Disclaimer:
This is a personal blog and should be taken as such. So don't sue me if what I write pisses you off. Or if I write lies. Or if I give maladvice. Or if you fail to read through my sarcasm. Et cetera.
I like stalkers.
Is it in bad taste to quote one's self?
"The greatest of debaters are not only the most eloquent -- they are the most bruised, the most resilient, the strongest of heart." -- Andrew Loh
Quotes "How many times have you chickened out?" - Qu Hsueh Ming
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last." - Sir Winston Churchill
"Affirmative action is something the good don't need and the bad don't deserve" - A wise man
"The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us." - John F. Kennedy
"The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were." - John F. Kennedy
"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." - James A. Baldwin
"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is but a broken winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." - Sir Winston Churchill
"Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?" - Alfred Lord Tennyson
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." - John Calvin Coolidge
"We will either find a way or make one." - Hannibal
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte
"For evil to triumph, it is only necessary for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
"War begins in the minds of men, and it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must first be constructed." - UNESCO Constitution
"The proper study of mankind is man." - Alexander Pope
"My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death." - Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens): A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
"Patriotism is to support your country all the time and your government when it deserves it" - Mark Twain
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw
"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
"Democracy is a system ensuring that the people are governed no better than they deserve." - George Bernard Shaw
"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." -- Noam Chomsky
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
"When the people fear the government, you have tyranny. When the government fears the people, you have freedom." - Thomas Paine
"I sense a learning: that much dumber people than you end up in charge. Look at the way things are. I'm no fucken genius or anything, but these spazzos are in charge of my every twitch. What I'm starting to think is maybe only the dumb are safe in this world, the ones who roam with the herd, without thinking about every little thing. But see me? I have to think about every little fucken thing." - Vernon God Little, Act II
They say that you must go on a Bosphorus tour every time you visit Istanbul.
They don't lie.
Some rococo palace (Dolmabahce?) that I didn't visit.
I think this is Besiktas.
Rumeli Hisari.
It was built in 2 months? by Mehmet II al-Fatih (the Conqueror) before taking Constantinople (Old City) on the European side of Istanbul.
Some suspension bridge spanning the Bosphorus that was the longest in the world at some point.
The strait-side mansions of the rich.
I got off at Anadolu Hisari.
So Turkey is divided into the European side (Trachea) and the Asian side (Anatolia or Anadolu in Turkish).
Here I had real squid for the first time in my life.
Calamari is not meant to be chewy.
Fresh calamari is as easy to chew as tofu and is orgasmic. oh em gee.
The Turkish military again. Ubiquitous.
Turkish coffee is rich and thick and strong. And I was fleeced because the fucking idiot charged me 3 lira for it and I was too stupid to complain.
These kids (who were selling drinks and snacks) were so cute! After I took their picture and showed it to them they were like tesukkur (thank you) hahaha. And it was I who was supposed to thank them.
The hisari (fortress) of Anadolu Hisari. Was a pirate? based that controlled the Bosphorus for some time?
I motioned for this kid to dive from the boat for me to take a picture and he dived from the second level of the boat to make a bigger impression. Hehehehehe.
Some other rococo palace that I also didn't visit.
Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia and the Blue (Sultanahmet) Mosque.
Topkapi
Suleimaniye Mosque
Galata Tower overlooking Galata Bridge which spans the Golden Horn.
The evil eye was all over Istanbul.
I'm starting to buy all my stuff from kids because 1) they're cute and 2) I think they could use the money more than the adults.
This kid sold me 1kg of huge, sweet, amazing cherries for 2.50 lira -- one of the best best bestest buys in my life. Given that cherries are like RM 7 per 100 grams in Malaysia.
And after the Bosphorus tour I took a walk into Central Istanbul.
The Aqueduct of Valens
Not very well preserved, I must say; many historical monuments in Istanbul are but walls in playgrounds against which to kick footballs.
Pistachios! Again, fresh, better-tasting pistachios than anything I've had.
A packet of this was only 2 lira (because it was in a non-touristy area) and was amazing. Should've gotten more.
So I went to Kumkapi again to find those cute kids and their 25 kurus stuffed midyes but thez weren't there anymore and I was super duper sad! :(
But the following pictures were worth the train ticket back.
kc July 10, 2008 07:12 AM PDT Hmm... now I must visit Turkey! The houses under the bridge... no worries about clothes hanging outside when the rain comes.
Ern Sheong July 31, 2008 01:34 PM PDT hey there! you traveled alone? great pictures!
