Nut Fest 3 : Keyword "Nut"

Woke up to a brightly smiling sun, eager to to get the day on...



While we only get to perform at noon yesterday, today we got the privilege to do the kick off!! Yes, that means we got to announce the start of Day 2 with the beatings of our drums. And clear skies means that we get to do it outside...yes Ai Jun(childhood friend of mine), I get to wow girls in my ridiculous shorts and chest revealing happi coat.

We practically played the same song as yesterday, so, no point putting up videos here...

The performance ended with applauds from the crowd....cheers me up every time. Two weeks of blistered hands and sore shoulders...only to receive claps from strangers. Yes, sometimes I myself wonder why do I even want to take the trouble to practice for days...shedding blood and sweat...only to receive meager claps from the crowd. But then again, thanks to my parents for giving me a simple mind, I quit thinking that hard and just continue on beating the drums...

Anyway, having performed yesterday and today, my job is done. Finally, I get to roam about....attend to the main event, the NUT Fest.




In collaboration with NUT Fest...we Malaysians decide to come up with Satay and PeaNUT sauce....see? it's not called NUT Fest for nothing...

The satay was...DELICIOUS!!! It was very very good...no offense, but thank my god that I'm not Islam and I don't have to fast. The Satay and kuah kacang was too good to give up. Spent more than 3000 yen buying just Satay and Air Bandung, the other thing we also put out to sell. Tasted so good that I forgave them for turning up late for preparation night...


I like to call him the Spokesperson for NUT....far as I know, he's the MC for any event organized by NUT. Be it Freshmen Orientation or Football Tricks Show, he's the man to look for....and yes, he is as nutty as he look.


Just like all Japanese Campus Fest, the "Guys in girl's dress competition" is a must. What the hell is wrong with these Japanese Guys....why would they want to embarrass themselves like that? Are they NUTS?? .....oh wait, they are...just like me...hehe.


Some show by the Karate Club...and just like what you see in the picture, they were doing plank breaking. Too bad they have a nutcase head coach....the coach had them break 5 planks stacked together. 5 PLANKS!!! Unless you are Chuck Norris, how can a hit-the-books-often guys break em' ?? Sigh...this otherwise cool show ended up being a somewhat scraped-knuckle-painful show. The crowd seems to love seeing blood on the planks though...


And this was the performance by a band called "Microphone too tall for the girl" Band...they were singing Yui songs. And they were...hmm....they need more practice.

And then it was 4 p.m ...time for the second performance by Taiko(Japanese Drum) Members. This time excluding newbies such as me. And let me tell you, the seniors' performance had much much more power and beauty than the one I did...

Enjoy...






This is happened to be my favorite of all...








Gotta love the part the guy's drum stick flew from his hands at 2.20 ...haha...

Nut Fest 2 : Rain rain go away...

Nut Fest unfortunately started with rain fall...

Gawd bless my blistered hands....

Why does it have to rain?? Now I have to perform my drums in the gymnasium...not to mention that people stay at home when it rains...

no....No...NO!! How can I let something like a little harmless rain fall to dampen my spirit!! I've practiced for 2 weeks for goodness sake!!

And here it is...the drum play that moved even the heart of the gods that they cried their holy tears(means that it rained harder)











So...what do you think of our drum play??

Nut Fest 1 : Culture differences...

Nagaoka University of Technology's Festival....or NUT Fest.

This festival was held last week on the 13th and 14th...but for me starts two weeks before the event as I busy growing blisters on my pitiful palm practicing drums. For two long weeks I've been practicing drums every day from 4 in the evening till 8 at night....trust me when I tell you it's tiring on both physical and mental state. Other than the gawd blessed blisters on my palm, I also "enjoyed" muscle pain and "seduced" by the everyday temptation of wanting to skip practice.

But how can I?

My seniors were all so hard working and dedicated to the practice that I feel bad skipping the practice...there's also a few times where I've been scolded for turning up at 4.03 pm...

Yeah, I was late for 3 minutes and I was scolded....3 MINUTES!!! What the hell?? I know that "Time is gold" but that's just an idiom, right? I don't owe my colleagues 22 karats of gold for being 3 minutes late....but one have to admire the punctuality and the dedication of the drum members.

So finally....the day before the event. My Uni was kind enough to give us the day off for us to prepare for the big event. So, I spent my Friday practicing drums from 9 morning till 6 evening...after that, I headed over to help other Malaysians with preparation as we were presenting a stall as well.

