Confessions of an Expat's Wife

from one country to another,thousands of miles earned, different languages to get by with, cultures and expectations to live with plus millons of photos taken to tell the adventures of my life

The past days, I did not have internet access. The lines for our cable internet broke down because of the heavy snow. I was glued watching the quarter finals of the Australian Open. I couldn't help but notice how hot and sunny it is in Melbourne right now while we are at below zero over here in Istanbul.Since I had no connection to the world wide web, during husband's day off, we decided to stroll in the park and and play with the snow. The snow fall was at 60cm and it was a lot of fun running around and goofing about.Now the sun is shining but the snow is still coming in trinkets. I'm becoming park addict!

Incidentally,Belated Happy National Day to my Aussie mates and Independence Day to my friends in India! Enjoy the sunny weather over there! I'm literally freezing my arse off!

One of the perks of living in another country is having friends of different nationalities. This becomes the door to a whole new culture exploration. Never did I expect to have friends from Georgia, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, even as far as the African country of Eritrea.

I remember, when I got introduced to some people from Eritrea. When they mentioned that they are from this country, I tried to remember my history and geography and figured out which part of the world is Eritrea. Obviously I was not as familiar as I thought I was with African Geography and History. I just smiled and pretended I knew where the country was. In the course of the conversation, I was able to ask some questions that lead me to knowing that Eritrea used to be a part of and was at war with Ethiopia and the capital is Asmara.

Here in Istanbul, one of my good and closest friend,S is originally from Poland. S and I have so many things in common despite our different backgrounds. She's my constant shopping partner, lunch date, and drinking buddy. Physically speaking, we are opposites. She's as white as paper and I'm chocolate brown. Her height is considered average in her country which is around 5'6" and my height is considered average in the Philippines which is basically anything higher than five feet. The most striking difference between us though is our hair color. S is a natural blonde and I have the typical Asian Black Hair.

Once we were at lunch, we started talking about our hair and hair products. During the course of conversation we ended up touching each others mane and comparing the texture. It was hilarious!

Down at the restaurant, we looked funny comparing each other's hair. She couldn't believe how think my hair was and I couldn't believe how thin her hair was. One strand of my hair is probably equivalent to 15 strands of her hair. Then we wondered, it's either I have really thick hair or she really has thin hair.

We then exchanged haircare tips and shared brands of shampoos and conditioners we use. I for one, am a fan of Citre Shine. We had a laugh learning the name of my friend's shampoo.

It's aptly called Dumb Blonde!

As I was writing this post. I realized that most of the weird part about me is my eating habits. What can I say? I am just a different diner. It's such a shame for my husband who is a chef but hey, when you get married, you get the package---> warts, weird eating habits, and all. I try not to do this in front of him though because it drives him crazy.

The birthday guy tagged me on this one. I will not elaborate and justify why I do them. It's just me and my quirky( sometimes gross) choices.

1. I eat potato chips with chocolates.
2. I love bananas with soy sauce.
3. I dip my fries in ice cream.
4. I eat tomatoes like apples ( it's a fruit anyway).
5. I like eating dessert before and after the main course.

There you go. Food and non-food bloggers alike are probably gasping with this horrendous eating pattern of mine. It's the perfect recipe to shoot up your calorie and cholesterol level. I say, Ho-hum. Guilty as charged.

I got this from my mailbox. I could totally relate to this story and I am sure many Pinoys have had the same experience. It may not just be the Bureau of Internal Revenue but other government office as well. I had my twilight zone moment a few years back when I was arranging my Marriage License at the Quezon City Hall. Our plan was to get married in the Philippines before we leave for HongKong but this didn't happen. With all the frustrations of arranging it and not to mention the stress of talking to these brain dead officials , we packed our bags and got married in HongKong instead.

