The Waygookin Way

Lhasa Continued . . .

2010-02-15T11:56:00.009+09:00

Our travels in Lhasa continued . . . and we went to Potala Palace!! The residence of the Dali Lama until 1949 when he fled to India to avoid persecution. The Chinese have now turned the palace into a museum and entrance is strictly monitored.

It contains over 1000 rooms and 10000 shrines . . .

. . . and, what felt like, 1 000 000 steps . . .

We made it to the top! Here is 'The White Palace' - the former residence of the Dalai Lama.

Here's our guide, Sim, hanging out with us outside the Palace catching our breath before heading in . . .

Photo's inside were strictly forbidden (and I didn't want to take any chances with the Chinese security guards). The inside was amazing, though. Room after room filled to the brim with statues, shrines, and artwork. Every square inch was accounted for. We followed the Tibetan's as they weaved a path from room to room - praying, chanting, making offerings - while some of the smaller Tibetans, like this little guy, practiced their 'hello's' with us about a thousand times . . .

Here's a view from the back of the palace looking over the Chinese part of Lhasa.

After leaving Potala, Shawna and I went for a bite of lunch and then we were off to Jokhang Temple. Jokhang is the holiest and most important temple in all of Tibet. It was about a 2 minute walk from our guesthouse - right in the middle of Barkhor Square. The temple was amazing inside (like every temple we saw during our journey) but the really awesome part about this one was that we were allowed on the roof. We were lucky enough to catch some of the monks relaxing in the midday sun . . .

. . .

. . . the view from the top was INCREDIBLE!!! You can see Potala Palace in the background, two prayer poles covered in flags, two massive incense burners, and the people prostrating in front of the temple.

We stood there for a long time soaking it all in . . .

After the tour was over, our guides left us to wander around Barkhor Square . . . so we did some shopping!

Check out the Yak Butter - - best deal in town . . .

Check out the Yak Meat - - best deal in town . . .

Shawna had a particular fondness for the Tibetan aprons - can you blame her? Look at all the colours!

How do you like my new duds? Sim helped me find the coat and got me a great deal. I was happy (and warm).

All of that shopping made us hungry so we hit up another restaurant to try out some more Tibetan cuisine . . . what a life!

Thenthuk (Tibetan yak noodle soup) and potato momo's ( fried dumplings) -- REALLY delicious!

See you all next time as we make the journey to Gyantse via the 5000m Kambala Pass and Tibet's holiest lake . . .

Lhasa, TIBET

2010-02-09T20:21:00.021+09:00

After our epic 48 hour train ride, we arrived at our guesthouse in Lhasa. We dropped off our bags and went for a walk to find some dinner. Being in one of the highest cities in the world, we knew that the altitude could be an issue so we took it easy. Walking around at 3500 Meters is really tough! With only 68% of the oxygen that is in the air at sea level we felt like we had just climbed a dozen flights of stairs. It took a couple of days to get used to it but we were lucky to have avoided any altitude sickness. (We've read that some tourists have had to leave Tibet shortly after arriving due to the effects of the high altitude.)

Our guides picked us up the next morning and took us to the first stop on our itinerary, Drepung Monastery. One of "The Great Three Monasteries in Tibet", this was the official residence of the Dalai Lamas until the 5th Dalai Lama built Potala Palace.

Our guide told us while walking around the temple that we followed - and were followed by - many Tibetans that were on pilgrimages from the countryside. During the winter there is little to be done on the farms so the farmers and their families come to Lhasa to visit the most sacred temples. Many of them walk hundreds of kilometers or more to get there. And, for some, if walking is too comfortable they will prostrate all the way there - hands together, touch forehead, touch throat, touch heart, hands on the ground, kneel down, lie down, stand up, repeat for up to 2 years until you make it to Lhasa (really!!).

In the picture below you can see the prayer wheels that circle the monastery. All of the monasteries we saw in Tibet were surrounded by rows, upon rows of prayer wheels. A prayer is placed inside and when spun the wheel sends the prayer out into the world.

Drepung is the largest monastery in Tibet and, at one point, housed as many as 10 000 monks.

See the steps in the center? They are reserved for the Dalai Lama . . .

I asked our guide how long it would take to boil a pot of water in one of these devices. He said "that depends on the weather." (Ask a stupid question . . . )

Here are some snaps of the inside of the temples. I wish I could have taken more photos on the inside of all of the buildings we visited but it wasn't exactly easy. Not that it was forbidden (you could pay the monks a fee - usually between 5 and 20 USD) but it was really awkward!! We stood out like sore thumbs. You could have counted the number of foreigners we saw the entire week in Tibet on one hand. Last thing we needed was to draw more attention to ourselves by paying the monks a small fortune to blind the Tibetan's with our camera flashes while they prayed. Anyway, I was able to take a few . . .

The inside of the temples were always crowded with people. They would all carry a bag of crumbly yak butter and make offerings by adding some to the giant candles. The smell of the butter mixed with incense was amazing . . . something we'll never forget.

Here is Drepung's main assembly hall. This is where the monks would gather to pray. Today, there are only a few hundred monks living at Drepung. The Chinese government has put a population cap on them and many have fled to India.

We weaved our way through the Monastery - clockwise (we walk clockwise following Buddha's path to enlightenment Interestingly, there is one sect of Buddhists that walk the other way - our guide said they are going opposite to Buddha in an attempt to bump into him along the way). We eventually made it back to the beginning.

Next, we went to Barkhor Square, the heart of Lhasa, for lunch and some shopping. Barkhor Square is situated directly in front of Jokhang Temple. Jokhang is the holiest and most important temple in all of Tibet so you can always count on a crowd. Mainly Tibetan's - some prostrating in front of the temple - some shopping - some just hanging out. As you can see, there were soldiers, too. It's rather unsettling watching a pack of teenagers with machine guns doing circles around the praying Tibetans . . . the Tibetan's ignored them . . .

The circuit around Jokhang Temple was quite amazing. The traffic of people is constantly flowing clockwise and it seems if you get anywhere near the crowd you get swept away with them. The crowd was mostly made up of Tibetan's 'circumambulating' the temple. Walking around the holy place as a sort of prayer-ritual. The rest of the people were checking out all of the magical and mystical items at all of the stalls. We were shopping alongside the people who have traveled into Lhasa from the countryside - buying new prayer beads and wheels - clothing and food . . .

I can't emphasize enough how conspicuous we were while walking the streets of Lhasa. At any given time there were at least a half-dozen eyes on us. Checking us out, smiling, pointing, staring . . . if there's anything that teaching in Korea was preparing us for . . . it was this. So we were used to the attention, however it made taking candid photographs of the people a little bit difficult. When we saw this little bundle I had to stop and snap a few . . .

I call this my 'National Geographic' moment . . .

The stalls had some really amazing trinkets. We wanted 'one of everything' but we had to keep a check on our dwindling funds and our dwindling backpack space. (By the time we left China at the end of our trip I was throwing out old clothing in order to fit everything in our packs . . . )

Here, we were following a lady making the trip around Jokhang - notice the prayer wheel she's holding - in constant motion from morning to night . . .

One benefit of visiting Lhasa in the winter was the clothing. Everyone is wearing their amazing winter coats and hats . . .

After lunch, we went to Sera Monastery. Another of 'The Great Three Monasteries in Tibet'. Sera is famous for the debating monks. Every afternoon, the monks gather in the courtyard to have an animated debate. They argue about scripture, religious philosophy, and the answers to 'impossible' riddles.

When the monks make an argument they 'clap' their hands in the face of their opponent . . .

Here's a short clip of the action . . . it was really reamrkable . .

Our guides set us free for the rest of the evening. We weren't quite done sightseeing for the day (if that's possible) so we went in search of Lhasa's Muslim Quarter. In the photo you can see the Mosque towering over the city. We couldn't get too close to the Mosque but were glad to find it before dark . . .

We'll have some more pictures and stories up soon . . .

T27 - The Train to Lhasa

2010-02-08T22:10:00.009+09:00

Here's the T27 - the train to TIBET!! We had to take a 48 hour ride from Beijing to Lhasa so we opted for the soft sleeper car and we're glad we did . . .

It was quite modern and comfortable - 4 bunks to a room and a TV in each bed (they didn't pickup any channels . . . but it's the thought that counts).

There were some nice sinks in the halls - the facilities looked pretty clean at the beginning of our journey. . . but things kind of deteriorated as the trip went on - let's just say that 100 people sharing a couple of tiny, squat-style toilets on a moving train is a recipe for disaster!

Well, at 9PM we were off and running into the night. Luckily, I was wearing my trusty G-Shock watch with an Altimeter Function (and some people said I'd never use it . . . ). We were able to keep track of our rising altitude. The Qinghai-Tibet railway is the highest in the world - reaching over 5072 Meters (16 640 Feet) at its highest point, Tanggula Pass. Because there is a severe lack of oxygen at that altitude they pump in extra oxygen for each train car.

0 M

1195 M - going up . . .

There was a dining car on the train, too! We ate there a couple of times and the food was not too bad considering we were on a speeding train in the middle of China.

Check this out . . . don't know the exact science behind this one but it seems like the altitude was taking its toll on this bag of chips. We gawked at it for a while but ultimately decided to open it before it burst . . . I'm sure our roommate would have been quite upset to have a bed full of exploded chip crumbs!

3010 M Up, up, up . . .

We started to get our first glimpse of the Tibetan terrain . . . the view from the train was really incredible. At this point, we were getting really excited for our impending arrival in Lhasa.

WOW!! 4975 M = 16 322 Feet!!

Our roommate was pretty nonchalant about the entire affair . . . WAKE UP!!! We're almost there!!!!

Well, time for lunch . . . noticed that everyone was eating the same thing - stir-fried celery. Figured it must be pretty good . . . not exactly the case. After umpteen requests and refusals for some other delicious looking items on the menu, we realized it was all that was left . . . "we'll take two!"

In this photo, you can see a group of monk's over Shawna's shoulder. They were sleeping in a bunk just down the hall from us. It was funny, they seemed more curious about us than we were about them. I wish we could have spoken more to them but their English wasn't too good and well, let's just say my Tibetan is a little out of practice. We didn't get much farther than "Hello" and "Where are you from?" along with a lot of smiles!

When we started to see some sheep and yaks we knew we were getting really close . . .

Arrival! 48 hours on a train seemed like a daunting task but went by rather quickly. We were, however, quite relieved to be off the train and into the fresh air of Tibet!

Our guide and driver picked us up from the station, dressed us with the traditional white welcome scarves, and zipped us off to our guesthouse in Lhasa.

. . . to be continued . . .

. . . Beijing -- Part II . . .

2010-01-25T19:42:00.012+09:00

Alright, where were we . . . ?

Just about to hop on the subway to meet our friends for dinner . . .

Here's a video we took during rush hour in Beijing - its actually not that different from what you might see in Toronto but keep in mind this is the 4th train to go by in about 5 minutes!! Madness!!

We met up with Yao Yao and his cousin for dinner. They took us out to try the ever-so-famous "Beijing Duck" (formerly known as "Peking Duck"). If the appetizers were any clue to the duck that was coming - we knew we were in for a treat!