So, tired...sore all over my body, I headed over....only to find out that they are starting later at 8.30 p.m. Okay, FINE...that'll give me sometime to rest before working again...

After a good long shower, checked some of my mails, I cycled for 15 minutes to school again...reached at 8.35 p.m...

And guess what? NO ONE'S THERE!!!

Yeah, there were a few girls preparing kuah satay....but where's the rest of the guys who were supposed to come with the chicken and skewers??

And I waited...and waited...and waited...DAMN IT!! It's already 9.30!! Are they coming or not??

They finally showed up at 9.50 after I called them several times on the phone. And when they finally do arrive, they gave me a sorry excuse saying "Sorry-la Randy, I fell asleep"...

WHAT THE F'%$?!! I fell asleep?

Yes, I know, it's fasting season and I know that they have to get up early in the morning but...like Anwar said, Fasting season is no reason to slack off from things...

I had to struggle soooo hard not to lose my temper....you want my help, fine, I'll help but don't waste my time like this!!

Sigh...to think that my drum members scolded me for being 3 minutes late....and my Malaysian friends come in one hour late with a stupid smile on the face....

Patience Randy...patience.....

Taiko : Japanese Drum...

So...once again, why was I missing for so long? Was is a girl?....wished it was so....but no. I'm not that lucky. The picture below could probably explain why.


See how my fist was suspiciously wrapped in white bandages? And if you observe closely, you can see that they are also suspiciously dirty.....as if I've been in fights.....

Yes, you guessed it right...I've been practicing Japanese drum all along!! (Otherwise, why the title, right??)

It all started on the second day at University...I was walking towards the convenience store to get a drink when I heard Japanese Drums in play. When I turned to look, I saw a group of people beating various sizes of drums (which I later found out we're playing only 3 types). Everyone, hands moving along a single beat.

Such power...such elegance...such...spirit!

And that's when I decided that I want to join this circle. I want to be part of the group that displays such strength...a group that possess such unmoving spirit. So, I enlisted myself and have been practicing ever since..



The movie you see is the event where I debuted....at the early stages, the guy that stops halfway and says something in Japanese, that's me....heh heh.

I practiced weekly and more often than not, I suffer blisters and had to tape my hands so that I can continue practicing even though I have bleeding hands....as you'd probably guess by now, the practice sessions are tough. I confess that there are times where I felt like quitting as seniors aren't too polite when it comes to "commenting" on us newbies' performance.

And to think that no girls will ever like me now when they hold my "rough" hands....*sobs

But that day....that day when I finally get to perform in front of people......it was the most fulfilling day I've ever had. Although it was a performance at a small town with equally small crowd, about 30~40 people, I felt so much joy when I see people applauding to my performance.

All those blood and sweat...and skin too...they were worth it.....

And the best yet, I got to perform at one of the biggest events in Japan, the Nagaoka Summer Festival. I played on 2 of the 3 days festival. With thousands attending the first day, tens of thousands on the 2nd.....IT WAS EXHILARATING!!! I...I...I don't know how exactly to describe what I felt but I have NEVER felt such sense of accomplishment and joy getting to perform in front of so many people. I mean....there was so many people!!!
You see, summer time is special for the Japanese as that's when they have their yearly festival, so it means a lot to them...while others(foreigners) are just observers, me being able to be part of something special...I just don't know what to say.....

Too bad there aren't any picture or video as my housemate, Lai Chee Wei, stood on the wrong side of the crowd on the first day and he was too far away on the second day.

Sigh...such good friends I have.

But I guess that makes my experience much more special now that everything is chiseled in my memory. This might be the most memorable thing that I'll bring back with me once I get back....probably the best memory in my whole life....well, other than owning my own patent.

A place to call home

Tomorrow will be the 4th month since I've moved to my new place. So, I guess by now you are all wondering what kind of place am I living at, right?

Is it a bird's nest?

Is it a plane's hangar?

No, it's Superman-inspired, but normal apartment!!

Is this Superman joke any funny? See? Told you I lost my funny bone..

Anyway, I live in a foliage...


See? I wasn't lying when I said I live in a foliage..


Mi casa...I live on the second floor.


