My 3rd Europe Solo Trip For Three Weeks (Sneak Peek)

Looks like my backlogs forever will never complete cause I just came back from another trip again. Yes, this is my 3rd round of solo trip to Europe after I experienced the first solo trip to Europe in 2017 as well as last year to Istanbul, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia. I never thought that I will get addicted to travel alone cause previously, travelling solo is never my cup of thing. But somehow, life hits me so hard and I realised life is too short and I only live once. If I don't do it now, then when? 

I can say this one is impulse buying (not again!) when I saw another hard-to-resist deal from Singapore Airlines June last year. And I don't know what got into my mind, I decided to book a three weeks trip in the end. Somehow, I did regret and almost want to cancel this trip of mine due to work commitments but with the support and encouragement by the boyfriend, I proceed at the end. Turns out many things I didn't book in advance - including hostels as well as ground transportation especially the intercity one. It's so not me cause normally I will book everything and plan my trip well prior to the trip. But I glad that everything went well and smooth though I encountered several uncomfortable experiences and issues.

Three weeks - I've been to 8 different countries and 16 various cities & towns and for this post, I specially highlight those I really love the most, such as:


#1: Peles Castle in Romania.
I spent almost a week travel around Romania cause there are so many beautiful and mesmerising cities and towns in this country that worth for visit.


#2: Sofia, Bulgaria
I encountered an uncomfortable experience nearby the bus station during the beginning of my trip but then that don't stop me from discovering the beauty of Sofia.


#3: Skopje, Macedonia
Do you know that this is the birthplace of Mother Teresa? There is a small memorial house dedicated specially for her.


#4: Ohrid, Macedonia
The downside of didn't plan the trip well. I did a day trip to Ohrid from Skopje and it's really a quick and fast visit. I should at least overnight at this amazing and spectacular deepest lake of the Balkans.


#5: Prizren, Kosovo
With its rich cultural heritage, cafe culture and mountain backdrop, Prizren is Kosovo's best kept secret.


#6: Berat, Albania
One of the oldest town situated in southcentral of Albania, this town has its nickname known as "City of a Thousand Windows".


#7: Kotor, Montenegro
This is one and only town that make me stay for almost four days but still, I refuse to leave. Normally I will stay maximum of two days in a city/town and I chao immediately but not this one. Kotor does looks alike Dubrovnik to me.


#8: "World's Largest Tulip Carpet" in Istanbul, Turkey
Back to Istanbul for the second time. However, I found out Istanbul is overcrowded with tons of tourists. I hardly visit any of their attractions cause everywhere long queue. But I glad finally I managed to witness the tulip festival after saw it from the Internet few years back.


#9: Done with 6 out of 8 Balkans countries. Guess which two I don't make it.

P/S: Really wish that I can finish all my backlogs as soon as possible before my next trip is approaching soon. 

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Summary of My 17D Balkans Travelogue (2018) Covering Istanbul, Bosnia & Herzegovina & Croatia

And here comes the end of another travelogue of mine - like, finally! This year I managed to complete at least 5 travelogues before year-end; Solo Trip To Europe (2017), 9D8N Australia Melbourne & Sydney (2017), 6D5N Central Vietnam (2018), 6D5N Kyushu Japan (2018) and now this one - 17D of my Balkans trip covering Turkey, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia. Feeling accomplished cause my motivation for blogging is finally back on track! I almost lost my interest and passion not just in blogging, but in travelling too dating back 2 years ago.

SUMMARY OF MY 17D BALKANS TRIP COVERING ISTANBUL, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA AND CROATIA

Here is the compilation of my Balkans travelogue at a glance (obviously I'm lazy to summarise everything 😜):

• 2018 Istanbul, Bosmia & Herzegovina and Croatia (Sneak Peek)
• 48 Hours in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Sarajevo to Mostar By Train and Stari Most
• A Day Trip To Blagaj Tekija, Pocitelj, Kravice Falls & War Tour
• Can't Help Falling In Love With Dubrovnik
• Old City Walls of Dubrovnik
• From Dubrovnik to Split
• A Day Trip To Sibenik From Split
• A Short Layover To Zadar
• The Breathtaking View of Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Zagreb, My Last Leg of Croatia
• Istanbul, Turkey - My Starting and Ending Point of My Balkans Trip

(Just click each of them and it will link you to the individual blogpost)

For this post also, I would like to share not comprehensive one but a brief and basic travel guide based my own first hand experience to Turkey (Istanbul), Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia.

