Kyo's Bachelor Trip Of A Lifetime (Milan-St Tropez-Monaco-Bologna-Florence-Portofino)

[Kyo]

Part I - From Istanbul to Milan to the Cote D'Azur




Happy Easter in advance, everybody!


Let's start off with some background... this is going to be a long one!

It doesn't feel like all too long ago that I completed one of my most memorable travels of my life. This TR is the story about how I roped in the esteemed jhm and LukeGT to participate on a testosterone-filled bachelor party across Italy (and a little bit more).


Day 1 - Flying to IST / 5AM in Istanbul!!

SQ490
Business Class
SIN to IST (Singapore to Istanbul)
16 November 2011
Seat 11K
Plane: B777-200ER

This was a fairly uneventful flight, if I'm entirely honest. It was a bog-standard SQ490 affair with a 01:50AM departure from Singapore, and an unfortunately very-early 04:55AM arrival in Istanbul. A special mention goes to the now-defunct BMI Diamond Club for allowing me to redeem my once-in-a-lifetime party trip.

Like all good TRs, let's start with some food photos. Which were the most exciting thing on this trip, seriously (this says alot, since the food was *bleh*)

Let's play "Which one's more appetising?"


SQ's Cheese Toastie - Boring

or


Seabass Angel Hair Capellini with Mushrooms 'Book The Cook' - If this isn't the driest looking piece of fish on an SQ flight I have ever seen, I'll be damned

or


Salmon Inside Scrambled Egg - Make that 'Powdered' Scrambled Egg

The winner: Cheese Toastie. No surprise there, it was more colourful and it wasn't made out of powder. Hooray~


10 hours and 45 uneventful minutes later, we arrived in IST.


ISTanbul Awaits - It was dark, it was cold and it was 4:30AM



Ataturk Havalimani Airport - We meet again!

Familiar with the Visa-On-Arrival process, I made haste and dashed straight through immigration. This early in the morning, there was just about nobody there.

I hopped on over to the taxi rank and made a dash for the first cab I could see. Unfortunately, my regular cabbie Kemal hadn't replied in time to my Facebook message and he seems to have changed occupations, in any case!

After a quick rate negotiation, we were on our way to do a quick 5AM tour of the major landmarks. It was definitely the witching hour when we went.


Red Light at 5AM - Just no luck, sometimes...

Our first stop would be the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque) -


Sultan Ahmet Mosque - At 5AM!


Majestic She Lies - Courtyard

Surprisingly, the Turks like to keep their national monuments very well lit during the night. And without the sweltering heat and insane crowds that throng during the day, it was relatively easy to compose some 'better-than-normal' photos.


Turkish Tower - My favourite photo of this beautiful building in all my IST visits thus far


Study of a Spire - Beautiful in soft blue

I was still rushing against time, so we made our way across Sultanahmet Park to snap some shots of the equally empty Hagia Sofia Mosque, an ex-church, mosque and now a museum.


Hagia Sofia - At 5:15AM!

Resplendent these two monuments from history continue to stand and it was a thrill to see them, even half-asleep and tired as I was.

Hopefully we'll be able to add more to this trip report soon! It might take awhile... but I feel that I owe it to myself to commit to this TR to preserve this significant moment in my life forever!


Next instalment: The Bosphorus Before 6AM + Goodbye Istanbul!

[CarbonMan]

Love the white balance tweak on the Hagia Sofia! Excellent, Kyo! Looking forward to the rest, especially the "testosterone-filled" part! I hope you get to the Florence bit before Apr 19, because I'm heading there.

[Kyo]

5,000TH POST! (OH YEAA!)

Day 1 (Part 2) - The Bosphorus Before 6AM + Goodbye Istanbul!

Sorry for the pause in transmission, now let's continue!

Thanks CarbonMan! (I'll try my best for the Florence bit, but that's quite a bit later on in my TR, past the halfway mark in fact)


Now, the good thing about visiting a city in the dead of the night is you generally don't encounter traffic jams, which is a mega plus. The bad thing, of course, is nothing's open.

One last shot of a deserted Hagia Sofia, where I found an amazingly ornate structure next to where they park the big tour buses. Couldn't resist a shot... if anyone can tell me what it is, please feel free (I did Google)


Said Amazingly Ornate Structure - But what is it?