Walk in the front door and you will be greeted by bags of rubbish...Japanese tried to be funny by introducing the "collect different rubbish on different day" scheme. As a result, I always have rubbish lying around my home....
Oh, yeah, I actually separate rubbish and I recycle paper and plastic....and yes, I did not move the bags aside to create an "illusion" that I'm a very clean and rubbish clean fellow. Honest am I?


My study table....my chair which I strategically placed to partially cover the perverted wallpaper of my monitor...rows of novels(on the top shelf..hidden from pic)...my wardrobe which is HUGE!!...may not look so in the picture but trust me, it's big...and lastly, the trusty fan which have kept me cool in the summer heat..


As you can see...my bed....and also in the pic, the place where I throw my socks when I come home....wires and plastic bag of junk food lying around on the floor. Hmm...maybe I should be more discreet about my personal life.

Ahh....I remembered the day I first entered my new place. I mean, how could I forget? It was my birthday, it was cold(didn't own any heater yet), it was dark, I was alone...and I had to eat cold dinner on the freezing floor on my Birthday....alone...

How can I forget that!!

haha...just kidding. I was actually quite excited to finally have my own place...and I was more tired rather than feeling pathetic and lonely.

It's a very decent place as I chose comfort over price. The rent is 60000yen (Rm2000) per month ...I share with another guy, so I only pay half the amount. Other Malaysians opted for cheaper apartments and they pay a lot lesser, but I'm proud to say that I have the most decent looking place among all. If you think that I'm showing off....you're damn right I'm showing off!! Haha...I paid an extra amount for the right to show off.

A few of my juniors have been to my place and they find it nice...so, don't be shy to drop by for a visit anytime!!

Randy returns!!!

Yeah..yeah..I know, it's been a long time since I last blog.....and yes, this is not the first time I've been on a long hiatus. Sorry...

You see, after the last post i wrote, I had to move to a new place...and I had to wait a while before I get my internet connection. And then I was busy adjusting to life in my new place in Nagaoka.

And another BIG factor.....I lost my vibe. I lost my...words. After so long of not blogging, I just can't write anymore. My holidays started about a month ago, so I had plenty of time to write stuff...but I found myself just staring at the screen, unable to produce words....you may think that, that's just some excuse but those who knows me, know that I don't just report daily events....we have newspaper for that...I usually include my "personal opinion".

Anyway, I can't just not blog anymore now can I?

Jesus came back to life after 3 days, Buddhist believe in reincarnation, Anwar coming back into political world....even Britney Spears is releasing a new Album!! Britney Spears!!! After so many years! My blog deserve a comeback too don't you think??

But so many things have happened since Turkey and it's too much to write so, I'll just summarize it all up for this time..

March : Turkey
Have much much more to write about turkey but ...sorry guys. will try to write more about it in the future.

Early April : Moving to a new place...
Spent my loneliest Birthday ever. It was cold, I was alone, I ate TV dinner that night....not that I was sad or anything like that...but...okay, guess i was a little lonely.

Early to Mid April : Varsity life..
Started my life in University...joined Japanese drum team. Enjoying my life here at Uni as people here are more friendly and matured..

May~July : Exams..
Life was mainly plagued my exams and tests. Other than that I had experiment reports and more exams..

August : Japanese drum performance!!
I got to perform in front of tens of thousands of people!! Will write about it as something juicy happened as well!!

So, there you go...a short introduction before I get back to blogging again.

That's it for now. See you guys again tomorrow!!

Turkey 11 : From Asia to Europe..

Ever wondered where did Asia ends and Europe begins??

Where is that damn racist line that divides slit-eyes from large eyes with long lashes....flat nose from sharp nose...hairless chest from sexy hairy chest? Thank god for the not hairy chest though.

Well, the answer is this...


A river running through Turkey....one lone river that cleverly divides the East from West...Asia from Europe....


Not too clear but the yellow sign says "Welcome to Europe".

To get to the next destination, the Blue Mosque, we had to travel from continent to continent!!




You might think that, this is just one river and that there must be little or no difference at all on both banks....WRONG!! Crossing this river marks a significant cross from Asia to Europe. The buildings on the European side have taller, and significantly more buildings, of European Architecture of course...


Asia side have shorter, lesser buildings...less organized and built sporadically....


Old couple dating out under the sun....how sweet...but you don't see this on the Asia side....

The difference don't just lie with the buildings...even the people dress differently, drive different cars, acts differently! And to think that both side is separated by only one river...like crossing from Penang and Seberang Perai. Amazing and intriguely interesting.....


