Barcelona, Spain, 28th September 2011

I just came back to the hostel from Hestee's hotel room. Got to shampoo my hair (after so many days I didn't shampoo), sleep on a more comfortable bed and even had home-cooked (not quite) Asian dinner (after more than 10 days). I left the hotel at around 8.30am and it was very cool. I had a nice cool walk through the shaded avenues to the metro station. All after a night of... GEORGE MICHAEL IN BARCELONA I'm not a big fan of George Michael but he's a good singer with a very smooth voice. With decades of experience, he's a natural performer. It was a relaxing concert as he was accompanied by a symphonic orchestra. Most of the songs he played were not the upbeat, fast ones but the more jazz pop types. There were quite a number of covers including Amy Winehouse's Love is a Losing Game and a Rihanna's number. His cover of the Rihanna's song was really good too. The best part of the concert had to be the one where he got some of the musicians upfront and did some fast numbers with them. Everyone just stood up and dance. Unfortunately, that was for only fifteen minutes.  The graphics for the backdrop was also very good. It's either those fancy dynamic screensaver types or pictures to go with the song. As always for a good concert, I don't want it to end. Being in the audience, I wish the concert could go on late into the night. Maybe three hours of it would be nice. But the performers would be damn exhausted. WHAT IS YOUR NAME? I went to Starbucks yesterday afternoon for a cup of chocolate while waiting to call Hestee to check if we were meeting up. When I ordered my chocolate, the waitress asked for my name. I said Imran. She said 'What?' I said Imran. She said 'I still can't catch it.' I said 'Alright then. Just make it Yusoff.' She said 'Yosef?' I said 'Yeah, will do.' Then she gave me the receipt and told me to wait for my cup of chocolate at the next counter. Went over, waited for 10 minutes and was handed a cup of hot chocolate with the name 'Joseph' written on it. ASIAN, MALAYSIAN, INDONESIAN After the concert, Hestee, her colleague and I walked a long walk in the night to Plaça Catalunya. Her room was somewhere around Arc de Triomf. That would mean a further walk from Plaça Catalunya. So, we took a taxi instead. When we were in the taxi, the driver asked, 'Malaysia? Indonesia?' Hestee's colleague said Singapore, Malay. The taxi driver made a hand gesture around his face and said something to the effect: you have a different look of Asia. By different I believe he meant different from Chinese. I liked the fact that in this part of the world, someone could recognise the difference in our features. Just the day before, in Subway, an Indian man came up to me and asked if I was Indian. That's the first time someone asked me that. I believe there were instances when they assumed I was Indian although they didn't see the need to ask. I have no issues with being mistaken for someone else as long as I don't get a xenophobic treatment. EROTIC MUSEUM Yesterday afternoon as I walked down La Rambla, I chanced upon an Erotic Museum. I wanted to go in and see what they had inside but there were people blocking the entrance, checking out how erotic the museum really was. I gave it a miss as I didn't want to push my way through the crowd to get in. Actually it wasn't really a crowd. It was only about three to five people but that was a crowd since the entrance was so small. The door was only wide enough for one and a half person. MARRAKECH AIRPORT I arrived in Marrakech from Barcelona. In Barcelona, in the airport, I told Erhan and Ömer that I would sleep in the plane and then wake up to a different land. It would be like a dream. Little did I realize that it would be very different. When I arrived at the airport, it was like another one of those airport with nothing much at the transit area, or for the case of Marrakech, before the passport control. After that, at the luggage claim area, there was only the money changer office. The shops, restaurants and offices for car rentals were after the luggage claim. The next layer was right outside the airport where people were waiting for the buses and taxis. Like the airport in Dubai, once you step out of the airport, you are not allowed to go in again. MARRAKECH MARKET From the airport we took a bus to the central area. That was where the market was. I alighted from the bus to walk onto this very big, busy square. There really was no order here. Probably an order that only the locals could understand. I was in a state of confusion. This square had a few cars, some motorbikes, a few horse carriages, many shops and so many people. If the streets in Vienna, Rome and Barcelona are like one of the small towns in Universal Studio, This whole square and the surrounding streets were also like one town in Universal Studios. The market was the right setting where Aladdin bought his magic lamp. The people were husting us. They would approach us and asked where we were staying. Which hotel, if we knew how to get there. I was really clueless and when they approached me, I would just tell them I was with my friends and they knew better than me. These folks would then go after Ömer and Erhan. After they had shown the way and we followed them, these guys would then ask for money for showing us the way. Erhan knew about this so he did not follow these guys. Instead, he would just walk away when they showed a turn and later on, came back to the place. The streets there were also like from some movies. The kind that you would expect for Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. It's like really small streets with only bicycles or motorcycles and of course people on foot. The sides were shops and the buildings were made of clay. The buildings were about three to four levels high. And some of the rooftops had activities on it e.g. Restaurants or just the resting place for some hostels, basically terraces. NIGHT LIFE IN MARRAKECH It's really crazy at night. There were just so many people. It was bustling with life, over-bustling. The square was just busy. There were parts of the square where performers would set up their ports and played traditional Moroccon music I believe. There would be people sitting around them and watch them perform. There were kids selling toys. Those which you shoot into the air and it will come spinning down and you could see the spinning light from the bulb attached to the toy. Nice toy for kids but I don't have any kids to give it to. THE HOSTEL Hostels were different in every city. In Rome, the receptionist was right beside the door and the  room was one level up. Maybe two. The beds were bunk beds. There was room service but the room wasn't really cleaned very well. In Barcelona, each hostel would occupy only half the level of a building. So, we would have to enter the building from the big door outside, take a flight of stairs up to the hostel which was supposed to be at level three but seemed more like level four or five, go into the hostel 'lobby' where the receptionist was hardly ever there, and walk into our room. The room we had had a small balcony which looked out to the road outside but the view was blocked by the thick crowns of the trees that lined the roads. There were two single beds in the room (initially three but the lady dismantled one of them since there were only two of us). The landlady cleaned the room everyday and she spoke only Spanish. I learned to say 'Hola!' to her. Maybe I should spend the next year picking up Spanish so that I can visit Spain again next year or in the near future. Actually, I'd like to see Morocco again also. The hostel in Marrakech was a different one. Marrakech itself was already different from other cities. We had to walk through the small streets and then an alley to reach the hostel. The door to the hostel was a metal one. The alley outside the hostel seemed devoid of human life, stone cold apart from occassional young men who would come and offer to show directions. The moment we opened up the door, there were these two men greeting us and the inside was carpeted and furnished. There were seats in the lobby. They brought us to our room which was on the second level. Although the building was made of clay stone, the carpet and the furnishing added a vibrance of colour that gave the place a more human touch. It's probably the style of the Middle Eastern / North African region.  The carpet and the bedsheets were colourful. Another thing about the hostel was that they didn't insist that we pay for the rooms at the beginning. But I did anyway. FOOD IN MARRAKECH It turned out to be cheaper here than in Europe. We ate so much for about €30. I didn't really want to eat. My body was out of shape. I would have to hit the gym again when I reach Singapore. Another advantage was, the food was halal. We didn't have to worry much about it.  Language wise, they spoke mostly Arabic and French. I had to speak a bit of French too. Many could speak English too. MY PLAN FOR MARRAKECH Since the entire place has an invisible order that I have difficulty understanding, I decided to just stay in the room in the day, since it was very hot, and sit on the terrace at night. All the while reading Pride and Prejudice. I would of course continue with my writing. I'll see how things turn out the next few days here. WRITING I noticed that when I write, I become more observant. Perhaps, I should continue with the writing even when I return to Singapore. I'll find a topic to write about everyday. But will I have the time?

