Massive report- trip to Volgograd

I'M BACK IN MOSCOWWWWW!!!!! Pheewww...3 days in Volgograd seemed like forever. Here is my lil report on my Volgograd trip.

Day 1
2 specially rented coaches for 1200 Euro each have long awaited us, causing chaos and traffic jam along Volgina Street. Started our journey to Volgograd at 1030 am. The 15 hours journey was almost too onerous to bear. Unlike those highways in Malaysia and anywhere in the world, Russian roads were all old and bumpy so we could scarcely move! Imagine having to travel at only 60km/hour for a 900 km journey! Making matter worse, it hailed and guess what, Russia does not have a proper rest house or to be exact, proper toilet on highways! They were 20-30 metres deep holes dug and surrounded by some old planks without proper flushing system and were extremely stinky! Having the thought of those places make me wanna puke, seriously! Reached Volgograd or formerly known as Stalingrad city at about 0145 and checked in the "Gastinitsa turist" 3-4 hours later, yeah, thanks to the "efficient" russian workers! Gastinitsa=hotel in russian, but it looked more like the roadside motels and we had to squeeze into the small room with only 2 single beds to fit the 3 of us (Irise, yonglin and I)! Went to bed at almost 7am so we had a great view of the sunrise.


Yonglin and I in the coach

Toilet built during the 1900's! haha..

Sunrise-at my hotel room's balcony

Day 2
Woke up at 11am. Though it was only 4 hours of sleep but we felt as though we had slept for 4 years! Perhaps those not-so-comfortable motel bed still beat those upright seats in the bus! The bunch of us gathered at the hotel lobby and set off for the centre for lunch. One thing that we loved was the low standard of living! That is one of the best things in Volgo, apart from the friendly outskirts' residents. A 'Combo meal' with a chicken burger, 2 pancakes, a regular sized french fries, salad and a cup of english tea costed only 100 rubles! (Note:RM 1=7.3rubles)Cheap isn't it? We will never get such cheap meals in Moscow! Rushed back to Turist hotel and got ready for the opening ceremony of the 2nd Annual Intervarsity Sports Games a.k.a VolGames '05 at 1530. It was fantabulous, the VSMU (volgograd state medical uni)students really put in much effort to make the opening ceremony such a success. We were entertained by performances- Wushu, Taekwando, Choir, Gymnastics. My running event would be held on the final day so we were supposed to be RSMU's(russian state medical uni)supporters, but on the way to the other stadium, which was some distance away, we got lost and were stopped by 3 polices. As a result, we missed all the events for that day. Sigh, what a disappointment! As for the dinner at the VSMU campus, in short, I've eaten the worst meal in Russia. EVER. The roast chicken was NOT chicken. It's like a cooked chicken that tasted raw with a layer of red uncooked flesh in between and they gave out a terribly unbearable bad smell! The mutton was all burnt and tasted like charcoal. The curry chicken was okay and the dessert was not inviting at all. All in all, the whole meal was S-H-I-T! Walked around the centre and left for hotel at 2230. ZzzZzzz....


All of us on the "samasolskaya street", Volgograd

Mamayavskii's monument

Opening ceremony of the VolGames'05

Taekwando by the students of VSMU

Day 3
Woke up at 1000 to have a taste of the stay-cum-breakfast but we were later than the scheduled time and so, NO FREE FOOD! Had some student-cooked-Malaysian-food and thank god we did not eat the lunch provided. 80% of those who ate the curry chicken rice had stomach upset and diarrhoea! We cheered for our basketball team. They were really good but the referee was biased, d*mn him! If not for him, we would have gotten a gold instead of the silver! Anyway, my running event was the closing ceremony and we were the silver medalist! Hurry, congratulate me!!!! hehehe...At 1900, we had a cruise along volga river, it was awesome though the supposed-to-be dinner on the cruise turned out to be a tasteless fried rice on the coach! Left Volgograd for Moscow at 2300 and reached Moscow the next day at noon.


Track games' athletes

The area beside the turist hotel, Volgograd

Cruise along the Volga River

From left: rayyank, minyuen, eileen, me, lingtze, yonglin and yanhan

minyuen, lingtze and I in the ship

Eyes twitching

Ever find your eyelid twitches, kinda like in the freaky eyeglasses commercial where the eyes "talk"? Yeah, it's happening to me now. My left eyelid. Arghhh..it is really annoying and embarassing to have my eyes twitching, especially when in public or when someone stares into my eyes? Haha.. Hold it, left eyelid. Is it believed to bring good luck, or touch wood, the other way around? But screw it, screw the superstitious, non-scientific old ideas, just like the supersition handed down through the centuries that if you break a mirror, you will have 7 years of bad luck and those superstitious nonsense that 13 is an unlucky number and that walking under a ladder will bring bad luck kinda thing!

