Tuesday, August 25, 2009
sigh...
goodbye from korea everyone- anyongkeseiyo... sorry the last posts were so crazy and all over the place, if you're still interested in my travels please check out mikeyeejapan.blogspot.com...
okay people... this is it... the end of my summer adventure
Hellish adventure getting to akita… never ever want to travel this way again- I hereby swear that I shall never pack sooooo much junk into suitcases, and always double check to see the actual allowed baggage, and get make sure I know how to get from the bus station to the airport… and more things I cannot presently remember.
So, according to my notebook, this is what my day was like (mind you this was on paper, while I was in actuality living this whole adventure in a still very foreign country)
4AM wakeup
last minute packing/ hanging out with the Anguay’s (who are early risers by nature)
taxi at 6AM to bus station – about 6,000 wan
bus from daegu to busan – about 8,100 wan
lost… not sure where to go from the bus station
taxi, bus station to gimhae int. airport – not sure what I was getting myself into, somehow made a deal for 40,000 wan… didn’t have it in local currency, had to pay in US, worked out the conversion, which was about 25 US plus the 10,000 wan I had… taxi driver didn’t go for it, ended up paying 40 dollars- got RIPPED OFF, but made it to the airport.
Got to the airport, went to weigh my bags to make sure they were under 23kg, found out they were both close to 25kg, made a scene unpacking and piling the excess onto my already jammed carry-ons. Got to the counter with my now underweight bags, was informed that I was only allowed ONE bag, almost fainted- recovered and made friends with the counter lady, who ended up charging me for only 12 kg over vs. 37kg, had to pay $44 dollars for the extra 12kg, went back, got my bags through, found a seat to re-pack my excess, which included my vaccum bag of t-shirts- uber heavy, and my suit and dress shirts… ended up fitting my t-shirts and dress shirts in my bags, ended up wearing my suit through the airport, and through the entire flight all the way to the haneda to akita flight… all in all a very long day I would not like to re-live ever!
Oh, and I also had to open the very very large and jammed bags probably a half dozen times because I must’ve seemed suspicious or something! This killed me, because it meant re-packing the bags a half dozen times each… then I had to go through customs and all that jazz… not my easiest day ever.
So, to re-cap,
Check in bags= 45 kg total (for both pieces)
Carry on bags= 18 kg, and 15kg (popie’s bag, and my back pack)
In total = 78kg = 171.6 lbs… carrying through japan!
So, according to my notebook, this is what my day was like (mind you this was on paper, while I was in actuality living this whole adventure in a still very foreign country)
4AM wakeup
last minute packing/ hanging out with the Anguay’s (who are early risers by nature)
taxi at 6AM to bus station – about 6,000 wan
bus from daegu to busan – about 8,100 wan
lost… not sure where to go from the bus station
taxi, bus station to gimhae int. airport – not sure what I was getting myself into, somehow made a deal for 40,000 wan… didn’t have it in local currency, had to pay in US, worked out the conversion, which was about 25 US plus the 10,000 wan I had… taxi driver didn’t go for it, ended up paying 40 dollars- got RIPPED OFF, but made it to the airport.
Got to the airport, went to weigh my bags to make sure they were under 23kg, found out they were both close to 25kg, made a scene unpacking and piling the excess onto my already jammed carry-ons. Got to the counter with my now underweight bags, was informed that I was only allowed ONE bag, almost fainted- recovered and made friends with the counter lady, who ended up charging me for only 12 kg over vs. 37kg, had to pay $44 dollars for the extra 12kg, went back, got my bags through, found a seat to re-pack my excess, which included my vaccum bag of t-shirts- uber heavy, and my suit and dress shirts… ended up fitting my t-shirts and dress shirts in my bags, ended up wearing my suit through the airport, and through the entire flight all the way to the haneda to akita flight… all in all a very long day I would not like to re-live ever!
Oh, and I also had to open the very very large and jammed bags probably a half dozen times because I must’ve seemed suspicious or something! This killed me, because it meant re-packing the bags a half dozen times each… then I had to go through customs and all that jazz… not my easiest day ever.
So, to re-cap,
Check in bags= 45 kg total (for both pieces)
Carry on bags= 18 kg, and 15kg (popie’s bag, and my back pack)
In total = 78kg = 171.6 lbs… carrying through japan!
tying up some loose ends
Shabu shabu Monday! Seriously some of the most amazing shabu shabu I’ve ever experienced! Imagine pre-packaged rice lettuce wraps, and a feast made for 3 or 4, shared with 2. Now add to this, a variety of yakimandu- all flavors and colors… simply deliciouso!!! Mrs. Kay was so nice taking us out for our last week. Food food and more food, does she know us or what?
