Time in Seoul Coming to An End

Seoul

S and I have spent the last 5 nights in Seoul- the most consecutive nights we have stayed in one city and one motel. It has been really nice to not have to move around so much. While we have really enjoyed our time here, I think we both kind of question how much we just did not want to move and wanted to kind of be able to call someplace home for a while. And it was a good home- cheap, clean room, hot water, a TV with access to English shows, free breakfast and free internet. A backpacker could not ask for more. Our last two days in Seoul have been busy and fun. There are two accompanying photo albums in this blog.
Here's the highlight reel:
COEX Mall
Olympic Park
touristy Itaewon neighborhood- there were a lot of fellow whities there.
Met crazy American man on the street, who flagged us down because we were white-looking, and ranted for 20 minutes about how much he did not like living in Korea and how cruel Korean bosses were
DVD bang
Korean baseball game
10 hours at Lotte World amusement park

This afternoon, we are getting on a ferry from Incheon, Korea to Qingdao, China. Plenty of time to read the tour book, do some karaoke, go to the public bath, sleep and eat some kimchi. We arrive in Qingdao Friday at 9AM!

Korean Baseball

Our New Korean Friends

In Nikko, Japan 3 weeks ago, a married couple began talking to us at a picnic bench. They were sitting down to eat lunch and, after a few minutes of talking, S and I decided we would order lunch as well to continue our conversation. They lived in Seoul and invited us to contact them when we arrived in their hometown. Just before we arrived, we emailed them and they suggested we meet for dinner. After telling them that S was a vegetarian but was flexible, they selected an all-veggie restaurant that was absolutely amazing! It was the first time the husband had tried fake meat before- he liked it, or maybe he was just being polite. We had great conversation all night and found out that Min-Chae was expecting twins. Very exciting. She said because she was 9 weeks pregnant, she no longer takes the subway to work and only take taxis. She also is making sure not to watch any scary movies- she only watches cartoons. They were very sweet. They bought us dinner and offered to take us on a night drive across the city. The took us to Jejudo Island in Seoul and we visited the 63 Building, one of the tallest building in Seoul overlooking the downtown area. We took the outdoor glass elevator to the top and saw some amazing views of the city. Seoul is huge! When we told them we were not sure of our plans the next day, the husband offered to take us to the Korean Folk Village in the afternoon. It was about an hour away but he said he would pick us up from our hotel and drive us there. Yesterday was really fun. We had a great ride in the car there where the topics ranged from Korean culture to tensions between Korea and Japan to golf. He told us his American name was "Houston" because that's what his real name sounds like to Americans. While the folk village was pretty touristy, it was really special to have Yu-Seung lead us from exhibit to exhibit explaining the significance of the artifacts and how they are important in Korean culture. He insisted we take photos at almost every other artifact- very Asian of him. It was particularly interesting to hear what traditions have remained alive within his and his wife's lives. At the end of a long afternoon, he drove us home and the wife called us before we got out of the car to wish us safe travels. We thanked them over and over again for their generosity and they constantly reminded us that it was their pleasure. We promised to return the favor when they came to New York. This was probably one of our most memorable experiences so far!

Min Chae and Yu-Seung

the DMZ

the DMZ

Yesterday we took a tour of the demilitarized zone, the DMZ. We visited Imjingak, a bridge used to exchange prisoners of war after the Korean War ended. We looked through binoculars from Dora Observatory to get a view of North Korea. Just outside of the North's demilitarized zone, there is a propoganda village- houses and apartment complexes with no one living there. They have built several other ghost towns along the border. We could see Kesung City, North Korea's second largest city and a big industrial town. North Korea also holds a world record for the highest flagpole in the world. After the DMZ was established, the North and South competed to have the highest flagpole just outside of the 38th parallel, where the border separation exists. After that, we went to Dorasan Station. This station serves a railroad line that has been reconnected to run to North Korea but it is not yet in use. It serves currently as a symbol of hope for the future. Lastly, we walked through the 3rd tunnel, an infiltration tunnel built underground from the North to South. The North claims to have been coal mining yet S. Korea claims that is impossible as coal has never been found within their territory. We were able to walk as close as 170m from the N. Korean border and, at that point, there were three barrier gates. Four tunnels have been found but South Koreans do not know how many more exist.