There he is . . . sliced 108 times (China's magic number (remember the soldiers?)).

Magically delicious!!!

The next morning, map in hand, we went on another adventure. We went in search of "The Temple of Heaven." We found the surrounding wall with relative ease but it took us a good 45 minutes to walk the perimeter and find one of four entrances!! (Lonely Planet: If you are reading this - you may want to include the location of the entrances on your map. . . )

Well, we got in and the walk was worth it. Constructed in the 13th Century, The Temple of Heaven was where the Emperor would go to pray for a good harvest. Below is the aptly named "Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests." It's built entirely out of wood and with no nails!

Here's a girl in 'winter shorts' (the current trend among hip Asian women) walking down the sacred Emperor's pathway. In the 13th Century you'd be killed for even thinking about stepping on this path (much less doing it while wearing shorts in the winter!)

The Imperial Vault of Heaven

Next stop . . . Beijing Olympic Park!!!

Check out the 'Bird's Nest'! This is where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held for the 2008 Olympics.

Inside, it was a little cold, but you could still imagine Usain Bolt tearing up the track.

They were hosting a Winter Festival so there were kids playing games and running around all over the track. There was even a little ski hill built outside!

There's the 'Water Cube' where all of the swimming competitions were held. We weren't able to go inside (impending train to catch). But, at least we were able to see it lit up before we had to leave . . .

It was really exciting to see the Olympic Green in person. It all felt very 'fresh' - and there was still 'Olympic Magic' in the air. (Cheesy Olympic Songs sung by Sarah Brightman, too)

Alright - next stop TIBET!!! But first . . . 48 hours on the highest railroad on the planet!

Beijing -- Part 1

2010-01-24T13:31:00.013+09:00

Alright! Let's get started . . . we're back from our wonderful (and cold) travels in China and Tibet. Our first stop was Beijing - judging by the size of the airport terminal (1 of 3) we knew the city was going to be a big place!

We once read in a guide book, "If you visit China, at some point you will get ripped off." We didn't expect it to happen so soon. After traveling through Thailand and Cambodia, we considered ourselves somewhat 'travel savvy' and we had read up on the various scams that are common in China so we felt prepared. We ignored all of the offers for rides from 'taxi drivers' inside the terminal and went straight for the official taxi queue. We waited our turn and followed the airport security guard's signal to get into the next cab. We hopped in and, soon after, a 2nd guy gets into the front passenger seat and the taxi speeds away. Well, we were a bit alarmed but the guy was speaking a little English to us and was helping the taxi driver find our guesthouse on the map so we didn't panic, yet. Then, I noticed the meter wasn't running. Some arguments ensued and we were given a glossy card with the 'official fares' written on it. "400RMB from airport to downtown Beijing" but our guidebook quoted 90RMB." Some more arguing ensued and when the driver realized we weren't going to cough up the money he pulled over and said "GET OUT!!". Well, we would have except . . . . we were on the shoulder of the highway in the middle of China!! Anyway, we bartered and bartered and argued some more. After about 20 minutes of this we ended up handing over 250RMB ($37US - 2 and a half times what it should be) and he agreed to take us to our hostel. Man, what a way to start our vacation! Oh well, we got over it and got our 'promise of a ripoff' over with.

At least our guesthouse was awesome! It was called the "Templeside Hutong House" and it was in an old Hutong district a little bit North of the Forbidden City. The Hutong's are old neighborhoods in alleyways that still look like the China you would imagine. Butchers, markets, people on rickshaws and bicycles . . .really cool . . .

Our first morning, we decided to head to the heart of the city. Tian'anmen Square, the largest city square on the planet and the place where the famous protests happened in 1989. Tian'anmen means 'Heavenly Gate' and the square was named after the gate in the picture below - the gate to the Forbidden City.

The square was full of tourists and we were a hot target for group photos!

We would end up back at this square quite a few times during our tour of China.

Our next stop was at Beijing's Drum and Bell Towers called 'Gulou and Zhonglou'. They were used as musical instruments and acted as giant clocks for the people in the city.

The Drum Tower was built in the time of Kublai Khan (1200's) and the drums were played at dusk to let the people know it was 'quitting time' at work.

We timed our visit to the drum tower so that we could catch the traditional performance. It was really good - those big drums made a big sound!

Next was the adjacent bell tower - steep climb!

This is what it was all about . . . the big bell at the top. It was played in the morning to start the day.

We had some dinner arrangements booked with some friends from Toronto but had some time left over so we wandered to a nearby Hutong district. It was quite lively with shopping, bars, and restaurants.

But our eyes were on the river. We saw a bunch of people on chairs speeding across the ice! This seems to be a classic winter activity in Asia (we've seen it in Korea, too). They attach giant blades to the bottom of school chairs and give modified screwdrivers as ice-picks. We had to try it out. Good Fun!

Well, we had worked up an appetite and headed off to meet our friends for dinner. They took us to a really fancy place to show us what real Chinese Food tastes like. It was delicious . . . here's what real Kung Pao Chicken looks like . . . we also had fish, stir-fried vegetables, cashew chicken, lotus root, pork, . . . the works!

On the left is Kiki, then Stella and Yao Yao. They used to work with Shawna at The Green Beanery in Toronto and have since moved back home to Beijing. They would end up being an integral part of our trip to Beijing and really made our time there 100% better. They were fabulous hosts!

After dinner, we went to "The Place". A giant mega-mall that was hosting an outdoor New Year's Party. They had the biggest screen I've ever seen blanketing the entire square.

We rang in the New Year with a massive crowd of Beijingnese party people.

The next morning we were off to the Forbidden City - China's Imperial Palace for over 500 years.

This looks like the paparazzi! Judging by this display you'd think the Emperor himself was inside the throne room!

We were lucky. Since we didn't understand Chinese and the closing time in our guide book was off by a halfhour, we didn't notice the announcements to get out. We were some of the last people to leave and were able to snap some 'crowd-less' photos.

Before we finally left the Forbidden City we caught a glimpse of the guards taking down the flag at Tian'anmen square. These soldiers are trained to march at strictly 108 steps per minute and exactly 75cm per step. Very impressive . . . and just a little bit scary!

Well, next up --- we'll be going to the Temple of Heaven - Eating Peking Duck - and starting our epic journey to Tibet. Stay tuned!

The Teddy Bear Museum

2009-12-21T22:44:00.013+09:00

Our favorite part of Jeju Island may have been the Teddy Bear Museum!

Here's why . . .

WWII - The Invasion of Normandy

The Terracotta Warriors

The Berlin Wall

Independence Day in Hong Kong

Traditional Korean Village

In the Korean world of teddy bears, there is no reason that King Sejong and Gandhi wouldn't hang out together . . .

. . . or Shawna and Marilyn . . .

This looks like the Thrilla in Manila to me . . .

There was 'high art' as well . . . starting with Mona . . .

"The Kiss"

"The Fife Player" was close to my favorite . . .

But the best bears were the classics. . .

My old friend Rupert.

. . . and from the deepest, darkest corner of Peru . . .

Paddington!!

We just couldn't resist bringing home one of our own . . .

Jeju Island Continues . . .

2009-12-16T22:36:00.007+09:00

Alright, we've made it to the other side of the island . . . the city of Seogwipo. Let's see what lies in the South . . .

More lava based adventure!

Beautiful waterfalls were to be found all over Jeju and beautiful Shawna loves beautiful waterfalls so we tried to find them all . . .

It was October and getting cold in Yeoju so we decided to hit up the beach on Jeju while it was still warm enough to swim there. The Korean's thought we were crazy! No swimming after September 1st - no matter the weather . . . but we didn't care.

The waves were pretty incredible . . . there were even some surfers in the water that day.

After the beach we went for some food at an American-Style bar we heard about. I had my first pint of Guinness in 9 months so I was pretty happy!

Night time wouldn't stop us from seeing one more waterfall. We were lucky, this one was lit-up.

Our final morning in Jeju, we went to a museum dedicated to the Chinese - who landed here in search of the Elixir of Immortality.

They found the water of life by a waterfall . . . and these Chinese tourists found their lunch . . .

Before heading back to the airport we went to see some more rocks . . . and more people eating lunch on them . . .

Good-bye Jeju! Thanks for the weekend adventure!

Jeju Island

2009-12-16T22:05:00.008+09:00

We just returned from our recent trip to China and Tibet. While we sort through the 1000's of photos we took, we thought we could share our trip to Jeju Island with you. We went during Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) which was in October . . . .

All over the island we saw these dol hareubang ("stone grandfather") statues . . . so, of course I made Shawna pose with all of them!

This sub-tropical island was created entirely by volcanic eruptions . . . about 2 million years ago. It's really neat to see the volcanic rock around the island and we even went inside the worlds largest lava tube. Man Jang Cave.

This is one of the largest known examples of a 'lava pillar', created by lava draining from the roof of the cave.

About 1 km into the cave, things got pretty spooky . . .

Back at ground level . . . Shawna found another dol hareubang . . .

Here's 'Songsan Ilch'ubong' - The iconic sight of Jeju-Do. This mountain was once a volcano. We decided to climb it to see what all the fuss was about . . .

But first . . . we looked down toward the beaches that surround the mountain . . . and what did we see? Haenyeo!!! The infamous 'Sea Women' of Jeju Island. These ladies have been free diving for shell fish for centuries. There aren't many around anymore so we were very lucky to have spotted them. We went down to check it out.

These ladies spend all day in the water and are generally the sole provider for their families. That makes them the head of their household. Quite amazing, especially in Korea's patriarchal society . . .

Well, back to the task at hand . . . let's climb this thing . . .

Here's the view from the top. Can you imagine the lava spewing out of this crater?

Gorgeous view . . . on one side you have the East Sea and on the other the volcanic rock and green grass of Jeju.

On the way back down we saw our first Jeju Horse. There's an old Korean saying "Send your sons to Seoul and your horses to Jeju." Not quite sure what that means but it seems like an appropriate caption for this picture. . .

. . . dol hareubang picture # 3. . .

See you soon . . .

North Korea & The DMZ

2009-12-02T22:18:00.008+09:00

We've been living in South Korea for a few months now and we are frequently asked by our friends and family back home whether the North has had any influence on our daily lives. To tell you the truth, I think we heard more news pertaining to the North when I was living in Canada. At war for 60 years, I believe that the Korean people have lived with this situation for so long that they refuse to let uncertainty or fear rule their lives. The few Koreans that we have spoke to about the North (its not the kind of subject you bring up in the school cafeteria) have only expressed sadness about the situation - not fear. They feel sorry for the people of the North and the oppressive government they face. We haven't been given reason to worry about it all that much during our time here . . . but we'd have been fools not to check out, "The Most Heavily Armed Border On Earth!"

We booked a tour through the United Service Organization of the US Army. They offer the best tour because they can provide access into the Joint Security Area - right where the North and South meet.

We met with our tour group at Camp Kim in Seoul and hopped on a bus heading North. We arrived at the DMZ about an hour later and were taken into an office to be 'briefed'. There was a really strict photo policy: "Don't take photos unless the armed soldiers say its OK". We actually saw a few people's photos being deleted by soldiers during our trip.

