A glass act

This afternoon, we took advantage of our hotel's offer of a free trip to the nearby island of Murano. The catch was that we would have to visit the hotel owner's glass blowing factory. No problemo! We felt like royalty hopping on our private water taxi while everyone else queued for the crowded water bus.

The 20 minute boat ride was followed by a fascinating demonstration of the art of glass blowing by some gnarly old Venetian. He was enjoying himself - he made a colourful fluted vase and a delicate horse in mere minutes, as we watched in amazement.  For his grand finale he lit a cigarette off the finished piece of glass, to show us how hot it was.

The local square featured some large glass artworks. This one was my favourite. My hair immortalised in glass. Classic!

The empty version of Venice

Today we got up early and walked across Venice to St Mark's Square. We got there before most other people had woken up, before any cruise ships docked, or day trippers arrived. Everything was still, calm, serene. Venice as it should be seen.

We looked at the glorious gold mosaics inside the antechamber for St Mark's cathedral while a service was in progress. Then at great extravagence (50 euro!) we took a water taxi back to Rialto bridge so we could go to the local food market. The driver took us under the famous 'bridge of sighs' and up a series of tiny narrow canels. It was so cool. We smiled like idiots the entire way. Worth every cent.

Getting lost in Venice

By far the best activity here in Venice is getting completely and hopelessly lost. Yesterday that is all we did. It was fantastic.

Here are some pics:
- Steve enjoying the beautiful music produced by two elderly buskers
- Me at the 'Leonardi Da Vinci interactive exhibition' standing under one of many working models of Leonardo's drawings. The building it was in was full of frescos and sculptures. Magnificent! 
- The local fire department off to a job, by boat of course
- And lastly, the two of us looking extremely smug about being in Venice (I know, I know, you hate me now)

A dog's life

I love the way Europeans take their dogs with them everywhere. On the plane. To the restaurant. And not just little dogs. Last night at a restaurant in Venice, a woman walked past with two HUGE dogs in tow. 

Murphy would think this place was heaven.

Winner of 'most disturbing sign of the year'...

Steve found this fabulously inappropriate sign in Istanbul.  Brilliant.

I found the earl..!

The Cannakale town centre is very cute. Lots of narrow streets and old buildings. It felt more European than Turkish.

I was in a desperate search for a cup of drinkable tea. I tried to explain to the Turkish man that I wanted my tea 'achik' which means 'light' or weak. But his version of weak was so strong that it was undrinkable. (No wonder the Turks drink their tea with 4-6 teaspoons of sugar!)

And then, around the corner, we found heaven.  A little shop selling Earl Grey tea!!!  OMG. So excited. Here I am in a blissful state, drinking my EG tea...

Scenic loos of Europe #3

The first rule we learnt in Turkey is that when you need a loo, you find a mosque.  This loo was in Cannakale, across the Dardanelle Strait from Eceabat.

Scenic loos of Europe #2

When you need to pee, why not make it scenic as well...

This is near Chunuk Bair, one of the highest points on the Gallipoli peninsula and the site of the NZ division's fleeting victory over the Ottomans (before the Ottomans retook the hill and never relinquished it again).

The view from up here is breathtaking. The peninsula was decimated by a big fire ten years ago. Thanks to that, the pine forest is gone and the native scrub is back, meaning you can now see for miles and it looks more like its original condition in 1912.

Pilgrims on the move

After the dawn service we walked along the shoreline, past ANZAC cove and up the hill to Lone Pine (the Aus memorial) and Chunuk Bair (the NZ memorial).

ANZAC cove is eroding into the sea. 20 years ago I recall seeing a 30m wide beach. This time it was a small strip (at high and low tide). In 1912 it was 100m wide. The Turks are doing a lot of work with sea walls and drains to protect the shoreline.

Then it was a long 8km uphill slog, in the blazing sun to the Aus and NZ services. The Antipodean pilcrimage.

With blisters and sunburn, we shall remember them.

Lest we forget the cold...

We got lucky. The weather was a relatively warm 5 degrees. No wind. No rain. Before going we had heard horror stories about the intense cold overnight on the Gallipoli peninsula.

Consider this: at 3.30am I had on 5 layers of Icebreaker tops (1 cami, 2 t-shirts, 2 long shirts) and a polar fleece vest and a rain jacket and I was only just warm enough when the early morning breeze came in.

