It had been a long hot day at Angkor Wat and our driver was not c0-operating. You see when Pat and I had booked a Tut Tut tour of Angkor he and I had assumed the tour of the floating village was included in the price. That as it turned out was not the case. So as I tried to convince our driver to take us to another temple, a crowed of peddlers descended upon our Tut Tut like a hoard of hungry zombies.
As the crowd grew larger, my conversation with the driver went something like this:
Me, "So I would like to go here."
Driver, "No that is to far."
Peddler, "T-shirt sir?"
Me, "No thank you. Come on, look at the map, its not that far?"
Driver, "No no too far."
Peddler, "T-shirt sir?"
Me, "No! Alright how about..."
Peddler, "T-shirt sir."
Me, "Uhhh come on lady."
Driver, "No, No I cannot go there either."
Me, "Well then how about we drive to the bank of the lake?"
Peddler, "T-shirt sir?"
Me, "Are you kidding me?"
Driver, "OK I can go there."
Me, "Thank god can we leave now?"
Peddler, "T-shirt sir?"
Driver, "OK."
Peddler, T-shirt sir?"
In the mean time unkown to us till that evening, Pat had been pick-pocketed by a mother and son team using the damn t-shirt lady as a distraction.
Jan 30, 2009
Jan 20, 2009
Nobody But Violet
For more info on the Wonder Girls: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Girls
Jan 19, 2009
Five Years
Its been five years since I graduated from university. Though I've had stints in construction and office work, for the majority of the time teaching English has put bread on the table.
Teaching English has enabled me the live in places that I used to dream about visiting while looking at National Geographic in my basement.
Teaching English has enabled me the live in places that I used to dream about visiting while looking at National Geographic in my basement.
Now as I sit in my classroom, with four days of teaching left, another chapter is coming to a close. For the fifth time I will be saying goodbye to friends, breaking it off with a girlfriend, selling my motorcycle, packing my bags, working one last day, saying goodbye, and then getting on an airplane.
At 500mph, a new life will be flying towards me. Unknown friends, adventures, and jobs will be scattered across my destination. Yet with a wrong turn there and a conversation here, I will find them like items in a scavenger hunt.
Then with all the pieces in place once again, life will be comfortable. Well, at least for awhile.
At 500mph, a new life will be flying towards me. Unknown friends, adventures, and jobs will be scattered across my destination. Yet with a wrong turn there and a conversation here, I will find them like items in a scavenger hunt.
Then with all the pieces in place once again, life will be comfortable. Well, at least for awhile.
Jan 7, 2009
Hyosung GT 250 Comet
Regular readers will know this Hyosung and I have had countless adventures over the past year. Whether they were spring rides through cherry blossom lined roads, a summer ride on the beach, fall rides through technicolor mountains, or chilly winter rides to work, without this motorcycle Korea would have been a rather dull place.
Though it's sad to leave this old friend behind, it's time to move on and give another rider the chance to experience all that Korea has to offer.
Potential Buyers: The Blog Archive to the right has videos from rides in October (Workasan and A Fleeting Masterpiece), September (Beach Ride and Alarming Alice), August (Riding in the Ocean), and all of July's posts.
This is a rack that fits onto the back of the motorcycle as well as the motorcycles paper work.
Though it's sad to leave this old friend behind, it's time to move on and give another rider the chance to experience all that Korea has to offer.
Potential Buyers: The Blog Archive to the right has videos from rides in October (Workasan and A Fleeting Masterpiece), September (Beach Ride and Alarming Alice), August (Riding in the Ocean), and all of July's posts.
This is a rack that fits onto the back of the motorcycle as well as the motorcycles paper work.
Cheonan, South Korea
Dec 22, 2008
Sannakchi 산낙지
Having always wanted to try a whole live octopus 산낙지, when my students offered to take me out for live octopus as a Christmas present I jumped at the chance.
No sooner had we sat down, did a bowl of four live octopus came out of the kitchen. My student Joy reached into the bowl and did this:
Now it was my turn… First I had to wrestle the octopus from the bowl. Then as it squirmed and attached its tentacles to my hand and arm, I had to force its head down onto a chopstick; which does not kill the octopus. All seemed to be going well until I tried to wrap the octopus around the chopstick. No matter how hard I tried the octopus kept finding a way off of the chopstick; making it impossible to eat.
The situation soon deteriorated to the point where the octopus was no longer even on the chopstick. With no other choice and my students looking on, I began to bit into the flaying octopus, ripping off a tentacle here and a tentacle there.
