I seem to be out of the habit of writing of late (largely down to computer issues that have now been sorted). Soon to be corrected I hope. In a few hours my wife and I are off to the airport for a flight to Amsterdam. We got the flights quite cheaply with Easyjet and the cost of the hotel is actually higher than the plane tickets.
It's my first trip to the Netherlands and although we're only staying two days we're hoping to try and pack in as much as we can. The transport system seems to be quite easy to navigate so we can see quite a few things during our stay. I don't know enough about the city and country as I think I should. Time to educate myself. I'm crossing my fingers in the hope that I can try some new beers. I will now only drink Heineken at gunpoint!
If the job situation doesn't change in the next few months I may try and get one or two more cheap flights although that will depend on funds. I'm enjoying the availability of cheap air flights and a wider choice of destination that I had in Asia. Although Europe is not as exotic as Asia can at times be, it is where I am from and I hope to get the chance to explore my continent more.
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Sunday, 1 August 2010
When swearing is the only option
Rain and ever present grey skies practically every day of my week long jaunt back home in England left me missing both sunshine and an actual Summer. Of dear. Be careful what you wish for. Arriving at Incheon airport was OK. It was 9am when we got through immigration and customs before getting onto our bus. We got off the bus in Daegu at 1:30pm and I could only swear at what met us.
As I write this it is, quite frankly, too hot to do anything. The mid-day sun is amplifying things a bit so it won't be as hot all day but it's a bit of a come down from the jacket wearing weather of Greater Manchester. Going back to work tomorrow is going to be difficult isn't it? I'll be wearing my fake 'glad to be back' smile for a while.
I guess seven weeks left of this heat. Looking at the bright side, we're probably half way or more through Summer and then onto weather that actually makes you feel good and want to do things. The heat, in just the split second it took to come into affect instantly clarified the mind and confirmed that going home next year is 100% on.
As I write this it is, quite frankly, too hot to do anything. The mid-day sun is amplifying things a bit so it won't be as hot all day but it's a bit of a come down from the jacket wearing weather of Greater Manchester. Going back to work tomorrow is going to be difficult isn't it? I'll be wearing my fake 'glad to be back' smile for a while.
I guess seven weeks left of this heat. Looking at the bright side, we're probably half way or more through Summer and then onto weather that actually makes you feel good and want to do things. The heat, in just the split second it took to come into affect instantly clarified the mind and confirmed that going home next year is 100% on.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Some things I miss
Inevitably of late my mind has turned to things that I am looking forward to when I get back home for my all too brief holiday. Food, drink, places and people have been been on my mind for weeks and weeks. I know what I am going to eat first, where I want to have a pint and where I want to shop. I know where I will be going for the first few days and who I want to see. I'm mostly excited about being able to do all this with my wife.
I'm not someone who constantly pines for home. There has been no 'get me out of here moment'. Safe to say I like a lot of what I have here. Being older than most ESL teachers who arrive in Korea I have different needs and am perhaps mature enough to be able to make do with the things I have to deal with and the limitations forced upon me here. But, there are things I miss. In no particular order, bar the first three (and containing a lot of food), my miss-list.
My family,
The English language - accents and colloquialisms,
Weather, my weather,
Cheese,
Bacon,
Cottage cheese,
Good potatoes,
Skimmed milk,
Good curries,
Imported food that is inexpensive,
Grass/gardens, lovely green grass,
Fresh air,
Sausages,
Good bread that's not so sugary,
Beer - Bitter, Guinness and high quality lager,
Physical English language newspapers that report UK news mainly,
Listening to night-time radio,
A wide selection of restaurants,
Cheap books,
Football with English commentary,
Fish and chips,
A wider selection of clothes that fit me,
Cities being awake at 9am,
The queue system,
Grapefruit juice,
Sandwiches
And more...
I hope to meet up with some of those, given enough time next week. I'm not bashing Korea, Koreans or the way of life here. Things are different and that's to be respected but from time to time, you do miss the small things that you probably never appreciated of life back home.
