pakdoktergolfblog

Day 4 : Late Lunch

2012-01-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

Having spent the whole afternoon at the Istanbul Archeological Museum - we were now quite hungry and decided to have an early dinner/late lunch at a restaurant on the main street just outside the museum.

this street in front of the Archeological Museum

is an uphill incline

towards the SultanAhmet Square

starters of a tomato and pepper spread and

goat cheese with nuts taken with bread

these lamb and beef kebabs were delicious

and a typical Turkish drink - pomegranate juice

Day 4 : The Istanbul Archeological Museum (1)

2012-01-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

This is a gem of a museum. Pakdokter could easily spend a whole day going through the exhibits in the various sections of the museum. Exhibits originated from hundreds of years before Christ - a reminder of the wealth of history that had taken place in this country.

the founder of the museum, Osman Hamdi Bey

the section on 'sarcophagus' representing the different periods

of civilisations in Turkey

the tomb of ?Alexander

Day 4: The Istanbul Archeological Museum (2)

2012-01-24T20:03:00.002-08:00

the statue of Emperor Hadrian

Day 4: The Archelological Museum 3

2012-01-24T20:03:00.001-08:00

The pictures below were taken from the special building exhibiting collections from pre-Islamic periods in the regions of the Arabian peninsula and the horn of Africa.

Day 4 : The Sogukcesme Street in The Fatih District

2012-01-24T20:02:00.002-08:00

After spending the whole morning at the Haghia Sofia, we walked towards the Topkapi Palace which unfortunately was closed for that day of the week. So we decided the explore the residential street that runs along the wall of the Topkapi Museum. The street was lined by residences of the officilas of the palace and today is probably occupied by senior beaurocrats of the city. The street is a long downhill road that led to the Istanbul Archeological Museum. We stopped for coffee at one of the street stalls.

one of the entrances into the Topkapi Museum

residences along the Sogukcesme Street

Day 4: The Haghia Sofia

2012-01-24T20:02:00.001-08:00

The Haghia Sofia, Saint Sofia or the Ayasofia Muzesi was built between the years 532 and 537 AD to be the patriachial church of the Eastern Roman Empire. Sultan Mehmet 11 converted it into the Ayasofia Camii, a mosque, upon his conquest of the city in 1453. Kemal Ataturk later converted this into a museum.

The church was actually built much earlier - but in the Nika riots of 532 AD the original structure was burtn down. The present building is the one reconstructed from after the riots. The Nika riots came about after some quarrels by the spectators of the chariot race at the Hippodrome. Today- such a riot would be similar to the behaviour of the footbal hooligans after an EPL or European League football matches.

Day 3: Turkish Salesmanship @ his Best..

2012-01-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

The narrow streets around the Grand Bazaar were lined by many little stores selling all kinds of Turkish products - carpets, textiles, ceramics, jewelleries etc etc. And without fail you would be invited, coaxed, begged, to go into their shops. Having learnt from our previous experiences on how smooth these Turkish salesmen were in making their sales, we were determined to avoid any of the shops as we had nothing in mind to buy. We had made this trip specifically for the purpose of touring the many unexplored parts of the city.

Alas, we were again caught off guard by this smooth-talking gentleman who almost 'hypnotically' guided us into his shop after we had just finished our plate of borek and cleaned up our cup of coffee.

Most of these salesmen would start by asking ' where are you from Sir/Madam?' - and upon hearing that we came from Malaysia they would immediately rattle off some of the Malay phrases they have learnt e.g. 'apa khabarrrr.....selamat petang.....etc etc'. Once you are caught in this friendly chatter, it would be quite difficult to get away from them.

Pakdokter managed to video this gentleman who turned out to be quite charming and witty. In the end we bought a lovely piece of a table runner for the house and managed to avoid buying more carpets as we already have more than enough carpets at home.

Day 3 :Street Food and Ottoman Fine Dining Restaurant

2012-01-23T19:15:00.001-08:00

Like any cities of the world, Istanbul,too, has its own variety of street food, which are generally more affordable that eating in restaurants.

the hawker stall above sells "simit"

a circular twisted bread sprinkled with sesame seeds

each piece sold for 1 lira

the 'pide' or 'pideci' is Istanbul's version of the pizza

each piece cost 5 lira

enough for 2 persons

'borek' is like the Malaysian 'karipap'

the plate of 6 pieces cost 5 lira

With a heavy breakfast at the hotel on the 3rd day in Istanbul, we decided to just sample the various types of street food above instead of having a sit-down lunch in a restaurant. It was a very long day and we did quite a lot of tours and walks through the bazaar, markets and mosques. We finally returned to the hotel at almost 8 pm and after a quick wash, decided to walk round the corner of the hotel to an Ottoman Fine Dining Restaurant.

Pakdokter tried a bowl of the lentil soup for starters and pakdokter's partner ordered a plate of salads. For the mains, we tried out the chicken dish cooked inside a paper bag - quite like the 'beggars chicken' dish famous in the Banting district of Selangor - except the chicken came in cubes and cooked with pieces of vegetables in a tomato-base sauce. We also ordered another fish dish that came with a dollop of pilav, vegetables and a baked potato.

Day 3 : The Rustam Pasya Mosque

2012-01-23T19:14:00.002-08:00

Located in the centre of the market quarter is a small but pretty mosque - the Rustam Pasya Mosque. Its interior is almost completely decorated with lovely Iznik blue tiles which made up for its very humble-looking exterior. This mosque is also not on the usual tourist itinerary and has to be visited on your own time, if time permitting.

The mosque is still being used for prayers and visitors to the mosque were offered 'free' copies of the Koran which is translated into English.

Day 3: The Egyptian Market @ The Spice Market

2012-01-23T19:14:00.001-08:00

The Sulaimaniye Mosque is located on a high ground and from there we walked down towards the market quarters down the hill towards the Golden Horn shores. Just at the bottom of the mosque we discovered this row of little shops of metal-smiths crafting out various cups, plates etc on their lathe and tool machines. These shops reminded pakdokter of the days in school when we had to do metal-works as a subject. These guys here produce lovely copper and brass objects and we bought from them a few articles - which we presumed would be much cheaper than the stores in the 'markets'.

the shop-keeper working on his machine making the copper tea-cup

the products made here were supplied to the stalls in the markets

enamel serving 'dulangs'

the hardware market

textile section

the pictures below are from the Egyptian/Spice Market

goat cheese

strands of cheese (the white ones) and olives at the back

sausages and dried tomatoes

various types of fish

spices

Day 3: The Sulaimaniye Mosque

2012-01-23T19:13:00.003-08:00

The Sulaimaniye Mosque is located behind the Istanbul University and is also not on the usual 'packaged tourist itinerary' to Istanbul. The Sulaimaniye is a complex consisitng of a grand mosque, 7 medreses ( religious schools), the turbe (tombs) of Suleiman and his wife, Haseki Hurrem. It is recognised as one of the greatest achievement of the great Ottoman architect, Sinan, and was built to become a center of Islamic Higher Education. Sinan, himself was buried in a simple plot within the grounds of the complex.

the Sulaimaniye Mosque seen from within the campus of Istanbul University

below some pictures inside the mosque

taking the 'ablution' before prayer

Day 3: The Istanbul University

2012-01-23T19:13:00.001-08:00

Directly in front of the Beyazit Mosque is the main gate into the Istanbul University. Entry through the gate was like going into the airport and only students and lecturers with university passes were allowed in. Pakdokter and partner wanted to look-see the campus before proceeding to the Sulaimaniye Mosque located behind the university as we could see from the map. So pakdokter's partner used her charm and asked the military-like university guards as to how we could go to the Sulaimaniye Mosque. To our surprise he asked us to come in through his security check-point and to walk across the campus to the back and exit via their gate at the other end.