Busan, Gyeon-ju, Daegu and Haeinsa

Busan and Gyeon-ju:

Busan & Gyeon-Ju, Korea

Daegu and Haeinsa:

Daegu and Haeinsa

Hiking through Mount Namsan in Gyeon-ju

S and I have spent the last 2 days in Gyeon-ju, where the Silla dynasty ruled over the country during the 5th through 10th century, with this town serving as its capital at that time. The whole area is full of old temples, forests, burial mounds (grassy hills under which Silla kings from over a century ago are buried), buddha statues built on hilltops to protect the community and even the oldest astronomical observatory in East Asia.
Above is the Bulgaksa Temple that S and I visited yesterday, The temple was first built in the mid-6th century, with reconstructions occurring up until 30 years ago to return it to its original state. It is a World Heritage Site.
Today I went on a 4 hour hike through Mount Namsan. I started at Samneung Royal Tombs and, as I climbed up the mountain to its 468m peak, I saw maginificent buddha sculptures carved into the mountainsides, pagodas, and buddha carvings in the rocks. The view from the peak was breathtaking and there were some really steep descents that required the assistance of a rope to get down the mountain. Along the way, I was offered a snack and water from a kind group of Koreans and picked up a buddy hiker named SeeSee from Hong Kong. She was a translator for a law firm there, so her English was great. She gave me tips about traveling in China and was nice company for the last third of the trip.
At the end of our hike, I was very parched, as I hardly had any water during my hike, and a woman in town offered SeeSee and me purified cold water from the nearby spring. It is kind gestures like this one I will never forget. Below are some photos from my hike.

DVD Bangs

In Korea, there are stored that are referred to as "bangs". It seems to be a place where you can rent something (like a movie, a computer, video games, karaoke...) and use a private space for that rented object. So right now, I am in a PC bang with about 40 other stalls where people are using computers. In the 2 times I have used a PC bang since being in Korea, it has been filled with young teenagers and none of them are on the internet. They are playing video games in front of their big flat screen computer monitor. There are also really comfortable leather chairs, snacks available for purchase and a smoking section, if you want to puff away during your hours of video game play.
So, the more interesting "bang" shop I have visited in a DVD bang. They were all over the place in Busan, Korea's 2nd largest city, usually on the upper floors of a building. They are open until 4AM and have hundreds of DVDs that you can rent for around 8 dollars. I just went in and wrote the movie I wanted (Memoirs of A Geisha, as I had just finished the book) in English on a piece of paper. The clerk found the DVD and put it into a DVD player by his computer and led me to a private room. It was a polka dotted room with a black leather loveseat couch and two ottomans. The room was pretty bare expect for a trash can and a box of tissues (suspicious). Anyway, he put on the movie for me and I was able to control the volume and dim the lights. It was a huge flat screen and it was a very enjoyable experience! Note the tissues in the right corner of the first photo.

greetings from Korea

Hello! Steve and I just arrived in Busan, South Korea yesterday afternoon. We took the slow ferry from Fukuoka, Japan into Busan. Our ferry had lots of amenities on it, such as 2 restaurants, several karaoke rooms, movie rooms and an onsen (public bath). I went to the onsen- it was really relaxing! As we ate our lunch in the common room, we met an older Japanese man who was 72 years old. He was a cab driver in Japan but his family lived in Korea and he was heading to visit them. With his very little English and with lots of hand gestures, he told us that he was living in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. He showed us scars all over his arms and legs. He offered us raisin wine-it tasted like raisin-flavored moonshine. He already seemed to have drunk half the bottle. He filled my cup to the top and we talked for some time with him.
Today, we are checking out a temple built over a thousand years ago today and heading to the beach.
Even though we have only been here for less than 24 hours, we can already feel the differences between here and Japan. The drivers are disobeying traffic regulations, which did not happen in Japan. People are walking wherever they please. It reminds us of New York. There are food stalls everywhere and people talking really loudly in the street. Very different from Japan.
One similarity is that the people have been very friendly. They all laugh at me when I try to say thank you (gamsa hamnida).
We are in the post office, where they have free internet.
Below are photos of our 2nd economy room and our kind, drunk friend, followed by photoes from our time in Fukuoka.

