Shufflicious

I couldn't resist. I finally bought a Shuffle about three weeks ago. When Apple first introduced the new Shuffle, I was reluctant to buy it due to its small 1GB capacity and no screen display. But it's been perfect for me and the battery life is amazing! My old Archos Gmini has a 20GB capacity but use to cark on me after 3-4 hours. Not even a full work day. I haven't managed to drain my Shuffle on a day out yet.

The problem I have with the Shuffle though, isn't the lack of a screen or its small capacity. It's the lack of a Hold button! Having fat fingers, made even more uncoordinated by gloves, I have a bad habit of accidentally skipping to the next track. Which isn't such a big deal, but the tracks I listen to are DJ sets ranging from an hour to two hours in length. The Shuffle's fast tracking functionality is pretty crappy and it'd take too long to get back to where I was. Apart from that, I'm a happy consumer with the Shuffle. Have to admit though, I spent a lot of time in the Apple store steeling my nerves and convincing myself to buy it. Just the thought of having to deal with Apple support again if anything goes wrong put me off.

El Laberinto del Fauno

aka Pan's Labyrinth.

You know, I didn't realise it was going to be so gruesome! And it wasn't badly done gruesome either (*cough* Hostel *cough*). It's the kind of gruesome that puts the viewer's overactive imagination to good use. I couldn't stop cringing at times. With 2 days to go, Pan's Labyrinth makes it into my list of "must watch" movies for 2006. It was imaginative, artistically shot, and had a decent storyline to boot. Thanks Niffies for the hawt movie date :)

Here's one that's made it into my "don't bother" movies list - Babel. Sure, it's got Brad Pitt, and he's decent in it. So's Cate Blanchett. However, the movie is just _endlessly_ and _needlessly_ depressing. Yes, there's a theme, everyone's lives are interconnected in some way. Yes, coincidences aren't really coincidences. Hence it's possible for a Japanese businessman's hunting trip in Morroco to cause sweet little American children to lose their way in Mexico. But... so what?

Pan's Labyrinth - 4/5
Babel - 1/5

"It's like riding a bike...

... you never forget", was the advise I was given from hardcore boarders. This brought back memories of when Ula made me ride a bicycle for the first time in about 10 years. I almost crashed into a parked car!

But it's true, some things you don't forget. You just remember _really_slowly_ what you're suppose to do. Funnily enough, with snowboarding, you remember what you're suppose to do right after you stack it :P Thought to self for next time: "Use my edge more! Link my turns!"

Unfortunately, I look like a boy with a beanie and snow gear on :(

It's beautiful at Meribel. At the top, we were 2200m above sea level (I think). I've never seen snow covered mountains like this before. It's also really scary! As I watched kids a third my age whizz by on skiis, I contemplated how I was going to make it down the mountain without scraping up my face :P I wish my parents had the money to take me skiing every year for family holidays. I could be a pro by now! Then again, my parents took me to the beach every weekend when I was young, and I'm definitely not a pro bodyboarder *grin* I do feel lucky though, that I have friends now who are willing to take me to the very top, and who kept encouraging me everytime I felt I couldn't do it anymore. It was a great way to spend Christmas :)

Which way?!? Can we go to Jerusalem?

My favourite moment of the trip... Aaah, chillax...

2006 Family Portrait

Edit 29/12/2006: For the unbelievers - Behold! My right butt cheek in all its cellulite glory! Nobody make any wise cracks :P Har har har!

Worst. Present. Ever

I really hope the person who gave me this doesn't discover my blog. This is the reason why I think Kris Kringles and Secret Santas are a fcking waste of time and money:

Wtf? I know I look young, but I'm not freaking 5 years old. I'd rather have the 5 quid as a present than this. I'm definitely re-gifting this one.

Bah humbug.

And yeah, this even beats the BH90210 calendar I got one year from my brothers. At least at that time, Luke Perry was dreamy.