This must ne a branch campus. It is fronted by a large garden/park before we hit the aministrative office in front of which there is a bronze sculture as well as a basque of the ?founding scholar. The academic block is a u-shaped building with a central courtyard. Pakdokter could determine what faculties were sited at this campus.

On the map pakdokter detected another bigger campus of this unversity located a few kilometres away but still within the walls of the Old Constantinople. There is also a gospital within that campus and pakdokter reckons the medical faculty must be sited at the other campus. So pakdokter's friend, Prof Mehmet - Turkish expert in marital-family therapy, must be teaching there. However pakdokter had lost contact with him for some time.

the main gate of the Istanbul University

the park that occupies the front half of the campus

bronze sculpture in front of the admin block

founding scholar?

the campus faculty from the back end of the campus ground

the central courtyard of the faculties block

Day 3 : The Beyazit Mosque

2012-01-23T19:12:00.003-08:00

Walking along the Old Book Bazaar, one could see the dome of the Beyazit Mosque located just outside the bazaar and (which we later found out) was also sandwiched between the entrance to the Istanbul University. We did not go into this mosque and pakdokter would have to read up and find out more about the history of this mosque as well as that of Sultan Beyazit, after whom pakdokter assumed this mosque derived its name. This mosque must have been built for the folks of the Grand Bazaar and the university.

Day 3: The Old Book Bazaar

2012-01-23T19:12:00.001-08:00

We did not want to spend too much time in the Bazaar. The stall owners are good at making you buy things you do no plan to buy. So we did our best to ignore them, just walked past and took whatever pictures we wanted to.

We wanted to go to the Sulaimaniye Mosque. On coming out of the other end of the bazaar we discovered the Old Book Bazaar - where all books are on sale. This are happened to be near the Istanbul University - that perhaps explains the site of the Books bazaar. Pakdokter noticed that so many of the best-sellers from Europe and America are all translated into Turkish.

Day 3: To The Grand Bazaar

2012-01-23T19:11:00.000-08:00

Monday was another bright and sunny day. However it was somewhat colder than the cloudy and rainy day. We had a hearty breakfast at the hotel.

First destination that morning was to walk to the Grand Bazaar. It was not a long walk, at the most it was just about 2 or 3 km. The cold weather made it a less difficult task. Along the way we passed by the Hammam where we had our 'bath and massage' the evening before.

the ' Hammam'
the Beyazid Mosque at the flank of the Bazaar

one of the gates to the Bazaar

on side wall of the Bazaar

the pictures above and below are from inside he bazaar

Dinner @ an Ottoman Kitchen Restaurant

2012-01-22T11:19:00.001-08:00

Refreshed from the 'hammam' we were both feeling hungry and went into a typical Istanbul eatery serving Turkish dishes as what we would see in any of our Nasi Kandar shop back in Malaysia. Make your pick, pay at the end of the counter and enjoy.

the Baran Ottoman Kitchen overlooks the SultanAhmet Square

pakdokter had a plate of pilav rice with a leg of chicken

pakdokter's partner chose the lamb koftesi with pilav rice

and we shared a plate of grilled aubergines

with the bottle of water and cola the dinner came to 40 lira ( RM 80)

An Evening at the Hammam

2012-01-22T11:18:00.002-08:00

One of the oldest 'hammam' of Istanbul is located near where we were in SultanAhmet near the road leading to the Grand Bazaar. Having had a long day and still adjusting to the winter weather, we decided that it would be quite an experience to try out the 'hammam'. We had tried it 8 years ago in Bursa when we toured central Anatolia, Cappadocia, Ankara and Bursa.

The hammam package offered a bath, scrub follwed by 30 minutes of a whole body oil massage. Men and ladies go to different seperate chambers. Upon payment, one is led upstairs where you are give your own cubicle to strip and change into a towel. All your goods and clothes can be left in the locked cubicle with the key to it strapped to your wrist.

You would next go to the main bath - a huge circular chamber with a dome that allowed the exterior light to come through many small glass covered holes. The centre of the chamber is made up of a raised circular marble elevation - heated with either steam or underground hot water. As such it took a while to get used to lying on it and adjusting to the heated marble. The huge marble table could easily fit 50 bathers a time. Around the wall of the chamber were hot and cold water faucets from which the hot or cold water would be collected in a wooden pail and poured over you. The atmosphere in the chamber is very much like in a huge sauna - one quickly starts to sweat in the hot and humid air even before lying down on the hot marble slab/table.

Each person is assigned one 'bather-masseur'. Most of the 'hammam attendants' were middle-aged men and the one in charge of pakdokter looks like a middle-aged Egyptian actor, Omar Shariff. Pakdokter's partner in the women's wing had a middle-aged wholesome lady in attendance.

We were given 'stretching' and a general massage first before the attendant picked up the pail of hot water and poured over the whole body. Then he would soap and pour lather over the body and scrub the skin with his hand covered in a cotton glove. The whole process took about 30 minutes. Having completed this part, we were asked to dry up and go to another room where the oil massage was given. The massage lasted for 30 minutes. Some of the massage techniques were not too different from the Balinese or Javanese massage. There were some different strokes which differentiated the massage from the oriental ones.

The whole experience cost 117 Turkish lira ( RM230) - quite expensive in comparison to what it cost in KL or Jakarta. But it was worth it for the experience.

Photographs were not allowed at the 'hammam' - so pakdokter snapped some pictures from its brochure to help illustrate this post.

Jewellery Shopping

2012-01-22T11:18:00.001-08:00

After finishing the tour of the underground cistern, we walked back to the main shopping street of SultanAhmet where pakdokter's partner wanted to revisit the jewellery shop that she went to the last time we were here 6 years ago. The same Armenian young man was still running the, probably, family business. He said that all his jewellery are designed by him and that his prices are reasonable.

While pakdokter's partner was making her choices - a group of Russian girls and ladies came in and they all scooped up lots of items from the shop. One of these ladies had even been buying stuff from the shop on-line. We later learnt that these ladies do on-line jewellery business in Russia. No wonder they were simply scooping things up by the dozens. They said they have found that similar items cost 3 to 4 times more in Dubai - to which, Osman, the jewellery shop owner said that actually all those stuff in Dubai came from his shop. He also supplies to a shop in Florida and he hopes that one day he will open his own shop there.

The next day we also went to another jewellery shop at the Egyptian market, run by a lovely young girl. There we met a young Turkish lady who is an architect who said that she had read and seen pictures of so many beautiful buildings in KL and Putrajaya and as an architect, it is her dream to visit Malaysia soon. We find that the Turkish is generally very warm and friendly.

the jewellery shop owner @ the Egyptian/Spice bazaar

she even gave a 'hadiye' after the purchase...

this young Armenian jeweller designs all the stuff in his shop

loads of Russian ladies and girls came to 'borong' the stuff away

he supplies to Dubai and Florida....

he, too, gave a 'hadiye' after the final purchase made....

The Underground Cistern Basilica

2012-01-22T11:17:00.002-08:00

the above basque is of a lady who contributed much

to women's development in Turkey

it is found in the small park near the Underground Cistern

From the Mado Cafe, we walked to the Underground Cistern Basilica situated just to the side of the Haga Sofia. This site is also not on the usual tourist itinerary and we decided to visit it as we had not gone there during our previous visits to Istanbul.

