turkish cultural night

this trip has a few optional tours.

the first one is hot air balloon. hot air balloon in turkey is actually quite cheap, as compared to the hot air balloon in australia and new zealand. however the price is still quite steep, which is US220 per pax. its a once in a lifetime experience to sit the hot air balloon so my family chose this optional tour. actually everyone in the tour group chose to go for the hot air balloon. the hot air balloon tour is only done in cappadocia. and the tour can only be carried out if the weather conditions are good, ie calm wind and no rain. unfortunately, for the both days that we stayed at cappadocia, we woke up at 5 am to wait for the bus from the hot air balloon company to pick us up, but unfortunately for both mornings the wind was too strong and the company cancelled the tour. haiz sadded. but on a happy note we saved up US880.

the second one is called bosphorus cruise. the cruise is along the bosphorus river. on one side of the river is the europe continent and the other side is the asia continent. both continents are linked by a bridge called the...

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bosphorus bridge (no prizes for guessing correctly). so turkey is the only country in the whole world that lies on two different continents - asia and europe.

the third one is called turkish cultural night. and this is the optional tour that i went with my mum, because my dad not interested in dance and my sis want to stay in the hotel room to use the internet. its a dance performance showcasing a muslim monk dance where the monks must spin on the floor for damn long time and they are able to stand still after spinning, and they spinned a total of 3 times; a few traditional dance items which is put up by 8 similar dancers, 4 guys and 4 girls, which i think they will be extremely shag at the end of the whole thing; and finally a belly dance performed by a voluptous woman who will come down from the ceiling onto the stage in a glass lift, very sexy.

the cost per pax is US40, yes i think its super ex, but comes with free flow of alcoholic drinks. maybe it is worth it for regular drinkers but definitely not worth it for me. the kids even more ke lian, because they have to pay US30, with free flow of coke and sprite and fruit juce. -.-'''

13 of us went to watch the cultural night.

and for this turkish cultural night it is quite special because the belly dancer will choose 5 gentlemen from the audience and teach them belly dance, then the 5 gentlemen will perform their version of the belly dance and the audience will decide who is the winner. and i had the honour of being selected by her. hahahahaha.

i attracted the most cheers and wolf whistles. hoho. and i am considered an overseas performing artiste cos i performed in turkey! 自欺欺人. :p

turkey trip day 5

we went to Goreme Open Air Museum first thing in the morning, which is just 5 min drive from our hotel. Goreme Open Air Museum has fascinating frescoed rock churches and chapels. the movie star wars was also filmed here.

group photo! spot for chiobus and yandaos!



holding a light sabre


and this is the real stuff:


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hoho.

next we visited the local carpet factory to discover the history and tradition of turkish carpets. we realised that weaving carpets is a skill which take many years to master. that is why carpets are so expensive. we were then brought to a room and the boss ordered his kah-gia to roll out hundreds of carpets for us to see. we were all fascinated by the beautiful carpets, but also feel pressurized because he roll out so many for us and yet if we din buy we will feel very paiseh. and these carpets dun come cheap.

the silk cocoons that are used to weave the carpet


check out the fine threads of silk. and upon seeing this i got a craving for tang yuan.


this was the most expensive carpet being showed to us. guess how much it cost?


here's the answer:



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US60,300 leh!!! wassup!

lunch was at this cave restaurant. thank goodness no kebabs were served. we can choose between beef and fish. after lunch there was some entertainment. music was played and the boss of the restaurant dance for us. and then he picked one of us to dance with him and guess who he picked? not me of course. not my sis. he picked my mum! hahahaha. my mum is also the sporting kind so she danced with him. then got one part he keep bumping his ass into my mum's ass. wassup. hahahaha. everyone was laughing and my dad laughed the loudest. -.-'''

the very funny and entertaining boss who hit my mum's ass with his ass

boss to dad: sorry for hitting your wife's ass
dad to boss: hahahahahahahahaha............. very good very good (that was exactly wat he said)

the waiters wore a very nice turkish traditional costume as their uniform

the next place we visited is the Underground City of Kaymakli, once a place of refuge for 15000 christians. the underground city is eight storeys (B1 to B8) and connected by 30 km of corridors and passageways. of course we din walk through the full 30 km lah. btw some of the passageways are very small and we have to bend our bodies in order to walk through them. so those who have knee problems, back problems, neck problems and pregnant are not advised to visit the underground city.

the entrance of the underground city

ok the final part of this post is to show you a series of photos which bears a somewat strong resemblance between my sis and a popular girl in national geographic.

