As Xian Remembers...: Second day in Turkey (13/12/09)

As promised, here you go, the second post for the second day. :)

***I was being lazy for this post, so there's more to see than to read.***

I woke up at about 3am something (Turkish time) that morning because it was already 9am something (my normal waking up time) in Malaysia. I checked, update and chatted for a little while before I went back into dreamland.

I was already awake before the 6am morning call. That time my little brother came to knock on our door and said that it's snowing outside.

OH MY WORD HE WAS TRUE.

I should have opened the door at 3am and take look outside because I am absolutely sure that it snowed the whole night (or morning).

With just my pyjamas and no other sweater and/or clothing, I ran out and screamed 'OMG IT'S REALLY SNOWING!!!'. It was real snow and not fake Styrofoam snow! Snow was falling from sky and I've got the chance to experience it for the first time in my life! :D

Worrying that the snow might stop and melt right away, I whipped my camera out to capture the moment. I saw Faiz, the Form 3 boy, posing for the camera with the snow. He was holding the snow with his bare hands and was wearing thin clothes (clothes that you and me normally wear in Malaysia). At least he got his normal jacket (not winter jacket) on. It was terribly cold at that moment.

SNOW!

For the first time, I wanted to know how snow feels like. I was ever so curious that I stepped on snow barefooted. I can't believe I did that!!
It was the *sarcastic tone* smartest thing to do on earth you know!
Anyway, the snow felt 90% like ice shavings (the one we normally have in every bowl of ais kacang). Yes, that's the feeling.

I was shivering like mad when I got back into the room. My teeth can't stop chattering and I can't speak properly. == I sneezed continuously for several times too. I had cold feet and the only cure was a proper warm shower.

For the rest of the day, I was the one coughing and sniffing every minute like a loser weakling.
Note to self: Never do anything in the snow barefooted. It's going to kill you sooner or later!
And here are the photos I managed to take.

Snow falling from the sky, just like rain.

Close up shot of the snow. :)

Getting brighter.

So Christmas-ish. :P

Love the bluish sky. :)

After taking some photos of the snow, we changed and went to the restaurant for breakfast.

I learnt my lesson on the first day, so I wore thick clothes on the second day.

I was well prepared for the winter on that day and is proud of myself. ;)

The snow on the concrete walkway is extremely slippery! I slipped once and almost, just ALMOST, fell down and break every bone in my body. Faiz was behind us and he fell down.

Most Malaysians are not adapted to walking on snow, that's why so many Malaysians slipped, not only us. ==

After breakfast, I went out to take some breathtaking photos of the snow.

Just see for yourself and you'll understand what I mean. =D

I love my camera. :D

Care for a dip in the pool? *winks*

Frozen branches.

Picturesque.

Even the rubbish dump looks pretty with a layer of snow. :)

It's slippery and cold!

According to Cihan, we were very lucky because that was the first time it snowed in four years in that area!! We are such lucky Malaysians! :)

The snow certainly made everyone cheerful and happy!!!

We departed at 8am and the bus drove us to the Ancient City of Troy. There are altogether nine cities. The history behind Troy is rather confusing even I'm confused. ==

And yes, the Trojan horse story happened in Troy.

If you want to know more about Troy, go Google it up.

Cihan explaining to us about Troy. I'm confused.

The remains of the city. It was either destroyed by earthquakes, the Greeks, fire or all of them combined.

Wall surrounding the city.

Sun dried bricks.

The city was destroyed by the Greeks and

I think the name of this tree is Troian Oak or Trojan Oak or something like that.

The wind here was super strong. Made us all shiver.

There used to be columns here.

My red extension is so striking in this photo. ;P

Ahh! Wicked witch from Malaysia.

Blame the wind for messing up my hair for this shot! :(

The reason we had our hoodies up is because it's raining...

Posing with the cat. (:

I have no idea why my hood is up. ==

Maple trees!

The replica of the trojan horse.

I love this photo. :))
It's my wallpaper now.

There are more cats in Turkey than in Kuching. They should name their country Kuching instead of Turkey bcause I've not seen any turkeys in Turkey. -_-

It was a two hours trip to Kusadasi. We saw snow again because we were at higher grounds! :)
This time it was bright enough so I changed the mode of my camera from A to S.
*A means Aperture mode while S means Shutter mode*

Still a little blurry because it is still kinda dark and the I adjusted the shutter speed to the not so fast one because the fast one requires more light. If I change the shutter speed to the fastest one, the whole photo is going to be dark and you can't see anything.

Everything was covered in snow. :)

No more snow after that. :(

Very screen-saver like. Pretty!

Sunny sunny day! :)

Long way to go.
I don't know why so many people like to sleep on the bus. I never did like sleeping on a bus, too uncomfortable for me. ==
Listening to my iPod is still the better choice.

I like coffee stops, because I get to eat and pee and stretch and take photos and jump and run and do whatever I like. ==

This petrol station serves the best cheese toast ever!

One for 2 Turkish Lera I think.

With warm yummy gooey cheese in the between. :)

It's worth the money.

I hate washing my hands in Turkey because the water from the tap (except the hotels' tap) is usually very very cold. The temperature of the water should be higher than 0 degrees but lower than 10 degrees.

We were all jerking uncontrollably while washing our hands coz the damn water was freakingly cold!

After that it was on the bus again...
It was sleeping for the others and iPod for me.

And after one hour of driving, it's lunch time!!

Cold mineral water not from the fridge.

Bread and mashed potatoes and (what I think is) rice.

I like this particular restaurant, unique's the word to describe it.

With nice scenery outside. :)

After lunch we did some exploring and phototaking.

Another maple tree.

Wheels?

That place with water is actually a swimming pool.
I'm guessing that it was too cold to clean the pool and that's why the water is greenish black now.

With my sister outside the restaurant.

After lunch, we head off to the Ancient City of Pergamon which is located on top of a hill.

This ancient Greek acropolis became the capital city of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period and was remodelled after the acropolis in Athens. Go Google it up if you want to know more.

So here are the highly anticipated photos. :D

Nice view from the top of the hill.

The agora or market place.

I just love the blue sky.

Hellenistic designs

I love this effect! :)

I'm stalking her! D:

Because she's so MODERN!

I don't even know what she's holding. -____-

Hellenistic theatre

More ruins.

Trying to be tall! XD

With my siblings.

Now I know how I got that sunburn. :O

Hey look a cat!

Shisha thingy. No idea how that works.

Leaving the great acropolis.

The journey continues to Kusadasi.

Orangey sunset.

We arrived at Tatlises Hotel in Kusadasi at around 7pm and had our dinner. There weren't any WiFi in this hotel so I slept early that night and I managed to wash my hair for the first time since I landed in Turkey. *whattheheck*