Barcelona, Spain, 27th September 2011

After all the walking the past week, and the desire to just sit and chill out somewhere, today, will be my lazy day. How I really need this. 10am and I'm still in bed. Ömer is still sleeping. I'll let him be. The moment he wakes up he would want to have his long never-ending walks. Yesterday I managed to slow down a little. In the morning, Ömer took me out to the Marina. It would be nice if it was cooler. We walked there and along the way just walked through some ancient looking town/neighbourhood. There was a big church in the town and we went in to have a look. Another grand catholic church it turned out to be. In the same category as the ones I saw in Rome. Anyway, I still went around looking at the altars and paintings. Then we walked to the Marina through the historical looking roads. It felt like walking through time if not for the modern clothes the people were wearing. I was imagining myself in one of the areas in Universal Studio. While we have to pay to enter Universal Studio, these people are living in it. Then the Marina. The afternoon sun was really hot. I was in my normal get-up, my cap and shades. I bought a new pair of shades in Rome after the last one broke and the fear that it might not be protecting my eyes from the UV light anymore after I had my migraine. I bought my cap at €4 from a Bangladeshi shop. €1 discount after he learned that I am a Muslim. Then we went to McDonald's at the Marina for our fish fillet meal. And free wifi! I took the opportunity to check my email and facebook. Then we walked back home to check on Erhan. After the previous night, Erhan had decided to just sleep in in the morning saying that he was not feeling well. Erhan was having too many things in his head at the moment. In the evening when I was with him, he was eating more than normal. He said it was his way to overcome the emotions of the moment. Amber lights on... PLAÇA ESPANYA We went to Plaça Espanya in the afternoon after our nap. We went up to another rooftop and had a view of the city. I've had quite a number of these rooftop visits for this trip so it was like just another one of them. But I still took some pictures. After that we went to see the Art Museum. The museum itself was closed so we just sat outside for ice cream and some pastries. Ömer went on to walk to the castle up the hill but I thought I've had enough walking in the morning and I just wanted to sit somewhere. After Ömer left, I suggested watching a movie to Erhan but most of the shows turned out to be in Spanish. So we changed our mind and decided to go to the Marina. And we picked up Erhan's handphone along the way. ERHAN WAS HARRASSED On the way up the museum, a group of three Spanish ladies approached us for donations for the handicap (so they claimed). But they were so aggressive. Ömer as usual ignored them. Erhan stopped to sign his name but it turned out that the signature was also an unwritten agreement to contribute some money. He didn't want to but the lady didn't budge. So Erhan took out his wallet to get some coins out. The moment they saw his wallet, they all ran to him and won't let him go. One of them even went as far as trying to snatch the notes in his wallet. He got so angry he just pushed the lady away.  I only saw him pushing so I was surprised by his behaviour. Then he told me what happened and I thought he did what was right. After Erhan, they came for me. I said no and walked off. NICE MUSIC While I was at McDonald's and in the shopping mall, they were playing some nice pop songs. I would like to buy a music CD in Barcelona but I couldn't find a music CD shop. DÖNER SHOP - HALAL? Near the Marina, there was a Döner shop and there was a halal sign at the entrance. Ömer usually looked for these before eating. He normally wouldn't ask so he relied on theses signs. And also if they were selling beer or other alcoholic drinks. If there were alcoholic drinks it would probably not be halal. The owner could not be trusted. Anyway, this shop with the halal sign, they didn't sell that many diffrrent types of drinks. Just Coke, and a few others. Among the drinks, I thought I saw this red coloured can that I understood was beer. They were selling it at the concert and people were drinking it in the streets. So when I saw the cans in a halal shop, I assumed that was not beer. I couldn't bring myself to scrutinize the can. Furthermore, there was a can of 0% alcohol beer in the same fridge so I assumed that if it was beer it would be 0% alcohol. Then we went to a supermercat to buy some snacks and drinks and I saw the same red-canned drinks. I checked it and there it was written in small prints: larger beer. So... How halal is a halal shop? Here I think Erhan's way of asking to find out is better than relying solely on signs - written and unwritten...