I'm not someone who constantly pines for home. There has been no 'get me out of here moment'. Safe to say I like a lot of what I have here. Being older than most ESL teachers who arrive in Korea I have different needs and am perhaps mature enough to be able to make do with the things I have to deal with and the limitations forced upon me here. But, there are things I miss. In no particular order, bar the first three (and containing a lot of food), my miss-list.
My family,
The English language - accents and colloquialisms,
Weather, my weather,
Cheese,
Bacon,
Cottage cheese,
Good potatoes,
Skimmed milk,
Good curries,
Imported food that is inexpensive,
Grass/gardens, lovely green grass,
Fresh air,
Sausages,
Good bread that's not so sugary,
Beer - Bitter, Guinness and high quality lager,
Physical English language newspapers that report UK news mainly,
Listening to night-time radio,
A wide selection of restaurants,
Cheap books,
Football with English commentary,
Fish and chips,
A wider selection of clothes that fit me,
Cities being awake at 9am,
The queue system,
Grapefruit juice,
Sandwiches
And more...
I hope to meet up with some of those, given enough time next week. I'm not bashing Korea, Koreans or the way of life here. Things are different and that's to be respected but from time to time, you do miss the small things that you probably never appreciated of life back home.
Monday, 8 March 2010
Tokyo trip photos (day one)
Here are some photos of day one of our trip to Tokyo. These were taken in the Shinjuku area.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Five days in Hong Kong
A break away from it all. Time to leave the behind the day to day working life of an ESL teacher in Korea. Over the Chuseok (추석) period I spent most of the time in Hong Kong with my wife. We also had enough time to visit Macau, twice. On reflection though we enjoyed our time in Hong Kong I feel that we didn't do as many things as we did last year. If I could do it again there would be a few things done differently but of course that's not possible, still perhaps next year. Still the point of the vacation was to relax, enjoy the days off and to be with each other. We definitely achieved that.
We had planned to go to Hong Kong a few months before Chuseok arrived but we didn't actually book the flight and hotel until a couple of weeks before departing. For a time I thought that the holiday might not happen or may be truncated but thankfully we both managed to have five consecutive days off together. The day we departed for Seoul-Incheon-Hong Kong was also the day we got married so the vacation turned out to be a honeymoon. Too short for a honeymoon I know but next year we will more than make up for that.
We arrived in Hong Kong before midnight on the Thursday. As it takes up to one hour to get out of customs and to arrive at the hotel most places were closed or would have been closed after dropping our stuff off at the hotel so we decided to relax, get some beer and some food from the local convenience store. We were pretty tired to do anything else. Myself, I only slept twenty minutes the night before and we had a long day, setting off for Seoul at seven AM and spent most of Thursday lugging suitcase and heavy bag around the city.
After a fine sleep that night we headed for Macau the next day - write up to follow. We got back from Macau in the late evening but instead of going back to the hotel to freshen up we headed out for a meal in the Soho area. Last year we spent time there too and I can tell you that pretty much every restaurant there is superior to all the foreign restaurants in Korea. Such a choice of places to eat. I immediately felt at home again in that area. In Korea, especially Daegu where I live there are precious few places to have a good quality non-Korean meal. We went to an Italian restaurant and I ordered the finest Lasagna I have ever eaten and still, three weeks later wish I had more of that on my plate. Washed down with some decent beer, i.e. not Korean OR Heineken the meal truly hit the spot. The night was coming to a close we headed back to hotel ready for what lay in store on the Saturday.
Little did we know that we would end up in Macau again just the very next day... Aside from going back, temporarily to Macau we decided to spend the morning and afternoon shopping. We took the excellent MTR train to the Citygate Outlets mall (near the airport). I perhaps selfishly stocked up on some hard to find food supplies that I wanted to take back to Korea. We also spent quite a bit of money buying clothes, shoes and other items that are a bit cheaper there than other parts of Hong Kong and Korea (wish I had taken more money in general though away with me). After that we ate and headed off to Macau and after coming back we again headed to Soho but to a different restaurant, this time a Mexican one that we went to last year. Initially we didn't want to go back to somewhere we had eaten in last time but we couldn't decide where to choose to eat and we were running out of time. We were both thankful that the place stayed open after all the places had closed down as they let us eat our meal in peace enjoying each others company. The clocked ticked down and before we knew it, it was late and we were tired and headed back to the hotel.