VISA

For Malaysian, visa is NOT required to enter into these three countries. Therefore don't have to worry about applying any visa at all. That's show how powerful our Malaysian passport are, right? However if you are intended to stay more than 90 days for each respective country, then you have to go and apply for the visa. I don't have experience for this cause normally, I only stay one or two weeks for each country. 

CURRENCY EXCHANGE

Before embarking for this trip, I exchanged Euros and some Turkish lira (I changed in KL Nu Sentral). You can bring along US dollar, British Pound or even Singapore Dollar cause these currencies are also widely accepted in most of the European countries.

• Turkey's national currency is Turkish lira. It can be found in Malaysia. But in case you don't have the time to change, no worries cause you can exchange in Istanbul. TRY100 = RM102
• Convertible mark (KM/BAM) is the only legal tender in Bosnia & Herzegovina. I exchanged in Sarajevo International Airport - the first Bosnia's airport I landed. €1.00 = 1.95KM on average*. But because there is 1% commission being charged, hence I got €1.00 = 1.93KM
• The official currency for Croatia is Croatian kuna. €1.00 = HRK7.13 on average*

*The rate I exchanged in May 2018

Top: Bosnia & Herzegovina's convertible mark

Bottom: Croatian kuna 

PURCHASING TRANSPORTATION TICKET

The most frequently asked travel questions - where to buy all these transportation tickets and when? Being "kiasu" in me, I always prefer to buy all my buses and trains ticket prior to my trip in order to secure the seats, especially when the bus and train schedules are quite limited. Except for my train ticket from Sarajevo to Mostar and a-return day trip between Split and Sibenik, I booked all my bus tickets from GetByBus (click here). It's a legit and reliable website, so don't have to worry cause it's really pretty save and secure buying bus tickets from this website. 

The only downside of this website is that you have to print out your tickets. They don't accept mobile ticket. And another thing you have to take note is that for all intercity buses, there is an extra fee of €1-2 charge for luggage fee. Remember to keep some small change.

SIM CARD

Because I was travelling alone, hence it's freaking costly to rent a pocket WiFi by my own. Besides that, for your information Bosnia & Herzegovina is actually doesn't consider to be part of European coverage even for both pocket WiFi and travel sim card. What I did is I bought my travel sim card from Hello1010 (click here) and purchased another one for Bosnia & Herzegovina in Sarajevo Airport. 

There you go! Hopefully I don't miss out any important travel tips and info relating my trip to these Balkans countries. In case you have any queries or doubt, feel free to leave a comment or email me. 

TOTAL SPENDING

As usual, I simplify everything for easy reference - which include means of transportation, hostels, entrance fees, food but excluding my shopping spending throughout my trip around 17 days. 

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	€/KM/CZK	RM
Air Fares Singapore Airlines (Return fare Kota Kinabalu to Istanbul) Pegasus Airlines (One-way Istanbul to Sarajevo) Turkish Airways (One-way Zagreb to Istanbul) Cities Sarajevo – 2 days Mostar – 2 days Dubrovnik – 2days Split – 2 days A Day Trip to Split Zadar – 1 day Plitvice Lakes National Park – 1 day Zagreb – 2 days Istanbul – 2 days Ground Tour Herzegovina Tour Others 4GB Travel Prepaid Sim Card - Bought from Hello1010	- - - - - - - - - - - - 60KM -	2,190 293 955 301 188 782 419 149 289 300 363 250 150 103
	TOTAL:	6,732

Exchange rate  €1.00 = RM4.84 as at May 2018

Curious about my souvenir travel haul? There are two items I die-die must buy whenever I visit different country or city which are the fridge magnet and postcard. Besides these two, another one would be the stamps. Sometimes I would spend up to RM100 by just buying these three things. As for this trip, my total spending for souvenir and shopping is RM1,026 including numerous of fridge magnets, postcards, stamps, a T-shirt, a skirt and a dress when I was in Croatia. 

A hardcore collector for fridge magnets.

Souvenirs from Croatia including tea towels, liquid soap dispense and a T-shirt for my nephew.

Pouch and fridge magnets from Istanbul.

Turkish ceramic bowls in various sizes.

AIRLINES EXPERIENCE & THEIR IN-FLIGHT MEALS
For this trip, I flew and experienced 4 different type of airlines:

1) Silk Air for my journey between Kota Kinabalu to Singapore. I even blogged about this airline before (click here).

In-flight meal for Silk Air. I like their fresh fruits but not their main meal. Feel like eating thick flour instead of fish meats.