Barcelona, Spain, 24th-25th September 2011

We just arrived at our hostel. It's quite a decent one with a balcony. Nice for smoking. There's a bar downstairs. It took us sometime to find the hostel. Walking up and down streets, sent from one street to another. I couldn't take it anymore I decided to just take over. I managed to find the hostel and Ömer started to complain about how badly the address system was. Oh, man. It's really ok not to know. We just arrived at a country so we needed to understand their system first. Why, why, why must he complain so quickly? Just one more way to cover up a weakness. I disn't see it as one but being too proud to ask was a weakness. Luckily in Barcelona, he decided to do more asking. But, the people here don't speak English. Oh well... ROOM SHARING When we arrived at the hostel, there was is man waiting at the reception. It turned out that the lady wanted us to share a room with this man. I, although a little reserved was kind of OK about it. But Ömer just refused to give in. I thought meeting people and making friends are a part of travelling but I guess not when we are in a group. The man turned out to be Irish and he said that he'sbeen to Singapore before. He also helped us with the translation because we couldn't understand a single word that the lady was saying. Lesson learned, always have a dictionary when travelling. And don't go to too many countries in one holiday. It's not practical to have so many different maps and dictionary also and trying to understand a different system in every country. MORE HOSTILITY I tried to ask some people in the streets for direction. Most of them were just walking. None of them stopped. Most just shook their heads. Bloody hell man... I'm not selling anything! I was just trying to ask for directions. Ömer had it easier asking for directions. Another WTFF moment. Only those who were not walking were caught on their spots. And they were nice enough to help out. BUDGET TERMINAL THAT WAS SHORT OF SEATS We had to wait close to two hours at the Ciampini Airport and we had difficulty finding a place to sit. Ömer was saying that he won't be taking airplanes again. The waiting was so tiring for him. The trains and buses were more comfortable. Barcelona, Spain, 25th September 2011 We started this morning with a walk to meet Erhan. We ended up taking the train to Maria Cristina Stn to meet him. A couple said it would be quite a long walk to Numincia where Erhan was staying. As we were walking I noticed how quiet the city was. It was a Sunday morning and I remembered there was quite a celebration the night before. Most of the shops were closed. It was just amazing I thought. A metropolitan city like Barcelona was sleeping on a Sunday morning. The shops were closed and the whole place seemed more real than Rome. By real I mean the Human factor was there. Somehow in a very busy city like Rome when there were so many people, the place felt very cold. There was human interaction but hardly any communication. All communications were strictly business. In Barcelona, when the city was rather empty and people were doing their thing, cycling and taking a walk, playing a bit of sports, jogging, the place seemed less pretentious. It felt real. There really was nothing special about Barcelona this Sunday morning but I loved it for its trueness. BARCELONA FC Since the train station was quite close to Barcelona FC stadium, we thought we should just pay it a visit. I was not much of a soccer person but I might as well. There was a museum for the club but it cost €22 to go in. I gave it a miss. I'm not a fan. So we went to have some light refreshments at the bar there. The chocolate drink was superb. I had two small cups of it. It was quite pricey though, about €3 each. Once in a while... Then I remembered Shikin's jersey. I smsed him to check if it's ok to get him a Barca FC jersey instead. He was ok with it so I did. That was one expensive piece of clothing. €81 per piece! I told him he would have to pay me back. SHOPPING STREET After the stadium, we walked down the street. Most of the shops were closed. So it was just one of Ömer's walk. This time round we stopped a number of times to rest. That's more like it.  Then we had lunch at Subway. That was a big piece of Tuna sandwich that I had. I told Ömer and Erhan that I wanted to just rest in the room. I've had enough of walking for the day. So we went back for a break. Before going up to the room, I called Altay. I told him about how I wanted to rest to save my energy for tonight. I wanted to see the night life of Barcelona. I didn't think it would be that exciting. But.... DEMONSTRATION One hour after resting, Ömer forced us to get out of bed and go for more walk. I said I've had it with the walking and told them to just carry on without me. Then when they were about to leave, I heard some percussion bands playing in the street below. I got really curious. I told the guys to wait for me cos I wanted to have a look at the celebration. When we arrived at the streets, there was this procession that was going on. I went closer. The procession turned out to be a demonstration! All the placards and banners were in Spanish but we joined in anyway. Then I asked Erhan, what if the procession was against immigrants? Then I would be a big misfit. So I pulled myself out of the procession. As I was walking along the sideway, I asked a lady what the demonstration was about. The Spanish were demonstrating for the government to waive off their mortgage debts. A few years ago, the housing prices went up. So they had to take up a big loan to pay off for their housing. Now, the price of houses dropped and the locals not only have to pay off their mortgage, if they needed to sell off their houses, they would be in great debt. The people wanted this debt to be waived off. I parted with Erhan and Ömer as I wanted to follow the demonstration further. But when I realized I had gone too far, I decided to just go back and find them. They were at some place I didn't really know so I just walked on anyway. Then.... MEET AUTUMN FESTIVAL Ömer said they bumped into the demonstration again. So, I just walked along one of the streets in search of a crowd. Then I heard noises.. And drums... And I followed... Then there was a crowd. I'm back with the demonstration I thought. I looked at the procession. The guys were in costumes. They dressed up like devils and there were these dragon-like floats that each group had. The big crowd was somewhere ahead and there were fireworks. Hardly a sight for a demonstration. These people were celebrating an occassion entirely different from the previous demonstration. This was something. Barely a half hour ago I was with a demonstration and then, I turned up in a celebration of a festival. I asked one of the men in the crowd. He told me that they were celebrating the end of summer and coming of autumn. Wow! In one night, two entirely different processions. I stayed on to enjoy the fireworks till about 9pm. Then I went to look for something to drink. I had a drink at the park opposite our hostel. LEAKAGE While I was drinking, I saw this man, very presentable, good looking, ran into the bush in the park. Not really that hidden. Not quite a bush. He was still in sight. I thought he was playing hide and seek with his friends. So grown-ups here play hide-and-seek. Haha... There were also ladies sitting and walking nearby.  Then he took off his belt, undid his zipper... and took a leak! Another 'WTF' moment. Couldn't possibly take a picture of him. JAZZ CONCERT It was about 10pm when I finished my drink. Ömer hadn't called me back. Well, he must be having his fun with Erhan. I wondered what they were up to. Since it was still early, I went in search of another possible celebration.  'Go to where the noise is, Iman...'  So I followed my voices within and then I saw a concert at one of the plazas there. It's probably one of the major monuments in the city. It was a jazz band concert. Nice songs to just chill out to. Some of the people in the audience were dancing away to the music. Well... What an evening it turned out to be. If Vienna was a city for classical performance art, Rome had a nice street performance art scene, Barcelona was just the place to party. I came to Barcelona at the right time. Even Ömer is still out past midnight. I really must know what they are up to.

