I have not been keeping up with post like I should be, but this past month has been very busy. I have literally flown around the world, and have hit some major cities along the way.
My first stop was Hong Kong. I wasn't as impressed with this city as I thought I would be, but I blame that on a number of factors. One being I was sick while traveling, and two being the rainy weather. I was hoping for some sun and beach time here, but it wasn't warm enough for that at all. I will say shopping in Hong Kong is great if that is what you are looking for. I spent one day in Hong Kong where I did a bus tour. I got to see the city, Victory Harbor, learn about some history, visit the floating village and restaurant, and take in some markets. It was a jammed pack half day trip, but it allowed me to cover a lot of ground in a short time. The other day I had in Hong Kong, I spend in Macau. It is just a short ferry ride away from Hong Kong, but still a part of China which doesn't require a visa. Macau is known as Asia's Vegas. It's a land of hotels, casinos, shopping, and shows. I got to see Cirque du Soleil's show Zaia while there, which was absolutely amazing. It may be the gymnastics background I have, but this was the highlight of my trip for sure. The sets, costumes, dance, song and story had me in awe. It was a quick trip for me as it was originally suppose to be my last Asian vacation before home. Since booking the trip I decided on coming back to Korea, so I will hopefully get in a couple more this year.
The next stop on my journey was London, England. I am so accustomed to lack of communication in English that my first question at the airport was "Do you speak English?" I feel in England, this may be taken as an insult. I had a week to travel around London and see the sights with my friend from university. The first day we spend wondering through Hyde Park, and enjoying afternoon tea we were both a little jet lagged, so it was a fairly uneventful day. We were in bed before the sun was down. The next day we decided to do a hop on hop off tour around London. We didn't pick the best day, or season for that matter to travel in England, and ended up caught in a major down pour. The tour took us to see London Bridge, London Eye, National Gallery, Tower Bridge, London Tower, Thames River, Big Ben, and the Parliament. I would highly recommend this to anyone. The guides on the bus were highly informative, and we both agreed that bus tours are not just for seniors. The next day we decided to have a "Royal Day." London was overly decorated with Will and Kate's face, and being there so close to the royal wedding we felt the need to check out the locations. We went to Buckingham Palace for changing of the guards, then walked the wedding route by St James Park to Westminster Abby. Westminster Abby was surprising to me. Even after seeing it on TV it seemed very different inside than I envisioned. It is by no means a beautiful church. I would say it is rather cluttered, and Gothic looking, but it is full of history. That night we took in a the musical Legally Blonde, which we didn't have high standards for, but were pleasantly surprised. Later in the week we went to see Dirty Dancing, which being a classic expected to be great, but I would say I enjoyed Legally Blonde more. The next day we took a day trip to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge. Windsor Castle was another royal event, and the town of Windsor is very posh, and historic. I thought Bath was a very cute city, and if I were to go back would spend more time there. We only had a couple hours at each location, but the smaller cities is where I would spend time next trip. In Bath we spent most of the time checking out the Roman Baths. We also had traditional English Fish and Chips here. Stonehenge was the last stop and is defiantly worth seeing, but its not a full day event. There is nothing in the area besides the rocks, but seeing it and listening to the theories behind why they are there was really interesting. The rest of our time in London we spent enjoying tea at the Orangery, walking in Kensington Palace garden and shopping. I will say after spending a year traveling in non English speaking countries that London was a treat.
The final stop on my journey was home. I flew into Montreal, and as much as English was foreign to my ears in England, French was in Montreal. I will say that after being away from home for a while, that I now know why people see Canadian's as friendly. Of all the places I have been, no one holds a door, lets you skip line if your in a hurry, or helps with your luggage. From the second I got off the plane I had some lift my heavy bag, hold a door, and allow me to skip the line at security. It really made me feel at home, and proud to be Canadian. Home was a great break for me. To go to the grocery store and see recognizable food, speak English, drive a car, watch English TV, and visit friends and family was unbelievable. I got to do a quick Nova Scotia tour, visiting Bridgewater, Wolfville and Halifax. I also had a bit of a New Brunswick tour and visited Miramichi, Moncton, and Fredericton before flying back to Korea.
