Discovering Turkey in 10 days : Istanbul

Hi there ! I hope its not too late, and its only been about 2-3 months since I went backpacking with my sister in Turkey, but here it goes, discovering Turkey in 10 days ! (And if you're interested to know a bit of how Turkey was conquered from previously being known as Constantinople, do try to watch the movie Fetih 1453 ;a really good movie that's also available on YouTube)

Oh, before I forget, I couldn't write this post whilst I was travelling since I was interrogated for being a potential part of ISIS two times while I was travelling. Was playing safe on not writing much during the trip.

Day 1
Anyways, we arrived at the airport and took the train to central (Note that the train might not be as spacious for people travelling with huge luggage). Checked in our accommodation and went for our first meal, as expected, it was Kebab ! Haha.

We didn't do much on the first day. We walked around nearby places and discovered that Galata Tower was only about 10-15 minutes walk from our accommodation ! There were lots of people chilling there and basking, but the queue to go up Galata Tower was a bit too long so me and my sister decided to just chill at a nearby cafe for some Turkish Coffee. 

Well, technically, I was the one who enjoyed the coffee. My sister probably enjoyed sleeping more hehe. 

We walked a bit more to check out Iktilal Street (aka Independence Avenue) to find out there was so many people in one street ! Apparently, it can reach up to 3 million people along the street over the weekends, like whoaaaaa .

There were kids basking by the street, who were pretty awesome at the instruments they play

We came across a shop named 'Patatos' selling really good Kumpir ! Kumpir is sort of like mashed potato in thick cheese served with mushrooms, salads, beans or anything you'd like, and seriously sedap gila (translated: deliciousssss !). 

Day 2
Yes, it's the day we do all those touristy things !
And I've sort of arranged the places we visited according to my personal favourite, which was definitely starting with Haghia Sophia. I just love the history behind this place. How this place played an important role on Turkey's ruling.

1. Haghia Sophia

2. Topkapi Palace

3. White Mosque / Beyazit Mosque 

4. Suleymaniye Mosque

We used public transports throughout since Taxi Drivers here are known for charging tourists with higher prices. And the public transportation was quite cheap ! Just be careful of your belongings, and don't walk into dodgy areas. Don't try to help people who suddenly drop their things while walking cause they might be tricking you into pick pocketing you. Easy to say, just be really aware of your surroundings :)

Day 3 

And we discovered Bosphorus River on our 3rd day in beautiful Istanbul !

We tried out the most delicious and fresh Fish Sandwich ever / Balik Ekmek ! You can get them at the fish markets near the bridges in Istanbul, it was definitely worth it ! I didn't even have to add any sauce to make it taste better. 

Took the Taxi Boat instead of the Bosphorus Tour to discover the European Side of Turkey since the Tour was waaaay expensive. It was definitely way cheaper and the view from the boat, was priceless :)

We didn't do much on our 3rd day since we had to leave to the bus station for our trip to Cappadocia, stay tuned ! 

The 3 Most Important Things To Hold By In Life

It's been about 2 weeks since I received one of the most important advice I've gotten from my boss while I was in my internship.

He told me, the three main things that you need to hold on to in everything you do is 'Perseverance', 'Trust' and 'Determination'. I've heard many successful stories of entrepreneur and leaders, but my boss wasn't kidding when he mentioned those three important words to hold on to. 

As I sat down for more than an hour listening to his advice, he gave a few examples of a few successful people in the world, but the one story that really caught my attention was how determined Vincent Tan was in his approach towards bringing McDonald's into Malaysia, how he wrote emails everyday for more than a year to McDonalds with his proposal and idea to them, back in the 1990s. 

"Only when there is perseverance can you achieve the impossible. Combined with determination, you'll get the focus you need to achieve what you really want. And gain trust. Getting others to trust your capabilities by proving yourself worth. But not only gain trust from others, but to yourself, believing that you'll pull through and you are capable of doing so."

So here's to being more determined, having more trust, and pulling through everything with more perseverance :)

It's Not Just Another Internship

Some people might say, you'll have your whole life to work. Once you start working, you can never stop. The time will come. What do you even want from an internship anyways? They don't really pay you that well anyways. On the other hand, there'll be those people who are just naturally workaholic. Some might be doing internships just to boost their CVs. Well, everyone has their own reasons in making their own choice, either to do or not to do an internship.

My decision to proceed with an internship for 6 weeks wasn't planned months ago, it came along the way throughout my Summer holidays. It was when my cousin convinced me into applying at ZulRafique & Partners. Alhamdulillah, being accepted as an intern there, I could say, it's one of the best decisions I've made in my life (well, so far hehe). But why so ?

Beyond networking, you'll get great advice from others who has been in the legal field for a way longer time. Partners, legal associates or even the other chambies would probably give you a heads up on what you should expect in your career, what you should do to make yourself more prepared into the working life, and the most important part, is when they tell you the things they wished they had done or did not do to get them to how they are today. These advice that they give might be considered as a 'shortcut' to success in life or a 'cheat' for those who implement them I guess ;)

Then, the working life experience comes. You usually would get real working life experience if you've interned for a month at least. The longer the time of your intern, the more colleagues/seniors would be able to give more work to you, the more they trust you and the cycle of getting more work continues ! Beyond that, working 9-5 everyday isn't as easy as it seems; or as 'okay' as to many. It took me a week to get used to the idea that my life was going to be behind a computer from 9.30-6.30PM for 5 days a week. Not just that, there were times that I even had to come back from the office around midnight and miss a couple of lunch (not that I'm complaining) but that's the reality, work life is tough. Your 'movements' are somehow rather limited as well and you won't get as much freedom as you might have had in your uni years. You'll actually get the struggle how other people strive to make money for their living everyday.

Besides that, you'd probably enjoy the extra income (provided that the firm pays you for your internship!). You'd also most likely get a clearer view of what you'd want to expect out of yourself and how you'd aspire to be like in a few years time. You might enjoy studying the subject, but you might not enjoy the job scope of it, or using it in practice. Well, an internship is kinda the right time to find out ! Either if you prefer to use the knowledge and skills acquired from your degree into your working life. 

And after all that, you'll have a great time ! (Well, at least I did). Every experience is valuable hence, I don't see a harm as to, what not give it a try ? What is there to lose? Why not ? :)