Below are another 4 images of Seoul, to maybe summarise the last few days of my stay in Korea.
The one at the bottom of the 4 pictures was taken after a shopping trip in Dongdaemoon, the Korean fashion town where you have about 3 huge apartment stores with many floors in each, retail shopping mall houses and other shops and markets. I think we were walking just a short distance down the road to get something to eat but we saw about 3 of these stages, two of which were in use. We stopped for a little while to see these 5 girls doing dance routines to Korean pop music. On the other stage a guy was singing. In general it seems the Koreans like singing and dancing in public, well like karaoke as well. I guess a very Asian thing... But Dondaemoon is huge, or at least the shopping malls are huge! We only made it through one (in one afternoon), not trying to get lost. Each floor has loads of stalls, they are shops but all open kind of thing, and you can really get lost even on one floor, let alone on the other 10.
The second last picture was taken in the very centre of Seoul, well if there is such thing as a centre. It was the start of a long night out - a Saturday night and Hyunsun's birthday party which we started off with going for dinner with Byoungwon another one of Taey's friends who we had met before for a cinema visit (the new Michael Gondry film) and drinks. Seoul looks better at night when all the lights and signs are on, which they are during the day too, but you can see more the ugly buildings underneath and you can't at nighttime.
That almost seamlessly goes over into the next picture which shows the main birthday crew. After a few drinks and a few more friends we were the ones that went into one of those places where you can hire a room for karaoke. It has its own name in Korea but I can't remember what it's called. It was quite embarrassing, cause the owners took a picture of us because there was a non-Korean in the group. They also wanted me to write them a message on a piece of paper, so I put down my name and where I was from etc. All of Taey's friends could sing like they could be a contestant for Popstars, and I mean that not in a bad way! Needless to say, I felt a bit shy to sing, cause I can't sing at all. I need alcohol for that and I was drinking orange juice, so no chance there :)
After that just Dongwon, Jaeyoung, Taey and I went dancing. It was a house club that played really good music (normally not my thing), and also the first place with almost only non-Asians. I was really surprised cause the whole time in Seoul I must have only seen the odd non-Korean person, usually in a touristy place. But this club was full of them.
We then rejoined with the others who had eaten yet again in a restaurant, and we went for more drinks and of course more food! Until the morning hours. So my last picture is dedicated to a beautiful morning in Seoul, with amazing light. I think Taey and I made it back around 10 in the morning. If Taey wouldn't have stayed awake we would have gone past Paju for sure, while I was banging my head against the window cause I was half asleep, but could not get myself to stay awake. A wonder I didn't get a bump on my forehead...
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The food special!
Below you'll find a selection of food that I had when I was in South Korea. It is really just a selection cause I could have filled many pages of blog if I would have wanted to show everything. The hobby of Koreans is eat, so you can imagine how much food we had. Generally I really liked the food. They have a nice spice (as in heat) to their dishes, not too much and not too mild either. I did get used to eating fish for breakfast :) a habit I won't keep once back in Europe. In fact, those days seem already to be over cause I got to Tokyo last night, staying with German friends, so the Nutella and toast came out this morning!
But my favourites were probably bulgogi, jeon and the spicy squid as a side dish. Taey's mum made a really nice dish that had also squid in it, with vegetables in a dark more soy-like sauce, again with a good spice. I don't have a pic of that but that I found most tasty!
But my favourites were probably bulgogi, jeon and the spicy squid as a side dish. Taey's mum made a really nice dish that had also squid in it, with vegetables in a dark more soy-like sauce, again with a good spice. I don't have a pic of that but that I found most tasty!
mandu
the dish on the left is mandu. Mandu are Korean dumplings and this particular one was samchungtong. I can't remember what the filling was, but it's Taey's favourite!
side dishes and jeon
jeon are all different type of korean pizza. very nice!
oh-jing-u-jut is a squid spicy pickle and myul-chi-bbok-um is small fish fried. The squid pickle was my favourute, but then I love squid anyway...
