serene’s posterous

Photo by Eu-Jin.

The day we went on the Bosphorus public ferry cruise, from Eminönü to Anadolu Kavağı (on the Asian side of Istanbul, near the Black Sea) and back, was particularly rainy and miserable.  The sightseeing would have been much better on a sunny day.  A peril of traveling in Turkey in winter - rainy weather.

One of the highlights was the Kanlıca Yogurt, served with a heaping spoon of confectioners' powdered sugar.  When we stopped at Kanlıca, staff on the ferry brought on board several trays of the local yogurt to sell to the passengers. The promotion tactic was amusing.  He caught the interest of the passengers by holding the yogurt cup upside down - showing that the yogurt didn't fall out.  That was one of the best yogurt I have had - smooth and creamy.  Perfect with the powdered sugar.  I am glad I quickly got up and paid the 2 Turkish liras for the tasty yogurt.  By the time Eu-Jin wanted to get some, after tasting my yogurt, it was sold out!  He had to make do with drinking more Turkish tea.

We saw the cat in the shop window along İstiklal Caddesi (the main shopping drag in Istanbul).  The cat looked so regal and pretty, I had to persuade Eu-Jin to take a photo of the cat for me.

Photo taken by Eu-Jin.

We saw lots of cats in Turkey, and were surprised how good they looked.  They are probably strays, but seemed reasonably well fed, and had nice, good looking coats.  This was one of my favorite cats.  We met her in Kariye Müzesi in Istanbul.  She was very affectionate and was purring as I petted her.  Love her stripey coat!

Sadly, we didn't buy many souvenirs back from our short vacation to Turkey.  That's because we only carried a small, carry-on legal backpack each, and they were already mostly full at the start of the 10-day trip from the warm clothing (and Eu-Jin's camera gear) we had to pack.

I was fascinated by all the tasty food available in Turkey.  I only managed to taste and bring home a small sample of enormous range of sweets and candy.  We went to 2 confectionery shops: Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir (twice in 2 different locations, including the original location) and Koska Helvacısı.  But other than a small slab of helva, I got the rest of the candy from Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir, which I really like.  It has a traditional feel, with the hard candy in large jars, the great variety of lokum (turkish delight) displayed in little plates, and a giant weighing scale.  The lokum, in particular, seemed really fresh.

The photo shows the candy I bought.  Clockwise from bottom:

1) Pistachio lokum - this was the tastiest of the lot (even Eu-Jin likes it), because there were a ton of pistachios encased in the soft starchy candy.  I think I bought the more expensive double pistachio version.

2) Hard candy - Rose and Ginger-Lemon Flavored.  The rose is unusual, and the ginger-lemon had a good tartness in the white lemon bits.

3) Helva - I think it is some kind of sesame oil plus sugar paste with pistachios.

4) Almond paste - This is not bad, but it is apparently a little too sweet and not sufficiently fine compared to the best versions from Turkey.

We were amongst the gawking tourists at the Lion Exhibit in MGM, Las Vegas.  Apparently lions don't do much but sit and sleep on top of the clear tunnel that links to the gift shop.  I wonder if the lions are bothered by the camera flashes, which can be seen in the last few seconds of this clip.

Driving through Death Valley National Park after the rare rain shower.
 Sign states: North Panamint Dry Lake Area.

I thought I would be bored on my third trip to the park but I haven't
been here in the fall. The yellow leaves were pretty and we managed
to do a hike we haven't done before. Great views on the canyon
overlook hike, which is at one end of the tunnel.

This was a memoir of sorts by travel writer, Thomas Kohnstamm, about
his experiences as a Lonely Planet guidebook writer. It dragged at
bits, especially the first few chapters before he actually gets to
Brazil. But his description about the difficulties of travel
guidebook writing was interesting. Too little time and money, and too
much area to cover with too little resources. I am not surprised that
corners are cut, and freebies taken. Although one hopes that most of
the guidebook writers don't spend their days drunk and making up
information in the guidebooks.

The key take home point is that guidebooks are arbitrary - the writers
may not necessarily know more than you - and don't slavishly follow
every recommendation. Places that are not in all those guidebooks may
actually be a better experience overall.

Eu-Jin and I were frequently surprised how out-of-date some of the
"recommendations" and information were in some of these guidebooks,
especially when traveling in Central and South America. Restaurants
don't exist anymore, hostels significantly more decrepit than
described, and just plain wrong information.