Onto the Sunday and I owed this day to Boo Young and tried to let her do as many things as she wanted to do. We took the Star Ferry across Hong Kong and initially headed to Tsim Sha Tsui. We knew what were looking for. I was buying a wedding present for my wife (we agreed to try to find ones in Hong Kong). We were headed for the Tiffany jewellery store. After trying two of their stores we managed to find a necklace which my wife loves and seems to be very happy with. Then we decided to go window shopping in the surrounding area but couldn't find what we were looking for so headed to Kowloon park and had some ice cream. It was one of the only times we were able to sit down and enjoy the scenery in the hot weather. It would be nice if there was such a park in down town Daegu. Stopping for a rest gave us time to plan our next move as we headed to the very large Langham Place mall in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon. Having been before we knew what the place was like but it's such a big building, fifteen stories of shopping. Boo Young enjoyed herself there. We also took time off to have lunch, a korean looking dish which was from Japan. Similar to bibimbab here in Korea but with beef and rice and some vegetables. Very enjoyable, the meal gave us the energy to sift through all those stories.
The day was far, far from over. After the shipping we headed to the Ladies Market in Tung Choi Street. We went there again last year but at that time it was late evening. This time was a different experience. The street just doesn't seem to stop. Stalls and stalls and stalls selling mostly similar stuff ranging from the Asian looking to the cheap Western looking clothing. Most of the things on sale were clothing, artifacts, pottery, DVD's and watches but there were some good stuff too. If you go there just MUST bargain and haggle and never ever pay what they ask for. By bargaining and having a tough stance you can get 30-60% off everything. To be honest the things they sell are made at ultra cheap prices and not worth much at all but some do look good. Bargains can be had, I picked up a nice leather bound pocket notebook, some scarves and two nice looking Chinese style bowls, plus some tat. I enjoyed the bargaining and could have bought much much more but to be honest we didn't need anything and our bags were already filling up so we headed back to the excellent Star Ferry and headed to the hotel on Hong Kong Island.
Feeling refreshed after taking showers we decided to leave early, around 6pm to go to Victoria Peak. This is one of the premier attractions for tourist visiting Hong Kong. The 'Peak' is actually a mountain, Mount Austin which has a tram which climbs the mountain at a steep gradient to take tourists to the top. At times the ascent appears to be improbable as it looks just too steep but the tram manages it and when you get to the top it is more than worth the wait. The view is magnificent. To our astonishment there was a mighty cue when we got there which I thought might take two hours to get to the front. It only took us one hour but headed up the tram to take in our night time view. After a meal which wasn't as good as last years we took many pictures of the fantastic view of Hong Kong, Kowloon and Victoria Harbour. At night the view is a sight to see. So many lights it feels like all of Hong Kong is lit up. Very picturesque. Sadly we couldn't manage to take a decent picture of ourselves there but paid for a professional picture which was worth the money. Again, it was getting late and after a long day, our last full day in Hong Kong 2009 we made our way back to the hotel.
Waking up early to take advantage of the free shuttle bus we departed from the hotel. Alas our plane back to Incheon was for 2:30pm so we didn't have much time left. We again headed for the Citygate outlet to take in some more last minute shopping. I managed to cram my suitcase full of much needed items for Korea life from the supermarket there. If only there was a supermarket like that in Daegu I would be so much happier here. Such choice and quality it was refreshing and stimulating to be able to get whatever I wanted. Our time in Hong Kong was over but never to be forgotten due to the circumstances. I'm sure we'll be back again as there is much to do and enjoy but not for another year or so.
Some great points about the holiday were; We relaxed, spent wonderful time with my wife, managed to pick up some souvenirs and see some more places in one of the great places of the world. It was also reinvigorating for me to eat several quality meals and enjoy the diversity of drinks there, specifically the choices of beer.
