It’s Christmas, the season for giving. Grew up with fond memories surrounding Christmas back home where I come from. It is said, Christ was born in this day right about 2 millennia ago and we celebrate the day in our own special way across the globe to signify his coming. The very mention of Christmas brings warmth to my mind and I am sure to many out there as well with fond memories. Thoughts of presents (giving and receiving), family gatherings, Christmas cards, food and friends all just surrounds us during this season. If you have ever read Charles Dickens work, A Christmas carol, or saw its many renditions in the movies. You would understand where I am coming from. For the uninitiated, the story is about Eb Scrooge’s change from a mean old grumpy man into a kinder version after the visitation of the ghost of Christmas past, present and future.. in short this season is about giving and being kind, a time to reflect of past deeds. St. Nicholas, of famously known as Father Christmas.. Or Santa Claus is famous for deeds on helping the poor and started the tradition of giving gifts. He was loved for his piety and is currently adored by many for his deeds. Many legends surround how he was.. and I sure without him.. Christmas would be different. As a father.. I find pleasure in buying gifts for my kids. At the same time, as I get older, I find giving is better .. for the smile you see on the receiving end is greater than the gift itself for me. Christmas caroling.. if you ever had a chance to listen to Christmas carols during the eve of Christmas or during church masses.. you will definitely be amazed by the beautiful songs and rhymes celebrating the season. I truly loved those when I was back home. Remember “O Holy Night”, “Silent Night” .. “Joy To The World”.. Jingle Bells J and truly many more that I cant recall now. But I am sure you know what I mean. Christmas tree, we all know the famous decorated tree that lights up with PRESENTS at its bottom. Its family tradition for many to put it up together, decorate it together, and while doing so, share stories and laughter and of course discuss presents that will be put under. For the uninitiated, this tradition comes from Europe.. where they use fresh trees, nowadays for the sake of convenience we use fake trees.. well where I am from, you can’t find those trees, so we made it with what we had. It was fun.. and I am sure it is still fun. Christmas has many more meaning to people all around the world. It has been hard for me the past couple of years as I have been away from family due to work in Shanghai.. Albeit thanks to technology.. we can all still celebrate virtually via Facetime. Christmas is celebrated for 12 days.. so I will be going back home during the New Year to be with Family.Maybe it wont be that bad after all. So where is the snow in Shanghai ? Merry Christmas to all! Have a blessed day. (all graphics belong to the respective owner. I don’t claim its mine)

Without Prejudice :) start rant ..Islam, Judaism and Christianity is linked to its core. ie both believe in the same system with its origin from Abrahamic roots.. angels and demons, heaven and hell, coming of Christ and etc. So if you say ISLAM is evil.. that will also make Christianity and its associated group evil. There is no two way about it. The origin of the religion is from the middle east. The current source of conflict, and has been for ages. People there have been in power struggle for ages and its part of their culture if you like it or not. Churches built.. destroyed and on top of it Mosques built and vice versa.. cultural relics destroyed and etc.. The issue will never end. So lets fast forward to ISIS. This issue is not new. Things have been brewing for quite sometime. To make things worst, governments(west and east) arm them and provide them with war tactics. Hoping for either side to exterminate each other.. The intrusion of western and eastern governments have caused a huge void of power in the middle east after the Arab spring so called clean up. And not all hell is loose thanks to the arab spring. Lets face the fact.. democracy is not for all. Some need to be ruled with an iron fist (imo). In someway history seems to be repeating itself. Think vietnam 1970's, think mujahidden in the 1980's, think Al qaeda in the 1990's.. and read between the lines. Bunch of goat herders wont have the mentality and capability to buy guns and let alone lead strikes into unknown territory if not for training. Do you think the AK47's fall from the skies or is dug up from the earth ? So if you train them.. what will happen in the end ? One fine day they will retaliate, and now they have. ISIS took another step further, they secured valuable resources i.e. Oil from the northern territory of Iraq and the oil/resource they are selling is making this all possible. Did you know that? Who is buying the oil ? The issue to consider, is to stop supporting them.. STOP SUPPORTING THEM. Did you know Israel, Saudi and some middle eastern countries have been funded by American Govt? Some may not believe this, but look out of their legislation's passed through their senate and congress with intent to "help" but actual fact its with its hidden agenda.. ultimately for resource. Why no one bothers about Africa ? Thousands die there too. Maybe because the locations didn't have any resource.. so it didn't matter.. Bosnia and