Turkey: Winter - November 2009

Istanbul Aku Datang, a Malay movie released in 2012 must be doing a good job in promoting Istanbul because I know at least four families who went there the same year. All came back totally in love with the city :)

When I came back in year 2009, I was wondering whether any Turkish residing in Istanbul want to exchange home with me for three months.. I actually went to some "Home Exchange" websites! I was THAT crazy-in-love ;p Luckily I recovered.. hehe

One thing I love most (besides the food) is their Light Rail Transport (LRT).. cheap and pretty convenient. You can actually take their normal LRT straight to the Ataturk Airport for TL1.50 (RM3.80) per person. This is probably the cheapest transportation to an international airport in the world!

In Malaysia the airport ERL costs RM35 per person. Mostly I will take a cab and it will cost me RM80-98.. Taxi in Istanbul however is expensive. I took a 25 minutes ride and it costs me TL40 (RM100).

We went during late autumn.. so the weather was sometimes sunny and sometimes grey with rain. Not too cold unless it was windy. I think the best time to visit is during spring. There will be tulips everywhere! I read in a blog that in one of the parks in Istanbul there were so many beautiful tulips that when the author brought her mom-in-law.. the mother-in-law actually cried because it was soooo beautiful! Priceless right?

If you have been following my posts, you know that I like to take flowers pictures during my travel. For this posting I stopped myself from posting any. If not, the pictures will be too many. As it is for Istanbul alone I have uploaded close to five hundred! Which break my blog record.

Enough said. I'll let my photos do the "talking" now. I've uploaded 492 photos for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Turkey: Autumn - October 2009

The tour organised by Reliance Travel was called "Marvellous Turkey".. and they were right. It was really a marvellous holiday! They wouldn't got it wrong though if they renamed it to "Enchanting" or "Awesome" or "Breathtaking" Turkey... I'm sure you got my drift ;p

 

There were so many wonderful places that I love in this trip. The crowning glory was of course Cappadocia or Kapadokya to the locals. A region of exceptional natural wonders with fairy chimneys and unique historical and cultural heritage. We were lucky that on our scheduled date to take the hot-air balloon ride, the weather was excellent. The sun was shinning which enabled me to take many wonderful shots. Not too windy that the maneuvering of the balloon became almost impossible. It was truly a magical experience :)

 

Pamukkale Cotton Castle was also a unique experience. If you close your eyes.. maybe you can imagine that behind you stand an ice castle ;p Hemm... maybe not because the water was actually quite warm!

 

We went to not one but three ancient cities during this trip! Well... four if you count the ruins of Hierapolis at Pamukkale ;) The lost city of Troy, Acropolis and the famous Ephesus. I thought after visting Egypt I've had enough of ruins.. but the weather was so pleasant and the Library of Celsus was so awesome that I changed my mind :)

 

For a Malaysian Muslim traveller, if you only have enough money to visit one other country (after visiting Saudi Arabia - Mecca and Madinah), I would recommend Turkey. They have almost everything that a Muslim tourist wish for. Top of the list are an excellent halal food, plenty of mosques and great shopping bargains ;p

 

They also have great history and culture which translate to wonderful historical buildings and ruins. Temperate climate with distinct four seasons which means depending on which season you go you get to experience tulips wonder or skiing wonderland or autumn foliage. Another thing worth mentioning is because this is a secular country, foreign women will feel much safer than if they were to walk alone in Iran or Saudi Arabia for instance.

 

I think I better stop now.. I don't want to sound like unappointed Turkey Tourism Minister! I will let my photos do the talking.. ;) Having said that, Turkey is arguably the best country to visit in the world :)

 

The trip was from 24-31 October 2009. The tour price was RM4.6k per person excluding the hot air balloon ride of US$220 (RM755). There were only 15 of us with a handsome local guide who speaks excellent English.. what could go wrong right?

 

We parted with our group and extended our stay in Istanbul for another week. Pictures of my personal exploration of Istanbul will be in my next post.