Some not so great points; lot of travelling around left me tired and ironically needing some more time off, we didn't go to some of the places we planned to, some of the Chinese tourists (not the Hong Kong locals) were the rudest bunch of people we've ever encountered. Koreans have something of a bad reputation and rightfully so at times but they have nothing, nothing on the Chinese people we met in Hong Kong. I found this stange as it wasn't like this last year or when I was in China in 2006 where the Chinese people were pretty kind and in general not rude at all. Perhaps we were unlucky...
No matter, this didn't sour our much needed time out in Hong Kong. At no stage did I miss Korea or think about work at all. Having said that I felt good when I returned to Korea, it is my home away from home for the time being.
We had planned to go to Hong Kong a few months before Chuseok arrived but we didn't actually book the flight and hotel until a couple of weeks before departing. For a time I thought that the holiday might not happen or may be truncated but thankfully we both managed to have five consecutive days off together. The day we departed for Seoul-Incheon-Hong Kong was also the day we got married so the vacation turned out to be a honeymoon. Too short for a honeymoon I know but next year we will more than make up for that.
We arrived in Hong Kong before midnight on the Thursday. As it takes up to one hour to get out of customs and to arrive at the hotel most places were closed or would have been closed after dropping our stuff off at the hotel so we decided to relax, get some beer and some food from the local convenience store. We were pretty tired to do anything else. Myself, I only slept twenty minutes the night before and we had a long day, setting off for Seoul at seven AM and spent most of Thursday lugging suitcase and heavy bag around the city.
After a fine sleep that night we headed for Macau the next day - write up to follow. We got back from Macau in the late evening but instead of going back to the hotel to freshen up we headed out for a meal in the Soho area. Last year we spent time there too and I can tell you that pretty much every restaurant there is superior to all the foreign restaurants in Korea. Such a choice of places to eat. I immediately felt at home again in that area. In Korea, especially Daegu where I live there are precious few places to have a good quality non-Korean meal. We went to an Italian restaurant and I ordered the finest Lasagna I have ever eaten and still, three weeks later wish I had more of that on my plate. Washed down with some decent beer, i.e. not Korean OR Heineken the meal truly hit the spot. The night was coming to a close we headed back to hotel ready for what lay in store on the Saturday.
Little did we know that we would end up in Macau again just the very next day... Aside from going back, temporarily to Macau we decided to spend the morning and afternoon shopping. We took the excellent MTR train to the Citygate Outlets mall (near the airport). I perhaps selfishly stocked up on some hard to find food supplies that I wanted to take back to Korea. We also spent quite a bit of money buying clothes, shoes and other items that are a bit cheaper there than other parts of Hong Kong and Korea (wish I had taken more money in general though away with me). After that we ate and headed off to Macau and after coming back we again headed to Soho but to a different restaurant, this time a Mexican one that we went to last year. Initially we didn't want to go back to somewhere we had eaten in last time but we couldn't decide where to choose to eat and we were running out of time. We were both thankful that the place stayed open after all the places had closed down as they let us eat our meal in peace enjoying each others company. The clocked ticked down and before we knew it, it was late and we were tired and headed back to the hotel.
Onto the Sunday and I owed this day to Boo Young and tried to let her do as many things as she wanted to do. We took the Star Ferry across Hong Kong and initially headed to Tsim Sha Tsui. We knew what were looking for. I was buying a wedding present for my wife (we agreed to try to find ones in Hong Kong). We were headed for the Tiffany jewellery store. After trying two of their stores we managed to find a necklace which my wife loves and seems to be very happy with. Then we decided to go window shopping in the surrounding area but couldn't find what we were looking for so headed to Kowloon park and had some ice cream. It was one of the only times we were able to sit down and enjoy the scenery in the hot weather. It would be nice if there was such a park in down town Daegu. Stopping for a rest gave us time to plan our next move as we headed to the very large Langham Place mall in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon. Having been before we knew what the place was like but it's such a big building, fifteen stories of shopping. Boo Young enjoyed herself there. We also took time off to have lunch, a korean looking dish which was from Japan. Similar to bibimbab here in Korea but with beef and rice and some vegetables. Very enjoyable, the meal gave us the energy to sift through all those stories.