Oh well, eyes twiching is also known as blepharospasm, the scientific term that is. I learnt that it is due to involuntary muscles spasm related to fatigue and stress, too much of squinting and caffeine or even working under not so ideal lighting environment. Aiks, I seriously do not think that any of the above causes matches mine! Or perhaps one of them is actually true, but definitely not the stress part since I am in total stress-free state! Ouch, it's twitching again while I am typing this line! Really get on my nerves!! STOP!! Guess I better tuck myself in bed. Goodnight and hopefully I will be fine tomorrow morning. =)

Weariness.....

Those who do not run won't understand. They just see one foot in front of the other..but I can tell you it is definitely much more! 3 days of training on the track and the aftermath? Exhaustion, muscles fatigue and cramps.Diagnosis? Physically unfit!

The Emancipation of Mimi

I was all so excited about Mariah Carey's new release today-The Emancipation of Mimi. Now that I have got the entire album (oh, I mean I got them all in my laptop..after all I have never been a fan, let alone adore all those crooners), I don't find it that tip-top as I thought it would be. Well, I did not like all the 14 tracks when I first heard it, but trust me, it will slowly grow and sticks in your mind, in a positive manner of course. All right, time to hit the books...Russian test tomorrow.

*Listening to Mariah Carey's, The Emancipation of Mimi*

Ever wonder why Muslims can't take pork?

Hmm...btw, its me in "tudung" ok? hehehehe...

Bob: Tell me why is it that a Muslim is very
particular about the words Halal and Haram; what
do they mean?

Yunus: That which is permissible is termed Halal
and that which is not permissible is termed Haram
and it is the Quran which draws the distinction
between the two.

Bob: Can you give me an example?

Yunus: Yes, Islam has prohibited blood of any
type. You will agree that a chemical analysis of
blood shows that it contains an abundance of uric
acid, a chemical substance which can be injurious
to human health.

Bob: You're right about the toxic nature of uric
acid, in the human being it is excreted as a waste
product and in fact we are told that 98% of the
body's uric acid is extracted from the blood by the
kidneys and removed through urination.

Yunus: Now I think that you'll appreciate the
special prescribed method of animal slaughter in
Islam.

Bob: What do you mean?

Yunus: You see, the wielder of the knife, whilst
taking the name of the 'Almighty', makes an
incision through the jugular veins, leaving all other
veins and organs intact.

Bob: I see, this causes the death of the animal by
a total loss of blood from the body, rather than an
injury to any vital organ.

Yunus: Yes, were the organs, example the heart,
the liver, or the brain crippled or damaged, the
animal could die immediately and its blood would
congeal in its veins and would eventually
permeate the flesh. This implies that the animal
flesh would be permeated and contaminated with
uric acid and therefore very
poisonous; only today did our dietitians realize
such a thing.

Bob: Again, while on the topic of food; Why do
Muslims condemn the eating of pork or ham or any
foods related to pigs or swine.

Yunus: Actually, apart from the Quran prohibiting
the consumption of pork, bacon (pig flesh); in fact
the Bible too in Leviticus chapter 11, verse 8,
regarding swine it says, "of their flesh (of the
swine, another name for pig) shall you not eat, and
of their carcass you shall not touch; they are
unclean to you."

Further, did you know that a pig cannot be
slaughtered at the neck for it does not have a
neck;
that is according to its natural anatomy. A Muslim
reasons that if the pig was to be slaughtered and
fit
for human consumption the Creator would have
provided it with a neck.

Nonetheless, all that aside, I am sure you are well
informed about the harmful effects of the
consumption of pork, in any form, be it pork chops,
ham, bacon.

Bob: The medical science finds that there is a risk
for various diseaseas the pig is found to be a host
for many parasites and potential diseases.

Yunus: Yes, even apart from that, as we talked
about uric acid content in the blood, it is important
to note that the pig's biochemistry excretes only
2% of its total uric acid content,
the remaining 98% remains as an integral part of
the body.

Special thanks to Sharveena

When you are broke....

