Yesterday Jacq and I went to Bursa zoo and we quite interesting animals! and the moment we went in, we both agreed that we had too high expectations of the zoo, coz somewhat we expected to see big direction signs, birds flying everywhere, animal sounds, big elephants, animal shows, dolphin performance but Bursa zoo and none of these. It was a very simple zoo, and the only impressive animals were probably the chickens. this is why:


This chicken is from france and it has a funkay hairstyle! wah me and jacq kept taking photos of it!We were ultimate facinated by it... some had elvis hairstyle! muahaha...
















Anyway here are some shot of turkish animals, and well... turkish turkeys...







Oh man, these are very very very sychronised! they go "gobble gobble gobble gobble" at the same time at the same high pitch! and they just gobble without warning... ahha! they startled us while we were trying to take pictures of them... hahaha... so funny!!

then we walked around the neighbourhood to get a feel of how turkish life is like. We walked though the residential area, with some small alleys and we would see kids playing soccer at the backlane, like u would on tv. and we could see the nice snow-capped mountain as we walked down the road... i don't have a picutre, but i will post a picture on the scene i look at directly when i have my meals at the balcony:




It's very pretty. =) too bad the snow's so far away... haha...

Day 4 i think

Ah yes, updates updates!

Day 1.
This day was the worse day of my life. haha... I arrived at Istanbul airport all tired and just wanted to get to the hotel and have agood rest, maybe just walk around the city on my own... yes... first things first, here's a picture:
















yes! for those who have heard, there was a huge fire at the cargo terminal of the airport. This picture was taken on the airport shuttle bus i was on, just about 5 min after i left the airport. *phew* and yes i'm alive now.

Then the worse thing that could happen on the trip happened - I LOST MY LUGGAGE!!! i didn't lose just my luggage, i lost my Dad's effort to make my luggage as compact as possible, who specially went to buy a number lock for me, spent an hour trying to squeeze my winter jackets into a zip lock bag, always reminding me if i have gotten everything ready, and my mum's effort too - her countless naggings on how heavy my luggage is and i lost her juggling balls! she spent 5 hours making them and i lost them, AH. Yah, i lost my luggage to a bastard Taxi driver- who kutoed me, i escaped unhurt but he decided to get back at me by driving away with my luggage in the boot. ah, ultimate asshole!! so went to the hotel and realise i have no toothbrush, no extra underwear... hai!!

Day2
I checked out of the hotel early, goodness, the sun sets at 8pm and rises at 5am. ya, then met jacq and we made our way to Bursa, the city which used to be the Ottoman Empire. Yay! the bus journey was great! Really, the bus attendent would serve us drinks and food, i bet even cao yuan doesn't have such a great service. I think it is something bus company should try to adopt too lah... esp bus journeys that are more than 3 hours... like coaches to KL... make our jouney less tiring.

Yes and i moved in to my host family's place! They are Dr. Ilay and Dr. Bulent, and they have a very big house! a house that would cost 5 million in Singapore. They have a backyard and a swimming pool, 3 storeys and a nice balcony to sit and chill. They have a daughter who is 14 years old as well and the whole family have been very kind to me. They eat lots of tomatoes, lots of bread and NO soup. its already bread bread bread i swear when i get back home, NO BREAD FOR ME.

Day 3

We went to the NGO - TEGV. saw lots of kids and this really cute and naughty girl called Elif (pronounced A-leaf). She would run around and grab me and jacq and pull us to her favourite play area - the back garden. Although we totally can't communicate through words but well, kids just liked to be hugged and be loved. So we also found out that we need not start work till 10 june, so jacq and i will be free! yay! maybe we will go to the zoo on sunday with jacq's host family and her little 4 yr old kid called Kaira. naughty but very lovable.

Day 4

Jacq came over my host family place and we just SLACKED the whole day. yah, but i caught a cold and i just stayed in bed the whole day. Then Dr. Ilay came back and she came up to my room to guan xin me. *touched* i told her that i have muscle aches all over and she told me i should wear thick clothings after my bath. haha i love my host. she's the best. although they are particular about cleaniness, something i lack and maybe the potential cause of any conflict.

okie larh, enough updates i must be boring u with my day-to-day activites. nothing exciting happened yet, soon something exciting will happen.

