Reflecting on Philippines Days Past

Today was one of those days I reflected about the past. You know, you're somewhere and you see something that triggers a memory that makes you think of something else which wakes up a dormant quadrant of your brain and then the floodgates open. So I never wrote about my time in the Philippines from 2010. I'm not sure I even remember why I went there, but I think it had something to do with having a friend from my Istanbul days who was now living in Manila.

So one of my Korean teaching colleagues and I decided we were sick of the wretched Seoul winter of 2009/2010 (it was a record cold and snowy one), and we wanted some fun and sun. Enter the idea of basking on the beaches of Boracay Island. I hadn't heard much about the island before, but I didn't need much convincing. The plan was, we would visit my Turkey friend and her boyfriend in Manila, spend a few days there, then jet off to Boracay.

The heat of the Philippines was a welcome change, but the smog, lack of green space, and general dirtiness were not. Apparently, before you're too turned off, this is really only an issue with the capital city. Most people visiting the Philippines, literally touch down, switch planes, and set off to a remote island/mountain/beach/jungle getaway. Manila had it's pros, but more about that later. To get to the island of Boracay, you have to fly (in our case a turbo prop) to the city of Caticlan (you can also fly to Kalibo) then take a bumpy boat ride to the island.

It's a tourist trap! But what did you expect? Should you go? Sure! Must you go? Not necessarily; there are many other amazing places to visit in the Philippines. We took a gamble coming without a hotel reservation, but we walked around (for a long time while trying to be "guided" by helpful residents) and finally found a newer hotel, tucked behind some other buildings. We had an amazing week of fresh seafood meals, excellent breakfasts (Real Coffee & Tea Cafe is awesome), lazy days in the sand, fresh juices, fire dancing called poi, and fabulous beach sunsets. We even met a super nice bartender named Bong (who actually came recommended from Seoul friends) that made some wickedly strong but delicious drinks called "Miss Boracays." Overall, a very relaxing time well spent!

Jovial Jeju

(~December 2009)

My first domestic trip was to Jeju! Jeju is a small island south of the ROK. Koreans eagerly refer to it as the "Hawaii of Korea." While I think this is probably a slight, perhaps large, over exaggeration of Jeju, it is still a very nice place! My friend Misuk booked the tickets for us and off we went. Interestingly, you don't need to worry about liquids when you are flying domestically in Korea.

As we exited the Airport, Misuk began looking for our rental car office. She started to walk towards the parking lot with no offices in site, but little did I know that the small island of Jeju is also home to small "offices," too. Here was our rental car "office:"

And our rental car was also small, a Daewoo Matiz:

Trying to find our hotel in Seogwipo (complete other end of the island) ended up being a small adventure since our GPS led us astray. I still like to think it was a mixture of Misuk and the GPS, but after a frustrated Misuk called the rental car agency, one of the people drove all the way down to meet us and give us a new GPS system. Sometimes, I really can't get over the customer support that Koreans offer, amazing!

Because I'm an idiot and didn't write this entry soon after I traveled, I have forgotten much of the specifics. Honestly, this is probably a good thing for anybody who is reading this. Our hotel was nothing out of the ordinary, but it did have the ondol floors (heated floors), which I love. On the first day, Misuk helped me get a mobile phone. We also got lunch at a noodle place where they served "super spicy noodles." They were awesome, and the owners of the restaurant were somewhat excited to see me that they offered me a special tea and dessert on the house, too nice!

Next we went to one of the many waterfall parks in Jeju. Honestly, if you've ever been to Jeju, you've been to one of these parks.

Over the next few days, we also went to the Lotte Hotel to see it's very well down courtyard. The hotel and courtyard sit right next to the ocean. I didn't take pictures of it, but they also setup an ice skating rink. Next, we went to a famous rock formation, then to a traditional folk village. No exciting pictures to post, so you'll just have to roll with me. In the village we did encounter some fenced ostriches that were super mean and lunged repeatedly at me! I'm telling you, pure evil!