All this...European side. Asia side mostly have kebab shops..

How, why the government do this is a mystery I'd like to keep and never find out. But once again...the stark difference is so...amazing!! As if the one river acting like an impregnable invisible wall fortified by the stubbornness of communities wanting to retain old values and of communities wanting change and globalization.

The buildings, cars, lifestyle, clothes, culture, social norms....I almost expected the roads to changed from driver's side right, and driver's side left somewhere in the middle of the bridge.

This really is a cross from Asia to Europe.

Turkey 10: Turkish Carpet

"Turkish Carpets....the most famous in the world. Plenty of people from all over the world comes to Turkey just to buy these carpets! And they are hand woven, which makes them more special!!" *smiles :)*

says the Fat Basturk. Once again....him and his bragging. Why does he feel so proud at other people's achievement?? Sigh...and more than once I saw the owner giving him stares as he blares on and on about carpets....weren't the owner supposed to be giving the talks instead??

Anyway, the next visit was a carpet factory . Now you might think that a visit to the carpet factory may be boring and a waste of time....well, it is....but not a complete waste of time. After a short while...I mean, after Fat Basturk ran out of things to bullshit about, the owner took over the talking and FINALLY...something worth listening to.


The talk were quite informative and interesting, minus all the horribly misplaced sense of self satisfaction "someone" was doing earlier. Turkish carpets were and still are famous because they discarded most of modern technology and concentrate on the human skills when it comes to carpet making. And also because they weave in two knots instead of one knot, like carpets all over the world.
Two knot weave carpets are considerably stronger....and according to the guy, world's most powerful vacuum will not be able suck out any of the threads.

You may think "Wow....", but to me, it's really just another useless fact etched onto my brains forever.


All weaves are laboriously done by hands....one time consuming weaves at a time. That means that time consumed to finish a carpet increase in proportion to design and size. small ones like this takes a bout a month or two to complete.


This one takes 8 months to finish....and even big ones such as this is done by one person. Teamwork is actually a killer here. After a work such as this completes, the weaver's hands would be swollen, and since petite, small hands are favored to do this kind of work, she will be forced to take a break...



This guy is the specialist...he came out with a book, "10 ways you can boil your cute little silk worms"....a best seller in Turkey. With a sadistic smile on his face, he demonstrates how he can get the strands of silk from the cocoon....seems to me that he feels great pleasure and satisfaction for every possible moth that he kills.

"Eats a hole out of your jacket...this little buggers" says the man...


Later, we were guided to a hall with a number of carpets hung on the wall...

We were actually seated on the other side of the hall...was going to take a group photo when one of them said "The carpet on that side looks better!!" ....

silence pass....

They gave each other a knowing look...then suddenly, all of the started running across the hall!! The hall was actually thundering with the sound of their foot steps as they rushed across the hall...ignorant to everyone else who were looking.

And it was HI-LA-RIOUS!! Practically laughed my ass off when I saw them took flight and create a mini earthquake...laughed harder when I saw the surprise look on few of the Japanese as they stare in disbelieve...hahahahha...they were like　 (・_・;)

Priceless...


After the commotion and "after shocks" subsided, the owner and some of his workers start laying out carpets of various size and colors before our feet.


This was supposedly a rare piece...made with wool off white and black sheep. Apparently, black sheeps are rare...which made me think, "Black sheep of the family" actually meant that you are the special and treasured one in the family...not the weird one.

The reason all those carpets were laid out before us was because...well, marketing time. He didn't spend all his time talking to us about carpets for nothing!! And my....my...he is quite a talker...


I bought a carpet for myself. Cost me 10000 yen or Rm300 for this piece. Some of them said.....okay, Lim Chin Wooi(2nd guy from left from the group photo above) said that it was too expensive and not worth it....well, it may be so, but it reminds me of all the good times I had in Turkey, so I don't regret buying it at all!!

However, my housemate said that it resembles a prayer rug....yeah, why didn't it occur to me when I got it!! Still...I don't regret it..

Okay, having wasted both time and money here...time to move on and head to our hotel for the night. But before we leave...


Can't resist taking more pictures ...heh heh

Ehem....I didn't realize it at that time but looking at this picture again, it suspiciously looked like the leg was suspiciously positioned at a even more...
*cough*
suspicious
*cough*
place.

