Articles from this Category
3 January 2020
I arrived around 1130 and was picked up by a friend for a yumcha lunch together with several university mates. The afternoon went quickly with endless chats in the restaurant and at a friend’s house. I had organised my rental car for 1700 so that it would coincide with our intended return time on the […]
9 November 2019
Despite the sleeping pill, I didn’t sleep that deeply this time. During one of the interruptions, I took another half and had about 4h in total. I managed to catch the crew as they were wrapping up their sale of breakfast. I was surprised that I’d be hungry at 0400 Malaysian time, which was 2h […]
2 November 2019
Today I pick up friend Michelle from New Zealand who will visit and stay till my departure. She arrived yesterday morning and will leave five minutes before me next week. I had asked her to stay in town for the first night and given her some sightseeing tips to start off her stay before I […]
31 October 2019
Cruising the Bosphorus Today I have to kill the entire day before my flight to Kuala Lumpur at 0135 tomorrow morning. I stayed indoors after breakfast to attend to admin before checking out at 1130. My rough plan was to hop on one of the ferries. At one station, they were going to Hydarpasar which […]
30 October 2019
Dolmabahce Palace After breakfast, I took the tram to Dolmabahce Palace. This palace had been on my radar since my first visit 27 years ago. But having seen a few opulent palaces through the years, in fell down my priority list. But now, I have done and repeated many things in Istanbul, so it’s popped […]
29 October 2019
Leaving Sharm I got to Sharm el Sheikh airport just after midnight. With my departure at 0340 I expected check-in to open at 0040. A queue had built up and airport security started checking documents to enter the check-in area. I then realised it was for the Pegasus flight to Istanbul. I had a short […]
28 October 2019
I thought I deserved a sleep-in but I woked at 0600 despite the blackout curtains being drawn tightly. I lazed around till 0715 when I hit the gym. My flight to Istanbul leaves at 0340 tomorrow morning and I have a 1200 check-out and 2345 departure from the hotel for the airport. After the gym […]
27 October 2019
I finished my second day of diving at Sharm today. It was the beautiful reef fish here 15 years ago that prompted me to take up diving 5 years later. It’s like a full circle that I’ve returned now to try diving in Sharm. But after 10 years of diving in SE Asia, I think […]
25 October 2019
Resort holiday, for a change Despite getting in after midnight, I was up around 0700. I went for the very good buffet breakfast downstairs before exploring the resort. I don’t normally stay in such luxury, but there is a story behind this one. This time last year, I had to accept a cold damp room […]
24 October 2019
Killing time Today I fly to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt at 2120. I have time to kill after checkout till the flight. So it made sense for me to use my nice room to the max, till check-out. Since Istanbul is now quite familiar to me, it isn’t a wasted day in the marvellous […]