I am now back in Korea for 8 months teaching at the same school. I have no trips planned as of yet, which is a bit depressing. I have a couple places on my wish list before I head home to Canada in January. I am thinking Singapore or Bali. I don't have as much time off this time, so I plan to do more Korean vacations on weekends.
Things hear are like I never left. My kids are back to themselves, although after being gone for three weeks it only took them five days to become annoying again. In a class of 12 kids for 50 minutes they managed to say the word "teacher" in there Korean accent over 100 times. There is a reason why Soju (alcohol) is so cheap in this country.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Japan
Japan is an amazing country. It is very clean and organized non like many other places I have been here. I do feel lucky that I was able to experience Japan before leaving Asia. I am also glad I saved it til the end. It has given me a much better impression of Asia as a continent. People are patient here, they stop at cross walks, and don't spit or put cigarettes on the ground. After living in Korea for over a year, I appreciate all these things.
I feel lucky with the timing if my trip, if I had been a few weeks later, things may not have gone so smoothly. The tsunami and earthquakes have caused a lot of damage this week, and as I am glad I am back to Korea safe.
The airport efficiency had me impressed from the start, so I could tell it was going to be a good vacation. Everything seems to run so smoothly in Japan. There was no waiting for luggage, customs, immigration, or trains. The airport is also high tech with finger print scanning, and identification. We started our adventures in Osaka. We only spent one night in Osaka, in a part called Mikuni. Mikuni is a nice quiet part of the city. It has a very small village feel with street markets, bikes, cafes, and restaurants. It almost reminded me of the valley; everyone knows everyone in this part of town. There were not many foreigners around, but we did run into a guy named Patrick. He is definitely a known foreign local, and he was able to give us lots of help and advice. We didn't have much time in Osaka, but we got a chance to walk around and enjoy a couple pubs, and restaurants here. We stayed at the Caminoro guesthouse here, and I have to give it an excellent review. Clean, spacious, great location, and the owners are very friendly. They also have an adorable baby girl. I would recommend this place to anyone in who is in that area.
The next day we got up early to take a bus to Hiroshima. This was the part of the trip I had been looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. Hiroshima is a beautiful city with many rivers running through the main part of town. The Peace Memorial Park, and A Bomb Dome are very well persevered and maintained. I found the A bomb museum extremely interesting, and eerie. Some of the artifacts such as the watch which stopped at 8:15am when the bomb hit, and paintings done by the survivors in the museum were very disturbing. It gave me a much better picture of the threat of nuclear weapons. This also made me a little uneasy, seeing as I currently live in a country that is in constant disagreement with North Korea, who have an undetermined amount of nuclear weapons. The museum is very tastefully done, and highly educational. One thought that ran through my mind a number of times while reading and looking at different things, was I am happy to not be American. I would have felt very guilty being there as an American.
Following the museum and park we tried some of the local food. Okonomiyako which is "pizza," they make it using lettuce, pork, egg, and a tortilla. Since pizza is my favorite food, I will not call it pizza, but it wasn't bad. The guy even let us help make it. We also had momiji, which is a small leaf shaped cookie. Inside it is filled with custard, red bean, green tea, chocolate or some other fillings. I had the custard one which wasn't too bad either. In the evening we had a try of shochu, which is traditional Japanese liquor. They drink it mixed with water or ice. It is not delicious but much better than something like vodka or rum.
