For those who don't know where's Edinburgh, make a guess out of this riddle first.
A monk combing his hair-Guess this nation?
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Tada~~ Scotland!
Why? Pronounce the country in Chinese.
It simply means "Su1 Ge4 Lan3"
Anyway, this is just an Old Joke.
Met Kim & 2 of her friends from Singapore directly at Edinburgh.
They were in Bristol, UK prior to this.
First thing for the day-head for the FREE walking tours!
The guide was a "CHOP" one. (Typical singlish)
He's rather cute-looking but he has long hair.
Initially, I thought he was a girl from the back.
He's from Canada actually.
The tour guide.
The thing about Europe is they attract lots of students.artists.foreigners
Who like their country after a few visits.
These people then leave their home for the city they fall in love with.
They work either as receptionists in hostels.tour guides etc.
I guess only the Caucasians are able to do that.
They have an individualistic culture, prepared to leave their family and friends for the life they seek.
In Asia, it's still very much the collectivist culture.
People believe in staying around their family etc.
Listen to my background music.
My brother recommended me this song.
In remembrance of his support for me to pursue my dreams even if it means leaving home.
"THANKS BRO!"
Streets of Edinburgh-The Royal Mile.
St Giles Cathedral in the Background
King Charles Statue.
There's actually a story behind this statue. There were lots of defacts in it, the horse is slanted otherwise rainwater will stay in certain parts of the statue, the King wasn't having any crown, it eroded blah blah, so much restoration works and additions had to be make to it.
One of Scotland's most famous exports
Harry Potter Fans watch out. The cafe J.K Rowling sat in when she first pen Harry Potter. She was facing this college afar and that's how her inspiration came from...
National Gallery of Scotland.
A few interesting stories I got out of the tour.
a) French & Scottish Union-Why? Both dislike the English.. :)
b) The spitting spot- Heart of Midlothian
A few variations as to why people spit there.
1) This was an emblem of the tolbooth outside St Giles Cathedral where criminals were hang. People spit on the door in those days as a sign of belittling the criminals. This tradition was then continued when the emblem was engraved on the floor.
2) This is an official spitting spot in Edinburgh since it's an offence to spit anywhere else.
3) Rivalry to a Scottish football club- Heart of Midlothian. Fans of the rival football club, Hibernian F.C spit on this spot to express their dislike for the rival.
Which is true? I don't know but trust me, there's really lots of salivas and pus on this spot! :(
c) Burke & Hare Bodysnatchers
There's this 2 Irish guys, Burke & Hare who work in Edinburgh and the girlfriend of one actually operates a inn. One day, an old lady actually died in one of the rooms. It was bad luck and a No-No to let anyone find out someone died in your inn. Thus, they had to think of a way to dispose the body. Burying carries a risk of someone discovering the body and reporting to the authorities thus they decided to sell it to the medical school.
At that time, the medical school demanded lots of bodies for dissection as training for their medical students but supply was low due to the law which states that no healthy person can be used in any learning or experiments. Those 2 Irish guys successfully sold the body to the medical school and was paid a hefty sum of 20GBP (A lot of money back in the olden times.) Money is the root of all evil. After the first successful sale, murders by them followed so that they could sell more dead bodies to the medical school! However, they were smart. Their victims are usually people who have little or few kin in the city so that their death will not arouse any investigations. They even went to the extent of digging up buried dead. I forgot how news spread but the police started investigating anyway. In total, 34-37 people were murdered.
Because of this, people started to guard the tombs of their family and friends and build some protecting shield call moat-gate or whatever. **Can't remember** It's just a cage that prevents people from digging up graves. The climax of the story is, one of them actually confessed when being interrogated and he was let off lightly, a sentence of only 12-18 months. The other one was sentenced to death and guess what? After he was hung, his body was sent to the medical school for DISSECTION too! haha.. At this juncture,I might introduce some economic theory to you guys. It's called the Prisoner's Dilemma Game theory.
Moat Gate
If both of them did not confess, they would both not go to jail.
If one of them confess, the one who confesses gets off lightly and the other gets a heavy punishment.
If both confess, then they would each get a medium-weighted sentence.
In this case, both refusing to confess is the best outcome but because you are unsure whether the other person will betray you, you choose to confess.
The outcome is that the person who confesses first gets off lightly. wahaha...
d) One o'clock Gun.