Rome, Italy, 23rd September 2011

Rome, Italy, 23rd October 2011 MR BEAN Erhan broke the window to the room. I thought it was funny Me: Do you know that Mr Bean is a comedy show? Erhan: No it is not. It is a comedy for people like you but in actual fact, it is a reflection for everyone else. (By everyone else, he meant himself) XENOPHOBES Third night in a row I felt dicriminated. This time round, it was in a bus. We took the public bus in Rome to go to Vatican City and when coming back. In the evening when we were making our way back to Republica from Vatican City in a public bus. I decided to make my way to the back of the bus out of habit as in Singapore, although I didn't have to because in Rome, passengers can get onto the bus from the back door as well. Anyway, I just thought I would stand in a more spacious pocket in the bus and it happened to be beside a young lady who was seated. When I stood beside her she just pulled her bag closer to her and looked away from me. I hadn't touched her bag at all! I tried to look at her face and she had this disgusted look. What the hell? In the entire time that I was standing beside her, I was trying to think of ways to prove that I am more respectable than she thought. When Ömer talked to me, I tried to reply in the most proper English that I could put on. But I only had very little opportunity to talk. Her Iphone rang and I thought I should also show off that I have a handphone close to her Iphone. My Samsung Galaxy S. But, that may get the wrong kind of attention from other undesirable characters in the bus. So I thought fuck it. I don't have to give a shit. Later on, I found myself a seat. The moment I went away from her, I saw the lady just let her bag loose again. What the hell, man! When I got down from the bus, I told Ömer about this and he also noticed it. It was really not me being overly sensitive. I have been discriminated, three nights in a row! All by Italian ladies! VATICAN CITY Today, we went to the Vatican City. It's a very holy place, the main area. I don't remember the names of the places. Security there was real tight. There was a differentiation between the places for tourists to walk and the places for officials working there. It was very crowded. We had to queue up to get in. Erhan and Ömer cut queue twice and I couldn't bring myself to do the same. I could hear the others in the queue grumbling how we just cut the queue so I went to the back of the queue. I lost them twice but Erhan found me again. He was grumbling away how I should not detach myself from the two of them. They were the ones who left me behind. Anyway I decided to just carry on with my sightseeing.  Actually, because of pressure from Erhan, I missed an important part of the Vatican, the tower. And as a result, Ömer took the opportunity to bring us there again so that he could see Vatican City again. The prayer halls in the churches were very nicely designed. The walls were covered with paintings from famous artists. There were columns in the halls that were beautifully designed. Altars as well. Paintings, statues, busks. It's amazing how the artists can come up with such beautiful masterpieces. PERFORMANCE ART AKA BUSKING The Italians and of course some other foreigners have very interesting ideas for busking. There were singers, musicians, the new type of buskers who just stood still until someone dropped money into their containers. Today, in the area around Vatican City, I came across some more really good buskers. The Capoeira Guys. Theywere doing their acrobatic moves in the streets of Vatican City. Mostly somersaults. Two of them did a kind of multiple rounds somersault on the spot. He was like a wheel turning. Then they did some nice, swift capoeira moves with the kicking. The Singer. This lady sang and played the guitar. She was singing in latin and Italian. I enjoyed her performance and did not want to leave her audience. But Ömer and Erhan just wanted to leave so, I couldn't stay on. The Breakdancers. This was a group of five to six b-boys and they danced really well, better than what I was used to seeing in Singapore. Theirs was more stunts and some handstands, headspins, that spinning thing of the whole body and the one pivoted on the hand. It was awesome and I was very impressed. And all the dancing was done on a cobble-stoned floor. It must be really difficult and at times, painful. The spray painter. He was also very good. I only got to see him finish up one piece. He did the painting in about half hour. I was waiting for him to do one more painting that I could buy one but alas, again, Ömer and Erhan were too hungry, we had to leave. So I just left the artist with 50¢. Such disappointment.  Because of the fascinating street arts scene around Vatican City, I would like very much to come back to Rome for a second visit. ÖMER THE WALKING GOVERNOR Ömer was so engrossed in his walking it made me and Erhan so tired. There were so many things to see in Rome but we didn't have to see everything. But no... Ömer had to see as much as he could in the short two days.  But I am supposed to be on holiday. I don't want to tire myself. I would have to be his moderator and he, ours. NEW SHADES While at the Vatican City area, I decided to stop by an optician to buy my new pair of shades. Ömer wanted to buy as well but he wanted to buy it together so I bought a new one as well. My old sunglasses are broken although wearable. I am not certain though if the UV protection is stil good. I got a headache yesterday from walking too much in the sun and wearing the shades for a prolonged period and also reading a map some of the time. 

Rome, Italy, 23rd September 2011

MIGRAINE I had a very bad migraine today. It was probably from too much walking in the sun. It got so bad, I had to go back to the room to sleep. When I woke up, the headache did not get any better so, I drank a bottle of water and decided to go with Erhan and Ömer for dinner. Actually my intention was to just buy a painkiller and come back to the room to rest. So I went to the pharmacy and told the pharmacist that I was having a headache and I needed a painkiller. The pharmacist took out a box of ketoprofen and handed it to me. I couldn't figure out what it was as everything was in Italian so, I asked. She said Ketoprofen. Looking at the labels, there seemed to be two ingredients inside so I asked if there was any other ingredients in the tablet. She said she'd given me ketoprofen. Then I asked how I should take it and she scolded me. What the hell?! I'm not familiar with Ketoprofen dosing and she won't even tell me properly. What? She thought I was one of the immigrants who were taking up too much space in her city? If that is the kind of attitude that they have, I'd rather not be there. Never mind that they were quite a bunch of eye candy but with such behaviour? I can skip that. Rome: beautiful, romantic city, with the order of Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur, with beautiful people, but not much in terms of their character. I know with my brown skin, I looked like one of the immigrants but I'm not here to stay so I'm not leaving that much shit in my three days here. Such disappointment. SCOOTER Another disappointment is not getting to ride on a scooter. I really would like to rent a scooter and move around Rome on a scooter but Ömer just refused to do it. Why am I giving in? WALK IN ROME Spending time with Ömer, walking had to be a part of the trip. He wanted to walk the whole day. Erhan didn't really fancy walking. He would just want to stay in the room and search for wifi. There's hardly any. We saw the coloseum and a bit of the ruins around it but didn't go into the coloseum. The queue was too long and we weren't too sure how much the entrance would cost. There were tour guides but again we were not that willing to pay. So I saw the Coloseum from outside.  More walking brought us to some other buildings and monuments. Interesting ones. There were quite a number of statues of naked men.  In Vienna, the dick was covered with cloth but in Rome the statues decided to use the cloth as a cape instead of covering their modesty. It's all part of the appeal of the city. BEGGING AND HEALTHY While we were eating our dessert at McDonald's, a healthy looking man came by and said something. Erhan understood that he was asking for money and he said no. I just shook my head because I didn't know what he wanted exactly. Then the man went to the other tables and then I began to understand that he was begging. After the man left, we continued with our conversation and I noticed the man behind Erhan was looking at him for quite a while. Then he tapped Erhan on his elbow and said something. He was speaking in Arabic. We couldn't understand. Then, one of the men nearby tried to help with the translation. Again, I couldn't quite comprehend. After a few minutes, it occurred to me that this man was also asking for money. What is wrong with them? They both looked perfectly healthy. Why were they asking for money? Earlier in the day, I came across two beggars, probably old women. They were both walking with a very bad slouch. One thing scary about them was not just the way they walked, they were both wearing a scarf that hid their faces entirely. What was the meaning of that? MALE NUDITY Not quite actually. It was just a pair of shorts that they were selling in the souvenir shops that had a picture of a naked man's groin. Not a real man, probably one of the statues in Rome. Interesting wear but I don't think I can get away wearing those shorts in public in Singapore. Actually I didn't even see anyone wearing them in Rome.

