Just got in to Bangkok, Thailand this morning at 5 am. The wonderful hotel staff was kind enough to let me check in early and had my room ready by 9 am.
The first order of business after a 9 hour flight from Istanbul was to get a massage. There is no shortage of massage places near my hotel. There are at least one dozen and likely another dozen beyond that a few more meters away. The great thing about Thailand is that massages are fairly inexpensive and high quality if you get an experienced masseuse. At the time of this post the Bhat is trading at 32 to 1 USD so a 250 Baht massage will cost ~$8 USD.
I ended up getting two massages. A full body massage which did wonders for my back then a separate foot massage which is really more of a leg, ankle and foot massage. I plan on repeating tomorrow. The cost of 4 massages is still less than one massage back in the U.S.
I wish I could tell you that after the massage I didn’t fall asleep back in my hotel room but I did. The intent was to take a quick nap but I dozed off around noon and didn’t wake up till 4 p.m. I woke up hungry and had planned to go to an Indian restaurant but along the way, I found this night market and decided to check it out.
There are endless stalls offering all kinds of foods from pizza, Thai dishes, Indian dishes, fried foods, seafood and more.
The spicy stir-fried mama with basil and chilli caught my eye and the chef seemed very enthusiastic to cook up any order freshly so off we went.
I blurred out the faces but they were very happy and enthusiastic. Thailand has strict social media laws that protect individuals so I’ve opted to blur for everyone’s protection.
The dish below was very filling and cost 120 Bhat ($3.75). Noodles, shrimp, calamari, and veggies grilled to perfection.
And of course washing it all down with an order of french fries and chicken nuggets also 120 baht total.
The seafood stand below was very popular. You pick a stick with a variety of seafood and the grill master cooked it to perfection. I plan on eating here again tomorrow. This place has every type of food I like, it’s fast, cheap and good.
I have a dentist appointment tomorrow here and more about that journey tomorrow.
Categories: Bangkok Comments Off on In Bangkok, Thailand
The protagonists in our Istanbul story are a father and son looking for intrigue and adventure as strangers in a foreign land. The travel weary characters in this story wanted the best hotel close to key sites, easy and cheap transportation and modest comfort and the DeCamondo Galata delivered on all three.
The DeCamondo Galata in a central location nestled between the Galata Tower (5 minute walk), Karakoy metro train (9 minute walk), Kamondo Stairs (1 minute walk) and quite a few rooftop restaurants. With easy access to the metro, the rest of the city is easily accessible without having to rely on taxis or Ubers in this very traffic congested city.
Kamondo Stairs
The Antagonist
All stories have an antagonist and this story is no different. The main antagonist of this hotel is street noise. The tight streets with endless traffic and occasional honking, loud music cars, street sweepers, garbage trucks and other similar noise makes sound the main villain.
If you stay here, I highly recommend you bring ear plugs for the noise and request a room on higher floors.
The image above is from my hotel room, a couple getting married below and a man banging on a large drum. There are many married couples getting photographed in this area especially around the Kamondo Stairs and the surrounding streets.
The Hero
The hero in our story was the rooftop restaurant featuring spectacular views of the Bosporus and surrounding city. For Marriott platinum or above members, breakfast is included and this restaurant knows how to shower their guest with high quality food. The standard spread includes veggies, fruits, breads, cheeses, and an array of honey, jam, butter dips.
View from the rooftop hotel. Note that breakfast if operated by Marriott hotel and dinner is operated by a private company and dinner can’t be charged to the hotel room so bring cash or card.
Anti-Hero
The anti-hero of this story are the steep, slippery, uneven cobbled streets and sidewalks that make this a disabled persons nightmare through and through. If you have any kind of mobility issues, carefully consider other options if possible. Most of Istanbul has steep hills and the infrastructure is not disabled friendly.
The image below doesn’t quite show the steep 35 degree angle of the slope of this road. If you are mobility challenged, be aware and plan accordingly. The sidewalks are often small, staired, and cars or motorcycles are parked over the sidewalk so you will need to walk on the cobblestone street to move about.
The Denouement (& Recommendation?)
Our story has a triumphant finale as the protagonists got restful sleep, fine dining and satisfied their hunger for adventure. We’d recommend and stay in this hotel again during a future visit to Istanbul.
To learn more about this hotel you can visit the hotel’s website here.
Categories: Istanbul Comments Off on Hotel Review: DeCamondo Galata, Tribute Portfolio
Today was a short day as it’s the last day for my traveling companion as he moves on to a new country and I leave to another one tomorrow.
We spent the day at Galata Tower since there were no cruise ships at port and there were no lines for the tower.
Galata Tower
Inside the tower is this model of Istanbul.
There are interesting things to see from the tower. Not sure what exactly is going on on the rooftop of the building below?
Spectacular views.
Interesting photo ops!
The route down is to take some stairs in some very tight corridors but each landing has some artifacts from long ago.
We had lunch at a Persian restaurant and the food was good and affordable.
Finished the day with desert. The three flavors of homemade ice cream from left to right are blueberry, peach and milk. Why are they all the same color? Who knows, but the best one is the milk. Available at Salon Galata.