2) Singapore Airlines for the trip from Singapore to Istanbul as well as for the return. Finally I got to fly with the World's Best Airline. However, I'm quite disappointed with the fleet for the flight to Istanbul cause it's one old aircraft being used. The in-flight entertainment wasn't fascinating and not many options were given. Even for the in-flight meals, I found out it's just so-so and nothing to shout. 

For the route Singapore to Istanbul, their meals are quite acceptable. 

But for the route from Istanbul to Singapore, the meals look kinda sad and unappetising. Luckily there's an ice-cream to cheer me up

3) Pegasus Airlines for one-way journey from Istanbul to Sarajevo. Pegasus Airlines is a Turkish low-cost airlines with no-frills, similar to AirAsia where the fare doesn't include free baggage allowance, in-flight meal and entertainment. 

4) Turkish Airlines for a trip from Zagreb to Istanbul. Turkish Airlines is a national carrier airline of Turkey and it's full-fledged airlines. This is one of the most expensive fares I ever bought in my life just for a single trip. 

Never thought this is going to be a lengthy post but I'm glad that finally this is the end. Now I'm going to have a cup of nice hot coffee and at same time, thinking which travelogue should I blog next.

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Balkans (2018): Istanbul, Turkey - My Starting & Ending Point of My Balkans Trip

Selam Istanbul!

Frankly speaking, I never imagine that I will visit Turkey by my own someday. My friends and I have been discussed about our trip to Turkey for the past few years but then, we never materialise it to date. One of the main reasons is due to the airfares - most of the times the price of the airtickets to Istanbul from Kuala Lumpur were over our budget. Not until (again!) my friend who manages the Mytravelmatez FB Page shared with me about Singapore Airlines promo. All-in return fares from Kota Kinabalu to Istanbul for as low as RM2,100 which I personally think it's a great bargain. Informed my friends about this but because each of them are committed to their worklife, at the end I decided to go ahead to travel by my own. It's not like I had never experienced travel alone before, right? So without thinking any longer, instantly booked the ticket before the price increase. My motto, "Book first, think later". 

Istanbul Aku Datang

FROM THE AIRPORT TO ISTANBUL CITY CENTRE

Thank goodness this time around my flights aren't delayed. Same goes to my luggage too - safe and sound reaching Istanbul. Still not yet recover from the worst nightmare I encountered from my previous trip to Europe alone last year (click here). Okay, now back to the main topic.

There are two different airports in Istanbul and both are located quite far from each other:

1. Istanbul Ataturk Airport - which majority planes land here, including Singapore Airlines.
2. Sabiha Gokcen International Airport 

Generally, there are several ways to get to the city center from both airports, depending on which district you choose to stay. The most popular would be Sultanahmet (the old city where most of the famous historical sights of Istanbul are situated) and Taksim (the new city with lots of shopping and entertainment around). I chosen the latter one cause I can catch the early bus to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. 

One way with Havatas bus from/to both airports cost TRY15 (approx. to RM15). No reservation is required (first come, first serve basis) and the fare can be paid on the board. You can find this airport bus located very close to Point Hotel Taksim. To know more about the timetable, click here. 

The second option is by taking metro which is slightly cheaper than taking Havatas bus. Just follow the "Metro" signs once get out from the international arrivals and it will lead you to -2 (minus 2) floor. From there, purchase the Istanbulkart from the machine before getting into the train.


Ataturk Airport Station (M1 line) → Yenikapi Station (M1) → Taksim (M2) line

MY ACCOMMODATIONS IN ISTANBUL  
Well, I stayed in two different kind of accommodations when in Istanbul - mix of both hostel and hotel.

The first day I arrived, I booked to stay in Taksim Hostel Green House Istanbul. The hostel staff were pretty friendly and helpful cause by the time I reach the hostel, it wasn't the check-in time yet but he allowed me to use the bathroom. I was desperately need a hot bath after long hours of flight. Each bed comes with private locker, individual reading lamps and electric sockets. As for the location, it situated less than 10 minutes away from the Havatas bus stop - this is my main priority when searching for stay in Istanbul cause I need to catch my flight on the next early morning.



Whereas for my last day before leaving Istanbul (after back from Bosnia & Croatia trip), I chosen to stay in Misafir Suites 8 Istanbul which I prefer to stay in this area. It's more happening and it surrounded by countless of shopping stores, restaurants, cafes and more.