One morning, we decided to hike Mount Halla. We took the shortest trail, and I decided to jog up it. Big mistake! It was chilly and, obviously, colder as you got higher and higher. An immediate headache and a quick decision to turn around after about a half to three quarters up the trail. I did meet some cool Koreans, that were probably wondering to themselves who this foreigner idiot is trying to run up this mountain trail with uneven ground and cold weather. Lunch immediately followed in order to warm up. We had grilled fish that looks a bit scary, but when you realize it's just been butterflied and delicious, it ain't so bad and actually very good:

The following day we did some island island hopping. Turns out there are beautiful islands surrounding the island of Jeju. Don't remember the names but we took a ferry (I must mention that the ferry also had ondol floors) to one of them and immediately took a bus tour of the island. Apparently this driver/tour guide was hilarious, but I didn't understand any of it.

The beaches, especially the water, around this island were beautiful. I can imagine when the season is right and the weather is warmer, these areas must really be amazing!

The last few days in Jeju included seeing a few more parks, a Hummer on the road, rock formations, waterfalls,

and one Buddhist temple that was gladly celebrating the birth of Christ:

Overall, a wonderful diversion from being literally stuck in one country, and I must thank Misuk again for coordinating everything! I would love to return to Jeju, but next time I'll make sure it's a bit warmer!

Stuck in Seoul, Sorta!

(November/December 2009)

I decided to head back to the US for about a month, so I could get my updated paperwork to teach another camp in Korea. This camp didn't start until January, but I decided to head back early December, so I could visit another few countries during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. That plan stopped dead in its tracks since the Korean consulate and Korean immigration didn't see eye to eye. It turned out that even though the consulate said I could enter Korea on my work visa and exit with permission then reenter again to work, this was not the case. If I were to leave Korea, my work visa would become invalid since it was a single entry. Soooo, my early arrival to Korea meant I had a month to kill in the winter without the ability to leave the country. Fortunately, I found domestic diversions to eat up my time.

During my first few days back, I stayed at the Bebop Guesthouse in Seoul again. I met some great people and even met a mutual friend of someone I went to university with. So to put it into perspective, a guy I knew from the University of Iowa in the United States was friends with a guy vacationing in Seoul, Korea that was living in Tokyo, Japan. Small world as the cliche goes, and it may not be that exciting for others, but it was exciting for us at the time. I also met some lovely British gals, Hayley and Sara, who seemingly understood my ROK dilemma (being stuck in the country). They offered me the chance to visit the sights, sounds, and fellow teachers of Jecheon one weekend, which I gladly accepted. While the town wasn't all that much, sorry Hayley and Sara, the people and hospitality more than made up for it! Everyone just bonds so much better when they travel!

Couch Hopping Around Seoul

(September/October 2009)
After returning from Sokcho, we decided to try something a bit different, couchsurfing! After sending a number of requests, we ended up staying with Jordan, an American teaching English in Nowon (northeast of Seoul) for one night, and David, also an American teaching English in Nowon (and coincidentally just down the street from Jordan) for two nights. Both hosts were awesome and hospitable and, oddly enough, Mac lovers! David even gave me two books for me to take along and read A Man Without A Country by Kurt Vonnegut and Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.

After Lydia left, I went back to Bebop Guesthouse for a day. While there an American, a French guy, and I randomly befriended a Korean guy, while out for a few drinks, who wanted to speak French to us all night, while showing us Korean hospitality, literally from 2am to 11:30 am the next day! Needless to say, your circadian rhythm goes awry! I also had the satisfying experience of visiting a batting cage in Insadong and hitting balls for 1000KRW or about 80 cents, visiting Kyobo bookstore, and walking all the way from Insadong to Mapo-gu (it's a long way and we got lost)!

The next day, I decided to couchsurf with two awesome American girls from Minnesota (which I don't hold against them, hopefully they read this). They gave me their spare room, we baked cookies (well, they did, I ate them), drank wine, ate shabu shabu, and I tried to make them dinner and do their dishes in appreciation for their hospitality. Oh, and I should mention that their neighbor loved (and still does love) to listen to John Denver, Take Me Home Country Roads specifically. Ohhhh, Korea!

