Day 1: Istanbul - Ankara - Cappacodia

We reached Istanbul at 6am.. we start the journey from KLIA a little late because the pilot said he doesn't want to reach too early in Istanbul if we depart at 1230am.. therefore, he delayed the plane for 30 mins so that we reached Istanbul by 6am, which is fine with us..

Once we touched down, got our passport stamped, get our bags and wait for our car.. we booked a car with http://www.circularcarhire.com.tr for a total of EURO150 + EURO30 for window insurances for 7 days rental.. it's quite cheap and save us money and time..

Waiting for our car at 7am at Atartuk Airport, Istanbul

While waiting, bought myself a turkish number for 45lira with only 5 lira call.. huh, so expensive.. i soon realized that I can get for 25-30lira in town.. so if you're not in hurry to get a number, get it once you're in Istanbul, not at the airport.. then if you want the internet, get a 1GB data plan for 1 week for 20 lira.. in Malaysia, I can get a number for only RM5 and unlimited 1 week data plan for only RM18 (anyhow, stop comparing appple to orange fyda!!!) .. by the way, I use Turkcell line because I read about it in the internet that it's the most reliable one.. and I do agree with the comments because everywhere I go, I get a good signal using this service provider...

Turkcell Sim Card

Our rental car .. first thing, isi minyak dulu.. 4.80lira per liter. Approximately RM8 per liter.. giler mahai..

The only thing that I don't like about renting a car in Turkey, is because of the petrol. As any other EU countries, their petrol is killing us.. on the first day itself, we spent 190lira for gas.. ko kali laa 1.70 kupang... haaaaa terduduk la jugak.. opsss.. that's about RM323 for full tank.. but anyhow.. that's something that we have been prepared for.. so it's not a surprise.. and for the overall journey, i believe we make a good decision renting this car..

Ok, once we settled down with the car, phone and petrol.. we set our GPS to Sultannahmet Mosque as our first destination.. We found a parking (there's a lot OTOPARK signboard around the city) and it cost 10lira per entry.

In front of Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofya..

Behind Hagia Sofya, walking towards Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace

We walked and took lots of photos from Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia and Topkapi.. we didn't go inside Topkapi though.. this 3 places took us to noon.. around 2pm, after Zohor prayer at the Blue Mosque, we start our journey to Cappadocia via Ankara...

OGS and EDS

Our car came with OGS, like a smarttag only it's a sticker on your screen (Malaysia jek x berjaya lagi buat benda nih) ... and the EDS.. lots of EDS.. OMG.. tak tau laa berapa banyak kami kena, but masa amik kereta, tak de plak si owner tu cakap apa2.. hehehehe .. hopefully tak de la kena charge kat kredit kad nanti..

We had our lunch at 3pm in one of the R&R, a lot of R&R from Istanbul to Ankara.. and you can find toilet everywhere.. just look for the WC sign .. and Bayan means "Women" and Bay means "Man" ..

We didn't stop at Ankara, but straight to the Underground city (Cappadocia) ... it was a long journey and GPS showed us crazy road.. dark and nothing around.. at 3am, it was scary.. hahahaha ... but we managed to find the place at 4am, and we decided to sleep in the car instead of getting a room.. we just sleep for 3 hours before morning...

.. to be continue ..

Couchsurfing anyone???

Let's talk a bit about this organization .. I've known Couchsurfing for more than 2 yrs now.. it's all started with my dreams to travel around the world with minimum amount of money, or at least with some amount that I can afford.. I used to read a forum Travel & Living in Cari.com.my, reading other people experience traveling around the world .. then a forumer mentioned about Couchsurfing ..I registered and surf the forum from one room to another .. I found it very interesting and it may be a place where I can expand my knowledge in traveling and pray that one day I'll have my chance.. so I give it a try .. 

Open my car to a strangers .. hahahaha not house yet .. just my car .. what I did is, I offer a ride to Penang from Kuala Lumpur on a Chinese New Year Holiday in 2010. That's where it started .. I didn't put high hopes that anyone would reply, but someone did ..actually 3 travellers accepted my offer .. first, Giuseppe from Italy, then he asked wether I can accept another lady from Japan (Fumi), and few days later, Ivan from Russia sent me a request as well. So my car is full now, that's what I thought .. on our way there, Dexter from Penang give me a call .. he got my number from the forum .. the bas he took broke down in Perak, on the way to Penang .. so we stop over to take him with us.. my car was not just full, it was packed .. hahahahaha..

But the people in my car were so much fun .. we laugh all the way from KL to Penang with lots of stories .. they were travellers and they have lots of experience with people and culture .. They end up staying at my mom's house (except Dexter, as we sent him to Penang to his family) .. and they stayed for 3 days before I went back to KL .. they continue their journey further up north (Giuseppe to Langkawi, Fumi to Alor Setar and Ivan to Thailand) ... 

That was my first and great experience .. After that I did join few other events and I did open my house to others (will tell that stories later) .. I also tried couch other people house when I was in Paris last December (2011) .. again, will tell about it later too .. hahahhaaa ..

We stopped by Gua Tempurung in Perak on our way to Penang

Giuseppe, Ivan and Myself

my guest - Giuseppe, Ivan and Fumi

Giuseppe cooked us dinner that night :)

family photo with our guest in traditional outfit

Giuseppe and Ivan in traditional outfit

Back to their outfit as backpackers ..

I love the experience .. it really open my eyes and preparing my brain, guts, courage and everything to be ready for my own journey ...

Journey into the Cave - Gua Tempurung, Perak

If you googled about Gua Tempurung, you can find few information about this beautiful cave .. Located a few minutes away from the highway exit in Gopeng, the cave gives you a fantastic view and adventure inside the largest natural limestone structure in Peninsular Malaysia. You can get more information here: http://www.guatempurung.com.

The place only close 2 times a year- which is during Eid Festival (Hari Raya Aidilfitri) & Haj holiday. If you're not from Malaysia, try google for Malaysian's Calendar for the exact dates as it change every year ..

Me, Dida and Jean

How to get there:
No matter where you're coming from (north or south), just take the PLUS highway and exit at Gopeng. Turn left and probably less than 10 mins, you'll see the signboard to the cave area on your left .. they open at 9am, but normally they will wait until 11am before they bring you in.. unless you're already in big group (which is more than 20) ..  


I've been there few times, and always enjoy the cave.. this time, I bring friends from Couchsurfing, Dida and Jean. We took the most adventure trip for the cave - which took us almost 4 hours .. it's not that hard though .. just get ready for lots of crawling and getting wet.. 

If you notice the first picture, looks like a man with Serban, that's why they call it Osama bin Laden :)

Before you do the caving, make sure you:
1. Wear long pants if you don't want to hurt your knee (or wear a knee pad)
2. Bring torchlight- or you can buy for RM10 at the entrance
3. Bring extra clothes, you definitely gonna get wet..
4. Wear cloth that you don't really like - it does has the possibility to be torn at the end of journey
5. Wear proper shoes for wet activities..

Crawling ...

Some of the challenge you have to do..

Slides for about 9m down

Overall, it was a fun activity to do during the weekend .. if you haven't tried this, I would highly recommend it .. :D