What I need

A Clocky. I woke up at 8:52am today thinking, "Fck, it's 8:52am, why are there people drilling outside?!?" Quickly followed by, "Fck, it's 8:52am, why am I still in bed?!?"

I don't even remember turning my alarm off. Clocky will run away from you if you try to snooze more than once :)

If you had the money...

Would you spend it on this?

Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac.

It's EUD$1170, and that's duty free prices. Bargain! According to Wikipedia:

"Louis XIII cognac is manufactured using grapes from the Grande Champagne of France. It is blended from eaux de vie, some more than a century in age, then it is aged in "tiercons," barrels that are several hundred years old, in its own cellar. A bottle of Louis XIII may be priced as high as $2,000(US) however average price range is between $1,000 to $1,300. The handblown crystal decanter is commonly valued at $400-$600 without the cognac."

I guess this barely counts as a luxury item when you take into account:
- World's most expensive tequila = $225,000 (It comes in a gold and platinum casing, and someone did buy it)
- World's most expensive whisky = $38,000 (Macallan 1920, sold out!)
- World's most expensive beer = $2,595

Though the world's most expensive beer only gets its aclaim because a drunken Kiwi misread the bill and thought it said $2.45 when he signed it *lol*

Personally, I'd go for one of these cocktails. Although, I can see some of them being a choking hazard. Men, if you want me to say, "Yes", this is how you do it :P

Urban surfers

What do you do when you don't have a beach? Surf in a canal of course! This looks totally insane and fun at the same time. Guys literally just jump on their boards and ride the current. Wonder how they'd deal with a real break...

München

I spent the entire weekend munching on wieners, deep fried potatoes, Nutella and sour cherry crepes, hunk of venison, Augustiner beer, lethal schnapps, chicken wings, fish, calamari... My stomach was in pain by the time I was on the plane back to Rondon. It was great! For the first time since we've known each other, T, B and I went on holiday together! The Xmas Markets were great, but I had the best time just being partners in crime with T and B. We were together in München.

Sound of Music Sing-a-long

Brown paper packages wrapped in string - Check.
Leiderhosen - Check.
Nuns - Check.
Drag Queen - Huh?

If you're a fan of SoM, it has to be done. Or in poor Sarah's case, Kate and I just dragged her along cause we wanted to see it *grin* Full credit though, Sarah got right into it, and amazingly, it was the first time she'd seen the entire movie! Where was her childhood?!? My fave part has always been the Goatherd song:

One little girl in a pale pink coat heard
Lay-ee odl, lay-ee odl lay-oo-oo
She yodeled back to the lonely goatherd
Lay-ee odl, lay-ee odl-oo
Soon her mama with a gleaming gloat heard
Lay-ee odl, lay-ee odl lay mmm mmm
What a duet for a girl and goatherd
Lay-ee odl, lay-ee odl-oo
Happy are they layee odl-lay-ee-o oh lay-ee odl-lay-ee lay-ee-oo
Soon their duet will becoma a trio
Lay-ee odl, lay-ee odl lay-ee-oo...

Xmas Lights

I spent the night wandering around Oxford St. It's all lit up. A bit tackily. Then again, I always thought Christmas was a tacky affair *grin* My fave lights are the giant lightbulbs on Carnaby St.

Bye Jules!

*sniffles* Jules is the first friend to leave me in Rondon and return to Sydney. I really wish you could've stayed longer in Rondon. I finished all the Jaffa Cakes you gave me (and it's not even Xmas yet!). And I'm still hankering for chocolate crepe...

Steeeak!

Occasionally, I get the hankering for RED MEAT. Screw instant noodles, screw pasta - I want a freaking piece of cow to munch on. So yesterday, I wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of my steak, including my flatmates *grin*

Me: "Do you want steak for dinner?"
(what I mean: It doesn't really matter what you say, I want steak)
D: "Err, isn't it 10 quid? That's expensive."
Me: "I'm going to get it anyway, so if you want it, there's going to be one for you"
(what I mean: I don't care if you don't want it, I'm still eating it for dinner!)