After the briefing, we were taken straight to the JSA. The Joint Security Area is where the two sides meet - right on the border. Soldiers from the North and the South are both allowed in this area. Here's our respective JSA mugshots . . .

Those are ROK soldiers you see by the blue building. They stand facing the North in a modified Judo pose.

In front of the gray building is a North Korean soldier. They were checking us out with binoculars the whole time. A little bit unnerving . . .

Here's our tour guide/armed guard telling us a Canadian related anecdote while the North Korean soldiers check us out. (Sorry for the shaky camera work - it was shot in a war zone . . .)

We were able to enter the conference room. It sits directly on the demarcation line and this room is where the Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953. (The war, however, still officially continues to this day.)

Here I am next to the ROK soldier guarding the North door. His sole purpose in life is to stop people from going through that door . . . I wish my job was that simple . . . wait - no I don't. I didn't get too close -- I really didn't want to be the tour guide's next anecdote! Oh, and by the way, at this point I'm standing in North Korea. Pretty cool, eh?

A view out the window. That concrete is the 'line'. DO NOT CROSS - You might get shot!

Later, we went to the Dora Observatory for a view of the North. Here's the tourist's line. If you have a camera - DO NOT CROSS - your memory card might get shot.

A view to the North. We had to stand quite a few feet back from the edge when we took photos. The view through the viewfinders was pretty neat, though. You could see a monument to Kim Il-Sung and you could see Kijong-Dong, the 'Propaganda Village'. Supposedly, the village has a population of zero and it was built just to impress the people looking from the South. The lights in the whole village go out at the same time every night. I did see a couple of people through the viewfinder though . . . so you never know. . .

I took a video panning our view of North Korea. Check out the tallest flag in the world - 525 feet. South Korea erected a massive flag but the North wouldn't be outdone so they erected an even higher one. Once again, sorry for the shaky camera . . .

We also went to visit one of the four known tunnels built by the North for possible invasion attempts. The tunnels passed from the North to the South and each could allow an entire infantry to pass into the South in an hour. They were discovered by the South in the '70's and the North claimed they were dug as coal mines. Some of the tunnels were even painted black to look that way but no coal was found. We weren't allowed any pictures in the tunnel.

Well, before heading back to Seoul we hit the gift shop. We bought some North Korean paper money and a t-shirt as souvenirs and took a couple bottles of North Korean soju back to share with our friends in Yeoju.

What an interesting tour . . . I'd say, if you're coming to Korea, the USO tour is definitely a "do not miss!"

Our final day . . . in Bangkok

2009-11-23T21:42:00.006+09:00

In the afternoon, we arrived in Bangkok. We dropped off our bags at the guesthouse and went straight to the National Museum. There was alot to see there but much of it was in disrepair. Not run-down - but also not at the standards of most museums we've been to (and not even close to any of the palaces!!). We hurried along through it to see all that we could before it closed.

. . . and we were off to see more temples!! This one is called Loh Prasat (The Iron Monastery) referring to its 37 dark metal spires.

We met some monks at the top of a long stair-climb. They were happy to talk to us. One spoke alot of English and asked us where we were from. We told him we're Canadian - which made him quite happy. He said that he listens to Celine Dion every day . . . . I am not lying! Never in my life could I have imagined I'd be on top of a monastery in Bangkok talking to a monk about Celine Dion. Hilarious! (the Celine fan is the one closest to us in the glasses . . . )

Next, we hopped on a river bus not knowing where it was headed. Only 10 cents (somewhere in that ballpark) for the fare so we weren't too worried about going the wrong direction. (They pull up the blue tarp to keep the passengers dry.)

We ended up back in the downtown area. Noticed the sunset - not the ideal place for a photo being surrounded by skyscrapers - but I pointed up and this is what I got. The colors were beautiful.

It was getting dark and we were getting hungry so we went off in search of a restaurant. We read about a place called Vientiane Kitchen in our guidebook and looked like just the thing. They served Thai food with a Lao and Isaan influence - specialties included ants eggs and spicy fried frog. We didn't feel too adventurous so we stuck to some stir-fry and curry. The best part about this place was the live band. Great music, great food, and great beer! The photo's didn't turn out too well but I've got some video of the band that I'll get to someday . . .

Well, it was our last night and time to fill what little space was left in our backpacks so we went back to the Night Bazaar for some souvenirs.

Bazaar . . . bizarre . . . .how do you spell it?

Well, the next morning we had to leave (don't feel too bad for us - we're going back to Korea for more adventures). One quick stop at the Taipei airport (somehow I managed to buy a watch while I was there - Duty Free!!!!) and we were back in Seoul.

What an unforgettable vacation we had!!!

And now, since its taken us months to finish the blog posts, we're already on to planning our next vacation!!!

Angkor - Day 2

2009-11-23T19:37:00.007+09:00

We decided that our second day in Siem Reap didn't need to start before 4:30AM so we slept in a bit . . . until 7:30. We wanted to check out the Artisans of Angkor so we did that first thing in the morning. The Artisans are a group of 'disadvantaged' students learning the art trades that were all but destroyed during the Khmer Rouge Regime. They make fantastic stuff! Check out their website: Artisans d'Angkor.

Here is the traditional silk loom.

Some students carving stone . . .

We bought a few souvenirs (and some Khmer curry spice . . . yes!) and went on our way - back to Angkor! But first, we had to stop for some gas. Our tuk-tuk driver said these kids offer a much better deal than the gas stations . . . they were just hangin' on the side of the road with Johnny Walker bottles full of gasoline. It looked like a lemonade stand . . .

We were happy to be back in the park. You would think that 12 hours of temples would be enough but this place was so amazing that we needed to see more.

It was fun ripping around in our tuk-tuk betweens the temples. There were all kinds of cool things to see.

One of those things was the "Land Mine Museum". It was set up by a self-taught de-miner named Aki Ra in 1997. Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world and there are still many injuries and deaths happening throughout the country. Aki Ra has devoted his life to de-mining the countryside and he has even started a home for children that are mine victims. His museum houses many of the mines and bombs he has dealt with. They stand so that Cambodian people and the rest of the world won't forget about what has happened and is happening still.

Here, out tuk-tuk driver Sieu waits for us with the other drivers - he was a really nice guy and I hated to wake him up every time we wanted to move . . .

Back on the road . . .

We decided to avoid the crowds and and return to our favorite temple in Angkor, the Bayon to take in the sunset. We're glad we did - when we drove past the 'classic' sunset spot there were tons of people and cars and tour buses - that definitely wasn't the last thing we wanted to see during our time in Angkor. Because everyone went there, we had the Bayon almost to ourselves.

Here's a funny little note . . . I wanted to take a picture from this angle with the sun coming down but there was a big ugly sign in the way. It said, "Please Do Not Sit On The Rails". I thought to myself, "What's the harm in moving it for a few seconds to get an unobstructed shot?" Hey, there was no one around anyway . . .

As soon as I moved the sign, before I could even snap a shot, this guy comes around the corner and sits exactly in the spot where the sign was. Couldn't believe it!!

Oh well, lesson learned . . .

The security actually came around and sent us out of the temple before the sun was completely set. We were a little disappointed but I guess you can't have people roaming around ancient temple staircases in the dark. We were extremely happy with our two days in Angkor - the weather was fantastically hot, we saw a ton of the park, and took hundreds of photos . . .

But now it was time to say 'goodbye' as we passed by Angkor Wat one last time . . .

Next - Back to Bangkok for one more day of fun!

Sunrise in Angkor

2009-11-05T17:50:00.016+09:00

Alright, here we go!! We finally made it to Angkor. We figured it was a special occasion so we dragged ourselves out of bed around 4:15 in order to meet our tuk-tuk driver for the day, Sieu. We had to make it an early start because we wanted to make it to Angkor Wat for sunrise. Here's our view from the back of the tuk-tuk . . .

We made it there with plenty of time and set ourselves up at the classic viewing spot by the little pond. We waited with bated breath until we could finally make out the silhouette . . . here's the progression:

Well, as you can see, the sun was out in full force so we decided to head in to check out Angkor Wat.

It was really unbelievable to actually be there. There was hardly anyone inside at this point so we had some really nice viewing time to ourselves . . . the hoardes of people would be here soon.

We toured around the inside and outside of the entire grounds. As you can see - we were pretty much left alone to soak it all in (it got much more difficult to take pics without people in them as the day progressed).

Here's a view of the rear . .

Inside, the bas-relief friezes were amazing. The walls were completely carved out, from top to bottom, depicting Hindu epics, "The Ramayana" and "The Mahabharata."

Well, we had a lot of Wat to see - so we went on our way - sad to leave but excited to see what was coming up next (still before breakfast time).

Our next stop was Angkor Thom, the last capital city of the Khmer Empire. The first temple within Angkor Thom we went to was called, Bayon. It's unique because it has 216 huge faces carved in the towers.

Many scholars believe that the faces depict King Jayavarman VII himself . . . a handsome fellow.

We stopped for some water outside of the next temple, Baphuon. We were super hot - unimaginably hot - near death - luckily the enterprising Cambodians have set up shop at every stop along the way.

Here, we are standing on The Terrace of The Leper King.

Where's Waldo? . . . I mean Shawna . . . see if you can find her.

Shawna was offered some postcards and handicrafts from the children. "Lady? One dollar?" "Please, you buy from me?" "Please?" "Lady?" "Please?" All day long - the children close to the more famous temples were really aggressive. They knew what they were doing and had their technique down pat. They were speaking 7 languages - offering special discounts just for us - some of them even put on the waterworks! The children at some of the smaller temples were really playful and cute - just wanted to hang out with the foreigners. We bought a few things off of them . . . "Mr. Jon from Canada - remember me - you buy from me -you promise." OK!

Here is Ta Keo - 14 meters to the top - I climbed up and Shawna opted to be the one taking the pictures this time.

Here I go . . .

It was really steep but getting up wasn't the problem - it was getting down . . .
Another Where's Waldo ? . . I mean . . . Where's Jon? photo.

It started to rain just in time for the mystical, Ta Prohm. An ancient Buddhist monastery that, in its heyday, housed 12 000 people while another 80 000 worked there. Wow!

It's famous because it has been swallowed by the surrounding jungle and its enormous Kapok trees. (It's also where they shot Tomb Raider!)

We were geared up for the rain so we weren't bothered . . . plus it gave us more time with very few people around.

A couple more stops before we called it a day - Banteay Kdei - similar to Ta Prohm but with less trees and more Apsara dancer carvings. It was in use from the 1100's all the way until the 1960's.

Prasat Kravan was our final stop - there was not much left of it because it's really old. You can tell its old because there is nothing Buddha-related here - only Hindu.

Well, we had a marvelous day, but tomb raiding from 4:30AM-4:30PM took its toll on us. Not that we didn't go downtown later that evening. More temples to visit tomorrow!!

The Road to Siem Reap

2009-10-26T20:54:00.008+09:00

We started our day off right . . . with a pool-side breakfast! Some fuel for the long trip to Siem Reap that was ahead of us.