At the Edinburgh Castle lies a cannon that is still active. Everyday at 1 p.m, you hear the sound of the cannon, provided that you are at the Castle or near the main shopping street. This was used by people in the olden days where clocks weren't available yet people needed to know the time especially the ships. How it works is that there's a bell tower diagonal to this cannon several miles away. Everyday at 1p.m, someone fires the cannon and once the light is seen, the other person at the bell tower releases the ball on top of the bell tower so that everyone knows it's 1p.m after hearing the sound of the cannon and the fall of the ball. They will coincide because light travels faster than sound so people will see the light of the cannon earlier than hearing the sound. Interesting. But I didn't hear any cannon during my 3 days there. :(
e) Loyal skye terrier Bobby
The true story--> "The Skye terrier was a faithful dog who refused to leave the grave of his master, John Gray, a farmer from Midlothian, upon his death. John Gray took the dog to the market in Edinburgh every Wednesday. After the one o'clock gun sounded, he would have lunch in a restaurant near Greyfriars.
After his death, Bobby would continue to come to the restaurant, but only when he was forced by hunger to leave his master's grave. For 14 years he watched over the grave, stirring the emotions of the people of Edinburgh.
The gardener and keeper of Greyfriars tried on many occasions to evict Bobby but in the end they took pity on him. He was built a shelter nearby and was fed regularly. Bobby never spent a night away from his master's grave even in the most dismal weather conditions.
The story of Greyfriars Bobby -- not Greyfriars Bobbie -- spread and soon, his story became one of Edinburgh's unique stories. When Bobby died, he was buried in Greyfriars. A bronze statue was sculpted for the small dog, which now stands just outside the kirk gates.
Greyfriars Bobby is now one of the many Edinburgh attractions and a testament of a man's best friend. Travellers and visitors come to Greyfriars to learn his story and take pictures beside him."
People actually wanted to bury him next to its Masters but it was not allowed. Apparently, churches are burial grounds for humans only, not animals. So they buried him at a spot outside the church which is of the shortest distance to its Master's grave. Touching yeah?
John Gray's tombstone. See the small shelter next to it that was built for Bobby.
This is a plague placed within the church for Bobby since his body couldn't be buried inside.
See the rubbish dump in the background? That's the burial spot of Bobby.
His statue being mounted.
f) Maggie Dickson
She was an unwed mother. Sinked into depression and resulted in a still-born baby. People found out about it and in those olden days, she had to be hung. Surprisingly, she didn't die due to some issues with the stool that she was standing on or whatever. She survived! Read more about her story online. I can't remember the details well anymore...
The spot where Maggie Dickson was hung. Or rather, this is a hanging spot back in the olden days. It's in the Grass market in Edinburgh. Google it if you want more stories.
Since she didn't die, she actually operated a pub in her later life.
g) Camera Obscura
You've to check out this damn cool place! It's a lot about visual effects. Had whole lots of interesting things to see.. Let the photos do the talking for me :)
The lens in action.
Atop the tower of Camera Obscura
Look at the amount of chimneys atop the buildings? This show how much the people in that house SMOKE? hahaha..
Famous Scottish Monument in the background
It's just nice views all over...
FAT !
Luminous light to capture this image.
See if you can find the 2 different images. Skull & a woman.
2 bald men staring at the breasts of one lady? hahaha..
Good Vs
Evil? That's Mankind. We all have 2 different personalities within us. It's our choice who we allow to control our life?
I like this image a lot! Life's all about ME & YOU!
See the lights...
I capture this image from those lights from the previous picture. Amazing yeah?
Can you find the Hidden Tiger? If you find it, tell me. I'll give you a prize. :)
Horses rising out of the water..... ~
See the lady in the video? Isn't she beautiful?
A little bit of shopping here and there before we ended our day. :)
One O'clock GUn?
That's the bell tower from afar being sketched. I explained the mechanisms of how the One O'clock gun coordinates with the bell tower in previous post.
Medals won by soldiers on the battlefield. WWI.WWII.Civil wars etc.
One of the most significant battles in History for Scotland.UK. Battle of Waterloo. It was a Scottish soldier who shot down and got hold of the French Flag as depicted in the picture. And of course, not to forget, the Golden Eagle. Apparently, it's a key symbol of Napolean's French Army. The world is so big. There's so much history in Europe.
This is life in a military prison. It doesn't look that bad. There's like cupboard, a proper bed, sufficient space etc.
That's the WWI.WWII memorial museum. Photos not allowed except at the entrance. I like this quote that's why I took it down.
Kid's play-Knight Construction.
In the Kids' section, I found these few notes really funny and cute so I must share it with you guys..... They are replies to the question "What would you take if you'd to leave home and what would you miss?"
This is the most hilarious thing!! I would take DAD and MISS MOM? hahaha..
These are reveals of true feelings. I guess only kids are able to do that. As you age, you learn to hide your true feelings. You don't speak what you mean because you are expected to behave, to carry yourself well etc. Am I the only one that feels this way? I doubt so. Everyone will agree with me!
3-wheel car. Cool yeah?
Mummy way of life?
Edinburgh Castle @ night...