Rome, Italy, 22nd September 2011

I'm writing here from a bed in a hostel in Rome. I arrived here last night with Ömer from Karlsruhe. NICE KARLSRUHE NEIGHBOURHOOD Karlsruhe was also another nice town, worth taking the walk. We walked through the shopping areas to find what Ömer said was a palace. We found it but Ömer was just interested in just seeing and just being there. I wanted to see and experience what could be. Anyway we didn't have much time for that. I should come here again myself and spend all the time I can at one place and not worry about going back. From the main town of Karlsruhe, we had to take a bus to the airport. It was quite a long journey and brought us into a neighbourhood. The kind that I could only see on TV. Bungalows and other types of houses and also apartments. The whole place was generally quiet but there was more than enough space for people to play or just do their thing. APPEARANCE MATTERS One family was busking out in the sun. Teenagers walking home from school. The fact that they were not in uniform probably taught these Europeans how to dress up. That and probabaly the four seasons. Or perhaps these people are just blessed with good looks. Not all of them though. Upon closer scrutiny, some of these folks are not that good looking but they just know how to present themselves.  TURKEY-FYING EUROPE We arrived in Rome yesterday evening at about 6pm. Rome was different from what I saw in Germany or Vienna. The streets are not that clean. The air was clear but didn't feel that clean. My nose started to feel uncomfortable from the dust. Ömer began talking about how Rome was like another Turkish city. He kept going on at it for a while. I could only give a smile because although there were similarities I didn't want to think I'm in Turkey. To me, after seeing Germany, Rome was like the Kuala Lumpur of Europe. Actually I can say like Jakarta albeit with less cars. The roads are crowded but not as bad as Jakarta. The vehicles are a little disorderly. Actually I can't say that. The Italians have their own order which in this short trip, I haven't yet understood. Despite being not as developed as Germany, Italy still had a very good architecture. There was a fountain in one part of Rome but I wasn't sure if it was the same famous fountain of love that they always featured in the movies. WINE AND DINE Another thing I realized about the whole Europe experience was that drinking has to be a part of it. Altay! Wherefore art thou? The Europeans drink everywhere, anywhere, anytime. Ok, maybe not time. Someone was denied alcohol when he tried to buy beer at 3am. When I was in the bus from Vienna to Karlsruhe, I saw a bottle of cola on the pocket in front of my seat. I just ignored it and slept. In the morning, when I woke up, I saw snugged away behind the cola was a small empty vodka bottle I think. With 37.5% alcohol. I assumed the vodka must have been mixed with the cola and the guy must have forgotten all about it. Must be a great loss to him. They were also selling beer and other drinks at the coffee shop. So unlike Singapore. Oh by coffee shops, I mean shops/cafeterias that sell coffee and tea, not the coffeeshop that we see in Singapore. IT'S ABOUT CLASS Speaking of the meaning of coffee shop or what I understand of it in Europe and in Singapore, it brings me to the topic of class.  After going to Germany and Vienna, I noticed that these folks have class. They have their style. I was thinking why this is not so in Singapore. And I decided to conveniently blame it on subjectivity. The Europeans have class because they created class. We adopted the European standards of class and therefore it will be more difficult to have the same class as the Europeans. As for us Malays, we have class too. When it comes to eating rice with hands and the wearing of Sarong. Can anyone beat us to that? My note of self consolation. ERHAN MISSED HIS FLIGHT Erhan missed his flight yesterday from Bratislava. He called Ömer from there. This morning we are still waiting for him to arrive from the airport.

Karlsruhe, Germany, 21st September 2011

LONG BUS RIDE: VIENNA - KARLSRUHE I've just arrived at Karlsruhe and now waiting for Ömer at the hauptbahnhof. He's supposed to arrive at 11.53am and I was supposed to have arrived here at 10.30am. I am close to one hour late. Actually it was the coach that's a bit late. Anyway, as long as I can catch my plane, it's fine. I was quite worried just now as I wasn't sure where I was most of the time. I have to bear this in mind. Wherever I go on my own especially, a map and a dictionary should be a must. Researching on the destination can help enhance the experience as it can add meaning to what I see. Otherwise everything is just wow and nice. Well, I'm just here for a break. The bus ride just now was really long. It's a long 12 hours. For the last 3 or 4 hours, I had two seats to myself as the bus was more empty. I wanted to read or write on my ipad but with the bad lighting, it was better not to or I'll just end up getting sick. The view fortunately was nice. There were industrial areas which I didn't quite like but there were also the greens and the nice towns that we went through. No exotic looking buildings. Just simple buildings. This is where pragmatism prevails over aesthetics. Nevertheless, it had the nice small town feel. NICE YELLOW TRAIN The yellow train just left. It's a change from the red trains that is so common in Germany. The inside of the yellow train is also not as spacious. Anyway, just something different worth noting. METRO RIDE IN VIENNA Yesterday, in the afternoon, after waiting too long for the rain to stop (it didn't stop), I decided to go out anyway. To venture the Metro/subway... Whatever they call it. Ok, I'd call it U cause that's the symbol they use for the station. The ride brought me to parts of Vienna that looked more normal. Normally designed residences, landed ones, although the houses seemed small compared to the yard that each house has. I wanted to walk around the neighbourhood but it was cold and raining, not the best kind of weather for a walk. So I just enjoyed the view from the metro. Then it went underground so, there's nothing to view. So, I had to stop at every stop and go up to see what's above ground. Same old nice buildings as I've seen the day before. Then I arrived at this station with the word museum in it's name. I went up, still the same type of buildings but the whole place had a slightly different feel to it, like more plastic than usual. There was also a modern-looking building which turned out to be a museum. And I decided to explore. The building turned out to be a museum surrounded by shops. One of them was a bookshop and I went in to look at the books they have. Quite a lot of books on the arts and humanities. Design, fashion, architecture, photography, philosophy, culture. After the bookstore, I went on to explore some. The whole area turned out to be full of museum. Even the design of the surroundings was like out of a museum exhibit. The architecture of the building, the cobbled walkway, the sidewalk cafes... Mozart seems to be a great influence and the theatres and orchestra is a big thing in Vienna. So engrossed was I, I kept on walking until I realized I lost my way. So, more walking to find the U station.