The best part of the service was the beginning, before all the speeches. In the pre-dawn the Aus/NZ army band played tunes from the 20s. Lights were shone onto the water and the cliff outcrops behind us. It conjured up the sensation of boats heading towards shore.

A selection of headstones were read out (name, occupation, birthplace, date of death, the battle/area where they fell) while their face was projected on the screens. Really moving.  They were so young.

Bliss is...

Apple tea by the seaside

Steve and the rest of the tour group are at Gallipoli for the afternoon, doing a five hour guided hike around gravestones and memorials. 

I've 'been there done that' so I decided to take the opportunity of a blissful afternoon by myself, drinking tea and reading a book at a seaside cafe.  Ahhh, lovely.

National 'annoying small persons' day

In Turkey they have a public holiday to celebrate children. Not sure why. Sounds like a dumb idea to me. It will only encourage the little blighters.

This national celebration coincided with our visit to Eceabat, a small seaside village 8km from the Gallipoli national park.

The entire local population of proud parents - and our Gallipoli tour group - watched the children do their routines. We saw folk dances, gymnastics, and a drum band.

We stood for the Turkish national anthem, we waved Turkish flags, we clapped, we cheered - and everyone gasped when two gymnasts missed their timing and went 'kersplat'.  The highlight was the four year olds completely stuffing up the timing of their dance routine.

And why is there always one fat kid?

Kitties galore

Compared to other big cities, Istanbul is a kitty paradise. We've been here five days and I haven't seen a skinny stray cat. I started getting curious when I noticed that the stray cats aren't scared of people. They will come up to you for a pat and a cuddle.

Apparently cats are revered by the Turks because Mohammed tore his coat, rather than wake up the cat sleeping on it. So although there are stray cats everywhere - they aren't mistreated. The locals feed them. Some of the strays still look a bit manky - unkept fur and the odd sore - but at least they aren't hungry.

There are a litter of kittens sleeping in a cardboard box in a nice dry niche under the window of the neighbouring guesthouse. The Turk in the pic is looking after them and feeding them.

So the Turkish human rights record might be shaky. But the cats are doing ok. Nice.

10 Iraqis on a Boat

Our cruise up the Bosphoros was considerably livened up by a group of 10 Iraqi men on holiday. They were VERY happy to be on holiday. As the Turkish waiter tried to serve tea, they were singing and dancing around him. Every passenger on the boat - and the waiter - were smiling with them. Their joy was infectious.

We got talking to them and they took our photo. So here we are with our new best friends on the Bosphoros...

#1 in Istanbul

My #1 favourite place in Istanbul is definitely Haghia Sophia - a church of such immense scale that it was the largest building in the world for nearly 1000 years. It started life as a Catholic church in 537, became a mosque after the conquest of Constantinope by the Ottomans in 1453, and has been a museum since 1935.

Haghia Sophia lived up to my expectations and then some. I was in awe. So was Steve. I can't imagine the impact the building would have had on a person in the Middle Ages. No photo can do it justice but here are some anyway.

Steve's favourite mosaic artwork was the one of an Emperor sucking up to the Catholic church by handing over a big sack of money and collecting his 'papers of tax exemption'.  Classic. Good to know nothing has changed in 1500 years!

Pam took us to the Little Hagia Sophia mosque, which was built just prior to Hagia Sophia by the same architects. It has recently been restored and it is breathtakingly beautiful inside. Bright vivid blue mosaics on a bright white background. Gorgeous!

Here's a pic of me doing my Muslim woman impersonation...

What Steve really loves...

We visited the vast Sultans' palace yesterday. Went to the treasury, the harem, the circumcision room (don't fret, no amputated foreskins on view), and numerous other fascinating rooms.

So there we were, surrounded by beautiful buildings, stunning mosaic art, amazing bling. And what did Steve spend the most time looking at???

A chainsaw!! Yes folks, that's right, he was mesmerised by two guys cutting down a tree. I had to drag him off before the flood of testosterone took away his ability to cook & clean.

Bazaar & Bath

Today we ambled around the Grand Bazaar looking for nothing in particular. We discovered that first thing in the morning is a great time to go. No crowds - in fact, hardly any visitors at all - so we had the narrow lanes to ourselves and the sellers were so busy drinking turkish tea, having a morning cigarette, talking to each other and waking up - that they almost ignored us. Within an hour it was a different story - crowds of people and energetic shop keepers.

In the afternoon we went for a Turkish bath - at a small local 'Hamam" that was apparently nothing special compared to the more expensive opulent ones and it was built fairly recently in 1475!!!