Then today, Wednesday, another filling dinner- Mongolian, all you can eat stir-fry, amazing meats, big buffet style, everything and more. Although, this time I ate a bit less than my first experience, two vs. three plates. I just couldn’t find it in me… especially with the entire SAS staff dining with us ☺.
Last night in korea, so much fun… decided to celebrate my birthday, bowl of birthday joy, cake, kalbi, club, singing dancing, nudity, drank too much- titanic… airport next morning 4AM!!!
Then today, Wednesday, another filling dinner- Mongolian, all you can eat stir-fry, amazing meats, big buffet style, everything and more. Although, this time I ate a bit less than my first experience, two vs. three plates. I just couldn’t find it in me… especially with the entire SAS staff dining with us ☺.
Last night in korea, so much fun… decided to celebrate my birthday, bowl of birthday joy, cake, kalbi, club, singing dancing, nudity, drank too much- titanic… airport next morning 4AM!!!
seoul formal night
We’re finally here, our last weekend (my second to last), unfortunately nothing overtly epic to announce… just my good old fashioned typical weekend ;). Friday night, out with the guys from the CAC and some of the lifeguards for some sam gahp sai- Korean bacon!!! Karaoke, and some good times! Let it be known, Weevil and I scored 100 singing “you’re the one that I want”- she as john Travolta, and I as Oliva Newton John!!! Went to sleep at 2AM, then woke up around 4:30 to catch the 5AM free shuttle to Osan! Hey who needs sleep on our last weekend? Alas, I do! Crashed on the bus for a very bouncy, but successful nap. Woke up in Osan, and hung out there catching up on some skype and R&R.
That night, was our designated “formal” a hop skip and a jump away- Itaewan, Seoul. Hahaha, timing it perfectly once again (and by accident), we arrived in Seoul on another Korean holiday, one similar to our independence day… anyway, hotels were full around the surrounding areas, but we lucked out finding one of our best ones yet (not sarcastic), Capital Hotel! However, this stroke of luck came after Matt lost his wallet in one of the millions of taxi’s patrolling Seoul… killed his weekend for sure. So there we are, running around trying to find his wallet, searching for hotels, not exactly sure where we are, surrounded by foreigners and locals alike, all while sweating in the hot, humid night, wearing our formal attire- myself in my suit pants, long sleeve shirt, tie, (wisely deciding not to wear the coat), skater shoes, and hat- keeping it fly ;). Anyway, our night did not officially begin until around 10:30… but we met up with some other people, including Devin from last weekend, and Jeremy (amber’s friend) and some of his buddies. Now, don’t freak out, just laugh and enjoy this next part… We ended up at hooker hill, matt attaining the record of 4 solicitations as he scaled this mini, dirty, hill, us watching from a distance; ended up at Polly’s at the top of the hill, asked this big dude how to go about getting the one table for some pool… had to sign up. Was planning on playing Jeremy’s friend for fun, realized I signed up for a tournament style, winner moves on play… won 3 games in a row, should’ve been 4, but my last ball dropped in an uncalled pocket and the other guy got ball in hand for the 8 ball!!! Still had fun beating me some army dudes ☺. Finally retired back to the hotel where we proceeded to fit 7 people in our room made for 2- actually a comfortable fit, and slept soundly until the next morning!