Vienna, 20th September 2011

MARRIAGE UNBLISSED As usual I'm writing from my couch-bed. It's 8am and the shops are not opened yet and I'm not that ready to face the world yet. While this is supposed to be a holiday, yesterday's experience was like a reminder in life. Married life to be more exact. Yesterday, the talk revoLved around the fact that the words 'marital' and 'bliss' don't always come hand in hand. When I first met Ömer, he said he couldn't see the point of getting married when it would only make one cry. His friends were unhappy because they couldn't be with their wives and children. Yesterday were some other realities of marriage: the reality of divorce, the building of a new relationship at the expense of severing existing ones that have been around for years and the pain of maintaining strained relationships. Every person has a different experience. Some good, some bad. Maybe not entirely good or bad but a mix of calm and storm. I think what can help is to keep old relations or legitimate relations outside of marriage for some kind of support. Not that I'd do it for the purpose of support. If friendship and family ties should 'break' it would have to be a natural progression of growing apart, not a forced one. I have no concrete experience yet. I'll see.  A WALK IN VIENNA Apart from all the talk on divorces and marital problems, I got to do some walking on my own. In the morning, I took a walk just to see what the neighbourhood was like. I took the safest route of walking straight with minimal turns just so I won't lose my way. Timed myself for a half hour walk that eventually ended up over an hour. I didn't have to go far when I arrived at the city center where we were at the day before. So the house I was staying in was not that far from the city centre. Later, while in a car with Erhan's brother-in-law and his friend I came across some beautiful, majestic buildings. One of them was the Parliament. I so wanted to see these buildings again. So when we arrived home, after breakfast, I rested for a few hours and went for another walk in search of the Parliament.  Looking at the buildings around, the whole place was like a big classroom to study architecture. I googled and found the right name to describe it: Renaissance. There is this gothic feel to some of the buildings also. I couldn't keep my eyes to the ground. Even the humble neighbourhood has nicely designed buildings. So as I walked, there were too many nice buildings to distract me. One of them was the City Hall. I didn't know what it was until I asked the guard at the gates. He said I could go in, so I did. I saw one opened door and went in. It was really gothic. The steps, the pillars, the ceiling. I would like very much to take a picture of the interior but I wasn't sure if it's allowed. I just let my eyes feast on the majesty of the interior. I thought I could only see these in the movies or museum. It's not. It's a design that is still in use. After the City Hall, I thought it was all right if I couldn't find the Parliament. There were so many of the other buildings I could visit. So I just went for another one of the majestic buildings that was in sight. Lo and behold, it turned out to be the Parliament building that I was looking for. I was just going for the very grand fountain that I saw from the car. If it wasn't so cold, I would have spent a bit of time sitting there. Anyway, I made my way back and along the way, I came across what I thought was a museum but turned out to be a University. Students coming out from the entrance confirmed this. Then I got tired and went to have a cup of hot chocolate and chocolate muffin at a cafe. There's nothing gothic about the cafe other than the dark chocolate muffin I was having. FROM HOT TO COLD The first day I arrived in Vienna, it was very hot. The second day, it rained in the morning and I thought the sun will shine again but it decided to lay low. It was quite cold the second day and I was less than prepared for the cold weather. Luckily I had my hooded long-sleeved T-shirt on. That kind of helped. Today, it's been raining since morning so I stayed in. Till when, I don't know...

Vienna, Austria, 18th - 19th September 2011

MUNICH Sitting in the living room of Erhan's broher-in-law's apartment, I hear the noise of children playing in the school downstairs. It's a Jewish school and the kids put on a skull cap. Nice... We arrived Vienna early in the morning from Munich. Munich was a nice city. It was very crowded though. The Germans (and of course everyone else all over the world including some groups of American tourists) were celebrating the Oktoberfest. The festival that seemed to be about drinking and getting drunk. I walked down a stretch of road where all the shops were. By shops I meant the fashion stores. H&M, UCB, bla bla.. The names have left my head already. I didn't really buy any clothes just walking down. That stretch was really crowded with restaurants along the way.  I took my time to just look around and soak in the atmosphere. Erhan and Ömer on the other hand were walking so quickly and chatting away. I lost them a few times and had to call Ömer on the phone. Neither of us could find the landmark the other was talking about even when we were on opposite buildings about 10m away from each other.  In the crowded place with shops and buildings all so different, everything became the same. I found them after 15mins and two phone calls later.. After Ömer left us, we decided to sit at one of the alfresco dining places for tea. While there, there was this man who was putting up a show for everyone. He was playing pranks on passers-by. Onlookers were really entertained. Most of his victims were also very sporting playing along with him. I was wondering why he was doing that. Then... After about a half hour, the answer came. He took out a bag with a '€' sign on it and he made a hand gesture to show eating. Then I understood he was busking. That's a first. JETLAG IN VIENNA It's almost 6am and I have problem sleeping since 4. In Singapore I will automatically wake up at 10am so my body is still on sg time. Anyway, it's not so bad. I'm just an early bird in Europe. I'll take a walk later to greet the sun. Yesterday, we (Erhan, Namık and I) had a walk in the hub of Vienna. Vienna is very much a mix of a few places. If I hadn't been to Baku, London or Munich, Vienna would be really authhentic. Anyway, as I walked, I saw some nice buildings. There were horse carriages but that was very much for touristic purposes. Namık is Erhan's nephew who's settled down in Austria. He lives one level above Erhan's brother-in-law. While I was standing around the waiting area for these horse carriages, I heard the sound of water being poured onto the road from a pail, like a prolong splashing. Then I saw where the sound came from. One of the horses was peeing. That was a lotof pee. The horse must have a very big bladder. Another notable feature about Vienna is the influence of Mozart. In London, there's a Beatle shop. in Vienna there is a (few?) Mozart shop(s). There is even a toilet that played orchestra music. I could hear it as I walked past. I guess the music helps the flow of bladder and bowel movement and also maybe to mask the funny toilet sounds. They should also make some music with the toilet sounds. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT I'm reading this book for a second time and the neighbourhood that we are staying in, if it was a little bit more dilapidated, i think it will be a good setting for the movie. JEWISH SCHOOL  I was looking out of the window after waking up. Jewish families were sending their kids to the school downstairs. Mothers with prams, fathers driving cars, kids cycling, kids walking. They all streamed into the gates. The gate was a heavy, blue metal gate that closed on its own. Many a times, the prams were pinned between the gate. The mothers would have to push it open. Kids on bicycles had to get down and push their way through the gate. One of the kids tried to ride through the gate but fell off the moment he passed through the gate. All of the men going to the school wore this black long coat and a hat. Some looked like those fedora type, another small group would have a skull cap. The men and kids also have these two strands of hair down their sides like sideburns but not quite. Most of them were in black or mostly black. Everyone was in a hurry. This was a rainy Monday morning.

