More Istanbul pics!

More pics from the Istanbul trip...

Courtesy of Jerry...

The Gurus
My personal fave... ;D

Our handsome Mediterranean fren who was trying to sell us fish...
Photogenic n charismatic...
Told us his name was Tony Banderas or something like dat...
Hollywood-like huh??? ;D


Eeek! I look bosphorous!! heh heh...

Wannna drink??

Prettier pic....
Camera w stabiliser...
Better Nightshots!!

Off to Shanghai tonight...
Jer wanna drag me out sightseeing... Shanghai tan he says!!
Gonna miss my ever enthusiatic sightseeing team boy...

X X...

Team flights n the last one.. sobS~

Like they always say... All good things must come to an end...

Team flying has stopped for good.. or so we r told now...


so.... sighhhhhhh....


Our last team flight was to Dubai n Istanbul!! N my first time to Istanbul lei!!!


Ya... I did mention I was damn sick of the icky poo food in Ist...
And I think I'm done with the place....
Bloody cut throat prices in the baazaar (they think we damn stupid or wat), expensive stuff as well...



No more Turkey for me next time...



But here are the pics...

Taksim Square...
the centre of Istanbul..

Damn lucky us... our hotel jus walking distance away from this bustling town area...

Somehow they had like 2 Swatch chains, 3-4 Diesel branches n like 2 McDonald's n 3 Gloria Jean coffee joints along this not-so-long stretch lei...

Turkish Delight!!
Remember those melty gooey looking stuff the stupid boy in Narnia was craving for n sold out to the High Witch?? hee hee


Fresh fresh fish...

Their people like fishing along the road over the bridge lor...
Imagine it's like seeing people fishing off Nicoll Highway... hmmm...

The really fugly looking flat fish with the VD-like bumps on one side is turbot or something...

The assortment of cold starter dishes available..
can't remember wat they call it though...

Wouldn't say it looks particularly appetizing...
Unless one likes cold fishy stuff I think...

Maybe i had enough of those starters included in airplane food... *shudder*

Those little turkish tea sets...
oooh so cute...

Close up on the cup...
I think the best thing I had in Ist was Turkish tea...

Thick...full bodied, fragrant... yummy...
I take it w 2 cubes of sugar...

Day 2 we went on the river cruise..
The river which separates Asia n Europe...

Bosphorus bridge (hope i got the spelling correct!)
The bridge that connects Asia n Europe...

SO boring.... Jer fell asleep...

I would advise people to take the proper boat cruise w guided tour...
Would cost approx 40 euros (from hotel concierge should have)

We cheap skates took the 10 lira boat ticket....
the boat like that kind u take to go Batam kind... jus bit bigger...

n no guided tour... so damn sian... half the time we were shivering in the cold or falling asleep in the cabin...

Anyhoo.... 1 turkish lira = 1.32 USD...

1 Mcdees value meal = bout 7.50 lira...
quite high the standard of living... not cheap oh..

My gorgeous indian team girl from Delhi...

She got lotsa attention from the Turkish men...
Many tot she was a local... or mixed... cos of her sharp n pretty features...

Wah lan.. they kept following her around...n kept asking us...
"Where uuu from??" like X10 times... til we sick of answering the question...

We quickly ditched the boat n headed to the Grand Bazaar...

Shereen say it's supposed to be the biggest bazaar in the world..

After awhile quite sian... cos they all quote rubbish prices...
n most shopkeepers r impossible to bargain w...
not like China... where u walk off they will give it to u.. albeit bit unwillingly...
In Ist.. they jus shake their head n say "i cannot" n let u go off..

I dun understand that at all.. no room for compromise?

But they have got some very pretty n nice lamps..

Water fountain...
mural nice hor...

Check out the taps... so pretty..

Turkish delight!!
I bought the pistachio ones made w honey..

N turkish tea!! I bought flavoured ones... (Apple n pomegranate)
The dude said Turko brand is usually the good one..

Bazaar close at 7.30 local time... so we go look for the Blue Mosque...

Not very nice wat.. I expected it to be whole thing blue...
But it's the same as all the mosques scattered round the island.. jus that this is bigger n grander...

disappointing...

Still wondering if we got the rite one though.... (yeah it's that bad)..
But we took a pic of the signboard on the entrance la... jus to be sure...

Never mind... heh...

found at our hotel lobby...

After a long day's walk....

I gave my ah jie's shoe a lil polish... ;D

That's my Istanbul experience...
I brought home a couple of the cute blue Evil Eyes...
N I'm happy I been there once...

But I missed ang mo food so much when I was there....

I was begging the gang to go for pasta n international food while we were trekking around looking for the Blue Mosque...

And there was temporary relief among all while waiting for orders of creamy pasta n my fried eggs... (had craving since breakfast time...)

The ham n salami pasta came without salami ("oh the menu say have but actually... not suppose to have. Some stupid Turkish man put it in wrongly. Our chef is an Italian.. he's very professional.." was the response.)