Constantinople had many underground cisterns supplying water to the city and this one is well preserved.

2 of the pillars at the back of the cistern had these 2 medusa heads

no one knew how they got there and

why there were in that positions

the story of the Medusa

Dervish Meditational Music was played when we were there

the tourist brochure reports that at other times they

played Bach and other classical music in the cister.

Light Lunch at Mado

2012-01-22T11:17:00.001-08:00

the Blue Mosque seen from the Turkish Museum of Art
a fancy Renault Coupe for the local police

local kids feeding pigeons @ the Hippodrome

Sunday turned out to be a very sunny day although the temperature was colder than the day before which was dull and rainy. A lot of people came out to SultanAhmet - both tourists and locals.

We walked the area of thd Hippodrome after finishing the tour of the Turkish Museum of Art and Civilisation before going back to the Mado Cafe for a light lunch. After all we have had a rather heavy breakfast at the hotel this morning.

the Mozaik Restaurant in a side street off SultanAhmet

we shared these sandwiches @ Mado

Day 2 : The Turkish Museum of Art and Civilisation

2012-01-22T11:16:00.004-08:00

The Turkish Museum of Art and Civilisation is at a former palace whcih belonged to Ibrahim Pasya. It was reported that this palace was bigger in size than the Topkapi Palace. The museum is located at one side of the Hippodrome - opposite the Blue Mosque. The museum is also not on the usual tourist itinerary and entrance into this museum cost only 10 lira.

To pakdokter - a good museum is one that classifies its exhibits in a certain simple organisational order with good descriptions to what is being exhibited. To this pakdokter would give this museum a distinction. The earlier artifacts exhibit early Islamic materials dug from Anatolia, upper WEuphrates and Tigris in current day Iraq, Iran and the Caucasian stated. Items t the Seljuks, Mamelukes, Ottomans were in sequential halls. Old Korans, carpets etc were well organised and documented. And their descriptions were in Turkish and English.

Seljuk soldiers?

tombstones

old carpets - some retrieved from tombs

door to an old mosque

a series of lamps

topmost Seljuk, middle Mamelukes and bottom Ottoman

a series of Korans and illustrations

the bottom-most from the Saffavids ( Iran)

the carpets had collections from Anatolia, Caucasus and Persia

some jewellery sets

the above series from the Museum of Ethnography

Day 2 :The Pierre Loti Park

2012-01-22T11:16:00.003-08:00

The stop at the Chora Museum was for a quick 15 minutes. Those who did not go into the museum just walked the nearby street or waited in the bus. Next destination was to the Pierre Loti Park. Pierre Loti was a famous and highly respected French writer who had written a lot about Turkey. Apart from this park which has been named after him because he had lived in this neighbourhood, there is also another lane in SultanAhmet named after him.

The attraction of this park is the fact that it is located at a vantage point where one gets a bird's eye view over the Golden Horn. The bus drove up the steep slope to the park and from there, after the brief stop, we took the cable car down the hill to rejoin the tour bus which had gone down to wait for us.

new Istanbul from the Pierre Loti Park
the Golden Horn looking towards the Galata area

the hill-slopes around the park is now one of

the biggest burial grounds in Istanbul

panoramic shots from Pierre Loti Park

the Golden Horn Bridge beyond which are the

Ataturk Bridge and the Galata Bridge

turkish coffee to perk us up in the cold weather....

the Eyup Sultan Mosque

Eyup Sultan had launched a massive seige of Constantinople

taking the instructions from Prophet Mohammed that

the biggest capital of Orthodox Christian must be conquered

he failed and died in battle and was buried here

his mausoleum is visitied by the faithfuls especially in Ramadan

which sounds like a 'keramat' to pakdokter...

one of the many cemeteries at the park

taking the cable-car down the hill park

the Pierre Loti Park from the road below

with the thousands of cemeteries along the hill-slope

Day 2: The Chora Museum

2012-01-22T11:16:00.001-08:00

After about 30 minutes on the road along the old city wall of Constantinople - the bus tour turned in at the Edirne Gate and made a stop at the Chora Museum. A visit into this museum was an optionwith an entry ticket of 15 lira each.

The Chora Museum was a smal church built during the Byzantine period. But it had gone through the same history as the Haga Sofia - being converted into a mosque during the Ottoman period and now has been converted into a museum. The beauty and richness of this museum is the fact that some of the very old mosaic pictorial representations of the life of Jesus and Mary and the story of Christianity ahve been well preserved. Of course, during the 100 years or so of the Iconoclastic Period - the period when the Christians took the stand that no pictorial representations of Jesus should be allowed - these mosaic pictures were covered over with a layer of plaster and replaced with Christian symbols of the cross. And during the Ottoman years - the same was done and the plaster layer was decorated with calligraphy and geometrical and floral designs charasteristic of Islamic art.

Restoration work had been carefully done to expose the earliest of these mosaic pictures.

Day 2: A Bus Tour of the Golden Horn

2012-01-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

the Main Gate into the Old City of Constantinople

there are several other old gates into the city eg the Edirne Gate etc

The Boat Cruise - Bus Tour which we bought yesterday, as agreed, was deferred to this morning and as promised the tour van was waiting for us outside the hotel 10 minutes before time. We were transferred to a another location where guests from other hotels had also been picked up to be transferred to a bigger bus for the Golden Horn Bus Tour. This tour would be a good introductory tour for any first-timer to the city of Istanbul. It took us on a ride along the city walls of the Old Constantinople. Pakdokter had never done this tour despite having been to this city for 4 or 5 times before. The guide gave a good description of the city's history. Imagine if the whole outer-ring-road of Kuala Lumpur is made up of a double-layer stone-walls rising up several metres high and seperated in between by a moat of water to add another level of difficulty to any would-be attacker of the city. That's how big the old city of Constantinople was! No wonder it was quite a battle for the Seljuks to conquer the city.

The bus tour took about 2 hours. It made 2 stops - one at the Chora Museum and the other at the Pierre Loti Park. From there the bus crossed the Ataturk Bridge to traverse the new city and the coastal road along the European side of Istanbul. The tourists who joined the tour today continued on their second part which was the boat cruise which we did yesterday. We were dropped off at SultanAhmet Square.

SultanAhmet by Night

2012-01-21T21:21:00.002-08:00

Maybe pakdokter was right - the folks here do come out for dinner late. As we finished our dinner, the restaurant started filling up. Anyway, it was good to have been able to beat the crowd for it.

We decided to walk back to the SultanAhmet Square to take some night pictures of the Blue Mosque and the Haga Sofia. But it was a much colder night and we did not stay out for too long. And we both needed a much-deserved sleep after being up for the last 18 hours.

The pictures below were taken on the second night - the second day turned out to be a bright and sunny day - but strangely a much colder day! The night shots taken on the first night was affected by the light rain that fell that day way into the night.

Dinner @ a SultanAhmet Fish Restaurant

2012-01-21T21:21:00.001-08:00

We had been on the go since 6am when we touched down at the Ataturk Airport this morning. Finally @ 5 pm, we checked-in at our hotel and washed up, changed and took a short nap. By 7.30 pm we walked out to a nearby restaurant which specialised in sea-food.

Winter, being low-season and what more with economic difficulties in Europe and America - tourist numbers appear small and the restaurant was relatively empty. All restaurants we passed by looked empty unless folks here like in Spain have the habit of taking their dinner very very late.

