Yes, despite the very deceptive blogs on South Korea, I've actually been in Berlin for almost a whole week ... and it rocks!!! I am very lucky to be staying with the wonderful Miss Ines who I first met when I traipsed around Asia in 2005. After sharing a room with me for close to 5 weeks, she didn't run screaming when I asked if I could 'freeload' for a couple of weeks, but opened her home to me. She lives in a lovely flat in Prenzlauer Berg a very hip area of Berlin with great transport links for travellers like [View Full Entry]

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My last day in Korea was spent in the company of the lovely Miss Cindy who had spent 3 months with me in Brisbane. First stop was to watch the guard changing ceremony at Deoksugung - a bright and colourful event involving multitudes of traditionally dressed guards and a really big drum. It's a visual feast with parading guards, the colours of the costumes, the awesome traditional Korean drum, musicians, commands being shouted and the odd combined shout from everyone ... there is even a nice commentary in both Korean and English. After the ceremony was the chance to be one [View Full Entry]

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You can't visit Seoul without trotting off to Insadong to experience a teahouse. Met up with El and Candace, my companions at the War Museum and we hunted through Insadong's back alleys until we found Yetchatjip, the old tea house. This place has the atmosphere of a slightly organised junk shop, with stuff everywhere, little tables to sit at or in our case a little private area with cushions on the floor for us to sit on. There are even a host of small birds flying around freely. Luckily they didn't come into our area as I'd be a little worried [View Full Entry]

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Time to get some culture. Seoul has a lot of palaces, but I decided to limit my palace experience to the World Heritage Listed Changdeokgung which had the thumbs up from most people I spoke to as the the best one. This was usually accompanied by the old adage ... seen one ... seen them all. With only 4 days to see the sights, I decided to take their advice. This palace is a massive palace with lots of building set in extensive grounds. The only way to visit is as part of a tour so I joined 100 or so [View Full Entry]

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No visit to South Korea would be complete without taking advantage of the opportunity to step inside the empire of Kim Jong Il ... even if it is only a couple of steps into the North ... and under the protection of the Joint Services Area (JSA) personnel. I decided to do a tour with the USO (United Services Organisation) as this tour guarantees a visit to Panmunjom and is about a 3rd of the price of some of the other tours. It did mean an early start as the tour leaves from one of the US bases in Seoul, Camp [View Full Entry]

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Day 1 proper Seoul and I had the bright idea to take a "stroll" up Namsan. Namsan is a big and beautiful (did I mention big) mountain in the middle of downtown Seoul upon which sits the jewel of the South Korean tourist trade the N'Seoul Tower. Departing from my Youth Hostel I took one of the many paths that crisscross this mountain, following the wooden lined steps and rope handrails (in places) to find my way, by korean map instructions alone. Naturally this meant that upon hitting the main "hiking trail" I turned right towards the tower I could see [View Full Entry]

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Well, it seemed to take forever, but I'm finally on my way. A very long and relatively uneventful day to kick off the trip - getting up at 5.30am wasn't my favourite thing, but it got me to the airport and on my flight. I even managed to sneak that extra kg or so into my check in luggage (the hand held luggage, however may kill me!). Anyone who has ever travelled with me knows that packing light isn't my strong point, and this trip is no different. Arrived in Seoul about 5.40pm (6.40pm brissie time) and after an uneventful unloading [View Full Entry]

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Cool map ... watch it turn red! As at 6 May 2008 create your own visited country map [View Full Entry]

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Countdown to the world It's been 18 years since I first boarded a plane and waved Australia goodbye, but the time travelling has been tiny in comparison to the time spent being sensible with study, work, home and doing the "right thing". I may have taken my time, but FINALLY I'm taking the leap and heading off to see what adventures the world has in store for me! I know I'm older, not sure if I'm wiser, but hopefully this new adventure will be full of amazing places, good stories and not too many mistakes. Fear not, all [View Full Entry]

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