Comments (4)

By Brian Tan, February 21, 2010 8:00 pm

Inside Hong Kong MTR Train

Started off my new project weekend, to photograph the station names of every single MTR station in Hong Kong. I don’t know how long it will take to do them all, but 3 or 4 weekends may be just enough. The idea is simple, take a camera, one lens and stop at every single station and then move on to the next.

There has not been any over eager security guard asking me to stop photographing so far, and to keep things interesting, I’ve got 2 months of backlogged podcasts to keep me company while continuing the task. The only thing I learnt is that there is a limit to the time you can spend in the metro, once you pass the gates. Its about 2.5 hours. And I spent a little more than that, and the Customer Service office let me out without a penalty. Otherwise it would cost a little more than 20HKD. I believe it was 21HKD that they mentioned.

Chai Wan MTR Station

There’s no deadline to this project. It will be completed when its completed, and I will figure out then what to do with all the database of photos! Today I managed to shoot 512 NEF files!

Comments (1)

By Brian Tan, January 3, 2010 7:34 pm

I have not done a post on photo equipment for some time, and I think I should at least do a new series for a test I am doing for the new Nikon D3s. Before this I have been using mostly film and a portable D300 for most of my landscape trek. While I love the rendering of the D300 and the D2 series camera, there are always something lacking in them. On the D300, it was the ergonomics for me as I hate to go into the menu to adjust something on the field, especially with light diminishing quickly during dawn or dusk. With the D2 series cameras, anything other than base ISO just wouldn’t cut it. It might be fine with the D2x, but with the D2h, even at base ISO, shadows can get blocky if you are not careful.

So, in anticipation of a long trip to South America at the end of 2010, I decided to pick up a D3 to familiarize myself with its high ISO performance. My thoughts at that time was that a D3 for main body and D300 for that extra DX reach would be ideal for a long expedition. And just before I was going to ask my usual dealer for one, the D3s was released, and just as well.

Long story short, I now have a D3s. And in summary: while I’m not new to photography, nor digital photography, this camera does induce a bit of an extra learning curve.

First test as I shoot my first 1000 pictures: ISO performance. I don’t intend for this to be a review, hence I don’t plan to include sample pictures. The early feedback from the internet forums is that this camera performs about 1-1.3EV better in ISO compared to the previous high-ISO champion, the D3. As I do mostly landscape with this camera, I intend to test it only for that purpose.

I did 3 tests today, first was a landscape shot with camera focused at infinity in bright daylight, a second scene with an close-up object (confession: a pretty wartime Leica IIIc) with proper illumination, and third was a city scene from the top of a tower.

Results:

What I can say is that this camera’s ISO performance is amazing.

Continue reading 'Nikon D3s Test 1: ISO, ISO & ISO!'»

Comments (8)

By Brian Tan, December 27, 2009 3:47 pm

This farming island is not too far away from Shanghai. A fast ferry from Wusong Port in Baoshan will get you there in 1 hour and a bit. A full circumnavigation of the whole island will take more than a day along the coast, but highlights of it can be done in a day. I’ve about had it with long blog posts, so this time for once, only pictures, no words. Enjoy…

Please do not reproduce these pictures without permission. Thanks.

Continue reading 'Shanghai, China: Hengsha Island'»

Comments (3)

By Brian Tan, October 17, 2009 11:17 pm

It has been some time since I did a pictorial on Taipei. It is a lot easier to do a pictorial than an editorial, and not forgetting the massive work I have lined up after coming back from Turkey and Henan Province. In the mean time…

Should have done this long time ago. This week marked the first time I used Taipei's Song Shan airport, right in the center of the city. No queues, 15 minutes from gate to taxi (some exaggeration, no doubt, but almost feels like it!) and same on the way out of Taipei.

No pictorial of Taipei is complete without Taipei 101. So here is the formality, now on to the next...

Playground. Should I say more?

Ah yes, the bastardization of the word "professional" is everywhere. I have no idea what a professional coffee is. I guess as opposed to homely coffee?

