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17 March 2008

A Whistle as Security Weapon

I wanted to finish this internet-day this evening, but suddenly found an incredibly article in Mail.ru. It's a little but very significant notice. I laugh else after I read it. So, decided to share it -to know if it's true too, because I have some friends-bloggers from Thailand.

Yes, it's about Thailand.

They say, the very popular beaches and places of interest in Thailand are dangerous for tourists, specially if they, tourists, are women, and more if they are women that travel alown. Not only because criminal situation in these places is not good, but all types of criminal organizations and their bosses like to relax there too. Mail.ru writes about too many tragic incidents with tourists in the last period (about a year).

After the next case on the island Phuket (Map from Wikipedia) when a Swede woman was killed, authorities decided to adopt resolute solution. Now every tourist-women visiting the Island Phuket will receive a whistle. The notice has to come from Thailand Tourist Ministry. I don't know to say you precisely when begins this security action. You have to inform before you leave.

Read what say about it
PK from Thailand: Phuket Advice in the comment to this post and here:
Hello! Not sure if the site could deliver message in russian. It's true about Sweden woman killed on beach recently. Anyway Phuket is one of the safest places on Earth because it's about 1 from a million chance to die there for tourist (4 deaths in this season: this poor woman + 3 men).
Thank you, Pavel for your collaboration!

«Ладно, Катюшка, согласен зонтик твой! Свисток хоть, подари! :-)))» на Яндекс.Фотках

13 March 2008

Enter Time Machine in Salerno

The possibility to plunge in past millenniums is most interesting in Salerno, when you visit it. I think, there are not so many towns that not only have millenniums of history but allow you to look into them. Here I present you one of these itineraries that we will walk together with Archaeological Group of Salerno .

Turn up your imagination and follow me.

Our route begins in one of the largest squares of the old town, I think. I post this photo only to make you easier the confront with the place we are going to see than. So we pass it and enter in the one-car-street on the left of the church on the photo here:

Every step you make here remembers past times. Like this Roman column built in the wall of the house. There are many of them here in the town. Probably, persons in the Middle Ages loved splendor of the life in Roman Empire. :))

Maybe you will say: that houses look not very good here. It's right. All streets have new pavements, but it's really difficult to repair all houses in the short time. But municipality makes it's best in this sense.

And our group gets going in the street you see in front of you on the right.

Finally we reach the little square where the church of our interest is. The old town is situated on the mountainside, that is why many streets have steps here.
An other interesting thing you can see on this photo. The population of the town was growing with time, but persons were afraid of bandits and military troups and prefered to live inside the town wall. So, dwellings were built were residents could find some place and old towns are similar on the vespiaries.

Sincerely, I don't know to say you precisely, but I think, the ascendant steps of this church are an other prove that it was very important at the time of it's splendor. I know that other front staircases of this type were built to create "ascendant in the sky" impression to the visitors of the churches. Everything was aimed to create this feeling. Because the faith is the connection with God existing over the everyday life.
And here we can begin to speak about time machine we are entering in.

Do you like those documentaries where scientist tell you everything about a person that lived 5 000 years ago? Or something like this? This is the same.
The plant of the church tells us that it is not a simple church but basilica, and it was not catholic but orthodox. Here we are in the XV century.

You need only to go down the steps to return some centuries back in time. The crypt presents pictures of different Saints here. And some of them come from XIII century, others from IX-XI cent. Today the crypt is under ground-level but in that period it was a normal building and was used as private chapel. Floods changed the foot-level of the city that is 7 meters higer as in Roman time today.

Here on the right is the first part of wall-paintings, those from IX-XI cent.

But the story is not finished here. The wall, that Director of the Archaeological Group, Felice Pastore, is showing to us (photo down here), was built by Romans. And it was not a private house but public building in the time of Empire and precisely in II century.

After the Roman Empire was destructed by Babar's and the town was many times buried by floods and eruptions, persons cleaned the rests of the Roman town and built in and over them their houses and churches... and live in them till today! Incredibly.

With this post I wanted only to show you how is it interesting to know what is situating under your feet. And how archeologists discover the truth about the life of our ancestries. That is why there are not stories here. The place of a post is not enough for great article. It could be an other post, the stories of these persons.

06 March 2008

Narrow Streets of Salerno

Last time I was in Salerno I made some photos of the streets of the old city.