The next day we went to Miyajima island. It is not far from Hiroshima, and it is very easy to get to by train and ferry. At first we were not so sure if we would waste a day going, but once we got there we were happy we did. The island is small and most famous for the Torri Gate (aka the floating gate). That was the main attraction we went to see, but once we got there we enjoyed the nature and small island vibe much better. It is a very touristy location, but the locals, houses and history is very preserved. We rented bikes and did a bit of an island tour. The weather was beautiful, and we got to see the gate during high tide. The island also has hundreds of wild, but very tame deer. They will come right up to you and take food, or paper right from your hand. Here I got to try eel and oysters which are the famous food of choice. Eel was not for me, but the oysters were much better than I thought they would be.
That night we took an overnight bus to Tokyo. We wanted to fit in all of Japans highlights while there, so we flew to Osaka and home from Tokyo. Japan is not a very large country land mass wise, but it is very long. 14 hours from Hiroshima to Tokyo by bus, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds. They make many stops, and once you get comfortable enough to sleep it is ok. We arrived in Tokyo early in the morning, and decided to cover a lot of ground in one day. We did Tokyo Tower, Government Buildings, Sony Building, Hachico Station, and the Shibuya intersection. I got to have some delicious sushi, and hit up a couple of clubs in Tokyo which was really fun. We were in Tokyo during the weekend, which if you are looking for night life I recommend. For being the largest city in the world, it was very easy to get around, clean, organized, and nice. It is massive, and when you are looking from the observation deck 50 floors up you can see that, but they all do an amazing job in making it work. Even the subway during rush hour is organized, and people wait in lines. While we were there, the Tokyo marathon was taking place. If I had of known I would of loved to run in it. To run in a marathon with 35,000 people from all over the world would of been an amazing experience, the course is also fairly flat. Next year I will have to keep it in mind.
Our last day in Japan we took a day trip to Mt Fuji. It is very pretty, and the weather was beautiful. It was a clear day so we were able to see the peak. It is still snow covered at the peak, and climbing season does not start until summer so we didn't get to hike it. We also went to an onsen while there. This is a natural outdoor hot spring. There are indoor baths as well which are similar to the Korean bath houses, but the outdoor hot spring is so relaxing. You can sit outside in a warm rock bath, with Mt Fuji in the background and fresh air. After getting over the fact you are naked with many strangers it is very relaxing. The Japanese are much more modest than Koreans, so walking with a towel in front of you is ok. After spending a few hours soaking in tubs and cleaning I felt like a million dollars.
Japan is a beautiful country. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It is some what expensive to travel throughout the country, but it's worth it. I would not have skipped any of the locations we covered, or omitted any sights or activities. If I had to choose one city to visit I would say Hiroshima was my favorite. I loved Japan and could defiantly see myself living there.
I feel lucky with the timing if my trip, if I had been a few weeks later, things may not have gone so smoothly. The tsunami and earthquakes have caused a lot of damage this week, and as I am glad I am back to Korea safe.
The airport efficiency had me impressed from the start, so I could tell it was going to be a good vacation. Everything seems to run so smoothly in Japan. There was no waiting for luggage, customs, immigration, or trains. The airport is also high tech with finger print scanning, and identification. We started our adventures in Osaka. We only spent one night in Osaka, in a part called Mikuni. Mikuni is a nice quiet part of the city. It has a very small village feel with street markets, bikes, cafes, and restaurants. It almost reminded me of the valley; everyone knows everyone in this part of town. There were not many foreigners around, but we did run into a guy named Patrick. He is definitely a known foreign local, and he was able to give us lots of help and advice. We didn't have much time in Osaka, but we got a chance to walk around and enjoy a couple pubs, and restaurants here. We stayed at the Caminoro guesthouse here, and I have to give it an excellent review. Clean, spacious, great location, and the owners are very friendly. They also have an adorable baby girl. I would recommend this place to anyone in who is in that area.
