hujan turun agak lebat, mereka pon dah hilang entah ke mana. The weather at that time was already about 3 degree celcius or even lower and i just wore my OZ sweater. Yg paling x tahan, tangan kita yg sejuk...(it seemed that i didn't bring any gloves either, mcm kebal sangat). My hubby cannot stand the cold, so he went inside the restaurant and ordered hot turkish tea. Meanwhile, this rock-headed lady, didn't care. Alang2 menyelok pekasam, biar sampai ke pangkal lengan.. Kita redah! My husband did say.."while i was happily drinking my tea, i saw one crazy lady taking photos in the rain..who could that be?" Huh...kureengg betul...! He told me he would come out and help me captured photos once he was done with the tea, sampai ke sudah, die x keluar2 dr restoran tu. Dalam kesejukan yg teramat itu, here are some photos taken at Miniaturk.

This is a scanner. U just scan yr ticket to this machine and it will tell u info about the building. Each building

has a scanner. So, u will know the history n info of the buildings/places.

Ni apa ntah..Thermal bath kot...

Ataturk Olympiad Stadium

X dapat naik belon panas kat Capadocia, nengok replika pon jadikla...

Ataturk Havalimani

Bosphorus Bridge

Some other miniature buildings.

Kecikkan?

Inilah die wanita yg gigih mengambil gambar w/pon dah kesejukan..
ha..ha.. Dua2 gambar ni pakai self-timer ya, coz partner i dah
berpaling tadah way too soon. 

At last i just could not bear with the weather anymore. I didn't manage to tour the whole area. I went inside the restaurant where my husband was happily waiting for me...Sedapnya duduk dalam resto ni...No wonder la die x nak keluar2...By the time I went inside the resto, i was soaking wet and felt so cold until i couldn't even feel my own hands. Everything was numb and stiff. I tried to pinch myself, memang x rasa apa2. My face was so pale as if i had just lost pines of blood, rasa mcm vampire plak...he..he.. "Org degil, memang mcm tu.." my hubby scolded me. I kept quiet, x boleh nak balas apa2, sejuk bedi....Rasa nak menangis pon ada...ha..ha..

After a while, we went to the souvenir store at Miniaturk. Best jugak kedai ni..Barang2 souvenir sama mcm kat Grand Bazaar, in fact much much cheaper. Rasa menyesal beli kat Grand Bazaar. I bought a few things there including these biscuits (refer to the photo below). Sedap betol biskut ni..I bought a box, makan kat bus stop while waiting for the bus to get back to Istanbul. Makan punya makan, rasa sedap sgtla pulak.. Mula teringat nak belik for mak, tok, nek sumer...So, dlm sejuk2 dan drizzling tu, I ran inside the shop to buy 5 more boxes... my husband said.."x payahlah, hujan..kang bas tinggal." I still ran inside and managed to get back to the bus stop before the bus came. Jaoh jugak bus stop dngn kedai tu sebenarnya...

Sedap tol biskut nih....

Sampai Eminonu, we were so hungry and cold...bought some food and ate like we never eat rice before. Lepas makan nasik, makan kebab plak. Lepas makan kebab, belik kueh chek mek ni (refer to the photo below). Rasa die mcm kueh che' mek molek. Manis...! Sedap...

Turkish tea..Turkish Tea...1 lira.

Ni dia...kueh che' mek turki..he..he... nyum..nyum...

~To be cont~

~Miniaturk, Dec 4th, 2012 ~