Another one. At the immigration counter in Manila when I was on my way to Istanbul, Turkey. The immigration officer stopped me and asked what will I be doing in Turkey. I told him I was going to visit and live with my husband. He asked why I would want to visit Turkey and I explained that it's mainly because my husband works there and I plan to join him. He was not content with the answer and asked me to step aside and go to their boss' office. Their boss asked the same question and I gave the same answer. Then they looked for bank statements and my marriage certificate which luckily, I have with me. Then he asked me to go back to the officer who brought me there. I went back to the booth,but alas! The officer was gone. My passport was with him so I asked the next officer where the other guy went.

" Nag break yung kasama ko. Pakihintay na lang" (He just went on break. Please wait for him.)

Oh yeah... the moron had the audacity to go on break and left my passport in his booth. Not one single officer offered to get the passport from the twat for me. The just made me wait even if I had a plane to catch. I swear, I was happy I was leaving the Philippines at that point. Mainly because I've had enough of people like this immigration officer.

Now now.. here's a story about a guy who tried to get a TIN number from the BIR. It gets a little long and it's in Tagalog but it's worth the read.

Disclaimer: Read this at your own risk. There are parts of the content you may find objectionable.
=============================================
ADVENTURES SA KAWATANAN NG RENTAS INTERNAS
ni Jol Ong

Okay. So natanggap na ako nung November sa NCCA bilang researcher. Contract employee lang. 3 months. May Yearbook project kasi sila at kailangan ng extrang tao.

Okay lang ang bayad, kaso may 10% withholding tax, at siyempre, dapat may Tax Identification Number ako. So tinanong ko yung boss ko- "Sir, di po ba yung employer ang maglalakad ng TIN ng employee?"
Sagot ni bosing- "Di ka kasi regular employee kaya dapat ikaw ang maglakad ng TIN mo."Assurance nung assistant ni bosing- "Okay lang yan, one-time hassle lang yan."

Ala akong problema. Sige, ako maglalakad ng TIN ko. Tutal, ano ba ang worst case scenario? Mahabang pila? Red Tape?

Naknamsiomai,sanay naman ako sa UP e- kuhaan ng classcards, pila sa registration,pila sa graduation,etc.

Ako rin naman ang naglalakad ng registration ng beetle ko, at sa pagrerenew ko ng lisensya, so okay lang.

Sabi ni bosing, dun daw ako mag-apply ng TIN sa BIR Main, sa may QC,para mas konti ang pila! . May BIR din naman sa labas ng Intramuros,walking distance para sa mga sanay maglakad, pero mas konti raw ang tao sa Main.

So, sige,nagpaalam ako, isang araw mag-aabsent ako para lakarin yun. Dun ako sa Main, dahil malapit lang sa amin, tapos plano ko,dadaanan ko yung ilang research materials sa UP. Solve!

Pagdating ko sa BIR Main, nagulat nga ako dahil wala ngang katao-tao. Ni wala akong nakitang pila, maliban lang dun sa pila sa harap, dahil tsinecheck nung sekyu yung bag ng mga tao. Nung pagpasok ko, wala pala silang TIN forms. Wow. Naubusan ng TIN Forms ang BIR Main.Hanep.

Tinanong ako nung lalaki sa desk kung para saan yung TIN application ko, sabi ko, para sa work. Tinanong kung saan ako nagtatrabaho,sabi ko sa Intramuros.

"Dun ka mag-apply sa Intramuros." sabi nung lalaki.

"Di po ba puwede talaga rito?"

"Hinde, kasi sa Intramuros ka e, sila ang may hawak sa 'yo."

Okay lang,although medyo naburat ako sa efficiency nila. Ibig kong sabihin, wow, Main BIR sila tapos una, naubusan sila ng TIN Forms,pangalawa, ewan, ang laki-laki ng saklaw nilang lugar, ang laki-laki ng mga building nila, tapos hindi nila ako ma-accommodate.

