one long whole week...

I had one whole week to myself - so what should I do? Well, i had walked about 50mins to town, got stopped by some 'policemen' requesting to see my camera (god knows why). Later, some friends told me that they might be imposters and I was lucky to walk away... I explored the nearby town, Yildiz abit and unpacked all the many tens of boxes J left for me so that I have things to do whilst he was away...


Days were longer, nights were colder without him... well, life goes on.. And so, I went out and saw this... Yes, a Proton Wira...

I did some cooking...

Chic & Mixed Veg Porridge

                             Baked some muffins - and it was sooooo much better than
                             those that I have ever baked! :)

 Anxiously waiting...

 Ta dah! Berjaya...

All's went well for the entire week whilst J was away. My new found friend, Cecelia and her family showed me Tunali Helmi and bought me sicak cikolata... all warm and fuzzy... :)

And thank God he came home to me safe and sound...  :)

my first weekend!

WEEKENDS are grrreat! I always look forward to it, basically because I get to go to town and explore Ankara more.... :)

So far I have been hitting the malls so very often, mostly to get ready for the colder days. Haven't done much of the historical thingy or gone to the touristy place yet....

On the first week i arrived, my friend took me to Nisantasi - it is a bazaar, air-conditioned and sells anything under the sun from clothes to spices, toys, fresh food, cheese to household items. it was pretty convenient as there were free shuttle buses from Park Oran. Frequency is not great, but what the heck! Also, the bazaar is only open on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays... Cheap bargains especially homes stuff and apparel aplenty here...


On the same week, J & I went to Kizilay as I realised my trusted H&M brown handbag is 'peeling its skin'... so out we went for a handbag shopping trip. Took the local bus for the first time, and I must say it is not too bad, not cheap abt 2 TL per person (RM3.35)... There were many shops along the perjalanan, flower shops (note the flower stands are for marriages, not funeral!), wet market, stationery, clothing shops,etc. After a while, it became same old, same old.... :P

After hours punya hours punya jalan, we settled for cay and had e a simit... Then, ta dah, we started to play backgammon - it's 'da game' in Turkey and everyone plays it. It is a good past time and if you speak turkish, bet you can fit in surely... The best part is, I also bought an el cheapo handbag!

Yay - mission accomplished and it was great fun backgammon-ing! :)
Of course, the very next day, J had to leave for South Africa for 1 week...
Well, I will have many other weekends to look forward to....

food and more...

Well, what is a Malaysian without food? And how can I not blog about this? Every weekend is like a Turkish food journey for me... yay!

Tavuk Doner Kebab

After the Su Boregi on the plane, J brought me to the nearby Mall, Panora for an early dinner... Guess what? It's the infamous Tavuk Doner Kebab... I find it dry and can't believe that they do not have chilli sauce... the local fav drink - aryan didn't go well with my palate.... blek! didn't like it the first, second, third and fourth time... (yes, J tried to change my heart to say that it is a nice drink....)

Well, then there is the other fav drink - Cay which is tea, usually served in a small cay glass and the snack, which is my personal favourite - Simit! Simple ingredients : made of flour and sesame seeds, god knows the process of getting it baked! it's just everywhere in the streets, shops, etc! and it's a cheap eat, too... :)

Cay & Simit

During my first visit to Kizilay, I had again Tavuk kebab but sandwich style this time with all the veg and all - but no sauce, coz they only serve mayo and tomato sauce - so not my style! Bring out the mustard and chilli sauce, baby! (this is like never gonna happen here - bummer!)

I also tried the Hamsi sandwich in Ulus (fried anchovies) - it was good. Turkish bread is really nice! Never had so much bread in my life before... :)

 Hamsi sandwich stall

My dolma chicken something!

Then, there is the dolma something which is stuffed chicken with rice and vege... was one of the yummies little thing I have had here! The other dish in the picture is some beef thingy that J had... Again didn't get the name!

Anyway, the food's great so far, except for the aryan and the fact that they don't serve mustard and chilli sauce, all's good and I know more yummy food to come... ! I came, I ate, and I will cook some, too! Hahahha!

a fresh start.....

This is my virgin blog, having to only be able to start after about 3 weeks.... procrastination got the better of me.... always have! Well, it all started with a panic, having to realise that i need to be at the airport on 20 Sept night to catch the red eye to Turkey... The air ticket clearly shows flight on 21 Sept 0030...and yet, i didn't realise until my hubs 'reminded' me gently the night before.... well, what will I be, without him...

And so, the whole family was also in a panic mode, thankfully I have already settled all admin and banking stuff before I take the flight... My family kissed me goodbye, I left with a heavy heart as I thought i was to have another day...well, guess not!

I checked myself in to the golden lounge and enjoyed some delicious ice-cream and a can of coke... it was cool as this is the first time I'm flying business class - NICE! I got all teary eyed when my brother sms me to not to worry, as he will take care of the family... after that sms, i left to board the flight...

It was cool, to have the peeps in the plane addressing me by my surname (though they got it wrong!)... i was fed and slept thereafter... I slept very little and being just recovered from my slipped disc, i only could sleep on my side ways... thank god I was on biz class! Woke up with more food and caught the Batman movie (heath ledger was in it) but didn't manage to finish it though...bummer! Bought some ciggies for da man but didn't manage to get his QPR jersey...too bad....

After about 8 hrs, I reached Istanbul...got a bit probe looking for the domestic flight lounge. Got into my flight (biz class, too) nevertheless... A gentleman got seated next to me, quite chatty at the beginning, but was quiet as a mouse after getting to know that I'm married! haha!

Surprise bouquet!

I had for the first time Su Boregi (yummy!) for breakfast along with olives (yucks!)... in no time, i reached Ankara... after being driven to another area to collect my luggage, i lugged all the bags and set off to get out of the airport! From a far, i saw my husband! What joy! The familiar face that I missed so much this few months.. and i even got a surprise bouquet! :)

As soon as i got back to our new home, i settled down quickly and didn't really have any jet lag... i was however, feeling tired especially in the evenings for the next few day...

Night view from my new home

Glad that I have reached Ankara, nevertheless and experiencing Turkey has begun...