SCAMS
Our trip in Istanbul has been fabulous except for the three scams encountered by the travel team. Istanbul is well known for endless scams and you should be aware that even the tourist destination are in on the action by over charging or padding the costs of tours, tickets and events.
The best way we found to avoid the scams is to PRE-BUY your tickets with reputable firms. I would highly recommend that you pre-book all the excursions or tours through GetYourGuide.com or Viator.com. I would highly encourage you to do this especially for Turkey.
I booked all my tours through GetYourGuide and I didn’t have a single problem. My traveling companion thought he could save a few bucks but ended up getting scammed.
If you think you’ll be saving money by going with some dude off the street, you will likely end up overpaying or be outright scammed.
The other thing to do BEFORE you travel to any destination is to review your destination in Reddit, YouTube or other online resources with emphasis on “scams in country x” and educate yourself. I also always check the UK Travel Advisory website for any notices. No, you don’t need to be British to use the site!
This website has a list of some common scams but it’s not all inclusive of issues you may face.
Today’s adventures consist of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern. Lots of rich history, culture and art at each site.
Blue Mosque
Our guide gave us a deep dive into the history of the Blue Mosque. You can read about some of it here.
The chain in the entrance below is designed to get people to bow and show reverence as you enter the mosque.
There are attire requirements in order to enter. Women must wear head scarves and no sleeveless shirts or shorts/skirts allowed.
The interior is amazing with multiple layers of domes, stained glass panes, and giant columns supporting the structure.
The columns are referred to as the ‘elephant’s legs’ and are made of marble.
Blue Mosque courtyard (image below).
Hagia Sophia
Walking distance from the Blue Mosque is Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia mosque also has a rich history dating back to Greek times when it was originally built as a temple to honor the Greek gods. It subsequently became a church then a mosque.
According to our guide, the Statue of Liberty would fit inside this structure which is remarkable considering it was built centuries ago!
The intricate mosaics are made up of thousands of pieces.
Basilica Cistern
The last stop was the Basilica Cistern. From Wikipedia: This cathedral-sizecistern is an underground chamber approximately 138 metres (453 ft) by 65 metres (213 ft) – about 9,800 square metres (105,000 sq ft) in area – capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres (2,800,000 cu ft) of water.
Medusa was discovered after restoring the cistern in 1985/87.
It was an amazing day! Best time to go is in the morning as the afternoon sun was a bit too much.
P.S. – There are cats everywhere. They are revered by the people in Turkey and cats are found on mosque grounds, trains, motorcycles, sidewalks, and any other place a cat can lounge around.
I started the day with a trip to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The entrance below looks like something out of Harry Potter and Diagon Alley. Once you enter, you are bombarded with a huge complex with endless shops featuring gold, rugs, lamps, teas, shoes and many other items.
It’s easy to get lost in here and spend hours upon hours if you have the patience and money to shop. It is worth nothing that you HAVE to bargain for any goods here. I was in need of a cane and the price started at 3000 Lira and got negotiated down to 1000 Lira. Yeah, I still likely overpaid for it but at least I overpaid 2/3 less! It’s actually a nice hand carved cane with simple but nice decorations on it.
After the Bazaar, I headed to turn in my laundry for cleaning so that and lunch in between took up most of the day. The evening we spent on a cruise up and down the Bosporus. The guide on this 2 hour cruise gave us a rich history of the culture, events and landscape around the area.
The mosque on the top of the hill is relatively new however it is constructed to appear like the other older ones.
Sailing up then down the channel. The cruise serves fruits, nuts, teas, and pastries throughout the journey.
We got into Istanbul a couple of days ago. It’s been a whirlwind. There are lots of people and lots of things to do here. Our first stop last night was a rooftop dinner at our hotel. The view was spectacular, the food was decent, and the prices were through the roof!
We had breakfast at the same rooftop restaurant but it’s free for platinum members. The strange thing about this restaurant is that for breakfast it is operated by our hotel and in the evening it is a private restaurant run by another company. The breakfast is pretty hardy. Omelet, salmon, veggies, breads, sauces, cheeses, and more!
The red liquid below came with breakfast. It is called Church tea but also known as black tea. It’s pretty good and served ultra hot.
I also had a Turkish coffee that was amazing. It is chocolatey and a bit grainy with an amazing flavor.
Our hotel is near the Galata Tower (see image below) but we didn’t get a chance to go up. It cost 30 euros to visit and there is a very long line to get in. There were 3 cruise ships docked at the port so that may have something to do with the long lines.
The line wrapped around the tower into the street and beyond.
Cool sea side fishing happening below.
In the evening we went to see an authentic Dervish ceremony. It was a spiritually enhancing experience. Unfortunately, no recording or photography is allowed during the ceremony so you’ll just have to come see it in person.
The famous Kamondo Stairs (also near hotel) are interesting “double helix” looking stairs steep stairs. People come here to do wedding photography and other social posting photography.
View of the stairs from below.
There is amazing food here but the three major food groups are: kebabs, lamb, and fish. And endless deserts.
Tomorrow we’re going to check out a yacht and ride the sea.
Categories: Istanbul Comments Off on We are in Istanbul Turkey
