ISTANBUL

My First Experience as a Solo Female Traveller in Turkey

Saturday, July 15, 2017


I celebrated my first day of Raya in Istanbul. Yeah, tick off another list in my bucket lists. To be honest, Turkey was never in my plan before 2014 because well, I never knew someone who had visited Turkey until I watched Fazura in Manisnya Cinta di Cappadocia. Not even Lisa Surihani in Istanbul Aku Datang could pique my interest to visit Turkey. Nope.

Later in the year 2015, I learned about a Muslim warrior who conquered Constantinople from Byzantine named Sultan Mehmet al Fatih. Whenever I read about the history of Ottoman Empire, I always stumbled upon Constantinople but only in 2015 did I knew that Constantinople is now known as Istanbul.

In 2016, my little sister went to further her studies in Istanbul. I used this opportunity to plan my trip to the city and decided it would be great if I get to celebrate my Eid in Istanbul. After a careful planning and changing the itinerary every single day, I finally landed in Istanbul on Raya morning. Goodbye rendang and my Mak Long's kuah kacang. Will miss you dearly and here is how my FINDING FATIH JOURNEY started.



As soon as I landed in Istanbul, the first thing I did was finding the metro station. From the exit door, you will see Metro signboard on your left side and it will lead you to the lower ground. Bear in mind, you have to buy Istanbul card (Istanbulkart) which is just like our Touch n Go. #tip, if you see a stall selling Istanbulkart at the airport, just buy it cause I didn't and that was my biggest regret of the day. (More regrets later, just keep reading.) I knew I could buy Istanbulkart from the machine but a man who helped me buying the ticket bought 1 way ticket for me which cost me about TL 4 instead of TL2.50 if I use the Istanbulkart.

My first destination would be my sister's school which is located somewhere in Umraniye, Istanbul (Never heard of it? Yeah, me too. Just imagine going to Section 2, Shah Alam from KLIA). So from the airport, I have to take the metro to Yenikapi and then change the train to Uskudar. Here was when this story became interesting.

Most of Turkish do not know how to speak English. At Uskudar Station, only 1 out of 6 security guards could point me how to go to Umraniye. I was told to take Bus No 52B which is supposed to depart from Point 1. But no, no signboard to show me where Point 1 is located at. All I saw were signboards Point 3 and 4. After 10 minutes walking here and there looking for Point 1, I gave up and decided to use my offline Google Translate. So I asked a nice looking man (who looks like he's a nice man, not a scammer) and typed "Do you speak English?" Though he didn't know how to speak English, luckily his friend did. God led me to the correct man. Alhamdulillah.

I told them I didn't have Istanbulkart and asked them where can I get one cause as far as I know you cannot ride the bus without it. He told me there was no stall/machine selling it there. What??? Then he added that I could ride the bus with them and he would give me his card since he is serving the army so he doesn't need one. Not only he gave me his card, but he also reloaded the card with TL10. I wanted to repay him but he sincerely turned it down. Wow so nice aaa, but why was he being so nice to me, a complete stranger? That got me so suspicious but I knew I had to choose either to stuck at the station or follow him and I chose the latter. (I urge you girls, don't follow my footstep. I was lucky this time, but next time?)

Later on we introduced ourselves and we even became Facebook friends. Batuhan indeed is a nice guy. He told me that he was very exhausted from his trainings in the army. Since he is from Samsun, he's not very familiar with Uskudar/Umraniye. Even though we had to change buses a few times plus a missed bus, at the end he safely sent me to my sister's school. I was grateful I met a nice guy like him in the middle of Uskudar where anything could happen to a solo female tourist like me. I hope God would repay him in any way I couldn't. Hope he would enjoy the Maggi cup I have him because that's the only thing from Malaysia I could give him. That or the baju kurung my mom sent to my sister. Aherher.


I'm 25 but you cannot call me Kak or Aunty

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Today, I am 25 years and 1 week old. 

In my family, birthday is not something we celebrate. That’s why it’s not really a surprise I forgot that last Sunday was my birthday, really. Though I forgot that it’s my birthday, I did something out of the ordinary on that day.
I only slept for a couple of hours the night before which was not unusual for me but the fact that I did not sleep after my Fajr prayer was something I rarely did. Since it’s Ramadhan, I wouldn't want to miss sleeping after Fajr but last Sunday, I suddenly felt so energized and started doing laundry early in the morning. So not me.
It was until my parents wished me a happy birthday that I remember, I had lived my life for two and a half decades. What a journey, really.

Looking back, there were so many things I’ve achieved and yet there are still so many things I have yet to achieve. I'm working to achieve everything in my list before I turn 30, more importantly before I finally rest in peace. I feel content with everything I have today.


