Since I will be teaching courses for teachers during the summer, I was able to take my break a bit early. This time I set out for Vietnam. It was absolutely amazing and was a great vacation to end on! My first day was spent on a city tour of Hanoi. Before lunch, I made it to the Temple of Literature (Vietnam's first university) and the Ethnology Museum. After my traditional Vietnamese lunch, I visited the Ho Chi Minh complex which included the Mausoleum, his house, and a replica of his house on stilts. Nearby, there was also a pagoda to visit. I then had time to take a cyclo-tour of the city and see a traditional water puppet show. After dinner, I got on a night train to Lao Cai then went to Sapa.
I was most amazed by the traffic in Hanoi. Zillions of motorbikes buzzing through the streets. It appears as though there are very few traffic laws. As a pedestrian, they don't stop for you. Instead, you literally step out into the traffic and they all go around you. It's the strangest feeling. Also interesting was the cyclo-tour...intersections have never looked so frightening. Days 2 & 3 were spent in Sapa. This is a traditional farming area in the northernmost part of Vietnam...very close to China. There are many villages with different tribes. My tour guide took me to see 4of these villages while we trekked through the rice paddies. This was a pretty amazing place. The people plow their fields with the help of buffalo, they plant their crops and harvest by hand, they make their own clothes, and they live in very simple homes. It's like taking a step back in time. Many of the ladies make hand crafts and try to sell them to you on the streets. I wish they hadn't been so pushy, but it still added to the overall experience. Days 3 & 4 were at Halong Bay. Here, I boarded a junk boat and we sailed through the limestone monoliths and karst topography. I had an opportunity to explore a cave, kayak, hike and swim. In the evening, the crew on the boat gave us a short Vietnamese cooking demonstration. The cabins on the boat were extremely nice and it had the best bed that I've slept on in months! The next morning, we cruised through more of the bay, then had lunch before heading back to Hanoi. Day 6 took me to the Ninh Binh Province, about 2 hours from Hanoi. My first stop was Hoa Lu, the first capital of Vietnam, and we visited 2 temples. (In Vietnam, temples are dedicated to certain people, whereas pagodas are dedicated to Buddha.) These temples were for the kings that ruled in the 10th century and chose Hoa Lu as the capital...King Dinh and King Le. After seeing the temples, I went to Tam Coc where I took a boat ride down the Ngo Dong River. Tam Coc means "three caves" and I was able to go through all 3 of them during the 2 hour boat ride in the rain. This was my favorite part of the trip. The last stop was the Bich Dong Pagoda. There was a wonderful view from the top.
Here's a video from the river ride. So awesome! Days 7 & 8 were spent in Hanoi and I used the time to wander around the city and relax. After 6 full days of tours, I needed a little R&R before heading back to Korea. Great trip! ...and the free upgrade to 1st class on the flight home was the icing on the cake!
Thanks to Buddha's Birthday, we had a three day weekend. My friends and I joined Adventure Korea for another fun-filled trip. Since we had to meet the group on Saturday morning in Daejeon, we left on Friday night and stayed in one of Korea's many "love motels". These places are always hilarious.
 A typical love motel. In addition to the lovely decor, they usually have an all-in-one remote (to control the lights, AC, and TV) and random personal care items. Interesting that mosquito repellent was included. On Saturday, we met the bus and headed to Namhae. We spent the first day in Darangee Village where the locals opened their homes to us. After dropping our bags off in our rooms at the home-stay, we set out for a rice farming experience then hit the beach. That evening, one of the host families prepared a traditional Korean dinner for us. Delicious! We ended the day at an abandoned school where we had relay races then a bonfire in the field. Interesting location.