Continue reading 'Taipei 103'»

Comments (0)

By Brian Tan, October 6, 2009 7:33 am

Gambling on the streets of Puyang

Guan Yu Shrine (aka Mr Black Face) just outside Luoyang

Luoyang People's Square

Song Shan: Shaolin Temple tourist demo captured in glorious Fujichrome Velvia

On the second part of this Henan trip, I will go up north to Anyang from Kaifeng and then swing to the east towards Puyang, a city that seems to be historically important. Right after that, it’s a long bus ride southwest to Luoyang where I plan to spend the longest stay of my Henan trip this time, a mere two nights. And on the way back to Zhengzhou, Song Shan lies on the way and this is where Shaolin Temple is.

2 October 2009:
The bus from Kaifeng took close to 4 hours to make the 200km to Anyang. Having a GPS at the bus window showed why it took that long. We took the small road, went through small towns where the main activity is to dry corn kernels on the road and just about any bitumen or concrete surface that is available. People should be poor. And the toilet is everywhere, and it seems to be quite obvious even from the bus. All transports here has 3 wheels, motorcycles, cars and tractors. Every active shop has in front of it, again corn drying. Petrol station, the same story. Everywhere corn, and more corn. If you’re not sick of corn, you will be after coming to Henan.

The bus arrived in Anyang at the long distance bus station next to the train station. Anyang looks much more modern and prosperous than Kaifeng by far. Less farm vehicles on the street, and things look a little more orderly. Not too much so, still a little messy as usual. Everything is so modern I don’t expect to see too many ancient relics here.

1908hrs: Walked the back streets of old Anyang after visiting People’s Square earlier on. Its a relatively long walk from the Train Station where I stay. Started off with a 2km walk to People’s Square on Jiefang Dadao passing modern shops on both sides. Switched the film on my Leica M2 to Neopan1600 in anticipation of night shooting. There is just this sliver of sunset light remaining, so the Leica M6 loaded with Kodak Ektar 100 comes along as well. There are not too much on the street that is particularly specific to Anyang. Rather similar to other large cities in China. People’s Square may also be called a park, perhaps it is called so. There are lakes, half moon bridges, etc.

Anyang People's Park: Kid's Colouring section, opened all night long it seems.

Anyang People's Park: Public performances

Continue reading 'Henan Province, China: Anyang, Luoyang and Song Shan'»

Comments (4)

By Brian Tan, October 3, 2009 6:43 am

Street Performer in Kaifeng

Night Market in Kaifeng

Hanging around in Kaifeng

No phone while driving? Nice one...

National day in China is special. For the party member, this is the 60th such celebration and from what I’ve heard, there will be more fireworks burnt tonight than during the Beijing Olympics and the giant footsteps will make its way to Shanghai, if what I heard is correct. To me it’s quite obvious they will use more fireworks for the 1 Oct celebrations, especially when you consider it will be celebrated country-wide.

Debate aside, along with the midautumn festival, I get to have 6 days off. All of it public holidays.

Now I’ve been fixated on Henan province since early this year when I read about it. Early golden dynastic years of the Chinese empire happened here. Out of the 8 ancient capitals of China, 4 are located here. That would be Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Luoyang and Anyang. After the first emperor set up camp in Xian, the capital quickly moved to Henan (I believe it was Luoyang, but wikipedia will tell you what it was). Of course Longmen grottoes/caves are here. So is the very commercialised Shaolin temple at Song Shan. Better still, my chinese surname, Chen, the top 5 most common chinese surname, originated here in Henan. The article I read indicated it was in Puyang. My search on the web says another town to the east of Henan which I doubt I will visit due to time constraints. More googling says that it began when Chen state was established, and so on, and the town inside Chen State is today Zhoukou, not too far from Zhengzhou and Kaifeng.

Retro province requires retro equipment. Leica M6 and M2 doing the duties for Henan Province along with 15 rolls of film.

So, the masterplan is to fly into Zhengzhou and cover all 4 ancient capitals and their most important sights and cover two thirds of the cities which are the possible origin of my surname. All these in 6 days.