Serbia were at it about a decade ago. No one government bothered (UN stepped in).. why? Because they had no worthwhile resource. ISLAM is the cause now they say, like how communism was a cause decades back, remember Russia, china ? Americans are obsessed with things that they have been told.. brainwashed bunch. Its all propaganda. Look through the damn smokescreen people. A German slams a plane full of people into the mountain.. its a crazy guy. A Norwegian kills 100's of kids in an island.. its a crazy guy An American bombs the federal building.. he is nuts. So if someone says that a christian did the above.. will you guys be happy ? Why associate religion with radicals ? Cuz the media says so? Just because an idiot carries a flag saying its fighting for Islam.. Whole world jumps out ! Christians say Jesus this and that.. what about crusades? Thousands if not millions died cuz of their join or die church rules. What about the KKK ? Have you guys forgotten the issue of the race and colour? Interesting how people get played into the hands of the media and politicians .. at the end .. money is made, economy is brought back and some businessman make their billions. pfft. Dont be sheep./end rant :)

Being impartial is an interesting trait. This is where when one decides to be when one decides not to take sides on any matter. I have been earnestly attacked by people from both sides of the fence with when it comes to heated topics like religion, gender, money or for the lack of it and etc. Its interesting to note though how people tend to think if you have the opportunity to actually sit on the fence. Some say.. choose a side.. its a "yes or no" thing, but to me life isn't totally about being black and white or the 1's and 0's. Its about the grey too.. and whatever that comes between the 1's and 0's. I refuse to believe in an almighty power that controls us with his/her invincible hands and punishment that i will go through if i didn't adhere to the rules set by morbid minded individuals hundreds years ago. I also refuse to accept ideologies that undermine people that do not agree with them. Collectively we are stronger.. but when it comes to this matters.. collectively people tend to be less.. u know what i mean. :) Dont agree. Oh well, i have been called an ignorant too by people that have "learned more" than me or "had more salt" if they would like to stress that. You see, living life in a predefined manner, i.e. by the set rules/books/religion.. gives some form of comfort to some but that rule doesn't apply to all. That is why most of us.. have the urge or hunger to ask questions. Yeah we are all grown up/more sensible.. but have you ever asked to yourself that .. is this what life is meant to be (this is where the believers come in and say.. he is calling you). Alright enough of that. But actually what is it ? Making money ? Making friends ? Climbing mountain ? Waking up in the morning ? Crossing the road ? flying a plane ? :) The list goes on.. What got me thinking in this line of thought.. an article about a Dr.. in his early 40's with all possible wealth and rise to fame getting diagnosed with Cancer.. with couple of months to live and realizing whats it all about. Its often when we are about to loose or have lost that we realize the significance of something. Then it all becomes clear to you.. :)So have you been impartial ? Have you had a chance to stand on the fence and look at matters both ways ? Or have you been sooo judgmental and fixated that YOU ARE RIGHT ..

In pursuit of happiness or what we perceive of happiness.. we tend to forget what real values in life means to us. Often we look elsewhere, everywhere.. somewhere for love when most of the time its right there in front of you .. staring at you, beautiful eyed and eager to love.. its just that we are not looking or take it for granted. I had an interesting conversation with a lass.. asking me a question. "There is an ancient Chinese tale. During the ancient times .. legend has it that Lady Meng.. a beautiful lady.. concocted a tea that has abilities to make one forget. According to the tale, when you are about to leave the world.. Lady Meng will approach you with an offer of the tea.. If you choose to drink it .. you will make a clean break from this life.. i.e. from all your relationships whether its good or bad.. forgetting love, hatred, hardships, despair, worries and all emotions with memories along side it.. Starting a fresh the next life in pursuit of happiness all over again. On the other hand you have a choice of declining to drink and retain all memories when you are reborn.. having a chance to reunite with the person you love the most and be happy or make right the wrongs you did in the life you are leaving."If you are at the gates.. What will your choice be ? To drink the tea or not. I will choose not to drink it. Interesting as it may seem, my choice is anchored towards reasons of both good and bad. Often not choices make the person.. in my case the man. I have my reasons..i may blog it. You never know.. Its a good notion that we may have an option to "restart" life with a clean slate that can allow you to be free from all previous problems as per say and move on to "better" lives. But what lies ahead will be a mystery. So what will your choice be when Lady Meng approaches you ?Images belong to the rightful owners. I dont claim ownership.

