Happy Birthday - Abang Eddee!!!!

Today is my eldest brother's birthday. He is turning 43 years old. We may not be close to each other as my other siblings, but we know that if we had problems, we can turn to each other for help. I have learned a lot from him - The hardest way of life that makes one more mature and appreciate life and others better.

I'm not really good in making a message, but I hope this simple wish will make his day:

You are a dear brother to me,

And a person as nice as you

are forever close in thought

whether near or far

And with this....

I wish a very best for you each and every day

and wishing you a perfect happiness and health.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Across the miles;

Your sis......

Eddee Pfordten

On his graduation day....

Weeks of sadness....

It was almost 2 weeks since it happend - my sister fell sick. She is the only sister I have and she helped me a lot since I was schooling. And now that she is ill and I was so sad and stressed out as I was too far away to do anything. Here's what happend:

10th November

7.30 p.m - I was about to start on dinner when I got the sms from my brother asking me to go online in YM. Urgent! My sister just been brought to APSH by ambulance after having fits and spasms. How would one act if getting such message like that??? The mixed feeling make me feel out of control; I couldn't think and do things anymore. I finally called my niece and asked of my sis' condition. Since they had just arrived at the hospital, there was nothing much that can be updated as the doctors were still treating her.

13th November

6.58 p.m - I tried to call my niece but she didn't picked up the phone. Apparently my sister had just fainted when I called her. Her leg had cramps and the doctors still couldn't figure out the symptom.

14th November

7.13 a.m - My niece updated that the doctor would do the whole scan on the body and put a Doppler scanner on the feet to find a blood clot, as her feet was swelling up. They also tried to find problems with her lungs.

9.20 a.m - They found the blood clot in her foot and it was straining her heart. And they also suspected it might also go to the lungs.

10.37 a.m - They finally found the blood clot in her lungs and she had to be transferred back to ICU as her condition got serious.

11.29 a.m - Alhamdullillah, no operation will be done. The doctor will only filter her blood that goes back to the heart and give some medicine to thin out her blood. In the mean time she was put on morphine.

15th November

8.45 a.m - Doctor started to do the blood filtering. She was taken to the surgery room for the treatment. She left at 11.58 a.m

16th November

9.06 a.m - Mummy updated that she can start eating by herself.

17th November

6.06 p.m - Mummy updated that she is much better than the day before. Alhamdullillah...

18th November

2.49 p.m - The oxygen drip had been taken off. Her condition was getting better.

19th November

10.27 a.m - She was moved to the normal ward. She had her first bath after nearly 9 days.

22nd November

11.51 a.m - Her condition is progressing but still cant be discharged as her blood was too thin.

25th November

Today she was discharged after 2 weeks in the hospital. She may not be as active as before but it was happy to hear that she was getting better and improving.

The findings:

Doctor suspected that her condition was due to the consumption of contraceptive pills that she had been taken for years. She was diagnosed with Pulmonary Embolism and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

The factors that caused her with this condition :

1- Overweight

2- Taking birth control pills

3- Having European bloodlines (my grandfather is German)

Alhamdullilah, the crisis is over; I can't wait to see her when I go back to Malaysia in December...

Ehsan & My only sista

In my point of view......

Some friends, and even our parents were asking on how me & Hubby managed to look after an infant and a baby during our holiday? you know - "Didn't they give us trouble? Aren't they cranky? Didn't they this? Aren't they that?"... Well, the answer is NO!!!! and We had so much fun with them around us.

Of course being small kids they have a certain attitude, but I must say Alhamdulillah (and am not bragging about my own children!) but they were really good and easy to handle. Just once in a while, when Ehsan got restless and needed to leave his stroller or he didn't want to go back to the hotel room. Apart from that it was all fine.

We don't blame Ehsan for showing his tantrum. But once we knew what the cause was, we just simply alihkan pandangan dia so that he would be ok. The holiday was mainly for us and at his age he knows nothing about the places that we brought him. So we don't really blame him. He made it difficult to keep sitting in his stroller or wear his sweater. So hubby needed to carry him plus the extra baggage on his back (Beg susu & all his gadgets!). That was the only hardest part. We also admit that a long holiday is not for small kids because they tend to get tired easily, not enough rest and eventually leading up to them getting sick.

We put this in consideration - we made sure that our plan included their nap times. It worked most times, except for the cold weather plus it was raining the first 2 days that we arrived, which eventually led to Ehsan having flu.

Erica, on other hand was such a nice and wonderful girl. She didn't even merengek nor meragam. She would wake up as early as the parents and his brother to start the new day. After we bathed her and got ready for the tour we would load her up into the baby carrier and she just sit there quietly and peacefully! 10 minutes later and she would already be in her dreamland! She will only wake up once we stop walking or speak too loud. Apart from that she was just simply a nice princess. Nothing to be worried about should hubby bring us to another holiday dalam masa terdekat (wink, wink).

Lastly, here are some tips for those who have small kids like us and are interested to have a trip to Istanbul :

1 - A carrier and a stroller will do. But make sure a heavy duty stroller with 4 off-road wheels, as the roads are mostly brick and the sites have lots of staircases which are not child/stoller friendly.