Being 25, I don't feel young anymore and I don't feel old either. It's such a mixed feelings because now you have so many people who are entitled to call you "Kak" and even kids can call you "Aunty" (please don't).

Last year, I remember my goal was to further my studies somewhere in UK. I did applied and received the offer. When university's information booklet came to my house, I cried hugging it knowing I wouldn't be able to go because of my financial situation. Somewhere deep in my heart, I blamed fate for my humble background. I thought if I was born into privilege, I would never had to worry about continue my studies in the UK. I forgot that if my parents were well off, I may not be this content.

I feel sorry for my parents. They worked hard for more than 25 years to feed their kids. I'm still trying to convince myself that something good will come out of it. Maybe it's best for me to build a career and climb the corporate ladder first then only continue with studies when my financial is more stable. I hope I can cross "attain a master's degree" off my list before I turn 30. Amen.

 25, I hope I will be extra extra wiser.

AUSTRALIA

How to survive Perth with only $400

Friday, April 28, 2017



Malaysians love Australia. Ever since I was small, people talk about Australia and its kangaroos and koalas all the time. Back in 2015, I started a job that didn't allow me to take a long break.  Often, I would imagine myself strolling along the streets in Perth. It's what kept me motivated to save up and plan this trip. A trip to Perth was like a gift for myself after I quit the job in July. Even with a tight budget, I was grateful I was still able to enjoy Perth.


Listed below is our real expenses in Perth for 6 days.
Click the image for a better image quality.


Until this moment, I couldn't believe that we were actually able to restrain ourselves from shopping since there were a lot of things that were way cheaper than in our home country.

Maybe some people wonder about our flight tickets and accommodation. Below are the details for 3 persons.

Return flight : MYR 2,051.52
Mountway Holiday Apartment : MYR1465.67
Visa ETA : MYR 60 with Akasia Travel and Tours

Now I can safely say with only $400 in my pocket, I survived Perth.


It's not impossible to visit Perth with a limited budget. All you need are careful planning and research. Good luck.

AUSTRALIA

Perth, Australia : Tips for Moslems

Monday, April 17, 2017


Below are some tips for my Moslems friends who wish to visit Perth.

1. Halal Food

The first question my mom asked when I suggested for us to visit Perth was whether it's easy to find halal food. 
The answer is YES! It's very easy to find halal food as there are so many f&b outlets owned by Muslims around the city. It may be a bit harder the further you're from the city but worry not, with websites such as HALAL SQUARE , ZABIHAH and AUSSIEMUSLIMS now you don't have to order seafoods anymore.

At the supermarket, there are so many products with Halal logo certified by various bodies such as Australia Muslims Authority, JAKIM (Malaysia), The Islamic Committee of Thailand (Thailand) and Indonesia.

2. Prayer halls

A shared prayer hall can be found near car rental kiosk at the Perth Airport. Most of the tourist attractions however do not provide prayer hall. 
At Watertown Brand Outlet, a prayer room is available at the information office, if I'm not mistaken. When there is no prayer room available,we would perform our obligations anywhere we ought suitable and clean. 

For example, we prayed in the middle of the dessert, under a tree at Lancelin Sand Dunes.
At Fremantle Round House, ablution was performed with sea water behind the Round House and we found a secluded area to perform our prayer. Don't forget to download apps such as Muslim Pro that provides information about prayer times and qibla. (Available for Android and iPhone).

3. Islamophobia

I didn't experience any discrimination by the locals nor tourists despite of my headscarf. I believe that Aussies are very open-minded that they don't allow such a negative influence to penetrate their mind. Hehe.
I hope the tips on how a Muslim travels in Perth would be helpful to you.


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Perth, Australia : Itinerary

Wednesday, February 01, 2017


Here's our simple but complete 6-day Perth trip itinerary.

Day 1 (Sunday)
Arrived at the airport and we're picked up by Ace Car Rental's shuttle van to its office.
Checked in to the Mountway Holiday Apartment.

Night : Elizabeth Quay

Day 2
Pinnacles Dessert Discovery Centre
Lancelin Sand Dunes
We had late lunch at Indonesia Indah Restaurant.

Night : London's Court, Perth CBD

Day 3
Rockingham - Peron Point
Mandurah Cruises
Fremantle - Fremantle Prison, Round House, Freo Rainbow Sea Container

Night : Coles, Woolsworth

Day 4
Caversham Wildlife Park
Watertown Outlet

Night : After dinner, we went for a jog at the King's Park.