Taragis, e malamang sa kanila rin naman mauuwi yung records ko kung sa BIR Davao o BIR Batanes ako mag-apply, dahil tutal,Main sila e,di ba? So ala na akong magawa, ala rin silang TIN Forms, so useless din kung magprotesta pa ako dun. So pumunta na lang akong peyups(U.P.) for official business,for the first time. Hehehe!

Pagpasok ko sa work, sinubukan kong lakarin yung TIN application ko sa BIR sa labas ng Intramuros, yung malapit sa port area.Pag-akyat ko sa taas,hinanapan ako ng certificate of employment, at barangay clearance.
At dahil walang nagsabi sa akin na kailangan ko nun, lalo na yung lalaki sa BIR Main,wala akong bitbit na requirements.

Pagbalik ko sa opisina, inexplain ko sa bosing namin yung problema.Nakatingin sa akin yung bosing ko na parang nawe-weirdohan din at di maintindihan yung paghihigpit ng BIR. Lintek, sabi nga nung isang workmate ko, the fact na nag-apply na ako for TIN, dinedeclare ko na sa gobyerno na puwede na nilang kupitan, err, kaltasan ang maliit kong suweldo.

Ako na nga ang magbibigay ng pera sa kanila, ako pa ang hinihigpitan. Tanginang gobyerno yan, kahit kailan talaga pahirap sa mga tao.

Anyway,pag-aaralan pa raw nila kung mabibigyan nila ako ng certificate of employment. Yung barangay clearance, ako na ang maglalakad. Plano kong bumalik ulit sa BIR Main. Hindi ko na lang sasabihin na sa Maynila ako nagtatrabaho. Yung ninang ko na may business, binigyan ako ng TIN Forms. Form 1901, take note. Para sa mga regular employees. May pipirmahan sa likod ang employer ko.

After nito, dumiretso ako sa barangay hall namin para sa clearance.Hiningan ako ng CV para sa file. Medyo naiirita na ako sa puntong ito. Isipin mo naman kung gaano ka-hassle ang buong prosesong ito,para saan? Para gawin ko ang aking role bilang mabuting mamamayan sa pagbabayad ng tamang buwis.

Anyway, tinanong ako nung babae sa barangay hall kung may TIN daw ako. NaFafalo ako sa noo ko.

Whoooooo!!! I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!!!

Okay! So may clearance na ako! Humingi na ako ng certificate of employment sa bosing ko,at pinapapirmahan ko na siya sa likod ng Form 1901 ko. Kaso sabi niya, hindi raw puwede kasi wala ako sa roster of employees ng NCCA. Project employee lang ako e.So tinanong ko kung puwede ibalik yung mga kaltas sa akin,tutal ala naman akong TIN e, at ayaw akong bigyan ng BIR,kaya pu@#$%*na sila,di ko bibigay pera ko sa gobyerno!

Ang problema, hindi raw puwede yun. Tuloy-tuloy ang kaltas sa suweldo ko. Kapag hindi raw kasi kinaltasan, sila raw ang malilintikan kapag nag-check ng expenses ang NCCA, makikitang hindi binawasan ng suweldo ko. So tinawag ngayon yung isang accountant ng NCCA para tulungan kami sa aming munting problema. Hindi rin maintindihan nung accountant kung bakit hinihigpitan ako ng BIR.

Putsa, ako na nga ng magbibigay ng pera sa gobyerno, may gana pa silang magpakipot. Sabi nung accountant, yung kinaltas sa akin, mapupunta pa rin sa gobyerno,may TIN man ako o wala, at hindi sa bulsa ng kung sinoman sa NCCA.

Well, dadaan muna sa gobyerno, sa BIR, bago mauwi sa bulsa ng isang congressman, pero technically, alang problema dahil pagkahaba-haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan pa rin ni s~tan~s ang tuloy.Ang difference bale,kapag may TIN ako, dinedeclare ko lang na sa akin galing yung kakaning-ibon na baryang portion ng pang-tip ni Mr.Congressman sa p*kpok niya sa Pegasus.Otherwise, mula kay Mr. Anonymous yung pang-tip niya.

