Winter in Enchanting Turkey via Singapore Airlines

It was August when my schoolmate since primary school, Louisa had suggested to me if I was keen to travel to Turkey in December 2018,   I said why not since I was not sure where to for a family trip in December where younger son was on semester break and elder son can be off since it will be a Christmas week.  So we both checked around a few travel agent and decided to follow Malaysia Harmony Tour and Travel Sdn Bhd for 10 days 7 nights Turkey Delight & Safranbolu, a Unesco World Heritage from Dec 25th till Jan 3rd.

Discover Turkey the rich and ancient heritage country,  was 5 hours behind Malaysia time.  We took Singapore Airline which need a transit at Singapore Changi Airport. It was a group of 24 pax and the first 12 who registered, which included my group of 6 pax was given a freebie of Mud Bath which was really surprise to us as we were told  only during the tour.   Wonderful experience indeed. Besides, all in group were entitled to 10 Freebies, interesting right or just a marketing gimmicks; hot air balloon on lucky draw, panoramic view of Istanbul at Pierre Loti include cable car, enjoy Turkish tea at Bophorus Cruise Tour, Photo stop at original Brat Pitt's Trojan Horse, Wifi in the Bus, Dried Apricot, Authentic Turkish Ice Cream, Evil Eye Keychain, Fridge Magnets and Turkish small coin purse.  We also received 24" free trolley baggage each.

Our flight out to Singapore departed 2145 hrs.  Our flight from Singapore to Istanbul departed 0150 hours.  During the transit, we were each given SGD20 for your spending at the airport. How cool was that and this promotion will be until 30 September 2019 with terms and condition applies. 

We touched down Istanbul at 0825 hours.  Off we went to visit a few attractions in Istanbul before we proceed to Safranbolu where we stayed in Ottoman styled hotel on cobblestone streets.  Our tour basically covered Ankara, Cappadocia, Konya, Pamukkale, Kusadasi, Canakkale and finally back to Istanbul.

The road trip though was long but thanks to wifi in the bus. 5 star hotels; hot thermal hotel, cave hotel and Ottoman boutique) provided were all good and the meals were acceptable  The best part is Hot Air Balloon at Cappadocia and The Cotton Castle, Hierapolis, a natural site famous terrace for a carbonate mineral left by the flowing water. The local guide was very good explaining to us lots about history of all the places we visited.

Do consider going in April as every year, Istanbul hosts on of the biggest Tulip Festival in the World.