Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 11

Dear Blog Readers, Our new-found sumo wrestling knowledge made the footage of the latest Grand Sumo on the ferry back to Korea much more interesting! Once shored in Busan, we headed straight to the station and picked up our suitcases from the luggage storage there – highly recommended to save lugging around everything and only about £5 a day. It was the return of trying to find something that we wanted as we fancied getting some of our favourite Chinese food in Korea – jajamyeong and tansuyuk! It took about half an hour to find a restaurant in downtown Busan…I swear there is normally one every other restaurant! The food was superb and worth the find! We had a nice wander around the city in the evening and Laura found a place to buy some trainer-socks ... read more

Have you ever heard the tale of the 6 blind men who "saw" an elephant? (A terrific reading of this poem can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJVBQefNXIw, and I recommend you listen to it for the sheer pleasure of the reading if you have a little time (2:22) to spare. As we have travelled through many countries in the last few weeks, we've seen bits and pieces of each one, largely the exteriors of buildings accompanied by the commentary (historical and otherwise) of local guides. We've had a terrific time, I think we've learned a lot, and we're so motivated now to read far more of European history. But I also realise that we have "seen" no more than the blind men or than what amounts to a few dots in a pointilliste painting, so I have ... read more

Hey everyone, Seven months in Korea, and spring has finally arrived! You wouldn’t have been able to tell today, what with the sudden drop in temperatures, punctuated by snow flurries this morning, but it is gradually getting warmer here! Haha just kidding, it's now been nine months here, and spring is in full force. I can finally start wearing T-shirts comfortably, with only a light sweater needed in the evenings. Man, the weather changes quickly once it's committed to a season. Along with warmer weather comes beautiful flowers coming into bloom! And SUN! Yay! Last weekend month, after an eventful Saturday morning spent at the hospital getting Tanya’s cough checked out—and subsequently getting her situated into a weeklong hospital stay for pneumonia—I walked over to the nearby reservoir and park to enjoy the warm weather and ... read more

We were determined to ensure that our South Korea trip was not just Seoul centred so we had always planned to get out into the country. Paul had researched options, places to visit and how to travel, particularly train as they have a very good high-speed network. In the end though, a few weeks ago whilst already on the trip, we decided to go for the flexibility of car hire instead, especially as Paul got a good rate for 7 days hire. As you may have gathered from the last blog though that decision nearly backfired as the first day's driving was horrendous, and the thought of 6 days more like that was not appealing at all. But now that we are using maps.me, with verbal sat-nav and all to get around, all is easy peasy. ... read more

I imagine travel for most people as a well-planned endeavor. Getting the most out of your cherished two weeks off from the daily drudgery is probably some of the most well thought out plans a person makes during the year. Weeks spent searching websites trying to find the perfect hotel, flight and entertainment usually follow months of reading dreamy destination brochures filled with glossy pictures of a glamorous life somewhere on a distant side of the globe. Some seek advice from a travel expert, often a lady behind a desk covered by brochures who seems to have been everywhere and tasted the buffets of every gleaming cruise ship that plies the seven seas. Some attempt to make life simpler by booking a prearranged trip that meets most or all of your travel dreams. Spending more time ... read more