Temple of the Sacred Tooth

Kandy Lake, and the Temple of the Tooth Relic (the pitched roof buildings at the back), Sri Lanka

I love festivals. Religious festivals or whatever. It gives me a reason to celebrate, and I don’t have to crack my mind for ideas on what to write about in the blog, hehe!

It’s Wesak Day! (OK, it WAS Wesak Day …when I started writing, ahem). Wesak (or Vesak) is a day commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Lord Buddha (…I wiki’ed it, OK?) In India, it’s called Buddha Purnima. I dunno what people do on Wesak Day, I just remember that every year in Malaysia, I’ll get a day off from school, (which is always good news for a student, …especially a lazy student, …like me). I guess devout Buddhists will pray at temples, and that’s about it.

And since it is (was) Wesak, here’re some pictures of a famous Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka, the Temple of the Tooth Relic. If you’re god, even your teeth are sacred.

And if I’m god, I’ll give my cracked tooth and half-decayed teeth to the followers I like least, and save the best teeth for my favourite disciples. And I’ll still have a whole load of other bodily parts and personal items to bestow! I’ll probably make a catalogue of my body parts and personal items, listing them according to how valuable I think they are, and who they’d be given to. I’d probably give 1MDB (and its bosses) a piece of my poo. It’d be called holy shit! …Maybe that’s why I’ll never be god.

Enough of that nonsense! Here’re photos of the temple.




Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy, Sri Lanka – the last time I visited in 2004, the place was teeming with soldiers carrying machine-guns!


Temple of the Tooth, first floor – lotus flowers placed outside the tooth relic chamber – that’s probably the closest you will get to seeing the actual holy tooth. I heard that it’s quite rare that people are allowed to see it, and… nope, I dunno when we can do that. Besides, it’ll probably look like any other tooth except that it’s really ancient, and holy, and placed in the nicest of containers, or whatever they use to keep a tooth




Views of the Tooth Relic Chamber – this holy temple lies in the compound of the royal palace of Kandy. (Yup, Sri Lanka used to have kings. Then the British came and did what they did best i.e. friggin conquered the country.) Another view can be seen in this post. Note: DO NOT TAKE A PHOTO OF THIS CHAMBER BY POSING IN FRONT OF IT, WITH YOUR BACKS FACING THE BUILDING, or …that’ll probably be the last you see of your camera or phone. I helped a local couple to take a photo of them in front of the building, and before I could walk off, the temple officials were already there, giving the locals what must have been the lecture of their life. I dunno what happened after that, I snuck away as fast as I could!


Temple of the Tooth Museum


Temple / Palace grounds, Kandy, Sri Lanka


The streets of Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Gemsters of Sri Lanka

Continuing on scams, here’s another scam, on another tropical island – Sri Lanka. But this one’s not as bad as the money-changer thieves of Bali. Not even close to half as bad!


Sapphire mine, Sri Lanka – OK, OK, it’s a replica. So what?

Sri Lanka is famous for its sapphires. And I’m the type of tourist who likes to see famous things, whatever they are, be it sapphires or animal-poop coffee (Indonesia) or Dead Sea mud (Jordan), and so on and so forth. And so, on our tour of Sri Lanka in 2013, when we were in between Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya (two tourist attractions in Central Sri Lanka), our trusty tourist car driver brought us to a sapphire processing place. Even better, it was a ‘government-approved’ place! So far so good, except that I didn’t know that ‘government-approved’ in Sri Lanka also means ‘highly over-priced’!


Gemstone showroom, somewhere between Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya, Sri Lanka – At the time of visit, there were only 3 customers, 2 adults (us) and a kid (Justin). And that’s Justin, in the picture, going wild, having the whole friggin hall to himself!

Anyway, the place was a lavish building in …err, the middle of nowhere (no, I have no idea where it is, except that it’s about an hour before you reach Sigiriya from Polonnaruwa). The entrance was like the concierge of a 5-star hotel (…umm, OK, 4-star), with valet services (but hey, we had a driver of our own!) There were life-sized replicas of sapphire mines in the building (ya, inside the building, with air-con, not outside). We were shown how craftsmen, cut, polished, etc (how the heck could I remember? this was 2013, OK?) basically made sapphires out of err… stones. Yeah, they looked like stones to me, but nicer and harder looking ones!

And finally (no surprises here), we were taken to the shop! That’s where you’re supposed to buy something to make it worthwhile for the place to make all those life-sized replicas, and have such a nice building, and employ all those professional looking people. (Government-approved doesn’t mean government-sponsored, OK?)

Sapphires aren’t the cheapest of things (they’re not called precious stones for nothing, OK?) and are beyond our means (told you we’re cheapskates!) Besides, we know next to nothing about the value of gemstones. Of course, if your skin is thick enough, you don’t really need to buy anything. Never mind the free tea, or free tour that they give you. After all, they’ve done a good job of showcasing their country to the rest of the world. That should be a good enough reward for them already, right?