Come to think of it, 10 quid for 2 pieces of raw meat is quite expensive if you convert it to Aussie dollars (approx AUD$25). But dang it was good. I've seriously discovered the best way to cook steak medium rare. It's turned out perfect for me thrice in a row so far. Adapted from Becasse's recipe for roast tri tip of veal:
- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees;
- Season steak with salt and pepper and leave at room temperature;
- Heat up pan with olive oil over high heat;
- Sear the steak all over;
- Throw it in the oven for 8 mins, turning constantly;
- Rest the steak for 3 mins.

Tada, one perfecto steak. Sorry, I munched a quarter of it before I remembered to take the picture:

Slow blogging month

Things I surprisingly fell in love with this Winter:
- Stripey socks from Tabio
- Stiletto knee high boots from Nine West

- PUFFY JACKETS (I can't stop trying them on in shops... They're everywhere!)

Things I can really do without:
- Cracked and blistering lips

*Uggh* In the space of one day, my bottom lip went from slightly peeling to busted, yellow and infected. It looks like I have a flesh eating disease on my lip :( Definitely not kissable :P All the moisture is getting sucked out of my body.

View from my window

What a difference a week makes...

Fresh! From Sydney!

Authentic Laksa paste :D Homemade by my parents :) Sprinkled with fried onion flakes made by my aunt, and flown in from Malaysia. Accompanied by snapper fishcakes made by authentic Thai gal, T.

Also on the menu this weekend, mutant prawns! Madagascan, apparently.

Smile!

Fear

... I feel it completely and utterly... At 3am today, I heard a loud BANG. I got up, and peeked outside my bedroom door. Darkness... And silence... So I went to the toilet (I have an ensuite) and went back to bed. A few minutes later, there was another loud BANG. I froze in bed. Next, I heard B's screams rip through the night. I was absolutely terrified. What's happening? What should I do? Should I call the police? Where's my phone? Where's my phone? What's happening?

B's screams stop.

I throw clothes on and get to the living room. B tells me there was someone in our house. The balcony door is open. The dining chair is toppled over. The intruder long gone. Nothing stolen, B must've walked in just as he entered the apartment.

I feel fear. I couldn't sleep after the cops left. I spent the day in a daze, forever wishing I had turned on the light to scare the intruder away. I'm glad B screamed, and deliriously happy that the intruder ran away. It could've been a lot worse. But it's horrifying hearing a friend scream like that.

It's not going to be an easy sleep tonight either :(

All I want for Christmas, is a baseball bat and some razor wire. On the other hand, peace and good will would be nice too.

Insanity

I know I talk about airport security a fair bit, but it really affects me. I really enjoy travelling, but airports are becoming a horrendous ordeal. As a traveller, all I want to do is get on the plane, but it's soo hard these days. If you're a light traveller, you were basically punished, because you were forced to check in luggage unless you intended to buy toothpaste at every destination. I just gave up and chewed gum :P

These days, you're allowed to bring on a little plastic baggie of liquids. All liquids must be in 100ml (max) containers. You'd think this would make life easier. It didn't. I happen to be lucky enough to be travelling when the rule first came in. I thought I was well prepared. I didn't even have any luggage. Just a handbag with a spare tshirt. I had my boarding pass pre-printed out. All that was required, was for me to turn up and get through the security check. The new liquid allowance rule, made lines for security 50 times longer. The line started from the security gate, cut through the concourse, went outside the airport, went through a marquee (setup for "passenger comfort"), looped back along the airport outside wall, and back into the airport again.

Outside Heathrow Terminal 4:

Why? Because now every single 100ml bottle of shampoo, toothpaste, whatever, was getting closely scrutinised by security guards.