Turkey 9 : Turqouise

Ever heard of turquoise?? Of course you have... We've all had the argument of "What color is that?" You say blue, the other guy says green...you two going at each other till a girl comes over and point out that it's turquoise, ending the fight and embarrassing you at the same time...we all had that, remember?

This time, we were brought to a Jewelery shop specialize in turquoise stones....

The manager was a well spoken man who speaks fluent Japanese...which is just boring. Came halfway around the world to Turkey, only to here some Turk speaking Japanese to me. Doesn't he understand that we ARE on vacation? We need to rest our ears and hear other language, dude!! Speak Turk, man!

Sigh...okay, I'll be "generous" and give him credits for being able to give a good, long, boring "lecture" about turquoise in Japanese....how are they mined, what kinds are there...blah blah....wtf?? Came halfway around the world to Turkey, only to hear some Turk giving lessons in Geology?? Doesn't he know that we ARE on vacation? We need to rest our brains and not doze off during another boring lecture.

So...desperate to escape the boredom, I decided to entertain myself by asking Fat Basturk where did the name "turquoise" come from.....he smiled one big smile and says,

"Well, young man, the name turquoise came to be as Turkey was famous for it's precious stone. You just can't find this rocks anywhere else! Most of the world's supply of turquoise comes from Turkey. These stones are special, unlike gold and silver which is so common....turquoise however, can only be found in Turkey. And that's why it's called turquoise....it's specially from Turkey!! *smiles*"

Being a self respecting student, I can't help but raise an eyebrow and critically doubt his "wisdom". Oh...my fingers just can't wait to log on the internet and find out the "truth"....

True enough, Fat Basturk was once again full of bullshit...

The word turquoise was derived around 16th century from French from the word for Turkish (Turquois). Turquoise does not occur in Turkey but was traded at Turkish bazaars to Venetian merchants who brought it to Europe. Interestingly, the modern main source of turquoise is the US...hah! Can only be found in Turkey my ass....

Anyway, have to say that the Jewelery on display were quite beautiful and exotic. Unfortunately, photos are prohibited...so, no pictures here.

But I have to say that the "jewel" of the shop wasn't a bluish green stone, it is instead a tall, slender waist, voluptuous, long legged, sharp nose lady with a bewitching beauty. Certainly the best sight I've seen whole day!! Pictures with her, however, was not prohibited...


Totally charming...

It all started with me(I think it was me) striking up a conversation with her....

Me: So umm.....do does the price differ according to purity of these stones??
Girl : No..not really.
Me: Wow...you speak good English!
*Flirt mode ON*
Me: And you look young too...you are still a student, right?
Girl: *laughs* Yes...I'm a student and I'm just doing part time here...
Me: A student huh? Wow...let me guess, you are 23?
Girl: Yes...how did you know?
Me: Because I am 23 too...haha. Anyway, what do you study?
Girl: Electrical Engineering....and my BOYFRIEND is an Engineer in England.
*Flirt mode...off*
Me: Oh yeah? Well, I have a girlfriend in Japan too...

Normal harmless conversation follows afterward...kinda awkward but I did my best to come up with a topic to talk about. Anyway, unlike most pretty girls who tend to be proud(girls, don't take offense...I'm just generalizing), she was very friendly and very nice.
And it's a surprise how she manage to be at the right place at the right time for us to take picture with! You see, we were allowed to wander around after the boring Geology lesson...and she just happen to show up wherever we were!! So, sensing her generosity, we took turns taking personal pictures with her...

This picture with her ended being our most precious picture of the Turkey Trip...

Turkey 8 : Cavemen Architects..

And the journey continues....and unlike Malaysia where you get to look at boring palm trees along the highway, we got to look at endless dirt in Turkey. Even the Fat Basturk got tired of talking...we had to travel along roads like this for....hours...

But luckily...


Luckily we have fellow Lim Ming Rong who tirelessly "entertained" us with his stories. To think of his stories....the amount is just staggering....so much that at one point, my ear actually hurt. But entertaining nonetheless...


And I meant the word "tirelessly" as he is still talking when I took this picture. Wow....I bet his tongue can lift a 10kg dumbbell..hahaha. Sorry dude, no offense.

Anyway, the view that night was very very special...the population there on the outskirts are spread about. So, the lights you see at night are not clustered, like cities and small towns.
Looking up at the skies where the stars are shining proudly, and then looking again at the lights from houses as if they are reflecting the skies....just breathtaking....