The last couple of months saw history being made in the financial markets here in China. With the spectacular rise in the shares market , news made headlines all over the world. The spill over effect created the rush of new trading account signings, change in government policies concerning trading in overall. China has 2 independent stock exchanges the Shanghai SE and the Shenzhen SE. For those uninitiated , the Shanghai Stock exchange is the 5rd largest by market cap in the world. Next to NYSE, Nasdaq, London SE and Japan.. in may 2015 it was at the 3rd position.. when sentiments were high and points were closing in at 5000.. The current market outlook of the Shanghai SE. What does this spell for the average Chinese and the expats here in China? Surely its good fortune as its clear that the government is now keen on working towards supporting the local economy. A government that cares about the economy is a government that will assist the people. This might sound overly pro-government or utopian.. however, there isnt many governments out there that has done what the PRC government has done to assist the economy in the last 2 years.. or at least based on what i have observed. The austerity drive, the expansion, the investments and chartering of new ideas (silk road) has somewhat allowed the economy to become self sustainable. Or at least for the next few years the policies implemented or being implemented will see some form of developments. Of late there has been a mass exodus of funds from the market, triggering the massive sell offs in shares across the counters.. why ? Well of course there is many forces at play.. the herd mentality, the maturing of shares, general exit or profit taking of investors. But the massive sell offs would be triggered mostly by the investment institutions followed by the new investors. However, it is currently seen that the SSE (Shanghai) is more of a gambling market than a market with debt and security. SSE composite index in 2014 July (mid year)In reality.. the SSE was around 2000(refer to figure 1) points this time around last year and now its howering around 3500.. hence when you look at the overall growth chart the market has risen by at least 75%.. which itself is a miraculous improvement in such a short time. Albeit, everyone would love the index to be maintained at 5000 or exceeding it, but holding it there requires an effort as well. Will it go down ? Will it go up ? Short term scenarios.. no one knows.. But in overall the recent drama in the Shanghai exchange has definitely benefited the economy.My 2 cents

Fiction or not .. Interesting how life takes a turn when you least expect it. All i wanted was to resolve life's simple problems and move to to greener pastures as it may seem. But little did i know that the greener the pasture the higher the maintenance. We are right now at this moment lead to think that the better cars we drive, the bigger wedding rings we choose, the huge houses we buy, the more branded goods we have makes our lives better. Marketing does this to us, oh wait continuously doing actually. Everyday we are hit with direct or indirect messages that THIS IS GOOD FOR US BUY IT ! Yeah .. marketing is a big business.. we have people now with marketing degrees.. masters even. Do we realize this though ..Does it actually make us a better man if we drive a BMW ? Does it really make our wedding the best if we buy a Cartier ring or have the reception in the BEST HOTEL ? Do we really use a 2000m2 house with a 10000m2 garden ?So You carry a GUCCI bag.. it says i am classy.. and i am better than you.. does that make you happy ?To some extent these thoughts are interesting .. and of course its about showing off and making everyone gawk at our presence.. for what ..10 seconds ? Its FACE.. nothing but face.. we end up paying through our nose and depleting our accounts and sometimes our lives for it. Falling for this fallacies .. will continuously make us poor. In comparison to years back.. indeed we are making more money .. but are we really? This ties up to a familiar saying i've heard sometime before.. The things you own end up owning you...I would like to share this with you guys though.. "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact." Tyler Durden.. Fight Club. I'd rather spend the time chasing my kids around the block and with family or friends BBQ'ing and beer. Questions on what to buy is often asked by many people with little or no difference in its tone. I've had people from all walks of life ask me this.. My answer .. Next time you think about buying something .. decide .. without family or peer pressures.. However choice is yours. Live it.