This isn't the insanity part. The insanity part comes in when the public turns vicious and starts throwing people off flights. Granted, this happened in the US, but it woudn't suprise me if it started to happen here. Six Muslim men, who looked of Middle-Eastern descent, were escorted off a plane for praying. Ffs!!! Passengers became paranoid about the men speaking in Arabic. One passed a note to a flight attendant. It's not the first time something like this has happened. It's just the latest. The worst case I came across is the story of Raed Jarrar, who got pulled aside for wearing a shirt with Arabic script on the front. He wasn't allowed on the flight until he changed his shirt. Where are his rights as a human being?

It makes me wonder, what is the point of airport security? You go through metal detectors. Your baggage gets restricted and scrutinised. There's a war on liquids. Everytime I pass a checkpoint, I get felt up by the security lady. Seriously, I haven't been felt up like this in a long time. My bra gets lifted. My ankles get rubbed. My crotch was patted down. To what end? All it does is scare passengers even more. The approach taken by airport security is that something bad will happen to you. A bomb will go off. It's just a question of when. Whatever rules are in place, aren't preventative, they're just fear inducing. Why wouldn't a suicide terrorist just check in luggage these days instead of building one onboard? To my knowledge checked in luggage doesn't get scanned.

To me, what makes it worse, is the complete lack of care by airport security staff regarding how frustrated passengers feel. What I overheard was along the lines of, "I don't care if you don't listen to me. I'm not the one that's going to miss a flight. It doesn't affect me." Why wouldn't me and the 1000s of other passengers feel more pissed off at this attitude?

Schlocky horror goodness

The Barbican held a special event last weekend. It screened the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre with a live "soundtrack" performance by Puerto Muerto. Did the live performance add anything to the movie? Mmm, nope. Not really. They did a couple of songs that went well with the movie in the background, but that was it. The rest were just "space fillers" for moments of nothingness in the movie. Keep in mind that TCM already _has_ a soundtrack (cue screams and screechy horror noises), and when there's no music, it's probably done intentionally to add to the tension. So the addition of Puerto Muerto's tracks actually ruined parts of the movie for me. I'm not sure what Puerto Muerto were trying to achieve, and at times, it made the movie seem more like a video clip. I thought a soundtrack was meant to enhance the movie, not the other way around *shrug* My only complaint would be the stinky guy who sat next to me... Urggh... How can people smell so bad?

I don't really know how I got into horror movies. I suspect it has something to do with putting on a brave face infront of my brothers when we watched horror movies some 20 years ago. I think my fave these days, has to be House of 1000 Corpses by Rob Zombie. Inspired of course, by TCM :) It has the nutso freakish characters from the 70s, modernised and even more insane. Definitely worth a watch.

Reenie Only @ Armin Only

I remember the first time I saw Armin van Buuren play. It was a Godskitchen event. It was at Gas 4 years ago. It was the October long weekend. It was the first time B met C, and C wore sheep pants to impress us ;) I think the night ended with C and I sitting on the floor downing tequila shots!

Armin, fireworks, lasers and dancers who looked like hookers:

This year, I saw Armin play at Armin Only, in Ahoy, Rotterdam. Just me, solo, front row, and I was in Armin heaven. It was brilliant! From start, to finish, I was listening to Armin play for about 7 hours. My legs gave out at the 4th hour and I couldn't dance anymore. Sitting down at the back of the dancefloor alone is a bad idea though. There are a loooot of crazy concerned Dutch people out there :) "Are you okay? Is everything alright? It's a party! You can't sit down! Don't you like to party?" Errr, I must be getting old.

Armin hid behind a screen for an hour. This is his "I am Jesus" pose:

Listening to Armin use to be a part of my everyday work routine. Plug in, block out everything but the music, forget how sucky the project is, and just focus on getting the job done. To hear Armin play all the tunes that made me happy and forget everything that sucked... It was worth dealing with insane airport security and travelling to Holland for. For the life of me though, I couldn't get a clear pic of Armin :P

Woo, laser lights...

Armin's been a DJ for 10 years, and I hope he's got at least another 10 more in him. It's really a tough call between him and Paul van Dyk as to who's my fave DJ. Both brilliant, PvD is perhaps more consistent with his sets, but Armin when he gets it right, it's unbeatable. More blurry Armin pix available on my flickr set.