Continue reading 'Henan Province, China: Zhengzhou, Zhoukou and Kaifeng'»

Comments (0)

By Brian Tan, September 12, 2009 4:57 pm

Old cameras at the hotel. Nothing special, Arca Swiss LF camera, and no exotics to nick.

Last night in Istanbul

11 September 2009:
Arrived back in Istanbul from Adana around 1600hrs today. From sunny Adana, I came back to a cloudy Istanbul. I have Kodachrome loaded in my Leica ready to shoot but it was never meant to be. By the time I got to the hotel, it was starting to drizzle a little, the sky grey as usual. News on the way indicated heavy flooding in parts of Istanbul, not in old town for sure. But I’m happy enough to have almost two weeks of sun, so this last day of less than perfect light is not going to be an issue.

On the last day I have here, it will be used to explore places I left out in the first few days. First off, to Eminonu docks to have a fish sandwich. I didn’t really miss this one earlier, if you recall, but the fish sandwich is so good here, I will need to have one last one before I leave. Recognised this time, the fish in question is Mackerel, so this is not for the people who hate fishy smell. It’s basically pan fried mackerel with salad in bread. Simple and good. Then its off by bus to Balat as I still have some more credit left in my transport key fob. Walking around and shooting the other side of the Golden Horn, this place looks a lot quieter than Eminonu or Sultanahmet. Right after, at Ayvansaray Iskelesi, a ferry took me back to Eminonu before sun was down. Originally I had plans to go back to Harem to take another set of sunset photos but cloud cover was so thick it was going from light to dark without the amber transition in the sky, so plan scrapped and decided to spend some time at Rustem Pasa Mosque.

On the way to Eminonu...

Bosphorus Car Ferry

No, not the fish sandwich I'm after...

Locals (I guess) looking at a passenger Bosphorus ferry, Galata tower in the far background...

Ayvansaray Ferry Terminal in Balat

Continue reading 'Turkey: Back to Istanbul & one for the road…'»

Comments (0)

By Brian Tan,

Sabanci Merkez Mosque in Adana

I have been advised that there is nothing to see in Adana. I confess, the only reason I plan to stop by Adana is to catch a flight back to Istanbul, and to try out Adana Kebab at the source. Other cities may make the meanest Adana kebab, but I want to have it in Adana to strike another item off my to-do list. Adana also happens to have one of the most regular flights to Istanbul from this region. Being quite close to Antakya, I should be able to travel here and have enough of the day left to move around.

10 September 2009:
Spending most of this morning napping in the two and half hour bus from Antakya. It could have been faster if not for the bus stopping at every otogar along the way.

On the bus to Adana, with my small pack containing the usual accessories: GPS, audio recorder, blackberry, phone, etc

1338hrs: Been a long travelling day. Made the questionable decision to leave the otogar at Adana, go downtown and look for the hotel to drop my bag first before heading out for a day trip to nearby Tarsus.

Why Tarsus? Adana is a big city, in fact one of the biggest in this region. I don’t know if there’s a big attraction in Adana other than the big American air base at Incirlik. Tarsus is a historic town, at least historic enough for me to have heard of it, and sure as hell beats wandering around a city with more than a million inhabitants like Adana on a hot summer afternoon. The way from the Adana otogar to the city center is not too convenient. There is no free shuttle bus from my bus company, so I took a public transport instead, bus 117, and they happened to start a kilometer away from the place I wanted to stay. The noon sun was no making things too comfortable.

In Turkey, a statue of Ataturk seems to symbolize the center of the city and this is also where I found a small boutique hotel to drop my stuff. After a little asking around in simple english, catching bus 140 to the otogar, hoping to catch the Tarsus bus at the right time. While travelling, I try not to remain too idle waiting hours for a bus. However, taking a bus here is not that easy. The names on the front windscreen of the buses here are quite confusing. There seem to be just a couple of final destinations, from the looks of it. A surefire way to catch the right bus to the Otogar from the Centrum of Adana seems to be either bus 120 or 140. Strangely, public buses to the otogar seems to be always driven by women. The driver on the bus I took has heavy make-up and is quite presentable. Passengers are all staring at her when they get on the bus, so that means that this is an exception!