Sokcho, Seoraksan, and Stuff

I had seen a map sometime ago of Sokcho at Bebop Guesthouse, and for some reason, the nice bubbly cartoon looking map (published by the tourism board of Korea) inspired me to visit there. Lydia didn't really have a preference what she saw outside of Seoul, so we jumped on a bus and headed two or so hours east towards Sokcho. It's a coastal town that doesn't sit too far from the North Korean border. Overall it's a bit of a sleepy town, but it has it's "famous" sights.

We also had the opportunity to ride a ferry that runs via a cable under the water and has to be powered by it's passengers

An eerily quiet bridge

Sokcho beach

The lovely Seoraksan National Park where we ate mountain vegetables bibimbap and the lovely people that attempted to not get in the picture:

Climbing to the top

and striking the pose the mountain patrol guy suggested

We also had daily pilgrimages downtown looking for wi-fi, coffee, breakfast, and sometimes soju (but not for breakfast :). We were successful in every respect, though I'm not sure Lydia enjoyed the soju too much. I don't blame her it's an acquired taste, or for some . . . never!

My Friends, the Visitors, Part 2

A day after Desta leaves, Lydia comes to visit. Lydia was visiting from Konstanz, Germany, though I also met her in Istanbul as she was one of my friends and roommates. The days in Seoul again consisted of Korean BBQ, Gyeongbok Palace,

Cheonggyecheon Stream, though this time we saw a laser light show in the mist they spray

Bukchon Hanok village (traditional looking houses, though they were all newly maintained and renovated to look old)

But the new happenings included Changdeok Palace and its secret gardens, Yongsan Station's huge electronics stores, Myeongdong shopping district, Namdaemun and Dongdaemun night markets, eating gimbap almost daily (thank you GS25!)
the Han River boat tour (which, after living in Istanbul and going along the Bosphorus River everyday, turned out to be a wee bit disappointing)

going up North Seoul Tower

the men's bathroom of the N Seoul Tower reminded me of the women's restroom at the Signature Room at the 95th in Chicago's Hancock Building, minus the urinals  (I know this only because I've seen the window when the ladies' door swings open, honestly!)

I also met a few of Lydia's German friends that were visiting/working in Seoul. The power of Facebook and it's ability to notify anyone and everyone where they are in this world can actually be pretty neat.

My Friends, the Visitors

(September 2009)
Back to back visitors coming to Korea to visit me! This is great! Friday afternoon I take the bus from Busan back to Seoul. I'm worried I'm going to be late to meet my first visitor, Desta. This would be the same Desta from Istanbul that took CELTA with me, though this time she is visiting from Manila, Philippines. Desta booked the lovely Bebop Guesthouse, and I'm so glad she did. Definitely a place worth staying at if you are ever in Seoul. Because her flight was delayed, we were forced to eat dinner a bit late. I'll never forget this meal, and to this day I still don't (and don't want to) know what I ate. Fortunately, it was really the only bad meal I had while there, bad first meal for Desta though!

After backpacking through Korea for almost two weeks, and Desta having just completed a whirlwind Japanese trip, neither of us were anxious to go out and explore. Every morning consisted of toast, eggs, and coffee at Bebop accompanied with sitting on the couch and good conversation. The afternoons are when we actually explored, but often included more coffee breaks at random coffee houses.
We did successfully visit:

Gyeongbok Palace and witnessed the changing of the guards (I think)

Cheonggyecheon Stream (which is a stream they unearthed smack in the middle of Seoul)






Ate Korean BBQ many times, including one time where we befriended three Korean girls in their early 30's who were so excited it was Friday and they were free of their children and husbands that they consumed entirely too much soju, and one girl ended up on the floor. If I only had snapped a photo!