For starters, the waiter came around with a tray of about 20 choices of hot and cold starters in small portions for you to choose from. We selected a portion of olives wrapped with anchovies in olive oil and another portion of a tomato and pepper dip with a touche of garlic and onions which went well with their light-weight slices of bread. We did not want to 'overkill' our dinner with too much starters.

For the mains, the waiter again came around with a plate of a selection of different types of fresh fish and large prawns. We chose a whole white sea-bream which weight almost 1.5 kg and after agreeing to the price which was calculated after the weight was being determined - we agreed to have it grilled and served with a selection of green and roasted potatoes.

The sea-bream was grilled perfect - the skin was crispy but yet the flesh was tender and juicy. It was sweet and tasted like our own " ikan terubok" minus the dangerously fine bones that made eating the 'terubok' such a dangerous expedition!

However eating out at touristy restaurant like this in the SultanAhmet district turned out to be quite expensive actually. Our bill came to 175 Turkish lira ( that's about RM300 - what would cost for a night out at the Prime Steakhouse @ KL's Le Meridien).

While having dinner we were entertained by a 'trio' of a local group - elderly and middle-aged guys playing violin, clarinet and drum - dishing out local tunes that sounded 'very melancholic' to pakdokter - as if they were crying out and regretting the fate that has befallen of the Ottoman Empire......

As expected - the violinist, on seeing that we were done with our fish - came to our table and serenaded us to his version of the " Besame Mucho" - for his "bakshish", of course......

The Bhosphorus Cruise (1)

2012-01-21T07:18:00.001-08:00

While having our breakfast, the friendly and chatty head-waiter - having discovered where we came from and that we had just arrived and had not even checked-in to our nearby hotel room - recommended that we take a tour of the Bhospohorus by boat to be followed by a tour of the Golden Horn by bus after the boat-trip. The joint-tour would normally cost 35 Euros each but being part of the Mado chain, if we bought from him we would get a discount of 5 Euros. If we bought the same tour from the hotel concierge - we would have to pay an additional commision to the hotel. Naturally we were sold! - truly Turkish entrepreneurial polish and salesmanship at its best...

For 30 Euros a person (RM120) we would do a two and a half hour cruise round the Bhosphorus and then a 2 hour drive around the Golden Horn. Honestly pakdokter believed it was a good deal and we were not disappointed. The company limousine picked us up near the cafe and took us to the harbour/jetty which was like a 15 minutes drive away. The average-sized boat had about 15 passengers only and except for the cold weather and the occasional light drizzle, it was a pleasant and informative cruise with a good guide describing the various buildings as we cruised by them.

the little jetty where the cruise started from

a local ferry leaving for villages up the Bhosphorus

pakdokter's partner climbing up to the upper open-air deck

the Golden Horn in the background

boats and ferries along the coast

crossing, first, the Ataturk Bridge

after which we crossed under the Galata Bridge

with the Eminonu Mosque behind it next to the

Egyptian or Spice Market

the Bhosphorus meets up with the Marmara Sea and the

Mediterranean beyond it and then curved northwards

towards the Black Sea....

the Topkapi Palace on the Golden Horn

the Haga Sofia and the 6-minarets Blue Mosque

as seen from the boat

these former warehouses? have become a Museum of Modern Art?

this old buildings are now part of a university

a part of the Asian side of Istanbul...

The Bhosphorus Cruise (2)

2012-01-21T07:17:00.002-08:00

The Dolmabahce Palace

it became Kemal Ataturk's residence where

he finally died from liver cirrhossis from

drinking too much 'raki' ( Turkish anise rum/whisky)

The Bhosphorus Bridge

Ortakoy - a shopping and entertainment district at the bottom of the bridge

The Bhosphorus Cruise (3)

2012-01-21T07:17:00.001-08:00

Bebek - the most expensive residential area of Istanbul
a floating restaurant in the middle of the Bhosphorus

yatchs belonging to the rich and famous of Bebek

a part of the old Constantinople wall

around it the grounds have been turned into burial ground

each burial plot can cost up to 3000 Euros

the F S Mehmet Bridge at one of the naarower spots along the straits

the shortest bridge was built by King Darius of Persia

when he took over Istanbul and marched into Europe

at its narrowest the straits is only 700 metres long

but also at its deepest which is about 120 metres deep

these villas are on the Asian coastline...

more villas on the Asian side

a military academy and hospital?...

The Bhosphorus Cruise (4)- Maiden's Island

2012-01-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

As we cruised back down the Bhosphorus along the Asian side, we finally made a stop at the Maiden Island - a small light-tower island which has now been converted into a restaurant and a viewing tower. Most of us also need to make a quick rush to the toilet!

We finished our cruise at the Eminonu jetty and was supposed to continue on the bus tour next, but as only 4 of us from the group ( us and a couple of a newly-married Saudi doctors) had signed up for the bus tour and the weather was rather rainy, windy and cloudy - we were offered to do the tour the next morning - which we gladly agreed to. Both pakdokter and partner wanted to check-in to our hotel room and take a rest. So we did just that.

the Maiden Island
jumping off the boat in the choppy waters was a challenge

the Golden Horn from the island

our boat seen from the top of the light tower

the tower also functions as a posh restaurant

another boat anchored at the island

the Galata Tower seen from the boat

the Topkapi and the Haga Sofia...

it was more choppy than this...

the Maiden Island Light Tower

Intermission @ the Mado Cafe

2012-01-21T07:13:00.001-08:00

Pakdokter spent about 2 hours at the Blue Mosque - soaking in its beauty and reading up the free information brochure as well as some notices put up around the mosque to help describe its history. As it was quite early in the morning - between 9am to 11 am - and this being the winter low-season - it was not too crowded yet. Admission into the mosque was free - a donation of an amount was welcomed at the exit.

Walking to the nearby street, pakdokter and partner decided to take a break and checked out the Mado Cafe - a chain of Turkish Fast Food Cafe - with 300 outlets in Turkey alone. They have also gone international, with branches in Europe, Japan, Australia and upon being asked by us, voila! the computer showed that they have a branch in Bukit Bintang of Kuala Lumpur!

We ordered cappucino for ourselves and tried out the breakfast choices on offer. We ordered a portion of the borek - a pastry with fillings of soft and delicious goat cheese. The portion of the borek came in 3 half-palm-sized pieces. We also ordered a bun with cheese and black olive fillings with sesame seeds on the top. They were delicious! Our bill came to 20 Turkish lira ( about RM40) - probably what it would have cost for a similar breakfast for two at Starbucks in KL.

this cute little waitress was carrying

a tray of a typical Turkish village breakfast

a basketfull of slices of bread with 3 slices of cold meat

olives and dips and an array of cheeses

and slices of cucumber and tomatoes

and in this case glasses of apple tea....

The Blue Mosque - The SultanAhmet Mosque

2012-01-21T06:44:00.001-08:00

Pakdokter took liberty to photograph the above 3 notices as they helped summarise the basic information about the Blue Mosque also known as the SultanAhmed Mosque. He became Sultan at the age of 14 and died some 14 years later. He was the 14th Otttoman Sultan.

The complex consists of the mosque, a medrese, a primary school, a bath, a mausoleum, a hospital, fountains and a marketplace. The mosque itself is an almost rectangular structure with an adjoining courtyard to its right with a central fountain where ablution could be carried out. There are 6 minaret towers but a 7th was constructed later in order to give the honour of having 6 minarets to be given to the only holy mosque in Mecca.