Ula and Wilco, I did miss you... I was at a loss as to what to do once the shops closed in Amsterdam! Haha :)

Homo-Monument?

Wicky, perhaps you can explain this one *lol* Found on the streets of Amsterdam:

Pushca - Chasing the Dragon

It's like a club stole my blog theme! So what exactly does "being Oriental" mean to Rondoners? Err, from what I saw that night, it means putting chopsticks in your hair and waving a fan!! It's an odd experience being one of the few *real* Orientals at an Oriental themed party. Who were the other real Orientals? My flatmates! *lol*

Everyone wants to be Oriental:

Rondon isn't a racist city. It's just... a tad insensitive to other cultures. I guess it's hard for people to look beyond stereotypes, and keep in mind this _is_ a theme party. So paddy field hats, cheong sams, kimonos, badly drawn moustaches and konichiwas are all to be expected. To be honest, I did feel offended that my culture was being taken the piss out of. But *shrug* like I said, it's a theme party. There was no way I was going to bother lecturing Poms that night that it took more than chopstick skillz to be Oriental (yup, someone did stop by to show me his 1337 skillz).

And if you take note from this picture (nsfw), nipple tassles are apparently all the rage with Orientals :P

Bar Italia

After a D&M with the Italian porter at my apartment early one Sunday morning, I asked him where to go for the "good stuff" in Rondon. You will not believe how hard it is to find good coffee here. I was directed to this place, Bar Italia in Soho:

So while everyone else was still in bed recovering from Pushca, I headed out for a morning espresso. Then it hit me, I've been here before. This place was one of my first experiences of Rondon about 5 years ago :) My brother bought me my very first machiatto from here :) Smooth, strong, espresso. Good stuff...

Oh. Dear. Lord.

Turning 28 made my stomach churn. Literally. Painfully. Multiple times... It was a great night :) Thank you to my wonderful flatmates who threw me a surprise Belvedere themed party. Thank you to all the guests who showed up, and I'm sorry for leaving the scene soo early. You try keeping down spicy korean instant noodles, beer, 5 cocktails (4 of which were doubles), and vodka shots :P I'm glad I didn't find any mystery vomit in _my_ room! *Look at T* Hahaha!

Start of the night, still on my feet:

Getting that lovey dovey feeling:

Hrm, I think that was my last cocktail:

PS: The new haircut is a Vidal Sassoon job :) And congrats to the newly weds, Mrs & Mr MacGregor!

Never thought I'd say this

But I miss blogging! A backlog is building up. Tidy and Extreme Euphoria, being ORIENTAL at Pushca, spending the entire night listening to Armin play a 9 hour set... Rah... Need my laptop back!

Laksa squirts

OMG. Rondoners, DO NOT go to Melati for a laksa. It's sooo oily, and my stomach paid for it. Avoid it at all cost. I wasn't the only one suffering from last night's dinner. One nameless friend was late for work this morning because of the same problem *grin*

No laptop, no blogging

On hiatus till I get my laptop back. It's just not the same when I have to hijack B's Vaio to blog :P My lappy's in the Apple Store, with the "geniuses", getting a new battery, logic board and power pack. Considering I've only had the MBP for about 6 months, that's a lot of repairs. Did I mention that I've been trying to get an appointment with the "geniuses" at tech support for THREE WEEKS? Everyday, I've been logging on to their website to try and book an appointment, always failing. I finally had to pay 79 quid to become a Procare Member which allows me to rock up without an appointment. Good un Apple. I could rant all day about Apple's crappy support. "Come back tomorrow at 10am and we'll try and book you an appointment," Apple support tells me. What, I don't have a job? How do they think I afforded their expensive laptop? Baaah... Not to mention my battery was on the recall list. I swear I checked it and it wasn't on the list (Apple guy, "Well the numbers haven't changed!").