cha-dol-bae-gi & soon dae
cha-dol-bae-gi, wich is soft beef with thin spring onion. This is very nice and was one of the dishes we had in a restaurant when we went out with one of Taey's friends.
soon dae, which, I think, are the insides of a pig, but am not entirely sure. This specific dish is in North Korean style as the chef of the restaurant is North Korean.
bulgogi
this is bulgogi, probably the best known korean dish. pork or beef is being fried and either wrapped into salad leaves with other pickle or just eaten with sticky rice. Very nice!
jang-ban-jja-jang and the penis fish
this is some fish we saw at the market in Pusan. We named it penis fish and something we didn't wanna try.
this is jang-ban-jja-jang, which is a big dish with a certain korean type chinese noodle with spice.
hae-mul-tang
hae-mul-tang is a spicy seafood soup. haemul means seafood and tang means boiling soup with various ingredients. It's very yummy!
jo-gae-gui
This is what we had on new year's eve on Kanghwa-do island. Mussles and other shell fish was grilled. When the mussles popped open they were dead and ready to eat. Would a mussle not fully pop open or take a long time, it would mean it's old.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
The temple in Gyeongju - 2
This is the main temple for praying. It has huge buddha statues inside. Obviously, we were not allowed to take photos in there.
Monday, January 8, 2007
Our trip to Busan
It's Friday morning, Taey is already in town, so I make my way with her mum to Seoul to pick her up and then start our 6 hour drive to Pusan or Busan as it is spelled now. I am still feeling rough, so Taey's mum gets really concerned cause I don't eat. Hence no food pictures are being taken at the beginning of the trip :)
I think, it was about 4 in the afternoon when we made it to Busan. We were trying to meet or find Taey's uncle, her mum's younger brother which turned out to be quite difficult, cause the navigation system didn't quite do what we wanted it to do and there were two places with the same name. AND Busan is HUGE!!! Ok, it is the second largest city in South Korea, but that it is THAT big, I wouldn't have thought.
Meeting Taey's uncle was a real experience! He converted to buddhism about 15 years ago, meaning he is a monk, living like a monk. Now I really wish I could have said more than just 'Hello' and 'Thank you' in Korean. So, we went for dinner with him, after seeing his flat which is a temple at the same time. Every day he has people coming to his temple to pray and/or to practice and learn buddhism. He has three huge buddha statues in his 'living room'.
At dinner we make an odd group: Taey's mum, Taey, a Korean monk and me! We went to a Japanese restaurant, where we had Japanese food that still tasted Korean :)
After dinner, Taey's uncle called the taxi driver who would bring him home (for free) and show us our accommodation place. The taxi escorted us all acros town to the beach where we would stay in a motel - a love motel apparently, of which you have many in Korea as you are not allowed to stay with each other unless you are married. Or are suppose to... They should get rid of the condom and vibrator selling machines (next to the elevators!) when they submit families to the motel as well!
Anyway, we check in and go for another coffee or hot chocolate with Taey's uncle and the taxi driver and look at the night beach. I have an friendly argument with him about English football teams. Expressing my dislike for Man U didn't go down that well, but with my new hair I apparently look like Beckham. LOL - no comments on this one please... :)
The next morning we are having spicy fish soup for breakfast. Luckily my stomach was feeling much better, but I still couldn't quite believe me eating spicy fish soup at 9 in the morning. So I tried not to think about the time and just enjoyed the yummy taste!
After that we were off to Taejongdae Park, which is at the tip of Yeongdo Island in the South of Busan. It took us two hours to get there - again a sign of how big Busan really is. Then we went back into town to the fish market. I love markets, so this one too. Busy, fish-hacking Koreans, shouting at everyone passing by - fantastic! :) It's fine being non-Asien cause they don't even try it with you, as they asume you don't understand anyway - not that I would, I'm just saying.