The inside of the mosque has the plan of a clover with 4 leaves. Galleries were built on the 4 sides.

above series of pictures taken as

one approached the mosque from the Hippodrome..

the sets above are of pictures of the dome of the mosque

the prayer hall

the courtyard in front of the mosque facing the Haga Sofia

The Hippodrome or the SultanAhmet Square

2012-01-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

Istanbul was founded by King Byzas 700 years BC after an inspiration by the Oracle of Delphi who told him to look for the 'land of the blind' - referring to the folks who live on the Asian side of Istanbul who did not see the strategic location of the Golden Horn of the Bhosphorus. The name 'Byzantine' originated from this Megarian King. In 500 BC King Darius of Persian took control only to loose it back to the Greeks a short while later. Then the Vikings ( Celts) came in and their presence today can be seen in the blonde blue-eyed beauties of some of the Turkish girls we see on the streets. About 150 years BC the Romans from Rhodes, Pergamun aand Bithnia took over and made it part of the Roman Empire. For 11 decades the city prospered as Constantinople named after King Constantine. During this time the Roman Hippodrome ( stadium where chariot races were held and slave fought to death for pleasure of the audience like us watching football at the MU Stadium in UK. The Haga Sofia chrch was built during this period. The Arabs did threaten to run over the city but was repelled by the Crusaders organised by the Papacy in Vatican. Onlt the Seljuk Turks (originally based in north-eastern Anatolia - near the current borders with Iraq) finally managed to sack the Christians and started the rule of the Ottoman Muslims.

The Hippodrome - now known as the SultanAhmed Square - was at its height the main centre of this Byzantine city. However most of it has been destroyed during civil wars and after being sacked by the various waves of invaders. What remains are the 2 Obelisks at the top end of the square. The Egyptian Obelisk was brought over from Upper Egypt. The other is the Serpentine Columnof 3 intertwined bronze snakes. The serpents used to be located at the Temple of Apollo @ Delphi in Greece commemorating the Greek victory over the invasion of the Persians. Some of the decorations of these obelisks have been taken to decorate the walls of the St Paul Church? in Venice.

The other monument left @ the Hippodrome is a more modern structure - the Fountain of Kaiser Wilhelm 11 or the German Fountain or the Alman Cesmesi built in 1898 to commemorate the German's King visit to Istanbul.

the pictures above are of the German Fountain

sited at the bottom left corner of the Hippodrome

the Blue Mosque seen from the middle of the Hippodrome

the Greek Obelisk and the Serpentine Obelisk behind

at the top end of the Hippodrome..

a palace at the right side of the Hippodrome is today

the Museum of Turkish Art and Civilisation

ReVisitng Istanbul 2012

2012-01-21T06:06:00.000-08:00

Pakdokter had travelled to Turkey 4 or 5 times before, the last one being about 5 years ago. But in every one of those trips, the time spent in Istanbul was too short to explore the nooks and corners of the city. Having spent the past 2 weeks reading several books and novels related to Turkey - pakdokter and partner decided to spend the whole of the Chinese New Year week in Istanbul. Booking the MAS ticket early gave us the best deal and via several websites, pakdokter selected the Armagrandi Spina Hotel located right smack in the centre of SultanAhmet, the old city, where the Blue Mosque and the Haga Sofia are located. The rates were reasonable. Even the limousine pick-up from the airport to the hotel was confirmed on-line and for slightly more than the public taxi ( 19 Euros or RM 80), we were received at the arrival hall and driven in deluxe Mercedes limousine. No hassle!

We arrived at the airport at 6 am - still dark and was freezing cold at 6 degreees centigrade. It took about 30 minutes to retrieve our luggage ( not bad - and if pakdokter is not mistaken, the Ataturk Airport was developed by MAB - Malaysian Airport Berhad - and managed by them). It took about 30 minutes to reach our hotel and at 8am naturally our room was not yet ready. We were advised to go to the rooftop terrace for a view of the surrounding and what a view it was. To the left stood the Blue Mosque, to the right the Haga Sofia and to our back the Marmara Sea.

the Haga Sofia

the Blue Mosque

Day 4: Dinner @ Savoey Seafood restaurant @ Patong,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:20:00.001-08:00

On the final night at Phuket, we had to go back to Patong to pick up Raena's tailored cheong-sam after which we decided to go for another round of a seafood dinner. We took a taxi to the highly recommended Seavoy Seafood Restaurant but as there was a long queue waiting for tables, we went to a 'massage centre' across the street where pakdokter had one hour of 'foot reflexology' treatment while the ladies took a 'facial' package. We then adjourned for a somewhat late dinner.

live or frozen lobsters for the pick

live lobsters cost RM35 per 100 gms and

frozen ones cost RM20-25 per 100 gms

we ordered a 1-kg lobster steamed in garlic, ginger and butter,
and a Thai-style deep-fried garoupa as well as a plate of
fried glass noodles with large grilled Tiger prawns....
even at around 11 pm the restaurant was still full-house!

satisfied......on the tuk-tuk back to the Secret Hill....

we had a late afternoon return flight the next day

after a noon checkout we spent an hour at the hotel's Non-Tree Spa

where Raena had a Swedish massage, Fareeda had aromatherapy

and pakdokter took a traditional Thai massage. After a late luch

at the hotel restaurant, we left for KL on a late afternoon flight.

Day 4: Golfing @ The Mission Hills Golf Course,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:19:00.009-08:00

Pakdokter had played at the Mission Hills Golf Course in Phuket only once some years ago - just after Phuket was hit by the tsunami and the golf course had several of its holes destroyed by the tsunami. It was also the newest course in Phuket then. So pakdokter decided to check out this course again this time.

This course has a sea-side setting - located on the north-eastern tip of the island facing the Phanga Bay. It took almost 45 minutes to reach by car from the Secret Cliff Resort in Karon which is sited on the south-western end of the island. The driver took the round-island road that passed the Kamala Bay and Thalang Bay before cutting across to the other end. It gave pakdokter the chance to view the many tourist developments at these parts of the island.

Golf at Mission Hills is slightly cheaper than at the Red Mountain. Pakdokter paid 4800 bahts (RM480) for the green fee, caddy and transfer and had , as usual, to hire a buggy for another 600 bahts. Perhaps because of its far-off location - there were not many golfers playing here and pakdokter had the luxury of playing the round alone.

This is a typical resort-course - in some ways quite friendly without intimidating forests and valleys as at the Red Mountain. The course is fairly short but on many holes one had to play across water which was made difficult by strong inward-blowing winds which caused pakdokter to send some balls into the water. Pakdokter finished the game within a quick 2-hours and since pakdokter had asked the driver to come back for the pick-up after 5-hours, pakdokter had a lot of time to kill. Pakdokter had initially toyed with the idea of going back to play another round but pakdokter's caddy had recommended the Spa which she said had many 'pretty' masseurs. Pakdokter took her advise and did not regret it. It was a lovely and clean spa with fairly-priced therapies. Pakdokter took a 90-minute " Golfer Lover's Massage" package which cost 1700 bahts (RM170) which essentially was an aromatherapy massage with oil similar to sport massage pakdokter indulges in KL for about RM90 for a 90-minute session at pakdokter's regular place, the Thai Oddysey outfit in Bangsar. ( Similar treatment at 5-star resorts in Langkawi like the Datai and Westin could easily cost RM300 )

the golf course is generally flat, wideand short

but with strong winds from the sea....

the Maya Dhevi Spa is clean and luxurious.

the Phad Thai @ the Mission Hills below.