Once I read a post about the only very narrow street in a native city of the blogger and it made me laugh. Really narrow are the medieval streets in Italy and France. Streets, where one person can pass with great problems (S.Paul in France) and if a car could pass there, it was an enormous avenue.

All those were normal rules of city building in Europe in that time to protect residents from the bandits of all sorts. The life was too dangerous. Every family had more than 10 children and when they were big, the family has not possibilities to give them to eat, to give them a house ecc. So all those man without earth and money made their fortune in the way they could. Mostly killing others to take their goods and soil.

In the times before Christ, when there were places without population, Greeks, Italics, Sannits could send those youngs all together in far countries, where they could find free soil, but in Middle Ages it was not possible more. So Vikings or Normans and European guys (remember crusades) went in southern countries to kill residents and to become residents themselves. Logically they killed only men (normally).

20-30 years later (or 5-10 too) the other wave of "disherid" youngs came in the same places. But the residents were ready to accieve them...
This is the reason of the narrow streets.

Photos below I made more bright.
The last photo has naturally light.
Imagin ventilation of the streets and how they are wet...




And this is a really narrow street: one-man large (look down)


Read More:
Visiting Medieval Salerno

28 February 2008

Expressive hand gestures

Italian language is reach on expressive hand gestures, they are different from region to region and the most popular is this way of communication in Naples, I think. First of all, because historical origins of this language is different as in other parts of Italy. For different centuries kings of the region had roots in Catalonia, so the dialect of Naples is more easily comprehensive for Catalonians as for Italians -and the gestures dialect too.

The best example is "yes".
What do you do, when you say "yes"? Probably you bend your head forward down-up.
If you are Bulgarian, you rock it left-right.
Neapolitan click with the tongue and bend the head up-back.

Nothing terrible, if you don't understand it.

Sometimes gestures language is not so innocent as we think about it. When you plan a trip in a place that you did not visit before, you have to control the most popular and offensive gestures common for that place. To understand where they've sent you, at least.

An other popular gesture is "ok"
Something like in this photo.
Very well -if you are American or Russian
Great job -the hand moves from right to left "closing a zip" -in Italy

but......
it has indecent sense in Brazil
offensive -you are zero -if you show it to a person in France or Germany
money -in Japan
I'll kill you -in Tunisia
Go to devil -in Siria

Do you understand? Take your hands well bended, when you travel!

Different sources. Maybe not very attendible (my opinion). Correct me, if you find errors.

19 February 2008

Salerno. Italy. Medieval Monuments Always Open

This is the splendid look of Salerno this morning. (See A sunny day in Salerno too)
All the world is speaking about refuse emergency in province of Naples and nobody knows about this pearl that exists in the same region.
I sincerely adore this city. Because it's so little, beautiful and clean. Because is full of historical memories form the beginning of the time. With special point on early Middle Ages.
In the last 12 years, the period that I live here, Salerno changed greatly. From a repugnant place till this real pearl today. And these changes are not finished else.

Today I wanted to assist press conference in the municipality of the city where was presented new plan to open medieval monuments of the old town all days of the year and not only Sunday and Saturday as it was before. All these monuments (about 10 now) are open thanks to volunteers of different groups, like our Archaeological Group of Salerno.

Old town of Salerno is situated over 10 meters of history and this history begins from 197 BC. with Roman veterans that became this place as salary for 25 years of military service. It was too far from Rome, yes, but it was on the whole not so bad... And they created a block on the only way from sud to Rome.

There was created the first Medical School in Europe here, did you know it? And there were women-physicians at that time. Did you know, that the Church don't likes women only from XIII century?


Посмотреть на Яндекс.Фотках

But some years ago there were not official tourist guides in Salerno else. Nobody thought about tourismus here. What do you want, there were not supermarkets and great shops some years ago.
Today, everybody understands that tourismus is the only possibility to give job to the population.
5-star hotel was finished in 2007 in the center. There are many places to sleep in the town now, too. And they think about other hotels and low cost solutions for everybody.
Tourists will have the possibilty to visit Amalfitan Coast with boats.
Finally, all the monuments will have free entrance.

After this press conference I passed some time with my friends, and because I had about half an hour till the bus, went to walk on the seafront. It was a really happy morning.

13 February 2008

Free entry to museums

Photo BBC.co.uk

Today I read about an interesting theme: free entry to museums.