CAPTAIN CAVEMAN ! Our bodies have evolved the past millennia to adapt to nature and its offerings.. i.e. food. I have always been intrigued by food and how its consumed across the globe. Japanese like it raw, Chinese like it boiled, Indians like it spiced up, Americans grill everything, south Americans have their salsa's & tacos , Africans like them couscous and nuts. Of course i am generalizing as each location/nation has its own unique food which is too many to list. Also there is a cross culture influence as well amongst the food that we have now. I've had a chance to savor all kinds of foods from young as i had parents that were sort of adventurous.. so my palate also grew accordingly. But this blog isnt about cultures and its food in the current times.. i am going back a millenia.. and possibly further.This is about the latest fad that has been going round for the past decade.. "Paleo Diet" or sometimes refered to as the "Caveman Diet".. So i did some reading the past couple of months and actually have been aware of this method for more than a decade. I've tried it and succeeded of somewhat.. but get sucked back into the normal routine due to unavailability of resources.. What am i to do when i have rice and noodles served to me with a bottle of beer.. So whats a paleo diet ? (ok.. the word diet doesnt mean its a weight loss thing.. it actually means intake of food.. look up ur dictionary please)The Paleo Diet involves food that our ancestors used to eat like ..way back in the day. If a caveman couldn’t eat it, neither can you.This means anything we could hunt or find – meats, fish, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, fruits and seeds. Well too bad the pasta, grains, sugar, cereal, canned drinks, processed food and candy will have to go! Instead, you’ll be making things like chicken, beef, salads and etc. Get the idea ?Looks lovely doesnt it.. i always wonder why the pictures look delicious and when i cook it .. its never that close.. In a nutshell Eat whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense, nourishing foods. Prioritize grass fed and pastured meats and eggs, wild-caught seafood, and vegetables. Enjoy fruit, nuts, and seeds in moderation. See below for some info on the food that you can consumeMeat – GRASS-FED, not grain-fed. Grain causes the same problem in animals as they do in humans.Fowl - Chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.Fish – Wild fish, as mercury and other toxins can be an issue in farmed fishEggs - Look for Omega-3 enriched eggs.Vegetables – As long as they’re not deep-fried, eat as many as you want.Oils – Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil – think natural.Fruits – Have natural sugar, and can be higher in calories, so limit if you’re trying to lose weight.Nuts – High in calories, so they’re good for a snack, but don’t eat bags and bags of them.Tubers – Sweet potatoes and yams. Higher in calories and carbs, so these are good for right after a workout to replenish your glycogen levels.Avoid foods that will harm us by causing systemic inflammation, wrecking our guts, or derailing our natural metabolic processes. Stay away from toxic, pro-inflammatory foods like gluten-containing grains, legumes, sugar, and the laboratory made boxed/canned/deep frozen/pickled food found in the middle aisles of your neighborhood carrefour/metro/tesco/walmart.So wait.. ur wondering.. no rice ? no dairy? noodles ? no processed oils ? NO BEER ? No Salt? NO BEER ? Are you crazy ?.. well the general idea is to get rid of processed food. After all cavemen didn't get drunk.. hey cavemen didn't have TV and iPhones as well.. jeez. i know, i know... hahaPhysicians, nutritionists and other researchers are starting to understand the benefits of this ancestral nutrition or pale diet and people who adopt a Paleo like approach to eating are reporting significant improvements in their general health, body composition, and energy levels. Benefits of being a cavemanThee important findings show that there’s evidence that people that eat this way are reducing their risks of numerous diseases and disorders that are associated with the Standard American Diet. Something to look up to right ? If you want more info.. baidu the thing or look up wikipedia for detailed explanations. But i have lost quite a bit of weight doing the caveman style .. plus some exercise of course. sourcesthepaleodiet.com / nomnompaleo.com / nerdfitness.com / robbwolf.compictures belong to their rightful owners.