Advise sa akin, sabihin ko na lang na freelance writer ako.Tutal may kaltas din naman daw kapag nag-freelance ka sa mga diyaryo.Tapos i-assert ko raw na ako na ang pagbibigay ng pera sa kanilang mga letse sila kaya dapat bigyan pa nila ako ng libreng chocolait at biskwet out of gratitude mga hayop silang mga impakto sila.

Okay. So bumalik ulit ako sa BIR Main. As usual, ang pila lang ay yung sa harap, kung saan nagtse-check yung sekyu ng bomba sa mga bag ng mga tao. Anyway, babae na yung nasa desk ngayon. Pinakita ko na yung baranggay clearance ko, at yung accomplished Form 1901 ko.Nung tinanong sa akin kung saan ako nagwowork, inexplain ko na freelance writer ako kaya wala akong regular employer, kaya walang nakapirma sa likod.Okay?

Okay. Hinde. sabi nung babae, since hindi ako regular employee,ibang form dapat ang finill-up-an ko. At bigla siyang naglabas ng Form 1902 at binigay sa akin.Whew, kinabahan ako dun a.Yung Form 1902, sabi niya, ay para sa mga "mixed-income individuals," para sa mga taong hindi regular ang kita- professionals, businessmen,at sabi niya, freelance writers.

Okay! Fill-up dito, fill-up dun, okay lang!!! Magkakaroon na ako sa wakas! Inaabot ko na sa babae yung Form 1902! Eto na...

"Ummm, okay na? Ngayon, punta kayo sa West Ave.....Branch namin."

Nanlaki ang mata ko. Wow, nasira agad ang aking moment of triumph.

"Err! ,hindi po ba puwede rito sa Main?"

"Hinde, kasi sa Project 6 ka nakatira. West Ave. Branch namin ang may hawak sa inyo."

Naramdaman ko, parang umiikot-ikot ang paligid ko. Parang gumagaan ang ulo ko,nanglalambot at naghihina ang tuhod ko. Bigla kong naramdaman ang isang matinding pangangailangan na i-headbutt ang kausap kong babae sa desk. Sa halip na isang headbutt,nagtanong na lang ako.

"Puwede po bang ibang tao na lang ang maglakad nito para sa akin?"

"Oo, gawa ka ng authorization letter..."

Ah! Para akong nabunutan ng tinik sa dibdib! Fafalakad ko na lang ito sa nanay ko. hehehe. Paglabas ko, marami pa ring tsinecheckan ng bomba sa bag sa harap. Ngayon alam ko na kung bakit. Ako rin gusto ko rin silang bombahin.

Hindi ko pa rin mawari, nung araw na yun, kung ano pa talaga ang purpose ng BIR Main.Nakangsiomai, dun sa maliliit na branches nila,siksikan ang mga tao, milya-milya ang pila. Sa Main, ang lawak-lawak, pero di sila nag-a-accomodate ng applications!

Sa kasamaang palad, hindi ako nakapagsulat ng authorization letter,at masyadong busy ang nanay ko para ilakad ang TIN ko. Anyway,sabi niya sa akin, may kaklase yung tita ko sa BIR West Ave.Kapag nagipit ako, hanapin ko na lang yun. Okey. Sige. Isa pa, may Form 1902 na ako, baranggay certificate, at yung excuse ng aking pagiging freelancer.Pila lang siguro ang problema, pero okay na.Putsa,dapat okay na.

At nakarating din ako, isang araw, sa BIR West Ave. Sa second floor sila nag-oopisina sa isang building. Masikip yung elevator dahil sa dami ng tao.

Narating ko na rin yung desk para sa TIN. Nung chineck nung babae dun yung papeles ko, hinanap nila yung pirma ng employer.

"Ay. Wala po. Freelance Writer po ako e."