Schwabisch Hall, Germany, 17 September 2011

My first stop from Frankfurt. We came here by train. There were some problems at first trying to find our way around at the train station. Apparently, we were not at the right train station as what Erhan has bought online. So we took sometime to figure things out. Then Erhan went to ask the travel centre for the rail company and the guy gave us a new ticket at no extra charges. What more... The price of the new tix were more than what we had and we would arrive at Schwabish Hall earlier than the tickets he bought. But still, we paid no extra charges. Erhan stopped complaining about Germany already. He's loving the country already. While waiting for one of the trains, he said to me, "Let's move to Germany. I'll come and work at one of the Turkish restaurants." Yes, Germany is a good country, so far. When we arrived at the train station, we had to wait a long while for Ömer. We alighted at the wrong station :s Luckily he was only about a half hour away. The rest of the day was spent walking around Scwabisch Hall. According to Ömer, one part of the town has a long history dating back to 1000 years.  TEA GARDEN.. NO, BEER GARDEN When we arrived at Schwabisch Hall, as we were making our way to Ömer's room, we came across a park. Ömer, being a good tour guide, pointed out to the benches in the park and told us that was the tea garden. I knew he was trying to be polite but I, on the other hand, trying to be a smart ass, corrected him: Beer Garden. Ömer: You know the Germans already.

MH006 KL to Frankfurt 15th to 16th September

Japanese neighbour: The flight was not very eventful. Food was fine although the wet wipes were missing. I slept through the flight. Erhan was amazed I could sleep so well. I was kind of too but not that surprising for someone who can sleep with lights on almost every night. It has affected my sleeping habit. When it comes to sleeping I guess I have no respect for time and at times, place. When I woke up from my sleep, I got friendly and talked to the guy beside me. Japanese guy who's into Judo. He's going to Germany to visit his friend and probably do some Judo. He told me Judo is not a sport in Japan. Wow.. it must be a way of life then. He said it's not healthy to train for Judo in Japan. It's very tough so he wanted to know how it's practiced in other countries.  This guy told me he's studying Clinical Psychology. When I joked that he could read minds he laughed and said. 'Oh.. Not yet. But I can if I'd known someone for about a month. My supervisor could do it at the first meeting.' Then he told me his first degree was in philosophy...  Another reason for his trip to Germany... He asked me if I was going to munchen.. I didn't understand... Then I realised he's referring to Munich when he exclaimed, 'Oktoberfest! Beer! Beer! hahaha!!'

MH610 2230 hrs 15 September 2011

Air Traffic Jam Flight MH610 was delayed by about one hour. Cause of delay: air traffic congestion. That's the first time I hear of such. I wonder what it can be due to. Is it a common problem? The crew said that KLIA is not taking in any incoming flights with two flights from Singapore being rejected. There was worry among the passengers with connecting flights in KLIA if we should miss our flight.  The delay was to be for 50 mins so we were allowed to disembark but the ground crew told us we had to return to the plane in 10 mins. We were having second thoughts about getting off but Erhan was hungry and I was thirsty so, we disembarked anyway for a quick bite at starbucks. Then the call came.  MH610 will be leaving at "ten fifteen", or was it "ten fifty"? My watch showed it was 2210 so I guessed it must be "ten fifty" so we bought our sandwich and drinks anyway.  As we were walking back to the Gate, the ground crew saw us and said to hurry or the plane will have to wait another half hour. Then she spoke into her intercom: 'Last two passengers found'

Singapore? 15 September 2011

I'm making this entry from my bed at 10am Singapore time in Singapore. Why? That's hardly a holiday so why put this into my holiday blog? Well I thought I'll just try to do this blog entry for my coming trip before I go for the trip. Later today, I'll be flying off for a break that I deserve. Do I really? Let's try to justify this next trip from my bed... My last trip was to Azerbaijan in june 2010. (Oh... That's not so long ago. Next...) Second try. I have not had any rest for my last two semesters' break. (Ok, this one sounds better.) I've been going away with the students to Wuhan the last two semester vacations and didn't have time for myself. After my trip, it was even more work. So I hadn't had any nice self time since then. Halt!! Last June, I took two weeks of leave and just bummed around throughout that time. Well.. That's a break away from work but no going overseas. Well actually I tried to buy tickets to Bali during that June break but because of the last minute-ness of the so-called planning, I couldn't find any good flights to Bali but what I did chanced upon was this promotion from Malaysian Airlines (which turned out not to be a promotion after all cause Erhan got the same tickets for a better price after the promotion period. oh well...) and I chose my flight to Frankfurt. What do I know about Germany? Zilch, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo. But... Ömer Faruk the future Mr Governor is there. Ok the trip is to visit Ömer Faruk. So I contacted Ömer, and one thing lead to another, he came up with an itinerary which till now is rather vague to me but still.. Splendid :) I know I'll have things to do in the 24 days that I'll be in Europe. Hope I won't get exhausted :o And just a few days ago, I met up with Erhan and he decided to come with me to Europe. So, no solo trip after all for me. I have no intentions of going solo anyway so it doesn't really matter. I'll have a friend with me for this trip. Nice... :))) Ok. Time to start my day now. Will go for lunch with Noraini, fetch Altay and maybe catch up with Hamza. And I still have not finished packing up, have I? I don't know. Will I have time for last minute packing before going to the airport? I feel so unprepared. What shall I bring with me? I hope I'll be fine... Ok stop worrying now and just get going... Passing of Wak: a struggle with my tears I was doing my bit of shopping at about 2.30pm when Emak called to say that Wak has been admitted into hospital. He vomitted blood. I didn't think it was that serious until she said 'the doctor said to just wait... His heart is failing' that didn't sound good at all. I was thinking how i could squeeze in time to visit him. I went on shopping anyway. 20 mins later, i received a call from home. Aidil was on the line. Bad news.. Wak has passed on. Well... Numb... I walked on... Then i felt tears in my eyes. I held back the tears... Walked on... Held it in..  Then I went to fetch Altay. And Hamza called. It came to a point when I had to tell Hamza my uncle has just passed away. That was when i just choked. The conversation ended abruptly. Altay came and the tears just welled up.  Emak called to tell me again. And my emotions got the better of me. And the tears won. I just broke down. Alfatehah to Datuk Achmad Syahbuddin. This brought back memories of December 2006 when Yai passed away while I was away in Thailand. I felt so hopeless then. It was a Sunday and no one picked up the phone at the airline office. I just had to wait till evening to get back home and the following day to visit his cemetery. I missed the burial of my late Grandfather and I wasn't there in his final moments. This time round, I was already getting ready to go. I don't think I could change the flight. It's several hours away. So I dropped by the hospital.  And with this breaking news, I forgot to tell Bapak that I'll be leaving for Germany for three weeks. When I called him half an hour before my flight, he scolded me for not being around. Then I said I was leaving for Germany and I was at the airport, he calmed down. Then I said for three weeks he said "why so long?" I was confused. He never made it a big deal how long I leave for my holidays.