My advice, don't buy first gen Apple products. The amount of effort you have to go through to get support from Apple is ridiculous. First they make it impossible to get an appointment without coughing up hard earnt squiddies. Then they'll make it seem like it's _your_ fault that things break down on a 6 month old laptop. Uh huh... Apple, you can be such a goat fcker.

Google is no different

... from the other big companies that treat people like shit. When it comes to recruitment anyway. So here's the end game.

First things first, the rejection letter:


Fair enough. I can handle rejection. What I can't handle is being made to wait close to 4 weeks, and me having to chase them up for an answer. I had initially been told that it would take 2 weeks max after the interview for someone to get back to me. Next thing you know, Jimbo from Google HR is on holidays to Thailand, and nobody else can tell me what's going on. Company policy.

My interview was on the 31st August, I didn't get a response till the 26th September. I would expect this kind of behaviour from a cruddy blood sucking recruitment agent, but not from Google HR. I don't know about anyone else, but before I go on holidays, I always do a handover of all my outstanding tasks. That way, people aren't depending on me when I leave the country.

Secondly, I got a verbal offer to contract with Google for 3 months in a different role, but within the same team. The idea was to "grow" me into the role I had initially applied for. Of course I agreed, working for Google's an opportunity too good to pass up. So I asked, "How long will this take to turn around?" The answer I was given, "Really fast, I can get this happening by the end of the week." In the meantime, my task was to find out market rates and get back to Google. Which I did.

Did I hear back? No.

Any response to my email enquiries? No.

So I call back. Numerous times during the next few weeks. I get the following excuses from Google HR:
- Really busy, couldn't get to it. Budget meeting arranged for next week.
- Budget meeting fell through, the Budget-Guy is sick.
- Budget-Guy is online, but can't manage to talk to him. Will keep trying.
- Budget-Guy was sent to Mountain View, he just returned and has locked himself up in his office.

I understand that things get in the way of the best of intentions. However, what *absolutely* shits me, is that at no time did Google HR _bother_ to keep me up to date with whatever's been happening. No calls, no emails, no updates. Radio silence. The verbal offer was made on the 26th September, my final talk to Google HR was today, the 31st October. That's another 4 weeks that this has dragged on for. From start to finish, the total time has been about 8 weeks of fucking around on their side, and still no answer! In the meantime, I've signed on with a different company because I need the squiddies.

Pretty shit treatment from a company renown for treating its employees really well.

Personally, I don't think it's the company that gets things wrong, I think it's the attitude of Brits towards work. I get the feeling that people don't try to get things done here. Or there's no logic in the way they approach doing things. I was honestly tempted to screenshot and blog about my current project's ridiculous directory structure on the network drive. It's the most inefficient way of organising documents I've ever seen. But, that's another rant for another day :P

Happy Halloweenie!

Bad taste?

Usually, I don't watch South Park unless I've read about the latest scandal in the episode via news or blogs. So when I read various news articles about last week's ep being in bad taste for portraying Steve Irwin with a stingray in his chest, it was definitely one I wanted to watch.

You know what? South Park could've done a LOT worse to Steve Irwin's memory. Steve Irwin was in the cartoon only long enough to get kicked out of Satan's halloween party. About a minute. Even Satan thought it was too soon to dress up like Steve Irwin! So here's my question to you, of the images below, which do you find more offensive in context?

Steve Irwin with a stingray in his chest

or
Dahmer having sex with intestines from a murder victim?

Btw, for _the_best_ episode of South Park ever (IMHO), check out Season 10 Episode 8, "Make Love not Warcraft".

Karma

Yup, it had to happen eventually. I was pickpocketed whilst shopping :( It's a heartbreaking moment when you realise your handbag is mysteriously open and your wallet suddenly void of the fifty quiddies you were planning to spend on shoes. Someone stole my shoe money :( It could've been worse, a lot more stuff could've been taken - mobile, passport, credit cards, etc. But all I lost was the money. I'm normally pretty careful with my bag, and I can't remember a moment when this could've happened. Someone actually had the time to open my bag, dig through it, go to the side pocket, take out my wallet, remove cash, and put it back in.

