Mesmerising Cappadocia

This is considered to be a must do for anyone visiting Turkey. Hot Air ballooning in Cappadocia finds a place in all the itineraries of Turkey. But that's not why I wanted to do that. I am not an adventure travel enthusiast in the traditional meaning of the term "Adventure". I don't go hiking, trekking, river rafting or bungee jumping. But there are few things which I wanted to do and being on a hot air balloon was certainly one of them. So when P and I planned for Turkey, this had to be in our "To Do" list.

Cappadocia

We planned and booked all the arrangements for our Turkey trip by ourselves. It was only for air tickets for Mumbai Istanbul and return and Visa that we took the help of a travel agent. The idea of not going through a fixed itinerary was because we wanted to be in our own pace and do our own thing the way we liked. In Istanbul we roamed from one place to another at our own pace. We spent good 3 hours in one place but skipped another prominent "tourist attraction" as we preferred to sit by the Bosphorus, sipping a cup of Turkish tea munching a Simit ; just watching people go by. But this was very much a part of our plan.


We had booked a flight from Istanbul to Nevsehir, the nearest airport to Cappadocia on Anadoloujet which is a subsidiary of Turkish Airline. Our first thought as we stepped out of the flight in Nevsehir " This is so much like Leh". Yeah the surrounding area was so similar to Leh with that Moonscape type brown mountains. Our pick up was waiting outside. The cave hotel called Maccan Cave hotel that we had booked was the last stop.

ATV Quad Bikes

By the time we checked into our hotel, it was only lunch time and we had one half day with us. Most of the regular tours of Cappadocia start in the morning after the hot air balloon ride gets over. P said "Let's try ATV Quad biking" Now that was something which we had never before. We saw few quad bikers on the way from the airport to hotel and then realised that that was also available there. So we checked with Ahmed, the manager at Maccan if he could help. He called someone and after 20 mins a tall lanky fellow came to pick us up for ATV Quad biking. His name was Tolga. He showed us the bikes and we tried out if we both fit into one bike. Actually I was not very confident if I could manage to ride one on my own.

Wish tree

We opted for one bike and went out with our guide Timrai. A young fellow of 20 years, Timrai spoke broken English. He guided us through the valleys and the mesmerising landscape of
Cappadocia. Our last stop was at Sunset point. By the time we reached, the sun was all set to bid adieu for the day. The whole place looked magical in the fading sun light. There was a Wish tree where people would tie the famous amulet "Blue Evil eye or Nazar Boncugu" to make a wish. No we did not tie one, instead we clicked photographs of the tree. As we rode back to town, it was already dark. Hence Timrai guided us through the main road instead of the quad tracks.




Both I and P decided to take a walk around the Goreme town and then have dinner somewhere before heading to hotel. Walking around we came across a very interesting sign at a café.

Cafe Safak

We went in and had a cup of Turkish Coffee there. The café owners were an old couple and when they came to know that we were from India, they called the restaurant help to meet us. Nehmatullah was from Afganistan and he was so happy to see us. A fan of Sanjay Dutt he said he loved India and was in awe of Amitabh Bachchan because he played a Afgan Pathan in Khuda Gawah. It was a pleasure meeting him there. We had an early dinner of Pide or Turkish Pizza and went to sleep as our pick up for the hot air balloon ride was at 5.15 am next morning.

Uncle & Nehmatullah

UP

Next morning we were up and ready by 5am. Exactly at 5.15 am our pick up van arrived. There were 4 people already inside the van and it stopped at another hotel near by where an elderly couple joined us before taking us to the office of the balloon tour company. We had booked our balloon tour with Butterfly Balloons We only had to provide the credit card information to confirm our booking. It was not charged and we had informed that we would pay by cash on the day of the tour. Since March was still not the official tourist season, they had special rates and they offered cash discount of 10Euro per person too. There was a delicious breakfast spread before we were introduced to our group members and were driven to the take off point. The take off points differ every day depending upon the direction of the wind.Our pilot for the day was Kahn. Such a charming and jolly fellow he was. He made sure all the group members had fun at the same time explaining and showing the most important sights as we flew over. I admit it was one of most delightful one hour of my life. Kahn has been a hot air balloon pilot for last 7 years. After we landed straight on the top of the truck that was meant to carry the busket; the team from Butterfly Balloons were ready with our flying certificates and a bottle of Champagne. It was of course a reason to celebrate. We all just did something wonderful and an out of the world experience it was.