Wuhan March 2011: Adieu to the bed of roses

And my Wuhan trip is reaching its end.
For the past day, I have been staying in a hotel room which, in comparison to the dorm room, is luxurious. A twin room with a bath tub and a shower. Refreshing...
So this is it... cool weather no more. It is warming up in Wuhan anyway marking the coming of spring. Spring is a season so beautiful that every person should have a chance to experience. It is such a beauty that with the lack of expertise, the picture that I captured was a great injustice to its real beauty. The cool air mixed with the warm rays of the sun. The flowers spring to life bringing with them the colours that was evidently missing just a week ago. If only the air is clearer...
As spring comes to Wuhan so goes I back to Singapore...
It has been a good stay. I've come to the realization that a good bed does wonders to the psyche of a person. The bed was the first that I noticed as I entered the room that was to be mine for three weeks. They have provided me with a proper super single but not quite a good mattress. I'm not complaining about the non-existent mattress. A pillow and a quilt to keep me warm in the cold nights... those sufficed.
The students were elated when they were given proper beds for their cruise and Wudang mountain trips. The pleasures of life we have been taking for granted.
Goodbye Wuhan for now. I wonder if I would be seeing you again...

Wuhan March 2011: Lazy Weekend

The students went off to Wudang Mountains and I am taking this chance for a breather. A very long one indeed. Never mind shopping. I am enjoying this stay in the room watching Tudor, Big Bang Theory, msn, listening to some music (Gorillaz), reading Stieg Larsson's Millenium II. And more importantly in bed till 11. Bliss...
No different from a lazy weekend in Singapore. The past two weekends were filled with activities. City tour and Three Gorges Dam cruise.
Last night was Earth Hour and I thought I'd do my bit and switched off the lights and went for a walk. Then I got hungry and went to Greenery Cafe which didn't live up to it's name. The lights were on. But hunger prevailed and greed ruled. I bought more than I could eat... again.
Now to start packing up... oh and breakfast.
Last night's dream: I bought and rode a new scooter. I want.

Wuhan March 2011: Of spitting and littering

I sat in for my students' presentations on the similarities and differences between Singapore and Wuhan. Spitting and littering came up prominently.
I have to agree with them on the spitting part. The Chinese and probably in a lot of other societies spitting in public is nothing to be frowned upon but I find it disgusting. What makes it more disgusting in China is the sound effect that comes with the spitting. The sound of throat clearing is like a call. 'ON GUARD!'
We have to look out from whichever direction the spit will come from. Why oh why do they have to do that?
Second that came out too often in the presentation is littering. Personally, in Singapore, I will not allow anyone to litter either. How can anyone possibly do when there is a rubbish bin within 10m? Yet, some clean green Singaporean still miss the bin and there will be litter on the ground.
In that sense how different are we from the Chinese? They don't have a bin every 10m so they just throw their litter wherever convenient. How then do we explain the sightings of rubbish on the floors of my beautiful Singapore? With that I think, the fine for littering shouldn't just be a mere $500 but add to that a knock on that empty head of those litter bugs.
I'm thankful that spitting is not an issue but I still think littering is a bit of a problem. Well until we overcome that problem, our streets will always be lined with rubbish bins.

Wuhan March 2011: Complementary and Alternative Medicines

Well this is not quite a holiday but i'm not in Singapore.
I am in Wuhan for work bringing students over and teaching them a module:
Complementary and Alternative Medicine. I have to read up a lot for this module. I am not quite an expert in any form of CAM so the message I can put across through this module is that different practices would have different philosophy. It may not be scientifically proven but who says that the scientific method is the only true method.
Respect the other points of view. Acknowledge that there is truth in practices that are not really based on true science. Ayurveda for example did not come from science (or did it?) but some Ayurvedic practices have been scientifically proven to be true (based on textbook readings and cited journals in textbooks). Ayurveda is just one of many CAM practices that have been scientifically proven. Why else would many physicians recommend it to their patients?
And the concept of prevention, it has been preached for many years in the complementary and alternative practices and it took such a long time for conventional medicine to actually embrace it.
Next is to acknowledge that different systems adopt different philosophy. They may be beyond our comprehension but that is because of our limited exposure to other schools of thought. How different we can be. Again... respect differences.
My own principle is, if it does no harm, why stop? Is there totally no harm? Isn't letting people pay for treatment that is not proven to be effective some kind of harm too? So we think it is not effective? If they really aren't why have they stood the tests of time? Who are we to be so arrogant and egoistic to say that our way is the only way? What exactly is our way? An ineffective bogus practice will die off sooner or later anyway. A harmful one will die a quicker death.
Ok. Blabbering will end for today. I was reading my students' blogs when I suddenly felt like blogging... Not that anyone is reading. :)))