Merhaba !

Merhaba ! is how Turkish people say " hello! ". That is the only word that I know in Turkish language, beside Kebab. I just came back from Turkey last week. It was freezing cold , the temperature was so low, around 3 Celcius. Have been growing up in tropical country, made me struggle every single day there. It was not only cold but also raining there plus a little bit of winds. But thanks God that I am back to sunny Singapore, with flu and sore throat 'though.

Well, Turkey is indeed a beautiful place. I didn't have chance to visit many cities , just dropped in Istanbul. Istanbul is like a mix between Asian and European culture. The architecture, the people, the style. People from Greece, Italy , German and many more mix there , and not only those nationalities. The people in Turkey are generally friendly , a bit conservative in some ways.

Dolmabache Palace' Gate - located in the European side of Bosphorus. Built during 18Th century.
It is breath-taking and absolutely gorgeous. Very intricate in details , heavily crafted ... definitely a place that must be visited in Istanbul.






one of the grand hall in the Dolmabache Palace.




side gate of Dolmabache which facing the Bosphorus.


The Clock Tower in front of Dolmabache Palace.

Very luxurious interior with crystal handrails.




Bellow : Blue Mosque - the famous mosque in Istanbul.







blue mosque


The famous Hagia Sofia


inside the Hagia Sofia - full of symbolic meaning, artistically decorated and it is a grandeur. Hagia Sofia it means Holy Wisdom. Hagia means Saint. Sofia is a name of the saint. It was a church then converted to mosque then converted again to museum. It was built during Byzantine period under the order of Justinian Emperor. It is really a great example of sustained ceramics and marble.

section of Hagia Sofia... back to school again...learn about History of Byzantine Architecture.

by the way, in case you wonder ... wow.. this is a nice picture.. this picture above was not taken by me. My poor camera couldn't capture much and low resolution. It is only 3.2 pixels ... well..*sigh* .....anyway.. it is really a pretty place.


Now...it is about food...Local food...I don't remember how to call it.. but it know it is a grilled Mackarell . By the way, one thing we cant miss it the kebab! so yummyyyy!!





Taksim Square - worth to visit

Sing.. sing ...sing..

Went to LINKIN PARK Live Concert a couple of days ago in Singapore Indoor Stadium. It was an awesome experience . The band was fantastic , the songs were great and the lighting was nice too. In addition , i like the decoration. It was mostly playing with lights and gigantic background screen which can display graphics / video clips behind to match with the songs they're playing. This screen was functioning as a backdrop.
When the group was singing the song" In Piece " oooh.... the ambiance was so special , the screen showed dropping stars, sooo pretty. The audience were carried away ... some couples were hugging. It was indeed romantic. So even though it is a rock group but it still has soft and human side.



I found this video from Youtube of LP's performance in other country but somehow it looks close to what I saw during the concert. It cant capture the true ambiance but just to give ideas how it was and for me to remember.
Well, I guess it was pretty good show, the band played quite numbers of songs. Started with song " wake " then followed by some old songs such as " Numb " , " Somewhere I belong " , and recent album - Minutes to Midnight.

My favorite song is What I've done . I notice that somehow the clips are artistic - quite sensitive to the social issues in the world and the songs are not so dull compared to other groups , except Snow Patrol and Coldplay ( I am a big hardcore super fan of Snow Patrol and Coldplay). Well.. i guess i may have to write additional post about Snow Patrol and some people will be the witness of how often I play their song over and over and over, particularly " Chasing Cars " . I never have enough of it ( i can imagine some people who read my post about it are nodding and even vomiting just to imagine i play the song again). Well.. i don't care , i think they are great. They are really something.

Mi Manca L'Italia

it has been hundreds of year and it still looks amazing ...and massive.. .

Milano - busy city .. this is the center of the city and near there is a place where Michaleanglo's stattue stands . This place is near to Il Duomo which means a Cathedral. The Cathedral is so magnificent and it amazed me how intricate the detail is . Obviously, it is done by genious .

gelato! yummy ! the taste is so tender and it will melt in your mouth..
they have some flavors..pistachio , chocolate, orange, lime - or they called it limone, something close to sorbet , mocha , etc..

it is really breath-taking view of Verona.

Arena di Verona, L' Italia .
Verona is an old town but it is indeed beautiful , if you travel to Italy , you can drop by and consider it as one of your stopping place. Go to Arena. from there you can see many nice and interesting thing. There is a performance in the evening too.


Mi manca L'Italia.. bellisimo...

Love Actually -

To me , this is one of the best British movie I ever seen. Released in 2003 in November or about that time . It is a story of many different people with various background , age , settings and how they understand love . These people somehow related or unrelated , yet the flow just run nicely. Natural , unpredictable and more realistic story line , make this movie special. One of the best scene (yet sad scene ) was about Mark and Juliette. It is so sweet, tender and touching . I have been watching it hundreds times and listen to the soundtrack over and over .. but it is still be in my top list of " all time favorite". Probably, it is abit girly stuff , but if you watched this part and still remember it, you will know what I am talking about.

an advice

My dad told me something while I was complaining about some people in my working place who are unbearable. Again as usual, he told me the same advise that He had mentioned before. But deep inside my heart , I knew he is right. He told me to free my heart from all the anger , disappointment , hatred . While he was trying out his treadmills, he said one can handle stress and pressure from outside if one doesn't get pressure within. If there is a hatred , unsolved anger , jealousy, etc .. it is like an internal pressure. If you carry too much things in your heart , it will slow down your pace. He said, dont let people become your remote control that can set your mood and feeling . Your life is for u to enjoy and to fulfill the purpose and not to be controlled by your surroundings.
(picture : http://www.flickr.com/photos/occecid/40748789/)

Ratatouile

I watched Ratatouile last week . It was pretty good and humorous. Quite well done . The story was unusual . It is about a Remy, a rat in Paris that has a special ability and Linguini - a desperate boy who is looking for a job. Cute combination, A rat which is human-minded and Linguini, a human who is talking to rat all the time. It is not mickey mouse , but more like a real rat without red yellow clothes , no special costume. But off course Remy is cuter than normal rats that we see inside city's drainage or inside the roof skeleton. This Remy loves good food and he dreams to be a chef. Well, it is rather tough and ambitious eh for a rat ?


This show is really family show... friendly for kids even doggies. And it is cute to hear the strong French English accent there. I have several French friends , and when I was watching the movie , I just felt like I am talking to them.

Well.. I just checked that Ratatouile is a name of dish. Made of stewed vegetable.


But the thing that I like the most from the movie is the message from the movie. That everyone should be brave to be what they want to be and not giving up. It may be different from what your background tells you. But you got to be brave and sometimes follow your own way .

Joke of the day

a hedgehog