 

I've uploaded 345 photos for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Malaysia: Summer - September 2009

 

The picture above was one of my many attempts of trying to get a panorama shot using my Olympus camera. Some turned out really weird.. Actually until now I still couldn't figure out the best way to do it.. I saw the latest Samsung Galaxy camera demo. They made it look soooo easy.. :(

 

Port Dickson or PD to locals is a favourite beach holiday destination to KLites. During week days, the roads in PD were mostly clear but come weekends they will be congested. It is a fairly small town with a relatively low cost of living. Last time I went back in year 2010.. there was still no hypermarket or McDonalds. But I think they have it now ;)

 

We stayed at Avillion Admiral Cove for 4 days 3 nights from 22-25 September 2009. It was a fairly new hotel then so everything was fine. Their breakfast selection was not as extensive as KL hotels but not too bad. So long as they have the "important" breakfast dish i.e nasi lemak and roti canai... that is good enough for me ;p

 

The swimming pool was great. The marina made me feel like I was in Perth.. ;p I met a couple with two young kids from Texas who docked their yacht for a few days there. They plan to go to Langkawi next. Some people are so lucky to have that kind of lifestyle huh? Where to for holiday? Let's take our yacht to Greece ;p

 

I've uploaded 73 photos of PD. I managed to get a few nice shots of sunset during the trip. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Australia: Spring - November 2008

 

If you know me personally, you will know that I am a person who is always grateful with what I have. I love being Malaysian and the life that I have in this blessed country called Malaysia :)

Having said that, when I visited Perth, Australia for the first time in history I wish that I am an Australian multi-millionaire living in one of the scrumptious looking houses facing the Swan River with small boat and jet-ski as my weekends transport. It doesn't have to be a bungalow like the one above. I will be quite happy living in one of the apartments below.. Mayhap in another parallel universe? ;p

 

Besides houses and beaches, another thing that I like are flowers. Since we went in spring, we found all kinds of flowers when we were there. The flowers were huge and in abundance. It was truly amazing! We visited the King's Park a few times.. simply couldn't get enough of the flowers ;)

 

Besides exploring Perth city centre, we also made a trip to Fremantle and Rottnest Island. We had fish and chips at the famous Kailis' Fremantle Seafood Cafe and I took a dip in the very appetising water surrounding Rottnest Island..

 

We also did typical touristy thingy like visit the fruit farm, wildlife park, dolphin and whale watch, chocolate factory etc. Nothing to shout about. In fact, the whale watching was a disappointment. After  a "suspense" chase.. we only got to see the tail! Dolphins watching were better.. the boat ride was at least more thrilling. Shivers!!

 

We were there from 3-16 November 2008. Great weather but with "surprise" short heavy showers now and then. Becareful of sunburn though.. the temperature was so cool and pleasant that you can sometimes forget that the sun is still there.

 

I've uploaded 390 photos for your viewing pleasure. A word of caution though, I was a bit over-the-top when it comes to flowers and houses in this trip ;p

 

You can access the photos at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Qatar: Autumn - October 2008

The picture above is an Arab tea. It tastes nothing like a normal tea cause they don't use tea leaves to make it but instead use a combination of herbs. You should try it if you ever set foot in Doha.

I went to Doha this time round on a business trip. We stayed there close to three weeks. Since it was a business trip, I didn't bring my camera with me ;p My apology in advance for the blur pictures taken using my Sony Ericsson mobile phone. Thank God some of my colleagues brought their cameras and allow me to copy their pictures. So you get to see beautiful shots of the deserts :)

Doha in 2008 was a city under construction.. There are high rise buildings being built everywhere. They are seriously playing catch-up with Dubai and might surpass it too! Their airlines, Qatar Airways in my humble opinion is already better than Emirates.

With natural gas reserves of approximately 896 trillion cubic feet, Qatar has the world's third-largest reserves, behind Russia and Iran. Coupled with only roughly 250k Qatari nationals, this is one rich country. They can afford to build anything!

My trip was pleasant. The food there was great. Costs of living are high though. Everything there are expensive except for cars and petrol. Taxi ride minimum fare then was QR30 which was equivalent to RM30. A lot of Malaysians like to work in Doha because of their tax free status and very high pay. Suitable for family too with good international schools and low crime rate.

Note: I've decided to include pictures of Doha during my in-transit visits back in year 2003 and 2004 in this 2008 album. So you can make the comparison ;)

135 pictures of Doha for your viewing pleasure can be accessed at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Malaysia: Summer - July 2008

Once in awhile I will "play" tourist in my own country. Melaka is the third smallest Malaysian state after Perlis and Penang. This historical city centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008. Hemm.. I just realised something.. my trip was just a week after Melaka been declared as the heritage site!

I love Melaka for the following reasons:

• Close to KL. Around two hours drive
• The city is clean with acceptable public transportation
• Nyonya food is one of the best in the world!