But we’re not the type who go for free rides, and so settled for a semi-precious stone, an amethyst (a purple gemstone). We managed to knock the offered price down by half. Not a bad buy we thought. And that was the end of it until we had some time to shop around in the town of Kandy and found out that ‘hey… we could get it for a lot cheaper than what we’ve paid for, those friggin government-approved cheats!’ (And there went the tips of the driver for the day. ‘Sorry driver, you’ve had your commission!’)

We went to the extent of visiting another ‘government-approved’ gemstone place in Kandy just to check. And came out feeling a little better. (The friggin place was selling stones at higher prices than the shop we visited!! OK, driver, you’re not so bad after all).

But it’s OK overall. The little shops in Kandy and the shops at the airport might sell the stones cheaper, but they didn’t have a lavish building, or exhibits of sapphire mines, or free tours (and tea), or a whole contingent of staff to chaperone you around. Who’ll pay the salaries and fund the establishment (and pay the government for approval)? That’s where we come in. And that’s how I justify paying higher prices for the gemstone we bought, which is definitely worth it, when compared to the scumbags who conned us of our money in Bali!


How an air-conditioned sapphire mine looks like, Sri Lanka

The Real Monster of Bali - The Money-Changer

Wanna know who the real monster in Bali is? No, it’s not the Rangda. Nor Calonarang, nor Miss Hell 2016. It’s not even Ravana. It’s the bloody crooked money-changers of Kuta! F#@* them, F#@* their entire family! The dishonest ones I mean.

Beware these crooks. They’ll offer you an incredible, too good to be true exchange rate, and when you change, they’d do a magic trick, a swap, and you’ll be short-changed, without you knowing, until it’s too late to do anything about it. I was a dumbass for falling for it, …but that’s what I did. Here’s what happened.

Was in Kuta, Bali and wanted to change 800 dirhams or ringgit into rupiahs, so we walked around looking at rates (and other stuff while we’re at it). Walked past some shops in Jalan Melasti (the road between Kuta and Legian, coming from the beach), when one chap called out “What money you want to change?” “How much for UAE dirham?” I asked. “3700!” he said without even stopping. “Are you sure?” (The exchange rate should be about 3400 rupiah per dirham). “Yes, yes, come in.” And that’s how I was caught! How stupid can I be huh? The saying “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is” didn’t come out just by chance, OK?

The money-changing desk is right at the back of a clothes shop. (TIP: TO BE SAFE, CHANGE YOUR MONEY AT THE OFFICIAL LOOKING MONEY-CHANGERS! NEVER AT THE SEEDY LOOKING MONEY-CHANGERS WITH A DESK AT THE BACK OF SHOPS!) Anyway, the guys (there were 2 of ‘em) kept asking me to change more money, but I’ve done the arithmetic, and 800 dirhams was enough for us for the rest of our trip! So, AED 800 at 3,700 Rp per dirham works out to a whopping 2.96 Million rupiah! I wanted 100,000 notes but they gave it all in 50,000 notes! And so I counted, and kept the cash in 3 stacks in front of me – 2 stacks of a million and a stack of 900,000. All going pretty well.

Then the unscrupulous bloody crooks gave me 7,000 and ask for a thousand back (which is just a ruse to confuse you. They’re supposed to give 60,000, not 6,000!). Anyway, their plan worked, I gave them back the 2,000 note and said “keep it” (1,000 Rp is like 25 fils!). While I was at it, doing mental maths in my head, the fellow in front of me moved the 3 stacks of money slightly, “one million, two million, 900,000” he said, counting aloud. I watched him to see that he didn’t do anything with it. Yup, the 3 stacks are intact (well, that was what I thought!). I quickly pocketed the money before they could touch it further and started to leave. They warned me before leaving not to take the money out as there were many thieves around. (How would I know, that THEY were the bloody thieves!). We left, walked a short way down and realized that “hey, they were supposed to give me 60,000, not 6,000!” We went back to the shop, and were really surprised to find that they were so ready to give us the 55,000 Rp which they short changed earlier!” Luck must be on our side …but how wrong was I?

It was not until we returned to the hotel that night that I realized what happened! They fucking siphoned off 900,000!!! From right under my eyes! One whole stack of fuckin cash! I only had 2.06 Million left with me! Those sons of bitches, scums of humanity! Our loss …200 friggin dirhams! (about 50 USD), (if calculated using the actual market rate of 3400 rp per dirham). May they rot in hell! (I’ve marked out the location of the thieving money-changers as the ‘Location’ for this post! Coincidentally, someone else has marked ‘dishonest money changers’ in the same place in Google Maps! Looks like I’m not the only one who’s fallen for their tricks!)