The cream sauce was like I feared it would be... tasteless...
Like they jus added the whipping cream n that's it...

we poured salt over it to make it that slightly more palatable...

Prob the last straw was when my fried sunny-side-ups came...
i was ecstatic... dug into my whites like I usually would...

n then..... when I popped the yolks in last like I always do...

I almost gagged n screamed...

It was COLD!!!!!!!

Mani n I touched the other yolk n it was chilly too!!!!! eeeeekkkkksssss~ ;(

Gave it back to them n din want them anymore....
Gross...~

i wondered how could perfect looking sunny-ups have cold centres... sigh...

So sad...

So yes... I really dun wanna go out anymore next time I have to do an Ist...

................................................................................................

Well.. since I'm at it I'm just gonna put in the Frankfurt n New York I did w the team in Jan...

It was our last Complete team flight with all the team members lor...

Everyone minus 3

I had a really difficult time with the boyfriend during the flight.... chasing the blues...

At the Hershey's choc factory in Times Square!
Thank god they were with me...

Hearing me go on n on...
Beared with me when I was sighing n moving as if without a soul...
Forcing me to go out so I won't kill myself in the room...

Was I hallucinating or really going mad w depression??
Or is that really a .... Hershey kiss?!?!

Eeepps! really cute pillow... :D

World's Largest Kiss it says it is...
Filled with many more little kisses...

New frenz...

I always liked the blue n orange dudes btw... ;p
Their expressions always the most koo-koo; one damn smug... one damn paranoid...


Guess who's who lar!? hee hee

Wah lan eh!!!
All filled with real m&ms!!!!!

The color combi ones got names...
like Hannukah, Christmas... blah blah..

Capitalising on merchandise...

Fraternizing w food in m&m land...

Damnnnnn cold lar in New York...
every block we like ran into a store for warmth cos we were all freezing..

Had dinner at Bubbagump n co. cos it was the closest place then...

Cute concept...

To get the wait staff to stop n serve u...

.... when u no longer need anything....

In Frankfurt...

At the Opera House
The Alte Oper...

Fooling around in the Maggi Cafe!!

Can eat there... else got WIDE variety of instant foods like soups n mashed potatoes n noodles n rice for drystore stock up!

Giant teddy..
"No touch" it says...

Such a pretty colourful chandelier!!

Now chandeliers back in fashion hor...
I went to Bkk n saw lotsa gothic black n white ones which r gorgeous...
But this is the first colour-colour one I see neh!!
I want please?!?!?

hmmm.. not very pretty...
But compared to Istanbul...
at least got nice pasta n ooohhh to-die-for choc crepes...

.........................

So yes...
As team flying comes to an end... like Jerry says...
"Every flight will be a mystery..."

No more being able to reach control a lil later cos one dun really know wat or who to expect...
n
personally... i feel that it's one more step further from being able to foster enduring friendships in this line of work...

....
hmmmmm....

which makes cabin crew pretty lonely people doesn't it? bleahg~

alritey... now I only owe the Stonehenge n Bkk trip pics only liao...
Took super long to blog this...
it's ZZzzzZZ time!

Time for a milkshake at my favourite diner in LaaLaa LAnd.. hee~

I hate it when.....

.... I get home dog tired from an overnight flight n find my bed skinned of its covers cos mommy took it out to wash....

urgh~

oh yeah...
I'm back....

So glad to b home.
Was so sick of kebabs, shish watevers... arabic anything.

Next up... Last team flight (sob!!), n Istanbul, Land of icky poo food but ooohhh-so-yummilicious lookin men!! ;D

New Wardrobes n work...

I'm sorry for the lack of updates fellas...

Been doing turnaround after turnaround the past 2 weeks...

First a Colombo, then a Bkk n Jkt... then a Hkg n lastly a Mnl...
Yes... I sound like a regional flying mother I know...

Ahhh... no reason for the sudden yucky rosters I've been getting... serious...

In between... have been busy working on tidying up my room... my exploding wardrobe, n bookcase....
... by getting 2 more new cupboards from Ikea...

I swear... the hassle is not worth it...

2 items too big to put into my car.... paid for delivery n cos we were lazy... tossed in the extra 10 bucks for assembly as well...

2 days later.... I still can't pack cos the door of one of the cupboards is chipped n had to b replaced...
And I leaving for Dubai tonight... so gotta arrange for the guys to come in while I'm away....

That makes it 2 outta 4 items that had to be exchanged... cos one of the smaller cabinets which we brought back n assembled had mismatched handle thingys....

So yes... it's all been quite a GrRRrrr~

Anyhoo... am uploading my Bkk hol pics now in case I have a chance to update in Dxb or Istanbul...

N the Stonehenge photo CD's in my hands liao...

Meanwhile.... *smooches*

Mind YOUR P's n Q's...

I might not be a saint myself when it comes to manners...

