Troy: Where Legend Meets Archaeological Reality

Standing before the ancient walls of Troy, we grappled with questions that have fascinated scholars and visitors for centuries.

Troy, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, sits on the mound of Hisarlık in northwestern Turkey, approximately 4.8 kilometres from the Dardanelles. This ancient city served as a crucial bridge between Anatolia and the Mediterranean world for over 4,000 years.

The Oral Tradition Question

One of the most intriguing aspects we discovered was the relationship between Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and historical fact. These epic poems weren’t initially written documents but rather oral traditions passed down through generations of travelling bards called aoidoi. Archaeological evidence suggests these stories (like the story of the Trojan Horse) were orally composed and performed, likely accompanied by a lyre, sometime in the 8th century BCE before being transcribed.

The poems contain significant embellishment, they’re not non-fiction in the modern sense, but rather traditional tales that wove together historical events, cultural memories, and mythological elements. Modern scholars believe these oral traditions preserved genuine Bronze Age details, including descriptions of weapons, architectural features, and place names that had disappeared by Homer’s time.

The Trojan Horse: Myth or Memory?

While no direct archaeological evidence proves the existence of a wooden horse, the story likely preserves memories of actual siege tactics. Ancient armies did use various deception strategies, and the horse story may represent a folk memory of how Troy ultimately fell, whether through trickery, betrayal, or siege engineering.

The Nine Layers of Time

Troy’s archaeological complexity becomes apparent when examining its nine distinct settlement layers, designated Troy I through IX. Each represents a different period of occupation spanning over 4,000 years, from around 3600 BCE to 500 CE. These layers weren’t built simultaneously but rather represent successive cities constructed atop their predecessors’ ruins.

Troy I, the earliest settlement (3000-2550 BCE), featured massive limestone fortifications. Troy II (2500-2300 BCE) showed remarkable wealth and sophisticated urban planning. Troy VI (1750-1300 BCE) and Troy VIIa (1300-1180 BCE) correspond most closely to the period when the legendary Trojan War would have occurred, showing evidence of violent destruction that aligns with Homer’s narrative.

Construction Mysteries Revealed

The ancient builders demonstrated remarkable engineering skills. They chiselled limestone blocks using bronze tools and wooden wedges, creating walls that incorporated a distinctive “sawtooth” pattern common in Mycenaean architecture. The fortifications reached heights of over 9 metres, with wooden and mudbrick superstructures atop limestone foundations.

Regarding lead pipes, archaeological evidence suggests lead was indeed used in joints and connections of water systems, though the full extent of its use in Troy’s infrastructure remains under investigation. The builders had access to advanced metallurgy, including bronze working and sophisticated water management systems.

Environmental Changes Over Time

Troy’s decline wasn’t solely due to warfare. The ancient city’s strategic position near water sources gradually changed due to natural sedimentation. The coastline shifted over millennia, and what was once a major harbour became landlocked. Climate changes and the silting up of waterways contributed to the city’s eventual abandonment as a major trade centre. The land where the water used to be is now farmland.

We found seashells embedded in the excavated soil, evidence of Troy’s ancient connection to the sea and the geological processes that have reshaped this landscape over thousands of years.

The Troy Museum Experience

Our visit to the recently opened Troy Museum in nearby Tevfikiye village provided essential context for understanding the archaeological site. Tevfikiye, a small village in Çanakkale Province, houses this award-winning museum that opened in 2018 and contains over 2,000 artifacts spanning Troy’s entire history. The striking cube-shaped building, clad in weathering steel, was designed to echo the archaeological excavation process, its height matches the depth of Troy’s excavation layers.

The museum’s interactive displays helped us visualize how the ancient city would have appeared at its height, complete with digital reconstructions of the citadel and lower town. Particularly impressive was the replica of Schliemann’s famous “Treasure of Priam,” the original of which remains in Moscow’s Pushkin Museum.

Ayvalik: A Minor Stop with Major Impact

After the history lesson at Troy, Ayvalik served as a more relaxed interlude in our journey. We made a visit to çöp(m)adam, a social enterprise that demonstrates how traditional communities can embrace innovative solutions to modern challenges. The name itself contains a clever Turkish pun: “çöp” means “garbage” or “trash” in Turkish, while “madam” adopts the French word for “female.” Together, “çöp(m)adam” literally translates to “garbage ladies”, a playful yet meaningful reference to the project’s mission of transforming waste into fashionable accessories.