If you have nowhere to go for a short weekends trip, I would recommend this heritage city. Good food and stress-free environment. Eerrr.. I have a disclaimer though.. don't go during school holidays cause it is a favourite destination for locals too ;p

I've uploaded 62 photos for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Japan: Spring - April 2008

 

We went to Japan for the sole purpose of getting up-close and personal with Japan's famous cherry blossoms. Fortunately we were not totally dissappointed. Ueno Park, the famous place in Tokyo to view thousands of cherry trees in blossom splendours, when we reached there.. almost all the trees except for a few have turned green! No flowers. Just leaves :(

 

Luckily at Hakone Peace Park they were still flowering. So we did manage to catch a few "Kodak Moments" :)

 

 

Since we went in spring, we didn't expect to see snow.. but we were pleasantly surprised that there were some leftovers at Mount Fuji lower station. We didn't get to go to the 5th Station cause the road was closed.

 

Frankly speaking, there was nothing particularly outstanding in this trip that I'm actually having a tough time recalling the details. Maybe two myths were busted during this trip:

 

Myth 1: All Japanese people are slim (except sumo wrestles of course!) cause they worked hard and eat fish. Well I found a few chubby people during this trip.. ;p

 

Myth 2: Everywhere in Japan are very very clean. Well.. our first hotel was not very clean. The room and the dining area can benefit from a thorough cleaning if you ask me..

 

This was a very short and basic tour by Reliance Travel. The tour run from 16-21 April 2008. 6 days 4 nights. Tour price was RM4.7k per person. Unfortunately, the hotels and meals provided were pretty mediocre. I suppose I was just unlucky. I'm sure other people experiences were much better. It's just that when I left the country, I simply don't have any lingering feeling of ever wanting to come back.

 

Hemm.. maybe Hokkaido can make me change my mind. I was told by many people that Hokkaido is like heaven on earth! We will see..

 

If you're interested, I've uploaded 228 photos of Japan. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Vietnam: Winter - February 2008

I like Hanoi. The chaotic city has its own charm. The people were very busy with their lives. Bicycles, trishaws and motorbikes were "flying" everywhere. They were so busy with their own activities and that ironically made me feel safe in their midst. Am I making sense?

How can you feel that it was dangerous to walk at night when there were so many decent looking young ladies on motorbikes and bicycles enjoying themselves?

We were staying at the Old Quarter. Hanoi would not be Hanoi without its Old Quarter, a maze of streets dating back to the 13th century. We witnessed first-hand its present-day chaos, maybe just a different version of the old chaos, when specialised trade guilds were responsible for each street.

A visit to Hanoi would not be complete without taking a cruise of Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The "green" water was quite soothing to the soul. Canoeing was part of the cruise package. The price of Halong Bay-City Tour-Water Puppet Show was US$58 per person. The water puppet show was funny and interesting. You should experience it at least once in your life ;)

We were there from 24-28 February 2008. The weather was great, suitable for walking and shopping ;p Air Asia return flight was RM520 for two.

All in all it was a good holiday. If you have nowhere in mind to go for an extended weekends trip, maybe you can consider Hanoi.

I've uploaded 226 photos for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Santai, Shopping, Solace - Quarter 4 2007

 

I started my one-year career break (2007/2008) with a short "santai" holiday in Port Dickson. A town of one hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. For those who are not familiar with the Malay language, "santai" means relaxing.

 

Nothing exciting happened though. Even the sea looked a bit sombre in late October. The raining season had just started..

Next I went to Bandung, Indonesia with my mom for a shopping excursion in November. We managed to grab Air Asia "free" tickets. It actually cost us RM350 and we need to book 7 months in advance!

 

Bandung is well known for their factory outlets, fake branded handbags and Muslimah fashion apparel. We didn't buy any fake stuff. No point toting "branded" fakes.. I would rather buy cheap originals anytime :)

 

We bought a lot of spicy snacks. It was really cheap compared to Malaysia. The only complain was.. we should have bought more ;p I bought a lot of tops too from their factory outlets and my mom bought a lot of fancy head scarfs and "jubah" at their market.

 

All in all it was an enjoyable mother-daughter shopping trip. The weather was also quite pleasant. The hotel we stayed was pretty good too. Within walking distance to the market. Very convenient cause we can then unload all the stuff that we bought at the hotel before we continue our shopping. What is with women and their shopping huh?