Believe it or not, this was one of my favorite parts of our vacation. We were lucky enough to get the front seats of the bus so we had a panoramic view of the Cambodian countryside for the entire 6 hour journey.

It took us a long time to get out of downtown Phnom Penh, due to the horrendous traffic, but once we crossed the Tonle Sap it was smooth sailing.

The trip was truly mind boggling! This tiny little road was the most well-kept highway in Cambodia and it was packed with travelers. The bus weaved in and out of traffic and there were too many close-calls to count. A little bit nerve-racking but it was a really neat experience.

The vans and trucks were jammed with people and cargo. Every square inch was accounted for.

How would you like to sit on the roof of a van in 90 degree heat with 10 other people for six hours? Well, if the price is right. . .

Those pigs were alive!!

We saw a lot of Monks out walking in their iconic saffron robes.

This guy had quite the ordeal when getting on the bus in Phnom Penh. He had a boat propeller that must have been 8 feet long. They tried every which way to get it in the luggage space under the bus but to no avail. Eventually, he was forced to manouver it on to the bus and lay it in the aisle. (Imagine the Greyhound employees dealing with that!) Well, he made it to his destination - prop in hand - and seemed quite content.

The bus ride was only about 300 kilometres but it took 6 hours because of all of the cows and tractors and tuk-tuks in our way. Plus, we stopped twice. These weren't the normal 'hit the restroom, stretch, grab a coffee and get back on the bus' type breaks, either. The people got off and had full on sit-down meals - rice, curry, turtles, and the works. Twice!
Well, we finally made it to Siem Reap and checked in to our guesthouse, The Golden Mango. Here's the view from outside our room . . .

That's right . . . it's a CROCODILE FARM!!! How cool is that??

Here's the view from our window . . .

Once we had sorted out our arrangements for visiting Angkor, we went out for some dinner downtown. This is called 'Pub Street' and is totally built for tourists. We didn't mind though - it was a chance to get some Mexican food (dont' forget that we've been in Korea for six months so any chance to get some fajitas is hard to pass up) and maybe see some Apsara dancers. . .

and we did . . .

Off to bed now - we'd have get up at pretty darn early if we were to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat tomorrow.

S-21 and The Killing Fields

2009-10-25T20:37:00.008+09:00

Our second day in Phnom Penh we went to visit some of Cambodia's horrific past. We decided it was really important to go see some of the museums and monuments dedicated to the millions of victims of the genocide. We wanted to learn about the Khmer Rouge and what they did to the Cambodian people - to better understand what they went through during the Pol Pot regime. Our first destination was Choeung Ek - "The Killing Fields"

There were hundreds of "killing fields" scattered around Cambodia. The best known monument is 'Choeung Ek', located at one of the mass grave sites outside Phnom Penh. It is the site of a Buddhist memorial to the victims of the genocide.

The Khmer Rouge regime executed approximately 17 000 people here between 1975 and 1979. This stupa contains more than 5 000 skulls which were found in the mass graves at Choeung Ek.

Men, women, and children were brought here to be beaten and killed. Some were even buried alive - thrown into the mass graves and left for dead.

There were thousands of bodies found here after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge.

Our next destination was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It was a at a high school that was made in to a prison during the Pol Pot regime.

If you haven't read about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge I suggest you look into it. There are numerous books and even some movies dedicated to the subject. There were horrible atrocities committed and the scariest part was that it all happened in the not-so-distant past. The events during the 1970's have had a lasting impact on the people of Cambodia and it was evident in the stories we heard from the few people we met there.

(Here is a small introduction to the Museum at S-21.)

The first building we visited had large rooms dedicated to the interrogation and torture of the inmates. The rooms contained rusty shackles and beds to which the prisoners were tied. Each room had a photograph of a victim hung on the wall over their bed.

(Here are the 'rules' of S-21)

The second building contained photographs of the prisoners. When they were brought to the prison they were documented, photographed, and interrogated. It was estimated that 17 000 people were imprisoned here within 4 years.

You can see women, children, and even babies that were tortured and held captive here. It was really overwhelming to see all of their faces. There were so many photographs spread over the rooms in Tuol Sleng. It's difficult to imagine what happened in these very rooms. . .

These buildings also contained many small, 'makeshift' cells meant to increase the capacity of the prison. They were incredibly small cells - some were too small to lie down in . . .

This place was pretty scary. The barbed wire was to keep prisoners from commiting suicide. The guards were encouraged to keep prisoners alive because they needed to hear their confessions. The prisoners were tortured and forced to identify friends and family members who were subsequently captured and killed. There are only twelve know survivors of Tuol Sleng and only four are alive today.

These paintings were done by Vann Nath, one of the survivors. He was trained as an artist and he was kept alive in order to paint portraits of Pol Pot. These paintings are relfections of what he witnessed during his stay at Tuol Sleng.

This is the infamous Cambodian Map of Skulls that was kept on display at Tuol Sleng. It was taken down in 2002 becuase they feared it was deterring tourists from visiting the museum. Only a photograph remains in its place.

It was a really somber morning but fascinating nonetheless. It was important for us to see these places firsthand so we could better understand what Cambodia and its people went through. Its really amazing how, in such a short time, the Cambodians have rebuilt their spirits. The economy and infrastructure is not at all up to standards yet, but all of the people we met in Cambodia were extremely generous and we felt welcome everywhere we went.

Next, we decided it was time to 'lighten-up' our sight-seeing a bit and head to some of the places Cambodian's are proud of. The Royal Palace!

That Afternoon in Phnom Penh

2009-10-22T17:51:00.008+09:00

It was time for lunch!! We decided to visit the infamous Foreign Correspondents Club of Cambodia. From their website: "Since opening its doors in 1993 the FCC Phnom Penh has served a storied cast of journalists and photographers, diplomats, movie stars and intrepid world travelers. Renowned for its views, The FCC overlooks the convergence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers." It was a really beautiful place - we had a beer and delicious lunch and recharged ourselves for more sightseeing.

The tuk-tuk's await!

After lunch, we went to Wat Phnom. It was built in 1373 and is the most important Wat in Phnom Penh.

We saw 'Sambo' the elephant waiting to give a ride to some lucky tourists . . .

. . . and there were a ton of monkeys living here. It was really neat to see the monkeys up close and cageless.

Our next stop was The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda.

This little building was a gift from the French in 1876. It's called the "Napoleon Pavillion".

Another miniature 'Angkor Wat' - (we're really getting excited now!)

After the palace we returned to the Blue Lime for a swim, got dressed up and went out for dinner. You can see in the banana leaf on the right - Amok - the most famous Cambodian dish. A coconut curry fish. Super Delicious!!

Next - we go to Angkor!!

Our Arrival in Phnom Penh

2009-10-14T19:59:00.008+09:00

We were pretty excited when we hit the tarmac in search of our plane. We had heard a lot stories and received advice from numerous friends who've been to Thailand before but we really didn't know what to expect in Cambodia. We didn't have much time to think about it though - the flight only took an hour.
We thought Thailand was a hot place until we arrived in Phnom Penh. The sun was just beating down on us the whole week. There was dust everywhere being kicked up by the millions of motor bikes ripping around the unpaved roads. We felt like we were in the Wild West. It was really beautiful though. Our hotel, The Blue Lime, was fantastic and was located right beside the Grand Palace and the National Museum. We decided our first stop that evening would be at the museum to take in some of the relics and artifacts rescued from Angkor - to learn some of the history and let it all soak in.

It was really awesome to see all of the famous stone sculptures in person and the atmosphere was highlighted by the numerous monks wandering the grounds. There are many monks in Cambodia now but most of them are quite young. Many of the elder Cambodian monks were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime in the '70's.

All of our photos here were taken from the centre of the museum. We weren't allowed photos inside the museum itself but they were allowed out in the courtyard.

Here's a view of the museum from the park across the street. We were headed towards the Tonle Sap river just past where it meets the Mekong.
The crowds were out in full force - everybody was enjoying a beautiful evening by the riverside.
We even saw 'Sam Bo' the elephant being walked home after a hard days work at Wat Phnom . . .

The streets of Cambodia are truly an amazing sight. Lawless. People riding anything that moves in any direction and at any speed . . . ladies riding the back of the motos 'side-saddle' . . . mothers holding babies in their left arms and steering bikes with their right. It was especially fun trying to cross the street here.

These old French Colonial buildings were all over the city - it was really strange to see the French influenced architecture in such a 'foreign' city - and even stranger were the fresh baguettes that were being sold by the street vendors between fried insect carts and banana stands.

Our long walk by the Tonle Sap River led us to a small carnival so we popped in to check it out. Funny, we were in a 3rd World country and the rides looked to be a comparable standard to those Conkiln Midway ones that travel around Canada. I gave the balloon-dart game a whirl. I hit 2 out of 3 and the Cambodian bystanders laughed at me - no prize. Check out the prizes though. Cleaning supplies and household items . . .

We stopped by the Phnom Penh night market before retiring for the night and Shawna had some sugar cane juice in the food court.

This photo is a bit dark but it shows you what the food court looked like. "Save me a seat over there!"

Well, it was a long day in the heat and the dust of Phnom Penh so we went back to the Blue Lime for a dip in their gorgeous pool.
The night photo doesn't do it justice. It was pretty sweet . . . Here's a couple from their website:

Yeah, we were livin' in style in Phnom Penh - this is what 40 bucks a night'll get you!

See you all soon for some more action in Cambodia's Capital City.

Bangkok and the Chatuchak Market

2009-10-11T14:39:00.008+09:00

Alright! We made it back to Bangkok and had the day to poke around before catching our flight to Phnom Penh.

We decided it was a good day, and probably our only chance, to hit up the infamous Chatuchak Weekend Market. It is supposedly the largest market in the world and it certainly seemed that way. It was loaded with thousands of stalls selling almost anything you can imagine. Fruits and vegetables, army surplus, antiques, souvenirs, clothing, amulets, live animals, dead animals . . . you name it!

Here's the Durian!! King of fruits!! Even in Thailand (the no. 1 exporter of durian) they are quite expensive. They are known for their extremely pungent smell and they have actually been banned from numerous hotels and airlines because of it.

(The 2nd sign is from Singapore Airlines)

We had never tried it before (and this was definitely the place to do it) so we bought some from one of the bustling fruit vendors.

Here's a short video so you can see what the inside looks like.

Here's a shot of the amulet section of the market. A large tent full of hawkers selling 'protective' amulets. Different amulets provide various benefits but most are for the wearers protection. Most Thai people carry one with them everywhere.

Feeling a bit peckish we stopped for a snack. Some delicious coconut ice cream in the shell . . .

There were musicians everywhere playing traditional Thai instruments. Very cool indeed!!

After the market, we went back downtown to the shopping district. We visited the Erawan Shrine. It was built beside the Erawan hotel in the 1950's after a series of mishaps in the construction process. After it was built the construction continued without incident . . .

On a side note - in 2006 the shrine was vandalized by a Thai man who was subsequently killed by the angry bystanders. Don't mess with the shrines!!!

I desperately wanted to see some good Thai rock music so we ended off our night in Bangkok with a trip to the Raintree Pub. It was known for its '70's Thai folk and rock houseband.