1409hrs: And we’re off in a minibus at the otogar bound for Tarsus. Strangely the driver’s attendant asked us to leave the van and walk 100m outside the otogar before we were supposed to leave and join the minibus outside. (ed: I would find out why later, I think they are trying to keep as much of the ticket fare for themselves!) And this guy drives faaast. 3.5TL for the fare. Bus is not full, myself, a lady and her daughter, and a mufti. And two backup drivers. This place is strange!

Downtown Tarsus

1454hrs: Drop off point in Tarsus is right next to Cleopatra’s gate. Confirmed by my GPS. This minibus goes all the way to Mersin if I got the message right. The return path is on the otherside of the Cleopatra’s gate, I presume as the bus returns from Mersin. Nothing cleopatra-y about this gate, just one of the gates forming the old city wall of Tarsus. The assumption is that since it is one of the major gates of old Tarsus, since Cleopatra came here (where she met Anthony), she must have passed through it. Part of it looks renovated but there is a little bit sticking out that still has some carving left. I’d say less than 10%.

Tarsus' Cleopatra Gate

Continue reading 'Turkey: Adana & Tarsus'»

Comments (2)

By Brian Tan,

Antakya, Hatay

... Nice looking plant I shot somewhere in Hatay

View of the Mediterranean from Cevlik

8 September 2009:

This place goes by many names. Officially it is known as Antakya, but people here call it Hatay (name of the region Antakya is in), and in ancient times it is also known as Antioch. And the last reason, Antioch, is why I’m here in the first place. With a name this famous, it is not difficult to imagine how much history this place has. Not to mention that Antakya is located just next to Syria, just in case I feel like jumping over to the other country.

A river runs through the center of Antakya, nay, a dirty river....

Downtown Antakya

More downtown Antakya

The overnight bus from Kayseri stopped almost everywhere along the way, and leaving at midnight, we arrived in Hatay almost at 8am. I counted Ningde, Adana and Iskenderun. Could have been more but I was trying to get some sleep as well. As the bus pulls into the Hatay otogar a few km out of the city, many touts come up asking if we were going to Aleppo, Syria. The bus company should have a servis bus to go to the city. Mine did but the bastard didn’t want to go to the city center and made me walk 2km. Cursed him to lowest depth of Hades.

Continue reading 'Turkey: Antakya'»

Comments (0)

By Brian Tan, September 7, 2009 11:00 pm

Prayers at Hunat Mosque, Kayseri

Portrait of local bus drivers at Kayseri's Yogunburc Street station

After Cappadocia, in the interest of making use of whatever time I have here in Turkey, I thought it was not too smart to be spending the whole day travelling. So next to the region of Nevsehir, is a large city called Kayseri which I could get to in a few hours, and if I am lucky, I can catch an overnight bus to Antakya all the way down south.

7 September 2009:
Kayseri is also called Caesarea in ancient times before the arabs conquered it. I suppose this is the famous Caesarea that I have heard about. No idea what is there but no harm checking it out to know (Ed: Apparently it is not, there is another Caesarea in Israel). Most people I’ve spoken to in Cappadocia were amazed I was going there as it has nothing to see there.

Urgup to Kayseri

1100hrs: Right on the dot, the bus starts leaving Urgup’s otogar for Kayseri. Fare: 6TL. The next bus to Kayseri is in 2 hours after lunch so it is perfect that I’m here at this time. The bus indicates that it goes to Nevsehir but I was assured it goes where I thought it was going. Along the way out of Urgup it stops to pick up passengers, and soon it is full, about 30+ passengers as my quick estimate puts it. As it passes the local police station, a policeman comes on board to check, possibly visual profiling, but I, being the only asian looking person, was not checked in detail. And in less than 10 mins we are on the road into the Cappadocian desert, dodging the occasional farmer’s donkey and tractor carts that takes up a whole lane on the road. This highway has 2 lanes and bidirectional, and rather devoid of any vehicles, meaning that the bus driver could drive as fast as he wants. Landscape are craggy hills, valleys with poplar trees and farms. Seems like there are plenty of pumpkin farms around. My GPS registers our speed at less than 90kmph.

