Holidaying in Turkey

I went with my wife and USJ Zhineng chi gong friends for a 10D7N holidaying in Turkey via SA Tour (Sri America Travel) from 12-22 October 2019. Overall, it was a good trip. Here are my observations:

The road – most of the roads are dual-carriage way, similar to our PLUS Highway; but the condition is much better with the smooth tar road and very little bumpy ride;

The bus – the Mercedes bus was an excellent transporter, very comfortable ride and it is twice the height of a normal person. The first few days involved many hours of travelling in the bus; hence, a good vehicle is the better choice;

Hotels – the rooms are big and clean, very comfortable stay ...

Do CLICK HERE to view 290 photos (with captions) courtesy of yours truly (KC Leong).

 Hot Air Balloon ride at Cappadocia

The only group photo taken by a professional cameraman for 10 Turkish Lira a photo (scanned from print)

Food – most of the time, we ate in the hotels for buffet breakfast and dinner; lunch in the restaurants at the R&R area of the highway. All salad dressing used olive oil and vinegar. Overall, food is Ok.

Walking on the street (at the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar of Istanbul) – I felt that Turkey is a safe place to walk on the street. 

People on the street – Istanbul is a melting pot of cultures for people from other countries to come here; so, it is not easy to distinguish the nationality from the way they dressed.

 Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia Museum

Religion – they are Muslim at birth but only 10% practise the Islamic way; most people there are modern thinking.

Our Tour Guide – Mr Metin is a Muslim; he told us a true story: when his good friend passed away, he went to pay the last respect. He was surprised to see that a priest was there for the funeral wake. He then realised that the person whom he has spent many years as his good friend was a Christine. He said Turkish people respect other people' religions.


Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia – We missed our chance because of unfavourable wind condition forecasted for the following morning. We were then put in the waiting list joining the subsequent day's group; and later, we were informed that vacant slots were not available. Though the ride is not cheap - at USD 230 per person - but the black market rate for those wanting to ride is USD 400 to USD 500!

 The site of ancient TROY

Istanbul New Airport – opened in April 2019, it is one of the most modern and largest airports in the world. The check-in process was fully automated, fast and with a new concept: usually, the officials are behind the counter, but in this airport, they are with the passengers. The boarding gate waiting areas are spacious and with comfortable chairs; passengers can even lie down to sleep. Compare to our KLIA airport, passengers have to travel to the satellite building via the Aerotrain; but with the new concept in design, aerotrain is not needed. 


Cherries – according to tour guide, the trip in 1 June will see an abundance of cherries being sold by farmers along the road.

 Asklepion – an ancient Temple of Healing
(front, left: KL Tan, Frankie Yap, Eunice, Alice, Annie, KC Leong)

Other than the main photos below, the other activities/ places that we have visited (photos in the album above) were:

Boat transfer from Instanbul to Canakkale (together with the big bus);

House of Virgin Mary – people believed that Virgin Mary lived here with St john towards the end of her life;

Sirince Village – an old Orthodox village which claimed to be the only surviving place for 2012 dooms day;

Sultanhani Caravanserai – an ancient inn and rest stop for the Silk Road travellers in the olden days;

 Ephesus – an ancient Greek city that was regarded as the most important and largest centre of the old Mediterranean world

Underground city of Cardak – once a place of refuge for 15,000 Christians; 

Avanos pottery village; 

Goreme Open Air Museum – fascinating rock-hewn Churches; 

500-year-old Grand Bazaar – for souvenirs, local products and handicrafts;

Lunch at Kumkapi for grilled fish meal – in the evening, a happening place where there is performance in most of the restaurants;

Taksim Square – a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shopping and hotels.

 Cotton Castle – white travertine terrace formed over thousands of years

 Obruk – a sinkhole lake where water is used for irrigation of crops

 Turkish Belly Dance show

 Rock castle and the magnificent view of the Cappadocia landscape, which is well known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities and cave churches

 Caves Hotel at Cappadocia

 Salt Lake

 Ataturk Mausoleum – dedicated to the 1st President of modern Turkey

 Bosphorus Cruise at Istanbul – get a good view of the long strait between Asia and Europe linking the Black Sea and Marmara Sea

Spice Bazaar for delightful dried fruits and spices, and Lokum (candy) shop for traditional Turkish delight tasting

Posted by KC Leong

Phu Kradueng Mountain

I went with Lam to recce Phu Kradueng mountain in Thailand from 4-10 October 2019. We spent 4D3N up in the mountain. It is a camping-friendly site complete with tents and clean toilets; besides, sleeping equipment (mattress, blanket, pillow), food and groceries are easily and readily available at a reasonable fee – just bring sufficient Thai Baht will do.

In hiking up the mountain, one can let porters carry the bags. They have a very good porter service system where all bags are weighed and tagged. Each porter will then carry the load according to one's ability. At the mountain top, luggage is reclaimed by ID and payment is paid directly to the porter; for every kilogram, the porter fee is 30 Baht.

I could not ever imagine that at the peak of a mountain, it is a flat land with many cliffs and waterfalls. This is a fun and enjoyable place for hiking, camping and cycling; we will sure go again next year, do let me know if you would like to join us.

Do CLICK HERE to view 50 photos courtesy of yours truly, KC Leong.