Day 3: Dinner @ the Royal Palm Restaurant, Patong,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:19:00.007-08:00

Raena had made-to-order a 'cheong-sam' at one of the tailors in Patong yesterday and had to go back for a 'fitting'. So we all went back to Patong on a tuk-tuk that night after which we stopped at the Royal Palm Restaurant for a seafood dinner.

the Hard Rock Cafe had a 'rock-band' performing on an open-air stage along the street

there was also a mobile bar with the whole range of drinks on offer....

the lobster thermidor which Raena had @ the Royal Palm...

Day 3: A Day @ the Karon Beach, Phuket

2012-01-09T17:19:00.005-08:00

Karon Beach is located south to our resort. A tuk-tuk drive down the hill to this little town with a long stretch of clean white beach cost 200 bahts (RM20) for the whole car. Karon town is much smaller than Patong and looks cleaner and neater. The sea-front street is lined by many shops ( mostly cafes and restaurants) apart from the many hotels of different classes. Karon looks like a more desirable place to stay at if pakdokter ever comes to Phuket again in future instead of the crowded and noisy Patong.

after lunch at one of the street cafes, we headed to the beach

where most of the sun-decks have already been occupied

by the sun-seekers most of whom were Russians and Scandinavians...

we managed to rent 3 sundecks which cost 100 bahts each for the day

Raena and Fareeda treated themselves to Thai Massage at a nearby booth

before going for a swim later in the afternoon when the sun was not so strong,

pakdokter spent the whole afternoon finishing one of the books that pakdokter was reading...

Day 2: A Night @ the Bangla Thai Boxing Stadium,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:19:00.003-08:00

Raena used to do 'kick-boxing' during her school and college days and was keen to watch the Thai Muay-Thai (kick-boxing). They had bought tickets to view this that afternoon and had informed pakdokter about it via sms.

The Thai Kick-Boxing is one of the tourist attractions on this island. A truck with loud-speakers would continously drive around the streets of Patong announcing the event with some of the boxers putting up demo-boxing on the converted open-air trucks. The ticket to watch the show came to 2000 bahts per person.

The Bangla Thai Boxing Stadium was packed with tourists - mostly Russian and the Scandinavian types. There were quite a huge female audience and the 3 to 4 hour event had about 10 fights - each fight lasting between 3 to 5 ot 6 rounds depending if the boxers could last to the end without suffering a 'knock-out'. Pakdokter found it quite 'brutal' and did not really enjoy the show. In one of the fights - a young Thai boxer received a severe kick to his abdomen and was knocked out. He was flat on the floor for at least 5-minutes and being a doctor , pakdokter was imagining a torn liver and an internal bleeding which would risk his life. Luckily after a 'massage' treatment from his assistants, he finally stood up and looked alright. In another fight between an Iranian teenage against a local Thai boy - the Iranian kid kicked the Thai boy on his left knee that he was 'knocked-out' because he could not stand up anymore and would have been beaten and kicked ( to death?!) if the judge had not stopped the fight and declared the winner. There was also a match between a ?Russian/Swedish girl against a local Thai girl which went for the full 5 or 6 rounds - although the huge Caucasian looked like to have had all the advantage, the small-sized but tough Thai girl finally was declared the winner when she was able to inflict more kicks and punches against her oppponent.

the full house Bangla Thai Boxing Stadium

these boys must be 12 years old!

Day 2: An Evening Walk along Patong and Dinner@JungCeylon Mall,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:19:00.001-08:00

Having rested and spent the afternoon catching up on reading - pakdokter took a tuk-tuk from the resort to join Raena and pakdokter's partner who had gone down to Patong since the fternoon. Stopping a tuk-tuk on the roadside - the driver charged pakdokter only 100 bahts (RM10) instead of the usual 300 bahts if pakdokter had asked the concierge to call for one.

Pakdokter was dropped at the southern end of the Patong beach and took a walk along the esplanade catching the sunset from the usually crowded beach which was beginning to be cleared up.

sunset @ Patong

sundecks being stacked up for the night

many sail-boats anchored off Patong...

pakdokter walked up the Patong beach and traversed

the Bangla Walking Street towards the JungCeylon Mall

where Raena and Fareeda were shopping

and we had dinner @ the Joe Louis Thai Restaurant....

Day 2: Golf @ the Red Mountain Golf Course,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:18:00.005-08:00

6th January 2012

Pakdokter had pre-booked a golf game at the Red Mountain Golf Course prior to coming to Phuket. Although pakdokter's golf club, the RSGC, has a reciprocal arrangement with this club and its sister course, the Loch Palm Golf Course, which would entitle pakdokter to only pay half the normal green fees - due to a rather late planning, pakdokter did not manage to make use of this facility. Golfing in Phuket is an expensive outing. The green fee in the Red Mountain Course came to about RM560 inclusive of the caddie fee. On top of this one is required to hire a buggy which cannot be shared with another golfer for another RM70. With tips to the caddy which was fixed at a minimum of RM40 - a game of golf here easily cost around RM600 to RM700. Despite of this the golf course was still quite crowded with groups of golfers from Japan, Korea and the Scandinavian countries.

As pakdokter was alone and the course was quite busy - pakdokter was requested to play with a father-and-son golfers from Finland. They were on holidays from the severe winter at home. They told pakdokter that the rest of their family members ( 2 daughters and their mother) were at the hotel recuperating from food-poisoning.

The Red Mountain Golf Course is reputed to be the current most popular course in Phuket. That probably explains the high fees. It is built on high ground and at its highest spot, one gets a commanding view of the island ( our caddies could not tell us how high it was at the highest altitude of the course). Most holes were narrow and tight with either forest or lakes to their flanks. For a mountainous course, the number of lakes was quite surprising. On top of that there was always strong winds on this high altitude. Pakdokter's flight mates lost so many golf balls as they were strong hitters but tended to be wild and sent many balls into the jungle.

hole 18 coming back to the clubhouse...

hole 1. A group of Japanese golfers kept us waiting....

many lakes although on a 'mountain'...

from the highest point....

the signature hole 17 par 3.....

the clubhouse from hole 18....

Day 1: Dinner @ the Secret Cliff Restaurant, Karon,Phuket

2012-01-09T17:18:00.003-08:00

We spent the whole of the first day exploring the resort. The Secret Hill Restaurant was on the recommended list of the tourist brochures. In addition the resort also has an Italian Pizzeria. There is also the 'Non-Tree' Spa - offering a wide range of therapies at quite reasonable fees.

the Coco Pizza Restaurant

the Non-Tree Spa

the Secret Cliff Restaurant

Raena and pakdokter's partner treated themselves to an hour of massage at the Non-Tree Spa after which pakdokter joined yhem for dinner at the Secret Hill Restaurant. We tried out their selection of Thai dishes.

this fried glass noodle dish came with large grilled prawns

pakdokter's partner's dish of Pad Thai also came with grilled prawns

this helping of a pineapple fried rice had generous portions

of cuttlefish and prawns.....

and the deep-fried garoupa was crispy on the outside

yet tender in the flesh....

Day 1: The Secret Cliff Resort, Karon, Phuket

2012-01-09T17:18:00.001-08:00

5th January 2012

Raena came home for a 2-week vacation from work in Edinburgh. We spent the New Year's weekend in Melaka. She also wished for a sunny sea-side holiday to make up for the cold, rainy and snowy winter of Scotland. Pakdokter found this lovely resort in Phuket from on-line searches and booked a family suite for a 5-night weekend in Phuket.