Kayseri Otogar Interiors

Loading up water on a hot day at the otogar...

Exterior of Kayseri Otogar

1216hrs: Arrived at Kayseri Otogar after an hour on the highway. The otogar is made up of a few buildings in the outskirts of Kayseri city and one of the building houses the ticket booths. Saw one with a midnight bus to Hatay/Antakya so I took a sleeping berth, so I think, for 40TL which is about the most expensive bus trip thus far, but it saves the hotel expense so, could be worth it. The girl at the counter thought I was Japanese again, and I learnt from her Turkish for ‘hello’ is ‘merhabah’ (similar to arabic I thinks) and ‘goodbye’ is ‘gule gule’ which I see a lot while driving in the Cappadocian countryside in the last 3 days. This otogar looks modern and has plenty of shops. I see left luggage service too, which I will use to deposit my bags till tonight, and make a trip to Kayseri’s merkezi (town centre)!

Little ticket booth to buy bus tickets before boarding...

Continue reading 'Turkey: Kayseri'»

Comments (2)

By Brian Tan, September 6, 2009 11:30 pm

aa

Cappadocia

6 September 2009:
The plan today will be to cover the south-western part of Cappadocia, visiting some underground cities which the Christians lived while escaping the invading Seljuks. Right after will be the Ihlara valley, dotted with rock cut churches. Quite obviously the church will be just the same as the others I have seen in Cappadocia so far so the interest is more in the scenery. I plan to rush through it and not walk the whole valley.

After a heavy breakfast made of olives, goat cheese (like the french chevre) and bread, it’s time to start the day before 10am. Will drive past Uchisar and its hill top castle hewn out of a rocky hill and pass Pigeon Valley lookout point. You know the view here is good when you see tour buses. Valley on the right, and the ancient city of Uchisar in the background. And true to its name, there are pigeons around.

Pigeon Valley, with Uchisar Castle in the background

I don’t plan to stop too long at all the interesting spots. Soon I’d go southwards, passing highway 330, Kavak and on the way to Kaymakli through Cardak. The views are of rolling plains, a pleasant drive in the morning. The road is not too wide, enough for 2 lanes to and fro. With the windows wound down, the smell of garlic permeates the air. There are sacks of garlic fresh off the field on the roadside. No, it didn’t come across my mind to nick one. But this is a nice drive, about 40km to go.

Eventually I hit the main north-south road connecting Nevsehir and Kaymakli. It is still farming area here but soon I’d hit Kaymakli. Signs abound pointing to the underground city there, but right at the same spot I branch off to the right towards the satellite town Ozluce, with a lot less tour buses. As quickly as Kaymakli started, once I turned right I was in the open fields again and it is possible to see Ozluce in the distance.

1107hrs: Typing this out at Ozluce Underground City next to the village of the same name, minus the ‘underground’ part obviously. The place is right inside the village, follow the signs and you will not get lost. This one definitely looks out of the way for the tour groups that prefer the other 2 more popular underground cities, Derinkuyu and Kaymakli.

I drive the only car parked at the small shaded area. A guy comes up and ushers me into a small little stone house numbered 18. Inside is a small room with nice carpet strewn sofa and old farming tools and an old pair of leather shoe hanging on the wall. Naturally a good place to let go a barrage of B&W film on. I asked the guy how long to do the whole place and he says 10 something in part sign language. Can’t be hours so I guess must be minutes. Hope it is not 10 storeys of caves to explore. Stairs go down about a floor underground and first thing you come across is a medium sized chamber with a wheel as a door to block the entrance. There is a well as air ventilation shaft and potteries all over the place. The tunnel is lit with 60W incandescent bulbs requiring ISO1600 to shoot properly. At 400 I was able to do half second with my Ricoh. A few passages leads away from the main chamber and I follow it until it winds a little too much. I am the only one here and GPS don’t work so I thing better to play safe and not get too far. The air is cool here, easily 20C or slightly below when it is scorching hot outside. Nice. I will rest here for a while. The caves here look like they are dug out of clay, none of the rocky or crumbly caves which most churches I have seen in the last 2 days were made of.