WHAT I DO & SEE IN ISTANBUL
I have few hours to kill before leaving to Bosnia & Herzegovina on the next day. Therefore, I decided to visit few well-known historical attractions like Sultanahmet (aka Blue Mosque), Hagia Sofia and Grand Bazaar. I'm freaking love going to the bazaar. All of these are located at the touristic heart of Sultanahmet. So from Taksim Station, I took funicular to Kabatas. Get off and I changed tram to Sultanahmet. Sounds complicated? Sure it does and I admit I lost my way on the first day.


Taksim Station → F1 Funikuler Kabatas → Tram to Sultanahmet using Istanbulkart which I bought from the airport earlier.

Once arrive at Sultanahmet stop, it's short walking distance to Sultanahmet (aka Blue Mosque) and Hagia Sofia cause both are located side by side. A trip to Istanbul is incomplete without visiting these two historical mosques.

Sultanahmet - Also recognised as the Blue Mosque by most of the tourists who visit this mosque is mainly due to its blue tiles surrounding the walls of interior design. The mosque is open to all public including the non-Muslim visitors but do take note of the prayer time cause the non-Muslim visitors are required to leave here. Hence, it is advisable to arrive in the mid morning. As for the entrance fee, it is free of charge. In addition, there is a dress code for both men and women but don't worry in case you are not aware of this cause you can rent for free at the Blue Mosque entrance.

Hagia Sofia - Not far away from Sultanahmet, this mosque is also locally known as Ayasofya. It's consider to be one of the most impressive sight in Istanbul and I have to say that I love this architecture more than the previous one. As a matter of fact, Hagia Sofia was previously a church before converted into a mosque. And now, it's a museum at the Turkish Republic. However, I didn't manage to enter and visit it cause the queue was pretty long. 

Spice Bazaar - Initially I went Grand Bazaar and only to find out it was closed on Sunday. It was indeed waste of time cause I keep searching for the entrance for almost an hour until the local told me. Silly me! But luckily I found there is another bazaar not far away from Sultanahmet which is the Spice Bazaar. It is one of the largest bazaars in the city offering Turkish delights, various spices, caviar, dried nuts and more. However, I found the things sold here are more pricier than Grand Bazaar.
Nearest Tram Stop: Eminonu stop via the Bagcilar tram

Visiting Hours: 9am to 7pm daily

Grand Bazaar - Since I missed this one on the first day, die-die must go and try my luck on my final day. Thank goodness it opened. Immediately I went in and discover what this largest and oldest covered market in Istanbul has to offer. Of course, can't deny the things sold here are almost identical to Spice Bazaar but I enjoy the shopping environment here and the price tend to be slightly cheaper. I did my last minute shopping here like buying fridge magnets, pouch and even Turkish ceramic bowls.

Nearest Tram Stop: Carsikapi stop via the Bagcilar tram

Visiting Hours: 9am to 9pm (Closed on Sunday)

Galata Bridge - Just a short walk from the Spice Bazaar, I walked across the Galata Bridge. This iron bridge was one of the city's landmark built on the Golden Horn, the ancient harbour of the city and it has featured in Turkish literature, theater, novels and poetry. If you are looking for a spot for sunset viewing in Istanbul, this would be an ideal place. Feeling so serene and calm standing on the bridge while catch a glimpse of the local colour and character as well as watching those ferries and boats across by. What a fascinating experience! 

MY SHOPPING HAUL

Like I mentioned earlier, I did most of my shopping at Grand Bazaar and I bought things like fridge magnets, various size of Turkish ceramic bowls, shawls and so on.

Postcards for the priced of TRY3 for 10 pieces. I got at the newspaper stand nearby Sultanahmet. As for the stamp, it cost TRY4 each and I bought from Ataturk Airport.

Magents are selling 3 for TRY10 whereas for the pouch, each cost TRY2


Turkish ceramic bowls, from as low as TRY3 for the smallest size to TRY30 for the largest size

TOTAL TRAVEL EXPENSES FOR MY TRIP IN ISTABUL

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	TRY	RM
Accommodations Taksim Hostel Green House – 1 night Misafir Suites 8 Istanbul – 1 night Transportation Istanbulkart Havatas Bus Food and drinks Others Shopping haul	- - 55 15 83 376	44 58 53 15 80 364
TOTAL (RM)		614

Exchange rate TRY100 = RM102 (I changed at KL Nu Sentral in January 2018) 

IS IT SAFE FOR FEMALE TO TRAVEL ALONE IN ISTANBUL?