We departed Sultanahmet and headed towards Ortakuy via the First Bosphorus Bridge (suspension bridge), where I had previously had breakfast in another TR with my favourite taxi driver, Kemal. It was too early for breakfast this time, of course, but I did see something that made me stop the taxi after a few minutes.


Dolmabahce Palace Double Doors - Located in Besiktas and very near the Kempinski Ciragan Palace (on my list of places to stay one day)

I'll have to visit that palace someday.



Ortakuy Ferry Terminal - No ferries at this hour!


Heading Towards The Bosphorus Bridge - That's no ordinary bridge, it connects Asia and Europe! STUNNING stuff, and well-lit even throughout the night

We turned left instead of going straight onto the bridge to find a better vantage point where I could take a photo of the two continents. The cabbie knew just the place.


Two Continents - At 5:30AM


The Bosphorus Sleeps - Totally peaceful here... (zoomed in of the above)

I instructed the driver to head for the centre of IST, i.e. Taksim. The city had started to wake up as well...


Istanbul Awakes - As you can see, the sky was starting to brighten


Taksim Square - Or rather, next to it (a shot of the blue Intercontinental hotel in the middle)

And just like that, our time in IST was over, no time even for a kebab - back to the airport, then!


Across from Galata - Popular fishing bridge, this (Galata is the area close to the bridge where the main street of Taksim ends, whilst the Square is at the top)


The Banks of Beyoglu - Behind us, it's a straight dash for the airport now


Sultanahmet Awakens - On the top of the hill (had to snap that with my hand stuck out the window of the taxi, sorry for the poor quality)


Good Ol' Ataturk - Til we meet again

Next instalment: Onwards To Milano

[SQGamespeed]

Eagerly looking forward to the rest of it!

And congratulations on post 5000!

[Kyo]

Day 2 - Flying Into MXP!

We're going to call this 'Day 2', although technically it's the same day. (You can imagine how exhausted I would be by the time you finish this ultra-long day that actually started even back in Singapore...)

I cleared Turkish immigration (which took longer than usual) and headed across to the TK lounge which has been covered extensively already.


World of Difference - Love the architecture, especially compared to the pre-renovation lounge (crap)

Here's something that probably you haven't seen...


Olive Bar - For when you get that itch...


IST Tarmac - A bird called Konya will fly me to MXP today


Forward J Cabin - I have fond memories of TK's cuisine, looking forward to this flight!

Legroom - Ample


Settling In - What will happen next?

Peeking out the window, I just manage to make out the bird that brought me to IST...


9V-SVN - Wish your catering was better


Bubbles - To get away from the IST bustle


Pushback - What can possibly be better?


TK's Safety Announcement - I think this picture summarises my thoughts up precisely on this idiot

Lean back, relax and we're off!


Takeoff - A nice view of Turkish Technic

Before more of this amazing city is revealed (for a brief instant until the haze absorbs the view)

Goodbye IST - I'll be back

Next instalment: Milano!

[sushiinSYD]

beautiful ground opening of the sleeping IST leading your exiting TR as always.
Thank you very much!! cannot wait for the next...

[yflyer]

Sounds like it was quite a trip! Istanbul looks like a great place to visit, I would like to go there one day too. I am surprised the SQ J food looked the way it did. Not very presentable...maybe it was very turbulent while they were plating the dishes...

Also looking forward to the next chapter.

[phaleesy]

Some nice pictures you've got there, kyo!

Seems like a night photography session in IST would have to go onto my to-do list.

Looking forward to the rest, especially the "testosterone-filled" part! I hope you get to the Florence bit before Apr 19, because I'm heading there.

His trip was 'testosterone-filled' only because he couldn't get any oestrogens to join him!

[Kyo]

sushiinSYD: Thanks and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

yflyer: Just mild turbulence, nothing too major was encountered on the flight. I felt they didn't put too much effort into the service since it was such a late departure and everyone was more interested in sleeping. Pre-flight catering also has seen better meals prepped...

phaleesy: Thanks for your high praise, knowing your semi-pro photography skills now. Some shots still don't look too great, but we tried... (harder than usual)

There was no oestrogen as it was a bachelor trip!

