Really great trip report so far. I'm a bit disappointed that your QR flights didn't work out, as I'm flying them for the first time in a couple weeks.

Excellent photos as well. Can I ask what camera you use and what type of lens you invested in?

Thanks, let me know how your QR flight goes. I use a:

Panasonic GH2
Lumix X G Vario 12-35mm f/2.8
Lumix X G Vario 35-100mm f/2.8
both with B+W MRC UV filter,
B+W MRC Circular Polarizer.
B+W MRC 1000x ND Filter (10 step)

Along with it, iPhone 4S and iPad mini. As for which is which, they are shown in the flickr page (links at the end of each segment), which, more photos will become available as I progress along.

Love your photos , the Eiffel towel is as usual so amazing.

towel? Yeah, I suppose, if it's flapping in the wind. :D

All joking aside, thanks for your compliments! It gave me great joy for posting the report.

7. Istanbul (I)

Soon after we sat down, the push back began, and we were airborne in no time. It was our first ever TK flight and we were impressed by the food offered. I again had some steaks, and Mrs. had grill veges. Both were very tasty!

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Appetizer with veges and couscous

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Grilled veges

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Steak with potatoes.

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Angled seats in business class. Just about right for a 3-hour flight.

None of us moved much during the flight, hence I couldn't tell much about what is happening in the back, as I was getting some photos organized at 36,000 ft. One thing we did noticed, is that all the flight attendants in C had "the look", as if they did not enjoy their work. Our meal was served professionally, and that's it. There was no "would you like a friendly smile with that?" and definitely no "how about some after dinner _fill it in yourself_?.":p

After touchdown, we rushed towards the immigration office to purchase our visa as plenty of other flights were landed and we could see the crowd forming around us. On our way, we got cut off by a few Chinese tourists. Instead of walking along the fence where they controlled the line formation, they simply scaled it and jumped ahead of us. :eek:

Minutes later, we saw the "express customs line" for business class and VIPs and decided to take up on that. The funny thing was, those very same Chinese tried to cut us off again. Rightfully, they were told to fxxk off by the agent because they sat way back in row 254 or something like that. Ha, the beauty of seat 3A/3B and capitalism hard at work. :D

After reading extensively on what to watch out for taxi scams in Istanbul on FT we scouted out a driver who was middle aged and honest looking and agreed on 40TL for the ride to Crowne Plaza Old City. It was 11pm, and we zipped thru the Kennedy Avenue along the shore line and got there in 20 minutes. The driver said to me accordingly, the fare was only 36TL, but we thanked his honesty, hospitality and professionalism and paid what was agreed earlier anyways. That was a nice way to welcome us to the country.:)

Being an IHG Platnium, we were told we got upgraded to the executive club rooms without even asking, late check out, and some welcome amenities. The location was prime, right next to the tram line and walkable distance to the major attractions. All these for $90 a night. I highly recommend it!

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Turkish delights and a handwritten letter from the manager. Sweet!^

Breakfast in Crowne Plaza was like a feast! There's no photo to do the justice, but you have t believe it. 4 isles buffet of food ranging from Turkish to Western to Chinese. The drinks selection was vast, along with the hot plates, cold plates, and made to orders. Very impressive! At the risk of getting food coma, we ate only til we weren't hungry and took off for the day.

After the tram ride, we started our day at the Galata Tower. Originally as a watch tower, there's a restaurant up there together with performances. They charge either Euro or TL, probably because most tourists don't bother with exchanging, at a markup.

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The Galata Tower

The weather finally warmed up. The view on top was breath taking, with the entire old city in our view. Just when I was busying taking photos, Mrs. let out a terrifying scream, as a seagull mistakenly thought her head was the landing post. Luckily, no one was hurt. But it was both scary and funny. :cool:

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The culprit.

After making our way down, and as we trekked towards Sultanahmet, we noticed there were plenty of cats but no dogs. Why?

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Galata Bridge. The lower level consists of restaurants who bought fishes from those who catch at the upper deck. Some of the fish qualities are very questionable though.

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Local market by the bridge.

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The Bosporus.

After crossing the bridge, we visited the historical Spice Bazaar. The color presentation of the merchandise and the shops are simply wonderful. Friendly people everywhere, and free samples all over. In contrast to the Turkish delights given in the hotel, these ones (yeah, we sampled plenty and enjoyed it.:D) are all way too sweet according to our standards. Having one piece is fine, but buying a whole chunk of it... I don't think so.

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Spices.

Immediately outside the bazaar is the New Mosque. Having only 4 more hours to spare before heading back to the airport, we did not linger and moved on after a few photos.

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The New Mosque.

Was it that we were lucky, or people over exaggerated about the safety of Istanbul, or we weren't in the shady areas to get ripped off or what? As we walked down the street, we felt very safe, and people seemed to be minding their own business, but also very friendly and helpful when approached. Not that we were complaining, but it was definitely a nice feeling.

Istanbul to be continued...

8. Istanbul (II) with a twist!

As we walked down the street, passing the Gulhane Park, the sites we saw so much in magazines, tvs... were finally in our view.

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Hagia Sophia.The line was very long, so we didn't go in. But the weather was no longer crappy! Yay.^

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The Blue Mosque. Luckily, line was short, and we were soon mesmerized by the attentions paid towards the ceiling painting and the beautiful Islam mosaics. It was just awesome!

Funny enough, soon after leaving The Blue Mosque, we decide to take the back alley and ended up asking our way out of it for the next hour or so.:rolleyes: Finally, we emerged to the main street by Istanbul University and the Grand Bazaar. Instead of going to a restaurant we heard so much about, we ended up with a street stall having doner kebab. Chicken and steak mixed with veges and french fries in a bun. Sounds funny, but very tasty.