On the way into Ozluce

Ozluce: Small farming village

I wonder where it is....

Continue reading 'Turkey: Cappadocia Day 3'»

Comments (1)

By Brian Tan,

View of Cappadocia from Uchisar Castle

Dandelion in Soganli

Every tourist here in Istanbul seem to have Cappadocia on their itinerary. I overheard many talking about their plans. I’m no different, but instead of a package tour, I plan to go with a rental car. Price of petrol seems quite steep here, but the plan is set and the wheels are in motion. Hoping to be able to get out to the countyside early in the morning before the sun rises and before sunset, so a car will be useful. I will be flying into Nevsehir, not too many flights per week, and then transfer to Urgup to pick up my car and drive to Goreme for the night. Goreme will be my base for this trip.

Cappadocia is, of course, famous for 2 things I am aware of. First are the cappadocian horses, which I don’t expect to see this trip, and second the rock cut churches where the first christian cultists practised their religion in the early years, away from the eyes of their Roman masters.

4 September 2009:
0728hrs: Airport pickup at my hotel in Istanbul. This is one of those shuttle that picks up a bunch of people in different hotels. Cost 10TL so it is cheap. This morning is not a good day for the driver as all the passengers are late out of their hotel except for me. The driver and I exchanged complaints about late passengers while we waited. You could guess what kind of passengers. Follow your stereotypical instincts.

1143hrs: Arrived in Nevsehir after a standard flight. Nothing special to report about. The landscape on the way didn’t look too spectacular and the place looks dotted with many small villages. I can imagine driving to those places looking for high ground for a better view.

View from up high...

Nevsehir airport is quite far away from the city. Nothing much here, just an airport in the middle of nowhere. On arrival, I get picked up by a shuttle I booked online and next destination Urgup. The minivan zips through some desert and a town or two. Towns here look like typical eastern european mid sized cities, with a small town center and everything else is made up of standard issue apartment buildings made to be utilitarian rather to look good. Realised I was talking about Nevsehir! Nothing to see here, so we go past it on the way to Urgup.

Not too many flights to Nevsehir airport. Today there are less than 5.

Nothing special about Urgup either, but the city center looks more tourist friendly than the previous one. This is where I pick up my rental car. This time I get a sedan Renault Clio 1.4 but before it sounds like a car of the year, the one I got is a wreck, or half way to becoming so. There are knocks all over, and I swear it looks like this car is made of fiberglass. The knocks looks like it is. The cigarette lighter is not working, not a showstopped but I will have issues with my GPS power if this is the case. And even for a rental car company as big as National, this one gets delivered with no fuel in the tank! All I get is a tip on the nearest petrol kiosk on the way out to Goreme.

Continue reading 'Turkey: Cappadocia Day 1 & 2'»

Comments (0)

By Brian Tan, September 3, 2009 11:00 pm

Morning in Istanbul...

Olives in Iznik

Iznik (Nicaea) is another one of those town that I HAVE to pass through in Turkey. It is here, 1700 years ago that the first ecumenical council took place that produced a Nicene creed, for non Catholic, I summarize by saying this is where a group of men decided what the relationship between all the main characters in the religion is. Of course they say its by divine order but lets just leave that there. Iznik is also known for its ceramic industry during the Ottoman empire days. Just about everywhere I went so far, the most elaborate mosques or palace is adorned with tiles from Iznik. If I get just 1 type of souvenir, it has to be ceramic tiles from Iznik.

Boating on Iznik Lake

0800hrs: After taking the early morning train from Cankaturan this morning, I am now on board the massive car ferry at Yenikapi docks that crosses the Marmara sea. Seats are assigned, so this is not a intra city ferry styled boat. Even outdoor seats are numbered. Too bad I got assigned the indoor seats.