The Secret Cliff Resort is sited along the road connecting Patong to Karon. Perched on a steep slope, the resort a somewhat of a less luxurious Datai of Langkawi and of course came with a more affordable price. Although we arrived quite early that morning ( around 10 am) - our suite was already available for us to move in. From the balcony we had a panorama of the Andaman Sea with the Karon Beach to the left. Being made up of villas built on rather steep slopes - this resort would pose a problem for the elderlies and the physically unfit as the walk to from the the reception area was quite an effort.

the Andaman Sea from our balcony

the comfortable family suite..

villas perched on steep slopes...

the infinity pool overlooking the Andaman Sea

the pool is a bit too small, though....

the steep tracks from the reception to the sea was good for stamina training..

Karon Beach....

New Year's Eve Dinner@Majestic Hotel, Melaka

2012-01-01T04:05:00.000-08:00

Pakdokter's daughter, Raena, came home for a 2-week vacation, from Edinburgh, and we had planned to celebrate the New Year in the historical city of Melaka. During our earlier trip there with Rastam ( who came home for holidays from Tokyo) - we had checked out YTL's Hotel Majestic and decided to book some rooms there. Our regular travelling friends, Ravi and Siti and Dillip and Jess ( from Perth) joined us for the weekend. Raena's friend from Edinburgh - Mia and her family - joined us for the New Year Party as well.

the luxurious YTL Majestic Hotel @ Melaka.

view of Melaka River and Kg Morten from the hotel room

dinner@Majestic Hotel on the 30th

Melaka River @night

bridge across Melaka River connecting the hotel to Kg Morten

the Malay House Museum@ Kg Morten

Melaka River and Kg Morten in the morning

@Nyonya Restaurant on Hereen Street

Jonker Street all decorated to usher in the New Year

bogeying into the New Year....

A Short Retreat to Jogjakarta

2012-01-01T04:01:00.001-08:00

A friend of pakdokter finally completed his 'villa' which he had been working on for the past 2 or 3 years on the slopes of Mt Kidul in Jogjakarta. This project was designed by a team of a Malaysian and an Indonesian architect and the folks of the nearby village gained because as many as 170 of them were given employment during the construction of the project. Currently a team of 8 staff - all folks from the village - are employed and given living quarters at the resort.

The resort is not run as a hotel - it is a private holiday home - its owner spends half his time in Malaysia and the other half in this lovely retreat. Pakdokter was fortunate to have been invited to spend a few days at this 'villa' and to be able to explore areas in Jogja which pakdokter had not discovered in the past. We were taken to a beautiful 'glass factory' where beautiful glass crafts were made and exported to Italy. We also discovered a beautiful batik workshop not normally taken in the regular tourist itinerary.

The villa is made up of a main living quarters with a dining hall and a reading/TV room at one end of the central swimming pool and two seperate guest villas on two other sides of the pool. Another building housed the open kitchen and dining area. The picture above is taken from the open kitchen/dining area with a guest villa across the pool.

the cabana at one end of the pool was built according to Lombok design

the second guest villa a the far end behind te cabana..

view from the master villa with the open kitchen @ the far right

one of the many water features decorating the garden

these tiles on the floor of the Joglo were retrieved from the Keraton

after a part of the Keraton was damaged in a fire.

the "Joglo" is the arrival hall ( Balai Menunggu) where guests wait and are received

as in the 'tradition' of the Jogja Kraton ( Royal Palace)

the staff living quarters seen from the Joglo

as one drives into the porch of the sprawling villa grounds,

one is received at the 'Joglo'....

Dinner@Ravi's

2012-01-01T03:56:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, 27th December 2011

Dillip Sharma and Jaz, pakdokter's friends from Perth were in town, on their way home to Perth after visiting Dillip's mother in New Delhi. Dillip and Jaz had travelled with pakdokter on the Palace on Wheels holidays some 2 years ago. This was a reunion of some sort and fellow travellers, Ravi and Siti, Phaik Choo and John and Dollah and Sandra were invited for dinner at Ravi's residence in Subang Jaya.

Staroba Masters 2011 : The Inter-House Champion

2011-12-18T15:59:00.001-08:00

Staroba Masters 2011 : Overall Winners

2011-12-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

No. 5 : Mazlan Salleh handicap 20 nett 71

No.4 Ahmad Khalid handicap 14 nett 71

No 3. Azharuddin Akasah handicap 10 nett 71

No 2. Zulkifli Ibrahim handicap 15 nett 68

Staroba masters 2011 Champion

Mohd Fakhrunnasri Ismail

handicap 20 nett 61

The Staroba Masters 2011 : The Medal A Winners

2011-12-17T05:34:00.002-08:00

3rd placing: Mohd Roslan Chik handicap 12 nett 73

2nd placing : Sharifuddin Othman handicap 19 nett 72

1st placing : Afandi Yahya handicap 8 nett 72

The Staroba Masters 2011 : The Medal B Winners

2011-12-17T05:34:00.001-08:00

3rd placing : Jalil Khalid handicap 23 nett 73

2nd placing : Norahim MD handicap 20 nett 73

1st placing : Sufian Hamzah handicap 22 nett 71

The Staroba Masters 2011 : The Guest Category Winners

2011-12-17T05:33:00.000-08:00

3rd placing : Mohd Rafiza Rais handicap 12 nett 70

2nd placing : Sabtu Jalil handicap 16 nett 69

1st placing : Khairul Azmi handicap 18 nett 66

Staroba Masters 2011 : The Novelty Prize Winners

2011-12-17T05:32:00.002-08:00

nearest to pin hole 8 : Mohd Fakhrunasri..( 2.3 metres)

nearest to pin hole 12 :Sabtu Jalil ( 3 metres)

nearest to line hole 4 : Ahmad Khalid ( 0.55 metre)

nearest to line hole 11 : Hamid Shafie ( 9 cm)

Staroba Masters 2011: The Order of Merit Winners

2011-12-17T05:32:00.001-08:00

3rd place ; Azharuddin Akasah

2nd place : Mohd Khairunnasri

1st place : Salehudin Hisham

Staroba Masters 2011 : Pakdokter's Match against Shahidan and Hamid Shafie

2011-12-17T05:21:00.000-08:00

Pakdokter and fellow batch-mate, AK @ Ahmad Khalid, had been regular partners in the monthly medals of the Staroba events and had regularly played against Shahidan and Hamid Shafie who were one year junior to us in school. In 2011 - we had lost thrice to this pair and pakdokter had arranged this final showdown against them at the Staroba Masters 2011.

Shahidan came with two drivers in his bag - one for a 'draw' strike and the other for a 'slice'? hit. And his partner, Hamid Shafie, pakdokter learnt had gone to the driving range for the previous one-week - to ensure that their unbeaten run would not be blemished.

What they did not count was the fact that AK had regained his 'form' and was playing at his best. This was evident as our partnership at the RSGC has been beating younger pairs week after week in the recent month.

And AK did not disappoint. He chipped in to the hole several times to take the hole away from our opponents despite giving strokes to both Shahidan and Hamid. We took the 1st Nine and our opponent doubled up for the 2nd only to lose again to an 'in-form' AK. Pakdokter was a 'happy passenger'......

Shahidan with his 2 drivers in the bag....

year-long rivalry....

Shahidan,pakdokter, AK and Hamid Shafie..

Shahidan at the par-3 hole 3....

