Dog meat? No way!

Hachikō, was an Akita dog born on a farm near the city of Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, even many years after his owner's death.

Have you ever wondered why some meat are considered as taboo while others are not? I believe that the culture we are born into and the role played by the animals in our lives has always been the deciding factor.

I would like to talk about dog meat and why most of us do not consume it. Not that I have eaten it. I also do not wish to eat it.

Some of you, or most of you who reads this post perhaps share the same cultural perception as me. There must be reasons for why certain things are taboo in our culture. 

If you can eat goat, why not dog? It is a four legged animal too.

Man's best friend.

The answer is very simple. Dogs are considered as man's best friend. They can work for you, cuddle with you, be your companion and above all, protect you whenever needed. These qualities are not seen in other animals. That is why dogs are even accepted as the symbol of loyalty itself.

A dog will risk its own life to protect you and your family. Chickens don't do this :p

Kabang, a small family dog, is being credited with saving two children from a dangerous collision when she threw herself into the path of a speeding motorcycle that was about to hit them in Zamboanga City, Philippines

There are many who eat dogs. The Bataks of Indonesia eat them. They even have a dish made of dog meat. It is called as Saksang.

Saksang

Those who eat dog meat do not value it for its other qualities. They see it as food. In Indian society, such people are classified as Chandala. There is also a common saying in Tamil "Ada paavi Chandala" which literally translates as "You sinner Chandala".

The word Chandala carried a different meaning during ancient times.

But for most of us, dogs will remain as our best friends and we certainly value its characteristics more than its meat. Therefore, we have no heart to eat them.

Puppies

Mayir Pudunggeriya? (Plucking your hair?)

(This is based on oral history and not written evidence)

The Tamil language has many foul words. Some of these words were not foul in origin. One classic example will be the word mayir. Mayir is hair in Tamil. The other word for hair is Mudi. 

Mayir is often pronounced with an extended 'u' as mayiru.

"Mayir pudunggeriya?" is a common phrase used especially when someone is angry. It is used on people believed to be useless, procrastinators, lazy. If someone uses it on you, then he is trying to tell you that you are good for nothing, in a very harsh way.

What's the origin of this phrase?

In ancient times, Tamil Nadu was under the influence of Jainism. The Jain religion has many extreme practices. The monks are usually nude and hairless. They do not shave their hair. They remove the hair by plucking it out.

These Jain monks are usually jobless. They do not work to earn a living like most people do. It was common for the other working Tamils to see these Jain monks plucking their hair daily. 

For some, what the monks did was useless. They don't work and spend time plucking hairs.

These people would have then sarcastically asked the monks "Mayir pudunggeriya?". Even now, when someone is angry for an unfinished assignment, they may ask "Ennada, velai seyama mayir pudungganiya?" (Were you plucking hair instead of working?)

Jainism is no longer a major religion in Tamil Nadu. There are not much monks left. No more sights of people pudunggeraning their mayir.

But the phrase got stuck till today!

Turkey Trip 2013 - Part 2

I will recommend Novotel for their service. It is indeed a good place to stay although it is about 15 minutes drive from the town. The Black Sea is just opposite the hotel. It is not surprising that the seafood served was very fresh and good. They also had other varieties for breakfast.

Potato, Salmon, Sardine, Turkish cheeze, chicken slices, sausages and turkey ham.

Turkish omelet

Turkish pastries

I did not take much pictures of the hotel with my camera phone. My battery was dead at that time. The second picture below was taken from Google.

  

Unlike here in Malaysia, the people of Turkey drive on the right side of the road. The same is done in Bulgaria. That means the driver seat is on the left.

We actually visited the Istanbul town on the day we arrived, Saturday. My camera battery was dead and I could not take much pictures. We visited the town again on Sunday, right after our breakfast. This time I clicked as much as I could. Some of the pictures which you see here will be a mix of Saturday and Sunday shots.

 

This is Simit. It is a type of circular bread. More like crunchy donuts. There are different types of Simit. It is very popular in Turkey and Greece. You can find it almost everywhere. According to archival sources, it has been produced in Turkey since 1525.

A butcher shop.

More bread

The Turks are very proud of their heritage. Well, they were once the most powerful Islamic Empire ever to exist. Feared by many European kings. Anyone with such heritage will surely have some sense of national pride in them. This is why, the Turks do all they can to preserve the old structures in the country.

