Blogs from Incheon, South Korea, Asia

Bultanem Saram (pt. 2 of 2) Here's an update well after the event. This goes back to a Sunday in September, the second weekend after I got to Seocheon. I figured out those weird insect like things I ate with the Chinese women were immature silkworm (pupa or larve). Glad to have figured that out. Anyway, I met a ton of people at the beach on Sunday, and a couple folks I may meet in the future outside of Korea, should paths cross in a desert somewhere. Big props to Katlyn, Scottathan, and Crazy Matteh. You guys rock, and help make this strange land full of strange people (expats certainly not excepted) more cozy. Here's a few pics from the beach.... read more

10 hours and only half way! No sleep and head feels fried but v nice bottle of sauvignon blanc pre-flight. Transfer leaves in an hour. ... read more

So the idea for Saturday was to go to Muiido island for the first ever South Korea burning man kinda thing. Burning Man is happening in now, and this is supposed to be a little taste of it for all those inclined in South Korea. Long story short, I missed it on Saturday. Why? Because it's on an island and I arrived too late to the ferry. I could kick myself for a litany of reasons why I needn't have missed the boat over and shoud've been partying through the night on the island. Instead, here's a tale of what actually happened instead. I missed a train, completely and utterly my fault. This was my first time taking a train into Seoul from Seocheon (where I live, for all you who don't know/didn't guess). My train ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, I feel that is obligatory to end our adventure in Korea with a summary of some of the things we’ve loved and hated whilst voyaging on this journey of discovery into the land of the morning calm. So let’s kick things off on a positive note in no particular order: Top of the K-Pops 1. Boeun – some say it’s the armpit of Korea but others say it’s the Las Vegas of Korea. I agree wholeheartedly with the latter. If there was a town at the end of a rainbow, Boeun would be it. I was genuinely shocked that it wasn’t listed as a potential candidate for the new Seven Wonders of the World. I mean, haven’t they seen the emaculate condition of the bus terminal? The on-going construction all year round? The ... read more

OK, technically I'm an Incheon man, as that's where the airport is. My flight from Seattle was fairly uneventful, other than the 3 babies a few rows ahead of me trading off fire engine impressions for the whole 12 hours. I tried to learn a little Korean, but the "learn Korean" program they had on the little screen was not very effective and it took me several runs through just to learn how to say hello, goodbye, excuse me, and thank you (and I only remember 2 of those now...). Fortunately I'm only here for a few hours before I go to China (where at least my mangling of the language is a product of years of hard work and confusion instead of just minutes). It's very foggy here, so my flight to Shanghai has been ... read more

A map pin in South Korea, that is. This is my first visit. After an easy but exhaust- and grit-filled tuk-tuk ride to the airport in Phnom Penh, I was able to check in immediately and go upstairs to the comfy chairs. Those of you aware of my craving for chocolate last night should know that I got neither the chocolate linga (lingam) nor the chocolates shaped like the big stone faces from the Angkor Wat temple area. Instead I had a small, lackluster muffin that was more or less sufficient to hold me until Seattle. The flight to Seoul was fine, though I didn't sleep much, or well. Breakfast was either a nasty omelette with grey-green overcooked broccoli, which I declined, or a disposable plastic tub (similar to the ones tofu comes in), heated, full ... read more

Heute war in Tokio wieder ein sonniger Tag, was mich dazu brachte noch mal den Tempel in der Nähe zu besuchen und Fotos zu machen. Diesmal habe ich 100 Yen gespendet und aus einem Behälter ein Schicksalsstäbchen gezogen. Auf dem Stäbchen waren japanische Zahlen, die man dann auf einer von hundert Schubladen suchen mußte. In der Schublade war dann ein Zettel mit einer Vorhersage. Diesen Zettel hat man dann gefaltet und um ein Seil neben dem Tempel gebunden, damit sich das Schicksal nicht erfüllt, falls es schlecht war. Falls es gut war nimmt man den Zettel mit. Mal schauen. Danach gings zum Flughafen und in den Flieger nach Südkorea. Nach vier Stunden bin ich dann am Flughafen Incheon in Südkorea gelandet. Hier habe ich dann meinen Anschlußflug nach Sydney bestiegen. Landung ist Morgen um 9 Uhr ... read more