I am astonished by the growth capacity of China the past 2 decades. What was once considered a nation of marred with tragedies has risen up to take its place amongst the best. However the growth of such magnitude has its pitfalls. It has been the GDP and nothing but focusing on the GDP for the past few decades and with that comes its cost.. rising cost of living, pollution and countless other troubles. However, it is to note that all nations have similar troubles and no single nation has been "safe" from this. There will always be trouble in one form or the other even for the "perfect" nations. I am here in China.. in the so called elite cities - Shanghai.. Shanghainese are a proud bunch. Claiming to be the First class city of the nation and the world at large. I have to admit.. Facilities are excellent.. people are great.. food is second to none. But ..prosperity breeds disparity. Beautiful Shanghai.. In its better weather days (old pic .. missing 2 new tall buildings) (Picture courtesy of china.org.cn)Getting to the crux of the intended matter - Property.. property prices here in Shanghai.. Amazing. I've had the chance to visit some properties here in shanghai by virtue of looking for lease/rent .. and my inquisitive mind also inquired about the opportunities available to purchase properties. Well.. interesting as it may sound.. the property prices here are off the charts. Lets not even consider where the elites stay .. even apartments for the ordinary folks like you and me are far from affordable. Lets do some mathsPudong.. a 40m2 little loft costs about RMB 1m. A one room apartment(abt 50m2) in the outskirts.. decent place as well.. costs about RMB 1.5m.. which equates to an approximate of RMB 25k a m2.. minimum low flat rates.. and i have not gone to Puxi as yet.. So lets say for one to buy a 80 sqm apartment in the outskirts we may have to fork out 25k x 80m2 .. abt RMB 2m .. Lets say i get lucky and have parents to help out with 30% CASH downpayment .. about RMB 600k.. leaving 70% loan of RMB 1.4m.. if i do take a 30 years loan at 5% interest I WILL NEED TO PAY about RMB 9700 a month.. Those less fortunate.. wont have the deposit amount .. hence no house.. When will be one be able to save up for the deposit ? .. based on the above value.. 600k.. if u save 5k a month .. that will take 10 years .. thats from now.. how will the house prices be then ? Based on survey by peking university.. average salary of fresh grads range about RMB 2500/month for the nation. For cities like Beijing and Shanghai it averages about RMB3500 to RMB 4500. Cost of living here in Shanghai isnt low.. I also understand that each individual is given a housing allowance(if thats what its called).. but thats to a minimal extent. The maths don't add up.. However there is a silver lining in the clouds.. the average Shanghai salary scale is about RMB 20k.. which but when will one be able to hit that ? Assuming an average increment of 10% a year.. maybe one can hit the average at 15 years.. if u decide to stick to one company..To make matters worst.. the ladies here demand a house from the men before even considering a date. Talk about pressures in life.

It was a cold winters night when i landed in Beijing international Airport from Shanghai. It was a weekend getaway planned just so that i can visit the capital, savor the food, visit Tienanmen square and cross out an item from my bucket list .. The Great Wall.Leaving the airport, i headed towards the city, it was at night so traffic was good. Stayed at the New World Hotel.. warm and cozy with good reception. Was pretty close to the locations that i wanted to visit as well. In the morning, i walked towards Tienanmen Square from the hotel trying to blend in like the locals.. however.. i forget that i tend to stick out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of Chinese. The queue to get into the restricted area was long.. there was only handful international tourists but the bulk was all local. It was 5 degrees Celsius and yet people were flocking to the location like it was a warm spring day. After the security check.. i started off with the square.A guy selling caramelized strawberry and other fruits! Yummy. Not often you see those outside. I like this statue, a school girl i assume reading a book .. found it on the way to the Square. A lady playing guching or guchen.. not sure if its the big or the small one. It was a like a dream come true.. i have to admit. Looking at the gates of the forbidden city with Chairman Mao's portrait hanging over it. I saw countless pictures and tv shows on this location but i never thought i would be here. Again.. never say never ! Walked around Tienanmen square reading up the placards and observing the murals, statues and buildings. Indeed a marvel to be wondered.Chairman Mao and IThe Hwa Piao.. Symbol of the Chinese dynasty. The cultural statues which depicts the farmers and the rural folks (west side)Cultural statues depicting the soldiers or the peoples liberation army (east side)Square Centerpiece is a Monument dedicated to the Peoples Heroes ! After the square.. i crossed the main street to get to the forbidden city. Short queue to get the tickets and ear piece then of i went to check out the splendor of the city. This was the 3rd Imperial palace built after the Nanjing and Xian palaces. It was an amazing sight. The architecture, grandness of the buildings, arrangement of the ornaments.. it seems each building and articles around the palace was placed based on the Chinese "feng shui". I was kinda glad that it was winter as i was sure i walked more than 5km within the walls of the forbidden city. I cant imagine going around this place on a hot summers day.. I walked based on the provided map and viewed the