AK birdied with a chip from outside.....

Hamid's week-long practise at the driving range definitely showed

in his long drives....

Hamid paying his dues to pakdokter....

and Shahidan paying to AK......

but the 'victory' was sweet and invaluable.....

The Staroba Masters 2011 : The Staroba69 Contingent

2011-12-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

The Staroba Masters 2011 was held at the Sri Selangor Golf Course on Saturday 17th December. As in previous years, pakdokter rounded up the golfers amongst pakdokter's batch-mates to take part in this annual event. This year pakdokter managed to get 10 of them to come to the event - the notable new guys were Md Noor Ismail who just retired after years of working in Muscat, Oman and Jalil Khalid - who joined pakdokter's batch in Sixth Form and who has recently retired from the government service.

Hamid Shafie, Jalil Khalid, Harmain, Sufian Hamzah,

Baharom Othman, Ahmad Khalid and Md Nor Ismail

Md Nor Ismail, Syed Abdullah, Hamid Shafie, Harmain

Ahmad Khalid, Md Nor Ismail, Mohd Rom Ismail, Syed Abdullah

Mohd Nor Ismail, Mohd Rom, Syed Abdullah, pakdokter,

Hamid Shafie , Harmain...

The Cyberjaya Charity Golf at Kota Kemuning

2011-12-17T05:15:00.000-08:00

Pakdokter was invited to play in the Cyberjaya Charity Golf which was played at the Kota Kemuning Golf Course in Shah Alam. Pakdokter's regular golf buddies from RSGC - the 'Tengku Brothers' - Muzaffar and Azman - played in pakdokter's flight together with a fellow Staroban - Zulkifli Yahya. We decided to play a partnership game between the Staroban pair against the 'Tengkus' pair.

Zulkifli saved the day for pakdokter with his consistent game and we managed to beat the Tengkus by a whisker. However none of us made it to the winning list.

pakdokter, Tg Muzaffar, Zulkifli Yahya and Tg Azman....

ReUnion with Dolly

2011-12-14T16:39:00.001-08:00

Dolly, one of pakdokter's partner's cousin, is a batik expert who lives in Cambridge, United Kingdom. She conducts classes and workshops in batik printing in the English university town. She is a world recognised authority in 'batik' and has made regular appearences at the KL International Batik Festival - and she was again invited to this year's event which was held this month.

Pakdokter and partner took her out for dinner at the Top Hat Restaurant in Jalan Stonor - and we invited one of our old friend - Eddie Yap - who is a well-known Malaysian batik designer - who has had his works exhibited at the Petronas Gallery. Eddie is a regular judge in the batik competition at the KL Batik Festival.

Eddie Yap , pakdokter, Dolly and pakdokter's partner...

Perpignan Nov 2004 - A Day trip to Cote Vermielle and Collioure

2011-11-30T06:19:00.000-08:00

On another sunny day - pakdokter booked a coach-tour of the pretty southern coast of Languidoc Rousillon which stretched out to the south of Perpignan towards the border with Spain. This was a very scenic drive. First stop was to Banyuls-sur-Mer - famous for its vineyards producing very sweet Banyuls wines. A stop at a wine-tasting cellar was also included in the tour. The afternoon was filled up with the pretty drive along the cost, stopping a lovely villages and towns. The most beautiful stop was at the town of Collioure - a town with a lovely harbour, brilliant gaily painted fishing boats and colourful stuccoed houses and shophouses which inspired painters like Matisse, Picasso and others to make this place their objects of their paintings.

sunset over Perpignan

above: the houses in Collioure

the harbour at Collioure is flanked by the Chateau Royal,

by the Knights Templar in the 13th century..

Perpignan Nov 2004 - A Day Trip tomCote Vermeille and Collioure

2011-11-30T06:13:00.001-08:00

Perpignan Nov 2004 - Figueres :The Dali Museum 11

2011-11-30T06:07:00.001-08:00

Perpignan Nov 2004 - Figueres :The Dali Museum 1

2011-11-30T06:01:00.001-08:00

Figueres is a small Spanish town just across the French border a short train-ride away from Perpignan. We took the local train to this town to visit the famous Salvador Dali Museum.

Perpignan Non 2004 - Dinner at Picasso's Favourite Restaurant

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Perpignan Nov 2004 - Driving through the Pyrenees

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On one of the sunny days of the week - we arranged a taxi with a lady driver who took us on a drive to the Pyrenees mountains

Perpignan Nov 2004

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Scenes from the Old City of Perpignan

Perpignan Nov 2004

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Pakdokter had exchanged pakdokter's time-share apartment in Malaysia with one in this southern France city which is the capital of the French Catalan. During the Spanish Civil War - many Catalans sought refuge in this southern part of France thus creating a Catalan city within the French region.

The apartment where we stayed was by the sea near the marina. As it was winter and the season of the 'mistral' - the strong typhoon-like winds of the Mediterranean - we had a few rainy and windy days which forced us to spend our time at the resort only. It was not 'high-season' - so the resort was relatively empty.

The town of Perpignan was a bus ride away from the resort. The old town was very 'Spanish' in character. Many of the old buildings were 'gothic' in its style.

We found one lovely restaurant which used to be the regularly patronised by Picasso and some of his original sketches were on display at the restaurant wall.

Barcelona Nov 2004 - Meeting Up with Maria

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Maria Latjjos - a histopathologist pakdokter's partner became friends with when she did her 'sabbatical leave' at the Karolinska Institute in Stockhlom some years ago. Maria had come to Malaysia and visited us since then and pakdokter and partner had taken her on a holiday in Cherating as well as the jungles of Sarawak where we spent the night with the long-house folks in Batang Air area, close to the Indonesian border. One of the photographs Maria took was sent to a competition in Barcelona and won an award for it.

Pakdokter and family had visited Maria in her hometown in Barcelona during one of our earlier trips there. We had in fact put up at her lovely apartment at the foot of Mt Tibidado on the outskirts of Barcelona. Pakdokter and partner took the opportunity of this trip to catch up with Maria. She now lives with her adopted daughter, Carolina, whom she adopted from ?Venezuela or ?Nicaragua. We went to a restaurant near Maria's apartment for dinner.

Barcelona Nov 2004 - the Barcelona Marina and Harbour

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Barcelona has a lovely waterfront with a port and a marina. It is a regular stop from the many cruise ships in the Mediterranean. The marina has many restaurants offering Catalan cuisine and seafood.

Barcelona Nov 2004 - the Mercato de Sant Josep

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This market was located somewhere midway along the La Rambla. It has been operating since 1836 and is huge with every imaginable foodstuff being put up for sale. Fish, exotic fruits and vegetables become art here. There are also restaurants and bars located in this area.

street art on one of the market walls...

rabbits anyone?.....

varieties of seafood...

Barcelona Nov 2004 - La Ramblas

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La Ramblas is the long street running from Placa de Catalunya to Placa Portal de la Pau by the sea. Rambla means 'torrent' in Arabic - and that what flowed here until it was paved into a road. A cebtral walkway with plane trees was first made in 1770 and by late 1850 it became the city most fashionable boulevard. It is now lined with cafes and shops and kiosks in the central walkways.

pakdokter with Che...

a Brazillian band performing along the street..

Barcelona Nov 2004 - Gaudi's Mansions

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Casa Mila - Gaudi's last work of civil architecture. Completed in 1910, it is also known as the La Pedrera ( the Stone Quarry) due to its undulating mass of rough-chipped stone on its facade.