countdown

it's our last weekend in seoul

we have two days of work left, then a hectic scramble to get everything in order before we fly to japan for a week and a half.

if all goes according to plan, we should be back in the states mid-september, with new stories to tell and hopefully a long time of rest.

starting the countdown

so our long weekend is past, and now there's nothing between us and finishing our contract at the end of august except 4 weeks of no breaks.  still, 4 weeks is manageable.  and we have a 12 day tour of japan sandwiched in between leaving korea and returning to the states, so there's reason for hope.

about geyongju: it's awesome. don't go during the first week of august, because apparently every korean on the peninsula goes there, and it takes hours to go a dozen miles thanks to all the traffic.  apparently renting a bike is a good way to go, but there are lots of hills, and it is extremely hot in august.  beyond that, we had a fantastic time. i didn't see king munmu's tomb, but i did see several 1,400 year old buddha images carved into cliffs, and the UNESCO world heritage site of the Seokguram Grotto, which was really impressive, despite having to walk down from the grotto in the pouring rain.

there was a traditional korean play on saturday night that we watched; it was something about a woman trying to teach her husband to stop chasing after other women. it was a musical comedy, not a drama, so you shouldn't feel badly for the wife.  we had a great time at the gampo marina market as well; everyone there was thrilled to see white people, and when we ate at a crab restaurant they put us on the street to show us off to everyone walking by.  they also took pictures, but it was all in good fun. 

of course once we got back in seoul, on the subway ride home from gwhangwhamun where the bus dropped us off, we had a very unpleasant experience on the subway with some repulsive, leering indian men.  it wouldn't be the subway in seoul if we weren't made to feel extremely uncomfortable in some way, so it was sort of like a welcome home.

anyway, if you're in korea and you tire of the big city, i highly recommend gyeongju--especially if you like history.

Birthday Weekend

a quick update first: last weekend we went to the DMZ and JSA, stepped into north korea, toured the third tunnel, and had a slightly awe-inspiring time.  the signs warning of land mines everywhere were pretty sobering.  it's a spooky place, but the dozens of bird species that have made the undeveloped land home help liven it up a little bit.

now on to the good news:

monday is my birthday, and conveniently enough our private school has monday and tuesday off, so we get a four day birthday vacation.  we wanted to go somewhere in korea that was not a big city, that showed us a part of korea's history, and that had actual green growing things.  so to celebrate we are going to gyeongju.

gyeongju was the seat of the Silla dynasty, and home to dozens of kings' burial mounds, among other things. there is also a law that no tall buildings can be built here, and the city remains very small, so it is very easy to get around and there are supposed to be lots of parks and resting places -- though there is apparently very little shade and the sun can be intense, according to Juli-hee, our school manager.  there is also an incredible final resting place for king munmu: a small island off the coast is bisected by two perpendicular lines, at the crossing point of which is laid an enormous granite slab.  his remains lie underneath.  he stipulated that this be done upon his death so that he could become a dragon and protect Silla (the southern part of the korean peninula) from the Japanese.  he was pretty effective until last century.  perhaps after 1,300 years even a guardian dragon is allowed some time off.

to travel there we found a bus service that is free for all non-koreans (i wonder if they would let japanese travel for free as well?).  it was a lucky find, and we got return tickets absolutely free of charge.  we're staying in a hostel for three nights as well, in a private double room that may or may not have a bathroom, for a little under 120,000 won total.  so all in all, a pretty inexpensive long weekend away.

while in gyeongju i hope to tour the burial mounds, see king munmu's tomb, visit a nearby temple and take part in their sunday service and share food with the monks, walk along the beach, read a lot, write a little, and enjoy myself immensely. i hope you all enjoy my birthday as much as we will.

Back to Work

It's Tuesday, and we're back to the daily grind.  Yesterday was long, but not too bad.  We discovered we have a four day weekend in August which conveniently falls on my birthday, so that's something to look forward to. Initially we thought we had no more breaks until our contract ends, and the next 9 weeks were looking pretty dismal.