On Sunday, we started the day with a traditional Korean breakfast which included fish, soup, rice and kimchi. We then hopped on the bus to Mt. Geumsan. Here, we were able to take a short hike to the peak of the mountain for a great view. Just below the peak was the beautiful Boriam Temple that was decorated for Buddha's birthday. We then went to Doomo Village where we would stay the night. We had a traditional Korean lunch then hit the ocean for some sea kayaking and some relaxation. After the beach, it was on to dinner where we had Korean BBQ. Again, delicious, but I must say that rice 3 times a day is a bit much for me. We returned to the beach for a bonfire after dinner.
On our last day of the adventure, we returned to the ocean for some deep sea fishing. The fish that we caught would be served as sashimi for lunch. Our boat caught about 20 fish, but sadly my line came up empty every time. Oh well, no fish for me...shucks! After lunch, it was time to head back to Ulsan.
This was the first year that I have truly been able to experience seasons. Though I wouldn't say that I loved the winter, it was nice to experience something different. And, now that it's spring, I am absolutely loving all the beautiful flowers that are in bloom. We certainly miss out in SoCal. The video below has pictures from early April to the present. Enjoy!
This weekend we joined Adventure Korea for a trip to Mt. Jiri and a green tea festival. These places are a bit of a challenge to get to from Ulsan, so we stayed Friday night in Daegu. Saturday morning we took a 2 hour bus ride to Namwon, where we met the tour bus and joined the trip. From there, it was about 1.5 hours to Jirisan National Park. In 1967, Jirisan was the first area to be designated as a national park. Once in the park, we walked about 3 miles to Nogodan, one of the summits of the Jiri Mountain range. The scenery was beautiful. After the hike, we went to the hotel. Sunday took us to the Hadong Green Tea Festival. Hadong is regarded as the birthplace of Koreas tea culture. Some of the activities included picking green tea, making green tea, green tea ceremonies, green tea ice cream, green tea museum, alcohol made from green tea, a mask ceremony, and several venders. The only thing missing was a green tea frappacino. The weather was gorgeous, so it was nice to be outside.
My trip started off with a series of frustrating events, but thankfully it got a bit better.
Day one...a tale of frustration. This day started with me buying the wrong bus ticket. I got the Gimhae bus stop, not the Gimhae airport. Not a huge deal, but after exchanging the ticket, I had to wait an extra 30 minutes for the next airport bus. Next, my flight was delayed 1 hour. Again, no biggie, but this did put me into Beijing at rush hour on Friday night. Talk about feeling like a sardine in the subway. After checking into the hotel and giving them a $30 deposit, I set out to see Tiananmen Square at night. This is when I realized that the only "nice" people in Beijing are actually scam artists preying on English speaking foreigners. I fell for a tea ceremony scam, but I'll look at it as a $70 education. Live and learn. I looked at a couple of shopping streets, told a few more scam artists where to go, then went back to the hotel. At 10:30, the desk called me and said that I was at the wrong hotel and that I had to leave or pay for the night. Turns out that my hotel, same chain, was a couple blocks down. I am confident that they knew this when I checked in because they looked at the address. But rather than telling me, they gladly took my deposit, "which would be returned," and gave me a key. When I asked for the money back, they told me that it wasn't their fault that I went to the wrong hotel. Jerks. So, between the tea scam and the hotel, day one proved to be a bit more expensive than planned. Day 2 was better. I got up early and headed to the Great Wall. I took the subway to a bus. Round trip transportation cost me about $5. (Good thing I didn't fall for the "you need a private driver & tour guide" scam, also offered to me the night before. For a "$100 he'll drive you to the wall and anywhere else you want to go. It is better. The bus will take you all day and you won't see anything else") Anyways, the wall was amazing. The only bummer was that a billion other people had the same idea. I took the "slide car" up and down from the wall. I thought it was a typo and that they meant a cable car, but nope, they meant a slide car. On the way up we were basically pulled up by a chain...similar to when you're going up a roller coaster. On the way down, gravity pulled us down as a train of cars. It was so silly and fun. When I was on the actual wall, I was able to walk quite a ways. It was awesome. Being a tourist area, I was again targeted for a scam. This time, the sales person gave me the wrong amount of change. (basically gave me a .50 bill instead of a 5 bill). When I handed the incorrect bills back to him, he acted surprised, but the gal working with him snickered and I could tell it was intentional. They never give up.
