LIFE IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION
Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Happiness is to be found along the way, not at the end of the road, when the journey is over and it is too late to enjoy it. Be fully aware that the present moment is all we have.
HAPPINESS IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION
Happiness is a journey, not a destination; happiness is to be found along the way not at the end of the road, for then the journey is over and it is too late. The time for happiness is today not tomorrow.
LIFE IS A JOURNEY THAT MUST BE TRAVELED
Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how good or bad of the road and accommodations.
LIFE IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION
People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness Just because they are not on your road does not mean they are lost ..
SUCCESS IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION
Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome. Not everyone can be the Number One.
19 November 2014
5 January 2014
8 March 2013
Istanbul: Intercontinental Meeting Point for European Man and Asian Lady.
Istanbul is a city spanning two continents where East meets West across the blue waters of the Bosphorus. We decided to meet each other in Istanbul because we wanted to see each other and prove to the Swiss Embassy that we are serious in our relationship. It sounds a bit crazy but it is all true!!!! Turkey is a country that grants Thai citizens a visa on arrival valid for 30 days, and it is quite close to Europe where my love resides. We ventured over to the Asian side of the city, where one can find lots of groceries, vegetables and spices, except that I couldn’t found any Thai cooking ingredients. Luckily, my Thai girlfriend had suggested I should bring my own cooking ingredients if I could. So, I brought 20 kg of Thai cooking essentials, including 5 kg of mangos, with me. The European side did indeed seem very European with much evidence of Muslim religious traditions, but also some remaining signs of Christianity. The society and culture are remarkably progressive and liberal on the surface, but I had a sense that there were deep religious underpinnings that set the tone and rhythms. There is an amazing richness of history to be explored in Istanbul. We could spend a lifetime exploring and discovering this city and still not experience everything here.
I am a happy girl and my love is a happy guy. We rented an apartment in Taksim area which is located quite near the Istikal shopping area and the Findik tram station, which enabled us to visit the old town, the new town or the Asian quarter without any restrictions. Most of the time, we ate at home. I enjoyed cooking in our love nest very much and my loved one enjoyed eating and spending time in our apartment. Such a good match we are hehehe!!! We had a good time together here for almost a month.
Tourist Attraction things:
:: Blue Mosque / The real name of The Blue Mosque is Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish. It is called The Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles adorning the interior walls. The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. As in many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasa and a hospice. The interior of the building is stunning, however Sofia Palace, which I will mention later, made me feel dark and ancient, while The Blue Mosque felt bright and airy. The entire floor was carpeted (for Islamic prayer time), giving a wonderful cozy feeling to the place. Once inside, you have to remove your shoes, which is of course similar to what one does in Thailand. Despite its liberal Western appearance, the movements of the people of Istanbul inside The Blue Mosque convey a strong sense that this is indeed a holy Muslim place. Interestingly, admission was free, which is quite unlike our high admission prices for foreigners in Thailand. From many mosques, including The Blue Mosque, came the sound of call to prayer 5 times a day. We frequently heard these calls, because our apartment was located near the main speaker which woke me up early with a loud praying voice.
:: Istikal Avenue: We called this area the street which never sleeps. It is quite a good area for shoppers. There is a new adventure waiting around every corner. I must admit that despite my praise here for the history, religion and culture, window shopping is the theme of this area. Aggressive vendors were somewhat annoying. Most people here wear only black coloured cloth. Many times I was asked, "Do you want to buy this or that or these?” “Where are you from?" and "What do you want?" It was pleasant enough, but one quickly finds out that if you respond to the attention and engage in conversation, there is always something they would like to sell. It was the slick lead-in with a trick follow-up that got on my nerves when I walked along this street by myself. We could hardly ask for directions without playing some kind of game. Even if you learned to ignore their approaches, there was always another trick somewhere. I thought Thai people had trouble giving directions but here it is even worse, as people do not speak much English. My favorite places to watch and observe were bakeries and shoe shine stands, which one could find on virtually every corner.
