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Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 358
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So I'm leaving South Korea and here are my thoughts....
Published: April 5th 2006Asia » South Korea » Seoul
April 5th 2006
So my time in South Korea is come to an end and I wanted to just give my overall opinion and some things to think about if you’re thinking about traveling here. First of all there is not a huge foreign tourist scene here in Korea, for the solo backpacker like myself. I found them to have a great transportation system with fairly cheap buses all over the country but once you reached your destination there are not a lot of cheap places to stay, and sometime they are hard to find. Unless of course you are traveling with a companion then it can be quite inexpensive. The people here seem quite rude as well, but you just need to not care it’s just the way they are (city folk), no smiles even though they ... read more
April 5th 2006
Welll well well, the first weeks gone so fast been a bit mental, all the teachers went out for a meal which involved a grill on the table and lots of slabs of meat, always good! 'o) And a good few jugs of beer and shots of soju later I was wrapped up in bed. Friday we went out for a girls bday so there were like 17 of us foreigners in the restaurant for someones birthday. Then off to Mikes speakeasy bar where people were dressed for a pimp and hoe party, I couldnt tell the difference of attire for some of the girls tho! haha and just all got a bit squiffy on the 1 pound jugs of beer. On saturday I went and donated an hour of my time to a childrens orphanage ... read more
April 4th 2006
I dropped into Seoul for a few days to do some banking and catch up with friends. It was almost like I had never left the place, although with my absence I had forgotten the extremes of the place. Ajumas: I gotta say, I had forgotten how bad these animals are. On my flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong I tried to put my seat back and immediately got shoved upright from behind. Yup... three ajumas sitting there with the floral shirts, excess makeup, and dyed tight permed hair. I tried to negotiate a settlement and only put my chair back a few inches, but negotiating with ajumas is impossible (which is why Korean men never have any say in family matters) and trying to match them for physical strength is pretty pointless unless you are ... read more
April 3rd 2006
Jeonju.... I think this may be one of the nicest city's I visited. Though I only spent a day here I just really enjoyed the feeling the city has. There are not a lot of sky rises and overdressed people rushing around on tight filled day schedules. I visited the Hanok Village where Korean tradition is kept. There are around 800 traditional style homes and in the village that must be kept that way, the owners are not allowed to make modernized changes to their homes. There are also lots of traditional style shops and mini museums to check out. As I was heading there I met a guy Lee who spoke very good English and offered to show me around. I was a little hesitant but after speaking with him for a while I though ... read more
April 2nd 2006
We needed a break. From this city. From "reality", whatever the hell that means. And man, did we get it. It was nice to see Ty. ALways nice to have a little slice of home. But it was a weird trip. A lot of stories I have heard a thousand times suddenly defamiliarized me to where I came from. Are they really that bad? I love Erin, she is amazing. And there's nobody I would have wanted to go on that kind of weird weekend with more than her. But there were moments when I wanted Ty to just stop telling the stories. She doesn't have to know my friends are like that. What will she think of me? Funny how it was what SHE thought of me that I was the most worried about, and ... read more
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April 1st 2006
It’s a rainy Saturday in Seoul and I’m sitting a newly discovered Starbucks with my laptop. Colin is out shopping with some boys from church (don’t worry, they’re going drinking afterwards) and I think this may be our first Saturday apart since August. I’m perched up at a window seat overlooking a busy little side street and with the rain coming down out there I actually feel pretty cozy in here sipping my latte. I’m also snacking on some gimbap (maki-like roll) since it is somehow almost 4pm. I had a good chat with mom today and also chatted with my friendJaclyn for the first time in over 6 months. Boy, did I laugh!! Talking with a girl again was great! Talking with the storyteller/drama queen that is Jaclyn and hearing her self-deprecating and over-the-top home ... read more
March 31st 2006
31 March 2006 Brrr it’s cold in Seoul! But I must say that the two days in Seoul have been more interesting and more fun than I had anticipated. We landed at the airport at 6:30 pm, went through customs and immigration with no problem, but then had to wait 30 minutes for our shuttle bus (called a deluxe limo there). It then took us 90 minutes to get to the Holiday Inn. When we arrived and told them how long it had taken, the response was: “well that’s Seoul for you”! The Holiday Inn was beautiful - the most beautiful Holiday Inn I have stayed in, but more about that later. The first day we went on a tour to the DMZ (de-militarized zone between North and South Korea). It was fascinating. There were three ... read more
March 31st 2006
Argh its mid day friday and I'm glad to say I've managed to get through my first week. I haven't suffered any jet lag whatsoever which is strange, no doubt it'll be when I come home that I really feel it. The biting kid Jack has now progressed to poking my bum alot (vikki style) and flicking, grabbing, pulling any one of my limbs which takes his fancy, for a seven year old hes lethal, ideally I just wanna take my slipper off and swipe it right across his bum i'm sure he'll understand that language lol, well it used to work for me! Me and the irish teacher Paul were having a debate with the aussies and american that they should bring back the cane, or we can improvise with rulers, metal pencil cases and ... read more
March 29th 2006
I have to say thank god for my lessons on the subway with Jen in Seoul seeing's I had never been on one in my life before. The one here is much simpler only consisting of 4 lines which I easily got myself to my first destination stop with. Then searching for a hotel that no longer exists got me a little confused, but I got'er all figured out with my ever improving sign language/sherrades (sp) act. By noon I was unpacking in my not so wonderful room and opening up the guide book on what to see. Honestly though people I wouldn't by the Lonely Planet "Korea" book because most of the directions in it suck. First I though I'd take a gander over to the oh so famous fish market. Jagalchi Fish Market ... read more
March 28th 2006
Hey guys I've arrived in Korea, its been pretty mad, the journey was a long one! ended up with a 7 hour wait for the london flight then i dozed all the way over. I just slept most of the flight so it wasnt too bad and had my first taste of korean food bibimbap, which is an array of veg, rice, hot pepper sauce and meat quite yumtastic! Anywho the school owners collected us and took us to our apartments, I definately got the better deal than paul, living in a quiet area right near the school and two of the teachers. Paul is above a kareoke bar,,, NICE. Anywho they took us out for food and paid for our first lot of food shopping too and bought most of the stuff new in for ... read more