After the great wall, I went to the Lama Temple. Very cool. As I walked to the temple, there were tons of shops that were selling incense. I thought it strange, but once inside the temple I understood. Buddhists were paying their respects to Buddha by burning 3 sticks of incense at a time then chanting or praying. Everywhere I looked, people had fistfuls of incense. It was pretty cool. Day 3. The plan was to visit the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Temple of Heaven. The Forbidden City was so crowded and the line was soooo long, that I visited the adjacent areas instead: Zhongshan Park and the Working People's Cultural Palace. (Although, I was approached 3 times by people who offered to be my personal tour guide and could get me into the Forbidden City for a price. Jeez!) Zhongshan Park was absolutely gorgeous. I especially liked the beautiful gardens and the people who were gathered for a tai chi workout. To the east of the Forbidden City was the Working People's Cultural Palace. This spot must be popular for wedding pictures as I saw several brides in beautiful gowns. I popped in Tiananmen Square for quick peek, but didn't stay long. Instead of facing a super crowded Temple of Heaven, I thought I'd give Olympic Park a shot instead. Good choice. It was a large outdoor area. Though still crowded, it was more open. I was able to see the "birds nest", the aquatic center, the Olympic pagoda and a few other things. There were also several venders selling kites and families who were enjoying them. I wished it had been a little less muggy, but still very nice.
Day 4: Shanghai. I had about 5 hours to do some exploring in Shanghai. The feel here was completely different than the feel of Beijing. There were fewer people, although that may have been due to the fact that it was a Monday, and it was much newer and cleaner. I decided to check ou t Nanjing Road and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Nanjing Road is a 3.4 mile long shopping street that allowed for lots of people watching. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the worlds 3rd largest TV tower and was quite a site to see. If the weather had been nicer, I would have gone to the top to see the view. So, all in all, I'm glad I made it to the Great Wall and was able to see something different. As far as returning to China...highly unlikely!!
This weekend, I went to Japan with a couple of my friends. We left Busan on Saturday morning and returned on Sunday night. Although the stay was short, we packed in a lot.
We left Busan at 9:15 am and landed in Fukuoka at 10:05. (It seems so strange that I can get to another country in less than an hour.) After a bus, a subway, and a 2 hour high-speed train ride, we made it to our destination...Beppu - the hot spring capital of Japan! First stop...sand baths!! For this experience, we visited the oldest onsen (bathhouse) in the area - Takegawara Onsen. In a nutshell, take off your clothes, put on a robe, let the ladies bury you in the sand, cook for about 15 minutes, wash off the sand, then take a bath. It was great!
Next, we checked into the hostel. This was a nice place that was centrally located in Beppu.
The rest of the evening included some shopping, dinner, and playing pachiko. I'm not exactly sure what we had for dinner as we were at some-type of traditional Japanese restaurant. I didn't care for the phlegm-looking appetizer and one of the kabobs, but the rest of it was pretty good. After dinner, and a couple drinks, we went to the casino to play pachinko. Basically, you try to get the balls to hit some type of a target and you can earn more balls. When you're finished, turn in the balls for cash. Though given an instruction sheet in "English", I still have no idea what I was doing. I lost my marbles quickly (LOL), but Ellen made about $40!! Woohoo!!
Day number 2 took us to "The Hells", sushi for lunch, and one last trip to the onsen. The Hells are the 9 hot springs that Beppu is famous for. We only had time to visit 6 of them.
We hopped back on the train to Fukuoka, then back to Korea. Here are a few other pictures from the trip.
Every now and again, I have to work a 2:00-10:00pm shift. Although these are not not my favorite hours to work, it does allow me an opportunity to get out and go walking in the morning. Today I took the bus to the Taewha River then walked along the river (then a tributary) to get back to my house. It was another beautiful spring day.