Founded by American social entrepreneur Tara Chantal Hopkins, çöp(m)adam addresses women’s employment challenges in a country where female workforce participation historically faced cultural barriers. The project employs local women who create unique handbags, accessories, and home goods from recycled materials, including fabric waste from local manufacturers. It provides women with their first salaried employment opportunities, enabling financial independence in a traditionally male-dominated economic environment.

See more photos of Troy here

As the final day of 2022 came to a close, we took a trip to Portugal. We found ourselves in the heart of Lisbon, looking to experience the local New Year’s Eve festivities. The city was alive with excitement and anticipation, as locals and visitors alike gathered to ring in the new year.

We started our evening at Rossio Square, where large crowds had already begun to gather. We meandered through the city streets, eating Pastéis de Natas, a sweet, flaky pastry is filled with a creamy, egg-based custard that is lightly dusted with cinnamon and powered sugar. I can still feel that crunch in my head when I think about it. The best one we had was from here

We also got to try Pastel de Bacalhau, a dish that combines the salty flavor of bacalhau with a crispy, flaky pastry crust. It is typically made with shredded salted cod, onions, and potatoes, and is often served as a snack or appetizer.

Along the walk, we encountered a café with a sign that probably would have gotten a lot of angry complaints where I live. Or maybe I’m just “woke”

The shop itself actually sells coffee beans and tea leaves in additional to other local souvenirs. Nothing wrong with that – it’s just the sign.

Lisbon was quite alive with twinkling lights and festive decorations. The streets and squares are lit up with colorful displays. In addition to the lights and fireworks, Lisbon during New Year’s Eve is also a time for celebration, with parties and events taking place all across the city.

To add onto the New Year’s festivities, the city set up stands where people could just buy a beer and drink it as they walked around. If people in North America were more responsible with their alcohol, this could work too

For dinner, we ate at a place serving paellas, both in the Portuguese and Spanish style (with port wine of course). Paella has a rich and savory flavor that is characterized by the seafood, meats, and vegetables that bring depth and richness to the dish. The perfectly cooked rice, which should be tender yet not mushy, adds a creamy texture to the dish.

As we waited, a gentleman working there chatted with us to help us pass the time as we waited. One thing we immediately noticed is that a lot of the restaurants in the area were purely there to serve tourists. The restaurant itself was run by Nepali immigrants (they couldn’t even tell us how to say “happy new year” in Portuguese). Still, the food was pretty good – there was even another couple who came back the next day.

Eventually we reached the Praça do Comércio. The crowds were so large it became impossible to actually get into the plaza. Not wanting to fight the crowd, we turned back. It was ripe for pickpockets to do their work. Instead we walked around the town looking for a good angle to see the New Year’s fireworks

The streets were filled with the sounds of music, and laughter, as revelers counted down to the new year. At midnight, the sky exploded with a dazzling display of lights and color, as the city celebrated the arrival of the new year. The sky lit up and and the air was filled with cheers and applause.

More photos of Portugal

The fortified city was almost demolished in the 19th century but after much protest by the locals, it was restored and now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We happened to visit Carcassonne at the same time as the Carcassonne Game Festival – a Carcassonne board game themed festival. I had played the board game before, but I had no idea that it was connected to the actual medival city itself. People got to play the board game Carcassone inside the walled city of Carcassonne. How cool! There were other events like axe-throwing, archery, and bowling (using the little meeples as the pins)! If I was a kid, I would have definitely enjoyed it a lot.

There are paths to walk along the defensive walls of the city. Luckily by today the weather had cooled down compared to the previous days and it was actually comfortable walking outside.

As usual, the castle is built on top of a hill – it’s the best defensible position. But because of that, visitors have access to views down into the town.

The castle itself isn’t just a fortification, there’s also a city inside of it too. Mostly it’s souvenir stores and restaurants. From a local store owner, I learned that the animals in French don’t sound the same as in English – it makes a “quah quah” noise – the guy made what I thought to be a super strange noise at first as I walked by his store presumably to attract customers, and after giving him a super confused look, he explained what it was.

The storeowner was actually selling earthenware for cooking cassoulet, a local dish. The dish is said to have originated in the town of Castelnaudary, and is particularly popular in the neighbouring towns of Toulouse and Carcassonne. We got to try it at a place called Méli et Zéli. It’s a slow cooked stew with beans, sausages, and goose/duck confit. It’s super rich and heavy. The duck flavour is very apparent. I want to learn how to make this.