 

Year 2007 was wrapped up with a spiritual journey to Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia in December. I just realised something.. I did my own version of "Eat, Pray, Love" in 2007 prior to the debut of the film in 2010 ;p

 

This was actually my second time to these Muslim holy cities. The first was back in year 2002. We went for a small pilgrimage then called "umrah". The visit was coupled with a visit to Iran. In Iran we explored Tehran, Mashhad and Qom. We visted Iman Reza's, one of 12 imams of Shia, shrine at Marshhad and his sister's shrine Fatimah at Qom.

 

What I remembered most about Iran was apricots and cherries. They were in abundance and really cheap! I taught the apricots were small peaches back then! They were really sweet. The cherries were superb too. Iranians love to eat fresh salads. The meals served during the tour were normally consist of rice, grilled chicken/mutton/beef and salads. No special gravy.. just olive oil and mint.

 

Their heritage buildings and shrines were covered by small mirrors. Very beautiful engineering. Their women at small town were required to cover themselves with a piece of big cloth called "chador". It doesn't have to be black though, it can have prints and be colourful ;p Women at big cities like Tehran were more modernly attired. The cars were mostly old Datsuns. Consumer goods choices were quite limited but those available were pretty cheap. People there who can speak English can speak very well. Enough of Iran. I have more to tell but I digress ;)

 

Back to my spiritual journey.. I spent a total 44 days. 34 in Mecca and 10 in Medina. This pilgrimage cost around RM10k per person. The weather was pleasant and I can sum up my experience with one word: INSPIRING. It inspires me to think about my beliefs. I'm still thinking and reassessing them as we speak :)

 

Point to note: All the pictures were taken before the facebook and smart phone era where every single thing must be picture-recorded for posterity ;p So please forgive the small number of photos. Most especially in Saudi Arabia. I don't bring camera to business trips. More so during my journey to find solace. So all the pictures were taken using my pathetic camera phone.

 

Back then in 2007 we were not allowed to take pictures in the holy mosques so no cameras were allowed. If you bring any, it will be confiscated. It is much different now with the advent of smart phones with excellent camera. They finally realised that it is futile to prevent people from taking pictures in the mosques ;p

 

You can find the 20 pictures of Port Dickson, 34 of Bandung and 18 of Mecca at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!

Twin Cities: Summer - August 2007

 

This twin-trip was not actually a holiday. I was having a back to back business meetings in two continents. This was totally abnormal in my line of work thus worth mentioning in my blog ;p

 

During business trips I normally don't bring my camera. I will just make do with my pathetic camera phone if ever I need to take a photo. I made an exception to this one cause it was London!!! Also because this twin-trip was my last meeting before I went on one year career break and I want to take photos of my colleagues just incase I decided later to retire for good..

 

What I loved most about the first of the twin-trip was Malaysia Airlines Business Class. Eating "satay" and having "teh tarik" on air was awesome! Another thing I love was the "nasi ayam" made by my host-friend. I was a lousy cook back then, so I was impressed when my friend can actually cook!

 

Since my trip to London was short and mostly occupied with meetings, I tried to aim for only three touristy thingy to do. First one was to visit the Tower of London, the second one was to watch as many musicals as possible and the third one shopping. Specifically for the Marks & Spencer's Oatberry Cluster Mini Bites.. That dessert is really one of the best in the world!

 

Tower of London was a failure cause the queue at the ticket booth was so long. I was too tired after 12 hours flight and don't really want to waste time queuing. Luckily I managed to catch two musicals. Les Miserables and Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings was great. Les Miserables was truly miserable.. I actually fell asleep during the intermission and struggled to keep my eyes open for the rest of the show. A Brazilian beside me also slept.. so it was not only me alone who found it a bore :(

 

What I love about the second of my twin-trip was Singapore Chilli Crab that our working group had at Clarke Quay. I was also fond of their Night Safari.. Eventhough it was nothing like the real safari in Africa but Singapore being Singapore.. it was really well done :)

 

If you have been following my blog, you should know by now that I'm an "aspiring" photographer with not-so-great cameras. So keep that in mind when you look at the photos of this trip.. most especially the Singapore ones.. ;p

 

You can find all 80 of them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Egypt: Spring - April 2007

I think the Egyptians are lucky. They don't have to build anything great to entice millions of tourists to come to their shore every year. Their ancestors had done it for them thousands of years ago and brilliantly too! Their ancient architects and engineers were true geniuses if you ask me!

