#i totally started this for some other reason than “i'm so normal about figs”

[eri-pl]

So, Figwit

That elf from LoTR movies, whose name is an acronym of "Frodo is great, who is that?". I just realized that we can give him a proper name.

Long post with linguistics speculation under cut.

So, fig… OK, there's no official Sindarin word for a fig :((( just a Quenya neologism "relyávë". With "rel" being probably the main root I need here. Whatever. I'm gonna make him a Noldo, even a Feanorian if I had to. Let's go with a Quenya name then… Those are hard. :(

"wit" is "tunto" with a *, so probably it's another sus word. Whatever.

Iirc, Quenya likes to go noun-descriptor, so Relyátunto… Yes, sounds like a legit name! How to Sindarize it now? eh, let's go with the classic Exilic "just take the main syllabes and roll with it" Reltun. Still doesn't sound good… OK, let's do the commonly used "just turn some of the vowels to o" and make it Relton. Fine. Or Reldon (making things voiced is also a thing) but this sounds too much like Sheldon.

Ok, 2nd attempt. Let's assume Sindarin would use just "rel" for the fig, because this seems like something they would do, using the easy half of the Quenya word. And go with "sael" which is "wisdom", but with how Tolkien uses this word, it's not far from "wit". Or "glaudh" which is a neologism for "joke / jest". hmm, I like the later more.

OK, so "rel" + "glaudh" + "-dir" or "-on", because gender suffixes or maybe "-or" which is the same as English "-er" ie "the doer of the thing".

The merging tutorial… Adjective/descriptor first, unless ugly, so let's keep the order for now. "rel" + "glaudh" + "or" → rel" + "laudh" + "or" → "rel" + "lodh" + "or" probably → Rellodhor? Ok...

Let's try the other way around. "glaudh" + "rel" + "or" → "glod" + "rel" + "or" → Glodrelor. Sounds more stereotypically Elvish.

Aaaaargh… So I now went to Wikipedia page for him and someone already did the name? And used a different word for "fig" taht is allegedly canon??? I don't like the whole name, they made him into a muse, but ok let's go with "fig"="melpo" I like it, figs are sweet. Hmmm, elfdics says it's gooseberry, but this word feels much more like fig than like a gooseberry, the canon can go get eaten by spiders, my lámatyáve says it's a fig, so it's a fig. And the Sindarin for it is "meleb" or maybe "melep" because I said so ("before-sweet" is a valid etymology for a fig, deal with it)

Let's do the name now. And yes, I am keeping the "wit" `≅ "jest" (= "glaudh"). Blame Brandon Sanderson for me having this association. He's called a fig-jester, this is my HC now. Doing them in the normal order results in really ugly-sounding words, so:

"glaudh" +"meleb" + "or" → "glaudh" +"veleb" + "or" [that's a funny change] → "glodh" +"veleb" + "or" → Glodhvelebor, this doesn't sound pronouncable for an English speaker, more like a Witcher character XD. I'm gonna bend the rules and treat the "v" like an "f". Glodhevelebor. Yes, it's long. He's young, he can have a long name.

But who would call his son "fig jester", you ask me. Hmm.

Remember how in LotR there's that Elf in ME who for no clear reason introduces himself as the son of Finrod. So, Gildor (who I assume originally had a much longer name) and his brother, and probably a sister or two, but of course, the sisters are never mentioned, were born in aman after Finrod got reembodied and married, and were already adults by the time when Glorfindel was sent to ME. they sneaked into the boat, because they were curious too see ME. the Valar of course knew, but come on, those are Finrod's kids, they're so cute— also Námo thought they'll be less depressed if they don't have to witness the whole Númenor trainwreck and go help fight Sauron instead.

Why would Finrod find "fig jester" a good name? Vibes. Finrod is the Elvish esp Telerin) mix of happy-sad, but also has tones of the… I'd call this wholesomely creepy (see: the werewolf incident). And This matchest the vibe. If you want to know why figs are weird, I wrote a short fic about it.

And yes, this makes this name more like mothername than like fathername, but I doubr Finrod would care.

…or maybe the kid was just very happy and liked figs.

Why is his name in Sindarin then? Figwit translated it, of course, to not look suspicious. :D (Also, he dyes his gold hair to a darker color)

What was the original? Hmmm... "melpo" + "tunto" (wit), but it's Quenya so the order is arbitraty + we can mutate the words a bit. Let's just make it Tuntamelpo (sees a fig), and roll with it. The joking part has been a subtext. I'm sure there's a story behind it. At least there's nothing about hair in this name.

So this is it, that's the story of Figwit and his name[s].

Thank you for reading, here's a potato poll

[akalittlemisscrazy]

Backpacking Escapes: Siem Reap

Siem Reap. A backpacker’s dream and our last stop after 50 days of traveling. Of course the big attraction of this city to tourists is the temples, particularly Angkor Wat. For our first day we rented bicycles for $1 a day as suggested by a blog Rachel had read. All I can say is dear God I’m impressed if they actually managed to actually cycle all 3 circuits in 2 days without melting. With a proper dirt bike I may have been able to, although I would be very tired after a grand total of approximately 150 kilometres. But honestly what killed us was the heat. I’d recommend bringing A LOT of water or at least some money for the street vendors (who thank goodness sell ice cold water for normal prices instead of trying to rip you off. Absolute life savers).

We cycled the small circuit; a total of 43 kilometres in 36*C heat on the most rickety bikes I’ve ever seen. Even though I was a bit stiff by the end of the day I sti enjoyed this experience. The highlights of this route include Ta Prohm (accurately nicknamed Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider temple) with some spectacular Strangler Figs engulfing the doorways. I love how despite all the restoration and conservation efforts, they have haven’t pushed the jungle completely back. This keeps the mysterious forgotten world aura surrounding these temples in tact.