The next morning, we were to meet up with Jeremy for some sushi at Nico Nico’s again- gotta love their “love love” roll! Were gonna check out, jump a subway, get some lunch, do some exploring- I really wanted to see the electonic market, and catch the free shuttles home getting back around 8… Seoul had other plans for us. To give you an idea of our day, know that I am currently blogging on the bus ride back (it’s almost 10), partnered only with one of our original 5 person group! Let me back track a bit though… woke up, checked out, all okay, if a little bit late. Then we tried to walk to a subway station we didn’t exactly know the exact location of, got tired and hot, waved down some cabs, rode to the next available subway, got on (matt stopping by the hotel one last time to check for his wallet)… it hadn’t turned up, got on the subway, took much longer than we anticipated, now running late, after pushing up the lunch date time, frantically run to catch our transfer line, just make it, discover two stops later we are going the wrong direction, get out, hop the other one going the opposite direction, now even more late and starving, finally arrive at lunch, eat some delicious sushi rolls, make plans for a red mango stop before heading home; finish lunch, walk out toward red mango, decide we might be cutting it close to our departure time, get in some taxis going to camp Youngsan (split into two groups being 5 people big), miss our destination by a couple blocks with about 7 minutes until the bus departs, waste a few minutes completely lost, trying to figure out our next move, matt realizes where we are, speed off on foot toward the base, are blocked by a big wall with barbed wire and no gate, decide to go to Seoul Station and catch a train to Osan for the free shuttle hoping to beat our (victorious- on the bus, counterparts from the partner taxi), miss our train by minutes, have to wait an hour and a half, do some in station shopping, finally get on our train, ride uneventfully, split from matt who tells us to shuttle it to a nearby Songtan (then taxi it to the base), arrive at Songtan with time to kill, decide to walk our way back to base; get lost, walk some hills, got some ice cream, did some Korean 200 wan (quarter) machines, got some stickers, walk around, find cab, catch it to base (waaaaay off from where we were), arrive near base, get some AMAZING yaki mandu- some of the best yet (which is saying something), remembered we had neglected mandu street, made mandu street plans for the upcoming week, taxi’d our way to the bus station, made it, bringing us full circle to where I began… oh and all this happened while we carried our weekend bags (me including my suit…). All in all, another very very successful weekend, typical, hilarious, fun, and the type of adventure we’ve become accustomed to. Especially Weevil and I, who are probably too chill and flexible for our own good ☺. Lastly, I caught up on some homework, and spent almost an entire battery charge writing on the bus! This was definitely a great weekend to end on- the gang all together, some minor hiccoughs (matt got screwed), good times, new memories made, and excellent company!!!
That night, was our designated “formal” a hop skip and a jump away- Itaewan, Seoul. Hahaha, timing it perfectly once again (and by accident), we arrived in Seoul on another Korean holiday, one similar to our independence day… anyway, hotels were full around the surrounding areas, but we lucked out finding one of our best ones yet (not sarcastic), Capital Hotel! However, this stroke of luck came after Matt lost his wallet in one of the millions of taxi’s patrolling Seoul… killed his weekend for sure. So there we are, running around trying to find his wallet, searching for hotels, not exactly sure where we are, surrounded by foreigners and locals alike, all while sweating in the hot, humid night, wearing our formal attire- myself in my suit pants, long sleeve shirt, tie, (wisely deciding not to wear the coat), skater shoes, and hat- keeping it fly ;). Anyway, our night did not officially begin until around 10:30… but we met up with some other people, including Devin from last weekend, and Jeremy (amber’s friend) and some of his buddies. Now, don’t freak out, just laugh and enjoy this next part… We ended up at hooker hill, matt attaining the record of 4 solicitations as he scaled this mini, dirty, hill, us watching from a distance; ended up at Polly’s at the top of the hill, asked this big dude how to go about getting the one table for some pool… had to sign up. Was planning on playing Jeremy’s friend for fun, realized I signed up for a tournament style, winner moves on play… won 3 games in a row, should’ve been 4, but my last ball dropped in an uncalled pocket and the other guy got ball in hand for the 8 ball!!! Still had fun beating me some army dudes ☺. Finally retired back to the hotel where we proceeded to fit 7 people in our room made for 2- actually a comfortable fit, and slept soundly until the next morning!