Next, we headed to the Châteaux de Lastours. They are the ruins of four castles sitting on top of a hill. We reached the base of the mountain, but we weren’t prepared to hike the whole thing, so instead we looked for a car road up to some sort of view point.

The road I could see go to the top was a single lane road and it wasn’t apparent whether or not it was a one-way, but after seeing another car go up, I decided to follow. I just hoped that there weren’t any cars coming the other way because it was either drive off a cliff or into the trees.

We found a wider part of the road and pulled over to get a good look. If we had more time, we would have hiked up there – it looked fun. I ended up going back town the same way, again hoping I didn’t encounter another car. Eventually I did, but luckily the speeds were slow, the road was bit wider at that point, and I was able to swerve enough just in time.

Check here to see more photos of Carcassonne

STP 2017

In the summer of 2017, two friends and I rode STP over the course of two days (this was my first cycling event ever). At the time, I didn’t really know how to train other than just riding a lot of miles and I never really gave any conscious thought to hydration or nutrition. I clocked in about 1500 km over 70 hours of training from March till July (which was totally below what the official training plan called for).

On the event day, I ate whatever there was at the rest stops and drank the electrolyte drinks. I also ate this supplement called SportLegs that people were giving out. They supposedly improve muscle performance (however, sports dietitian thinks they’re more placebo than anything). I didn’t know anything at the time, and I just ate them anyway.

We were worried that our legs would be too sore to continue on the second day, but on the morning of the second day, we didn’t feel fresh, but nonetheless we made it through both days (with both legs still working!) and we were super happy with ourselves for having accomplished this. We joked that maybe it was the SportLegs (to this day we still don’t know). As we crossed the finish line, I said to my friends, “OK so we’re going to do STP in one day next year right?”. They thought I was joking, but I wasn’t.

The problems begin

The next event that summer was Obliteride 2017, a century ride to raise awareness and fundraise to fight cancer. I figured that since I had done STP, I’d be able to do this ride no problem. This is where problems for me started.

Around the 50 km mark, I started cramping up a little bit, and I still had 110 km to go. I started drinking much much more of the electrolyte drinks and eating, but the cramping just got worse and worse. It’s not that I didn’t have the strength – but each stroke I took, I felt the cramps. But the cramps weren’t SO bad that I couldn’t continue – I just had a terrible finish.

I went to see a physiotherapist to see what was happening, and she took a look, and she could only identify a slight pelvic rotation (my hips were leaning to one side of the bike), but she didn’t think that was the root cause. She couldn’t see anything wrong with the bike fit either, but thought it could have been a lack of training since Obliteride was much hillier than STP. I did the exercises she asked me to do and that was about it. I had also signed up for the Whistler GranFondo and Chilly Hilly as well, but I couldn’t even finish either of them. At one point, my entire right leg locked up on me and I couldn’t bend it for a couple of minutes. I began to worry if I could even continue cycling anymore.

Tackling the problem

I was so fed up with this problem, that I scheduled appointments with different doctors in sports medicine to get their advice. They all suspected that it was a nutrition problem and referred me to a sports dietitian. At my first appointment with the dietitian, she asked me about my lifestyle, how much I ate, exercised, etc. and immediately said, “you’re not eating enough for the exercise you’re doing” (I estimated that I was eating about 2200 calories/day). She wrote out on the whiteboard a high level guideline as to how I should eat.

I saw her for about a month and a half and after following her advice, my problems were solved! In a way, I got the OK from the nutritionist to eat as much as I want, even massive amounts of sodium and sugar, provided that I keep up my level of exercise. Knowing that eating more was the fix, I had no problem with that.

She also got me to measure my sweat rate, so I’d know how much water to replenish during big rides.

Training for STP 2018

I rode sporatically in the winter (I should have followed Rule #5 of the Velominati) and didn’t really start training seriously until June. From January to May, I clocked in only 848 km over 38 hours, which was only a bit less than year before at the same time, but I had started earlier in the year this time.

I made a plan for myself where I would do intervals twice a week with a big ride on the weekend (in June alone I clocked in 577 km over 25 hours). Two of the big training rides I had were century rides, where I got to work out the specifics in my nutrition and hydration plan. In total, I rode about 1600 km over 73 hours, not counting the intervals.