Turkish Baths are a great way to peel off sightseeing grime. If you've never experienced one, it goes something like this:
Step 1: Get naked in a large marble covered room with a lot of other women of many different sizes
Step 2: Get sweaty in sauna
Step 3: Get ordered to lie on a hot marble slab in the centre of the room by a large Turkish woman (saying no to any command wasn't an option!)
Step 4: Get scrubbed with an exfoliating mitten then washed with foaming soap then massaged all over - and I mean ALL OVER - while she orders you to move this way and that.
Step 5: Get soaked by Turkish woman as she pours water all over you
Step 6: Go to cold-ish plunge pool and cool off
Step 7: Get changed, then step outside, all pink and squeaky clean.
Ahhh.

Would you like some fog with your garbage sir?

Brilliant "lost in translation" item on Turkish menu...

The Locals View of Istanbul

Yesterday, we met up with Kiwi expatriates Pam and Ian - friends of friends. They took us on a tour of popular local haunts in Istanbul by foot/tram/fernicular/ferry.

Wow! What a city. We got to see things we would never have found without their help. The ferry rides were spectacular. It is a busy waterway - full of ferries like Sydney, and with vast convoys of freighters waiting offshore for their turn to move up the Bosphoros to the Black Sea. The skyline is fabulous, with the mosque minarets giving it a romantic exotic look.

My god the Turks smoke a lot. If you are a frustrated smoker chaffing under the anti-smoking laws in NZ then Turkey is nirvana. Turks smoke constantly. Everywhere. Yesterday, I saw a bus driver smoking while driving passengers (!) and a Turk smoking while eating and drinking (quite a logistical exercise).

The local joke is "Who smokes more than a Turk?"
Answer: Two Turks!

We braved a local bar last night because we were desperate for beer after hours of walking. It was incredibly smoky, but there was a window I could sit beside and the beer was cold and the company was good. The smoky atmosphere reminded me of the bad old days before smoking in pubs was banned in NZ.

We ended the day at a little restaurant eating Urfa Kebab with our new good friends. That's us with Pam and Ian in the pic. (And yes, there is a sheep on our table - long story, but the waiter thought it was hilarious.)

The leftover food in the middle of the table is dessert, made out of cheese. Yes cheese. Kind of like taking a plain feta and covering it with caramalized sugar. After surviving the salty dried madarin peel in Malaysia, I'll try most things once. And if my intestines don't reject it, I may even try it twice.

How to close a sale

While walking down the main shopping district, a street seller caught my eye as he was selling these really cool templates for drawing geometric patters. (I have a lifelong fascination with geometric patterns, which incidentally makes the Islamic mosaic art very attractive.)

Anyway, he saw my glance and was so committed to getting the sale that he picked up his stall and chased us down the road!  Negotiating all the way. This guy was serious. We were crossing the road and he put his stall down in the middle fo the road (!!) to stop us.  Cars were driving around us on both sides while I negotiated the price down from 35 Turkish Lira.

By this stage, I was so impressed by his tenacity I couldn't say no. We settled on 5TL and I got my geometric templates.
 
Now THAT GUY knows how to close a sale.  No wonder I was always crap at sales - I'm just not that committed.

I got the job!

As many of you know, I had the marathon 3.5 hour interview 48 hours before leaving NZ. They offered me the job while I was in Malaysia. I've been negotiating on email this week. And I accepted the job yesterday.

So from 29 Oct 2012, I will be CEO for Creative Abilities Ltd, a government funded, organisation that provides community and home based support to disabled people. The company has 110 staff, a very capable management team and a fantastic culture. It is just what I was looking for. A not-for-profit organisation that gives back to the community and is connected to the health sector.

I think I'll go have a kebab to celebrate!

Peeing into history

Arrived in Istanbul at 6am this morning.  After checking in to our B&B we went for a long walk to get our bearings. 

I'm amazed by the difference in the place after 20 years. When I was last here it was like the wild west - very dirty, dancing bears on street corners (so very sad) and the muddy street gutters were strewn with rubbish, like Asia. 

Today I stolled down the same streets I walked on 20 years ago. It's like someone took the Istanbul I remember and turned it into a film set. The streets have been 'beautified' - cobblestone streets, cute road barriers, smooth paved footpaths, straight edged street gutters, shiny new trams, readable street signs, less hawkers and definitely no bears. Some of the city walls are so free of grime they look like they have been cleaned with a toothbrush. Even the hawkers seem to be cleaner (slightly). 