Day 5
King's Park
Swanley Edge Boatshed
Araluen Botanic Park - Tulips Festival

Evening : We went to the CBD for our last minute shopping. I had fun testing all the products at Lush. 

Night : Dinner at my mom's friend's restaurant, My Rasa. 

Day 6
Swan Lake
Returned the car to the Ace Car Rental office.
Departed from Perth.

Stay tuned for the reviews of all the places we visited. 
Till next time.

AUSTRALIA

Perth, Australia : 9 tips to visit Perth on a budget

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Budget is actually one of the main things to plan when you go for a trip. I'm always a cheapskate when it comes to travel. I'm not really a backpacker, but I do travel on a shoestring budget. Below are 9 tips on how to minimise your spending when you visit Perth.

1. Plan your itinerary
Having an itinerary is one of the most crucial things for those who are visiting in limited time and have a tight budget. Take time to plan your itinerary. 
For those who just learned to travel on your own without following any travel agency, you can refer to other people's itinerary and from it, you can arrange which attractions to visit on which day.

2. Public transport vs Car rental

My visit to Perth was with my parent. I cannot imagine having my mother carry her luggage onto the bus or trains. As most of the points of attraction we would like to visit are not within walking distance from bus stations and in my opinion, it's cheaper to drive rather than to hail a cab/taxi. So hiring a car from and to the airport was our best option. Below is the list of some of the car rental companies as promised.
It is also wise to visit Vroom Vroom Vroom to compare the best car rental deals from several companies. 


The best deal I got was from the Ace Car Rental which was only AUD220.01 with unlimited miles. I heard from other people, Bayswater also offers good deals for their cars.

What are the things you should know before you hire a car in Australia? I'll do a different post for that.

3. Skip expensive tour

Travelling on a shoestring budget doesn't mean you experience less than other people. However there are certain activities that can be skipped to save your money such AUD 28 for 1 hour-Mandurah Dolphin Cruise and AUD20-60 for Fremantle Prison Tour Packages. It's not because those tours are not interesting but in my regret, I paid too much to see a dolphin for less than a minute!

4. Check out for promotions, coupons,discounts and offers.

Some tourist attractions offer discounted entrance fees on certain days. You can opt to visit the points of attraction on the day they offer cheaper tickets such as the Mandurah Cruises offers discounted tour for only AUD25 on Tuesday and I find that the entrance fees for Araluen Botanic Park are slightly higher during Tulip Festival. We paid AUD12 per pax when we visited it in August 2015 while now the entrance fee stated on their website is only AUD6 per adult. They also offer special price on Tuesday.

5. Shopping at Watertown Outlet

Shopping for anything other than souvenirs shouldn't be on any backpacker's list, evah. But one cannot have too many shirts right? Watertown Outlet is actually a good place to shop. Cotton On, Rip Curl and Fossil are among the stores that sell their products at much cheaper price than their outlets in Malaysia.

6. Cook
It's pretty simple, aite? I didn't cook actually but more of heating our MREs that we brought from Malaysia. I had nasi lemak in Perth yeay.  I remember we also bought eggs and cook them in the microwave. Food in Perth is not very expensive, to be honest. But we just felt that we could save up a lot more if we cook our own meals. For this trip, I allocated around AUD10 for each person per day, just for food, errr more specifically just for lunch. We had our breakfasts and dinners at the hotel.

However before you fly in all the food stocks with you, it is advisable to check whether it's permissible or not since Australian customs are quite strict. Make sure to declare every item you bring with you.


7. Parking fees

One of the disadvantages of driving on our own is that I tend to worry about parking fees. The rate of the parking fees in Perth is quite high, in my opinion. Parking fees around CBD area could cost you about AUD 4.40 per hour. Parking area in the building is around AUD10-14 per hour. There's a free parking zone at the most of the places I visited except for the city. In the city, free parkings are available from 6pm until 8am. However most of the shops will be closed at 5pm.

8. Fill up at the cheapest petrol station

Petrol price in Australia changes daily, if I'm not mistaken (or weekly) in accordance to the international market. The petrol price will be higher the further you are from the city. The prices may also vary depending on the companies. Different companies, different price. My advice: check the price signs and compare. Most of the times we fill up our tank with Unleaded 91 at Caltex. 

9. Halal Food and Restaurant

There are so many halal food in Australia. Visit Halal Square and Zabihah to find out more about halal restaurants or restaurants with halal certificate. Most of the chocolate brands are halal and pork free. There are halal brands like Maggi, Harvest Fresh Milk, Sun Rice, Ayam Brand products available at Woolworths Mart. Fresh fruits and veggies also wouldn't cost you much. 



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