Three weeks before the event date, I started sleeping earlier and earlier (by about 15-30 minutes each day) to get myself used to waking up early since I would have to be on the road by 5:30am on event day.

Two days before the ride, I started carb loading (as per instructions from the dietitian).

My emotional state

I didn’t like the fact that training took so much time out of my week. I was already spending 10+ hours on the saddle, and I was beginning to feel mentally tired from all willpower required. The intervals drained me mentally even more because of the mental focus I needed to force myself to spin as hard as I could. It’s so easy to just stop when things get tough, and interval training was more mentally draining than any training ride I did.

As the event date drew closer, thoughts of my possible failure creeped into my mind, getting stronger day by day. I couldn’t think of anything else. I thought back to the wise words of Sun Tzu:

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。

I even started meditating to calm my mind. My coworkers could tell that I was more distracted than usual and provided me with good encouragement.

Race day

My friend and I started the ride around 5:30 am, and because there were so many cyclists on the road, drafting propelled us quickly and we made it to the halfway point around 2:30 pm. I still felt pretty fresh at that time which was good.

I knew that most riders do the ride in 2 days, so I expected not to be able to draft behind other riders. By about 200 km, I started feeling tired, but I knew I had to keep going. There was still 120 km to go.

I wasn’t having fun anymore. At this point, it was just a grueling grind to the finish, where the finish line was hours away. I wanted the day to be over. and thought to myself, “this too shall pass”. Looking at my bike computer frequently to see how far we’ve gone made it worse – slowly watching the distance ticking upward while thinking “when will this end?”

The temperature that day went up to a max of around 38 degrees Celsius. We rode in the burning heat, slowly becoming more and more dehydrated. I wanted the sun to set faster, so that it’d be cooler.

Judging by the dozens of people we saw at rest areas, we figured our pace was pretty good. But as we went further along, there were less and less people at the rest stops. Either they bailed, or they were much faster than us.

The finish line would close at 9 pm, and there was no way I’d get to the finish line in time. I wish I had trained harder.

For most of the last third, we rode mainly on our own, occasionally seeing another rider, whom we’d ride behind just to get an extra bit of a boost.

At the last rest area, there was almost nobody, maybe like a dozen people at most, but we were only some 25 km away. We could do this.

My friend and I would swap taking the lead every five minutes so that we could balance out the wind load between the two of us. The fact that the two of us rode together allowed us to talk to each other and help lift each other up. I think that helped a greal deal mentally and emotionally.

At dusk, we finally entered Portland. We were now just 30 minutes away from the finish line. We joined a group of other riders and rode together till the end.

I called out to the other riders with encouraging words like, “yeah! We’re almost there wooo”, but looking back I think I sounded too happy (despite my true feelings of misery) and the people around me probably thought I was a jerk for being so happy while they felt miserable.

Finally we reached the finish line at 10:30 pm. People were still there and cheering us on as we arrived. I almost shed a tear. I was overjoyed having finally achieving this goal.

Other friends who drove to Portland met us at the finish line and could see our happiness despite how filthy we were. We weren’t even hungry nor thirsty. We were in no mood to do anything. We just wanted to sleep. My friend was told that he sounded brain dead because he replied with one word answers and lacked the concentrated gaze that he normally had, whereas I was still considered having a sound mind.

The next morning, I woke up with quite the hangover even though I drank no alcohol. I was just REALLY REALLY dehydrated from the bike ride in the blazing heat.

After this entire ordeal, I told myself, “I’m not going to do this again next year”. I didn’t get back on the bike until late August – I think STP scarred me a little bit. I definitely don’t regret having done this at all, and I’m still very proud of what I did.

Alright, now let’s get the tickets for the game

“Don’t worry about the tickets for the game”, my friend said. Next thing we know, the tickets were all sold out to season ticket holders. Our other friend found some tickets on viagogo, BUT, we didn’t know if they were fake. We needed a new plan. “It’s OK, we can buy tickets off scalpers on the black market”, my friend says. The black market sounded all well and good until the news reported armed robberies occurring where scalpers were robbed of their legitimate tickets which were now worth a couple hundred US dollars, a value that is a large chunk of a typical local’s monthly salary. We could now only rely on the viagogo tickets being legitimate. Then there is me, the clueless foreigner in his country and doesn’t speak any Spanish, who can only helplessly watch events unfold without knowing at all how to help.