The day was far, far from over. After the shipping we headed to the Ladies Market in Tung Choi Street. We went there again last year but at that time it was late evening. This time was a different experience. The street just doesn't seem to stop. Stalls and stalls and stalls selling mostly similar stuff ranging from the Asian looking to the cheap Western looking clothing. Most of the things on sale were clothing, artifacts, pottery, DVD's and watches but there were some good stuff too. If you go there just MUST bargain and haggle and never ever pay what they ask for. By bargaining and having a tough stance you can get 30-60% off everything. To be honest the things they sell are made at ultra cheap prices and not worth much at all but some do look good. Bargains can be had, I picked up a nice leather bound pocket notebook, some scarves and two nice looking Chinese style bowls, plus some tat. I enjoyed the bargaining and could have bought much much more but to be honest we didn't need anything and our bags were already filling up so we headed back to the excellent Star Ferry and headed to the hotel on Hong Kong Island.
Feeling refreshed after taking showers we decided to leave early, around 6pm to go to Victoria Peak. This is one of the premier attractions for tourist visiting Hong Kong. The 'Peak' is actually a mountain, Mount Austin which has a tram which climbs the mountain at a steep gradient to take tourists to the top. At times the ascent appears to be improbable as it looks just too steep but the tram manages it and when you get to the top it is more than worth the wait. The view is magnificent. To our astonishment there was a mighty cue when we got there which I thought might take two hours to get to the front. It only took us one hour but headed up the tram to take in our night time view. After a meal which wasn't as good as last years we took many pictures of the fantastic view of Hong Kong, Kowloon and Victoria Harbour. At night the view is a sight to see. So many lights it feels like all of Hong Kong is lit up. Very picturesque. Sadly we couldn't manage to take a decent picture of ourselves there but paid for a professional picture which was worth the money. Again, it was getting late and after a long day, our last full day in Hong Kong 2009 we made our way back to the hotel.
Waking up early to take advantage of the free shuttle bus we departed from the hotel. Alas our plane back to Incheon was for 2:30pm so we didn't have much time left. We again headed for the Citygate outlet to take in some more last minute shopping. I managed to cram my suitcase full of much needed items for Korea life from the supermarket there. If only there was a supermarket like that in Daegu I would be so much happier here. Such choice and quality it was refreshing and stimulating to be able to get whatever I wanted. Our time in Hong Kong was over but never to be forgotten due to the circumstances. I'm sure we'll be back again as there is much to do and enjoy but not for another year or so.
Some great points about the holiday were; We relaxed, spent wonderful time with my wife, managed to pick up some souvenirs and see some more places in one of the great places of the world. It was also reinvigorating for me to eat several quality meals and enjoy the diversity of drinks there, specifically the choices of beer.
Some not so great points; lot of travelling around left me tired and ironically needing some more time off, we didn't go to some of the places we planned to, some of the Chinese tourists (not the Hong Kong locals) were the rudest bunch of people we've ever encountered. Koreans have something of a bad reputation and rightfully so at times but they have nothing, nothing on the Chinese people we met in Hong Kong. I found this stange as it wasn't like this last year or when I was in China in 2006 where the Chinese people were pretty kind and in general not rude at all. Perhaps we were unlucky...
No matter, this didn't sour our much needed time out in Hong Kong. At no stage did I miss Korea or think about work at all. Having said that I felt good when I returned to Korea, it is my home away from home for the time being.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving
Over the weekend here in Korea we had one of the major holiday periods, Chuseok (추석). Chuseok is a traditional Autumn festival where people celebrate over three days. This is a time where a great majority of the population go to their home town to visit their relatives or to the place where their oldest relatives live. It is a very important time of the year and people make great effort to navigate their way across the country to go back home. I spent the holiday time out of the country with my wife in Hong Kong and Macau.
The holiday can be viewed as an equivalent to the North American holiday Thanksgiving. . During this holiday, families celebrate by eating a large meal consisting of lots of traditional Korean food. During this time people also visit tombs of their ancestors to pay their respects to older generations. Traditional costumes such as the hanbok are also worn at this time and the family sometimes gathers around to play games.