:: Hagia Sofia / My suggestion here would be to first go through a slide show from the beginning at the main entrance to see for yourself the various points of interest in Istanbul. You will understand more about this city and its history. I noted that there were a lot of photos with accompanying explanations, and my love spent a lot of time looking at them. As for myself, I just enjoyed watching the video. Hagia Sophia looks like a cathedral but it is really a mosque, which is also an architectural achievement of great beauty and an important monument for both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. I could easily relate to the fact that there had been many kings over time, similar to the evolution of our own Thai kingdom. Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum of the Turkish Republic, one can experience here an encapsulation of its precious history. I got my love to take these pictures inside the building in difficult lighting conditions. If you have ever visited Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal or Wat Pakaew in Bangkok, you might find this place to be somewhat less magnificent, but each has its own special beauty which emerges once thoroughly explored and experienced personally.
:: Grand Bazaar / Istanbul is the kind of city where you can just wander around the back streets and where you are going to certainly see many things you have never seen before or even thought about. If you have a map and a good sense of direction you can allow yourself to just get lost and then find your way back. We managed to find our way around this area very well. The Grand Bazaar has been defined as the biggest market in the world. Commercial things were being sold, shops are being re-supplied, often by men carrying large boxes on their shoulders or in carts because many streets are too narrow to bring a truck through. The centre of commerce in Istanbul is the Grand Bazaar which is a covered market of carpet shops, other shops selling scarves, clothing, jewelry, handbags, lamps, T-shirts, as well as shops for tourists, cafés, restaurants, and even a gold and currency market like a street level Wall Street. It goes on for miles and miles - a shopper's paradise - and even if you are not really a shopper you will find something of interest to keep you occupied while others enjoy shopping. For us, after wandering around taking photos of everything in sight, we bought massage towels, a dress and scarves. At the main entrance was an EFT guy at the gate. EFT in Turkish means a security guard, but in English to us it signifies Emotional Freedom Technique, which gave us a big smile.
:: Galata Bridge / The bridge has two levels. The upper level has a road for cars, tracks for the trams, a sidewalk on each side for the pedestrians, and a railing for hundreds of people to rest their fishing poles on as they fished in the Golden Horn. People on the bridge were catching fish continuously and what they caught depended upon what kind of fish happened to be going up or down the Golden Horn. I saw a guy pull up a small fish and others pulling up a bigger one and some fish I did not even
know what they were. Anytime of day or night that we were passing by we always found people fishing from the bridge. Meanwhile, there is a lower level that has tons of fish and kebab restaurants, cafés, bars, nightclubs and many fancy restaurants with waiters. There was even a floating restaurant where we were invited in as we walked past. It was fun walking along the bridge seeing fisherman, but we both agreed we did not want to eat any of those fish.
:: Tokapi Palace / Topkapi's history has been expertly preserved by making much of the palace into a museum. The castle, in addition to being a central visual point for the city, was also the setting for many of Istanbul's most intriguing historic events. Called a castle of “irregular, asymmetric, non-axial, and un-monumental proportions”, it was built by Sultan Mehmed, a 23-year-old Ottoman who conquered the city. As the residence of the Ottoman Sultans for more than 400 years, the castle has seen its share of romance, humility and humour. It was the deathbed of Selim the Sot, who drowned in one of the castle's bathtubs after indulging in too much champagne. It was also the home of Roxelana, the legendary queen who rose from being the king's love-slave to his free wife.
:: Cruise tour / This ended up being the highlight of our trip. It was very cold out on the water but we both had very warm hearts on the cruise. ^__^. We stayed up on the top deck and took in the scenery. Most of the time, my love was busy taking photos while I just enjoyed the views of Istanbul. It went up from Istanbul past Ortakoy, and under the Bosphorus Bridge before turning back to Eminonu. Bosphorus Bridge reminded me of Golden Gate bridge, so I was tearfully happy when I saw the big bridge. I don’t know why, but I prayed someday I would be able to take my love to visit San Francisco. We have now been on two different cruises together. I had some tea while on the cruise and fell in love with the whole tea custom in Istanbul. I especially loved the mixed herbal tea! A cruise on the Bosphorus is probably the most overlooked tourist attraction in Istanbul, which is understandable given the abundance of historical sightseeing opportunities.