I share again the list of items that our local tour guide suggested that we bring with us for our autumn trip to Turkiye. I have included my suggestions, just in case you run out of luggage space and you are wondering if you should pack them in your luggage.
Look at the way visitors and the locals dressed there and you will know that you need to dress to keep warm in Autumn. Most of the paths we have to walked on during our excursions are cobbled and sometimes not well leveled. Some were not paved. So it is important to wear comforatble walking shoes.
I read that ten days of rain is expected in the month of autumn. If you intend to bring only one pair of shoes, make sure that it is made of water-resistant materials or leather. I was lucky that I also brought along a pair of leather boots as my sports shoes malfunctioned on arrival at the airport. Leather boots are great from traveling as you have to buy them two size larger than your actual shoses size. This makes them comfortable to walk in and keep your feet warm, especially, if you also wear a pair of thick socks. I discovered from this trip that it is easier to walk on uneven cobbled paths if I unzip my boots.
Don't forget to bring your umbrella. It was raining in Istanbul when we arrived.
I did not plan to go for the air balloon ride, so I did not bring a thicker coat or jacket with me. However, I was able to keep warm by wearing a pair of thicker pants. I also wore a jumper over my thinner windproof jacket.
For this trip, I brought mostly leggings with me as they do not crease or take up luggage space. If the weather is too cold to handle, I can wear one under another pants as inners. Trust me. Worn that way they will keep you warm even in winter if you do not intend to buy thermal wear.
Check out how my teammates dressed up for the air balloon ride. Don't they look smart?
Bring your sunglasses with you if you do not want to be photographed looking like this.
I was lucky that I took my husband's suggestion to include a cap in my luggage.
On the 10 hours drive from Cappadocia to Pmaukkale (Cotton Castle), we decided to wear slippers with our socks on. We had no problem walking to the Cotton Castle in them. We wished we had thought of bringing a pair of shorts there as there is a toilet nearby to change in and the weather was sunny. I wore my Uniqlo's AIRism inner wear beneath my lacy short sleeves top.
With all our pants rolled up, you can see that we were not dressed for a good dip.
What about these items?
On 26 April 2022, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced an end to mandatory mask use for most indoor spaces in Turkey. Our Malaysian Tour Guide informed us to have our mask on even when we are on the bus. Look at the kind of crowd you may have to face to decide if you want to do away with sanitization and mask. This photo was taken on our way out of Taksim Square. It was fully packed.
I have been informed by friends who had been to Turkey that I will not enjoy the food there. There were also stories that some of their tour mates had
stomach ailments a few days after eating the food there. I brought some of the medications that my friend suggested and was lucky that we did not have to take any. However, one of my tour mates had gastric problem on the second day of the tour. She was grateful that I had medications for it. Sometimes we reached our destinations for meals later than usual and the lapse in time between meals can cause such ailments. On the third day, my sister had issues with diarhhea from eating raw vegetables served with every meal daily. So I was glad that the medications I brought with me helped her.
There are pharmacies near some outkirt restaurants that we ate at but most of them were closed on weekends, when we arrived. You should not have any problem getting them in Istanbul on the return trip if you plan on buying to stock since they are cheape in Turkey.
If you plan on bringing cup noodles, you should not have any problem heating them up to eat in your room as kettles were provided in all the hotels we stayed in. However, I did not regret taking my multi-cooker. I already have a unit in my shop but decided to buy one more unit so that my sister could prepare the MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat) that I bought from
Brahim in her own room.
I also brought containers for serving and steaming food.
To save space for them, I decided to remove all the bulky clothings I had already packed in my luggage. In the end, I could only bring one unit as my husband wanted to bring cup noodles with him. We were lucky that he did as he woke up at 4.00am everyday like clockwork. As most of the hotels serve breakfast after 6.00am, he could have his cup noodles before taking his regular medications. Getting up early gave me time to heat up any MREs, that we would like to eat with our meals for the day.
It was good thing that we brought a bag of Nescafe 3 in 1 and a bag of Hainan Lao Kopi O with us as we did not like the Turkish coffee and tea. This vacumn thermalware managed to keep the heated MREs or drinks we made warm.
Hardboiled eggs were served at the hotels for breakfast. So, my sister and her room mate became very popular when the others discovered that she had soya sauce while her friend had chillie sauce. I became popular too and got branded "Mama" for my MREs.
All the photos I shared about the trip were taken with our handphone camera. You decide if you still need to bring a camera with you. One of our tour mates use her GoPro to take photos of landscapes, which turned out very well.
I do not have the adapter for charing phone on the bus. However, I only used the powerbank for one day. I decided not to bring it along as it took a long time to charge and it added weight to my backpack. My sister paid for a data sim card. Since we stayed close together while we were out, it would have been fine if I did not rent the wifi device.
Here is a tip from me, a bike shop owner. Do you have a pair of cyclist shorts or pants? They are padded at the tush.
Wear it during the 11 hours flight and on long distance bus rides to prevent your buttocks from hurting. My sister agrees that her cyclist shorts made her journey comfortable. They are made of stretchy Spandex which is also windproof. The shorts or pants will keep you warm if you wear them under a dress or skirt. However, make sure that you get them in the right size. There are elastic bands on the shorts and 3/4 pants to prevent it from riding up your tighs. It can hurt like a rubber band if it is too tight.
What about currency?
You need Lira for buying drinks, snacks, food or souvenirs at rest stops. Sometimes, while you are out on excursions, you may have to pay 1.5 Lira to 4 Lira to use toilets at some shops or sites. Depending on how you spend, about RM300 to RM500 in value Lira should be enough for the trip. Currently there are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 lira banknotes and...
...1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 kurus coins. There are also 1 lira coins. 100 kurus make up one lira.
I managed to get an exchange rate of RM1 to RM3.745 Lira at Mid Valley.
They also accept Euros. If you run out Lira, you can use USD or Euros to exchange for Lira at the Turkey Airport or at the hotels you will be staying at. I regret not preparing USD500 in cash for both of us to take the air balloon ride. So, we had to use the credit card.
Based on
Turkish currency history, it may not be a good idea to hang on to their banknotes if you have any left after the trip.
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