We've been back in Seoul for a little over 2 days now, and once again my eyes are red and I cannot wear my contacts.  Had no trouble with them the week in Hong Kong, so I know it is Seoul's air.  I like Seoul, and will miss it, but I certainly will not miss the air quality.  Give me pollen rich Tennessee anyday.

We have booked our flights for Japan the first two weeks of September, and then will be returning to the states for a month in which we will celebrate a birthday and a wedding. Then it's to Tobago for a month, and we just bought our tickets for that yesterday.  So things are looking up.

A final word on Hong Kong - our early impressions of it being a great city, a lovely place to spend time, were all correct.  We've decided we'd like to live and work there next.  So we'll see how it all pans out.  And now it's time to get ready for work.  Until next time, keep dreaming.

Hong Kong

Hello all,

Yes, we are in Hong Kong.  As I type this, it just started raining outside.  Which is not a good sign, as we had planned to go to Lantau Island today.  So we will see what comes of that.

On our first day we woke up after 3 hours of sleep to catch an airport limousine - and a good thing we left so early, too, because our terminal was quite far from check-in.  Like 40 minutes far.  But we made it, and eventually arrived in Hong Kong.  First impression: Hong Kong is not a well-planned city, at least not in the neighborhood we're lodging in, as it grew up in a time before such planning was high on the list of priorities.  But it is a very great city.  It's character is what I wish Seoul's were: quite convenient to English speaking tourists and mostly friendly; enough East to feel like you're not just in a big city, but that you're in a big Asian city, mixed with enough West so that you don't feel like a zoo animal on exhibit.  We don't get stared at here, and, aside from a Vietnamese restaurant last night, we're never treated with contempt or hostility or as though we are ignorant infants, as is so often the case in Seoul.  In short, I like Hong Kong.

Our first day we decided to take it easy, and just walked around our neighborhood. We are staying in the west part of town, across the street from the harbor.  It is a nice neighborhood, not as posh as the center, and lots of old Hong Kong character still.  Also a lot of shops selling shark fin. Literally, we saw dozens of shops in our short walk, selling hundreds of shark fins.  It's no surprise that Hong Kong residents consume half of the shark fins eaten in the world.

We had ox tongue and duck for lunch, then Indian food for dinner. 

Day two we rode the narrow, two story trams to Hong Kong park, where we took the funicular up to Victoria Peak.  The views are amazing, the ride was fun, and there are some good walks up on the peak.  Plus, you can see the homes of some billionaires up there.  You can also see a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant, which is odd, but occupies the highest floor of the peak tower with views over the entire city.  We bought some souvenirs up there, and a painting for ourselves.  After descending, we went back to Hong Kong Park, which is a great city park. It has a huge aviary, a conservatory, lakes, a waterfall, and a tai chi garden where early in the morning people gather to do tai chi.  We did not go early in the morning, unfortunately.  But it was still lovely, and ranks amongst my favorite downtown city parks in the world.  For dinner we ate at the aforementioned Vietnamese restaurant, where we were mostly ignored and did not feel welcome.  But that didn't faze us, as we've been living in Seoul for 9 months and have gotten used to such things.

There is one other thing I'd like to share.  When looking across the harbor from Hong Kong to Kowloon (technically it is part of the Hong Kong special administrative region, yet is on the mainland) you can see the city spreading out, backed by some impressive mountains.  Those mountain swirl with low-lying clouds, and frame an impressive natural border with China.  It is kind of mysterious, for someone who has never been to China, to see that wall of green mountains rising behind the city, and to think how close we are to the Middle Kingdom.  The wanderlust starts kicking in when you look at those mountains, and the traveler part of the brain starts releasing endorphins and adrenaline in that old familiar urge.  China calls.

Today, as mentioned above, we want to go to Lantau Island.  The Star Ferry is on our list of things to do while in Hong Kong, as is the giant seated Buddha statue (interesting movie trivia: a replica of the statue is exploded in the Van Damme movie Knock Off).  Hopefully the skies will clear soon, and we'll have more interesting details to report.