I decided to take advantage of this beautiful spring day by taking a walk through Ulsan Grand Park. The park covers 900 acres of land and provides opportunities for hiking, biking, walking, golfing, family outings, learning and cultural experiences. It's pretty amazing. Here are some pictures from the day.
This weekend we joined Adventure Korea for a trip to Gyeongju. On day one, we rented bicycles and rode all over the city. The plan was to ride among all the beautiful cherry blossoms, but unfortunately they weren’t quite ready to bloom. During the day, we saw Bomun Lake, enjoyed a delicious Korean lunch, saw several tombs, and visited the famous Gyeongju Observatory. At the observatory, there was some type of festival going on, so we were able to participate in a tea ceremony. After looking around, we were back on the bikes to get to our meeting spot. Just one flat tire to deal with on the way. :-P
After 7 hours of biking and touring, we returned to the hostel before dinner. The outside was absolutely beautiful as it resembled a palace. The inside was traditional Korean style which means you were given a mat and you slept on the floor. Not my favorite. We walked to a local place for dinner. We enjoyed some Korean food and had some dongdongju-korean rice wine…okay, so it was 3 troughs of dongdongju. We laughed our way back to the hostel, stopping to play in a playground, and then headed to bed.
On Sunday, the day started with an attempt to find a coffee shop. No luck. :-( I don’t understand why coffee places open so late in Korea. Seems to be a trend anywhere we go. Anyways, after breakfast, my friends headed to Seokgulam Grotto. I skipped the short hike as I had been there before and I’m still nursing a sprained ankle. After the grotto, we all went to Bulguksa Temple. I had come here in the fall but it had a different look in the spring. Although the cherry blossoms were not in full bloom, there were a few here & there and several other flowers. Very nice. After the temple, we had lunch at an all-you-can-eat Korean buffet then headed for home. As we went back to the bus station in the downtown area, we saw that many of the trees had bloomed since yesterday…doh…one day late. Oh well.
Last week we started an after school enrichment class for middle school students. The kids are great and it's been nice to be with middle schoolers again. Even better, one of the chapters that I was given to teach was titled "Natural Disasters". Whoohoo, just like being in the science classroom...sort-of.
For the most part, kids will be kids. Whether in Korea or at home, they are pretty much the same. A few examples...1. When given a stapler, it's only a matter of time before they start shooting staples at each other. 2. No matter how many times they are told to put the cell phones away, I will still confiscate several of them. 3. If kids stay in your room during break, they will ask to write on the white board. 4. Boys don't want to sit with the girls, and girls don't want to sit with the boys. 5. They are SO creative and silly that I have to smile during group presentations...love that!
There are a couple of items that are a bit different...
1. In Korea, it appears that the kids generally don't carry scissors. Instead, they bring box-cutters with them to school...often decorated with Hello Kitty, The Simpson's or Angry Birds. The first time I asked to borrow a pair of scissors and was handed a knife I was taken aback. It's the norm here and I haven't seen anyone get hurt with them.
2. Another item...paperclips. It appears that Korean's prefer to use binder clips to paperclips. On multiple occasions, I have given the students a stack of cards that were paperclipped together. When I ask them to re-paperclip them, they don't know how to do it and I get a messy stack returned to me. Fascinating.
3. Lastly, I love that kids are so quick to solve disagreements using Rock, Paper Scissors. In Korea, it's called gawi-bawi-bo (가위 바위 보)...which translates to scissors, rock, cloth. I've used this in my class at home, but I only know how to play with 2 people. In Korea, large groups of kids can play this and they end up with a single winner in less than 30 seconds. I have never seen hands move so quickly! Often, I'm still trying to figure out who won the first round when they're already on the 4th round. It's pretty amazing. Take a peek as they compete for a snack...
Here are a few other pictures from the past 2 weeks...
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