People also give gifts to their families which can be purchased in most shops during the run up to Chuseok. Examples of gifts, which are in gift boxes, would be expensive fruit, alcohol, toiletries and food such as (bizarrely to me) spam. These gifts can range from the easily affordable to being very expensive, depending on what the gift is. Often bosses of companies give employees such gifts as a token of appreciation. At my previous academy I don't recall ever getting one but where I currently work everyone seems to receive one. My girlfriend got some expensive seaweed and I got what you can see below. I won't need to buy toothpaste for a while.
The holiday can be viewed as an equivalent to the North American holiday Thanksgiving. . During this holiday, families celebrate by eating a large meal consisting of lots of traditional Korean food. During this time people also visit tombs of their ancestors to pay their respects to older generations. Traditional costumes such as the hanbok are also worn at this time and the family sometimes gathers around to play games.
People also give gifts to their families which can be purchased in most shops during the run up to Chuseok. Examples of gifts, which are in gift boxes, would be expensive fruit, alcohol, toiletries and food such as (bizarrely to me) spam. These gifts can range from the easily affordable to being very expensive, depending on what the gift is. Often bosses of companies give employees such gifts as a token of appreciation. At my previous academy I don't recall ever getting one but where I currently work everyone seems to receive one. My girlfriend got some expensive seaweed and I got what you can see below. I won't need to buy toothpaste for a while.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Bound for Hong Kong
Just one day left at work before a five day vacation. Starting tomorrow, Korea begins to celebrate Chuseok which is their Harvest festival and one of the biggest holidays of the year. I have managed to get extra time off work and am heading off to Seoul tomorrow morning to do something very important and special before flying to Hong Kong. Last years trip their was a great experience and one I can't wait to repeat and do the things I couldn't last time. Today I will be on autopilot, like most Wednesdays. I need a holiday so badly its not true.
The forecast for Hong Kong is pretty grim though. Looks like its scattered thunder storms during my entire stay. Hopefully they will be scattered while I am sleeping. Regardless a wet holiday is still a holiday. I will be spending a fair bit of cash if I see something which takes my eye and cannot wait to sample some decent quality food. Daegu lacks good Western restaurants and that's not something you can accuse Hong Kong of lacking.
And on top of my trip to Hong Kong I am going to squeeze a day trip to Macau. That's Macau - where the casinos take in more money than on the Las Vegas strip. Macau is just one hours travel from Hong Kong so time is no issue. I have never been inside a casino before and don't exactly know what to expect other than to come away a poorer man, money-wise. I think inside the buildings photography is prohibited but overall I hope to take some pictures on my holiday that have some essence of the time I spend there. The rain cannot dampen my enthusiasm for this trip out of Korea. Time to relax and enjoy myself.
The forecast for Hong Kong is pretty grim though. Looks like its scattered thunder storms during my entire stay. Hopefully they will be scattered while I am sleeping. Regardless a wet holiday is still a holiday. I will be spending a fair bit of cash if I see something which takes my eye and cannot wait to sample some decent quality food. Daegu lacks good Western restaurants and that's not something you can accuse Hong Kong of lacking.
And on top of my trip to Hong Kong I am going to squeeze a day trip to Macau. That's Macau - where the casinos take in more money than on the Las Vegas strip. Macau is just one hours travel from Hong Kong so time is no issue. I have never been inside a casino before and don't exactly know what to expect other than to come away a poorer man, money-wise. I think inside the buildings photography is prohibited but overall I hope to take some pictures on my holiday that have some essence of the time I spend there. The rain cannot dampen my enthusiasm for this trip out of Korea. Time to relax and enjoy myself.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
A change of scenery
As easy as my job is, each day brings along some difficulties/challenges which sometimes test my sanity. What am I doing here? When am I going home? How much longer can Groundhog Day go on? Why do people in the street still stare? Why can't people here que for up for things like the rest of the world does? Etc etc...
It had been about 10 months since I had returned to Korea and that was 10 months without a day off work and no vacation time. I badly needed to get out of town and go somewhere. This time, I went to Seoul with my girlfriend to spend two days relaxing. I needed to spend some money on myself, see different faces, see unfamiliar things and eat different food. It turned out pretty well.
