Aspundir: 01/22/12

Weird Body Piercing for the Love of Gods

Weird Body Piercing for the Love of Gods

In late September and early October in Thailand held an unusual vegetarian festival. I order to Nine Emperor Gods give them good health and peace of mind, these people during the festival, which lasts 9 days, must comply with many rules. These days they do not eat meat, drink alcohol, have sex or wear white clothes, and must maintain body hygiene and kitchen accessories… What’s really spectacular is sticking various objects through the face: knives, sabers, saw, glasses, spears… Every drop of blood, and every scar is a gift for purifying the soul. This expression of devotion and love to the gods during the ceremony is often a very creepy and bizarre, but always spectacular.

Vertical Garden - Creative Building

Tottori Sand Dunes: A Mini Desert in Japan

Who would have thought there is a desert in Japan? Well, not quite a desert but a huge sand dune that looks nearly a desert to me. It’s the Tottori Sand Dunes located near Tottori City in Honshū, Japan. The dunes stretch along the coast east of Tottori City for 16 kilometers and extend up to 2 kilometers away from the coast. The dunes are spread over an area of 30 square kilometers – not like the Sahara, but not small either.

The Tottori Sand Dunes were created by sediment deposits carried from the Chūgoku Mountains by the Sendai River into the Sea of Japan. Sea currents and wind help bring the sand from the bottom up onto the shore, where the wind constantly rearranges their shape. The highest dunes reach around 90 meters above sea level and can reach 40 degree slopes. Technically, its not a desert but the temperature of the sand can easily soar above 50C on sunny summer days. A number of hardy species of plants and animals also thrive in sections of the dunes.

The dunes have existed for over 100,000 years, but the area of the dunes has been steadily decreasing due to a government reforestation program following World War II. Additionally, concrete barriers erected to protect the coast from tsunamis have disrupted the currents responsible for bringing the sand to shore.

The Tottori Sand Dunes attract some two million visitors each year, mostly from within Japan and East Asia.