In our already not-so-good situation, a representative from viagogo calls us and said that the tickets can only be picked up at 5pm close to downtown. The problem was that the stadium is on the edge of the city and the game starts at 6pm. There was no way to go to the pickup location for the tickets AND get to the game on time because traffic on game day would be terrible. My friend calls the viagogo representative and tells him the situation and guilts him into letting us pick up the tickets earlier by saying how we trusted the company with these tickets and whatnot and the rep agrees to let us pick up the tickets earlier. Whether or not the rep was sincere in that offer we didn’t know. We needed a plan B in case we really had to pick up the tickets at 5pm. This is where our plan got SUPER elaborate. We spent a good hour brainstorming a good plan and this is what we came up with:

The guy who bought the tickets (the American), would have to ride a motorcycle to the ticket pickup location, pick up the tickets, and go to the stadium, while the rest of us would get to the stadium early with a van so that when the bike arrived with the tickets, we could hide the bike inside the van. When his dad heard the plan, he began to scold him saying how crazy it was, and in his scolding, I heard a word come up over and over again. When I looked it up, I found out it was profanity. Awesome! My Mexican friend called all of his connections that he had to see how we’d get our hands on a van and a motorcycle. According to him, “he knows a lot of people, people owe him favours”. The problem with that plan was that the guy who had the van got into an accident (whether or not that was true, we’ll never know), which suddenly broke our whole plan.

Okay, so what if he rode a bicycle to pick up the tickets? He’d have to ride 12km from the pick up location to the stadium in terrible traffic. Not to mention the person riding the bike isn’t familiar with traffic in Mexico (traffic that does not respect bikers), and that most streets don’t have stop signs or lights. Throw in some lack of sleep – the guy would be flying in that morning in an overnight flight from LA. He was up to the challenge. My Mexican friend summarized the whole plan into a PowerPoint, calling it “the story to be told about this amazing adventure”. We wouldn’t be able to execute this plan until the day of the game. In the meantime, my Mexican friend showed me around.

Lake Chapala

Lake Chapala is Mexico’s largest freshwater lake, and for whatever reason, there is a substantial population of Canadian and American retirees here.

Tequila

Got to see some Agave fields (and eat some Agave too!) on a tour at the Jose Cuervo Distillery in a town called Tequila (where the name of the alcohol comes from). I made the tour guide speak English because I was the only guy on the tour who didn’t know Spanish.

Driving in Mexico?!

At one point, my friend’s brother asked me if I wanted to drive. I thought to myself, “okay, so there are no stop signs anywhere, I have no idea where to stop, and based on the driving I’ve seen, nobody really follows the rules on the road”. I drove anyway!

Knowing that I was a complete newb on the road in Mexico, my friend and his brother were both very watchful to make sure I was stopping at the right times. They had practically memorized all the places where cars should and shouldn’t stop. I had no clue whatsoever. I stopped and went when they told me to.

Later on, we saw police cars stopped on the side of the street in front of us. My friends just told me to play it cool and just drive normally. I also realized I didn’t have ID on me, so if I had gotten pulled over or something, I would have had to pay $100 USD just to get out. But luckily, nothing happened.

Picking up the tickets

Now it was time to execute the plan. My friend called the Viagogo rep in the morning and he says that we can pick up the tickets at noon. Okay, so no problem. We went and picked up the tickets while in the back of our minds we were still wondering if the tickets are fake. If the tickets were fake, then our whole plan would be meaningless.

We meet the rep and he gives us the tickets. We closely inspect them, and everything looks good. We were in a bit of a disbelief. Everything seemed too easy. But we wouldn’t know if the tickets were real for sure until we actually go to the ticket counter. At this point, we wouldn’t have to execute our crazy bike plan, and could only wait and see when we got to the stadium. With the couple of hours until the game, we spent some time walking around the city center of Guadalajara.

Touring the city center

Lots of people out and about on a hot day. We went in May, statistically the hottest time of year in Guadalajara.

The local boy/girl scouts were running a recycling campaign or something.

Game time

After lunch, my friend’s dad drove us to the game. As expected, the traffic was real bad. On the way there, as my friend’s dad drove, he says to us that he’s going to break a bunch of traffic rules and not learn from him. He then proceeds to cut a bunch of lanes, crossing the hatched areas on the road, and cuts in in front of people. He even made use of an handicapped sign on his car to get into the parking lot quicker even though he wasn’t handicapped at all (seniors just get those because they’re above a certain age). With his epic driving, we got to the stadium right on time.