Our journey continues through a small town, hard to imagine how people live out here...there's shortage of water, electricity don't look like it can support air conditioning in every home, no internet, no mall....how do they...no, why do people live out here??


Our next stop is.....Well built caves!! While cavemen elsewhere live in a hole cut into rocks, Cavemen in Turkey are well to do architects....they have higher standards. Look at their "caves". Who ever heard of caves with door and windows??


These are what I call Bungalow caves...it's got a nice view over a valley...ancient Cavemen movie stars and Cave Rock stars used to live here.


This is NOT a camel...it is a Ferrari of the Stone Age....

Anyway, see how big it is?? This Ferrari can spit out a stream of smelly goo as well!! Moments before we took this picture, a group of unfortunate Japanese got caught in the Ferrari's sneeze..




After a lot of picture taking....or should I say after taking a lot of picture involving Li Jia, we later got invited to a Cave House. The caves in Malaysia had paintings on the wall right?? Well, Turkey's caves have wallpaper!!

Anyway, once again the Fat Basturk starts talking about how great the People who lived here. How they manage to dig a big square hole out of hard rock...and how they ate "Olive" in there...bla...bla...bla...jeez....what's with this guy and Olive..
We got trap here listening to Fat Basturk's ranting...why is he keeping us here when there's much better view outside?? Ok, this is a nice place to visit as well but why for an hour?? We are here to see Turkey, not listen to him talk!!

And we had to listen to him talk on the way here!!!

Anyway, our ordeal ended and once again I was allowed the luxury to take photos of the picturesque view outside..





Being in modern civilization all the time.....it kinda awes me to know that such beauty like this exist. Incomplete....yet so beautiful...untouched by time and modernization....

or

You could say it's just a big piece of rock with holes in it and us tourist got tricked into thinking that this is some kind of beautiful .....thing....

Hmm....

Turkey 7 : Who is Mevlana??

We spent the night at a hotel at the base of the mountain. It was a very lovely hotel with a very lovely hot spring pool...

So, 3 guys; me, Boon and Chin Wooi decide to take a dip at the very lovely hot spring....and as soon as we opened the door, we were greeted by a equally lovely girl in the spring. Chin Wooi reacted like how all guys should react ...

"WAH...Leng Lui ah!!!

And then we proceeded into the shot spring where we "discussed" further about how good she looked and how good her body looked...you know, guy's topic of conversation...FYI, we were talking in Chinese so that she won't understand what was said..

Now, we were VERY VERY sure she couldn't understand what was being said....we met her again the next day at another hotel during dinner time. Lining up behind Boon, she suddenly asked "Where are you guys from?" in Mandarin.....IN MANDARIN!!! Damn, she understood everything that was said at the hot spring!! Can you imagine how embarrassed we was?

"WAH...Leng Lui ah!!!

Hahaha......never fail to bring a smile to my face every time I reminisce this scene.

Anyway, our next stop was Mevlana's Tomb.



Had no clue who this dude was or what he did, but he seemed to be some kind of prominent figure among the Muslim community. At first impression, he seemed like a nice, humble fellow. I mean, judging the plain, gray wall on the outside....plain floral designs carved into wood. And I liked this dead fellow right until the moment I stepped into his tomb.


In contrast with the surrounding plain area, the area around his tomb was lavishly decorated...mostly floral and star designs, the walls was decorated all the way up till the ceilings! Oh, what a S.O.B!! Ehem...S.O.B here translates snobbish old brat...but you knew what I was saying, right? I could have swore that a few parts were decorated with gold leaves...


Anyway, there was a lot more in Mevlana's Tomb but since pictures was not allowed inside(the pic above was taken from Wikipedia)....can't really show you what I saw but I will try my very best to be descriptive.

The "eye"

A holy book....not sure if it was the Koran or not but it's some kind of holy book....had a picture of an "eye" in one of the pages. The pupil was decorated with star patterns, the "white area" of the eye was decorated with floral patterns and the eyelids was decorated with leaves.

My interpretation of this was how Mevlana saw the world....mother nature and the universe. That we must treasure the nature as it is a big part of life. Astrology played a big part in ancient times as means of directions(until someone discovered GPS was more convenient).

Curious with what it actually meant, I approached the Fat Basturk to obtain more information on it. He earlier pointed at the book and mentioned that

"This is a very important book for us Muslims. All self-respecting Muslims know about this. "

Guess what he said when I asked him?