Quite number of my friends and also readers actually asking me whether is it safe for a female traveller to travel by her own in Istanbul and I am proudly to say, YES! I can't comment for the rest of the cities of Turkey cause I haven't been yet but so far from my personal experience, I found it is pretty safe to wander alone around Istanbul. I even bumped into a Singaporean female traveller who travel alone in Istanbul and other cities of Turkey. Just beware of pickpockets especially inside the public transport and also crowded places like Sultanahmet and the bazaars.

Previous Post of My 2018 Balkans Trip

• 2018 Istanbul, Bosmia & Herzegovina and Croatia (Sneak Peek)
• 48 Hours in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Sarajevo to Mostar By Train and Stari Most
• A Day Trip To Blagaj Tekija, Pocitelj, Kravice Falls & War Tour
• Can't Help Falling In Love With Dubrovnik
• Old City Walls of Dubrovnik
• From Dubrovnik to Split
• A Day Trip To Sibenik From Split
• A Short Layover To Zadar
• The Breathtaking View of Plitvice Lakes National Park
• Zagreb, My Last Leg of Croatia

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2018 Istanbul, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia (Sneak Peek)

The longest holiday ever.

Began with the national election day on 9 May, and continued with 10 and 11 May declared as public holiday. Then, started my trip on 12 May and by the time I return back to Malaysia, I realised its public holiday in conjunction of Wesak Day and 30 and 31 May are the state holiday. Looks like throughout the month of May I had been working for 6 days only. 

Where I went in between? Istanbul, a ticket which I bought last year where once again, I stumbled upon a great deal from Singapore Airlines. And this ticket was bought like two days after I returned from my trip to Europe last year. Yes, I'm a proper sucker for bargain and how could I ever resist for a great deal especially from the world's top best airlines. I always want to experience Singapore Airlines but never got the chance to come across cheap fares until my friend from Mytravelmatez shared in his Facebook page. Now you know how I always managed to grab such a great deal. Fast fast follow his page! 

Initially I plan to cover few Balkan countries like Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania but at the end, I decided to narrow down my list and just visit both the first two only. 

Why don't just cover the whole Turkey only? Few people I met actually asked me the same question since I'm flying in into Istanbul, the capital city of Turkey. Well, I promised two of my friends that we will travel and visit Turkey together. Hence, I will wait for them to make this dream being realised someday. Hopefully they don't fong fei kei me (break this deal/promise in Cantonese).

After staying a night in Istanbul, I booked a ticket to Sarajevo, the largest and capital city of Bosnia & Herzegovina and stayed there for two-good nights. Unlike like what I did last year, this time around I decided not to make my trip so rush, or so called a "touch-and-go" trip but instead trying to spend at least for 2 sufficient nights in each city I'm going to visit. 

From Sarajevo, I took train to Mostar and in Mostar, one of the things anyone shouldn't miss is the Stari Most (literally the Old Bridge). This arch bridge was once being destroyed during the war time but sooner, it was rebuilt and reconstructed with the contribution established by UNESCO.

After spending 4 days in Bosnia & Herzegovina, I left to Croatia and met my travel blogger friend, Jeff Chuah who will be joining me for the 8 days trip around Croatia. We managed to cover and visit Dubrovnik, Split, Sibenik, Zadar, Plitvice Lakes National Park and Zagreb. 

Dubrovnik - The King's Landing. This place is well-known for Games of Thrones and Star Wars shooting place. 

Split, a town on Dalmatian Cost of Croatia is popular for its beautiful beaches and the fortresslike complex at its center. 

Zadar, European best destination in 2016.

Plitvice Lakes National Park - This place is the main highlight of the trip. I was totally blown away by this place cause it looks alike heaven on earth. One word: Magnificent!

Ended our trip in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia.

From Croatia, I flew back to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Initially I have long list of places to see but at the end, I can't help myself...

By going to Grand Bazaar and bought quite number of these. They're are so pretty that it's hard for me to resist.

I spent my last day in Istanbul by doing shopping, shopping and shopping. Perhaps I had enough of the sightseeing activities and give myself an excuse to do last minute shopping. What a lame excuse!

Overall for my trip, the total damages I spent is less than RM6,500 which including airfares, hostels, transportation, food and drinks, admission fees and etc but of course, excluding my shopping spree. Eagerly to know more about this Balkan trip? Stay tune for my upcoming posts! I will try to update my blog frequently. 

All the above photos shot with Huawei P20. I'm so lazy to bring my Sony NEX-5N camera around lately.

P/S: This humble blog of mine hits 2 million pageviews. Thanks to the blog readers for making this happen. 😊😊

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