2 - Just be on the safe side, bring an umbrella - in case the weather gets unpredictable or you'll have to just stay in your room!!

3 - Wet-ones are a must, as the water in the public w.c is too cold, even in the shopping mall. Pity their little butts that have to be washed!!

4 - Enough milk and diapers supply - it's hard to find those in the tourist shops

Ehsan my hero

Ehsan the lil' gangsta

Ehsan the cheeky one

Erica a happy princess

Erica the adorable baby

Erica the lil' monster

Istanbul Final Day - 18th October 2007

Early on our last day in Istanbul, and it was hubby's turn to experience the 'hamam'. Hubby did not have to wait long as it was very early and no customers came yet...yes, he had his undergarment on!

Meanwhile I was busy packing the bags with the souveniers and laundry. It didn't take long to realise that our 2 big luggage won't be enough to fit everything in. Hubby then had to rush to a nearby shop and spend LYR 50 for a new bag. Lesson learnt : we need to bring extra bag if travelling for holidays as you may not know much stuff you're going to buy!

Hubby & kids - Fountain in the nearby park opposite the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque

We checked out from the hotel at 1.00 p.m and walked in the nearby park while waiting for the cab. It was a very sunny and day, so it was uncomfortable for us and the kids. We then left for the airport at 2.00 p.m and it took us 45 minutes of journey.

After check-in we then had our lunch at Burger King. It was a boring moment as we had to wait for another 3 hours for boarding - 3 long hours with small kids really tested our patience as Ehsan start to run here and there; and of course, because our holiday was ending. We finall y boarded at 6.00 p.m.... leaving Istanbul with full of memories and new experinces!

Erica tertidur tunggu nak boarding

While Ehsan is figuring out how to escape from the stroller

Hubby & kids in the plane

We touched down at Khartoum International Airport at 10.00 p.m. Surprisingly, the kids were still fresh and awake and Hubby was full with excitement that he could no longer wait for tomorrow to see all the things we bought. But by midnite all of us went to dreamland!

I can say that I really enjoyed the holiday and I had so much fun in Istanbul. The country is not only beautiful, but it also has a lot of friendly people - we even managed to make new friends from South Africa who stayed in the same hotel with us. Till we meet again Turkey and Istanbul!

Our new friends, Amina & Mohamed with their daughter.

Istanbul Day 6 - 17th October 2007

We had a refreshing started morning since we had a nice rest the previous day. Our plan for the final day would be visiting the Miniaturk, Galata tower and experince the 'hamam'! After breakfast we left the hotel at 1035 am and took a cab to the Miniaturk. The trip took 30 mins, and I managed to grab some pics of the Valens Aqueduct that hubby kept talking about.

The sweet & cute face of Erica

The macho lil' Ehsan with the sunglass on the forehead

The Valens Aqueduct

The forty fountains water supply system was the greatest ancient construction in Istanbul. It was originally 1 km long but today only 800 m of it has remained and had on its line 33 aqueducts including the Maglova, the Guzelce and the Pasha Aqueduct. These aqueducts formed a long water supply line that brought water to Istanbul thru the Belgrade Woods.

We had a nice taxi ride as Istanbul had so many things to look at! By 11, we reached the Miniaturk park and there was also a group of kindergarten children making the trip too. After taking a few snaps and getting the tickets, we headed to walked around the park.

Miniaturk was a great experience - and great fun as we looked at historical building replicas which was no larger than Ehsan! Like most of the sites we went, Mom and Dad had enjoyed the most! Hahahahaa!!

I was so proud to look at the group of kindi kids that arrived with us. When the teacher lead them for the tour, some of the kids managed to name the building without looking at the singage. Perhaps they had been tought in the early age - I was impressed. After an hour we dropped by at the cafetaria as Erica started to feel hungry. We shared a hot dog before continuing our walking.

We spent nearly 3 hours in the park but I felt it is not enough. We had to stop since Ehsan was getting cranky - maybe he is too small to appreciate the park. Oh well! Apa pun I had fun. We took loads of pictures but it will take a long entry just to talk about them!

Hubby & kids - entrance of the park

The view of the Miniatruk Park

Parliement Building - opened to service in 1961

Haci Bektas-i Veli Complex - tomb of Bektasi in Nevsehir

Pamukkale -Cotton castle

Kayseri Doner Vault a.k.a Shah Cihan Hatun Vault

Konya Thin Minaret Medrese -College for studying the Hadiths

Haseki Hurrem Hamami - Turkish Bath

Sogukcesme Street - Street with historical Istanbul houses

Ahmet III Fountain

The Big Post Office

Kucuksu Pavillion - was used by Ataturk for government reception

Haydarpasa Train Station

Ciragan Palace - now serves as one of the finest hotel in Istanbul

Rumeli Fortress - was bulit to stop any support coming for the Byzantines up to Bosphorus

Ataturk International Airport

Suleymaniye Mosque

Sivas Gok (Sky) Medrese - original name was Sahibiye Medrese

Selcuk Isa Bey Mosque - one of the oldest and most imposing works of Turkish architecture

The Great Mosque of Diyabakir - known as the 5th Harem-i Serif of the Islamic World

Ishak Pasa Palace

T.C Ziraat Bank Museum

Fairy Chimney - formations by the natural erosion of the volcanic tufa

The Mostar Bridge - Known as the largest arch bridge in the world. This is not in Turkey of course!