The next day we got up early to take a bus to Hiroshima. This was the part of the trip I had been looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. Hiroshima is a beautiful city with many rivers running through the main part of town. The Peace Memorial Park, and A Bomb Dome are very well persevered and maintained. I found the A bomb museum extremely interesting, and eerie. Some of the artifacts such as the watch which stopped at 8:15am when the bomb hit, and paintings done by the survivors in the museum were very disturbing. It gave me a much better picture of the threat of nuclear weapons. This also made me a little uneasy, seeing as I currently live in a country that is in constant disagreement with North Korea, who have an undetermined amount of nuclear weapons. The museum is very tastefully done, and highly educational. One thought that ran through my mind a number of times while reading and looking at different things, was I am happy to not be American. I would have felt very guilty being there as an American.
Following the museum and park we tried some of the local food. Okonomiyako which is "pizza," they make it using lettuce, pork, egg, and a tortilla. Since pizza is my favorite food, I will not call it pizza, but it wasn't bad. The guy even let us help make it. We also had momiji, which is a small leaf shaped cookie. Inside it is filled with custard, red bean, green tea, chocolate or some other fillings. I had the custard one which wasn't too bad either. In the evening we had a try of shochu, which is traditional Japanese liquor. They drink it mixed with water or ice. It is not delicious but much better than something like vodka or rum.
The next day we went to Miyajima island. It is not far from Hiroshima, and it is very easy to get to by train and ferry. At first we were not so sure if we would waste a day going, but once we got there we were happy we did. The island is small and most famous for the Torri Gate (aka the floating gate). That was the main attraction we went to see, but once we got there we enjoyed the nature and small island vibe much better. It is a very touristy location, but the locals, houses and history is very preserved. We rented bikes and did a bit of an island tour. The weather was beautiful, and we got to see the gate during high tide. The island also has hundreds of wild, but very tame deer. They will come right up to you and take food, or paper right from your hand. Here I got to try eel and oysters which are the famous food of choice. Eel was not for me, but the oysters were much better than I thought they would be.
That night we took an overnight bus to Tokyo. We wanted to fit in all of Japans highlights while there, so we flew to Osaka and home from Tokyo. Japan is not a very large country land mass wise, but it is very long. 14 hours from Hiroshima to Tokyo by bus, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds. They make many stops, and once you get comfortable enough to sleep it is ok. We arrived in Tokyo early in the morning, and decided to cover a lot of ground in one day. We did Tokyo Tower, Government Buildings, Sony Building, Hachico Station, and the Shibuya intersection. I got to have some delicious sushi, and hit up a couple of clubs in Tokyo which was really fun. We were in Tokyo during the weekend, which if you are looking for night life I recommend. For being the largest city in the world, it was very easy to get around, clean, organized, and nice. It is massive, and when you are looking from the observation deck 50 floors up you can see that, but they all do an amazing job in making it work. Even the subway during rush hour is organized, and people wait in lines. While we were there, the Tokyo marathon was taking place. If I had of known I would of loved to run in it. To run in a marathon with 35,000 people from all over the world would of been an amazing experience, the course is also fairly flat. Next year I will have to keep it in mind.
Our last day in Japan we took a day trip to Mt Fuji. It is very pretty, and the weather was beautiful. It was a clear day so we were able to see the peak. It is still snow covered at the peak, and climbing season does not start until summer so we didn't get to hike it. We also went to an onsen while there. This is a natural outdoor hot spring. There are indoor baths as well which are similar to the Korean bath houses, but the outdoor hot spring is so relaxing. You can sit outside in a warm rock bath, with Mt Fuji in the background and fresh air. After getting over the fact you are naked with many strangers it is very relaxing. The Japanese are much more modest than Koreans, so walking with a towel in front of you is ok. After spending a few hours soaking in tubs and cleaning I felt like a million dollars.