One of the best way to know a country and its people is by walking on the streets and trying out street food. Walk where the locals walk, eat what the locals eat.

 

Sant'Antonio di Padova, alternatively known as S. Antonio di Padova, St. Antoine or St. Antuan, is the largest cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul. It is located on Istiklal Avenue in the Beyoglu district.

Pope Giovanni XXIII (John XXIII, 1958-1963) preached in this church for 10 years, when he was the Vatican's Ambassador to Turkey before being elected as Pope. He is known in Turkey with the nickname "The Turkish Pope" because of his fluent Turkish and his often expressed love for Turkey and the city of Istanbul.

Both me and Max stepped into the church, light up candles and prayed in silence.

This was not my first time in a church or chapel. I prayed silently in the chapel in Assunta Hospital back when I was 5. I was admitted in the hospital and I could not walk to the nearest temple across the street (the Sithi Vinayagar Temple) to pray. So I just walked into the chapel, did my prayers, flipped through the Bible although I did not understand a single thing and walked out.

Although Turkey is a Muslim majority country, the old churches are well preserved there. Wait till I write more about this in the next post. I need to show you guys something. Something about religious tolerance, Turkish style!

To be continued.....

Turkey Trip 2013 - Part 1

This is what comes to most people's mind when the word Turkey is mentioned.

My paid vacation to Turkey was actually an accident. Both me and my colleague, Max Tan, were supposed to fly to Sofia (Bulgaria) via Istanbul. We had to be there for 2 weeks. It was for work purpose.

Our flight to Istanbul on 02-02-2013 was delayed by a couple of hours. Because of this, our transit flight to Sofia had to be delayed by a day. Therefore, we had to spend our weekend in Turkey.

MAS took the blame and paid for it.
We took took it as a blessing :)

The national flag of Turkey

Map of Turkey

Istanbul is 8000 km away from KLIA. The total flight time was approx 11.5 hours. I spent my journey watching movies, sleeping, eating, watching movies, sleeping, walking. I peeked outside the window a couple of times.

I started imagining 'What if the plane crashes and I get stranded in the sea?'. I started to think about Vasuge and the rest at home. Then I told myself 'Nah, I am meant to have an adventure'.

Let's have a short introduction on Turkey.

Turkey connects Europe and Asia. It is where East meets West.This is where Troy was located. Turkey was once an Islamic power under the Ottoman Empire. They participated in Crusades, won many battles, conquered many nations. Their influence went to as far as South India.

Some of my ancestors would have died fighting the Turks. The district of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu is famous for Halva. A sweet dish. This dish was brought by the Turks.

Turkey is about 783,562 km²  with a population of around 76 million. The majority speaks Turkish as mother tongue. About 12% are Kurdish, some Arabic is spoken too. Although it is a Muslim majority country, Turkey is a secular country with no official religion.

I think this was taken above Iran

Sunrise during flight

First look at Turkey just before landing.

The temperature was around 7 degree Celsius when we landed. It was morning over there. The airport representative arranged for our accommodation at Novotel. Having informed my wife that I have safely landed, both me and Max headed to Novotel.

The airport

 

 

On our way to the hotel

The Black Sea

Bali Trip 2011 - Part 4

This is the final post on our Bali vacation. I will start by first displaying some pictures of the hotel we stayed in.

Kuan Yin

Kuta Beach
This beach is famous as a sunset beach in Bali. It wasn't very clean when we arrived. There were some trashes.

Bebek - Deep Fried Duck
One of Bali's famous dish is their deep fried duck. Trust me, it was good. But I still prefer the roast duck prepared by our local Chinese hawkers.

The restaurant was located in a village. This is just a few meters from where our table was.

A funeral procession.

Mengwi
The Royal Temple of Mengwi is one of the most important temples in Bali. Built in 1634 by a King of the Mengwi dynasty, this impressive complex stands on an island in a river, its inner temple surrounded by a moat. Its Balinese name Pura Taman Ayun literally means ‘Garden Temple in the Water’.

Tanah Lot
This was our final destination. Perhaps the most famous place in Bali. This temple is dedicated to Siva. The water level rises turning the temple into an island during high tide. During such time, the temple can only be accessed by boat.

The great Nirarta.

Holy water coming from natural sources. Although the temple is surrounded by sea , this is fresh water.

Sunset

We left the next morning. It was time to say goodbye to our good tour guides. For those of you who wish to take taxi in Bali, only use BlueBird. It is said to be the most reliable one.