We ordered some Sangsom Thai whiskey and lounged the evening away listening to the music.

Here's a little sample . . . (of the band - not the whiskey)

Tomorrow - CAMBODIA!!!

The Superhero Project

2009-10-03T11:22:00.002+09:00

Hello all!! Sorry for the lack of recent updates but we've been off doing things interesting enough for their own blog entry! Anyway, if you haven't seen these videos already - here they are:

Superhero Video Part One

Superhero Video Part Two

We made these with the students in our after-school classes . . . hope you enjoy them!

P.S. We'll be updating the blog when we get back from our short trip to Jeju Island.

Happy Chuseok to you!!

Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School

2009-09-21T21:40:00.009+09:00

We are both massive fans of Thai food and thought it would be nice to take a class while we were in Thailand. We heard about a famous cooking school in Chiang Mai and signed up for a full day course.

We met the guides downtown and they took us to a local market to learn about the ingredients we would use - check out the giant banana flower!!

After the market, we were ushered on to the back of a pick-up truck and taken to the school which was about 45 minutes away. The Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School was located in a luxurious villa in an upscale neighborhood. We were each given our own cooking station and the necessary tools . . . it was really a beautiful place to spend the day!

One dish at a time, we learned to make 6 Thai specialties from the school's founder, Sompon Nabnian. He is basically the 'Gordon Ramsay' of Thailand (without the fits) and has appeared many times on international TV.

Here's what we made . . .

Dish #1 - Tom Kha Gai - Chicken in coconut milk soup

Dish # 2 - Raad Nah Muu - Fried big noodles with thick sauce and pork

Dish # 3 - Phad Hed Ruam Khao Podom - Fried mixed mushrooms with baby corn.
Dish # 4 - Gaeng Phed Plaa - Red curry with fish

. . . Chef extraordinaire contemplating his next culinary masterpiece . . .

. . . too full . . .

. . . but she's back at it again . . .

Dish # 5 - Som Tam - Papaya salad

Dish # 6 - Khanom Kluay - Steamed banana cake

Well, the cooking school was awesome!!! Every dish was a winner! We've got recipes and have tried a few out since our trip. Get yourselves ready for some delicious Thai food when we get back to Canada!!

After the cooking school, we were tired and stuffed so we laid low and wandered around Chiang Mai for the rest of the evening. We had to catch a train back to Bangkok, anyway. We tried buying 1st class sleeper car tickets but they were sold out - we ended up with 2nd Class coach seats. That meant no bed this time. How bad could it be? Just ask Shawna! Here's the scene - literally 3 minutes into the 12 hour ride . . .

Don't worry Shawna - soon we'll be in Cambodia!!!!!!

Chiang Mai Day 2 - Trekking

2009-09-15T22:22:00.006+09:00

We didn't have much time in Chiang Mai so we opted for a one day trek. The one we chose contained all of the sights from the longer, multi-day treks - only with considerably less walking. We were picked up from our guesthouse at 8:00 AM along with our guide and three other backpackers from France. We drove about an hour out of Chiang Mai to our first stop . . . for an elephant ride!!

Our elephant's name was pronounced "goon", which our guide said translated to "money". An apt title based on the price of our day trek! We couldn't get any pictures of ourselves on the elephant but we'll hopefully be able to trade photos with the other people on our tour by email. We rode on the metal saddle . . . not exactly comfy . . . and our driver rode most of the way behind Goon's ears.

You can't tell, but we're on an elephant here . . . I promise!

It wasn't just a few laps around a man made track, either. It was an hour-long journey through the jungle. We had to hang on tight going up and down some steep inclines.

Here's Goon flapping his ears to cool off. Much better than the other guys' elephant who continuously sprayed himself (and them) with muddy water . . .

At about halfway through our ride we came to a clearing where we were treated to some breathtaking views of the northern country side.

You can see our friends up ahead at a 'banana break' stand. This is where our driver hopped off and left us at the reigns.

After the elephant ride we hopped back in a van and headed to visit the Karen Hill Tribes. They are originally from Burma but also live in the hills of Northern and Western Thailand. They live in huts built on stilts and continue to practice the 'old' way of life. The Karen are one of the tribes famous for 'long necks' with metal rings used to elongate their necks. We didn't see any, however, except in the brochure from the trekking company! Fortunately, we were able to see some weavers making cotton scarves and bought a few as souvenirs.

When we left the village, we started the acutal trekking part of our trip. We walked for about 40 minutes through the jungle towards a waterfall where we could swim.

Our guide showed us some cool things along the way. We ate some fruit straight off of trees, he showed us how to collect rainwater on giant palms, and he blew some bubbles with the sap in these leaves.

It was all quite touristy but there were some pretty scary bridges we had to cross.

We finally made it to the waterfall. It was extremely hot so our guide and us hopped in the river.

Along with a few other trekkers we crossed paths with . . .

It was really nice to go in for a dip but soon after came the rain. We didn't mind too much because it helped to keep us cool in the afternoon.

When we finished our walk, the van was waiting for us and took us for some lunch. We ate some delicious Thai food at a shack by the road. We were able to chat it up a bit with the guys on our tour. They were on a year long tour of Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia. They made us jealous, especially the fact that they were heading back to their home, Paris, when it was all over.

After lunch, we went to a nearby river to try out some bamboo rafting. The traditional rafts were exactly what they looked like . . . just a bunch of bamboo tied together. They floated just below the surface and were powered by the drivers who pushed against the riverbed, tree stumps, or rocks. I was helping to drive by standing on the rear of our boat and almost went overboard a few times (I think our driver was trying to dump me on purpose). It was alot of fun, though. I was able to take some pictures of the next group passing by when we finshed.

Well, the trek was a great success. We ended our night with a fabulous dinner at a classy restaurant on the river in Chiang Mai. The food here was awesome and we were looking forward to cooking some the next afternoon!

Chiang Mai - Arrival

2009-09-14T23:37:00.006+09:00

Well, we made it through the 14 hour train journey - a few hours of sleep and the worst breakfast ever made (didn't even attempt to ingest it). We were happy to finally be off the tracks and in Chiang Mai. A posse of drivers was waiting for the train to roll in. We chose one . . . well, he chose us . . . we hopped in the back of his pickup truck and went off towards our guesthouse.

Our first day in Chiang Mai was a little more laid-back than Bangkok but it wasn't without its adventures. Our main goal was to do some laundry (one backpack + 35oC + dusty tuk-tuks = really dirty clothes), set-up our trek, and sign up for cooking school. We were successful with the above tasks and saw much of downtown Chiang Mai in the process.

We visited a few temples along the way - took a lot of pictures but they're quite similar(on a smaller scale) to the ones in Bangkok so we've only included a few here.

This was amazing. We had to take a close look to determine if he was real or not . . . turns out he's just a life-size, extremely detailed statue of a famous Thai monk. We actually took a photo of a store we found in Bangkok that was full of these statues. See below.

We wandered some more and found another reclining Buddha! Not nearly as big as the one in Bangkok but impressive nonetheless.

Shawna found a Jackfruit - we originally thought it was a smelly Durian (hence the scrunchie nose).

After sorting out our Chiang Mai itinerary we were free to relax and enjoy the evening. We hit up a night market for dinner and some shopping.

We were lucky enough to see a show of traditional dance while we ate our curry and sipped our coconuts . . .

We still had a bit of energy left so we went in search of the Kawila Muay Thai stadium that we saw on a flyer earlier that day. I really wanted to see a Thai kickboxing match so, needless to say, I was more than excited when I saw the run down old stadium full to the brim with Thai people betting and yelling at the boxers. It was a really cool experience . . .

I was mainly focused on video footage of the match so the pictures are a little lacking (I keep promising some video - it will happen!). The boxers came out and did the traditional dance before the match. While they were fighting there was traditional drum and reed music played live by the ring. Adding to the excitement were the people screaming and cheering everytime a punch was thrown. Big money going down on these fights, I'm sure.

Well, it was late and I was happy so we hopped a tuk-tuk back to our guesthouse and got in some sleep before our big trek the next day - hiking, hill tribes, elephant riding, waterfalls, bamboo rafting . . .

Bangkok - Day 2

2009-09-07T21:49:00.009+09:00

Well - I'm afraid today's edition of the blog won't have quite so many detailed photos . . . the two main stops on our second day in Bangkok made us lock up our cameras before entering. Well, we did our best to snap a few and here's the result.

Our first stop of the day was Vimanmek Palace. Built by Rama V as a summer home, it's nicknamed "The Teak Palace" because its almost entirely made of golden teak without a single nail. It was primarily used by the royal family in the early 1900's.

It houses many of the gifts and artifacts that were collected by Rama V including furniture, ceramics, and artwork. It also contains Thailand's first indoor bathroom. No pictures allowed inside . . . sorry.

The grounds were beautiful and most of the buildings have been turned into small museums. Our favorite was the elephant museum that was located in the retired stables. It detailed the famous elephants that were used by the king and the elaborate 'saddles' that he rode on. It had some pictures of a recent ceremony where a prized 'white elephant' was granted royal status.

After the palace, we were ready for lunch (and some air-conditioning which the teak palace obviously lacked). We decided it was a good chance to check out the 'ritzy' part of Bangkok. We were surprised - the main centre downtown was a bustling street with 6 or 7 huge, upscale malls. We're talkin' Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Cartier . . . the works! We hit-up one of the 'hip'(a.k.a. cheaper) malls and hit the food court for some Thai food. Here's a picture of the dessert bar.

Thailand is notorious for slow traffic. The bikers seem to manage alright . . .

Walking around here it's easy to forget about the markets, long-tail boats, street food stalls, and palm trees just minutes away . . .

. . . although, tucked away down an alley behind the malls, there is a beautifully preserved old house and garden. This is the house of Jim Thompson. Thompson was a legendary American adventurer / architect / entrepreneur and an avid art collector. He is responsible for saving the art of Thai silk weaving which was dying out when he 'discovered' it. It's now a booming industry and a large export for Thailand. (Shawna bought a gorgeous silk scarf made by the Jim Thompson Silk Company - I'm sure she'll pose with it for a blog photo if you ask nicely).

Jim Thompson collected numerous pieces of art from his world travels and his house still displays everything exactly as he left it when he mysteriously disappeared in 1967 in the jungles of Malaysia. We weren't allowed to take cameras on our guided tour but we were able to snap a few later while walking the grounds.

We had to rush from the Jim Thompson house after our tour in order to catch our train to Chiang Mai. We had 14 hours in the second class sleeper car to look forward to . . .

Well, at least we didn't opt for the 3rd class . . . wooden seats . . .

Getting pumped up for the train ride. What could she be listening to??? "Getting to know you . . . getting to know all about you . . ."

Looks a bit like prison - it was alright once our fan started working. Two hours of profuse sweating to prime my bunk for the night . . . nice.

Good night - see you in Chiang Mai . . .

And if that wasn't enough . . .

2009-09-03T17:52:00.009+09:00

Well, it turns out that the Royal Palace was just the tip of the iceberg. We had a lot more to see in Bangkok so we directly went in search of Wat Pho. It was positioned within walking distance from the Palace so we ignored all of the offers for tuk-tuk rides.