Alright~ This is the last entry of my trip preview and all its preparations. phew.

but let me tell u that last min preparation does work wonders, really. haha, i guess i'm just lucky, things always fall in place nicely for me. I spotted a big mistake in my hotel reservation - i should be checking in on the 24th May and NOT 25th! i only found out on Saturday night, so obviously i could only wait till Monday(22nd) when STA is open so that i can make changes. Oops! So the lady seemed both efficient yet blur at the same time and typed in my name wrongly into the datebase. Phew! can u imagine if i check into the hotel with my voucher but denied entry coz i am not CHEN JUAN JING? oh well oh well. But now there's a slight problem - The Hotel side have not replied to my request to change the dates, so i have to depend on my roaming to contact STA, to see if the hotel has room available for me on that day.

So before you leave the agency, check the dates properly!!! I must have been careless i overlooked the date.

Then come insurance... my dad and i keeps procrastinating our decision whether to buy insurance or not. haha. so as recommended by xiaojun (note: she met this agent on the MRT train while canvassing for her $900 corset), i met up with her only to realise that she got the plan wrong too. oh well, so we spent an hour trying to figure out what alternate ways there are for my long stay overseas. U see, insurance plans are tricky. and u need experience in buying insurance plans, get "cheated" a couple of times coz u didn't read the exclusions close enough, to know when to reject the agent without feeling bad. I rejected buying the 3 different plans she tried to offer me although she spent the whole day trying to search for me, came all the way down to cck from amk upon my request - simply because, the insurance plans do not cover me adequately! haha... i feel damn proud of myself, coz i dun feel so scared talking to insurance agents anymore. yah, i dropped her an email, saying that i admire her attitude, and i really mean it. Yup then the insurance can only take effect from 25th onwards, so hopefully nothing happens on the 24th. hahaha... so last minute hor... flying tonight, tmr then my dad can buy, then day after tmr then take effect... haha.

Then ya, today then i went down to the GP to take my influenza n typhoid vaccination... the doctor specially brought his laptop to search on Bursa (i visited him yesterday too) *wah* haha. and he cured me of my flu COMPLETELY. i have felt better before and in such a good mood. Thank u Dr. Delvin (delfine + kevin??) Ng! haha.

before I leave, i have mixed feelings of excitement and disbelief. also, having to say bye to lots of frens... yes i admit lah, its quite tiring to have to repeat the same story over and over again... haha... ya, but i must state first - I will NOT miss all my frens, ya face it lah, i'm not a saint. haha. I will miss those who have made an impact in my life in the recent years or when i suddenly think of the fun times we had... i am not going to sit at one corner and ask myself, " oh so who am i missing right now?". duh. haha. okie lah, i will miss you all lah.

Well, i haven't gotten a mic, though i have skype in my laptop. Well, I will pray that i have internet access, or else i'll be terribly homesick. My luggage is really full now, my backpack is quite heavy and i hope the aircraft food will be good.

Okie, end of the preview! Preparation aint aint aint easy! don't do things last min! will sure kena scolding from parents one " why u so last minute??? got 2, 3 weeks to prepare but u everyday internet internet internet! got many frens want to say bye to you arh?? u better get ur ass off the chair and start packing your room, your luggage, settle your bills, change ur bedsheet, cut off your phone line, return your library books, open your bank account, buy ur insurance ... u got pack your underwear inside anot??? i better pack for you.. u always internet internet internet...wah lan...always so last minute i dunno what to do with u man....." - yah, does this sound like ur dad/mom? Don't say i never warn u arh!

Next entry : My first days in Turkey. =)

Travelling alone is not easy. It's so challenging. I told my reception officer that i didn't want anybody to pick me nor jacq up from the airport. Since i would be there a earlier, i figured i could assimilate into the surrounding first - and that can only be done if i search and look around on my own. I think i become a much more confident independent traveller, and i wouldn't really want to make special "welcome" and over-friendlied conversations with others after a long flight. So i searched the internet on exact locations of the bus terminals, the metro and tram lines etc. Ah, i have a clearer picture of Istanbul and i'm grateful for this opportunity to learn how i should go about planning my travel routes. and it makes it much more justifiable why jacq should come to the hotel to find me, instead of me waking up at 6am to take the shuttle bus to the airport and then go 1 big round to the bus terminal. it would have been quite silly, wouldn't it? This is great, i can then bring jacq around the Grand Bazaar, i'm sure things would be cheap there, especially sundries.

I love the challenge of travelling alone and taking the public transport everywhere. I may get lost, but at least i get to doing things myself.

Still packing my bag

Wah its been almost 2 weeks and i have not finished packing my bags. I've got 2 bags to carry and 1 of them is already 40 kg. oh no, I will have to be prepared to pay for excess baggage, however, my dad and fren said just tell them that i am a student going on an exchange program and i will be able to give the fee a pass.