Napatingin sa akin yung babae, tinitigan ako sa mata na wari'y tinitimbang ang mga salitang aking nasambit...

"Ano yung Freelance Writer?"

NaFafalo ako ulit sa noo.

"Ma'am, freelancer po ako. wala po akong regular na sahod.Binabayaran ako per article na sinusulat ko. Hindi po ako regular employee kaya wala akong certificate of employment."

Nung makitang Form 1902 ang dala ko, sinabihan pa akong maling form ang bitbit ko, kaya inexplain ko pa na nanggaling na ako sa BIR Main, na Form 1901 ang dala ko dati pero sabi dun, mali raw ang 1901 para sa akin kaya binigyan ako ng 1902 dahil freelance writer ako,at inirefer ako sa branch nila.

Nakatitig sa akin yung babae, ninamnam ang bawat salitang sinambit ko...

"Ano yung Freelance Writer?"

Okay! Kulang ka ba sa iodized salt?

Ipinaliwanag ko ulit kung ano ang freelance writer, at nakatingin pa rin siya sa akin na tila nambubullsh~t lang ako.

"Punta ka na lang sa Officer of the Day."

"Umm. Saan po yun?"

"Sa Seventh Floor."

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10... ayan... kumakalma na ko...
NAKANANGTOKWA!!!! ANG DAMING TAONG NAKAPILA SA
ELEVATOR!!!

$#@*^%$%#!!!!!!!!Alang choice, tumakbo ako paakyat sa hagdanan mula 2nd patungong 7th floor. Hingal na hingal ako nang lapitan ko ang Ofiicer of the Day.

"Ma'am, pinaakyat po ako mula sa second floor..."

At ipinaliwanag ko yung nangyari, mula yung pagpunta ko sa BIR Main,hanggang sa pagpunta ko sa ibaba kanina.

"Umm... at anong gusto mong gawin ko?"

Gumuho muli ang mundo ko, pero buti na lang may upuan sa likod ko.Ipinaliwanag ko ulit.

"Oo nga. Sa second floor ang application ng TIN. Bakit ka pinaakyat sa akin?"

Halos nagmamaka-awa na ako. "Ma'am, ala po ba talaga kayong magagawa?" At inilahad ko ulit yung masasayang adventures ko sa BIR Main, sa BIR Port Area, sa BIR Main, at sa BIR nila.

Awa ng diyos, may kinuhang chart yung ale, hinanap yung kategorya ko. Nung makuha yung code, sinulat niya sa isang espasyo sa 1902 ko,sabay tatak.

"Ayan. Okay na yan."

Namagandai ako. Sincere!!! Halos mapaihi na ako sa tuwa. Matatapos na!!!

Kaso, putsa, ang daming taong naghihintay sa elevator. Walang choice, takbo ulit ako sa hagdanan pababa. Pagdating dun, lalaki na yung nakaupo sa desk. Pinakita ko ulit yung mga papeles ko.

"Saan ang Certificate of Employment mo?"

Nammannnnn!!!! Ano ba'to? Twilight Zone? Napasok ba ako sa isang loop?

"Bosing, hindi po ako regular employee e. Freelance writer po ako."

"Ano yun?"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At ipinaliwanag ko ulit kung ano ang freelance writer, at ikinuwento ko yung episode kanina, at yung episode sa BIR Main, etc.

"Ito kasing Form na ito, itong 1902, para sa mga may negosyo ito e."

"E yan po ang binigay ng BIR Main sa akin, dahil hindi regular ang sahod ko!"

"May mayor's permit ka ba?"

Pikon na pikon na ako nun kaya hindi ako natawa, pero,talaga, grabe,comedy ito, men. Wow.

"Hindi ko po kailangan ng mayor's permit! Writer lang po ako!"

Ineksamin ulit nung lalaki yung papeles ko.

"Ummm, propesyunal ka ba?"

"Opo."

"Anong propesyon mo?"

"Writer po."

"May lisesnsya ka ba?"

