I took the 2 days one night tour of the Mekong Delta.
Mekong Delta 湄公河
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Category Archives: Travel
Greece 希腊 (Athens 雅典)
酒神喝醉了, 海神去航海.
雷神放暑假, 我该怎么办?
闪电在睡着, 风神又不来.
太阳管天下, 我快要疯掉!
到达雅典, 天气仍然如土耳其那样炎热
听说古希腊神话的十二主神能够帮助人们解决问题
雖然如此, 在不同的時代人类不斷為了適應其文化演化而變化
现在我们已经變成了神通广大
求神不如求己
无论天气有多热, 被晒到有多黑
我仍然在雅典逗留了六天
I joined the free walking tour on the next day when I reached Athens. For the next few days, I revisited those places that the guide had showed us.
I got confused with the Parthenon and the Acropolis till I asked my friend Mr. G and got to know that the Parthenon is an ancient religious temple the Athenians built for the Greek goddess Athena. The Acropolis is the high hill that the Parthenon was built on. In short, the Parthenon is a temple and the Acropolis is the hill the Parthenon is located.
When you are in Greece, you should visit some of the islands. There are travel agents who will customize island hopping according to your needs but I found these packages are not within my travel budget. Instead, I took the train to the harbor and take pictures of people onboarding the ships.
I tried to strike up a conversation with the young butcher in the local market but didn’t have much luck as I do not speak Greece. Somehow he understood my body and sign languages and posted for me to take pictures. What a wonderful encounter for the trip!
I booked the backpacker that comes with breakfast. I took 2 hard boiled eggs from the mini buffet table and filled up the water bottle when I left the breakfast room. I just need to have another late lunch or earlier dinner for the day, which cost less than S$20. This is the way I control my budget.
Here is the other side of midnight in Greece. Do you consider this an graffiti art or vandalism?
Cappadocia
I was a cave man in Cappadocia because I stayed in a cave. Most of the hotels in Cappadocia are built in or near to caves. In fact, the whole city is surrounded by caves.
I got a bed in this Stay In Peace Cave Hotel for S$7.50 a night with breakfast and free wifi. There is no air-con in the cave but it was cooling. What a good experience! The owner, a young Turkish couple, are very friendly. They provide information about the place, arrange for tours and do whatever they could to assist the tourists. A good stay!
The whispers in the morning Woke me up
Of me sleeping light I helplessly sigh
Even though I have time I quickly walked up
Of seeing the hot air balloons On the mountain side
Sound of my heart beat Travelled thr morning light
Of me leading myself Finding for a good site
The sun unwillingly woke up And birds flying up high
Of hundreds balloons floating What a beautiful sight
Ankara
I took the midnight bus from Cappadocia to Ankara. I though I could save the cost for a night hotel stay and sleep in the bus instead. However, I just couldn’t get a good sleep in the bus. When I reached Ankara at 7am, the hotel was kind enough to let me check-in. Till then I managed to sleep for a few hours.
Ankara is the Capital of Turkey but there aren’t many attractions. I only stayed there for a day and took the bus back to Istanbul the next afternoon.
Istanbul
First arrival in Istanbul got me so excited to see such a beautiful place. The Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia Museum and Basilica Cistern are just within minutes of walk from the hotel I was staying. The Tram station is also nearby. Actually I walk most of the time instead of taking the tram.
There is a fire burning in my heart,
I have to cool it before I could start.
There is an excitement growing within me,
I have to stop it before I am not me.
Pamukkale
From Canakkale I took a bus to Pamukkale for S$38. This was a long and tiring 8 hours ride and the bus stopped in Denizli instead.
At the bus terminal, I approached a policeman to ask for direction and finally I landed up in a small and cosy hotel for S$31 a room with buffet breakfast.
The next morning I took the mini bus (S$1.58) to Pamukkale. When I got off the bus, someone from a nearby travel agency approached me asking whether I would like to join a day tour of Pamukkale for S$54. I told him I would consider about that.
After about 10 minutes of walk, another man approached me asking me to join his tour for S$36, which is one third cheaper that the earlier approach.
His group had 2 Canadians, 2 Indians, one Korean and 2 Singaporeans. Without second thought, I joined in the tour.
Later I found out that the middle age Singaporean couple is a pilot and a teacher. 
I also met 3 young Malay Singaporeans while waiting for the tour. I think we have the Singaporean identity as when we look at each other, we know that we are from Singapore.
Pamukkale means Cotton Castle in Turkish. It is a natural site for hot springs. This is a rather small place but it has some remarkable spots, such as the Roman Spa and Roman Theatre. Though the ancient Roman bath has collapsed but the structures are still there. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Canakkale and Troy
Image Resized at http://www.shrinkpictures.com
From Istanbul I took a 46 seater air-con coach to Canakkale for S$27. This is an interesting 6 hours trip where we were served a few rounds of drinks and biscuits in the coach by a uniform attendant pushing a small foldable trolley. It’s like the service in the plane. Very impressive!
Upon reaching the habour, the coach just drove into a ferry without us getting down. In fact there were 3 coaches and other vehicles in the ferry. It took about 30 minutes to cross the sea. I heard that they are going to build a bridge so that the coach could drive across to Canakkale. This might take some years.
I stayed 3 days and 2 nights in Canakkale. From the city, I took the mini bus to the ancient city of Troy. The bus fare is S$2.70 and the entrance fee to Troy is S$11.25. This is a must visit place in Turkey but there is physically nothing much to see except the wooden horse and stones. Spending an hour is more than enough. I will suggest that you watch the movie Troy and read something about the place so you will appreciate the visit more.
Turkey 土耳其
Share with all on some of the pictures I have taken during my trip to Turkey. Turkey is a big country and you can spend more than a month travelling around but I only stayed there for 12 days. From Istanbul I took the coach to Canakkale, Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Ankara and back to Istanbul. The weather was very hot when I was there in August. The days were long and I was almost “burnt to death”. This made me wrote something about the sun.
太阳在天空呼唤, 欢迎到这里游玩.
我正在路边迷茫,谁愿成我的旅伴.
太阳可是在加班, 阳光照耀在路上.
从六至晚七时半, 向外来游客诉玩.
Canakkale and Troy
Istanbul
太阳你真是麻烦, 快召月亮来接档.
星星你也快出来, 有你路已足够亮.
我要向太阳告狀, 这几天你可好狂.
把我晒成了肉干, 这可没什么好玩.
Cappadocia
Ankara
我请水神来帮忙,下点雨给我清凉.
等候海风快到来, 为我指出一方向.
这几天我在路上, 从白天走到傍晚.
初到这神秘地方, 也不能说太冤枉.
Pamukkale
Independence Palace (Reunification Palace)