The team from butterfly balloons

After the balloon tour was over, the car drove us back to our hotels. Usually people opt for day trips after that. But we decided to do our own things our own way. And later in the day I and P had another adventure. That needs another post. It's one of the bizarre things that I have done so far. Will write about it soon.
     

  

It's a sight to behold

Snapshots from Chhattisgarh

Last year both P and I went to Chhattisgarh, a state we had never been to and came back with some wonderful memories. I have written about it here. After 6 months we were going through the photographs and I came across few which are indeed more special. Not because they are some spectacular clicks; but because each of these photographs carry a story in it.

Chhattisgarh has so much to offer

That mesmerizing Chitrakote fall. We witnessed this majestic fall in it's full glory as we had gone there while it was still raining. Yeah, the water was muddy; not clean and sparkling like the brochures. But this roaring water had it's own charm. We did not get to see Sunrise and Sunset because of the clouds. Instead we saw the water fall when a storm was approaching. It was dark, grey and that fading light cast a magical spell to the whole evening. We stayed back till it started to pour and it was an absolutely out of the world experience.

Chitrakote as a storm approached


Actually we were in Chitrakote to celebrate my birthday. On the day we woke up at 5am hoping to catch up the sunrise. But the clouds played spoilt sport. Sitting near the water fall just 2 of us were enjoying the solitude thoroughly. Suddenly a boy comes and picks up a conversation with P. He had come as band member who was supposed to perform in some rally at the Government guest house near the resort we were staying. His name was Lakhiram and he played Banjo. We kept meeting him till on and off till the day we left Chitrakote. He just seem to come from nowhere whenever we were there. Untouched by the complexities of life, his simple dreams may come true soon.

Lakhiram

The priest at the temple near Teerathgarh fall. Our experience at such places have not been really good. Usually at such touristy places, there is always someone trying to fleece you and when  you tell them you were there because that happen to be a special day; you can be sure he will find a way to rip you off. When P told the priest that that day was my birthday and asked him to offer a puja on our behalf; I was almost sure now the priest would come up with an elaborate puja ceremony. But to my utter surprise the priest just looked at us and chanted some mantra as we both folded our hands and gave us coconut pieces as Prasad. He did not say a word about offering this puja that puja and ask for any "chadawa" or cash offering or "fee".

The Priest

The artist whose shop we happen to visit by sheer chance. As we were leaving Chitrakote to go to Gangrel, P said let's stop near the fall for one last time. We did and there we noticed those lines of small shops selling little artefacts. We stopped at this particular shop where the guy was working on something so intently. As far as I remember, his name was Raju.Very soft spoken he showed us the pieces he has made. They were all so beautiful. We bought 2 pieces from him. Everything in the shop were made by him and the prices were so reasonable that P paid him what he asked for. The previous day we had gone to different shops in the Jagdalpur town and we knew the prices these shops charged for similar artefacts. This man made everything himself and he never asked for an exorbitant price from 2 "tourists". Do visit his shop near the Shiva temple next to Chitrakote fall. Trust me you will not regret stopping there.

Chhattisgarh remains in the news for more wrong reasons than right. This is a beautiful state and has so much to offer from the tourism point of view. It's a state marred by disturbance and conflict. I am not capable of commenting on this. But I also come from a region which was once considered to be very disturbed and a conflict area. But life has become "normal" now in Assam. While growing up and even now a common sight in towns and villages of Assam is the sight of girls and boys going to school riding a bicycle. More so in villages and smaller towns. This very sight in Chhattisgarh made me the happiest. It was a sign, the new generation growing up values education; they want to spread their wings and may be one day bring the much needed change to their state. I hope they do and soon.