The next morning, we were to meet up with Jeremy for some sushi at Nico Nico’s again- gotta love their “love love” roll! Were gonna check out, jump a subway, get some lunch, do some exploring- I really wanted to see the electonic market, and catch the free shuttles home getting back around 8… Seoul had other plans for us. To give you an idea of our day, know that I am currently blogging on the bus ride back (it’s almost 10), partnered only with one of our original 5 person group! Let me back track a bit though… woke up, checked out, all okay, if a little bit late. Then we tried to walk to a subway station we didn’t exactly know the exact location of, got tired and hot, waved down some cabs, rode to the next available subway, got on (matt stopping by the hotel one last time to check for his wallet)… it hadn’t turned up, got on the subway, took much longer than we anticipated, now running late, after pushing up the lunch date time, frantically run to catch our transfer line, just make it, discover two stops later we are going the wrong direction, get out, hop the other one going the opposite direction, now even more late and starving, finally arrive at lunch, eat some delicious sushi rolls, make plans for a red mango stop before heading home; finish lunch, walk out toward red mango, decide we might be cutting it close to our departure time, get in some taxis going to camp Youngsan (split into two groups being 5 people big), miss our destination by a couple blocks with about 7 minutes until the bus departs, waste a few minutes completely lost, trying to figure out our next move, matt realizes where we are, speed off on foot toward the base, are blocked by a big wall with barbed wire and no gate, decide to go to Seoul Station and catch a train to Osan for the free shuttle hoping to beat our (victorious- on the bus, counterparts from the partner taxi), miss our train by minutes, have to wait an hour and a half, do some in station shopping, finally get on our train, ride uneventfully, split from matt who tells us to shuttle it to a nearby Songtan (then taxi it to the base), arrive at Songtan with time to kill, decide to walk our way back to base; get lost, walk some hills, got some ice cream, did some Korean 200 wan (quarter) machines, got some stickers, walk around, find cab, catch it to base (waaaaay off from where we were), arrive near base, get some AMAZING yaki mandu- some of the best yet (which is saying something), remembered we had neglected mandu street, made mandu street plans for the upcoming week, taxi’d our way to the bus station, made it, bringing us full circle to where I began… oh and all this happened while we carried our weekend bags (me including my suit…). All in all, another very very successful weekend, typical, hilarious, fun, and the type of adventure we’ve become accustomed to. Especially Weevil and I, who are probably too chill and flexible for our own good ☺. Lastly, I caught up on some homework, and spent almost an entire battery charge writing on the bus! This was definitely a great weekend to end on- the gang all together, some minor hiccoughs (matt got screwed), good times, new memories made, and excellent company!!!
more osan anyone?
Sunday, shopping, I finally got my suit along with many other things I probably didn’t need… including 3 mink/micro fiber blankets- mer and meg get ready, these things are unnaturally warm and comfortable! My suit came in, labeled to be the property of a Michael Lee… but if you squint, the L is very much a Y, so it’s all-good. Got some trinkets as well, but the most notable purchases were just good old shirts and board-shorts. The lady was very nice, but not willing to cut me any sort of deal. We established a pretty good flow of communication with the belief that kindness pays off more than just the cold shoulder, gonna walk if I don’t get my way deal. However, in the process of working my angle, I got playful scoldings from the shop-keeper lady in the form of hand slaps, and titty twisters! In total I got two purple nurples, but $10 dollars off (which was on top of what she was originally going to cut off). I was shocked to say the least, but smiling the whole time- and she said because I wasn’t married it was okay- hahaha, it was definitely an experience I’ve never had haggling before! I entered the market place with nothing, but left with an empty wallet, and many many lbs. of goods weighing me down! A good day of shopping, then back to camp Humphrey’s for our bags, some dinner with our new friend Devin, and then on to the free shuttle back home!
a little bit of north korea
Friday, all I can say is, shenanigans… some things are funnier in a few years. You know how in certain situations you reach a point of hilarium (hilarious-delirium)? And in such states, you are not always at the top of your game when it comes to making smart decisions? Well, friends never let friends do stupid things… alone. Just watch the video, hopefully it shines some light on our Friday night- sorry Cicada, Ladybug, Matt, and Trevor…
Saturday, with tensions still a little high, we ventured off to good ol’ north korea! It really was something else! Although not what I was expecting, the DMZ was intimidating all the same. Let it be known… I HAVE STEPPED FOOT INTO NORTH KOREA!!! Even if I was in the neutral zone at the time of my alleged step; I was still on the N. Korea side when I did so! There were so many cameras everywhere, and the feeling of the environment more than anything had a taste of seriousness. The attitudes and characteristics of the soldiers made the gravity of the situation almost palpable! Hey faj, I also saw the most dangerous golf course in the world located on Camp Bonafice, surrounded on 3 sides by live mines and armed guards! We learned that Kim, Zhong yil, the current head honcho of N. Korea was rumored to have a terminal illness, and with all the proposed actions of the Kim’s (father and son), and with nothing really to show up until this point for the last 60 years, the diagnosed illness may be the reason for the current activity of the North Koreans. His son (youngest) is rumored to be in line for power… unfortunately, this is not the son who likes Disneyland- a fact mentioned by our guide. We also learned that while the majority of the people living in N. Korea are malnourished, surviving off of little to nothing, Kim Zhang yil has feasts every meal, and charges his guests thousands of dollars to dine with him.