Sa isip ko- "HU-WAAAAAAATTTTTT!!!????"

Kung kumain ako ng bulalo kanina, malamang na-stroke na ako ngayon.

"HINDI NYO PO KAILANGAN NG LISENSYA PARA MAGING WRITER!!!"

Sabay follow-up ko ng:
"ANO BA KAYO? AKO NA MAGBABAYAD NG TAX SA INYO, PINAPAHIRAPAN NYO PA AKO!"
Deadma si lalaki. Nakatingin pa rin sa papeles ko, iniisip kung ano gagawin. Kung pinapunta pa niya ako ulit sa
Officer of the Day, i-he-headbutt ko na'to talaga. Buti na lang-"O sige, irereceive ko ang forms mo, pero ang alam ko dapat may kasamang papeles pa itoe. Pumila ka na lang dun..."

*haaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy.......*

Kaso, sobrang haba ng pila, at sa takbo ng mga pangayayari ngayon, ayoko nang maghintay ng isa't kalahating oras para lang mag-replay ng kuwentong kung ano ang freelance writer, at kung bakit hindi ako regular employee. Lumabas ako, pumunta ako sa corridor. Pikon na pikon. Tinawagan ko nanay ko, tinanong
ko yung pangalan ng kaibigan dati ng tita ko sa highschool na nagtatrabaho ngayon dun. Okay, nakuha ko na yung pangalan. Balik ako dun, tinanong ko yung sekyu kung saan ang opisina nung babae.

"Sa seventh floor po."

Hindeeeeee!!!!! Pero sige, para lang magkaroon ng bunga ang paghihirap ko ngayong araw na ito- may exodus ng tao sa harap ng elevator, kaya ayun, inipon ko ang natitira kong lakas at hininga,at aking tinakbo muli ang second to seventh floor sa hagdanan.

Pagdating sa taas, halos bumagsak sa lupa ang baga ko.Nagtanong-tanong ako ulit kung saan ang opisina nung
bes-pren ng tita ko, hanggang sa mapunta na ako sa gitna ng opisina nila. Sa wakas- "Ay! Diyan yung opisina nun, pasok ka diyan."

Yehey!!!

"Ha? Ay! On-leave siya ngayon. Babalik siya sa January 2."

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hindi pa rin nauubos ang mga tao sa elevator, hindi ko maalala kung paano ko tinakbo pababa ang first floor. Pikon na pikon ako, grabe.Pag-uwi, nakaubos yata ako ng isang pitsel ng gulaman. Hinintay kong humupa ang tila-nuclear holocaust ng galit sa loob ng dibdib ko.

Punyetang gobyerno ito!!! Letse!!! Hindi mahuli-huli yung mga tax evaders,hindi mabigyan-bigyan ng TIN yung mga nagmamagandang loob na magbayad ng buwis!!! Tangina, no wonder may lumolobo tayong mga deficit!!! Syet!!! Ano nangyari sa iodized salt campaign ni Ramos!!!

Nung gabi, tinawagan ko si TJ, yung kasama ko sa trabaho,at kinuwento ko lahat. Lagi ko kasing kinukuwento ang bawat installment ng aking BIR adventures, at tulad ng isang epiko, grabe ang climax nung hapon na yun.

Syet. Hayop sa climax. Tinatawanan ko na lang, pero nung hapon na yun kaya ko sigurong mangagat ng leeg. Tawa rin nang tawa si TJ, at ngayon, kuwento niya,tawa rin nang tawa yung mga pinagkuwentuhan niya. Pati yung mga tao sa tambayan namin, nung kinuwento ko,di rin makahinga sa katatawa.

Langya,baka maging urban legend pa ang buhay ko, in which case,sana puwede kong i-video lahat, at lalagyan ko ng sumpa-ala "The Ring", tapos Fafadalhan ko ng kopya yung mga tao sa BIR.