 Day 2 cycling around the mountain top visiting view points and waterfall

About Phu Kradueng Mountain: 

(1) It is located about 500km north of Bangkok;

(2) Trailhead to the peak = 5.5km (moderate hiking pace takes about 4.5 hrs); 

(3) Peak to the National Park Office/campsite (walking on flat land) = 3.5km (about 1 hr);

(4) There are five (5) food/drink stations lined from foothill to the peak;

(5) Difficulty level: moderately tough (similar to hiking from Kem Lolo to Kem Pacat of Gunung Nuang, Selangor); 

(6) Area of flat summit plateau of the mountain where major attractions are held = 60 km²

Note: the hiking photos are in Lam's camera.

 They even have designated area for parking of bicycles at popular view points

 Shop selling food and drinks at every view point area

 Blue sky and scenic view

 Signature landmark of Phu Kradueng ... Lam in action at Lom Sak Cliff with the protruding rock and the lone pine tree. Most popular and perfect place for viewing sunset; returning to campsite takes about one hour on wide-tyre bicycles.

 Yours truly double up as the model for this photo

 Sunrise view ... we gathered at the park office at 5am and a ranger would guide us to arrive at this view point

 There are about six (6) waterfalls at the mountain top

 Neatly arranged tents; there are a few hundred tents being set up here. The tents under the trees would be cooler in the afternoon; at night, the entire mountain top is quite cold starting from October onward.

 National park workers cleaning and drying the sleeping equipment (mattress, blankets and pillows) under the sun. On 5 October 2019 (Saturday), there was a trail running event been staged here; we were told that 1,000 people camped here involving 300 porters to send goods/bags up to the campsite.

 Neatly stacked mattress ready for the next campers

 There are many clean toilets surrounding the campsite

Many eatery shops where food and drinks are abundance. They sell Thai style rice and noodles, mixed rice, stew pork rice, steamboat, soy milk, raw papaya salad, canned food, biscuit, chocolate bars, soft drinks, etc. They also sell hiking and camping related stuff.

Posted by KC Leong

Apek Hill to Ampang Lookout Point

Hiking from Apek Hill fruit stall at Cheras Awana to Ampang Lookout Point (Pusat Pelancongan Dan Menara Tinjau) via Saga Hilltop station for a round trip of 19km with a total time of 7 hours on Sunday, 15 Sept 2019. The outing was led by Ms Leng. 

From the junction of Watergate Extended Trail to Ampang Lookout Point and return, it took about 2.5 hours (not counting rest time).

Note: The Ampang Lookout Point is permanently closed and it is in a dilapidated condition.

Do CLICK HERE to view photos courtesy of yours truly, KC Leong.

 The team started from Apek Hill 

 Emerging at Ampang Lookout Point

 The Pusat Pelancongan Dan Menara Tinjau (Ampang Lookout Point) is permanently closed and it is in a dilapidated condition

Returning at Saga Hilltop Station and we met Jason Lee/Weng/Garry Chin/CH Leong and group

About the trail to Ampang Lookout Point (from the Saga-Watergate junction):

(1) at least 5 quite steep downhill slopes (so there would be more going uphill during the returning journey);

(2) compare to Ah Meng /Watergate trail, this trail is narrow and one needs both hands to hold on to the small tress to prevent one from sliding downhill; I find that going uphill, though require more energy, is more comfortable than going downhill; 

(3) one way is about 1.5 hours; the returning journey would be almost the same time;

(4) the trails are obvious, guided by the red ribbon markers for the entire trails.

Posted by KC Leong

Melbourne Self-drive Holiday

Melbourne Self-drive Holiday from 30 Aug to 8 Sep 2019 (11D8N) with following activities in the photo album ...

(1) en route to/and overnight in Apollo Bay;

(2) The 12 Apostles ... off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria; overnight stay in Port Campbell;

(3) Sovereign Hills, Kryal Castle; overnight stay in Ballarat;

(4) Puffing Billy, Tulip farm, Yarra Winery; overnight stay in Dandenong;

(5) Wildlife Park, Penguin Parade in the evening, overnight stay in Phillip Island;

(6) returned to Melbourne.

Do CLICK HERE to view 345 photos courtesy of yours truly, KC Leong.

 At the 12 Apostles ... by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia

 The 12 Apostles

 At Port Campbell

 The Arch

 London Bridge

 Cape Otway Lightstation

 A vast landscape filled with yellow flowers (after leaving Port Campbell, before reaching Mount Elephant town)

 Delicious home-cook meal supervised by main chef, Mr Ronnie.
(left) Camelia, Cindy Lim, Ronnie, Brenda Lee, Tioh, Annie (holding camera: KC Leong)

 Visiting the gold mine of Ballarat

 Visiting a Birds Park

 Visiting a Tulip Farm, which is only ready in mid-September (somewhere at Dandenong area)

 The best homestay (a Chinese owner; at Dandenong) that we have stayed so far; other than the cosy and comfortable stay, it has 4 toilets (most other homestay only have 1 toilet; imagine the queue for toilet in the morning)

 Visiting a Wildlife Park in Phillip Island

  Cowes Jetty in Phillip Island (it is at the end of the main street)

 Nobbies Centre of Phillip Island

 Kia Carnival that can take 8 persons comfortably; but the luggage bags must be of cabin size in order to be able to fit into the trunk. This new model of the Kia Carnival is nice to drive, powerful and does not consume much petrol.

 At the street of Melbourne ... lots of food at Swanston Street

 Bridge over Yarra River, at South Gates near to Flinders Street Station

An evening view of Melbourne harbour ... looking out of the apartment at 36th floor of Manhattan Tower.

Posted by KC Leong