Making Plans to Travel

I am making plans to travel to Turkey for a holiday. 

It so happened that one of my friends traveled on the same package with the same travel agency last month. The feedback that I have received from her was:

-we may not like the cuisine served there (got a similar feedback from a friend who was there years ago)
-olive oil is used extensively in cooking and even in their salads
-lentil soups is served for every meal every day

As I am a picky eater, I did a search on the ingredients frequently used in Turkish cuisine and discovered from Wiki to expect eating these during the trip:

-lamb
-chicken
-beef
-fish
-rice
-eggplants
-green peppers
-onions
-garlic
-lentils
-beans
-zucchinis
-chickpeas
-tomatoes

My friend suggested that we bring medications for stomach ailments as, a few days after eating food there, some of them had bloated stomach and diarrhea. I did a research on it and discovered that it can happen if you are not used to eating oily food or food cooked with spices and herbs that can be a little spicy. Travellers with irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) should also be aware that legumes are gas-producing foods and lentils are recognized as part of the legume family.  Which is possibly why drinking lentil soup daily can cause some travellers to have:

-diarrhea with abdominal pain or 
-constipation and feeling bloated or 
-a combination of diarrhea and constipation

These are the medications some my of friend's traveling mates had to take to relieve their stomach ailments:

-Smecta(dioctahedral smectite):
Anti diarrhea and oral rehydration for acute diarrhoea

-Ural Effervescent Powder:
Helps relieve that irritation by working to neutralise acidic urine in your bladder. Helps soothe mild cystitis symptoms within hours.

-Colodium(loperamide):
Relief of acute nonspecific diarrhoea & chronic diarrhoea associated with inflammatory bowel disease. 

-Cetrizet Tablet:
Used to treat allergies associated with airways (allergic rhinitis) and Skin (urticaria).

-Stadeltine contains levocetirizine dihydrochloride
An antihistamine

-Eno:
Fast-acting effervescent fruit salts used as an antacid and reliever of bloatedness due to indigestion. Helps relief wind.

I checked with my pharmacist and he suggested that I take probiotics instead. So, I have decided to take his advise and bought OHMS Probiotics Gold as it can help resolve digestive issues and allergies. If you read this article from Dr Ben Kim you will see why I was so easily convinced. I will also bring some herbal medication for stomach ailments and nausea, since we will be on a cruise during our final trip back to Instanbul. Our tour guide advised us to bring any medications that we need as after reaching Istanbul, we will be traveling mostly to the outskirts and may have difficult locating a phamarcy.

If I do not the medication we need for our stomach ailemts, we can do this bowel massage when we are back at the hotel as it can relieve bowel dysfunction, like constipation or diarrhea.

 

I can also do this "I Love U" self massage treatment for pelvic abdominal pain and constipation while I am bathing.

I was also informed by another friend who had been there, that we will not enjoy the kind of food served at Canakkale. So, though kettle will be provided in hotels in Turkey, I will bring my multi-cooker along as I plan to bring some MREs (Meal, ready to eat).  This is just in case we really don't like the food there or our stomach cannot handle them. I bought this unit from Igozo recently as they had a promotion running. It has an automatic turn off feature for safety which I like as I damaged the unit in my bike shop as I forgot to switch it off and it overheated.

However, it does not have a button for high or low heat option, which will be useful if I want to leave my food on the steam rack for a longer period. 

I have been eating food product from Brahim's. I used to buy them from Lotus till I discovered that it is cheaper to buy them direct from Brahim's through their website.  So far, these are what I have tried and enjoyed eating:

-Nasi Lemak & Sambal Ikan Bilis

-Nasi Dagang

-Pulut Kuning

-Kuah Satay

-Kari Ayam Dengan Ubi Kentang

-Daging Masak Hitam  

-Kurma Daging  

-Sambal Sotong (sauce is good but sotong tough - may have to heat up for a longer period)

I will be taking with me a variety of rice to go with nine dishes I have selected. 