The picture above was given to me by one of the tour members. Awesome right? It was the picture of Abu Simbel complex. Click on the picture for a bigger size photo.

What was unique about this trip was the multiple mode of transportation that we took during the trip. Besides the normal aeroplane and bus rides, we sailed in cruise ship and falluca. We took a ride in horse carriage and also a short travel on camel. Finally, the sleeper train from Luxor to Cairo. Seven altogether ;p

Local food during this trip was unfortunately not to my taste. For one thing, they always serve them cold and it was pretty bland. Which was a surprise cause I would think that since their prior civilization was so grand, it will somehow got translated to their food as well..

Their Giza Pyramids were majestic. The Spinx was smaller than I expected though. Cairo bazaar was a disappointment. The sellers were just too aggressive so it made the window shopping experience not as enjoyable as it should be.

This tour was organised by Parlo Tours. 10 days 7 nights. 23 April to 2 May 2007. It covered a few major cities: Luxor, Aswan, Cairo and Alexandria. Airline: Qatar Airways. Transit at Doha but this time round no more free city tours offered by the airline cause there were more flights to Kuala Lumpur now compared to few years back. Tour price was RM4.5k per person.

If you're interested, I've uploaded 217 photos of this trip. You can find them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Malaysia: Summer - July 2006

Are you one of those who simply can't resist taking photos with flowers whenever they go on holidays? If yes, then all these pictures are dedicated to you!

I'm afraid I'm also one of them. Not the chronic kind though cause I like taking photos with buildings too ;p

My mom simply loves flowers. So, because of her I will occasionally go to flower shows in my locality whenever it is convenient (ample parking bays and somewhere that I know how to drive to.. hehe GPS is still alien to me).

I will normally go early in the morning and aim to be back by noon. Why? Can't stand the hot sun even after donning my hat. Can't open an umbrella either cause I might poke on someone's eyes!

After going to a few of them, I think our local flower shows are quite good. The flowers displayed were as good as overseas shows. In my humble opinion, the only thing we lose out is the weather. Hot and humid are not a good combination if you plan to spend hours outdoor. I suppose you should enjoy it more if you are not a "Puteri Lilin" like me ;p

The Malaysia International Landscape and Garden Festival was held at Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur from 6-16 July 2006. Entrance fee was RM3 per person. This is a yearly affair but nowadays it is called "Floria" and are generally held at our administrative capital of Putrajaya.

I've loaded 90 photos for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

UPDATE: I went to another flower show - Floria - in Putrajaya on 7 July 2012. Since I do not have a lot of pictures to share nor stories to tell, I've decided to just tag the photos in this posting instead of creating a new one.

You can access photos of 2012 Floria, Putrajaya at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Cambodia: Summer - April 2006

Our trip to Siem Reap like the rest of the tourists were for the sole purpose of going to Angkor Wat - the largest Hindu temple complex in the world. Built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

Eventhough the temple was huge and impressive but to me it lacked the charm of other ancient heritage sites. For one thing, the stones were of black-greyish kind. So it made me feel a little bit depressed.

I found that I was more amazed by the Temple of Ta Prohm. Built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Huge trees are blended into the walls and rocks hugging the giant roots gives the temple a surreal appearance.

Nothing much to do here except visit the ancient temples and buy multicoloured sapphires. Actually I'm not really sure that the "sapphires" sold are actually authentic. Here, they have all sorts of colours. And the sales girls claimed all are sapphires! I think I'm probably one of many that was conned.. hehe whatever..

Siem Reap is just like a small underdeveloped town. I've been to Phnom Penh before in 2003 and I think the capital was much more vibrant. During my visit then, Phnom Penh just got their new spanking airport and I was told that it was built by a Malaysian company. The locals speak French more fluently than English due to their past history with the French.

We went on our own for this trip. The plane tickets for two by Air Asia cost RM322. We were there from 14-17 April 2006. If you wish to go, I think 3 days-2 nights are more than sufficient.

I've uploaded 63 photos. You can access the photos at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Australia: Winter - June 2005

 

What I remember most about this trip was the tour leader, Alex. Until now whenever I joined a tour, when the tour leader reminded the participants to check their passports, handphones etc etc.. I will always remember Alex and his stories of his experience as a tour guide. They were so funny! 