About this time the chef came in and with a rather shocked and amused look on her face, took the octopus away from me. She then reached in the bowl, took out a fresh octopus, and wrapped it around the chopstick for me.
With the live octopus ready she handed it to me and motioned for me to put the entire writhing mass in my mouth. (Never mind that the octopus with tentacles was nearly a foot long and I was not sure how I was going to fit the entire thing in my mouth.) Yet somehow I got the whole octopus into my mouth and off of the chopstick.
Now came the hard part. As the octopus tried desperately to escape my mouth via my lips and windpipe, I knew it was either he or I. With no other choice I savagely began to chew my squirming foe to pieces. After three minutes of chewing, my students told me the octopus was safe to swallow. So with one giant gulp I tried to swallow the octopus. Unfortunately the octopus was wrapped up in my teeth. Visions of a stupid, all be it amusing death, flashed before my eyes just before my gag reflex kicked in and brought the entire pulsating mass back into my mouth.
Never one to give up, I did not spit out the octopus. Rather I delicately untangled the remaining resistance from my teeth and then with one great gulp sent the entire squirming Cephalopod into my gut bellow.
No sooner had we sat down, did a bowl of four live octopus came out of the kitchen. My student Joy reached into the bowl and did this:
With the live octopus ready she handed it to me and motioned for me to put the entire writhing mass in my mouth. (Never mind that the octopus with tentacles was nearly a foot long and I was not sure how I was going to fit the entire thing in my mouth.) Yet somehow I got the whole octopus into my mouth and off of the chopstick.
Never one to give up, I did not spit out the octopus. Rather I delicately untangled the remaining resistance from my teeth and then with one great gulp sent the entire squirming Cephalopod into my gut bellow.
Cheonan, South Korea
Nov 26, 2008
Kaesong City, North Korea 개성, 조선민주주의인민공화국
Any international trip that begins with you leaving your passport at home is bound to be an interesting one. Luckily, my friend and coworker Ricky was convinced to drive my passport two hours up to Seoul for ₩100,000 just in the nick of time; making the following trip possible.
Boarding the tour bus in Seoul at 6AM, my friend and I were far from awake. Fortunately the 3-hour bus ride from Seoul 서울특별시 to the Imjingang Station 임진강역 at the border of the DMZ 한반도 비무장 지대 and gave us ample time to wake up.
After passing through South Korean Immigration, our tour bus convoy then drove through the DMZ. At the North Korean border, three North Korean tour guides all wearing suits boarded the bus. Our convoy of six buses was then escorted into North Korea by several South Korean cars driven by North Korean soldiers.
Alongside the road anywhere there was a house, village, or building a North Korean solider(s) stood with a red flag. Their primary job was to keep the civilians from getting close enough to interact with us; their second objective was to watch for any of us taking pictures from the bus.
Taking pictures while inside the bus or of, North Koreans, farmhouses, and anything else aside from national monuments and natural wonders is strictly forbidden in North Korea. If a North Korean soldier spots or believes he has spotted someone taking a picture from the bus, he raises the flag and the convoy has to stop. The North Korean soldiers then boards the bus and typically confiscates the perpetrators camera and slaps them with a fine and possibly jail time.
As our bus passed through Kaesong City the muted color theme continued. Everything was drab. Nothing drew attention to itself, the people, the buildings, and the few cars all seemed to be trying to escape any unwanted attention.
*In the video above, I had to hide the camera at one point in this video to keep from being caught by a policeman standing on the street. In hindsight it was rather a close call.
.
I was also struck by the construction of the buildings. It reminded me of pictures I’d seen of Eastern Europe in National Geographic. Delicately thin single pain windows hung from catawampus high-rise apartment buildings that had no lights on. The construction materials being used in half built buildings seemed to be an odd mix of precariously stacked concrete blocks, none of which were uniform. Most buildings under construction had the same black cranes sitting idly above them, giving entire portions of the city felt like a movie set. The streets however, were clean enough to eat off of.
After passing through Kaesong City we traveled down the Reunification Highway to our first stop, the Pakyon Waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful and as is typical with natural wonders in North Korea, poetry/ propaganda had been carved into the surrounding rocks. Most of it had done by the North Korean’s, but some of it predated North Korea. So if you looked around you could see where the “offensive” poetry had been chiseled out of the rocks and new poetry had been added to new rocks.
On the hour-long trip we only encountered a handful of cars. Most westerners make this out to be a bad thing. Personally I though it was great. There was no traffic what so ever and the air quality was great compared to Seoul. The North Koreans I saw walked or rode bicycles; if they had enough food nearly everyone in North Korea would be in exemplary shape.
