I am TERATAI and the BALKAN TOUR 10 OCT - 21 OCT 2014

HELLO AND A LOVELY DAY TO YOU! 

My name is Teratai Awap. It is an ancient Malay name and is also named after a flower called Lotus. My father gave me that name which I am proud to have. 

I lives in Subang Jaya,  a thriving and cosmopolitan city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. For those who have not heard of Selangor or Malaysia, I will give you a brief description on the geographical location of Selangor, together with an overview of Malaysia in my other Post titled 'Beautiful Exotic Malaysia'. By the way, Selangor is a stone's throw from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. 

My hobby........I just love to travel..........below is a picture of me in Costwolds, England....we stayed in a lovely 200 years old cottage.......I just love Costwolds..........it is dubbed as one of the most enchanting and beautiful countrysides in UK!

I am a freelance travel planner or rather prefer to be addressed as a Leisure Planner. I organise travel, outbound and inbound from ticketing to providing package tours; I 'pilot' you to places where you can indulge in endless entertainment with your loved ones.

I work very closely with my two friends, one who is also a Leisure Planner, just like me; we team up together, and another who owns a travel agency aptly named Via Vacation and Travels Sdn Bhd. Her family has been in the travel business for over 30 years. She has a cafe next to it that serves heavenly delicious cakes, and yes, to complete the afternoon tea break with gourmet coffee...the aroma greets you like a brewing coffee factory, so enticing...O la la.  

TIME TO TRAVEL............................ 
TIPS ON TRAVEL
Packing

If you travel light, there is definitely no issue or you will have little problem with an overweight luggage. But what if you are a traveller who just can't leaves things behind...like me?...hehehe.......

My advise

• Always roll your clothings when packing if you travel heavy. You will be surprised at how much space you can save OR simply head for the Space Compressible Bag
• If it is a winter holiday, just handcarry your winter jacket over your hand to save space when check-in
• Never do last minute packing as it can be stressful. Always have a day as a buffer for last minute surprises. 
• Equipped yourself with a portable luggage scale to ensure that your luggage will never be overweight each time you fly

HOLIDAY! HOLIDAY! HOLIDAY! ..........
RING/TEXT ME at 012 393 8162 or NURAINI at 013 3133 592 or
EMAIL at leisureplannertna@gmail.com 


LETS CAPTURE THE UNTOLD BEAUTY OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES

Take a break and pack your clothings and lets head to the Balkan Countries....see the untold beauty, the historical sites and monuments, and travel back in time, immersed in the old town where life is so peaceful and the air so crisp.....

BALKAN COUNTRIES - TOUR PACKAGE AT A GLIMPSE(11DAYS 9NIGHTS)

FROM RM9788 (S$3764/US$2995/GBP1783) onwards, Our Tour starts in Skojpe with places of interests to visit such as Stone Bridge, Old Bazaar, Old Rail Station, Mustafa-Pasha Mosque, Daut Pasin Hamam, from the XV century and the monument of Mother Teresa.

STONE BRIDGE

Skopje's iconic old Stone Bridge across the river Vardar. It was originally built during the Ottoman rule, under the patronage of Sultan Mehmed III, the Conqueror between 1451 and 1469.

Next Stop in Orhid. Historical mosques include Hadzi Turgut Mosque, Krst

Dazmija,Zeynel Abedin Pasha Tekke and the Old bazaar.

KRST DAZMIJA (Cross Mosque)

Krst Dzamija or the Cross Mosque (Haji Turgut), built in 1466 is located on the former church of St. Kyriakia. It is the oldest mosque in Ohrid. The unique feature of this mosque is that there is a small cross on the crescent on top of the minaret . Legend has it that when the Turks built the minaret, they threw the church cross in the lake but the cross returned to the minaret uncannily. When they persistently threw it away, the minaret collapsed. However, the cross was found on the minaret again when they rebuilt the minaret. This was repeated many times until somebody dreamed that the minaret would only stay up if the cross was left on the top. Finally, the Turks left the cross on the crescent, never to remove it again and the minaret never collapse!

