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.