Scams can really ruin your holidays if you let it get to you. And yes, I didn’t sleep for almost the entire night! Thinking of ways of revenge, and of all the curses I can put on them, …and their generations to come. “Let him live a long life, but with a stroke that’ll leave him half-paralysed! Live long enough to see all his children fail in whatever they do, to see their properties stripped away…” (Oh yeah, I’m evil, …it’s my dark side, I feel like I’m Anakin Skywalker turning into Darth Vader…) Things like that really fuck up your brains! And I blame them, bloody mother******* money-changers! I thought of the honest tourist car driver, driving the entire day and getting just 600,000 friggin rupiahs! Life is unfair, but it ain’t my turn to put it right, so I wrote off the loss (with lots of encouragement from the missus, …that’s how she can be so wonderful at times!)

But not all is bad in Kuta. Here take a look at these!






Fabulous Kuta Beach, from the hotel we stayed in – Kutabex Beach Front Hotel


At Kuta Beach, Bali - nice to look at, but sweltering hot in the afternoon heat!


Streets of Kuta, Bali, Indonesia – this was my second trip to Bali. The first was err… in the early 2000s, can’t really recall which year, but I went with sis Kim, on a whim! We were in Ipoh, and I was in between jobs …I think (which may put the year as 2000, …it was before the 2002 Bali bombings I remember). We were talking and mentioned Bali and decided there and then to go. On the next day (or was it the day after), we were in Bali! On the first day there, we rented a motorbike. (Both my sister and I knew nothing much about riding a motorbike, let alone have a license for it!. But how hard could it be?!) We learnt soon enough, and ended up practising bike driving for the whole bloody day, on how not to crash into anything in the congested streets of Kuta. We gave up after one day, and just hired a tourist car to take us around for the next 2 days, hah!


Ground Zero Bali – the site of the 2002 Bali bombings


Statues by a temple in Kuta, Bali


Entrance Gate to Kuta Beach, near our hotel






Finally, Kuta Beach in the evening, the low tide and the beach’s relatively flat surface made the reflections a delightful sight

Monsters of Bali

Hell, I love monsters! And this place sure has some scary looking ones!


Beautiful evil looking nude woman! Summoning awesome looking beasts! The inscription below reads ‘Calonarang’. Is that the name of the girl? Name of the story? Name of the beast? You tell me!

Have been in love with monsters since I was a kid. My hobby used to be drawing monsters. Heck, even now, when work gets too boring, I draw monsters! So, here’re some monsters from Bali. It’s from a gallery called Ogah-Ogah, near the entrance to Taman Ayun in Mengwi. (Honestly, I’d have forgotten the name if not for Justin. “It’s called Ogah-Ogah, papa”, he said when I helped him with his holiday journal for school. That’s the beauty of having a kid who can read, hehe). I don’t think it’s a famous place, …but it’s my favourite unexpected find this trip! Costs 20,000 Rp to enter (about RM 6), and half price for kids, but they let Justin go in for free! Would’ve spent more time (and taken more photos) if Anu hadn’t rush me. She didn’t wanna go in (guess not everyone’s a fan of demons) and volunteered to look after Jayden outside, while Justin and yours truly romped around looking at the fantastic-looking demons and gods of Hindu and Balinese folklore. Don’t ask me what they are, or their names, I didn’t read the inscriptions. (What? You think I have time?)

I seldom write a post on a holiday so soon after a trip, except if it’s trip to visit family. Guess this post is a break from tradition, huh?


This one I know. This must be Ravan or Ravana, the main boss of the bad guys in the Hindu Ramayana epic. Bali is a Hindu island, and the Ramayana story features prominently in its culture and folktales. He looks human in this form, but wait, not all is as it seems!


There, Ravan in its 10 headed form! (The one at the back, it must be him, who else could it be?) Now you know why he’s the boss!


Kumbhakarna, one of the lieutenants of Ravan. He’s Ravan’s brother I think. He’s supposed to be a humongous monster in the Ramayana story, sort of a middle boss. He sleeps for 6 months in a year, and when he awakes, he’ll eat anything in sight!


Nope, absolutely no idea who this is


This one’s cool! He spits ugly heads out of his mouth!


And now for the girls – a beauty pageant from hell!


And Miss Hell 2016 goes to… “Come on Justin, just one picture with this”. “No, Papa, she got big ‘nen-nen’ (boobs).” What is it with this kid?

And here comes the good ones… I think…


This looks like the Hindu god Shiva


Is this Vishnu? I think so, looking at the items he’s holding and the garuda he’s sitting on


And this is the Barong, the good spirit in Balinese folklore. He frequently battles the Rangda, the evil spirit, a female witch with a long tongue, and bare boobs – for some reason or other, the Balinese are obsessed with boobs!?!