For lunch we were given traditional Kaesong cuisine, which was served by North Korean women wearing traditional Korean Hanbok’s. The food was delicious and we were given so much that no one including myself was able to finish it.
The last stop on our trip was to a gift shop and Sonjuk Bridge 선죽교. After buying a rather interesting anti-American stamp collection, (which I had to smuggle back into South Korea) I wandered around the temple. Upon returning to the parking lot, I walked as far away from the other tourists as possible and took a moment to take in the scenery.
Off in the distance a man on a hill carried a bale of straw that was bigger than him. Bellow him on the hill laid a half completed water-slide that looked as though it would never be finished. To my right was half built building with yet another black crane standing guard over it. Then some movement over on the hill caught my eye. It was two little boys. From behind some rocks they peered down at the parking lot, taking in the foreigners milling about. Their curiosity made me smile and reminded me that even in North Korea kids are kids.
Going back over the border was a little stressful. I had brought two memory cards for my camera. On one memory card I had taken approved pictures. On the other I had the forbidden pictures and videos that ended up on this post. So with the "illegal" memory card stuffed in my underwear and thoughts of going to a North Korean prison running through my mind, I walked through the metal detector, which of course had to go off. Yet with a swoop of his hand held metal detector and an inspection of the approved pictures on my camera, the North Korean soldier waved me through customs. (One person on my tour was caught with several forbidden pictures. At one point four North Korean soldiers surrounded him and yelled at him in hushed tone. Only after our South Korean tour guide intervened was he able to make it through customs and onto the bus.)
Sitting in Seoul Station waiting for my train back to Cheonan 천안시, I though about the positive aspects of life in North Korea. There were no giant advertisements, fast-food chains, or big box stores. There were no televisions, blaring radios, or ringing mobile phones. The lack of cars, trucks, and buses left the city air fresh. The time capsule feeling of the country gave me an insight into the world that has all but disappeared.
However the world has changed, so I settled into my seat on a 200mph bullet train, looked at my forbidden pictures, and smiled as I bit into my Big Mac.
*As of December 1, 2008 North Korea has closed its border with South Korea indefinitely. My tour was the last offered by Adventure Korea until the border reopens.
Boarding the tour bus in Seoul at 6AM, my friend and I were far from awake. Fortunately the 3-hour bus ride from Seoul 서울특별시 to the Imjingang Station 임진강역 at the border of the DMZ 한반도 비무장 지대 and gave us ample time to wake up.
After passing through South Korean Immigration, our tour bus convoy then drove through the DMZ. At the North Korean border, three North Korean tour guides all wearing suits boarded the bus. Our convoy of six buses was then escorted into North Korea by several South Korean cars driven by North Korean soldiers.
After crossing the border and entering the North I as struck with how bleak the scenery seemed. It made no conceivable sense that a few miles could make such a different on the surroundings. Yet as I look closer at the mountains, I realized most of the trees had been chopped down, leaving only winter brown grass to cover the countryside.
As the bus got closer to Kaesong City 개성 we began to pass small farming villages. The scene could best be described as something out of rural China in the early 2000's. Villages were comprised of ten to twenty houses, which were surrounded by a wall about head high (This type of wall is normal in rural Asian villages). At first glance these villages could have been nearly anywhere in rural Asia. It was the military presence in each village that made you realize your were in North Korea.
As the bus got closer to Kaesong City 개성 we began to pass small farming villages. The scene could best be described as something out of rural China in the early 2000's. Villages were comprised of ten to twenty houses, which were surrounded by a wall about head high (This type of wall is normal in rural Asian villages). At first glance these villages could have been nearly anywhere in rural Asia. It was the military presence in each village that made you realize your were in North Korea.
Alongside the road anywhere there was a house, village, or building a North Korean solider(s) stood with a red flag. Their primary job was to keep the civilians from getting close enough to interact with us; their second objective was to watch for any of us taking pictures from the bus.
Taking pictures while inside the bus or of, North Koreans, farmhouses, and anything else aside from national monuments and natural wonders is strictly forbidden in North Korea. If a North Korean soldier spots or believes he has spotted someone taking a picture from the bus, he raises the flag and the convoy has to stop. The North Korean soldiers then boards the bus and typically confiscates the perpetrators camera and slaps them with a fine and possibly jail time.
As our bus passed through Kaesong City the muted color theme continued. Everything was drab. Nothing drew attention to itself, the people, the buildings, and the few cars all seemed to be trying to escape any unwanted attention.