Bye Orhid and lets welcome Tirana. We shall proceed to visit the Tirana Mosque of Ethem Bey, the Clock Tower and the National Museum.

NATIONAL MUSEUM

The National Museum is the country's largest museum. It was opened on 28 October 1981. Visitors have the chance to learn about the economic, social, political and cultural development of the Albanians, who have preserved their typical characteristics, also resistance against the ruling of Byzantines, French, Turks and Serbs.

Its getting fun. Now we are entering our 4th day....having fantastic time everyone? Lets get our feet to the old town of Shkoder - visit the Mosque, traditional road build in the XXth century which bears the distinctive architectural characteristic of the museum area and Rozafa castle.

ROZAFA CASTLE

Rozafa Castle is located 130metres above sea-level, near the city of Shkoder. Shkoder is one of the oldest and most historic city in Albania. It is in the northwestern Albania. 

The castle has been the site of several famous sieges. Legend has it that there were three brothers who were responsible for building the castle, but the walls of the castle collapsed after they had built it. One day, they met an old man who told them that they should sacrifice one person to the castle so that the wall will not collapse again. They could not find anybody and finally decided to sacrifice one of their wives. To be fair, whichever wife came first to serve them will be sacrificed and buried in the wall. Two of the brothers told their wives, but the youngest was honest enough not to inform his wife. So when the youngest wife served the food, she was sacrificed. She agreed on condition that there would be a gap for her to breastfeed her baby, her right eye to see him, her right hand to caress him and her right foot to rock his cradle. It was said that milk still flows from one of the walls in the castle since then.

Mystical Balkan.............next is a city tour through old town Budva and Dubrovnik.

Day 7 - Transfer to Mostar. Stop at Kravice waterfalls; Pocitelj – old city fortress built during the Ottoman era; Blagaj – Buna River spring.

KRAVICE WATERFALLS

Kravice is a waterfall on the Trebižat River in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and about 40km from Mostar. It is approximately 25 metres high. Kravice is a popular swimming and picnic area, has a little cafe, a rope swing and a place to camp.

Sarajevo.....yes we have heard so much about Sarejevo, and finally we are here. Time to visit Karadjoz bey mosque and Muslibegovic House walk through the old town and old bridge, listed as UNESCO heritage site. 

The next day, after a good rest, we shall visit Vrelo Bosne – spring of river Bosnia, Tunnel museum – the only means of going in and out during the siege of Sarajevo in last war and a walking tour of old town Bascarsija, Latin bridge; place where the Austro Hungarian Archduke was assassinated and what triggered the 1st World War, Brusa Bezistan – covered market place, Gazi Husref Bey Mosque built in 1530 during the Ottoman era, Gazi Husref Bey Madrass, Morica han built in 1551 and Vijecnica – town hall for the Austro-Hungarian era.

TUNNEL MUSEUM

Between May 1992 and November 1995, during the Siege of Sarajevo and in the midst of the Bosnian War, the Sarajevo Tunnel was constructed by the Bosnian Army to link the city of Sarajevo.

The tunnel linked the Sarajevo neighbourhoods, allowing food, war supplies, and humanitarian aid to enter the city, and act as a gateway for people to get out. 

Construction of the tunnel began in secret on 1 March 1993 under the codename “Objekt BD". The tunnel was painstakenly dug by hand 24-hours a day and, instead of being paid monetarily, the workers were paid with one packet of cigarettes per day, an item that was in high demand then.

After the war, The Sarajevo Tunnel Museum was built onto a historic private house whose cellar served as the entrance to Sarajevo Tunnel. Now visitors can still walk down a small length of the tunnel (approximately 20 meters). The "house" museum exhibits archival materials including an 18-minute long movie movie, war photographs, military equipment.

More Destinations to come..........................

Disclaimer : Prices quoted may vary subject to availability, and prices quoted in foreign currencies may differ at prevailing rates (prices quoted in this blog are calculated based on 27 April 2014 Malaysian time/date)