Brandname: Esprit
Store location: Str. New Arbat,15 TradeHouse,Moskvichka
Description: Silk top, Q 21380, Crumpled silk top with an
asymmetrical hemline-100% silk
Colour: Jade
Price: 1076.41 rubles
Status: Unaffordable (thanks to Volgograd trip)
Moral: When you are broke, you can only drool

It attracts you to it, only to make your heart cry in sorrow to flip over and see the price tag of the one you so love...

Happy Birthday, Bro-in-law

Brother-in-law, these wishes I send,
To a family member and good friend.

Birthday wishes, thoughts to relay,
You are one in a million, in every way.

Within this little verse I send to you,
A rainbow day with colour and hue.

Thanks also wishes and much more,
For being a wonderful brother-in-law.

Thoughtful words for your birthday,
To family and friend I send your way.

Happy Birthday, my bro-in-law!

Darwin State Museum

remorseful...

'Let he who has never sinned cast the first stone' and 'judge not, and you will not be judged'. Thanks anonymous. That is very enlightening! I am really sick about A talking behind B and C talking behind A and B talking behind C and all this kinda back-stabbing, 'crappy' stuff. I suddenly realise how sinful and naive I have been. So are the others. All right, tomorrow is a brand new day and I am looking forward to be blessed with many happy, eventful and better things in life! *wink*

Typical Russians

Ah, spring! It is this time of the year that spring is gonna be in full swing and winter is slowly becoming a memory. While some people will be planning for some family picnics (which I don't much fancy), trips to the ballpark and other ways to enjoy the warm weather, my friends ( Ling Tze, Mei Sian, David, Nicholas) and I decided to pay a visit to the place where we would find the bulk of them to be below 15 years of age. Darwin's State Museum, yeah, that is the place. Well, no, that is not my point. On our way there by metro (the cheapest form of transport in Moscow), 2 stops after we boarded, a couple stepped foot into the same wagon as us. The lady in her mid-twenties, with a bee-hive face, a pair of eyes which popped out and looked much like a goldfish and a sharp, pointed nose like the cartoon character Pinocchio started barking at David like a dog in Russian which we didn't comprehend but we guessed she was asking him to get up so that she could rest her arse on his seat instead. So, acting as though we didn't understand that foreign language, we ignored her barkings and continued our conversations in our mother tongue. Oh, was I in the same row? No, I was sitting at the other corner while observing the commotion. Anyway, not too long after that, her partner who stank as though he has pulled over a used condom over his head (which most Russian men share the same smell) walked towards David and asked him which stop he would be getting down.
"Akademicheskaya," he replied.
He nodded and walked back to his significant other half and they both whispered. I think they meant that David actually understood her shoutings but just not being courteous enough and so-called gentleman. Soon after that, an aged person walked into the wagon. Immediately, David got up and the old person took his place. The couple stared at David and rolled their eyes out of dissatisfaction... eh, for crying out loud, if you need a favour from the others, be more polite lar!

Unquotable quote

My little device that can be made to sound at the time set in advance (alarm clock la, why can't just say alarm clock?) is telling me that it is high time to rock myself to slumber, but I just can't do that! I know it very well that sleep is an indispensable requirement of the higher organism and a man spends a third of his life in a state of periodically recurring sleep! But why can't I be a normal person deprive of more sleep? Eh, I can hear my coursemates and flatmates cursing the shit out of me (for they have to bury their noses deep into their physiology books) But hey, I've sat for my test last week, and you've not! So, being *kaypo, I read other people's blog and I came across this:

QUOTING from the particular blog (a bit of an enigma)... :

"A joke from friend saying that You are sick cause you worry too much on things which **has not happen." (** any mistake that is so god damn obvious?)

"How will it be? A joke from friend, Lets jump down the window!"

"there will be 3 more for you to sit. Isn't it the greatest joke of the day?"(I think she meant 3 more tests *shrug*)

Muahahhahahahhah...hahahahahah! hahahahahah! I am laughing my head off! Hold it, is it all that funny? Mad-NESS!

Apart from that I notice that some bloggers love telling their readers how many hours they have slept that particular day and things like that. Oh come on man, your readers don't enjoy listening to your second-rate, mediocre jokes and your sleeping hours daily! Undoubtedly, there are better, more interesting stuff to blog about, right? (I am not saying that mine is good either)

*Kaypo in hokkien=busybody
Sorry, I am just so not me tonight....Thousand apologies!( Well, at least I know how to apologize when I am in the wrong, unlike certain people who know that he/she is god damn in the wrong but refuse to strip off his/her bloody dignity! )