*In the video above, I had to hide the camera at one point in this video to keep from being caught by a policeman standing on the street. In hindsight it was rather a close call.
.
I was also struck by the construction of the buildings. It reminded me of pictures I’d seen of Eastern Europe in National Geographic. Delicately thin single pain windows hung from catawampus high-rise apartment buildings that had no lights on. The construction materials being used in half built buildings seemed to be an odd mix of precariously stacked concrete blocks, none of which were uniform. Most buildings under construction had the same black cranes sitting idly above them, giving entire portions of the city felt like a movie set. The streets however, were clean enough to eat off of.
After passing through Kaesong City we traveled down the Reunification Highway to our first stop, the Pakyon Waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful and as is typical with natural wonders in North Korea, poetry/ propaganda had been carved into the surrounding rocks. Most of it had done by the North Korean’s, but some of it predated North Korea. So if you looked around you could see where the “offensive” poetry had been chiseled out of the rocks and new poetry had been added to new rocks.
From Pakyon Waterfall 박연폭포 our convoy drove back down the Reunification Highway and into Kaesong City to have lunch. During the ride one of our North Korean guides decided to lighten the mood and sung us this song:
“Lets love our country
Compared to other countries North Korea is the best
North Korea is the greatest country
North Korea is the greatest country”
Following lunch we were allowed to walk outside in a very limited, but interesting area. At the top of a hill, that we were not allowed to walk up was large statue of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung and at the bottom of the hill lay downtown Kaesong city. We were allowed to take pictures of nearly everything including North Korean citizens, because we were to far away to get a decent picture of them. Downtown Kaesong city had little to no traffic and for a city of 400,000 and very little foot traffic.
Near the end of the day we were allow to stand on one side of the street and watch the North Korean’s “going about their everyday life” on the other side of the street. (Interestingly while we were on the sidewalk no North Korean ever walked on our side of the street.) The mood could best be described as a people zoo.. As with the entire tour, the North Korean’s citizens were there, but just out of our reach. They paid little to no attention to us, though once in a great while a small child would acknowledge the waves from people on our tour.
The last stop on our trip was to a gift shop and Sonjuk Bridge 선죽교. After buying a rather interesting anti-American stamp collection, (which I had to smuggle back into South Korea) I wandered around the temple. Upon returning to the parking lot, I walked as far away from the other tourists as possible and took a moment to take in the scenery.
Off in the distance a man on a hill carried a bale of straw that was bigger than him. Bellow him on the hill laid a half completed water-slide that looked as though it would never be finished. To my right was half built building with yet another black crane standing guard over it. Then some movement over on the hill caught my eye. It was two little boys. From behind some rocks they peered down at the parking lot, taking in the foreigners milling about. Their curiosity made me smile and reminded me that even in North Korea kids are kids.
Going back over the border was a little stressful. I had brought two memory cards for my camera. On one memory card I had taken approved pictures. On the other I had the forbidden pictures and videos that ended up on this post. So with the "illegal" memory card stuffed in my underwear and thoughts of going to a North Korean prison running through my mind, I walked through the metal detector, which of course had to go off. Yet with a swoop of his hand held metal detector and an inspection of the approved pictures on my camera, the North Korean soldier waved me through customs. (One person on my tour was caught with several forbidden pictures. At one point four North Korean soldiers surrounded him and yelled at him in hushed tone. Only after our South Korean tour guide intervened was he able to make it through customs and onto the bus.)
Sitting in Seoul Station waiting for my train back to Cheonan 천안시, I though about the positive aspects of life in North Korea. There were no giant advertisements, fast-food chains, or big box stores. There were no televisions, blaring radios, or ringing mobile phones. The lack of cars, trucks, and buses left the city air fresh. The time capsule feeling of the country gave me an insight into the world that has all but disappeared.
However the world has changed, so I settled into my seat on a 200mph bullet train, looked at my forbidden pictures, and smiled as I bit into my Big Mac.
*As of December 1, 2008 North Korea has closed its border with South Korea indefinitely. My tour was the last offered by Adventure Korea until the border reopens.
**At the time, this tour was the only way for Americans to visit North Korea aside from during the Mass Games, which are typically held once a year.
***All video was shot out of my tour buses window or while I was standing on the street. At one point I was shooting video with a North Korea solider standing next to me.
***All video was shot out of my tour buses window or while I was standing on the street. At one point I was shooting video with a North Korea solider standing next to me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)