The tomb of Master Sinan - the most well known Turkish architect

Aspendos Amphitheatre - 15,000 audience capacity

To give Ehsan some exitement, we gave him the chance to sail a ferry. It was actually a coin machine boat but to make sure mama get the chance to walk and stop him from getting bored, we just let him be. It worked!

Ehsan berlagak macam Captain and Sailors

We left the park at 2.00 pm and headed to Galata Tower. Ehsan was so tired that he slept on the way to the tower. It was easy for us to handle him while he was sleeping - just put him in the stroller and have a nice walk!

So tired.....

Galata Tower or Galata Kulesi

Galata tower is one of the oldest tower in the world. It is 61 m tall. The Genoeses built this tower as part of the defense walls in the region. But then during the Ottoman empire, the tower was used as a prison, warehouse, lighthouse and fire observing tower. It was nice to walk at the balcony and look at the view of Bosphorus, Golden Horn and Sea of Marmara. We took turns to go up and take in the panoramic view.

We then had a late lunch beneath the Galata Bridge. There are a lot of restaurants under the bridge. And while you are having your meal you also can see lots of locals are fishing from the top of the bridge. Most of the restaurants offer seafood dishes to the customer. We had ikan bakar (which was tasteless), butter prawn and fried squid. It was not as good in Malaysia, but it was better than having kebabs everyday.

The restaurant

After an hour of lunch we headed back by tram. But we squeezed another visit to a nearby souvenir shop to buy last minute presents for our relatives. We finished everything at nearly 6.00 p.m.

Us at the Istanblue Shop

Since it will be our last night in Istanbul we both had agreed to experience new things - for our memories, so we decided to try the 'hamam', or the Turkish Bath. Hubby let me go first, and he would be looking after the kids while I was away.

I went for the bath at 6.30 p.m and the session lasted for an hour. It was definitely a new experience for me - and I was shocked for life going thru it!! I guess I need not explain what went on inside but my only advise if you want to try the hamam for yourself ; wear your 'undergarments'!! hahaha.

I went to buy dinner on the way back and we had the dinner in our hotel room. It was a nice day indeed!

The place I had 'hamam'

Istanbul Day 5 - 16th October 2007

As we had a long day from shopping to cruise, we decided to take our own sweet time today. We left the hotel at 1030 a.m and headed to the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. It was only a short walking distance from our hotel. The museum was once Ibrahim Pasha Palace which was owned outside the dynasty in the Ottoman Period.

Inside the museum there are lots of collections which includes hand-written books and works made of stone, ceramic, wood and metal. And there were also lots of hand made Turkish carpets of incredible sizes - covering the whole wall in some places!

Me & kids - inside the museum

Many sizes of handmade carpets

Al-Quran case

Me & kids - candle holder in the background (gila besar!)

Us outside the museum with Blue Mosque's background

The lifestyle and handicrafts of the Anatolians were also exhibited in this museum.

Topakev Yurt - Anatolian people tent

The tools for making Kilim - hand woven carpets

A village house in Yuntdag

Hubby & Ehsan - at the entrance

After an hour and half, we headed back to our hotel. Since we still feel the tiredness of yesterday's journey, we decided not to do much. We did enter a shop selling carpets, kilims and jewelery. Actually we passed by the shops every time we went to buy our dinner and I kept looking at a certain lamp hanging on the display. Hubby of course understood and suggested we just look for it. After a long negotiation and 'belek membelek' session we finally bought a nice lamp that we planned to hang it at the stairs of our new home back in Malaysia - and it was the one that I longed for!

Hubby with the salesman after the purchase

We then decided to walk up hill to find the Grand Bazaar. Actually there was nothing much to buy since we have bought souveniers for everybody from the Spice Bazaar. Before 'attacking' Grand Bazaar, we stopped for a while to have a break at a nearby shop with hubby's favourite dish - Borat & Nar suyu (pomegranate juice).

Me & Ehsan - having a break

After that quick recharge, we walked to the Grand Bazaar, or the Kapali Carsi. There are thousands of shops selling millions of things! It is believed that there are approximately 3500 shops and 15000 tradesmen in 80 streets and roads inside it. Since we were too tired to walk around we just dropped at a few shops and top-up a few souveniers for mama and mummy, some key-chains and also a shawl for myself. After half an hour surveying the bazaar, we turned around and headed back to our hotel.

Ehsan, as usual, was already knocked out earlier. But we managed to stop at a restaurant nearby the hotel to have our late lunch - I had rice with chicken and mushroom, while hubby had his kebab. We finished our tour that day earlier than usual and just rest in the room as we know we will have a tiring trip again next day...

Me & Ehsan - inside Grand Bazaar

Hubby & kids - Outside the Bazaar

Hubby & Erica - having lunch