When i'm there i guess the most important thing would be to take care of my own belongings! and also to take some vitamin C. I'm down with a flu right now, and my whole body feels like it will collaspe any moment and i've got some trouble with my digestive system, well u can guess. oh well, must be all the junk food i keep eating when i'm out having last minute meetings with frens. Flu makes u not able to stay alert, become extremely negligent and very oblivious to the surroundings. Maybe when a volcanoe erupt, i would still be on my bed try to blow my runny nose.

I have to pack winter clothings and summer cool clothes tt's the troublesome thing about going to a country with 4 seasons. yet its an experience that comes by once in a lifetime! I hope it snows, then i can wear my scarf and hip hop long sleeves and i want to buy a beanie! hoho

On the surface i always seem to feel unexcited when being asked "are u excited"? let me tell u, i'm always excited about every trip. There's a million and one things i can do there and not here. life is too short to miss out anything.

My air tickets are here!

I've received my air tickets from ... Sydney??? haha by DHL! sooooo coool =)

I have been very occupied with my new olympus camera! well, i borrowed a book on digital photography and realised how much manual functions can do real wonders. and so, i'm a little disappointed with my camera coz it has very few manual functions like how i can't adjust a aperture and shutter speed seperately. oh well, i'm just a beginner but i have to learn how i can take the surroundings of an underdeveloped country, to be able to bring out the feel of the place. A picture can only tell a thousand words if it's taken with knowledge which automatically brings out the underlying meaning behind the picture.

I'm leaving for Istanbul in 9 days and I am so excited, at the same time, i can't bear to leave my friends for 8 months.

I was making this little gift for a fren and while doing it, i felt a sharp pinch in my nose and my eyes, as if tears were going to fall out any moment.

I have met my Turkish Reception Officer online! This is his picture:


His name is Onur and i will call him Onur the Hero - Highly Efficient Reception Officer.

Ya, just as Liren used to say, looking at the other person's face makes everything feels real. It will never feel the same just by listening to other people story. I can't wait to meet him, i can't believe how the aiesecer are so friendly and helpful. When Lisa knew i had a problem, she called me straight away and asked me if I was ok with everything. Nice lah... =)

Today i was packing my room and i found all my Workcamp file... Humanitarian trips... reflections... and from that moment, i just knew I will not stop going on overseas volunteer trips. I will not stop at 3 months. Each time, it will get longer and longer and I will get more energy from each trip, rejuvenated each time. I know its in my blood already... This experience will be enriching and it's a GREAT feeling to know that I can make a difference in another person's life. Just like knowing Kristle made it to Poly, I am so happy for her for her marked improvement. I can only wish her well and in her endeavours. Ok, that's besides the point. I have extended my stay from 2 months to 3. A GREAT opportunity to gain experience. I am so grateful. =)

1 May 2006

This is the start of May. From now till January 2006, I will blog all my Europe preperation, reflections, happenings over here. This is specially dedicated to all my frens who are interested in what i do, share the same passion, or just simply kaypoh and want to see photos. haha. alright. Tmr i got lots of stuff to do:

- Extend my passport @ SIR
- Go open HSBC account
- Go change my phone line (from my bro's name to mine)
- Fix the camera
- Get my plane tickets @ STA
- Grab my new pair of specs @ Orchard

Yea i better start packing too, so that i will know what i'm missing. This is going to be an exciting journey of my life. I will be blogging about what i'll be doing at a later date, coz i don't want too many people to be asking why, when and how.

but i'm grateful to liren for bringing me to the AIESEC talk that got me interested in their 8 weeks volunteer attachment program. So, i must thank AIESEC too for letting me pass the interview despite being ignorant over the whole danish cartoon incident, and aso thank OSA coz they giving me $500 subsidy. and ya, jacq too, for agreeing to sign up for the program 2 min after i told her i'm going for it.

Ahh well, just for some of ur info, my backpacking plans are off. I thought i might have been the one to back out, but it wasn't so. My so-called Travelling Companion (let's call this person TC) have decided to work in Rotterdam in Holland, unpaid. So, that calls off the our Eastern Europe tour. When i tell TC i'm disappointed, my TC simply shurgs it off with a "i don't want to talk about it". alright. i'll just let TC have TC's way then.

Don't worry about me, if i can't find a place to stay between Aug and Sep, I'll probably crash into Henri's house in London, but the thoughts of staying there for 1 month is pretty scary. Again i repeat, i don't have enough money to survive in London. I just might end up eating raw carrots - haha. alright i think i shan't be too harsh on myself. For anything that goes wrong in Europe, i'll just blame my TC for abandoning me.