Travel - The day I met Pythagoras

It was a holiday in Greece and it was the day I met Pythagoras. =)

An excited me!

Took their public transport to Pythagorian town, upon reaching, I realised it was much more commercialised as compared to Vathi (where I stayed). Thank God I stayed in Vathi.

The statue of Pythagoras was situated near the edge of the jetty.

YAY! I met Pythagoras!

Don't despise this make-shift "poster", we met a Swedish lady who loves Mathematics as well and she borrowed our poster and we helped her to take a picture too! Hahaha. We then sat near the statue and chit chatted for good 20 minutes under the hot sun!! I enjoyed the conversation with her because I get to learn a little bit more about Sweden! Especially from someone who is senior! 

We walked around the town before heading back to Vathy to catch our ferry to Syros (which was another exciting adventure. hee)

Relax lor.

We had to take a cab back, it was the only time in my entire journey that we took a cab and it was under bo bian act and it cost us 18 euros. T.T 

Anyway! I wanna mentioned about my awesome host in Samos, we stayed in his hotel and he was more than just a service provider, we felt we were being hosted by a friend!

Though he only had a bike, he sent our luggages and us to the port! He had to do 3 trips! What really surprised me was not just this.....

He even helped us carried our backpacks all the way to the entrance of the ferry!! This kind gesture really really touched me. I was so thankful that I met so many kind souls during this trip. 

Purposeful Traveller - I may not remember the places I have went, but I will not forget the people I have met. They made this trip memorable.

Travel - Sunset in Samos

Crossing over to Greece from Turkey is like going from Singapore to Batam.

Goodbye Turkey, till we meet again.

Boarded a ferry from Kusadasi. It is a short drive from Selcuk where we stayed, we paid 40 euros for the transfer and ferry ticket to go to Samos, the gateway to the beautiful Greek Islands.

Arrived at a humble looking immigration custom, I followed my hotel's owner instructions - come out from the port, turn left and walk straight (this was really what the instruction was). We walked for very long, not knowing even if we were right but we met kind souls who told us we were on the right track. =D

So, we walked for a good 20 minutes before arriving at our hotel. I think it was still their off peak season, we were most likely their only guests? 

Hotel we stayed. 40 euros/night.

The awesome view from our balcony.

We wanted to visit Pythagorian town when we settled down but lo and behold, there was no bus service because it was a Sunday. :$ We only knew this when we walked a long way (maybe 30 minutes?) to the bus station.

I was disappointed and nearly want to give up going Pythagorian town, but I was glad we did not give up. We decided to visit it the next day even though it was a public holiday and the bus service was limited but we just made do with what was available. 

On our way back to our hotel (long walk again), we stopped to have a decent lunch.

We went back to our hotel then decided to go to the Gagkou beach nearby.

The building in yellow was our hotel. We just did random hiking after soaking ourselves in water for awhile. Samos actually had quite a lot of hiking places which I only found out when I was there. Sad that I am only staying there for 1 night. =(

The best thing for our first day was watching sunset from our room. 

I was captivated by the sunset I saw. It was so beautiful. Life is so beautiful and it reminded me of God's goodness. =)

As I am blogging this, I am encouraged by the things I saw and experienced. I shall dwell not on the negatives but focus on the positive as I continue this journey. 

I believe.

Purposeful Traveller - Things will work out, somehow.

Travel - Preparation for my next BIG Trip!

When I have decided to resign and travel I know these places would be where I want to go because 2 of my closer friends have been to Turkey and they loved it, after hearing their stories, I want to visit this place as well!

They went on a package tour but that's not what I was looking for.

Therefore the hard work begun. 

Same as my previous Europe trip, the steps to planning are pretty much similar and over the years of planning, I thought I have become more skillful! >.< But.... each time I plan, I learn MORE things~

Anyway... here comes my planning!!!

Study the map!! Turkey's destinations are much easier to decide! Based on the places my friends shared, I chose to visit these 3 cities - Istanbul, Capodoccia and Selcuk (Ephesus).

I am staying the longest in Selcuk as it will be my base to explore some other nearby places as well (similar to how I made Munich my base then)

Oh, and through this I realised how near is Selcuk to Agean Islands (Greece) and I decided to visit one of my dream place - Santorini.