I loved this sight the most



Turkish Delights

Yeah I know, such a much used and over used title for an account of a trip to Turkey. I also know what I am going to share, many across the Globe have "Been there done that". After much planning, changing, again planning we (I & P) finally landed in Turkey this year. I will share a detailed post about what how and where all in Turkey we had been to some other day. It was my first trip to Turkey and here I am going to share those moments that made us smile & made this whole trip so much more.


1. The very first one was at the Immigration counter itself in Istanbul. The officer took my passport and read my name in an "almost perfect Axomiya / Assamese pronunciation".Yes, not "Maayoori", "Myuri" "Meyuree" but "M-O-Y-U-R-E-E". (I spell my name as Mayuri). I could not stop grinning and responded with a "slightly over enthusiastic for the place" Yes. I don't know what he made out of my happiness at that moment as he stamped "Giris" meaning To enter in Turkish. And I am sure I didn't imagine the faint hint of smile in his face too. Such a welcome change from the otherwise expressionless wooden faces at such places.

Blue Mosque

2. After that another Turkish Delight was waiting for us near the airport Metro gate. I and P reached the metro gate and was trying to understand how to use to Vending machine to buy an Istanbulkart. An Istanbulkart is a must for those who are planning to stay in Istanbul for 3-4 days atleast and plan to use public transport. It is an Electronic wallet which can be used in Metro, Ferries, city buses and even in the old tram in Taksim. One card can be used for more than 1 people. However it is advisable to use 1 card for 2 people only as the charge increase in the immediate second swipe or third swipes. As we were standing there with money in our hands looking for instructions in English, a gentleman offered us to help. He entered all the details and advised us not to charge it with a high amount right away. Few seconds later the Istanbulkart was in our hands. In a place where very few locals speak or understand English, and most were tourists like us, he sure came as an angel!


3. We reached our first hotel of the trip. It was cute little hotel amidst many hotels right behind the Blue Mosque. It's actually an old house which is now converted to a hotel like many old Turkish houses in that area. Ilhan at the reception welcomed us warmly and he very kindly upgraded our room without any charges. That was totally unexpected. Boy weren't we delighted. At first we thought there may be not too many people during that time and hence we got the upgrade. But next day in breakfast, we realized the place was almost full. Still he did that even though we never asked for it.

Tashkonak

4. We reached Cappadocia and P randomly decided to try our hands at ATV Quad biking. So Ahmet from our cave hotel called the guys at ATV Quad biking and arranged for that. They assigned us a young 20 year old "Navigator and Guide" Timrai. That young boy very patiently put up with 2 "Big" Hindistani tourists who would stop and start clicking random photographs. With his limited English , he told us that he was studying and part time he worked to earn as well. In his bike, he took both of us one by one for Cappadocia's version of dune bashing. Hats off to that kid and we wish him all the luck.

Timrai

5. While walking around the Cappadocia town, we saw a café called Café Safak. The signboard read different prices for the way you ask for coffee. We stepped in and who we meet!! An old couple and a young and chirpy waiter cum cook from Afghanistan who was a fan of Sanjay Dutt! His name was Nehmatulla and when he heard we were from Mumbai, he started speaking in his language. Urduish hindi or hindiish Urdu. The son of the old couple was in Australia and Nehmatulla was the one who was running the show in Café Safak. He told us that since they couldnot pronounce his name, they named him Farhat! Even though he loved Munna bhai, he was mighty impressed with Big B because he had played an Afghan in Khuda Gawah. He dreamt of coming to Mumbai and we sincerely hope he does someday.

