Rayyan Eusoff Goes Turkey - Winter Sonata of Uludag

Turkey has been in our list for quite a while. We were supposed to go to Turkey last year, but something happened then we just put it on hold. Thinking of going earlier in the mid of this year, but the flight ticket to Bulgaria and Romania was better-priced that time, so we put it on hold again. Until most recently, Pegasus started flying to Abu Dhabi. Now we have a good option. It is low-cost of course. It is direct 4 hours 35 minutes flight from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul. And yeah it was not to Atarturk airport but it is to Sabiha-Gokcen Airport about TL180 taxi ride away from Istanbul City Centre. But for the price that we paid for the flight tickets, it was still worth it. Lets get back to the start. Info: TL1 (Turkish Lira) ~ RM1.10.

We travelled to Turkey from 8-12 December 2017. Just a short holiday break after few hectic months. The original plan was to go straight to Istanbul and do whatever excursion from Istanbul. But then again, considering that we will be landing in Sabiha-Gokcen, it gave us enough excuse to detour to the neighbouring city of Bursa directly from airport. The flight timing was perfect for us as we departed from Abu Dhabi 4.15 a.m. in the morning, then arrived in Istanbul roughly 7.15 a.m. For the return tickets with 20kg check in luggage for 3 of us cost TL2,000. The next cheapest option back then was Gulf Air with transit in Manama and cost TL3,500 for the 3 of us. Info: There are two main airports in Istanbul. Need to check carefully which airport that you are going to land because Sabiha-Gokcen is in Asian side of Istanbul (far from city centre) and Atarturk is in Europe side (near to the city centre). 

Once arrived in Sabiha Gokcen, we went to the bus stand right across the road and bought one way bus ticket to Bursa for TL30 each. Info: They also charged 3 years old for TL30 because we took a seat. It will be free if the child sitting on the lap. The ride took 2 hours straight to the Bursa Main Bus Terminal. The Bus Terminal is a bit outside of the Bursa city centre. We just arrived earlier that morning, with 2 large luggage and after 2 hours of bus ride, we are not in the mood to follow the advise we read in the internet on how to go to Uludag via public transport. Straight away we went to the taxi stand near the bus terminal, negotiated on the price then off we went to Uludag via taxi. TL150 one way all the way to the Agaoglu Mountain Ski Resort Uludag. The taxi ride was 1 hour going up to the mountain. Considering that, TL150 one way is fair enough. Tips: Less costly way is to take the taxi to Teleferik (cable car) then took the cable car for TL30 one way up to the final stop (or TL38 for return trip). Or, take bus to the Bursa city centre then take the shared mini van (dolmus) for TL15 per person. 

We spent the night at the Agaoglu Mountain Ski Resort Uludag. It was a bit pricey, TL550 per night. But what was good about this particular resort is that it is all inclusive. Full board meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as snacks in between. The hotel provided the detailed food service throughout the stay including the timing. That kinda takes our mind off the need to find food. Furthermore the resort was opposite of the teleferik station. So if one travelled via teleferik, it is so easy to check in. The view of the resort was incredible. We are Malaysians who never experienced snow before (wifey and Eusoff), so one can only imagine our excitement over being engulfed in the scenery of white fluffy snow. Tips: There are more cheaper hotels in the Uludag city centre which was only 5 mins taxi ride away from the teleferik station and have more establishments and restaurants.

Check out the next day, we were planning to take the teleferik down at first. But due to strong wind, the teleferik service was stopped. Too bad, was really looking forward for the experience. Info: Only one luggage per person is allowed in the teleferik. So we took the dolmus (shared mini van) to go down to Bursa city. The cost was TL15 per seat. Since we took a seat for Eusoff, we were charged TL15 as well. Tips: Try to sleep before starting the going down journey coz one could get extremely dizzy, i know i did. Luckily i didn't throw up. Phewww. From the dolmus stop, we were also not in the mood to take bus to go to Mudanya port to take the ferry to Istanbul. So we opted for another taxi ride to Mudanya. After negotiated on the price, off we went to Mudanya. It was TL100, and i did not bother anymore as we were quite behind schedule and missed the earlier ferry to Istanbul. But of course, since we already missed the earlier ferry, we just took a nice stroll around the area. All we know was there is Tophane clock tower and has this amazing aerial view of Bursa city. Bursa seems to be interesting city to explore, hurmmm. Perhaps next time. Info: Communications were quite challenging as English was not widely spoken. But hand gestures and signs should be enough to get the information across.

We arrived at Mudanya and straight we went to the ferry counter. The ferry ticket for 2 adults and 1 child cost TL76 (TL38 per adult, FOC for child) and the ferry will go to Yenikapi port. Info: Check which port that you wish to arrive in. The similar case with airport, different port means different part of Istanbul. Yenikapi port is the one near the old city area which is the perfect choice if you are staying around the area. The ferry ride took about 2 hours and we arrived in Istanbul for the following 3 nights. Will be updated in the next entry.

Similar to all of our previous travels, we try to maximise our travel by going to at least 2 cities each time we travel. Upon googling about Turkey, seems like Bursa was the plausible nearest city to Istanbul. It was winter and it was the perfect time for Uludag with the snow and all. Considering our expenses for the Uludag trip, it was worth it. Although it was hardly low-budget, but it does not break the bank either. So if planned properly and if its only friends trip (without children in tow), the expenses could get lower especially on the transportation side. For the resort, it was well-spent. TL550 for it was seriously a good deal. Full board meal and snacks. And it has fantastic view, and the view of the hotel from the outside looks exactly as the photos in the internet. Although this time around we did not spend enough time in Bursa or explore Bursa (we did not even explore Uludag, just going around taking pictures with the snow, duhhhh Malaysian with snows), seems like it will be in our itinerary for our next Turkey trip. Owh yeah, we are planning to repeat Turkey, but next time to Ankara and Cappadocia and if time permits, to Bursa. From this particular trip, we had really good photos for memory. It was the first for all 3 of us together in the snow. Was planning for that snow trip back then in 2015 to Seoul but we changed our mind and went to Holland and France instead. Looking at the pictures, i think it would look just the same regardless of where it is taken as long as there is snow. It was just us with the snow, the winter sonata of Uludag. 

T.Y.S