"It doesn't mean anything."

What the hell?!! Then why would they purposely showcase that particular page? It must have some significance...most of the decoration in the tomb are of stars and plants...as is the eye....and you're telling me it don't mean squat??!!! Bullshit!!
FYI, Turkey's main souvenir is a piece of colored glass shaped like an eye....that Fat Basturk!!

The pope's hat

Also on display, a big hat that curiously had the same shape as the Pope's hat. And I don't just mean slight resemblance, the hat had the exact same shape!! Although the color is a dull green with more stars and plants pattern, why the same hat? Either the Pope or this dude Mevlana is guilty of plagiarism!!

The violent holy books...

A few books which Fat Basturk disturbingly labeled as "the holy Koran". Funny that he tried to avoid my lifted eyebrow when he said so. Pitied him a little so I decided to allow him a little breathing room...
Anyway, there were three books in total on display...

1st book : A picture of a Sultan or someone with high social status on a death bed

2nd book : Picture of a war. People were trampled beneath a war horse. The enemy they were fighting were clearly Chinese as they were drawn with paler colors and a slanted eye.

3rd book : Picture of a picnic under a tree in a meadow....presumably heaven.

Look, call me racist but don't these books show what people can do in the name of religion? A man of status dies, and a war ensues. Revenge. Revenge,in the name of religion. Why is it that people get more violent the more they believe in religion??

Muhammad's Beard

Now this is just plain silly...beard cut off from Prophet Muhammad.
Okay, I admit that I can get pretty biased when it comes to holy figures. But what's the big deal with Muhammad's beard? Yes, I know he's the prophet, the one man entrusted with the holy words of god. But why the beard?
And why do people get so damn proud just because they have seen "the beard"? Especially the Fat Basturk. He was so proud he was "one of the few people on earth who have seen the beard", that I couldn't help myself and asked

"So, this beard is holy?"
"Yes"
"Oh, so you mean that everything about the holy prophet is holy and sacred?"
"YES."
"Okay....so, where's the holy scissors that cut the holy beard? Don't they keep those around somewhere?"
"Uhh....I...uhh...well....erm...."
"Okay, forget that question. On what occasion was his beard cut? What significance does this piece of beard bear?"
"I...I don't know."

Hmm...seems to me that this guide likes to not know about anything. Fat Basturk....

Turkey 6 : Mountains washed white..

The next place we stopped at was Pamukale....a place I like to call the biggest and most beautiful fake tourist spot ever....makes me wonder why is it even listed on the World Heritage List.



This place....is a place where the top of the mountain is washed white. THEY say that it has got something to do with minerals in the rocks. Rain falls, dissolves it in water and some kind of chemical reaction then happens, leaving the bedrock white in result.
Now...when we went there, they told us that there's lesser water than usual. Apparently, they controlled the volume of water flowing onto the bedrock...

Oh....so they do have control over the water flowing in...hmm....

If you ask me, I THINK that they somehow secretly mix in bleaching chemical in the water....let it wash the rocks, then BOOM! You have yourself a World Heritage Fake Tourist Spot...


Seeing how tourist flock to this place, kinda wished Malaysia had done something with one of our Mountains as well..
Oh, we all had to remove our shoes before stepping on the bedrock....apparently white gets dirty fast.


They even created steps for us to climb just in case we got bored of...well...a white piece of rock.


This was how the water gets directed away from the bedrock.....this was definitely man made.


Couldn't resist the temptation to stick my feet into hygienically questionable drain. Remember what I said about the bleach in water?? I could have swore that my leg hair that got soaked was a little bit blonder than the rest of my leg.....


Still....I suck my feet in the drain again. I'd risk my leg any day of the year just to get to sit beside a gorgeous lady....ehem, yes, I do think that Fang Zyin is gorgeous...


I find this place rather special....I mean, it's not everyday you get to see white mountain top that's not snow. And the view from there was just breathtaking...

You see the city down below? I didn't see any commerce buildings there....just hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops. A whole town surviving on tourist coming to soak their legs in drains near a white bedrock....it's amazing how much life a World Heritage Fake Tourist Spot can bring...


Honestly, I thought this place was just plain fun....we had a lot of fun taking funny pictures here. So, yeah, we had fun...and in this picture, we tried to express what we felt about the place..

This place is as cool as us...