Cafe Safak

Uncle & Nehmatullah

6. Our first hot air balloon ride ever and it could not have been better. All thanks to the team at Butterfly Balloons and especially our pilot Kaan Demircan. In our balloon that was the first balloon ride for each one of us and Kaan kept saying that was his first flight too! Very jovial and lively, he was the show stopper of this spectacular Balloon ride. A very senior pilot he had been doing this for 8

years now. I was cribbing to P about the charge that we paid compared to what few other Balloon companies were offering; but trust me every penny was so worth the experience. If we go back to Cappadocia and plan for a Balloon ride again, we would surely opt for a flight by Kaan and Butterfly Balloons any day.

Kaan and the team of Butterfly Balloons

7. In Pammukkale we had opted for a day tour by Tours4Turkey. We were a part of a small group of about 12 people. From different countries, this motely group had 3 solo travelers and 2 of them were women. I loved meeting each one of them. There were 4 ladies from Malaysia who were on the last leg of their yearly "girly trip". Leaving children and husbands behind, these ladies every year make plan and travel to different countries for 15-20 days. They all were working and decided to do this since last 4 years. I was surely impressed. I wish them all the luck and may they continue this every year.

travertines at Pamukkale

Museum of Innocence

8. In Istanbul we had planned to visit The Museum of Innocence. We heard that if you carry a copy of the book, the entry is complimentary for one person. In a book shop near the underground metro at Taksim square, we asked the guy at the counter if he was aware about this. His English was limited, but he called his "director" of the shop and told him. He was not aware about that. But he asked us to wait as he checked on the website of Museum of Innocence , took out their phone number and made a call reconfirming this. Both I and P were looking at each other. That was sure unexpected. After speaking with them, he showed us the page which would be stamped at the Museum. We thanked them profusely as we left happily.

9. The Incharge at Museum of Innocence who allowed a girl even beyond the museum timings. Both I and P spent quite sometime at the Museum of Innocence and finally when we were done, it was almost the closing time. I came down and waited till P joined me. One girl was pleading the incharge to let her see it even for 15 minutes as she was leaving the next day. She admitted she was late but she pleaded to allow atleast for sometime. She was on the verge of tears as she turned to leave visibly heartbroken and disappointed. The incharge who looked quite strict relented and asked the guard to allow her in. I witnessed that moment when the girl really cried out of happiness as she thanked the incharge and paid the charges. She looked at me with teary eyes and a smiling face. I was smiling in her happiness and thanked the museum incharge too. Just like that.

Museum of Innocence

10. The Cobbler at Kabatash who was so grateful to P for showing him his shoe brush which he had accidentally dropped that he offered him to clean P's shoes right then and there. We protested but he did not listen and P allowed him to just brush lightly his both shoes. That moment of instant gratitude by him sure made us smile widely.

The Man on right!

11. The driver of the old tram in Taksim, Istiklal street who allowed P to ride for free. It so happened that we got into the tram at Taksim Square and swiped the Istanbulkart. One amount was charged and for the second swipe there were not enough amount left. We offered him cash. The driver said that he was not authorized to take cash and pointed to the vending machine to recharge the card. I was fumbling in my bag looking for paper currency of 10 or 5 TL. The vending machines accepted paper currencies only. The driver had stopped that tram for us and it was getting full. So P told me to go and get down at our stop and wait for him as he would take the next tram. As P started to get down, the driver stopped him and asked him to go in. We were looking at each other as we could not believe what he just did.

I would term these moments as Turkish Delights as in an alien country such moments added so much to our whole experience. Of course there were tourist traps in Istanbul, specially at Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. But when we talk about our first trip to Turkey, we want everyone to know this too.
Now let me quickly add one more : A random lady complemented me about my "small but bright eyes" and that made me smile the widest.