Japan is a beautiful country. I would highly recommend it to anyone. It is some what expensive to travel throughout the country, but it's worth it. I would not have skipped any of the locations we covered, or omitted any sights or activities. If I had to choose one city to visit I would say Hiroshima was my favorite. I loved Japan and could defiantly see myself living there.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The past couple of months have been flying here in Korea. I celebrated Christmas very different from years in the past, but everyone is in the same boat so we made the best of it. It was a very green Christmas here. My company had a big staff party on Christmas day, so I did manage to have turkey for dinner. I rang in the New Year and my 1 year anniversary in Daegu with some friends which was fun. Daegu is a bigger city, and more to do than Gumi. I also thought it was fitting because that is where I rang in 2010 as well. The local foreign bar here has started Wednesday trivia night, so we have been religiously going to that which helps break up the week. We can have teams of 2-3 people. We have a group of 6 friends who like to make it a fairly competitive event. So far the 6 of us have finished in the top 2 teams every week, so its a fight to defend our titles now. I have been crossing off my bucket list things and preparing for my return to Canada. The countdown is at 46 days, which gives me anxiety. Part of me is ready to go home, and part of me wants to stay. I am sure my departure will be bitter sweet.
Happy New Year 2011
I have finished my South East Asian travels this week. I took a trip to the Phillippnes with a couple girls from here. It was a great trip, and nice to get out of the cold weather for a while. We were only there for a short time but covered a lot. We arrived in Manila late on Wednesday night and headed to an island Puerto Galera for the beach part of our vacation. We spent a few days there on the beach, snorkeling, para sailing, and partying before heading back to Manila to do some shopping and sight-seeing.
Melissa, Chantel, and I
The beach was nice, the water wasn't as warm as Thailand, but a comfortable temperature. It is still "winter" in the Phillippines so it was the coldest time of year. The temperature was still around 26 degrees, and the sun was great. We did a boat tour which took us snorkeling and the amount of fish was amazing. We took some bread to feed the fish and hundreds of tiny fish would surround you. During the evenings we hit up some beach side bars. They all have lady boys that work and entertain. I have to say I was very entertained by the lady boy and fire shows at night. We had a chance to ask some of the lady boys our questions, and I have to say some of them were very convincing females. We also got to try some balut while on the beach. Balut is a fertilized egg, and is known to be one of the worst foods in the world. I had a VERY small sip of the liquid, but couldn't eat it.
Balut
We spent a couple days in Manila before coming home. We got to do some shopping, which was much better than Korean shopping. We even got a few grocery items which you can't find here. The Phillippnes has a much larger selection of American goods, which are like luxury items for us. We also went to Intramuros which is the oldest selection of Manila which was built by the Spaniards. There are lots of old churches and buildings here, but the original heritage is not well preserved. Beside a 16th century church you can find a 7-eleven.
Interamuros
Overall I had a great vacation, and was happy to do it in great company before heading home. Even managed to get a bit of a tan.
My next adventure is in a couple weeks time. I will be heading to Japan to do a tour of the island. We plan to hit up Osaka, Hiroshima, Mt Fuji, and Tokyo. Should be another fun vacation.
Happy New Year 2011
I have finished my South East Asian travels this week. I took a trip to the Phillippnes with a couple girls from here. It was a great trip, and nice to get out of the cold weather for a while. We were only there for a short time but covered a lot. We arrived in Manila late on Wednesday night and headed to an island Puerto Galera for the beach part of our vacation. We spent a few days there on the beach, snorkeling, para sailing, and partying before heading back to Manila to do some shopping and sight-seeing.
Melissa, Chantel, and I
BalutWe spent a couple days in Manila before coming home. We got to do some shopping, which was much better than Korean shopping. We even got a few grocery items which you can't find here. The Phillippnes has a much larger selection of American goods, which are like luxury items for us. We also went to Intramuros which is the oldest selection of Manila which was built by the Spaniards. There are lots of old churches and buildings here, but the original heritage is not well preserved. Beside a 16th century church you can find a 7-eleven.
InteramurosOverall I had a great vacation, and was happy to do it in great company before heading home. Even managed to get a bit of a tan.
My next adventure is in a couple weeks time. I will be heading to Japan to do a tour of the island. We plan to hit up Osaka, Hiroshima, Mt Fuji, and Tokyo. Should be another fun vacation.
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