On a side note, our meal for the day was an all you can eat AMAZING Korean buffet! However, just knowing how a television alone would cost a year’s salary to purchase in N. Korea, sort of took away from the gluttony that was our lunch…
Our tour guide was really great! She was actually the descendants of former (defected***) North Koreans, and told us her family story as well as filling us in on all kinds of other things. A cruel joke told in korea is, “what makes the mountains of North and South Korea different”?... South Korea has trees- implying that North Korea does not due to the lack of fossil fuels and supplies, meaning the trees have to be burned in their stead…
Saturday, with tensions still a little high, we ventured off to good ol’ north korea! It really was something else! Although not what I was expecting, the DMZ was intimidating all the same. Let it be known… I HAVE STEPPED FOOT INTO NORTH KOREA!!! Even if I was in the neutral zone at the time of my alleged step; I was still on the N. Korea side when I did so! There were so many cameras everywhere, and the feeling of the environment more than anything had a taste of seriousness. The attitudes and characteristics of the soldiers made the gravity of the situation almost palpable! Hey faj, I also saw the most dangerous golf course in the world located on Camp Bonafice, surrounded on 3 sides by live mines and armed guards! We learned that Kim, Zhong yil, the current head honcho of N. Korea was rumored to have a terminal illness, and with all the proposed actions of the Kim’s (father and son), and with nothing really to show up until this point for the last 60 years, the diagnosed illness may be the reason for the current activity of the North Koreans. His son (youngest) is rumored to be in line for power… unfortunately, this is not the son who likes Disneyland- a fact mentioned by our guide. We also learned that while the majority of the people living in N. Korea are malnourished, surviving off of little to nothing, Kim Zhang yil has feasts every meal, and charges his guests thousands of dollars to dine with him.
On a side note, our meal for the day was an all you can eat AMAZING Korean buffet! However, just knowing how a television alone would cost a year’s salary to purchase in N. Korea, sort of took away from the gluttony that was our lunch…
Our tour guide was really great! She was actually the descendants of former (defected***) North Koreans, and told us her family story as well as filling us in on all kinds of other things. A cruel joke told in korea is, “what makes the mountains of North and South Korea different”?... South Korea has trees- implying that North Korea does not due to the lack of fossil fuels and supplies, meaning the trees have to be burned in their stead…
blowfish... and still breathing!
Monday in Korea means it’s time to risk our lives once again… this time, blowfish! Actually, not life threatening in the least. One of our co-workers, a summer intern from the university, Ms. Liz, totally had an “in”. Her uncle, just happened to own a blowfish restaurant… no big deal right? Seriously!!! What are the chances? We had quite the amazing meal! Under the recommendations of her uncle, we ordered the set, which included some raw skin and slices of the blowfish, then on to some slightly larger chunks in a sauce I can’t quite remember at the moment, then on to my favorite- blowfish bulgogi!!! SOOOOO ONO!!! It was tender chunks of blowfish in a tangy, garlic-esq reduction- which was good enough to be eaten alone with a spoon… as proven by Mr. Trevor ☺. The fish itself reminded me initially of catfish, but proved itself to be much more delicious in its own unique way. Then after the bulgogi, we had it deep fried, tempura style, which was also to die for, and a very very close second on my list! We finished the meal off with a lighter blowfish soup, and then… as is tradition (at least my tradition), we took pictures with our group and hosts! Did I forget to mention we got to hold some real blowfish (not alive) after dinner as well??? Because we did!
After dinner we headed back, on the Daegu subway (our first time ever, can you believe it???), got back to the gate, realized we were jones-ing for some red bean ice cream, had to wander off to satisfy the craving, ended up getting something else instead, and explored the 1000 wan store… then got locked out of our intended gate, had to catch a taxi to the other one, and finally, turned in for the night, happy, satisfied, and just a little dizzy… I’m gonna blame that part on the blowfish- why not right?
After dinner we headed back, on the Daegu subway (our first time ever, can you believe it???), got back to the gate, realized we were jones-ing for some red bean ice cream, had to wander off to satisfy the craving, ended up getting something else instead, and explored the 1000 wan store… then got locked out of our intended gate, had to catch a taxi to the other one, and finally, turned in for the night, happy, satisfied, and just a little dizzy… I’m gonna blame that part on the blowfish- why not right?
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