buildings, halls, shrines and articles such as huge bronze pots (used for fire fighting) and etc. For such a place to exist 500 years ago.. it was amazing. I understand the modern architecture marvel. But this was in a league of its own. If you ever have a chance to look at google map or baidu map.. see the satellite view of the place.. it is said that this would be one of the first man made structures that can be seen from the orbit. .. That's how big it was. Ticket, set, go !Inner City Walls .. HUGE !Bronze pot that was used to store water or sand .. for fire fighting. It was said that this bronze pot was actually covered in gold and the Japanese soldiers scrapped the gold off the bronze pot, when they looted the forbidden city of the treasures and paintings. Atrocious ! You can see the scrap marks.. hopefully not from the tourists..Another perspective of the cityTiger or a Dog ?So there you go.. walking around the square and the palace .. took me a day.. looked for a place to recharge and then headed back to the hotel through the hutongs. Interesting buildings and small roads with lots of people and shops.. reminds me of streets of jakarta or bangkok minus the heat of course. If this is the birds nest.. how big is the bird ? Got up early just to miss the first train to Badaling which was supposed to leave at 7am.. and i arrived at 7.05 am.. so i waited for the next one which was to arrive at 11am.. i queued patiently only to be overtaken once the door was open.. imagine hundreds of people running towards the train and an Indian guy shocked standing in between ! Well.. when in doubt follow the crowd.. i too ran for my life. hahaha. got to the train got a seat and there i was.. heading to THE GREAT WALL ! In the train ! after running towards it from the waiting point.. hilarious !Tickets for Great Wall.. Walked from the train station towards the wall entry point.. i can see that this location has been rebuilt and made into a tourist stop with all the fancy restaurants, souvenir shops and etc.Buildings before the great wallI also realize that the wall portion of this location has been entirely rebuilt. Oh well.. i doubt i was going to be able to see the real wall, however this was close enough. Amazing view. can you argue that its not? can you imagine how this was built manually brick by brick thousands of years ago. I WAS THERE.. PROOF.. NOT PHOTOSHOP. Amazing mountain view, amazing rebuilt of the wall done by the Chinese. Walked the wall as far as the legs could take me and had to save some for the journey back.. But seriously this was an amazing place to visit. A gentle reminder.. please come when the temp is low and with comfortable shoes.. as you will be walking .. and again amazing.. guess how many times i repeated the word amazing. There you go.. i did it. I was all tired and smiling when i was on the train back to Beijing and occasionally falling sleep while standing.. can you imagine the embarrassment.. but hey , so what.. i crossed a to do from my bucket list. Got the next flight out of Beijing and still smiling.

In times of trouble or when i need some peace, i visit places of worship. Back home(malaysia) it will be either a temple (chinese, hindu or sikh), church or a mosque. You must wonder why.. I cant actually put my finger to it.. or clearly define the reasons to why i do it, but its something about the places of worship that just brings me calm.. Some places of worship are busy and some are peaceful and beautiful with fantastic work of arts lining the walls.I must admit that i am an atheist.. but i have been brought up as a Hindu from young as my parents and family are all Hindus. Whether i like it or not, there is definitely an influence of the religion on me. Buddhism is an offshoot of the Hindu religion.. and Taoism that is practiced here in China is very similar to what is practiced by Hindus. I have been raised to accept all religion and not judge nor reject any of it. After all, religion is totally individual as each experience it differently.Recent events in my life has been no short of an adventure.. i wouldn't want to call it hard times as i believe that each events bring me experience making me the person i am. Its been a total roller coaster.. hence as usual i needed some time to stay away from it all and get some divine blessing.. (i know i am an atheist)I have been to some places of worship in shanghai and it is great and most is well taken care of. The Pudong mosque, The Yuyuan garden Mosque, The temples scattered around Pudong and Puxi. Each unique to its own and magnificent. The beautiful Jingan Temple (picture courtesy of Shanghai Ethnic And Religions Affairs Committee)However something irked me when i was getting into Jingan temple. I had to pay RMB 50 to enter a place of worship (i understand that its free on the 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar).. which made me wonder if i am entering a carnival arena or a pay per the feature.. Places of worship always work from donations and i am sure places that are famous such as Jingan gets a lion share of the donations.. Hence with collecting an entry fee it defeats the purpose of it being a place of worship. Its not about the RMB 50.. which is a small, its more about being a temple rather being an amusement.. last i remember reading about Buddhism, there was no mention about money in their teachings or the way of life. To me this seems like it has been turned into a business. If i investigate further i am sure there will be more interesting findings but that's not the reason why i am here. Leaving the irks behind.. i find a corner to settle down whilst resting my head on the pillar, .. pondering solutions to my worldly problems. Interesting how we complicate matters.. but that's going to be another blog.