 

Another thing that stand out of this tour was the fact that our tour bus actually broke down on our way back from the Blue Mountain! Unbelievable right? I mean this is Australia, the first world country.. where everything should be tip-top. Even the third world countries that I visited thereafter.. so far so good. No break downs. We were stuck for 1.5 hours before the replacement bus came. To err is human huh?

 

We also managed to squeeze a visit to our friend's house who migrated to Australia. She lives at a lovely suburb in Sydney. During the visit, she introduced me to a "sweet" grapefruit. Grapefruit and sweet somehow doesn't jive in my book. But now whenever I'm lucky enough to eat a relatively sweet grapefruit, I will remember her :)

 

This tour was organised by Reliance Travel. From 3-9 June 2005. The tour price was RM5.3k per person. It covers three cities: Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney. This was my second visit to Sydney. The first time was before my "digital camera" era in early 2002. We went to Sydney and Melbourne then.

 

Sydney during my first visit was much more exciting. Most probably due to the weather. We went there in early March. Early autumn, where the daylight hours were longer. Bondi and Manning beaches were still a happening place. This time round it was a bit surreal that at 5pm.. it was already dark! And nobody is crazy enough to take a dip in the water ;p

 

I've uploaded 157 photos for your viewing pleasure. You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Western Europe: Spring - March 2004

This trip took a place in my history as the most expensive shopping that I ever did overseas. Never to be repeated. I bought an Omega watch and an orange colour pearl set set in Lucerne. I also bought a diamond ring in Amsterdam.

On hindsight, the watch was a useful buy. The other two were just nice-to-have. I got caught in a shopping frenzy. I plead temporary insanity ;P Lesson learnt. Nowadays whenever I travelled, I will only buy their local food and fridge magnets :)

The other unique thing about this trip was half of the tour members disappeared in London! I was told that this phenomenon was not uncommon. It seemed like the Western Europe tours arranged by our local travel agents were used as a means for the youngsters to get to London to work illegally. No wonder some of them didn't even look like tourists and the tours even though expensive were always sold out.

The youngest in the "jump ship" group was 18 years old with tattoos on his body. But I think he was detained and not allowed to enter London. They probably sent him back to Brussels. The young ladies and some of the young men managed to get in. Now you know why the UK Government want to slap entry visas on us.

This trip was organised by Parlo Tours. It was from 25 March to 4 April 2004. There was a stopover at Doha and like the last time, we were given a free Doha tour. I'm sharing two photos of Doha. The weather was very pleasant this time round :)

The price of the tour was RM5.5k per person. We covered 11 cities / towns: Paris, Lucerne, Engelberg (Mount Titlis), Heidelberg, Schaffhausen (Rhine Falls), Lake Titisee (Black Forrest), Cologne, Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Doha. 7 countries in 11 days: France, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, England and Qatar.

Although it was pretty hectic, it was a very enjoyable trip . The weather was superb too. The scenery were awesome! I've uploaded 243 photos of this trip for your viewing pleasure.

You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

India: Autumn - September 2003

 

I must apologise upfront. I don't really have that kind of fuzzy feeling when I thought of my visit to India. I don't know why but I can only remember the not so positive stuff. A bit weird... cause I went with the ladies, so the company and shopping were great.. and yet... Hemmm...

What I remember was.. I've never seen the air hostesses so busy serving drinks during a flight. Not the fruit juice or plain water like flights to other places.. but tray after tray after tray of beers. The bell for calling them also rung almost non-stop thoughout the flight from KL to Delhi.

What I remember was.. almost the whole tour members got sick. The ones that were "safe" surprisingly was the more senior members of the group. I guess the junior members' immune system were not that strong after all ;p If I'm not mistaken, it took me close to 3 weeks after we came back to recover fully from the cough. The cough was no joke .. it was not the lady-like kind :(

What I remember was.. the stark contrasts everywhere. The opulent buildings of yesteryears vs the dilapidated buildings of the present time. People with huge mansions vs people living on the streets among the animals. Modern sanitary vs the primitive kind. It truly made me feel sad..

What I remember was.. the scary tricycle rides. The driver somehow feels that he was more entitled to the road than the big bus and lorry. Well maybe that's the road hierarchy there.. the smaller vehicles got the right of way? Whatever it was... I'm happy that I've survived that and live to tell the tales ;p

Okay enough of that. Let's think of the positive things about this trip. I don't want to discourage people from visiting this historical country. As I said before, I went with the ladies so the shopping and company were wonderful. We had all our meals at the 5* hotels.. so the food was good. Taj Mahal was awesome. So does the other UNESCO World Heritage Sites. That basically sums it all right? More often than not the reason why people visit India is Taj Mahal.. so that was definitely not a disappointment :)

This trip was from 11-19 September 2003. The actual days spent there were 8 days 7 nights. We covered three cities, the famous Golden Triangle: Jaipur (Pink City), Agra and Delhi. This tour costs me if I remember right, RM2.5k (shopping excluded ;p).

