Istanbul Tulip Festival 2019

<< Previous Post: Podgorica, Montenegro <<

Istanbul, aku datang lagi! (it means "Istanbul, here I come again" in Malay language)

To be precise, I've been to Istanbul like 4 times - enter and exit for my trip to Bosnia and Croatia in 2018 and also, for this leg of my trip. It's funny how I'm only focusing on Istanbul but not the rest of Turkey cause I have promised my friends to wait for them. Not sure when and whether we able to accomplish this wishlist or not, but I believe someday we will. Fingers crossed!

PODGORICA TO ISTANBUL WITH TURKISH AIRLINES  

#1: Flying with Turkish Airlines for the second time

From Podgorica of Montenegro, I booked my flight with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. There are not many options for this route and due to this, the fare is relatively expensive. One-way cost me €143 (approx. to RM662) and this is not my maiden experience flying with them. Even for my previous trip from Zagreb of Croatia, I also booked the exactly same airlines cause there's the one and only option I had. Exiting Istanbul to other parts of Europe is pretty cheap, but entering makes my bank bleed so badly. 

#2: Their flight safety video is super cool! Featured those characters from 'The Lego Movie'


#3: At least the airfare is including in-flight meal and baggage allowance.

ISTANBUL NEW AIRPORT 

#4


#5: The ideal way to get to the city centre from Istanbul Airport is by taking Havaist bus

Though Istanbul might no longer a stranger place for me, but because they moved to the new airport and no longer operated at Atuturk Airport, it's time for me to crack my head once again in order to get to the city center. The newly operated airport is located in the Arnavutköy district, which is on the European side of Istanbul. Thankfully, it's fairly easy to get to the city by using Istanbulkart.

HOW TO GET TO ISTANBUL CITY FROM AIRPORT
Catch Havaist bus at the level (-2) of the airport. Don't worry if you don't have any Istanbulkart with you cause there is a booth for you to purchase or top-up your look-alike "Touch N Go" card. As for the bus fare, it's vary according to your destination. The most popular stops like Taksim and Sultanahmet Square costs 18 lira per trip.

MY STAY IN ISTANBUL

#6: Bunk Hostel in Taksim area of Istanbul

I decided to book other accommodation instead of staying the same place I have stayed before in Istanbul. It's indeed last minute booking as I was indecisive of which area should I stay - whether Taksim or Sultahnamet Square since these two areas are popular among the travellers. At the end, I went for Taksim and I booked this chic and new hostel - the Bunk Hostel. The location of this hostel is 700m from Taksim Square and 800m from Taksim Metro Station. If you are taking Havaist bus from Istanbul New Airport, it will stop exactly at the same place as the one from the former airport - situated behind Point Hotel Taksim.

Bunk Hostel
Date Stayed: 25 April - 26 April 2020
Room Rate: €17.86 (approx. to RM83) for a bed in 6-bed female dormitory room with private bathroom

One of the things I love about this hostel is that it has a large rooftop terrace overlooking the city and I was indeed having a great time sitting here doing nothing but just enjoying the view. Secondly, they served free breakfast for all the in-house guests. The only downside of this hostel is that the dorm is significantly compact and small. I even had issue of climbing up to my bed due to the limited of space.

EXPLORING ISTANBUL
Like I mentioned earlier, this is not my first time to Istanbul and I've been few places like Sultanahmet, Hagia Sophia and bazaars. You can check out my post here.

As for this round, I narrow down my visit to two famous tourist attractions only, which are the Galata Tower and Sultanahmet Square because I was kinda exhausted and worn-out from the long travelling period.

Galata Kulesi (Galata Tower)
Previously used as a watchtower to prevent enemy ships from entering the harbour, now it has becomes one of the eye-catching landmark of Istanbul. However, I didn't make my way up cause the line was extremely long and I'm the type that dislike wasting my time to queue. I think it's best to arrive this place in the early morning to beat the crowd.


#7: Galata Tower


#8


#9

Istanbul Tulip Festival at Sultanahmet Square
Seriously, I never expect and specially plan for this one. I wasn't aware of the tulip festival until I reach Sultanahment Square. The reason I went there just to kill my time but unexpectedly, I was greeted by thousands, or even millions of colorful tulips. Can't believe that previously I always saw this annual event on social media but now, luck was on my side where I got to see and experience right in front of me.

#10: What a sunny day at Sultanahmet Square

#11: Istanbul Tulip Festival - an annual event which held each April, except for this year due to the pandemic situation.


#12: My favourite shot

#13: It's free for public and you don't have to pay any entrance fee. Just that there's a barrier between the tulips to avoid the public from step on it. 

GOODBYE ISTANBUL!

Staying in Istanbul for less than 24 hours, now it's time to kiss goodbye to this beautiful and amazing city. Just like how I got to the city centre from the airport, I used the exact same way which is by catching the Havaist bus that can be found behind Point Hotel Taksim. The bus departs to the airport is quite frequently, therefore you don't have to bother of buying the bus tickets in advance. Make sure that you are heading to the correct airport cause Istanbul has two different airports - Istanbul New Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport. 

#14: Anyone collect Starbucks mug?


#15: Absolutely agree with this quote - "Easy to Love, Hard to say Goodbye"


#16: Flying back to Singapore with Singapore Airlines

And this concludes the end of my 3rd Europe Solo travelogue. Pop champagne! If I were to be more hardworking, actually I can complete this whole series of travelogue at least by end of May (which is last month). But you know what happen when procrastinating has taken over me. Hopefully after this I can motivate myself to update my blog more frequently cause I have tons of backlog.