Not that they didn't try, though!

We had both read through our guidebooks multiple times in anticipation for our trip so we were well prepared for all of the scams they would throw at us. We were hit up for a classic one on our first morning here. A group of tuk-tuk drivers gathered 'round and asked us the usual questions: "Where you from?" and "Where you going?". When we told them we were headed towards Wat Pho - they told us it was closed. One driver said, "because of the Queen's upcoming birthday(true) they had to shut it down to prepare for the celebrations(false). They offered to take us to "The Lucky Buddha Temple" which, they told us, was only open for one day a year . . . today!!" Our guidebook warned that "The Lucky Buddha" always turns out to be a tailor or a gem shop which will give you the hardest sell of your life. So, we politely declined their offer 17 or 18 more times and were back on track. (This would be the first of many attempts at an unbalanced portion of our wallets - thankfully all were unsuccessful).

Wat Pho was a beautiful, serene place in the heart of Bangkok. There were quite a few visitors but they didn't seem to disturb the peace as much as they did at the Royal Palace. The photo below was taken inside the 'Bot'. This is the principal congregation hall at Wat Pho. This Buddha image contains the remains of King Rama I, the founder of Bangkok.

The main attraction for sight-seeing folk like us was the massive reclining Buddha. This one is 45 metres long. It's so big that it's nearly impossible to see the whole statue - it fills up the entire sanctuary!

His feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl showing the 108 'auspicious signs' of Buddhism.

Here is the rarely-seen, 'Buddha's Back'. You won't find this on any postcards . . .

After Wat Pho, we headed toward the famous Chao Phraya river - still one of the main transportation routes in Bangkok.

We found lunch in a small shack on the waterfront. It was some of the most delicious food we ate on our trip!! Plus, we had an awesome view of Wat Arun across the river. . .

The view of Wat Arun proved to be too tempting so, after lunch we hopped on a 10 cent ferry boat and went across. (Below is a photo looking back on where we ate).

A small taste of what was to come in Angkor. Bangkok's most famous Wat towers over the river and, after a steep climb, afforded us a great view of the city.

Up was easier than down . . . it was steep!

Here are some of the long-tail boats that rip up and down the Chao Phraya. They've got massive diesel truck engines that they've have modified for water-use. I've got some great video I'll share when I finally finish dissecting our video footage.

And here is the great Rama VIII bridge that was right next to our guesthouse. It proved to be a valuable landmark for finding our way back at night!!

After a quick shower and change(did I mention how hot Bangkok was?) we went back out. We took a short jaunt through Chinatown on our way to a night market.

We went to the Suan Lum Night Bazzar. We had some nice dinner and wandered around checking out the souvenir prospects. We were in no rush to buy anything, though. We needed to keep our backpacks light until the end of our journey.

Took the subway home - by ourselves. Turns out that the only real traffic here is for the business people during the day. Its generally cheaper and more convenient to use taxis and tuk-tuks outside of rush-hour traffic. Well, at least it had air-con!!

See you again very soon . . .

2nd Stop - BANGKOK

2009-08-29T14:56:00.010+09:00

Alright - here we go - our first entry from Bangkok!!

We arrived at the new airport, Suvarnabhumi, in the early evening. Our guide book was written before it opened so we were on our own for finding transport to the city centre. Our only advice was to avoid the people and info booths that looked official . . . because they probably are not. The touts have figured out that travelers will follow their advice if they are wearing a uniform and badge. We stood our ground and refused many offers for rides / hotels / etc. and made our way to the actual 'Airport Express' bus stop.

The bus dropped us off at Khaosan Road, which is the backpacker centre of the universe! Millions of bars, restaurants, and guest houses. Hippies getting henna tattoos, Bob Marley cover bands, and even Captain Jack Sparrow made a brief appearance. A street built for foreigners - not exactly what we were after . . . but a fun and bustling area anyway.

We ate our first Thai dinner and, as you can see, someone was a brimming with excitement. . .

The food in Thailand was cheap and delicious. Just what we were hoping for. Once our stomach's were full we wandered around Khaosan and then back to our guesthouse. We needed a good night sleep because we had a big day of sightseeing ahead of us.

We started our morning with the Grand Palace. The monarchy is of significant importance in Thailand. When we were there it was the Queen's birthday. There were giant billboards and altars set up around Bangkok to honour her. The Thai people are very proud of their monarchy and its history. Construction of the Grand Palace began in 1782 by King Rama I. All of his successors have contributed since then and now it is a sprawling compound of elaborate statues, buildings, and artwork. The palace is still used regularily for ceremonies with the royalty.

The surrounding walls of the palace were covered in murals depicting the Ramayana. They were amazingly detailed and are constantly being restored to keep from fading.

They even had fierce guards protecting the entrances. "Can I have your ticket, please?"

Shawna was in charge of route planning and historic detail so, in this photograph, you can see what she looked like for most of our trip.

The palace buildings were massive and not a square-inch of space was left without detail. A veritable feast for the eyes . . .

It was actually quite difficult to get pictures without other people in them. The place was full of tourists . . . most of them competing for silliest photograph.

King Rama IV (played by Yul Brynner in The King and I. . .remember??) built a replica of Angkor Wat in the temple grounds. When he was in power Thailand owned it. We will be able to verify its accuracy in detail next week.

In the North-East corner of the palace grounds lies Wat Phra Kaeo which houses the "Emerald Buddha". The most important religious article in Thailand.

Politicians accused of corruption traditionally come here to assert their innocence in front of the most precious and legendary Buddha carvings.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the temple but you can see the Buddha perched in the background above Shawna's shoulder. (you can click on the photos to see more detail) The legend of its origin goes like this. It was originally discovered in the 15th century when lightning hit a stone tower in a Buddhist temple and cracked it open. Inside was a Jadeite Buddha (originally thought to be Emerald). Since then, it has been taken (without permission) all over South-East Asia dispensing miracles wherever it goes. It now lives safely and permanently in the palace. The King even changes his clothes for each season.

Here is the throne room. Once again, no pictures inside but you can take my word for it that it was nice.

Rama V employed a European architect to build a Neoclassical residence but other members of the Royal family complained so the put a Thai-style roof on it. The building was named "The Foreigner with a Thai hat".

Well, we've done a lot of sightseeing and its time for a break. Even Buddha himself will be reclining in our next blog post.

Vacation - 1st Stop - HONG KONG

2009-08-24T17:52:00.008+09:00

Hello everyone!!! We're back in Yeoju after our super-fantastic-non-stop-awesomeness vacation. Now we have the enormous task of loading / sorting / editing the 2 million photos we took. We'll try to do this in chronological order, splitting it up as we see fit. This post has over 25 pics and this was just a 22 hour stopover!! Welly well, here we go . . .

As luck would have it, we were able to book our flight to Bangkok with a long stopover in Hong Kong. We arrived in the evening . . . and it was HOT (in fact our entire vacation was ridiculously hot - more on that later). We caught a double-decker bus and headed to our guesthouse.

We were booked for the night at the Yiu Fai Guesthouse in Kowloon which is part of mainland China. It was clean and safe but maybe a little on the small side. Space is at a premium in Hong Kong so this is what our budget afforded us . . . a closet with a bed.

Our view was a little lackluster but hey, check out the cool bamboo scaffolding - not sure I'd wanna climb up that. Even in Cambodia they were using modern metal scaffolding. Well, enough about scaffolding. If you want to read more you'll have to check Wikipedia.

The location of Yiu Fai Guesthouse was amazing!! The subway was right outside the door, we could walk North and hit the main shopping district, or walk South and get to the harbour . . . which is exactly what we did.

We watched some of lights at the harbour-front and then hopped on a ferry to Hong Kong Island. Then we took a short bus ride to the Peak Tram. We obviously weren't the only ones heading up the hill that evening . . .

The Peak Tram takes people from Central District up to Victoria Peak. The tram ride is a kilometer and a half and takes passengers almost 400 metres high. It's been running since the 1880's.

The ride was fun - at the top they had souvenirs, attractions, and restaurants (not unlike the CN Tower).

At the top we went to the lookout points but we were greeted with fog (the pea-soup kind). We couldn't see past our noses but we had a good laugh about it anyway.

Our time in Hong Kong was precious so we went back to the mainland and went in search of food.
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Lucky - we found a McDonalds!!!

Really??. . .Do you think we're crazy??? We just used their bathrooms and went in search of real food . . . and we found it.

We went to the Temple Street Night Market and wandered for a while checking out all the bootlegs and fake watches. Around 11:00(late dinner), we stopped where there were a group of small restaurants with patios that spilled out into the streets. We headed straight for the busiest one . . .

A delicious Chinese dinner with some San Miguel (brewed in Hong Kong) and we couldn't be happier.

Then we called it a night and hopped the subway back to the guesthouse. We wanted to fit in some sightseeing before our flight the next day.

We woke up early and went to the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery for a beautiful stroll.

We could smell the incense and hear the chanting. It was a calm and relaxing place to offset the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.

We had one last stop in mind before heading to the airport. . .The Jade Market - a vast complex devoted entirely to Jade hawkers.

Shawna made friends with this hawker and after some serious bartering back and forth with the calculator (see photo) ended up with a small keepsake from her first trip to China.

Well, we had no choice but to hop on a bus and catch our flight to Bangkok. The double-decker bus ride gave us a glimpse into the shipping yards of China on the way to the airport. Absolutely Massive! Imagine all of those 'Made in China' things inside those crates.

Gotta go sort out some more photos - next post: BANGKOK, THAILAND . . .

San Nak Ji - Eating Live Octopus!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-06T18:39:00.005+09:00

This fine summer evening - we decided to join our friends on an gastronomical adventure in Yeoju. Our friends took us out to eat Sannakji - Live Baby Octopus!!! Our friend knew a place in our town that served the Korean delicacy so the only thing stopping us was our fear - OF EATING A LIVE CREATURE!!!!!!!!!!!

We read the Wikipedia entry - we heard the stories of choking to death - but we decided to chance it anyway . . .

We ordered a couple plates of octo and a bunch of Soju (liquid courage) and waited while the rest of the staff and patrons looked on in curiosity. They scooped the baby octopus out of the tank outside - chopped off his tentacles - added a dash of sesame seeds - and promptly served it. The tentacles still had a lot of life left in them when they arrived at our table. Squirmy and slimy they were not exactly appetizing. They gave up quite the fight - with their suction-cuppy things stuck to the bowl. We dipped them in the provided sauces and went to town. Check out the video. . . if you can stomach it!! (and for another angle and more videos - check out our friends blog: Jon and Cassie in South Korea).

Well - let's see if we can top this while we're on vacation. We're off to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Cambodia!!!! See you in 2 weeks!!!

Boryeong MUD Festival

2009-07-20T20:27:00.010+09:00

Let's go to the West side! - We're off to Daechon Beach in Boryeong on the coast of the Yellow Sea . . . in search of MUD!

A quick stop to change at our Minbak and we were headed to the beach to see what "Mudfest" was all about. (our Minbak was booked with 20 people in one room - "packt like sardines in a crushd tin box").