Now, the moment of truth. The guard checking the tickets would be the one to tell us if the tickets were real or not. As we got closer, we got more and more nervous. The guard scanned our tickets and waved us through. What a relief. We didn’t need any of our contingency plans after all. Logically, everything went smoother than we could have possibly imagined. Now it was time to enjoy the game!

The entire crowd pretty much supported the home team, and there was a small section of Tigres fans, probably about 50-100 people only. Tons of people waved Chivas flags, and some even waved the French flag because it had the same colours as the Chivas jersey. We all bought jerseys for the game too!

As the game went on, the crowd cheered and chanted, “dale dale dale rebaño!”, which roughly means “let’s go herd [of goats]” (chivas means goats). At one point, when it looked like the Tigres were making a comeback, the crowd cheered even harder. With an amazing 2-1 finish (4-3 aggregate), the Chivas had beaten the Tigres to win their 12th championship!

Celebration

That night, large crowds gathered at the Minerva statue in the city to celebrate the team’s big win. My friend’s dad said he’s never seen the crowd this big in a long time. To celebrate, the dad made us all tequila cocktails (there was probably 3-4 shots worth of tequila in that) before we headed out and had a great time. As the only Asians in the city (my American friend is of Japanese descent), we stood out a lot and people occasionally said random phrases to us in different Asian languages. I guess that’s what happens when two Asians show up with Chivas jerseys!

Last, but not least, the food

My first meal when I arrived in Mexico: Menudo. My friend thought my stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it, because the meat in the soup was tripe. But, nope! Chinese people eat tripe all the time!

Not exactly a meal that I had, but there is a running joke that a guy can take a girl out with roses and a can of Jack Daniels. Once that joke caught on, the store intentionally started putting roses next to the Jack Daniels in the store.

Tacos with carnitas and guacamole? Sign me up!

Lonches. Basically a sandwich with meat inside served with a dipping sauce on the side (can also just be poured onto the plate to let the bread soak). The bread used is a kind local to Guadalajara (birote/bolillo).

Then there are tortas ahogadas. Very similar to lonches. It has a the same bread, but this one is way meatier and the sauce is a tiny bit of spice.

Ceviche! A dish with raw fish cured in lemon/lime with added spices. Can’t say no to seafood!

My friend’s mom also cooked food for us and I totally wish I had taken some pictures of that food. She cooked a pork stew and I wish I knew what was in the sauce! Both parents encouraged me to eat so much and they showed so much hospitality! They kept offering me more and more food until I was super stuffed. Good thing my friend’s brother taught me “estoy bien”! This was definitely one of the best trips I ever had – full of excitement and not just doing touristy things. Having a local show you around really helps!

Link to photo album: here

The ICE is amazing, but it’s pretty expensive. It costs around ~120 euro to go across the country.

Back at Robocup, I got to see the robots in action once again! I also got to reconnect with a few of the people I used to know at Robocup too.

I also got a bit of time to walk around the city center. Downtown Leipzig isn’t very big, and since I went there on a Sunday, everything was closed and there was almost no one on the streets.

I spent about half a day there, and after that I went back to Berlin.

Link to photo album: here

Not to mention that the drive to Chernobyl was about two hours on a really bumpy road.  On the really bad bumps, my whole body flew up and my head hit the ceiling of the car.  I was still recovering from jet lag and I guess I was so tired that I slept anyway, while waking up intermittently when the bumps got too bad.  The tour guide played an intro video about Chernobyl on the way there and I slept through that too.

The Abandoned Kindergarten

We toured an abandoned kindergarten.  The building was made out of wood and so we were able to go inside and visit it.  The tour guide mentioned that people used to be allowed to enter most of the buildings in the area, but lately some of the concrete buildings began to crumble.  Because of that, it is no longer allowed for people to enter concrete buildings.  The tour guide also said something along the lines of “if you get hit by a falling concrete block in the head, you’ll probably die, but if you get hit by a falling piece of wood, you’ll just get hurt”.  By that logic, wooden buildings are still okay!

It makes a lot of sense that there is a lot of random junk lying around since the people did leave in a hurry during the evacuation, but some things didn’t really make sense.  Like the doll in the above picture:  why is it randomly missing its limbs?  There was also a tricycle on the floor with no wheels.  Did someone think the wheels were worth something and took only the wheels?