Fukuoka, Japan

Check Out My Kimono

My New Kimono

So, as S went to see a temple today in Matsuyama, I decided I needed a day of relaxation. For me, that involved window-shopping. I have decided to take up running while in Asia so I needed to buy a pair of running shorts. Refusing to pay $35-$80 at the running stores in the area, I continued looking. It was on the 2nd floor of a mall in the center of the city that I stumbled upon a second hand shop. I found a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt for 3 dollars each and then I realized they were selling used kimonos. I had read in my guide book that buying used kimonos is the way to go, as quality is high and the price is cheap. I also really wanted to find an affordable one before I left Japan in a few days and had been nervous I wouldn't find one. They did not have any kimono and obi (sash) sets, so I needed to create my own set. I really needed to sift through the 20 or so kimonos because, as they were used, most of them were stained. I finally found one that I liked and was stain-free and then set about finding an obi to go with it.
The kimono and obi cost me $10.50, which is a bargain as most prices for kimonos begin at $40.
That's not all.
After researching obis after I got home, I learned that I had purchased a Nagoya obi. That means the sash is shaped like a paddle and it is a more casual sash. The wider part of the obi is used to create the bow in the back. I then spent about 45 minutes watching videos and reading how-to web pages about how to tie a proper nagoya obi. It took me an additional 15 minutes to figure it out in my room. Here is the finished product. As S was out temple-viewing, I did my own photo shoot in the hotel room.
Enjoy!

Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima-Style

From Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima Style

this is probably the most interesting dish we have had so far on the trip. this is one of Hiroshima's specialties. The dish is referred to as a pizza or a pancake. In the center of town, we went to a 3-storey building filled with counters serving up this special dish. We were definitely the only non-Japanese eating there. Check out the play-by-play photos to get a sense on how this "Japanese pancake" Hiroshima style is made. It tasted weird at the beginning but we loved it by the end.

Okonomiyaki- Hiroshima Style

Hiroshima Memorial and City

It was very powerful to have spent the last 2 days in Hiroshima. One day, we visited Memorial Park, a site of remembrance of the A-Bomb drop on August 6th 1945. After walking through the park and seeing all the different memorials, we went to the Hiroshima Memorial Museum. The exhibit was very informative and gave a very detailed story of the history of Hiroshima, the war, and the aftereffects of the bombs. The last third of the tour focused on our need to end nuclear proliferation and gave museum-goers a rationale for this standpoint. It was a very well done and gave visitors a place to focus their emotions, if they so chose. At the end, there were video testimonials of survivors of the bombing. The one woman I watched had lost her whole family and her story was saddening and touching. It gave me a lot to think about.

Hiroshima

Peaceful Kyoto

The 3 days that we spent in Kyoto were absolutely wonderful. We saw some amazing temples and gardens, walked through bamboo forests, ate some interesting food and meet kind people. The most memorable experience for me was our visit to Nanzen-ji, one of S's favorite temples from his previous visit to Japan. Behind the temple, there was a small wooden pathway that led us to a trail into the mountains. We hiked for about an hour and a half in the pouring rain. We got completely soaked and the rain made the path slippery but, along the way, we discovered some beautiful sites. As it is Golden Week in Japan and South Korea, meaning everyone is on vacation, all of Kyoto's sights were mobbed with people. However, on this hike, we were completely alone, which was a nice and new feeling. We found a thundering waterfall, a quiet lake and some old Japanese cemeteries along our hike. When we got to the top, we couldn't really see much but we felt a sense of accompishment. On the way down, I bathed in the waterfall.
Check out the photos:

Kyoto

Earthquake in Japan- We are Fine

Just wanted to let everyone know that we were unaffected by the earthquake that hit Tokyo and surrounding prefectures this morning, or last night for you. Steve and I are in Kyoto, which is quite far from the hit regions. Tomorrow, we head to Hiroshima, which is further south on the island.
Sayonara

Hey Dave~ Check out Steve's Awesome Watch

Steve's Watch

Fuji, Osaka, Nara and Universal Studios

Universal Studios Japan

S and I spent the day yesterday at Universal Studios Japan. It was really hot, the lines for each of the 7 rides they had were at least 40 minutes but it was incredibly fun. We were there from opening to closing (12 hours) and are spending the day today recovering from all of the fun we had. We slept in later than usual- we got up at 8. Today we are in Kyoto.