Glorious Mud!! Luckily, I found a special waterproof camera bag in E-Mart a couple weeks earlier so I was able to jump right in the action without fear.

Shawna, in her pristine Mudfest shirt, about to hit the mud bath zone. Mud flinging was inevitable so its better if you dive right in and get it over with.

The mud in Boryeong is supposed to have special properties that are good for the skin. The directions were: 1 Get really muddy, 2 let it dry in the sun, 3 wash it off in the sea, 4 Repeat steps one through four.

That's the spirit!!!

We looked out to the sea and heard its siren song calling us but we knew we weren't muddy enough to warrant a dip quite yet.

For some reason I had the feeling like we were being watched all day. I don't know. . . maybe I'm a bit paranoid. . .

Our jolly friend Thomas had the good sense to 'bag-up' his wallet and cash. All safe and sound when we hit the 'Colored Mud' section!

How'd he do that?

Taking a well needed rest...

The obligatory 'girl-on-shoulder-giving-the-double-peace-sign' shot

I think she may have gotten more mud than she bargained for.

These guys just looked creepy . . .

Call me 'crazy' but I still feel like I'm being watched. . .

4 Canucks in-a-row . .

Shawna: "I'm looking for a white guy covered in mud - has anyone seen him?" The majority of foreigners in Korea hit this festival every year - it has gotten pretty famous in the past few years and has become one of the "Don't Miss It" events.

Okay, now its time to jump in the Sea . . . so exciting!!

One last shot together before the mud goes away.

Good ole' Thom - reminding us all to avoid any heat-related illness we must stay 'hydrated' in the hot sun. Safety first!

Good Samaritan Thomas was actually helping the girls clean off as well. What a nice guy. First Suzanne . . .

Then, Alex . . . good job, Thom!

Fun in the sun . . .

Back to business. Our Mission: walk through the streets, continue to enjoy the Mudfest, avoid the mud. GOOD LUCK!

And then it was dinner time. Soju, Seashells, and Samgyeopsal(BBQed bacon).

And then came the rain. If it was going to rain on any festival it might as well be the 'Mudfest'.

It didn't slow things down at all. When night fell there was concerts, music, dancing, and fireworks.

Great times at a great festival . . . and my skin feels as smooth as silk . . .

The East Sea at Night

2009-07-14T23:11:00.003+09:00

Our stomachs were full so we went off in search of more fun.

Soju, gunpowder, sand, and sea = good times!!

We met a group of people on the beach and they offered to take our photo for us.

Hana, Dul, Set, . . . Kimchi!!

Shortly after this photo I ended up in the sea with the man behind the camera.

I dried off as much as I could and we were off to the first Noraebang (singing room) we could find. It was pretty shady, as far as Noraebang's go, but they had microphones and music so it was good enough for us!

Well, after an hour or two of singing - we were off to bed.

In the morning, we found ourselves back on the beach for a couple of hours before heading home.

We weren't the only ones trying to leave Gyeongpo. . .

Next blog entry: We hit the West Coast to see the Yellow Sea!! Assah!!!!

Thee East Sea

2009-07-07T23:23:00.005+09:00

After our visit to the Penis Park, Jon W., Cassie, Shawna, and I decided to extend our weekend trip to Sunday. We had nothing planned so we decided our best bet would be to head to the nearest large city and see if we could find something interesting. We took the bus an hour north on the coast to Gangneung. Hopped off the bus, went outside the station, and we were on our way . . . but where to go? We started walking . . . and . . . not much . . . more walking . . . nothin'. So we took out our trusty guide books and hopped in the first cab that we could hail. Cassie pointed to an interesting picture of a harbour and we were off. . . in search of fun! About 15 minutes later the cab fare was up around 10 000 Won and we saw a sign for our destination "19 KM". So, Cassie made an executive, on-the-spot decision and we changed our plan before the cab driver could take all of our money. We convinced the driver to turn at the nearest beach on our map, Gyeongpo. . . JACKPOT!! It was an awesome beach-side vacation spot with hotels, restaurants, sand, sea, and lots of happy people (including us).

We had some coffee - found a motel - and built up a serious appetite. We were given a nice preview of dinner when we walked down the main drag. Endless tanks of delicious sea creatures swimming in Purgatory - between the Sea and our plates.

We did a bit more exploring in Gyeongpo - some of us a were little more curious than others, perhaps?

On one side of our motel was the East Sea and on the other was a big lake. We left our hotel for dinner just in time to catch the sunset over the lake. We parked ourselves beside some ambitious amateur photographers with expensive equipment and took some quick snapshots.

What a colourful sunset!!

Our stomachs were growling. We were off in a serious hunt for food. We decided not to heed the advice of this tour bus operator and eat where his group was going. I don't know what it was but something about the whole operation seemed shady. . .

We were on our own so we decided to go back to the main street by the beach and hit up one of the live-seafood restaurants. We'd be fools not to!

Mmm. . . we found a place . . .now we had to decipher the menu. We fancied some BBQ so we mustered up all the Korean/finger pointing/charades we could and got exactly what we wanted.

The chef chooses his victims and scoops them out of the tanks.

Fire's up our charcoal. . .

. . . and the cooking begins (with a little guidance from our waitresses, of course).

Everything was delicious - a few bottles of Soju and a few dozen sea-creatures - who could ask for anything more????

Well, we didn't but we got some more anyway - "I'll have the fish-head soup for dessert, please?"

It was a really neat experience to eat seafood with the waves breaking just over your shoulder.

Now, with our bellies filled, we could commence the partying . . .

. . . more to come from Gyeongpo very soon!! (the night didn't end there!)

Bundaegi - mmm . . .

2009-06-24T22:10:00.004+09:00

Here's a quick post (that means less than 25 photos) to commemorate our first time trying Bundaegi - Silk Worm Pupae!!

These little guys (well, not so little when you have to put them in your mouth - chew and swallow!) are all over the place in Korea - there are ladies boiling vats of them in the markets - cans of them in the convenience store - and a few of them even made it into Heaven . . .

Here's our friend, Jon Wick, climbing the 'Stairway to Heaven'. When we asked some locals where the fun was at, they told us to go to Heaven. Turns out its the name of a 'happening' bar in town.

We thought we'd have some beer and be on our merry way. . . but that's never the case in Korea.

We ordered a pitcher of beer and a plate of chicken - two minutes later they came out with a barrage of appetizers. Peanuts, seaweed, banana chips, spring rolls, veggies, seafood, ice cream and, last but not least . . .

Bundaegi!!

I don't know why we did it - curiosity, I suppose - but it was before any significant consumption of beer so we were of sound mind. We stared at them for a while - poked - prodded. I went first. "It tastes like it smells" said Fraser some time before we left for Korea(why didn't I listen?) It was quite pungently flavored - tasted exactly like baby insects do. I bit down - CRUNCH - and then - SQUIRT - and then - crunch crunch crunch and it was over. Quickly swallowed and downed some beer. Other than the bits stuck in my teeth, I had conquered the Bundaegi!!!

(here's a pic I found on another website - so you can see the size of these snacks)
Well, our friends Jon and Cassie were able to eat one with gusto and that left only one person - SHAWNA!!! She was a bit apprehensive but peer pressure prevailed so she took the plunge.

He never knew what hit him~

Needless to say, I don't think Shawna (or any of us) will be picking up any more Bundaegi for a snack any time soon.

Soon, our delicious, Korean-fried chicken came to the table and we forgot all about the insects we just ate. . .

Haeshindang Folk Village - a.k.a. The Penis Park!

2009-06-24T20:56:00.007+09:00

Well, here we go . . . - an early morning stop at Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast and we were off in search of Haeshindang Folk Village on Korea's east seashore.

WARNING: The following images are extremely graphic representations of the male anatomy. Viewer discretion is strongly advised!!! (and this is probably Not Safe For Work in case you were wondering.)

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So, the story goes something like this: 400 years ago a fisherman left his virgin fiancee on a rock close to shore so she could pick some seaweed while he was off fishing. The fisherman was caught in a fierce storm and couldn't return to pick her up. Eventually, the waves swept her off the rocks and she promptly drowned.
Since that fateful day, the fisherman in the village were unable to make a good catch. Rumor spread that the virgin's tormented soul had caused the sea to become barren.
The fish would not return until a strike of luck was to come upon the village. A man, presumably drunk, was in desperate need of relieving himself of the Soju he'd been downing. So, he faced the sea and 'let her have it'. The next day, the fish began to return to the waters and the villagers equated it to the virgin's soul being 'appeased' by the man's wiener.
The villagers began erecting(sorry) giant, totem-like penises and the fish were being caught in droves. ***

Here are the four ladies hanging out by the penis pond.

Here are some stone sculptures representing the animals of the Chinese calendar. Kind of reminiscent of the Easter Island statues, no? . . . maybe not.

Shawna's is the year of the . . . rooster . . . I promised I would stay away from the lame jokes on the blog (there were way to many on the trip that day - the majority coming from me, I'm afraid).

If you could manage to look beyond all of the giant penises, there was an amazing view of the sea to be had.

This fellow was taking a 'hands on' approach (and welcomed the photos).

This, I believe, may be the most bizarre place I've seen . . . so far.

Shawna's face describes the feeling we all had - we were all about 50 penises over the line.

There's even a penis-shaped lighthouse!!

The Penis Cannon

If you look carefully (click on the image to supersize it) you can see the virgin on the rock. Waving for help . . .

There was a small shrine to the virgin where people could stop and pay their respects.

We were able to get right down to the seashore which was nice. I threw some rocks - Suzanne climbed some rocks. . .

. . . and Shawna put her new boots to the test.

At this point we had seen more than enough so we took the bus back to Samcheok for lunch.

***My synopsis of the legend may or may not be correct. It is a fusion of the many stories I've heard from fellow travelers and bloggers. It sounds plausible to me, though.

Baseball - Kia Tigers vs LG Twins

2009-06-10T20:49:00.005+09:00

Hello all!!! Let's play ball!! It's a beautiful day for a ballgame. We met up with some of our friends to check out a Korean professional baseball game in Seoul.

Here's Rachel trying her hardest to convince some die-hard Kia Tigers' fans to switch to the LG Twins. . .

. . .Cassie, evidently, could not be swayed . . .

We bought our tickets well in advance and got there an hour ahead of the game. We had to choose a team to cheer for and go off in search of seats in the appropriate section. Impossible!! The game was oversold so our 'general admission' seats were promptly turned to 'standing room only'. Before completely giving up on sitting we decided to 'chance it' by visiting the reserved seating section (it was sold out but still relatively empty - you can see the red and blue seats compared with the upper level seats in the photo below).

Busted!! - Here's what Shawna looked like 20 minutes later when we were ousted by the ticket holders. Oh well, at least we got to sit for half an inning.

Beer and snacks were readily available. Just holler to a passing Ajumma and she'll promptly hook you up with some tasty dried squid from the basket on her head.

The games here are quite different from the games back home. There is a real 'electricity' in the stadium. There are cheerleaders and organized chants. Cheap beer and twice as many people as the fire code would recommend. The fans only sit with their own kind - red team on one side and yellow on the other - don't mess with the plan!!