Working on the next post and hoping to have it up shortly... just back from a long vacation, so alot of radio silence in between!

[Handiman]

Working on the next post and hoping to have it up shortly... just back from a long vacation, so alot of radio silence in between!

ok , energy up , spirit up, do your homework ASAP. We are waiting

[CarbonMan]

TK's lounge looks a whole lot nicer than the dump SQ uses at IST.

[SilverChris]

Congrats on your 5000th post, Kyo!

TK's lounge looks a whole lot nicer than the dump SQ uses at IST.

I flew SQ391 last week and was told by check in to use the TK lounge directly. Not that I was complaining or anything

[Kyo]

Day 2 - Milano!

As previously mentioned, my half jet-lagged self made my survival of this ultra-long day even all the more fulfilling, looking back.

TK1873
0815-1015
Business Class
IST to MXP (Istanbul to Milan)
16 November 2011
Seat 1K
TC-JNB
Plane: A330-200

Now, where did we leave off? Ah yes, departing that exotic Turkish city, Istanbul!


Flight Path - Let's turn towards 10 o'clock

I managed to get one final shot of an interesting looking structure, possibly condominiums before the haze enveloped the entire city, but these look far more luxurious than the rest of the urban sprawl


Fancy Buildings - Anyone have any ideas?

We past through the clouds (rather turbulent) and after that seatbelt signs were promptly turned off.

Today, there was a very young and lovely Turkish FA working the starboard side of the cabin. Admittedly, she did seem to be overattentive as (and I'm guessing here) she hadn't had alot of service interaction with relatively young Chinese guys in the J cabin. In fact, while the rest of the cabin got the standard 'European', i.e. 'standoffish'/aloof/cool service, this FA tried to be as attentive as possible. However her lack of confidence in speaking English meant the cultural barrier remained. Kudos for trying, however - it was very appreciated.

Let's take a look at the cabin, shall we?


J Bulkhead - There's bar service in front of the middle seats, wedged between the bulkhead and IFE, interesting


Speaking of IFE - 'Globally Yours', TK's slogan


Seat Controls - Ancient, 'nuff said


In-Seat Power - Broken

So, not the best of starts... but what I personally look forward to was just about to begin... meal service!

Past experiences have proven that TK's adoption of Do&Co catering for onboard F&B was a solid choice. These guys know what they are doing!

Starters - Olives, cheese, a slice of roast turkey (ironic), all very continental


Crepe & Sausage - TK's version of a sometimes-SQ classic. Looks unusual, tastes delicious!

I ate my way into Italian airspace... (side note: seats weren't too bad, quite spacious!)


Aerial View of Northern Italy - Beautiful! My first glimpse of Italy!


'Alps?' - Yup, I guess that's about right...

I was hoping to spot Lake Como prior to landing, perhaps this was it?


Lake Como - Probably not, actually...

Well, no time to dwell on that as the Captain came on the PA to announce our descent. We would soon be on final approach into Milano!


Oh Milano! - Italia! Kyo è arrivato!

Side-note: My Italian has now been corrected, so this post has been edited... it means "Italy! Kyo has arrived!"

Next instalment: Milano - Kyo è arrivato!

[Kyo]

ok , energy up , spirit up, do your homework ASAP. We are waiting

Done! Still plenty more to come, I assure you...

TK's lounge looks a whole lot nicer than the dump SQ uses at IST.

I wouldn't know what they use as I only flew in. Why wouldn't they use the TK lounge?

Congrats on your 5000th post, Kyo!

I flew SQ391 last week and was told by check in to use the TK lounge directly. Not that I was complaining or anything

Grazi mille! It's a nice lounge and it was much more dowdy previously (which had been my experience up to then, although I do like the gray marble)...

[CarbonMan]

I wouldn't know what they use as I only flew in. Why wouldn't they use the TK lounge?

Good question. The lounge we were sent to was a private lounge. But that was 2 Novembers ago.

Looking at the island in your "Lake Como" pic, it's probably(!) Lago d'Iseo, southeast of Como.

Looking forward to Milan!!