Naisip-isip ko na lang ngayon, paano nga kung kailangan mo ng lisensya para magsulat.Isang physical manifestation ng concept ng poetic license? haha! Kung sa driver's license, may mga restrictions tulad ng "Vehicle up to 4500 KGS GVW" o kaya "Automatic clutch above 4500 KGS GVW", etc. paano kaya yung sa "Poetic License" o "Writing License?"

I.Restrictions
1. Haiku and short essays only
2. Essays up to 500 words and Freeverse up to 5 stanzas
3. Essays above 500 words and Freeverse above 5 stanzas
4. Critical Essays,Short Fiction, Poetry ...etc.

Pero nag-digress na naman ako. Isang hapon, pagkatapos nung BIR episode, dumaan ako sa tambayan namin sa UP.Nung makita ako ng mga kasama ko - "Jol!Pumayat ka a! Grabe!" hehehe. Naalala ko yung jogging-jogging ko sa building, at yung stress, at namagandai ako.Isang mapait at matamis na ngiti.At kinuwento ko kung bakit.

ps:
hanggang ngayon, wala pa akong TIN. Kuwento ni TJ, si
Santi Bose raw,namatay nang walang TIN. Nakakatakot.

Yesterday marked the beginning of the second bayram here in Turkey. Two months ago, they had Ramazan (commonly known as ramadan in other Muslim Countries) and now they have the Feast of the Sacrifice or the Kurban Bayrami.

Kurban Bayrami this year is from 1o-16 January. This is considered as one of the longest religious and secular holiday here in Turkey. In short, NO WORK. During these days, the Muslim families re-enact the sheep sacrifice made by Abraham in place of his son Isaac, better known as Ismail tothe Muslims. According to their faith, A ram fell from the sky just when the prophet Abraham was about to kill Ismail as a sacrifice to God thus, he killed the animal instead of his son. As a tradition, Muslim families buy a live sheep and kill it in the morning with the supervision of a butcher. The killing is done in public, so you would hear the poor cry of the sheep and if you happen to walk around the city, you might find yourself witness to the sacrifice.

Tradition also dictates that once the sheep is killed, the owners must cook 1/3 of the meat immediately. The other 1/3 should be given to neighbors and family and the last portion should be distributed to the poor and needy.

The bayram holiday actually has a cheerful atmosphere but not as festive as the Ramazan. The people still go visit their respective families and give each other sweets ( chocolates, candies, turkish delight or lokum) and a portion of the meat they killed for sacrifice. Apparently, this holiday also gives way to forgiveness amongst enemies and dispute settling.

I've never witnessed a sacrifice feast before. My Japanese neighbor witnessed one last year and she said it was not for the light-hearted. Early in the morning today, I woke up with the call to prayer by the mosques and today was particularly long compared to other days. It's freezing cold outside. I have a feeling most of the sacrifice feast will be done indoors this week. For the Turkish family who strictly follow tradition, there will be many visits of relatives and exchange of sweets and meat. For the others, the bayram, is another opportunity to go on holiday or visit their hometowns. The highways are jampacked. The shops are closed. The city is quiet but the individual Turkish families in their homes are celebrating the feast of sacrifice.

Kota Kinabalu is very near the Philippines via Mindanao. The island itself is eighty per cent rainforest. Most of the tourists who go here do nature trippings. Either they want to unwind, do some diving, or climb Mt. Kinabalu. We had our share of wildlife and nature during our one week stay in Kota Kinabalu.

For me, the highlight of our trip was the Wild River Rafting in Padas River. We took a train from Beaufort going to the mountains and did the rafting. The train was no BTS, MTR, or MRT. Inside it, we were together with a motorbike and some cows ( yes.. the ones that go "moo") inside. There were no seats and we were just seated on the floor for 2 hours. The rafting took us about 45 minutes to one hour. It was really fun. The boys had the courage to try body rafting and us girls were content with our high pitched shrieks everytime there was a big wave coming in. At the end of the adventure, we got a certificate making us officially able to conquer a Class 3 river (moderately difficult).
We went to Pulau Gaya which is beside Pulau Manukan. It's an island 20 minute via a motor boat from Kota Kinabalu. We had a good barbecue lunch over here. Since we came there on a low season, there aren't a lot of people around. We basically had the island for ourselves. The boys were busy playing petanque by the beach and us ladies played UNO and enjoyed the sun.