Hence my target is 3 weeks of travel (my longest trip so far) 2 weeks in Turkey and 1 week of Agean island hopping.

Air Tickets

Qatar was my first choice because of my previous experience but for some reason it was pretty expensive for a return ticket from SIN-IST. After lots of trial and error using www.farecompare.com, I come to the conclusion that Emirates is the best option.

Trust me, air ticket itself actually gave me enough headache.

I wanted to fly Malaysian Airlines at first because of the timing and price of course, but my friend discouraged me. Actually, the big CON of flying Emirates is the 10 HOURS transit at Dubai for my trip to Istanbul (return timing has no issue) Trust me, this is a big turn-off for me... but...... I did some research and realised if my transit is more than 4 hours, Emirates provide meal vouchers and anyway my friend said she will pay for the transit hotel stay (if we are staying).

Anyway I have slept in Kota Kinabalu airport before (literally slept on a chair), I am quite sure Dubai airport is better (at least better chairs??). hahaha.

And so, air ticket was finally settled.

When the air tickets were bought, I know it is coming to past!

Accommodation

I spent a few nights for the Istanbul accommodation "selection"! and because we were booking pretty late, those hostels in Old City we wanted have no more beds, hence.. we decided to settle for a hostel near Taksim Square which looked relatively ok for us. So yep! Below is a picture of what was posted on the hostel website!

Staying in a 3-bed dorm for €16/pax/night

I think due to our age (my friend and I) and my "disability" to sleep in too noisy environment, other than our stay in Istanbul, the rest of our stay are twin/double with ensuite/shared facilities. I really don't think I can stay in those 12 bed dorm. =P Thank God the accommodation in Turkey is so much more affordable than the ones I had in Europe during my last Europe tour. =)

Another platform I have been using is AirBnB, however sometimes the AirBnb service charge can be a little ridiculous, like €9?? Hmm... Anyway, I am only booking 2 nights of my accommodation through there because the room really looks too good to resist!! Other accommodation I booked it through booking.com if not hostelworld.com

Inter-transfers

Turkey is pretty straightforward, I will book my bus transfers only when I am there perhaps through my hostel/hotels, Istanbul to Cappodoccia is a 10 hours bus journey and Cappodoccia to Selcuk is also a 10 hours bus journey. God bless us. >.<

One of the toughest challenge was to figure a way to get from Selcuk to Santorini. I managed to find something useful on Atilla's getaway website but I shall not elaborate on how difficult it was to even check the ferry tickets' timing and dates (I emailed some travel agencies for help though)

Anyway here's my plan KUSADASI port (somewhere near Selcuk) - Samos (1 night) - Syros (1 night) - Paros (2 nights) - Santorini (4 nights).

I insist to stay in Samos for 1 night, because I want to find the statue of Pythagoras. Samos is the birthplace of Pythagoras!!! He is why we are studying Pythagoras theorem in school now! Ok, as some one who teaches Mathematics, I know I have to meet him (as in his statue). Let's hope my friend's Mathematics will improve once she meet Pythagoras! Or at least feel cleverer. HAHAHAHAHA. =P

Other than Samos, Syros and Paros are my transit points to reach Santorini. I have decided not to book the accommodation in Syros as we will be arriving at night and leaving early in the morning, we will see what we can do when we arrive. 

Anyway, I must say Paros has become a highlight for me now because of the accommodation I have booked. I am hoping it will be AWESOME. *fingers cross*

Expenses

Like I have mentioned before, I don't have 10k in my bank account so I am very careful with my travel expenses, I did an excel spreadsheet on the various possible expenses. For every cost I do some form of research, yes, it is this tedious. 

I shared my travel plan with one of my friend, and she said you are gonna be dead tired when you are back from this so-called refreshing trip and you are really like backpacking! I told her yes, I AM BACKPACKING! lol. I don't even see this trip as a holiday or vacation but more of a travel, an adventure and seeing the world. =)

I just want to make it my own way.

Many of my not-so-close friends think I am rich, wonder how I have the money etc etc... But to be honest, I only have money for the air ticket for now, but since I have bought my air ticket, I am going!! Hahaha. I will figure a way from now till then. 

Purposeful Traveller - I am not rich, I just have different priorities.