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Where our detour started. Plenty of vendors are selling beautiful china, some are huge, some are delicate. Seeing how we still have plenty stops to go, we decided against it, for this time.

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Hungry and lost, Mrs. was one crabby lady until these kebabs. :cool:

We concluded our day tour with walks in and out of the Grand Bazaar and the surrounding streets. Being direction-challenged, Mrs. thought we steered way off the course, but in reality, we walked towards our hotel, the long way that is. One thing we noticed, is that majority of the vendors be it in the Spice Bazaar or Grand Bazaar, are selling things very similar to each other. That explains the lack of picture here. They all look the same at the end.

However, we still had a great time in Istanbul, even though it was a rather short one, too short we had to fly through sites and failed to enjoy our hotel amenities. But Istanbul, and Turkey will be allotted a generous time in our future traveling for sure.

After checking out, we were at the airport around 5pm, given ourselves 3 hours to enjoy the lounge before flying out at 8.25pm. After a quick look at our BP, we realized our flight wont be leaving until 1:10am. Without giving it much thoughts, we ducked into the lounge to relax. The IST lounge was huge! But the sheer volume of travelers inside didn't make it any easier for us. Fortunately, we secured ourselves a comfy couch, and before you know it, Mrs. was dozing off, leaving me to wander around for food and pictures.

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Beautiful Islam motif adorning the lounge.

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Turkish Pide. As they put out a new batch, crowded gathered and cleaned up the stash in no time. It was the best Turkish food I've had so far.

At around 8pm, we decided to take a shower. It was probably the worst lounge showering experience I've ever had. The water pressure was down to a trickle, and the temperature jumped all over the scale. Aside from that, being asked to hurry up by the concierge with "the look" didn't help much either. How I missed the wonderful showering experience in UA Lounge in NRT...

HEART ATTACK!

With about 3 hours to spare, we wandered out of the lounge and started to check for our flight info... nothing. Nothing! Our flight wasn't even on the screen. Confused, we headed back to the lounge, and that's when panic really set in. Apparently, none of us check the BP when given to us in DUS the day before, as it said Feb 6 1:10am. WHOA~

According to our itinerary given by United, our flight is scheduled at Feb 6 8:25pm. Something is horribly wrong! Our flight left us 20 hours ago. :( We scrambled to the ticketing office, and was told to head towards the arrival desk downstairs. At our first visit, they said they couldn't help, and we must go back ground side (that means we have to clear the customs again) to get it sorted. But later on the customs told us we didn't have to, rather, go upstairs (again) to the ticketing office. What is this, a wild goose chase?

As we rushed towards the security check to go back up, the agents at the arrival desk approached us and said he might be able to help. (Great, why didn't you tell us so 20 minutes ago, and sent us on a run?) Minutes later, he said since it's so late at night (only 9.30) the United office in Istanbul is closed and he is not authorized to make international calls. Down to our last trick, we bit the bullets and used our mobile to call the office in US (with a HKG mobile, in IST, calling USA, roaming for 10 minutes or so...) and finally got the tickets re-issued.

At the end, it was 99% United's fault for publishing the wrong schedule and failed to notify us. Well, that 1% is on us, for being too trusting and didn't once look at our BP whilst still in DUS the night before.:p

Crisis averted, and we are finally on our way to the Maldives, with a twist. We got downgraded. Boo~ United, Boo~

Finally, at 12:20am Feb 7, we are on our way. The main event! Paradise. Whatever you called it. Maldives.

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Tolerable leg room with footrest Y seat. The agent kindly blocked off the seats from D-E-F-G, allowing us to lie down.

And that's what I did, too tired to care, I slept like a baby as soon as we went airborne, forgoing the food and all the fun. It was 5 hours later before I woke up knowing we were over the Indian Ocean with less then 2 hours to the destination. Seeing Mrs. was also soundly asleep next to me as the bright sun spewed in from the window, I relaxed, smiled, and know that deep down, it's gonna be a great trip.

All those obstacles we faced, will be a part of our great memories down the road. ;)

Maldives. Here. We. Come!

To check our more photos from our adventure in Istanbul, CLICK HERE.

Really enjoying this so far. Great pics!

Great report and great pics of some of my favorites cities. ^
Looking forward to the MLE/Maldives part of the trip.

Great report thus far -- can't wait to see the Maldives.

And thanks for the reminder to never take a long itinerary for granted -- thankfully you were able to reschedule with only a minor headache!

Great Post
 

Tx for the pictures!!

Great pictures, though it would have been better if the watermark/signature was less intrusive on the photos.

Awaiting your photo report of the PH Maldives :)

Great Report! Really looking forward Maldives part!

Thanks~

Thanks, I've always enjoy reading yours as well, let alone many others here on FT.

We couldn't wait to get there either! Haha. More on the delay thing later.

You are welcome!

The watermark is there for a reason.:cool: Did you know they make Ferraris now in China?

That's the whole point. It started simply as ORD-DOH-MLE, but according to my change log, it underwent:

ORD-MUC-FRA-IST-MLE
ORD-YUL-CDG-FRA-IST-MLE
ORD-YUL-CDG-FRA-DUS-IST-MLE
ORD-CDG-FRA-DUS-IST-MLE

before the final one took shape:
ORD-CDG-FRA-ZRH-DUS-IST-MLE.

Crazy I know. MLE coming up shortly!

Great report!

This has been overstated at some point in this thread. But thank you nonetheless. Mrs. will be happy when reading this. :)