-end of day 5-

turkey trip day 4

today is going to be a very shag day. because we have to wake up at 4 am and set off early. our next destination, which is Cappadocia, is 8 hours drive from Pamukkale. wassup!

of course we are not sitting on the coach for 8 whole hours. in between the journey we still got stop over for toilet breaks (which cost 50 cents for each toilet break), tourist attractions and lunch.

ok, without further ado, let me show everyone the US440 silk leather jacket, 100 percent waterproof, keep you warm in the winter, makes you look cool in the summer, and on top of it, makes you US440 poorer. yay.

(leng zai rite? haha. anyway if you discovered that my hair is brown, congrats on your great observation, because i dyed my hair before the trip.)

let's fast forward to the place where we had lunch, which is a very special place called a caravanserai. caravanserai is a 'hotel' for ancient traders and travellers. now it becomes a restaurant for modern tourists, like me. thank goodness no kebabs, and the food that they serve is quite authentic.

after lunch we visited the Melvana Museum. nothing much to say about this museum, except that the artefacts are of islamic origin.

and then is hardcore driving all the way until night falls, and we were brought to this local cave house, which is actually a pottery village! and my sis has the greatest honour of being invited to demonstrate to everyone how to make pottery. of course i am gracious to show you the video, which is damn hilarious and... a bit erotic. HAHA.

ohhhhh~ my love~ my darling~ i'm hunger for........ your [fill in the blank]

(the handsome pottery maker)

(the plates are beautiful but expensive. got promotion. buy 5 get 1 free. my mum bought 5 saucers! and got 1 saucer free! typical singaporeans.)

(my mum bought one of the claypots too! typical housewife.)

finally we reached our hotel. we will be staying at this hotel for two nights. and when i was having dinner at the hotel restaurant, i saw my colleague from my contract sch! wah lao the world can be so small a not. hahaha. i think i am fated to bump into my colleagues overseas. last year when i went to hk i also saw a few of them. :)

our room is for the handicapped. -.-'''

very nice room! and got free wireless! got playboy channel too, but everytime i switch on that channel only show a still image of a muslim monk. maybe i should try my luck after 12 midnight. but its a bit hard because i always sleep before 10 am. this can nv happen in sg. hahaha.

-end of day 4-

turkey trip day 3

this is the most fun day because we went to many attractions and took lots of photos. so prepare for photo overdose.

after the usual buffet breakfast, the first place that we went to is a leather factory outlet. we were treated to pretty and handsome models, who wore the latest winter wear made of leather. if you think i am so selfish not to show you the photos of these models, you are right. because i am actually more gracious than that, and i shall show you the VIDEO! hahahahaha.

the boss of the factory outlet gave a very 动听 presentation on their silk leather jackets, which made everyone very 心痒痒 to buy. the factory outlet also sell many hats and handbags which are very very nice. and guess wat? one of the models brought a jacket for me to try, and everyone came to praise me to say that i look good in it. but i look at the price and my jaw dropped, because the cost is US935!!! they got offer 30 percent discount lah, but even after discount it is still very ex. haha.

(these jackets are the atas type. they cost at least US3000.)

in the end i bought a leather jacket from another salesman. he is quite persistent, very persuasive and very pleasant, and in the end i fell into his trap. hahaha. but he gave me a very good discount. the original price of the jacket was US635, and he reduced it until US440. but well, it is still quite chor. :p

ok the first attraction we went to is Ephesus, one of the world's most outstanding archaelogical sites.

(goddess of victory, also known as NIKE.)



(public toilet during ancient times)

(Library of Celsius)

(the Grand Theatre, which has a sitting capacity of 25,000)

(this jump shot is not so nice. i prefer the one at blue mosque. haha.)

second attraction: Temple of Artemis. this is one of the ancient seven wonders of the world. but it is left with one pathetic pillar because most of it is excavated to dunno which museum.

third attraction: house of virgin mary. virgin mary is jesus mother. you may ask why she is called a virgin when she gave birth to jesus, but i think god nv have sex with her at all.

the local guide said that by writing ur wish on a tissue paper and hanging it on the wall outside the house of virgin mary, your wish will come true. but after saying such 轻浮 comments about virgin mary, i have a bad feeling that my sister's wish wun come true.

fourth attraction: Pamukkale. magical and unique terraces and castles created by deposits of white limestone from thermal springs. it is also known as Cotton Castle.

the hotel we stayed at for the night is called pamukkale colossal thermae hotel. the hotel has a swimming pool where the water is taken from the pamukkale thermal spring, and it is believed to be good for the skin.

so my dad, sis and i went to the swimming pool for a dip. my dad really has to go because he has some ulcers on his ass (ouch). admission into the pool is free. BUT, you have to pay 4 turkish lira for a swimmming cap in order to swim in the pool. WASSUP!!! 4 turkish lira is about S$3.75.

-end of day 3-

seriously and honestly speaking, i am still very 心痛 for paying US440 for that jacket. i should have bargained more! ggrrrrr...