But I considered myself far more patient than others since the days of Dome as a barista...
"Dodo... the ice cream melted... can change??"
"Dodo I spilled some :( ... can change?? "
And all these when I'm up to neck w orders n my body split into halves blending n scooping....

It has also somehow been an occupational hazard....
"Thank you for the flight...."
"Thank you for helping me pick up that piece of (completely insignificant) dirt"
"Thank you thank you thank you..."

N
"Sorry sorry sorry sorry...."

N
"You 're welcome!!"
Then
"Thank you" back...
Then....
"You're welcome!!!!"

Chee-la-ka... - ___-

it never ends....

But it has become so part of me...
I even do it with the boyfriend cos being gracious n polite to one another in a relationship is one of the ways to show each other appreciation wat....

Also, I'm super tolerant of semi-retarded service people who completely mess up orders, need u to take them thru step by step.. n repeat yr queries over n over again....

And I can do so without being condescending.... n still say "Thank You!" sincerely n chirpily...

The boyfriend cannot...

But I got limit also.... just like that day....
When I was having a lazy midday stroll along Club Street on a Monday....
And I found that Venue (the uber cool shop which does Puma collabs n now has mobile shops n whateva crap shit) got Sale....

So I go in...

I dun intend to buy... cos I'm banned from shopping after Bkk ... (more on that another day)

So I dun mind that there was no service....

But there wasn't any greeting either...
that's still okie....

cos sometimes when I'm browsing I wish to b invisible also mah....

Good... the fella at the cashier din even bother to look up...

Until I walked to the back section..... then he follow n stand there... not uttering a word...
But the face got "Sian" n "WTF" etched all over i tell ya...

Who cares.... his job to at least stand there mah...

So after browsing..... I exited... but not after smiling at him n saying "thank you! Bye"

N the bugger din even bother to make eye contact!!!!! much less utter a word of thanks!!!!!!

Nabei cheebyeee...

For a moment I was damn hot....

Cos

1) You r a fucking service provider....
Dun care if u high end or low end or middle end...
Dun care if u work in an establishment which has since the day u opened become quite successful with the mass mkt in SIn...

U prob won't have a job in that shop if people like me din come wandering around Club Street n Found yr store n tot it was uber cool in the days before Front Row or Style Nordic kept getting mention in magazines...

2) The clothes on yr back might cost a total of $1000 courtesy of yr employer....
But they will never belong to you becos at the end of the day... you'll still b a disillusioned lousy salesperson...
You'll only be paid wat.... max $1000 a month... maybe commission if yr employer is kind..
But seeing yr F**ed-up attitude as such... yr commission will b at the mercy of frivolous rich kids whose asses u lick.

3) WAT's exactly UP with THAT attitude in the first place man!!!
maybe maybe jus maybe I was in my slippers n casuals??
Geez....

U guys might wanna jus go n diss this pretty huge gay-looking n haughty Mat'-looking (or jus tanned??) at Venue at Club Street...

Jus walk in n around n force his lard-piece ass off his chair at the cashier n then jus walk out without buying anything.

grrrrrrrrrrrr...................................

...........................................................................................................

And children these days...... R OBNOXIOUS MONSTERS!!!!!


Every once in a while... I get these kids onboard...

When u ask them for their names... they quite shy...
that's okie...

When u give them a toy... they just take n mutter something u can't hear....
MOst of the time they just take n keep quiet la...

Then the parents will tell them "Must say thank you!"
And only half the time the children comply....


Next time my juniors will know their Pleases" n Thank Yous" without prompting from me...
Argh... wats up with these ill mannered bringing up??

It used to b that the behaviour of children to reflect on the parents...
And though I dun wanna sound like a traditionalist... i think it's still that way lor....

Yesterday I had a monster on my flight...
No acknowledgement cos boy was busy with his Gameboy when I came up n said hi ...
No thank you when I passed him his activity pack.....
he acted like it's god-given since he still a child...
no prompting from his parents to say thak you...

Then suddenly... "Can I have ANOTHER of this!!!"

The parents were quite embarrassed at his outburst n told him "You must say 'please first"

He did not comply.....

okie... fine... children mah..

After take off.... ask him wat he wanna eat.....
Fcking no acknowledge... not to his parents ... not to me...
It's only a choice of the chix or fish!!!
Still engrossed in his Gameboy n din even bother to look up...

Absolutely RUDE i tell u... dun care if he's only 6 yrs old or 9 ....

The same reaction when asking him what he would like to drink......

A check with the colleagues revealed that they all thought the same of lil' boy...
Either parents no teach or boy jus plain ol' obnoxious...

Until........

The Dad himself barked at me during second round drinks.... "Can I have another Coke. With ICE!"

No "please......

No "thank you either when served.....

Then I realised...

No wonder lil boy's a monster....
Cos his parents preach but dun practise.... n they dun preach enough either....

Really.... the world is becoming a more F**ed up place by the minute...
Or is that just in Singapore????