Grand Bazar

A tragi comic memory of Goa

Goa in monsoon - that's what both P and I wanted to do for a long time. So finally in 2013, we planned ahead and booked a train to Goa during July sometime. As luck would have it, that year monsoon decided to play hide and seek in Mumbai. It was hardly raining and when we got into the train, we were literally chasing the rain. We boarded the train from Dadar station early in the morning at around 7/7.30am. Even as the train moved out of the city limits we could make out the signs of a sparse monsoon. So much for our much awaited train to Goa during monsoons! We were already disappointed. The train moved through the green paddies and villages with drops of rain here and there. But too few and far between.  Adding to our disappointment was the fact that the train was running late by hour or so.  The only saving grace was the food on the train. We decided to at least to enjoy the hot and fresh medu vadas, bread pakodas, and vada pavs on the train. Finally after 12 hours of a long and tiring train journey we reached Goa in the evening. By that time the romantic idea of being in Goa during the rains had died a sad death!




Now to the hotel that P had pre booked. Since it was only for 2 nights, we thought of staying near the most happening part of Goa, near Baga beach. In all our previous and even later trips to Goa, we always stay somewhere else deliberately avoiding the over crowded Baga and Calangute beaches. We reached the hotel, checked in and after a shower headed out for dinner. As we stepped out of the hotel, we found a place to rent a bike and promptly rented a scooter. Had dinner in a quiet place and came to hotel and went to sleep.




This is not Baga..But Ashwem beach in Goa.

Next morning we went to restaurant for breakfast. The room rate was inclusive of breakfast it was mentioned when we sent the booking request. There was no buffet. Accepted, since it was officially off season no buffet. The server gave us 2 slices each and a cup of tea. We asked him "What about breakfast?" He nonchalantly replied "This is breakfast." WHAT? Now that's it. 2 slices and a cup of tea cannot be passed off as breakfast in a hotel. That too in the most touristy area of one of the most touristy states of India. Unacceptable. P went to the manager and told him that. Manager refused to understand or acknowledge what we were trying to say. He kept saying the same thing - this is what we offer as breakfast. Then he called someone and handed over the phone to P saying please speak to our ma'm. P tried his best to make the lady at the other end understand. But the lady refused again and again and asked us to leave the hotel if we didn't like what they were offering. We both were dumbfounded. We were being thrown out of a hotel and we were not even shouting or creating a ruckus. Since we were asked to pay at the hotel, we offered the room rent for one night. The manager refused that again. We insisted but he was adamant that his "ma'm" asked us to leave and instructed him not to accept any money from us. Finally we came to our room, packed our bags and left on the rented scooter parked outside the hotel. Both P and I were quiet and shocked at what had just happened. He just rode the scooter and I sat on the pillion quietly. He kept driving and I didnot ask where were we going. We reached Anjuna and he stopped. Both got down from the scooter, looked at each other and burst out laughing - we were just thrown out of a hotel for asking for breakfast. Both of us have been to so many places across the country, stayed in so many hotels, from homestays to 5 stars; but this had never happened. We felt like college kids who were thrown out from a hotel for not having money to pay. At last P said " They have thrown us out for asking for breakfast. Now let's go and atleast have a hearty brunch somewhere."




Rest is short. We came back to Baga, returned the scooter and ate out hearts out at Britto's. We booked flight tickets for the same day and flew back by 3pm. And guess what, while on our way to the Dabolim airport, it started pouring and it poured and poured till we reached airport. It was as if the sky also cracked up with laughter with us.

P & I in Goa!








Life sometimes throws lemons at you and both I and P firmly believe that it's up to us - whether to make lemonade or use it for tequila shots. But we both agree that the lemons must not get wasted. Thus we go on collecting lemons and making lemonades at times and at times tequila shots.