Why is it so interesting, will you ask me?
Sometimes people begin to laugh, when I write or speak about free stuff.
I think in this way: why have I pay (or pay too much) what I can have for free/for less? I really don't understand it. ;(((

From other side, if you pay 16 euro every museum you want to visit (in province of Naples for example), and you have to pay the bus/train/car to reach the place/places (from 6-15 euros/one way/person) and you have to do it for several days... Than, remember all sorts of souvenirs that look at you with irresistible attraction... And you have to eat too (that means at least 10 euros/person because you will go in the first restaurant/fast food you see) you will arrive very easily to important numbers.

By the way. I know persons, that travel round the world all their life. They have not very rich look and I was surprised: how is it possible for them? One friend said me: they turn home (in Europe), work hard maybe for a year to accumulate a sum they need and than -travel and travel and travel.

Now, about the free entry.
There are different cities, where museums are free. For example all the museums in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, have free entry. There is a free museum in other Scottish city, Edinburgh (National Museum of Scotland)
Quantity of free entrance museums in England is growing from year to year.

An extra 2.7 million people have been to a museum in the first seven months of the scheme...London has seen the highest rise in visitor numbers with a 157% increase. (source BBC)

In China many biggest cities offer this possibility too ( Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou)

In Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Naples you enter some museums for free if you buy an ArtCard (maybe the name is different in different countries)

Some museums in different countries offer free ammission on some special days or hours (Admission is free for all visitors during Target Free Friday Nights -in Museum of Modern Art/NY. In Italy there are free entry 2-3 days in national museums once/twice a year.)

I'll be very glad if you add some more plases to this my list.

08 February 2008

Valley of the Death in Tibet

гора Кайлаш (Кайлас)
«гора Кайлаш (Кайлас)» на Яндекс.Фотках

I passed different hours to look for the description of this valley in non-Russian Internet and did not find too much about it. To be more precise, I did not find practically anything. I wanted to have a sort of independent point of view on this place, but... I have to tell you what I could find.

If you look for "Valley of Death" or "Death Valley" in search engines, you'll find National Park in California, US ( an arid desert basin of eastern California and western Nevada)

Now I tell you about an other Death Valley, in Tibet, near the Mount Kailash (-s).

This Valley of the Death is on the North-West of the Mount Kailash, 5680 m over sea level. It's about 3 km long and finishes with a half-round wall of the glacier. 2 red great stones guard the entrance in the valley. The entrance is near the mount Titapuri. This name is translated "home of hungry spirit" and they say it can be bound with the name "Tibet".

So, what is interesting in this that seems to be a naked place?
They say, yogis go there to die, somebody tells the soil is covered with human bones there (others deny it).
Because thin energies help to reach Enlightening there, many persons wanted to visit this valley. But if somebody had an empty life, he can finish his way suddenly. You have to follow only the official path if you enter it.
They say, 4 relatively young persons come out destroyed from there a year or 2 ago, become old in little time and were dead shortly. So if you want to go there you have to be very brave.
An other story says, you can sit between those 2 "guard dogs" (red stones) and will feel something special.

These are all fables about this place. As said, I could not find neither conferms no any additional information. There wasn't even any map to add to my post. So it would be very interesting if you add something to this story.

Sources (all in Russian, but there are numerous photos ecc)
http://ufolog.nm.ru/tibet.htm if you have the possibility to translate, read it. Amazing. But there are many persons that say Muldashev invented all this.
http://prometheus.al.ru/ufo/tibet1.htm the same more or less
http://www.kp.ru/daily/23789.3/58468/ (photo on the right is from this page) here there are many photos and maps -contrary point of view (from the first link)
2 part Kailash and kora http://www.kp.ru/daily/23781.3/57940/
3 part monastery Garugem and Lama Tenzin Wandra http://www.kp.ru/daily/23793.3/58795/
4 part Lhoku http://www.kp.ru/daily/23820.3/60498/

Well, after a week of intense research, I present to you my findings!
I thought it was strange that an area like this in such a famous region of Tibet should be unfindable, and so I searched around on a detailed map for anything related.
It turns out, the Mount Titapuri mentioned in the article is actually Tithapuri, wich means "Village of the dead", a small town near mount Kailash famous for it's hotsprings. It's also famous for being right next door to a certain "Garuda Valley", within which lie mysterious caves which have never been fully explored. Garuda's are nothing like Hungry Ghosts, but perhaps the comparison or mistranslation could have been drawn from this description of Garudas: "It symbolizes freedom from hopes and fears, the vast mind without reference point." The free mind, without a reference point, could be alot like death. Also, Muldashev is a notorious liar (I also found), so he could have just been making it sound more romantic.
Aparrantly a large town at the time of Guge Kingdom lived in the valley, but archaeologists can't believe how this was possible as there would have been no way for them to cultivate the land and no water source. Also, the mysterious caves they supposedly lived in are carpeted with bones...
That is all the reliable sources I have found, and all the ones on Muldashev point to him being a very unreliable character. He also claimed that Atlantis, and Atlanteans, live beneath the Tibetan plateau.