In this area there were also tons of tiny mosquitos and I got stung so many times by these “irradiated” mosquitos.  The tour guide said that it’s better when it rains when the mosquitos are even bigger.  He said that because they’re big, they’re easier to notice and to get rid of.  But if you get stung…the swelling probably isn’t going away for a while.

Reactor Number 4

We went to reaction number 4 next.  The disaster began at this very reactor.  We were able to get as close as 300 m away from it.  Beside it was the new sarcophagus structure that was being built to replace the currently existing leaky one.

I didn’t think we’d be able to get this close to the reactor. At this point the Geiger counter was reading about a few microsieverts per hour, which is over 10 times more than what normally people receive in a given day.

Pripyat

Before Pripyat was evacuated, the city had a population of about 50 000 people and we got to walk around the abandoned city.  We were told not to touch anything or sit on any surface for fear of radiation contamination.

After so many years of neglect, trees grew out of control and blocked off entire streets.  In some sections of the city, what used to be roads and intersections just became completely blocked by trees.  In some of the heavily paved areas, grass and weeds grew through the cracks in the concrete.  Bits of concrete were clearly missing from the surface of the buildings too and metal surfaces were all rusted.  It’s a shame that we couldn’t go inside the concrete buildings here.

We also went to the amusement park, where the iconic ferris wheel is located.

It was so rusty that I questioned when the spinning part of the ferris wheel would just crumble and fall.  Or maybe the seats would be the first to just drop one at a time.  Maybe the entire ferris wheel would just fall over on its side.  Even in the picture, the ferris wheel looks like its leaning a little bit toward one side.

Beside the ferris wheel were the bumper cars.  I found that pretty creepy.  I also remember that randomly on the street there was an abandoned bumper car just lying there.  That made me wonder how it got there.  Did someone think that was worth keeping and drag it there only to abandon it?  I wonder what was going through the people’s minds when they were evacuating.

Memorial

Within the Chernobyl area was a memorial for the events that happened and also for the three nuclear events that happened in Japan.  In the picture below between the two cranes, there are replicas of nuclear rods.

There was also a path with signs showing names of all the cities and villages that were affected by the nuclear disaster.  In such a short time span, so many lives were changed forever.

Back to Kiev

After having a giant lunch at the power plant canteen (no irradiated food I’m pretty sure), we headed back to Kiev.  I don’t recall eating dinner that day.

As we passed through the Chernobyl zone checkpoint, everyone had to go through a standard radiation screen.  We stood in this machine and the light would turn green to signal that we were okay.  I wonder what happens when people fail that.

After passing through the checkpoint, it was another two-hour ride in a van with no suspensions where I fell asleep for pretty much the whole way.

Links to photo albums:

• Chernobyl
• Chernobyl (Edward’s Photos)

As I sat on the plane, my mind began to wander. I had this weird fear that something might go wrong like I would get mugged or something or maybe there was some fundamental mistake in my trip planning.  I was reminded of the time my wallet was stolen in Brussels and I certainly didn’t want anything like that to happen again.  And then I thought about how much fun I had when I lived in Stuttgart.  I have very fond memories of my experience in Germany.  I then felt a slight rush of emotion and almost reliving some of my experiences in my head.  Then I figured I just had to be confident with my trip preparations and let myself have fun on this trip.  After all, not many people get an opportunity like this.

Parliament Hill

Because of Canada Day, a giant stage had been set up for shows throughout the day.  For Canada Day, many people came out wearing red shirts and so looking at the giant crowds of people, there was a sea of red.  The streets were filled with people taking part in the day’s festivities.  Street vendors sold Canada Day apparel such as mini flags to wave, vuvuzelas (I can’t believe people still buy these things), etc.  When we arrived at Parliament Hill, a ceremonial presentation of the Changing of the Guard was happening.  There was so many people that we couldn’t even get close.  We could only see it on the big screen on the concert stage.  From what I saw, it’s similar to the one that happens at Buckingham Palace in London.  From the events schedule, it said that the Parliament Motorcade would be pulling in at around 12pm.  It was still early at the time, so we continued walking around the city to see more of the sights.

National War Memorial

This memorial is dedicated to all Canadian dead of all wars.  This memorial is located in Confederation Square, and commemorates the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean War.  In front of it, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  There is also a Ceremonial Guard present at the site.  On top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, many people showed their respect by placing a mini Canadian paper flag over the tomb.

Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it connects Ottawa to Kingston.  It’s been around since the early 19th century and people still use it today.  Because of its antiquity, the mechanical system for opening each lock is purely manual.  Students are hired during the summer to open and close them.  Apparently, people use this enough to keep this place in operation.

Parachute Show

As we were leaving Rideau Canal, we happened to see a parachute performance happening.  Soldiers jumped out of a plane and performed tricks on their way down.  I tried my best to take some pictures with my camera, but the zoom just wasn’t good enough.

Parliament Motorcade

As it got closer to 12pm, we went up to the main avenue in front of Parliament Hill to watch the Parliament Motorcade pass by.  Many people were already there waiting for the same thing.  Policemen stood along the side of the road making sure that nobody blocked the streets.  The Prime Minister came in a motorcade of black cars, but the Governor General came in a horse-drawn carriage with the RCMP in traditional attire.  And since I haven’t been keeping up with Canadian politics, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen the Governor General.

ByWard Market and Obama Cookies

ByWard Market is a farmer’s market that is located in Ottawa’s French and Irish communities.  To show its Irishness, there are a lot of Irish pubs present in this district.  On top of that there is a bakery called “Le Moulin De Provence”, that sells something called “Obama Cookies”.  Apparently Barack Obama once stopped by this bakery to buy cookies for his daughter.  And ever since then, there are posters of Obama everywhere in this bakery.

At this point, we were all tired from our lack of sleep the night before, so we decided to rest up a little bit at our cousin’s place.  I got a nice two-hour nap.  Felt pretty refreshed afterward.

Canada Day Concert

In the evening on the concert stage on Parliament Hill, there was a concert.  We went there early to see if we could get some good seats, but then on a day like this, it was pretty difficult.  We lay down our blanket on the grass and just talked until the concert started.  We got a little more caught up among the cousins with what we were all doing (jobs, school, etc. – the usual stuff).  Fishing live grenades from World War II was probably the most memorable thing.

Probably the most note-worthy part of this concert was the fact that Simple Plan played.  I didn’t even know they’re Canadian.  I’m not really a fan of Simple Plan, but it was still cool hearing a famous band play live.  As the concert went on, I felt tired again and somehow fell asleep.  I was so tired that I managed to sleep through the concert music.  I didn’t think it was possible.

At the end of the concert, the fireworks started.

After the fireworks, the crowds left the premises in an orderly fashion.  The parents went back to the hotel, while the younger kids stayed at our cousins house.  The next day, we would tour the inside of the Parliament building.

More photos here

These two keys toggle the full-width (double-byte), and the half-width (single-byte”) character sets when typing with the Chinese IME.  Full-width characters look like “ｔｈｉｓ “ while half-width is what people are normally used to.  The default key combinations are easy to press by accident in situations such as capitalizing a title.  Therefore, it is beneficial to remove this hotkey.

Solution

Because changing the key settings manually through Windows does not work, one must go through the registry.  The following fix applies to the current user that is logged in.  Apply the following registry keys and then restart the computer.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000010]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000011]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000012]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000070]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000071]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000072]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000201]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000202]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\Hot Keys\00000203]
“Virtual Key”=hex:ff,00,00,00
“Key Modifiers”=hex:00,c0,00,00
“Target IME”=hex:00,00,00,00

In the registry, one can also navigate to “HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelInput MethodHot Keys” and see a list of folders with names that have eight numbers in them with leading zeroes.  Each folder here represents a particular hotkey related to an IME.  Clicking on one of these folders will show data for these keys.

Setting “Key Modifiers” to “00 c0 00 00” removes the use of the Ctrl and Alt key for the hotkey.
Setting “Virtual Key” to “ff 00 00 00” sets the key to nothing.
The key “Target IME” can be left as is.

In the case of the “Shift+Space” hotkey, “Shift” is the key modifier and “Space” is the virtual key.

It is unclear which folder corresponds to the key that toggles the character shape, therefore this fix is a blanket approach.

If the Above Still Fails

Try combining the fix with an installation of Microsoft Office IME 2010, which can be downloaded here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/zh-tw/details.aspx?FamilyID=60984ecd-9575-411a-bd38-2294f17c4131&displaylang=zh-tw.  Despite the name, it does not require Microsoft Office to be installed. After installing, apply the registry keys and restart.