Karma schmarma. I'd been good to people that day. Lugging prams up and down stairs at the tube station for mothers. I guess bad things don't need a reason to happen.

The worse part of the day? There was no size in any of the shoes I liked :(

Time flies

Yup, it's six months already.

I remember feeling so lost in the crowd when I first arrived. I had no idea where tube stops were, or which direction I should walk to get home. The other day, I realised I was walking around Rondon without pulling out my A-Z every five mins :)

Six months since I left home. It feels longer, but at least it's getting easier.

5am for fish

I had to wake up at 530am this morning. The fish market starts packing up at 730am, can you believe? Was it worth it? Hell yeah :) We came back with:
- 4kgs mussels
- 2 kgs prawns
- 3 bewdiful sea basses
- a bunch of razor clams!!

Our dinner and a comparison of B's finger to prawn

I spent the majority of today scrubbing mussels (hard work!) and eating fresh seafood *yumm* The only problem with Billingsgate Market is that most stalls only sell BOXES of produce. Whilst a 2kg box of prawns will feed us for a few days (we've already got plans for Viet summer rolls), a box of 13 fishies is going to make us sick of fish for the rest of the year! The huge tub of fresh scallops were also a tempting buy, but meant we would have to throw some sort of scallop party to use it up.

Rondoners - Billingsgate is definitely worth a visit. Especially when you get that fresh seafood hankering. This weekend is going to be seafood paella weekend at our house :)

Google Analytics

D introduced me to Google Analytics, and I'm trying not to become an obsessive compulsive who checks it all the time. It basically gives the stats on what attracts traffic to my blog. What I found hilarious though is this:

There's obviously a demand for butt plugs in this world *grin*

Another weekend, another timezone

A 4 hour flight from Sydney will land you in Darwin. A 4 hour flight from Rondon, landed me in Istanbul :) City of men that look like Borat, and kebabs. Even though it's Ramadan atm, there were kebabs everywhere. For someone that doesn't like lamb much, I ate a lot of it over the weekend!

Istanbul has to be the most disorganised city I've visited so far. Catching public transport isn't the easiest thing to do here. Buses don't really stop at bus stops, and bus stops don't really tell you what buses stop there. When we finally did get on the bus, the driver didn't want to accept our pre-paid bus tickets, and the bus was going in the wrong direction. How were we to know there were two places called Tokapi? Which led us to catch two trams back to where we wanted to go. It's a good thing we woke up early that morning :)

Culturally, I'm not quite sure if the Turkish are out to rip me off, or are genuinely being nice. Prices were sometimees exorbitant. 8 lira (equivalent to AUD$8) for a turkish coffee and apple tea? Something smells fishy, and it's not B's lunch breath *grin* The odd thing is, if you act like you don't have enough money, the waiter will say, "It's okay, don't worry". They're ready to give it to you for free or for less than they originally charged you. We even managed to get breakfast for free one morning. So it's a little odd. I think they're nice enough people, but they're also opportunists. As a foreigner who doesn't understand the language or culture, it's hard to argue over prices. If I was in Asia I'd at least try and bargain, but in Turkey, I didn't really want to end up in jail for offending a male.

Which brings me to the next point - LOTS of males. Where on earth are the females? Having grown up in a Muslim country, I didn't expect to be surprised by anything I saw in Istanbul. However, there is a distinct lack of women on the streets. Men are everywhere. Everyone who approached me at the Grand Bazaar was a man. I barely saw any women. The only place I saw women, was at a mosque. Even then, the women were at the back and behind a screen, only men were allowed to pray at the front.

Regarding safety, travelling in Istanbul seemed perfectly fine. No scary militia standing around unless you're at the Dolmabahçe Palace. In a way it's like Rondon. Danger's always lurking beneath the surface, and you're never going to know when or where the next catastrophe will happen.

Favourite memory? Learning how to smoke the hookah (as in a water pipe, not a dead prostitute) with B :)