Do browse the pictures .. it will give you the feel of India that I cannot express in words. I've uploaded 247 photos for your viewing pleasure.

You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

Italy: Summer - July 2003

There were many firsts in this trip. The beginning of a fruitful long-term "relationship".

First time I joined a trip organised by Parlo Tours. I've been a fan eversince and have joined many other subsequent trips by them.

First time I flew Qatar Airways. They were quite unknown then with less frequent connecting flights. The plus point to that was.. we get to tour Doha while waiting for our connecting flight. The airline even provided us with 4* hotel accommodation together with scrumptious buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner :) We don't get to enjoy that now unfortunately. Aaah.. the good old days!

First time I took public transportation alone in a foreign country and got lost in the process. All because I want to buy a Gucci purse at Duomo shopping area ;p Thank God for the beautiful Italian lady who can speak a smithereen of English. She went around to find a map and then showed me how to get back to my hotel using the metro. Now, whenever I got lost.. I will always remember this incident and feel very confident that there are many good people that will show me the right way :)

Now why did I go to Italy in summer? It was so hot. Most especially when we were in Doha. Because there was a promotion of course! And also I was in a "travel mood".. I just want to go somewhere. Regardless of what season.

The best part about going in summer was the day light hours. If I'm not mistaken, it turned dark only at 9 pm. So we got to enjoy the sights longer. Other plus points were good weather (no rain) and good light. So there was no need to use flash to take photos or bring raincoats. We brought umbrella though... Typical Asians relationship with the sun ;p

This trip costs RM4.1k per person (full-board). The tour was from 11-20 July 2003. It was quite long due to the 2 days transit in Doha. The actual days spent in Italy was only 7 days. We covered the following cities: Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Verona, Lake Lugano, Lake Como and Milan. We entered Italy via Rome and departed from Milan.

I've decided not to put up any Doha photos in this article's facebook album. I will cover it in other article with pictures taken in 2008. Doha in 2003 was just like a cowboy town. Doha in 2008 was much more vibrant. I'm just sharing these two photos of Doha. Ripening dates and an Arabian horse. Such a sweet looking horse :)

 

If you're interested, I've posted 219 photos of my trip to Italy in my M Kha Sha facebook account.

 

You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

 

Njoy!!

Indonesia: Summer - June 2003

This visit (28 June - 1 July 2003) was actually my second trip to Bali. The first trip was too short that I simply didn't get why people love to go to Bali so much. One of my friends is so crazy in love with Bali that she said she is quite happy even if the only holiday she get to go every year is to Bali! I actually signed up for another trip to just to make sure I didn't get it wrong. Was I abnormal?

I went with the girls this time and had a good time at spa and shopping of course! The tour if I'm not mistaken costs me RM1.2k for 4 days 3 nights (full-board). We stayed at Nusa Dua area. Oh by the way, I am not a secretary. I just joined them cause they are such fun-loving-sporting group :)

Frankly, Bali is still not one of my favourite places to go for a holiday but I can understand why a lot of people love it. By the way, there is no actual "summer" in Bali. There are only "rain" or "shine" season ;p I just put "summer" for the sake of title consistency with the other postings :)

If you are interested, you can browse more pictures at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

I must apologise though that there are only a few of them. I just realised that most of my Bali pictures have my face in it. Thus I can find only 17 neutral photos :P

Do enjoy them anyway.

Eastern Europe: Autumn - October 2002

My trip to Eastern Europe (20-26 October 2002) was with a group of ladies (plus a male representative from Malaysia Airlines ;p). The trip was awesome. The shopping was great. The food was delicious. The scenery was breathtaking.. Need I go on? Hehe..

We went to 7 cities - Salzburg, Innsbruck, Munich, Karlovy Vary, Praque, Budapest and Vienna. A total of  4 countries within 7 days - Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary.. We also passed by Slovakia enroute to one of the cities. No stop over unfortunately..

The full-board tour back then was pretty cheap. I can't remember the exact price.. but if I'm not mistaken it costs around RM3.8k per pax (twin-sharing).