Our hotel was smack-bang in the middle of Seoul, Myeongdong, close to everywhere and with some good shops to spend money in. We spent time in Itaewon, which is not a great place but the places to eat are good and there are some nice bars to drink in too. I met up with a long-time friend and his girlfriend and we ate and drank together. Good times.
We later passed by our hotel and found there was a huge demonstration/protest about to kick off. It was about the President, American beef that Korea imports which may or may not be infected with Mad Cow disease and the FTA (a big over simplification, but I don't know the story well enough to speak much about it). The whole thing was a little intimidating but not scary. I've never seen so many policemen, all armed with riot gear, in my life before. I must have seen 20-30 police vans too. The streets were packed and the vibe of the place was unsettling as this was the only time I've ever felt a little unsafe here. Korea in general is far safer than like back in England and I never feel in danger here, never, but this was different. The situation was awkward so we left quickly to another area. There must have been plenty of arrests, but the feeling I got about the situation was of people who like protesting found something to shout and complain about. They wanted a fight and found someone/something to fight against. All very strange, different and unsettling for a while but the whole thing left me feeling negative about certain aspects of life in Korea and the Korean mentality for some things.
The next day we watched some of the Olympics on TV then went shopping, more quality eating and then onto Insadong which is an area where tourists and locals can find plenty of traditional items to buy. It's a great place to buy gifts for family and friends. I've been before many times but I always come back and always buy something. This time was no different. We also saw an exhibition of a martial art I'd never heard of, Taekkyeon or 택견. This was very enjoyable and like hardly anything I'd seen before. the best description would be a cross between Tai Chi, dancing and Kung Fu. Very rhythmic, fluid and graceful. A most unexpected pleasure.
That was pretty much that as we headed home on a coach as we missed the last KTX train home. We had a good time and I got what I needed
In two weeks time my latest Asian adventure takes me to Hong Kong. I can't wait to get on that plane
It had been about 10 months since I had returned to Korea and that was 10 months without a day off work and no vacation time. I badly needed to get out of town and go somewhere. This time, I went to Seoul with my girlfriend to spend two days relaxing. I needed to spend some money on myself, see different faces, see unfamiliar things and eat different food. It turned out pretty well.
Our hotel was smack-bang in the middle of Seoul, Myeongdong, close to everywhere and with some good shops to spend money in. We spent time in Itaewon, which is not a great place but the places to eat are good and there are some nice bars to drink in too. I met up with a long-time friend and his girlfriend and we ate and drank together. Good times.
We later passed by our hotel and found there was a huge demonstration/protest about to kick off. It was about the President, American beef that Korea imports which may or may not be infected with Mad Cow disease and the FTA (a big over simplification, but I don't know the story well enough to speak much about it). The whole thing was a little intimidating but not scary. I've never seen so many policemen, all armed with riot gear, in my life before. I must have seen 20-30 police vans too. The streets were packed and the vibe of the place was unsettling as this was the only time I've ever felt a little unsafe here. Korea in general is far safer than like back in England and I never feel in danger here, never, but this was different. The situation was awkward so we left quickly to another area. There must have been plenty of arrests, but the feeling I got about the situation was of people who like protesting found something to shout and complain about. They wanted a fight and found someone/something to fight against. All very strange, different and unsettling for a while but the whole thing left me feeling negative about certain aspects of life in Korea and the Korean mentality for some things.
The next day we watched some of the Olympics on TV then went shopping, more quality eating and then onto Insadong which is an area where tourists and locals can find plenty of traditional items to buy. It's a great place to buy gifts for family and friends. I've been before many times but I always come back and always buy something. This time was no different. We also saw an exhibition of a martial art I'd never heard of, Taekkyeon or 택견. This was very enjoyable and like hardly anything I'd seen before. the best description would be a cross between Tai Chi, dancing and Kung Fu. Very rhythmic, fluid and graceful. A most unexpected pleasure.
That was pretty much that as we headed home on a coach as we missed the last KTX train home. We had a good time and I got what I needed
In two weeks time my latest Asian adventure takes me to Hong Kong. I can't wait to get on that plane
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