What should I be packing to wear for this trip? I have traveled overseas during winter but not in autumn. What will the weather be like during Autmn in Turkey? Will it rain?  This is what I discovered at Weather25, based on their 14 Days forecast:

Note:  According to NOAA SciJinks, accuracy of:

-a 5 day forecast is 90%
-a 7 day forecast is 80%
-a 10 day forecast or longer is 50%

So, nearer the date, it will be best to check the following links for a more accurate prediction:

Istanbul

Bolu

Ankara

Cappadocia

Pamukkale

Kusadasi

Canakkale 

So, now I have to plan how I should dress up for the weather. I discovered that Uniqlo has a link to Style Book which shares trend that is current for the season for:

Women
Men
Kids
Baby

As we have visits to some mosques in Istanbul, I will need a headscarf and make sure that I wear modest, loose-fitting clothes that is not too sexy to look at.

Here is a check list of things we must do based on the suggestions from our Tour Guide, David, at SA Travel:

-check our Immigration Travel Status Check
-convert ringgit to Lira  
-bring toileteries and an extra set of clothing in a hand carry bag as tour starts right after landing at airport
-bring swimming cap if we want to use the hot spring or thermal pools in hotels 
-have on hand, USD250 (that will be about RM1,170.00) per person and jacket or coat for hot air balloon ride at Cappadocia

Baggage allowed on Turkish Airlines::

-check-in luggage maximum 2 pieces and their total weight must not exceed 30kg
-hand carry luggage only 1 piece in cabin size of 23x40x55cm and maximum weight of 8 kg

A portable electronic digital travel luggage scale like this will be handy to bring along.

 These are optional:

-There will be wifi connection for internet access on the tour bus and in hotels but I rented ROAMING MAN pocket Wi-Fi which I can collect from the airport.
-apply for Big Pay card, a money app for better exchange rate over credit card 

These are hotels we will be staying at:

Have I covered everything I need for the trip?

P/S Now my children will know the efforts I put into planning our holidays overseas with them.

Are you a sucker for free gifts?

I am a sucker for free gifts. It makes me very happy whenever I can get some free stuff with items I need to buy anyway. 

My latest buy for my kitchen is this iGOZO Epsilon 32cm Non-Stick Premium Granite Stirfry Wok.

However, this time I don't really need it as I already have a 28cm Shogun wok but (excuse #1) its non stick coating has been damaged due to vigorous washing. I would have continued using (frugality won over carcinogen health risks) it but I was drawn to these free gifts that came with the 32cm iGOZO wok.

I was thinking (excuse #2) that I can give these free items to my son as he has moved out.

I am glad I took my niece's suggestion and waited till the 9.9 sales to buy from their store front at Lazada.  Due to the discounts offered (excuse #3), I decided to buy another set of iGOZO Combo Set 2 Tier Tiffin Carrier because I like the set I bought earlier. This time, the Tiffin Carrier is sold bundled with a 510ml Coffee Mug which is  (excuse #4) useful for my husband as it is in the right size for the drink holder in his car.

I received these two units of 12cm Double Wall Stainless Steel Bowls as free gift which is (excuse #5) great for steaming food to heat up in my 28cm Igozo steamer (yup, it was supplied with gifts). I also like things given in pairs (excuse #6= one for me, the other for hubby or 1 for my boy and the other for my girl).

I know that if I google this bowl online, I can find such them at a lower price but I will have to buy in a very large quantity to enjoy that benefit.  Most likely, the cost for the gifts are already factored into the selling price. But I always hope that when sellers offer their items with gifts, their intention is to move their product and not profit from the items they give away. What I am glad though as a customer is that the owner of iGOZO has, so far, always been able to source very nice product to give away as gifts.  As they did not print the logo of the company on their give-aways, I can also keep them to give away when I have been invited to an improtu event and do not have to time to go out to buy a gift.

Do I regret this purchase?  The wok came with this GREBLON® C3 sticker which is its selling point. So, I hope that its non-stick coating will not come off as easily.

I did a search on GREBLON and found out that the C3 standard means that the wok and pot Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating is reinforced with three coat ceremic for optimum non-stick effect. Professional cook can opt for C3+ which is more scratch resistant. 

iGOZO shared through the following video on how to choose a good quality cookware by knocking at its base to hear how thick the material is.