My favourite city for this tour is Praque. Beautiful city with great crystal shopping experience :)

We went during autumn. Coming from a country with only 2 seasons (rain or shine ;p).. needless to say.. we went goo-goo-ga-ga when we first saw the colourful leaves and snow-capped mountain.

Frankly even until now, I'm still having 50:50 thoughts on which season is better for a holiday.. spring or autumn? Both actually have its own charm..

If you're interested, I've posted 136 photos of this tour in my facebook account.

You can access them at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Njoy!!

A Tribute To My Cameras..

 

 

I think it is good once in awhile to go down the memory lane.. These cameras have done a lot for me. Capturing all the important events of my life. So before I start posting pictures of what they helped me took.. I think it is only a matter of courtesy for me to introduce them.. ;p

 

Oh by the way.. I will only post pictures taken by my digital cameras.... since scanning the photos taken by  my "old-school" cameras and then posting them is deemed to be *too much work* for me ;p

 

It actually surprises me that I had only owned 3 film cameras but within a short span of 9 years I have bought 4 digital cameras... Hemmm .. maybe digital cameras are not made to last?

 

My first camera was a Hanimex.. Not sure whether this brand even existed now haha.. then I moved on to Olympus. Olympus was very good to me. Unfortunately it decided to "die" on my first trip to Australia... a sad day for both of us. I then bought Pentax in Melbourne..

 

Pentax being a non-Malaysian probably can't adapt to a Malaysian lifestyle.. so soon after I came back to my beloved country, it got "sick". I sent it for repair.. it was fine for awhile.. but then it got sick again. By that time digital camera was a new rage in Malaysia... so began my love affairs with digital cameras :)

 

I can't say this many times enough: I think digital camera is one of the best human inventions!

 

My first digi is Sony Cybershot. 2 megapixel. Imagine that! The memory stick was 8MB.. pathetic right? But I loved it so much. The viewing screen at the back was so small.. and yet then I thought it was a godsend!

 

 

I learnt my lesson when my camera died on me in Melbourne... so I will always have a spare digi camera on my travels.. The next two digi are Olympus brand. The latest addition to the fleet is a Samsung. I bought it to commemorate my first time travelling alone.. You will know why when you see the camera.. hehe

 

In the future I will update this article and the pictures whenever I buy a new camera.. I hope it will not be that soon!

 

If you're interested, you can see the pictures of all my cameras at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mkhasha.n.travels/. Go to the photo albums.

Prologue

When I was doing a research on "when is the best time to go to a particular city", I had this wishful thinking - if only I can see pictures of the city during that particular month of the year. As a normal tourist, I have a very limited time. More often than not the organised tour will only last a week. If I travel on my own only then maybe I can prolong it to 3 weeks.

The point I'm trying to make is for a short-term traveller like me, timing of the visits is everything. It will decide whether I will get great experience or just nice ones.

You will think that should be easy right to find the relevant pictures in the internet? Not necessarily so. If you are lucky, you can find them in some travel blogs. Unfortunately the pictures posted are too few. Most of the pictures I'm looking for are actually stored in personal facebook accounts of the travellers.

I know a friend who posted thousands of her beautiful travel photos in her personal facebook account for the viewing pleasure of her friends only. I'm sure my friend is not abnormal, there are millions like her. I'm not abnormal either, I'm sure there are millions like me too who wants to know when is the best time to go by looking at the pictures of fellow travellers.

With that in mind, I've decided to create this blog to share my travel photos with the masses. Hopefully it will help some of you to plan for the perfect timing to take your well deserved holidays. They will be stored in my facebook account. Search for M Kha Sha. I will tag the albums as "public" so feel free to browse through. I will also try to give details - date, place - as much as I can remember them. Some of the pictures are close to 10 years old!

Another reason why I created this blog is so that I can monitor how many countries that I've set foot on and when. Sometimes details can get hazy after a while.

Since the pictures posted will be only those post "digital camera" era, there will be a few cities that I've been to which will not be covered. So I'm listing them now just for my own record: Lake Toba, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Tehran, Melbourne, Seoul. I don't normally bring my camera during business trips so cities like Jakarta, Manila, Phnom Penh and Bangkok will not be covered either.

This will be an on going project. I will only update this blog whenever I have new travel photos. As such, do subscribe to my M Kha Sha facebook account if you wish to be notified of any new updates.

Njoy!!