We spent one day nature tripping and went to see the Proboscis Monkey. They are the only monkeys I know who are allergic to bananas and they can actually die when they eat them They live on trees and eat leaves , fruits and branches. We went to Klias Wetlands on a sightseeing adventure to see these nearly extinct monkeys only found in Borneo and witness thousands of fireflies at night. This was fun although we needed a telescope to see the monkeys hanging on the trees. On a lighter note, did you know that these monkeys have pot bellies and the male's organ is red in color---> as in ferrari red. Plus, the older these monkeys get, the bigger their noses become.


Our days in Kota Kinabalu were well spent getting in touch with nature and just having plain fun. We didn't want to leave the place but husband needed to go back to work. I actually have tons of pictures but they might not interest you much since most of them are photos of monkeys, birds, trees,the sunset, beach, and wildlife.
At the end of 2006, we will be going back to Kota Kinabalu.It would be another visit to our good friends and hopefully, we get to climb Mt. Kinabalu this time.

* photo of the proboscis monkey was swiped from Labuk Bay Proboscis Sanctuary website.

January is one of the best times to shop. Most of the shops are cleaning out their christmas stocks and getting ready for spring and summer. I did not do a big Christmas shopping last December but I made up for it when we went to the Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, Thailand in November.

Chatuchak is the largest weekend market in Bangkok. It has around 10,000 to 15,000 stalls inside. For a shopping enthusiast, this is a paradise. Aside from the fact that the price of goods sold are relatively cheap, you can find almost anything you need in this market. In the Philippines, this should be a hybrid of Divisoria and Greenhills Shopping Center but it's only open Saturdays and Sundays.

From the center of Bangkok, it's easy to go to Chatuchak. We took the BTS or the Skytrain from Chitlom Station to Mo Chit and it cost us around 35 baht and 15 minutes to go there. The market is a 5-minute walk from Mo Chit Station. It's quite easy to find it, you just need to follow the crowd since majority of them are also tourists and locals heading to Chatuchak.

Arriving in the market, you might get overwhelmed with the crowd and stalls everywhere especially if you go in the afternoon. Mornings are better since there are lesser people and it's easier to find your way around.

The market is divided into sections depending on the goods they are selling. They have all sorts of things, from plants, furnishing, thai decors, pets, clothings and apparels, children's clothes, toys.. and the list goes on. Husband and I decided to be organized and identified what we wanted so it's easy to find them. Even if we did this, we still got lost inside the maze-like alleys of Chatuchak. We refuse to ride the touristy transpo that goes around and picks up people who didn't want to walk thus, we ended up having a good amount of exercise just by going around the place.

We didn't bring any camera and took no pictures of the Chatuchak. We were in for some serious shopping and we felt that bringing a cam could be more of a liability with the amount of crowd going in and out of the market. We went there empty handed and went back home carrying loads of plastics with all our buys.

If we didn't have to think of over baggage, we could have shopped more. We wanted to buy a lot of those cool Thai home decors but it was too bulky and heavy to bring them back home. We ended up buying some (well.. a lot of..) clothes, funky bags, accessories, birkenstocks (very cheap and good for walking) , and thai silk scarves.

This was how we ended our trip in Bangkok. We spent 6-hours walking around Chatuchak, haggling prices, and finding good buys. After this, we were off to the beautiful sunsets of Kota Kinabalu.

About Me

Name: duke

Location: Istanbul, Türkiye

A first time mom to baby A living as an expat in Istanbul, Turkey.

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