Met the famous Hongdae Makgeolli Man

Discovered mural alley, with new friends, through pure happenstance

We also visited Bukchon Hanok village, the open air market, the National Museum of Korea (where Desta was thought to be a gypsy by an old Korean woman), ate dak galbi in Gangnam, did a lot of perusing, more coffee, and meeting lots of other random travelers at Bebop including an Italian guy bouncing around the world, an American girl teaching English in Japan, two Canadians girls teaching here, a Mexican girl visiting here, and some US military boys enjoying their weekend off. Thanks for visiting Desta et à bientôt! Worth noting that Desta almost couldn't make it back to Manila since they had their huge flood as soon as she had left the Philippines, but fortunately she did!

Busan Blunder

I failed to mention one somewhat humorous event that happened while in Busan. In an attempt to do some hiking around the hills of Busan, though I was actually seeking out the famous yeomso gogi (grilled goat meat) in Sanseong Village, I got lost. I read my guide book's directions pretty well, but watching some other foreign foreigners (that means they were European) that looked like they knew what they were doing, I followed them off the bus in the middle of nowhere. Once I realized they were lost, I pretended to know what I was doing (I mean, who wants to admit they are lost, right?) and walk up some random hill only to find the hill keeps going and going and going and leading to a temple. I did get some funny looks from people who were probably wondering, "What is this strange guy doing walking up a hill that leads to nowhere?" So, tired and without having tried the famous goat or mountain rice wine, I trek down the hill, catch the bus back to my hosts place, only to eat Ramen noodles! Still an enjoyable day, but no pictures to remember it by, only this story!

Braving Beautiful Busan

In the afternoon, I headed to Busan, Korea's second largest city, to continue couchsurfing the country. My hostess, Marisa, was an ESL teacher from the US. She was a great hostess and had a real shower instead of one of the combined toilet/sink/shower rooms. I visited Haeundae Beach (there is Korean blockbuster movie about this place) and Jagalchi Fish Market nearby,

ate a "real" hamburger with Australian beef (they won't import from the US after Mad Cow), saw yet another temple, went to Taejongdae

partook in Busan expat nightlife, got lost around downtown, attempted to buy knockoff CK underwear, ate Mexican food, and perhaps one of my most gratifying experiences (thanks to Ann, my second Busan CS host)--went to a jimjilbang. If you are in Korea, you should go. They are in inexpensive spa like experiences with hot tubs of varying temperatures (including cold) and mixes (water, mineral, essential oil) and hot and cold saunas. You do have to be in the buff in the hot tubs and shower areas (same gender, of course) but they have co-ed (if you like) sauna areas you can relax in. You can also sleep overnight in a jimjilbang. I believe the cost to enter this one was about 10,000KRW or about 8USD. Oh yeah, Ann also had a washing machine that doubled as a dryer. I've never seen that before, and I was impressed! FYI: All my CS hosts receive lovely gifts from me that include chocolate digestive cookies and regular chocolate and sometimes wine or sansachun. I'm a great guest, aren't I? Pay no attention to the fact, that I also enjoy these items and have been known to consume them with my hosts!

Going Good in Gyeongju

I caught a bus from Andong to Gyeongju where a professor responded to a post I put in the CS forum. He teaches English and Tourism at Gyeongju University and encourages his students to host CSers to learn about other cultures and practice their English. In all, I was indirectly hosted by 4 or 5 students. The first student that hosted me was Lu, a Chinese international student studying in Korea. He picked me up from the bus station and we headed back to his dormitory for dinner. I did feel a bit bad since in order to host me, he booted his roommate out to give me a place to stay.

The next day I made my way to Gyeongju University to meet Professor Chay and his students. It was actually a great experience as everyone was eager to meet the "foreigner" (in more ways than one, right?). Professor Chay and his students were wonderful. Professor Chay told me I could couchsurf at his flat. He would stay somewhere else with some friends, and two of his students would stay with me to host and have a cultural exchange.

Over the next couple of days, I visited the Royal Tomb Complex (which consists of a boatload of things to see)

Anapji Pond, which seemed very peaceful and relaxing

Bulgoksa Temple and the good luck magic rat, and

Seokguram Grotto, but you cannot take a picture inside of the Buddha

I walked a fair bit and even visited a Korean all you can eat joint. Not surprisingly, I ate too much, I have a habit of that!