And going to the loo here has become a wonderful experience.  (Not something I recall ever saying about the old Turkey). 

Check out the entrance to this loo.  Ah yes - there is nothing like a Roman wall to make your pee seem majestic! 

Unfortunate Asian Sign #2

Oh dear.  CYF would be horrified.

Batu Caves

The Malaysian's have got a new twist on the Waitomo Cave experience.  Instead of celebrating the pristine ecology and gorgeous natural setting, they have turned it into a Hindu temple, complete with concrete floors and buildings inside the cave. 

There is a steep climb to the cave entrance up 272 steps and at the base of the stairs is a gold-painted statue 140ft statue of a Hindu god.

My favourite statue was the one that looks like a Hindu god version of King Kong (see pic). His hands are pulling open his chest and inside his body are two female statues - so who knows what that is supposed to signify but I doubt it is the god of feminism..!

Inside the caves are several gift shops chockablock of gaudy Hindu trinkets (of course!), temples, more statues, lots of monkeys and (oddly) two cave dwelling roosters.

Steve made a donation at the cave temple and got a red dot and a white swish on his forehead.  He looked quite the devoted worshipper on the way out.

Unfortunate Asian sign #1

I wonder what they do in the procession. Must be quite a sight.

A Day in Melaka

Melaka is a gorgeous riverside town 1.5 hours south of KL.

It was a busy port for the spice trade during the 16^th Century, and was colonised by the Portuguese then by the Dutch then by the British - so it has a mish-mash of charming old world architecture. It reminded us of Macau, Hanoi and Bruge – all rolled into one. Really cute.

On the freeway to Melaka we were passed – at speed – by fifty (yes, 50!) late model Ferraris all in one fast convoy. Apparently the Singapore rich-wanker club goes for a Sunday drive in Malaysia as there aren’t many long straight roads on their tiny island. The sound of the engines was so low you could feel it as they passed. I tried not to be impressed but couldn’t help it.

Dried fish eyeballs?

Good news: I DIDN”T eat dried fish eyeballs.  I thought I might be about to. After dinner at a riverside seafood restaurant, Art took us across the road to the local food shop. They specialise in all kinds of dried fish – and all bits of the fish – including (ooo yummy) dried fish bladders. He bought all sorts of exotic delicacies for us to try, but – thankfully – NOT dried eyeballs. 
I did try dried mandarin peel.  Think you know what that tastes like?  Think again. It's incredibly salty! It’s impossible to take any food for granted up here.

Street food

We are staying with Steve’s ex work colleague and his wife. Arthur (real name Kong Ming) and his wife Yan are Malaysian-Chinese. For brunch on our first day Art took us to a back street food vendor and we had the most glorious Laksa – unlike any I’d had before – a rich, spicy, fragrant broth with two types of noodle, cockles, and chicken.  OMG!!!  Yum!

Viva Air NZ

For a reality check on how good Air New Zealand is: fly economy on Malaysian Airlines. Our seats were old, pink and stained (eeeew) and the chicken stew looked similar (ah I’ll pass thanks). At 2am NZ time, the lights dimmed (ooo lovely) and the people in front of us reclined their heads towards our laps (time to relax) so we reached for the buttons and (oh bugger!) our geriatric seats wouldn’t budge. Sitting upright with a stranger snoring in my lap wasn’t making me feel sleepy. What to do? Right-o, I’ll watch a movie. The screen was state of the art – for 1992 – and the grainy image managed the unthinkable: it made George Clooney look unattractive!  Eventually I fell asleep for 5 minutes and then (of course!) a baby started to cry. Oh goody.

But it wasn’t all bad. Breakfast was sensational: Nasi Lemak (spicy prawns and coconut rice).  And the plane landed on time, in the right country. I’d call that a successful flight.

An Asian without the Internet!

We really are 'unplugged'...

The Malaysian friend we are staying with was disconnected from the internet by his service provider over an invoice dispute. But fear not - I am writing my blogs anyway and will post soon.  Not sure I want to expose my data stick to an internet cafe computer. 

So - in summary - we are here - we are well - our hosts have stuffed us full of Asian food - and I have had one cup of Earl Grey tea in 3 days.  One!  My body is in shock.

The Kids are Alright

Turns out they were just testing me. Both pets are back to their normal happy selves.  Murphy didn't get worse, so the vet thinks he may have slipped a disc, rather than cancer. What a relief! I can pack without being buried in guilt.