Below are some other photos from our stay in Fuji, Osaka and Nara. The photos mostly tell the story through the captions.

Fuji, Osaka and Nara

Tokyo Fish Market

Fish Market in Tokyo

S and I spent the morning at the huge Tokyo Fish Market. it is where all the fish in the Tokyo region comes into. The fish auction starts at 5 AM and, when we arrived at 6, it was a complete madhouse. There were people chopping up fish at the market's hundreds of stands. There were motorized carts flying around the place. It was quite an experience. Of course, the experience was complete with a full sushi platter at a nearby stand just outside the market at 7AM

Capsule Hotels

Capsule Hotel

Due to demand, I have decided to post about my experience in the capsule hotel in Tokyo. So, as you might have seen in the picture, you sleep in a pod. Inside the pod, there is a small TV, a radio and a light. There is also a wooden screen that you can pull down to keep the hallway light out of your pod.
Traditionally, capsule hotels have only been for men. The one we stayed in was the only one we could find that would allow women. Even so, of the 9 floors and the 30 pods on each floor, only one floor was for women. When we entered, we were given sheets, a towel and a yukata. A yukata is a summer kimono. It kind of looks like a hospital gown but fits better and comes with pants. The left side of the top goes over the right and is tied on the side. Wearing the yukata right over left is considered bad luck- dead people wear the yukata that way.
Anyway- we placed our bags in the luggage room as there was no place to store it in the pods. When I got up to my floor, there was a locker where I could put the belongings that I would need for my stay, such as toiletries, nightwear and a change of clothes for the following day. It must also be mentioned that, as in most Japanese hotels/hotels, no shoes were allowed, so we were given slippers to wear.
Time is running out on the coin-operated internet.
They had a hot bath on the top floor. Separate ones for each gender and you lay in the bath naked and soak. This is a communal thing. I had my soak with a twenty-something year old woman from Italy. First, you must rinse yourself and make sure there is no soap on your body before you soak.

The Temples and Shrines of Nikko

S and I spent the day in Nikko, a town 2 and a half hours north on Tokyo. On the way there, we missed our transfer, but we got to see some beautiful small towns as a result. It was our first time out of Tokyo city and, just 20 minutes out of the city, there are rice fields in every direction all the way to Nikko. Nikko is in the mountains and is home to some of Japans oldest temples and shrines, dating back to 1200. We spent the afternoon visting the temples and shrines. They were beautiful. S and I got several tours in Japanese from guides at the shrines and temples and clearly had no idea what was going on. We were able to piece some things together with hand symbols and reading up about later in our guide book.
Some of the highlights of the day:
- A random Japanese man waved us down on our way to the temple and made a photo taking gesture of us. I guess he wanted a photo of some awesome-looking white people.
-The owner of the Japanese-style lodge (tatami mats on the floor and a futon for a bed) is an interesting decorator. She has Raggedy Anne-like dolls all over the house. All afternoon she blasts American pop music.
- While walking through the shrines and temples, school groups of young Japanese children kept saying "Hello" to us as we walked by. Their hello always ended in giggling. Enjoying this very much, I started saying "Konnichiwa", which means hello in Japanese, to every group of kids I saw from that point on. On average, a group of 15 or so kids would respond by waving and screaming back "Konnichiwa" at me, of course ending in lots of giggles.

Click on the photo below to see photos.

Nikko~ 1st Day of temples and Shrines

Tokyo Photos (pt 2)

Last Days in Tokyo

2009年08月02日取り込み