The 32cm wok and 20cm pot I received sounded solid. However, I find the weight of the wok, because of its size, is too heavy for me. It makes pouring the food out onto a bowl or plate a little difficult. Now I can only scoop the food out which slows down the serving process.  Even if iGOZO had noted the weight on its site, I would not have known that it will be too heavy for me. So, from my experience, it is best to check on the weight of your wok. Then you can lift up something of similar shape and weight to see if it will be easy for you to handle it before making a decision to buy.

I have made up my mind to pass the wok on to my son and use the 20cm pot as my wok.  It is possible because I am only cooking for three small eaters. When I go to the market, I can easily find vegetables packed and sold in small portions.

My wooden laddle for rice works well for stir frying dishes in the 20cm pot. 

Based on its design, I can only place the laddle on either side of the handle. As you can see, I am also able to cook larger portion of vegetables by filling them right up to the brim of the pot. 

Once the pot is covered, it will cook down nicely. Be on a look out as leafy greens seem to cook faster in this pot. Also, don't leave cooked vegetables too long in the pot as the residual heat will overcook them. 

I have been able to use this pot to cook most of my dishes. I also discovered that I am able to save on water too as, most of the time, I do not have to wash the pot to cook the next dish. Once you have taken the food out from the pot after cooking, the residual heat will dry up any sauces left on it. You can easily wipe off any bits or pieces of food still on the pot with a piece of clean tissue paper.

I have no regrets getting this set of wok and pot. I hope that you will be able to get them when iGOZO have special offers running, like I did.

I save and re-use water. Don't you?

Is this how you rinse your plates? 

This is how I do it. After applying dish detergent, I place what I would like to rinse in a container. By doing that, I can save the water used from rinsing my tableware in the container and use it for other purposes.  Currently, the container I am using is a large pot that is missing one handle, which could not be fixed. 

It will be great if the basin in your kitchen is large like the one in my house. I can place that container for storing water at the left hand corner of it. If you have a small basin, you can make use of an empty plastic container. The one that I use for the basin in my bike shop is an empty 5kg cooking oil with its top cut off.  

For this to work, you must make sure that the container used is clean. I usually wash it once I have used up all the water saved or just before I rinse the next load of kitchen and tableware. Always rinse plasticwares first. Do not soak them in the container with the rest of the items to rinse. Use running water and rinse them over the container. 

As I do not want to stain the sponge I use for washing dishes, I re-use soiled tissue to wipe off residues or thick gravies off any item to be washed. I then use the water I have saved to rinse them first before applying detergent.

However, instead of a sponge, I prefer to use a small piece of cloth to apply the dish detergent. The cloth can be a small kitchen towel, table cloth or even a handkerchief for baby or cloth from wet wipes. When I damaged my dry floor dust wiper flat mop I used its refill for the same purpose. 

I started doing that when I noticed that sponges for washing dishes tend to break apart easily. I also like it that they can be handwashed. Every week, after handwashing them I will put them in a laundry bag to give them a thorough wash in the washing machine.

These are other ways I re-use the rinsing water that I have saved. I use it to:

-wash the kitchen basin
-wash table cloth after wiping tables 
-splash soil or mud off my verandah
-wash soil off my feet and hand after gardening

After which, if still required, I will use fresh clean water for another round of cleaning.

If you have read the book, "Happy Healthy Houseplants", by Jerry Baker, you will discover that aphids hate soap. He recommends that you give your plants a good soapy bath by using 1-2 table spoons of dishwashing liquid per gallon of room temperature water. This is why I am comfortable about using my water for rinsing to water my plants. If you are worried that the suddy water will kill your plant, you can always use it to water your lawn. The soil will filter out chemicals from the detergent so your plants will be safe.

Here is another way you can reduce water usage. Have you tried soaking tomatoes or bell peppers in a large basin of water? You cannot soak them properly as they float on top of the water. I use a 1.5L water bottle with its top cut off and use it to soak greens, such as, tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans and celery. I place a weight like my pestle from my mortar or a heavy metal spoon to hold them down. Sometimes I use a tall tupperware that I bought for my kids when they were young but no longer use.

Sometimes an empty cup works well as weight to hold them down. For very bouyant peppers, I will add water into the cup to hold them in. It should be safe to use the rinsing for vegetables to water your lawns. I usually add that to the container in my basin and when it is full, I bring the whole pot out to water my plants or lawn.