Srah Srang was once the 'Royal Bathing Pool' for ritual bathings. It was so perfect I just couldn’t resist dipping my feet in, much to Rachel’s amusement as she watched in confusion as I suddenly threw my shoes off saying “Why not?!”.

Bayon Temple is so drastically different to all the other temples that it is somewhat curious to explore. It originally had 49 towers; today 37 towers remain with almost 200 faces carved facing in 4 directions. Despite its slightly cluttered feel, this temple was mysterious and beautiful in the evening golden light.

Angkor Thom means ‘city centre' and is actually the collective name for the area including the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King. Make sure to fully explore these areas, particularly between the inner and outer walls as there are many wonderful carvings that are still well preserved down here. See if you can find the 5 headed horse, the elephants and the 5 headed Nagas.

Our final adventure for our first day here was our “shortcut” home. And by “shortcut” I mean Google maps told us there was a road running down to join the riverside track. In reality this was a very narrow dirt path winding through the jungle, then along a road that was more pot holes than actual road through the village-like outskirts of Siem Reap. On the bright side I’m fairly sure we were the highlight of the day for many many children who all rushed out to say to hello to us as we passed by, then sprinted back inside to tell their parents about the strange girls. Honestly I’ve never said hello so many times in such a short space of time – it was so endearing 😊. The people here are so friendly, warm and open.

Angkor Wat sunrise is probably the number one thing you’ll hear people recommend, for a very very good reason. I mean, just look at this beauty:

I don’t think words are even necessary; these photos speak volumes for themselves. No filters - that's just genuinely what it looked like. Yes it meant dragging ourselves out of bed at 4.30am but at least today we’d had the sense to book a Tuk Tuk driver for $12 each who took us to Angkor Wat for sunrise, then to all the way out to Banteay Srei (which by the way is worth the journey away from the city. It's only a small temple but it has a wild beauty around it and the grounds are also lovely), then finally around the Grand Tour of Angkor.

Another major advantage of getting up early meant we had a lot of the temples to entirely ourselves. Literally Queens of Backpacking ❤️

For our day off we decided to simply wander. Something about the twisting streets screams 'explore me' and it has one of the best vibes we’ve had from any city. It is quirky and interesting, and the people are so lovely. We decided to walk towards the riverside and stumbled upon an old map for the 'Historical Quarter Walk' which held a view interesting sights.

Before long we arrived at the Royal Gardens Park, nicknamed Bat Park for a very good reason. We flopped on a bench in the shade for a quick drink and both had the same sudden almost simultaneous moment of realisation. Rachel’s jaw dropped as I gasped 'Holy cow...'. Looking up we realised the trees were full of hundreds and hundreds of fruit bats hanging from the branches.

Having found our own little peaceful corner watching these bats occasionally flutter from tree to tree, we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging here. The park is very quiet and sleepy during the day but wakes up in the evening. Apparently if you want an outdoor Zumba class this is the number one place to go. We passed 3 on our way out of the park.

Another highly recommended activity I’d found on Pinterest was the Happy Horse Ranch. Another 5 gold stars to Pinterest – this was BRILLIANT. We’d started going into animal withdrawal so a three hour hack seemed to be the perfect cure. This is the best way we’ve come across to see the picturesque countryside. Endless fields of rice plantations and lotus flowers stretched out all around us. There’s nothing quite like feeling of wind running through your hair as you canter through such a peaceful gorgeous place. And to top it off all the horses here looked happy and healthy. This place easily gets a 10 out of 10 and I’d gladly go again. Our guide (Kong) was very friendly & helpful, the views spectacular and the horses perfectly matched to our experience levels (a.k.a. we can both handle a slightly fizzy spooky horse, personally it makes the ride more enjoyable than plodding along on an old cob! Even if it is slightly more difficult to shimmy past a water buffalo threatening to charge at you when you’re also trying to persuade your horse it’s absolutely fine if she just keeps on walking).

Artisans Angkor was simply an incredibly lucky break. We’d been googling free things to do in the city when I came across a brief mention of this silk workshop around the corner from our hostel. It ended up being so much more – by simply turning up at the door you get a free guided tour around the workshop where they make wooden carvings, stone carvings, silver inlays, jewellery and some stunning silk garments. You really get an appreciation for the amount of skill and how long it takes to make these masterpieces. Some of the stone sculptures take 4 months to complete. The tools they used are recycled from old motorbike and tuk tuk springs. These artisans also help with the restoration of the Angkor temples, recreating some beautiful statues based on the original designs. During your tour you may even get to try carving yourself (then realise how hard it is and watch amazed as the guy turns your scribble into a masterpiece).

The next day we returned to the workshop to get the free shuttle bus for another free tour (I love that Asia is cheap, but free is even better ❤️), this time around the silk farm itself. Hats off to whoever first looked at a cocoon made by a worm and thought “You know what? I bet that will make a really nice fabric”. I learnt so much here and it didn't cost us a penny. Artisans Angkor use over 60% of their sales income to give back to the local community and provide so many people with jobs & support. Definitely high up on my recommendations list. It's such a shame more people don't know about this. Go go go people.

And that's it....

The end of my Backpacking Escapes series. For now at least! Thanks to the fellow travellers I've met along the way I've now got a list of new places to visit and things to try as long as my arm, and I can't wait for more adventures. South East Asia has truly been a dream, and I would say it's been a once in a lifetime trip - but how can it be when I'm so in love and so desperate to come back?! I'm certain this won't be my last visit to Asia, but rather the first of many.

Bon voyage for now my friends! I've got a couple more blog posts planned but it's time to go home. To those of you still travelling make the most of every moment! And those of you who aren't....

What are you waiting for??