A Slice of the Orient in Mumbai

Second day of 2016 and a Saturday, ideally I would have preferred to be home and sleep to my hearts content.  But P had other plans and thus we were up at 6.00 am and headed to Mazgaon to explore an area of Mumbai which we were yet to explore. In P's filmy words " Let's check out the godi of Tiger and Bakhtawar!" ( For those uninitiated, he was talking about HUM, the 1991 Amitabh Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa film by Mukul Anand)




 P said that he had heard about a Chinese temple somewhere there near Dockyard Road station and wanted to go check that out. Honestly I had never heard about anything Chinese in Mumbai except for eating places and "Made in China" goods widely available everywhere. Thus we walked from the Our Lady of Rosary Church and towards the Mazgoan Dock. There in one of the quaint lanes lies a Chinese temple. To be specific, it is inside the Nawab Tank Road. It was still quite early and very few people were around. One morning walker asked us "2 curious looking tourists" what were we looking for. When we said the Chinese Temple, he pointed to a house right next to where we were standing. It's a Three storied house and on the second floor is the temple. You can't miss that bright red half door at the entrance of the house.



The Entrance

We pushed the door and entered. We faced a big door which was locked. Another door opened and a man came out with a toothbrush in his mouth! When we asked about the temple, he asked us to go to second floor. We climbed the wooden staircase to the second floor and yeah, there was the temple but the door was closed. We waited for sometime confused in the company of Confucius and Fuk, Luk and Sau. Fuk, Luk and Sau are the three deities who represent Prosperity, Authority and Longevity. 

Fuk,Luk and Sau

We thought of coming back a while later hoping by then the door will be opened. While coming down we met a lady on the first floor. We asked about the temple and she gave us the keys to open and said " Sit and pray for as long as you want. But when you leave, please close the windows and lock the door again and give me the key."  Now that was a first. Opening the lock of a temple and entering with no one around! We opened the door and stepped inside. Both of us were awestruck for few seconds. Everything was bright red and there was something so pure so calm about it, that we could actually feel a sense of divinity. The fragrance of incense sticks hung in the air and that added to the whole atmosphere of the temple.

Opening the lock!

The Altar

General Kwan Tai Kwon

There is a hand written history of the temple. This temple is dedicated to General Kwan Tai Kwon a very just and fair Chinese warrior. This temple was set up by a group of Cantonese Hong Kong soldiers who worked for East India Company. Once upon a time there use to be a flourishing China town around that area. During the 19th Century, many Chinese came to work with the East India company and stayed in the Mazgaon Dock area. Most of them worked as Carpenters and many were engineers. Those people were mostly Cantonese migrants and they were called "See Yup". The building that houses the temple was named "See Yup Koon" after their native village. The 1962 Indo - China war saw many leaving the area and eventually the country and now there are very few families around. We chatted a little with the lady in the first floor, who said she was originally from Tengra , the famous China Town in Kolkata. It's been 40 years that she has been living in Mumbai.

The whole temple is in bright red because Chinese considers red as the colour which brings fortune and joy.

Candles and Incense sticks



Joss Money

There were bunches of candles and incense sticks which one can light there. The Chinese has a tradition of burning "paper money or Joss paper" which they believe that the departed souls in the other world can use the money. The prices are mentioned against each item. The lady on the first floor had asked us to put the price ( if we bought any candle or incense sticks) in the donation box. We lit up candles and few incense sticks. P said "Let's burn some paper money too." We did that as gifts to our ancestors on the new year.

The wall next to the shrine is adorned with Bamboo sheets. You can know your fortune through these. Since we could not read Chinese and there was no one to read us our fortune, we had to be content with a photograph only.

Chinese Fortune Telling sheets

After about an hour we came to downstairs. The lady had showed us the keys for the temple at downstairs too. Again we opened the closed door on the ground floor. This was a temple dedicated to a princess who is considered a Bodhisattva. Here in the wall we could read the familiar Buddhist prayer " Om Mani Padme Hum". On the side of the wall, there is the hand written story of the Princess.



The temple downstairs



The Princess

Finally we came out of the house. Both I and P were silent for sometime as we both had been touched by something so surreal. Then P said that he would love to come back again and sit in the temple for sometime. It was so quiet;so serene ; as if we had found an oasis for our wearied souls.

Note: Since we did not carry camera, all photographs were clicked on mobile.

12th Jan 2016