I hope this has helped at all, it is everything I could find, and I even asked my lecturer who is an expert on Tibet.

Yours,
Ten

Here are some sources:
buddhism.kalachakranet.org
drsethufoundation.org/
redicecreations.com
Also the Lonely Planet Guide to Tibet.


I asked help by different bloggers that have blogs related to this thematic. Some of them were so kind to dedicate their precious time to look at this post and to answer me. Here I add their blogs.
Thank you, Friends!
Yak Butter Tea,
Himalman’s Weblog
Nepalese and Tibetan Arts Blog
Gesar's Footprint
Yak's Diary

04 February 2008

The Kangaroo is an Australian Icon

Berry Sudirno from Jakarta/Indonesia, author of these interesting blogs: howtoboostyourwealth, journeytomakemoney, sweetjourneyinmylife .
You know him in my blogs from his articles Endagered Species -Orangutans, that many of you found interesting, Batu Caves Hindu's Shrines that I posted in my "Vacation and Travel Talk" some days ago and Meity and Bimo the Shar Pei. This is his new article.

Kangaroo are found in Australia continents, Tasmania and surrounding islands including Papua and New Guinea.

The Kangaroo is an Australian Icon it is featured on the Australian coat of arms, on currency and is used by many Australian’s Organization including Qantas, the National flag carrier.

A Kangaroo is a marcupial from the family Marcopodidae. The largest species from this family are the red kangaroo, the antilopine kangaroo, eastern and western grey kangaroo. On average kangaroo live in the wild has a life span between six to eight years.

Kangaroo are endemic to the continent of Australia, they are not farmed, but wild kangaroo are shot for meat, the meat has been exported to other countries including Indonesia and easily found at the freezer box at the supermarket and their skin are use for handbag, wallet, hat, wrist ban.

The Tasmanian forester kangaroo is listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act.

­­(Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo, http://www.kidsplanet.org)


If you are interested that I publish your article/post or your photo with MY post (I can host and retouch your photos) in one of my blogs you can write me a mail (my address you can find on the right side of the page) with very clear object (that I do not cancel your mail as spam). In change I ask you to post my blog's addresses in one of your permanent posts -like this (you can copy it):

My friend's blogs:
Diary,
Animals as Friends,
Lazy Yogi,
Vacation and Travel Talk

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03 February 2008

Flood in S.Petersburg

This map is from the site waytorussia.net

«Санкт Петербург.Наводнение 2006» на Яндекс.Фотках

St. Petersburg is a splendid city, specially if you want to visit it from June to August. I like it more in that period. If you want to be there in autumn or winter, you have to think about floods too. Because it's a part of the life of this city.

And today began the first flood of 2008. The 306-th in it's history and it's the 8-th time that the flood begins in February. Today water is 188 cm higher as normally. Highest water in February was in 1822 and arrived till 2,5 m over the normal measure. 2 times in the history the water was higher then 3 m and once it arrived till 4 m 10 cm. (news.mail.ru)

Floods take place in this area because it's very low-lying, the downtown is only some cm over sea-level. "Long waves" come from the Gulf of Finland and enter in Neva-river and than western winds block the normal flow of the water.

They spoke about a construction of a Flood Protection Barrier for some years (2002-2003) but that project was abandoned.

Sources:
Saint-Petersburg.com
St Petersburg Flood Protection Barrier

Map from the site Escape Travel

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01 February 2008

"Taspo" -personal tobacco card in Japan

After Hookah, the waterpipe I write once more about problems for smokers. If you want to go in Japan and you are a smoker, you have to know:
1/ It's forbidden to smoke in Japan till 20 years.
2/ To assure that the law is for everybody and young persons can't trick their age, the new experiment begins in Japan.

Smokers have to buy tobacco card, named "taspo", a personal passport to buy cigarettes. Now they have experimental period for this card. From 1 July you can buy your cigarettes ONLY with your tobacco card in Japan. Who will buy or sell cigarettes without it can get great penalty.

All the information you can find here


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