The young man in front of us is about to dive into some fried chicken. Luckily he was provided with some plastic gloves to keep the grease off his fingers. You wouldn't want a fly ball to slip through your hands due to some post-chicken greasiness!

We were forced to find a place to stand but standing room wasn't really easy to find either! Families had set up picnics all around the landings at the top of the stands. The stairs were covered with people, too. There wasn't much left - standing or sitting!!

It was kind of a blessing because we were able to see the entire stadium and get out of the sun for a bit. Plus, we eventually found a sweet spot near a beer tent!!

There were people everywhere!

We had a really nice day - the weather was great - the game was great - the beer was great! But, it was nearing the end of the game and we were all getting tired so we decided to check out a bit early. . .

Being a baseball fan in Korea is hard work - just ask this guy . . .

. . . or this guy . . .

We however, still had the energy for a delicious patio BBQ dinner in Gangnam before heading back to Yeoju for the night.

What a nice day!

SPECIAL UPDATE: Chocolate Pizza!!!!!!

2009-06-03T19:28:00.006+09:00

First off, let me tell you that we get fliers for restaurants and delivery posted on our apartment door almost every day. Pizza, chicken, noodles, the standard fare - but, when this one came, we knew it was something special so we hung on to it: Pizza Country's FRENCH CACAO PIZZA. Well, one day last week, curiosity got the better of Shawna so she picked up the phone and ordered it. That's not as simple as it sounds . . . we're in Korea, remember? So, she mustered up all of her Hangeul skills and put them to the test. After some slight frustration and nervous laughter (for both ends) the message got through: "The waygookins want some chocolate pizza." Thirty minutes later - it arrived . . .

This is most definitely not the first crazy pizza concoction the Koreans have come up with but it might just be the wackiest!

Well, if it was going to taste horrible, at least it came with some Pepsi, pickles, and hot sauce to perk it up with.

Looks like pizza, smells like pizza, but will it taste like pizza?

Let me give you a breakdown of the ingredients (we had no idea what they would be before we ordered it): mushrooms, green peppers, onions, cheese, crushed-peanuts, honey, almonds, chocolate drizzle, and those big balls are chesnuts . . .

. . . not to mention the crust was stuffed with chocolate, too!!

First bite. . .

. . .thinking. . .

. . . thinking . . .

. . . DELICIOUS - The first few bites of the pizza were the savory dinner and it slowly graduated to a devilishly-sweet dessert as you progressed to the crust. Genious!! Shawna and I give it 2 thumbs up!!!

Everland!!!! - Shawna's birthday continued

2009-06-03T17:46:00.011+09:00

Welcome to Everland!!!!!
This is Korea's largest theme park.

We would start off our day at the mini-zoo. Here are some friendly "Jack Ass" penguins. . .

. . . and some not-so-friendly lions!

Hey, where's all the snow, eh?

The Golden Monkeys were the highlight of the zoo - we've never seen these guys before.

Shawna took the chance to arm-wrestle a chimpanzee . . . and lost. He was a good sport though - no show-boating!

We had no idea what was going on in the Korean Mystery House but we had a good time nonetheless.

"Are we seriously gonna ride that?" . . . "Maybe later."

The parade came through after we got off the carousel. I think these captives they had were Russian. They were chained to the floats - their spirits were high, though. Smiles all around and extra waves and winks for us waygookins!

Later, Jon and Shawna got some sweet, bumpy revenge on some annoying little kids. . .

Is Shawna in a Kia or a Hyundai??? No . . . I think its the only Ford in Korea.

A view from the giant Ferris Wheel!

We opted out of the log ride due to the chilly weather (and the sight of some uncomfortably wet Koreans).

Hi Ho Silver! Away!

There was a beautiful rose garden in the middle of the park - so we stopped to smell them.

Getting ready for the "T Express" - The world's steepest wooden roller coaster!!

While in line we had to do stretches, remove all loose items (including my glasses - which adds another perspective to the ride altogether), and watch a safety video akin to an airplane safety demo. The demo was in Korean(obviously) so we made up our own safety rules. #1 Don't fall off. #2 Don't fall off.

It went well - not quite the 'Behemoth' but still pretty scary!

Our final stop at Everland would be the 'Safari'. It consists of a couple souped up tour buses and some indifferent, yet wild, animals.

Looks like a movie but we're pretty sure they were real animals.

We couldn't get any shots of the 'Liger' but they had one!! Finally a lion and a tiger in one body!! (I'm serious - they had one!!) We were able to catch some other creatures on film, though, so all was not lost.

The lions bode us farewell and we took the long trip back to Yeoju - it was an awesome weekend!!

Happy Birthday Shawna D!!!

2009-05-26T21:40:00.009+09:00

It was Shawna's Birthday last week so we went to Seoul to celebrate with friends. First we were off to dinner in Itaewon. Itaewon is where the largest US military base is located so it has become the place to find foreign food, books, or people - if foreign things are what you after.

7:00PM We went for some Thai food and it was good. . . We were joined by our Canadian friends Ashley and Andrew.

10:00PM Next, we were off to Hongdae in search of a bar for some drinks. We met up with quite a few teachers from Yeoju there (and they brought cake). The bar was called "Jane's Groove" and had some extremely poignant graffiti in the bathroom that had to be photographed.

It was 90's night so they were playing a bunch of hits from the good ole' days . . . we heard The Spice Girls, Hanson, and The Backstreet Boys all in a row!! It was horrible and fantastic all at the same time.

I think we may have been the largest group of Waygookin's they had seen in some time because they treated us very well. When they found out it was Shawna's birthday they brought us a bottle of Champagne on the house.

After we polished off the bubbly, we were off to see some more bars. This time we stepped it up a notch. We went to the "Ice Bar". They dress you up and send you in to a giant freezer. It was a good time . . . reminded us of Canada.

12:30AM Here we are getting suited up before entering the Ice Bar . . .

You book the entire place for your group's private party. We were lucky to have so many people with us because I'm sure it wouldn't have the same vibe with just the two of us in the whole bar.

"I triple dog dare ya. . ."

Our cool bartender making us some cocktails.

Shawna enjoying her drink in a glass made of ice.

Shawna enjoying my drink in a glass made of ice.

I think I may have had a little too much to drink because everything was starting to look hazy. . .

1:30AM We were getting tired while our friends were ready to party on. We had a big day ahead of us (at Everland) so we wanted to get some sleep but we couldn't resist checking out "The Cave Bar" they were headed to. So, we popped in for a couple photos and then headed off in search of a motel.

The Seoul-ites really seem to enjoy their 'theme' bars / restaurants / motels / parks / etc. It does make a night of partying more memorable!

2:00AM - Now we're off to bed - gotta get up early for a day in the theme park . . .

Jongmyo, Changgyeonggung, and The World High-Wire Championships

2009-05-22T17:38:00.005+09:00

Today we're back in Seoul visiting a shrine and one of the main palaces. The shrine is called Jongmyo and it houses the 'spirit tablets' of the Joseon Dynasty Kings and Queens. It is said that their spirits reside inside these tablets.

This building is where the tablets lay. It was really massive - can you see Shawna in the picture? (click on it to blow it up)

The next group of pictures are from Changgyeonggung!! Originally built by King Sejong (who is on the back of the 10 000 Won bill, invented the modern Korean writing system, and happens to be buried in our little town of Yeoju).Through the palace woods you can see Seoul tower watching over the city.

All those years of school really paid off - I forgot my watch but Shawna was able to tell the time with this sundial - we would have missed the bus if it wasn't for her valiant effort.

Here is the Great King Sejong's throne room. The painting on the wall behind his throne is also behind his mug on the 10 000 won bill - as you can see in the following photo. We wouldn't have even noticed but we were eavesdropping on a tour group and saw their guide showing the bill to them.

RANDOM SHOT OF SD AND A SQUID - Just to see if you're still paying attention!

Later that afternoon, we went in search of a "World High-Wire Competition" we heard about. After some serious walking, and coming close to giving-up, we found it!!

It was quite the unique experience - I've never seen anything quite like it in my life. The 'walkers' were up on scaffolding waiting to for their turn. Their destination was all the way across the Han River!! It took the guy we watched about 45 minutes to make it. He stopped a few times and sat on the wire (safety boats waiting in the river below) but eventually made it across.

I took a lot of video footage of the High-Wire event that I will be able to string together someday. It's really difficult to imagine the distance based on these photos.

Well - we considered ourselves lucky to have found and witnessed the event and went happily on our way back to Yeoju on the bus.

Next post: Shawna's Birthday - Clubbing in Seoul and Chilling in Everland!!

Gyeongju

2009-05-20T17:38:00.009+09:00

Welcome to Gyeongju -- South - South Korea!!! Our first stop in this historical city (known as an "outdoor museum") was at Bulguksa. One of Korea's largest, and most-famous Buddhist temples. It was a beautiful day and was Buddha's birthday weekend so it was the perfect time to visit Bulguksa.

A long and winding walk up a steep hill gets you to the entrance of the temple. Once you enter the gate you are faced with some awe-inspiring scenery to get you into the tranquil mood that is desired.

Just be wary of the guards at the gate - they don't exactly look friendly!!

We were happy to see that the lotus lanterns were still up the day after Buddha's birthday. (they did begin to take them down later that afternoon)

Sorry for the lack of interior photos but it was prohibited. This is still a practicing temple so they didn't want any photos taken to respect the privacy of the Buddhists.

Shawna peeking inside. . . at the Golden Seated Buddha

There were millions of these little rock formations behind one of the buildings - they looked kind of like Inuksuit.

Later that afternoon we went to see the Tombs of Gyeongju. They built huge mounds around the tombs of important people. There are still many standing today in Gyeongju.

We were able to go inside one of the tombs - after a long wait in the hot sun. These tombs were home to millions of artifacts. Like the Egyptians, they buried many precious items for the deceased to take with them to the next world. Most of the original buried treasure was taken by "Tomb Raiders" and the Koreans are still working hard to collect all the items for museum displays.

Here's some kids respecting the tomb . . .

It's very likely to see couples or families dressed alike in Korea these days. Matching clothes is a really popular thing to do right now. (Shawna is trying to convince me to buy a set "couples shirts".) This is a random photo for the afternoon but we couldn't resist taking it when we saw what was written on this family's shirts. Take a close look at the black and yellow ones . . . What??

Here's a famous observatory in Gyeongju. It is called Cheomseongdae and was built in the 7th century. Its the oldest known observatory in Asia. It has 12 blocks for its base and 365 blocks composing the tower. Interesting . . .

Here's Shawna standing in the "Kim Forest" where the orginal Gyeongju Kim was found and named.

A stop for dinner - 20 bucks got us some Soju and about 50 different dishes!!

Our final destination in Gyeongju was Anapji Pond. An artificial pond constructed in the 7th century as part of the Silla Palace. It was really incredible to see it at night.

This was really the highlight of our trip to Gyeongju. I'm sure we'll be back here again before we leave South Korea.

I was mesmerized by the Bamboo forests and now I just have to go see the big ones in Jeolla Province. Maybe next long weekend!!