IDO Ferry Terminal at Yenikapi

Continue reading 'Turkey: Bursa & Iznik'»

Comments (0)

By Brian Tan, September 2, 2009 11:00 pm

Early morning in Istanbul en route to the Otogar

Most tourists come to Edirne to see Selimiye Mosque, one of Mimar Sinan's prime creation

Edirne, in Thrace, is a city with plenty of history. In Edward Gibbon’s tome on the fall of the Roman Empire, this is where the Ottoman’s Mehmet II launched his attack that took over Constantinople around 1300AD. Historic place, which means I will need a GPS waypoint of this place.

2 September 2009:
It is an early morning for a daytrip to Edirne (Adrianople or Hadrianopolis), and the position of my new hotel allows me to take the first tram that passes Sultanahmet station on the way to the Otogar after a change of trains. Hope to grab my sleep later on the bus as the trip should take some time. If you recall, I booked this bus ticket in advance from the Istanbul Otogar on Monday and will be travelling with Ulusoy bus company on the 0800hrs bus. The trip should take around 2 hours. Left the hotel before 7am and at this time, Sultanahmet is totally dead. Nothing except sanitation workers sweeping up rubbish on the street from the night before. Lucky the tram starts moving at 6am. It looks like a blue sky day but I will be careful. Going with a small backpack with a spare lens, waterproof jacket and my all-important iPod. All cameras are coming along and I expect a long day of walking and aimless wandering in Edirne.

Local Edirne town bus

0715hrs: I have done this public transportation routine before. Tram to Metro station Aksaray and straight on to the Otogar from there. Just hoping to get there with enough time to have a light breakfast this morning. It’s always good to have a feel of the area before a tight schedule so that muscle memory takes over.

Nothing special here, boarded the bus like clockwork, and proceeded to the all important nap.

Continue reading 'Turkey: Edirne'»

Comments (5)

By Brian Tan, September 1, 2009 11:20 pm

Sun setting over the Galata Tower

Hanging chandelier at ground floor of Aya Sofia

1 September 2009:
Today is a mixture of sightseeing and chores. One of the plan of this trip was to switch hotels in Istanbul. The idea is not to experience all the hotels in the vicinity of Sultanahmet, but rather, to move around to get a different vantage point of all the landmarks of the city. It is possible, within some tolerance, to determine if a hotel terrace has a good view in Google Earth. Sometimes it works, sometimes there is a building in the way. So it only makes sense that I stay in 3-4 hotels during this trip. The next two days I will be taking day trips out of Istanbul, so it is only making sense that I move to a hotel that allows me to move around to the otogar or the ferry pier easily early in the morning.

0852hrs: Paid 170TL for the hotel and on my way to Aya Sofia for this morning’s trip. It is starting to rain so it is no fun. It did rain overnight, wet roads and all visible this morning. My window was opened all night long and I was lucky not to drench out the whole room. Woke up early in the morning by the morning Fajr prayer calls from countless mosques in the area. In my state of early morning concussion, I was still able to find my audio recorder in the darkness and recorder the prayer wars between mosques. I wouldn’t politically call it ‘fighting’ but it does seem like there is a small element of rivalry there. But overall the plan for this trip to Istanbul has turned out well, walked the city when the weather was fine in the last few days and just as the weather turned bad, I’ve only got the interiors of Aya Sofia left to go through today. Plus some time wasting walkabouts this afternoon.

0901hrs: Queue for Aya Sofia is already relatively long despite the rain, and mainly made up of private tour groups with special tickets ready. On the way in the entrance is strewn (not exactly true, there are some elements of orderly arrangement) with pieces of the old building that was supposed to be here before the current one was build. I spent a little more time than the tour groups checking all the pieces out , architecturally it seems rather roman, carved marble slabs, columns and arches are all over the place. But if the previous temple was all stone, I wonder how it got burnt down.

Continue reading 'Turkey: Istanbul Day 3'»