Opposite the market I saw the entrance of the Pusan International Film Festival - Yey!!! :)
Then we've picked up Taey's uncle again and made our way to Gyeongju, which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom (the strongest and longest lasting Kingdom of old out of the 3 they had). It's called 'the museum without walls' cause of its historical buildings and artifacts all over the city. It's one of the only cities where the buildings were not destroyed in the Korean war, therefore there are no high apartment towers but original housing. Very nice and impressive. I just wished we would have arrived earlier so that we'd had more daylight. But Taey's uncle showed us the main temple in Gyeongju. We got in with our car and without problems, again, it was nice to have a monk with us. He also told us loads of interesting things about the temple life and the monks. I really enjoyed that. At dinner later we had the chance to ask more questions. Again, I wish I could have understood him. Poor Taey had to translate the whole time, so thank you for that.
When we spent the time down in the South of Korea, it snowed in Seoul, so we missed the whole thing. Now snow is still out and it's bitter cold, but dry and sunshine - very nice. People in the South are apparently much more friendly. A guy at a service station showed that by expressing a lot of compliments towards me only because I said 'Hello' and 'Thank you' in Korean. He told Taey that I spoke very well, to which I replied to him in English: 'Not really.' But he didn't stop being very enthusiastic and woudn't stop splattering out loads of compliments, lol! In Seoul I couldn't impress anyone with that. On the island at New Years Eve I've stunned a few kids. I think, I must have been the first person they met that didn't look like them. And that I said what my name is in Korean stunned them even more :) They were very cute though. In general, all the kids are very cute here, the women beautiful and the men grumpy ugly ones. Apart from Jae-hyung :) I hope, I haven't offended anyone now... sorry if I have... just my personal taste... :)
more soon... jx
I think, it was about 4 in the afternoon when we made it to Busan. We were trying to meet or find Taey's uncle, her mum's younger brother which turned out to be quite difficult, cause the navigation system didn't quite do what we wanted it to do and there were two places with the same name. AND Busan is HUGE!!! Ok, it is the second largest city in South Korea, but that it is THAT big, I wouldn't have thought.
Meeting Taey's uncle was a real experience! He converted to buddhism about 15 years ago, meaning he is a monk, living like a monk. Now I really wish I could have said more than just 'Hello' and 'Thank you' in Korean. So, we went for dinner with him, after seeing his flat which is a temple at the same time. Every day he has people coming to his temple to pray and/or to practice and learn buddhism. He has three huge buddha statues in his 'living room'.
At dinner we make an odd group: Taey's mum, Taey, a Korean monk and me! We went to a Japanese restaurant, where we had Japanese food that still tasted Korean :)
After dinner, Taey's uncle called the taxi driver who would bring him home (for free) and show us our accommodation place. The taxi escorted us all acros town to the beach where we would stay in a motel - a love motel apparently, of which you have many in Korea as you are not allowed to stay with each other unless you are married. Or are suppose to... They should get rid of the condom and vibrator selling machines (next to the elevators!) when they submit families to the motel as well!
Anyway, we check in and go for another coffee or hot chocolate with Taey's uncle and the taxi driver and look at the night beach. I have an friendly argument with him about English football teams. Expressing my dislike for Man U didn't go down that well, but with my new hair I apparently look like Beckham. LOL - no comments on this one please... :)
The next morning we are having spicy fish soup for breakfast. Luckily my stomach was feeling much better, but I still couldn't quite believe me eating spicy fish soup at 9 in the morning. So I tried not to think about the time and just enjoyed the yummy taste!
After that we were off to Taejongdae Park, which is at the tip of Yeongdo Island in the South of Busan. It took us two hours to get there - again a sign of how big Busan really is. Then we went back into town to the fish market. I love markets, so this one too. Busy, fish-hacking Koreans, shouting at everyone passing by - fantastic! :) It's fine being non-Asien cause they don't even try it with you, as they asume you don't understand anyway - not that I would, I'm just saying.
Opposite the market I saw the entrance of the Pusan International Film Festival - Yey!!! :)
Then we've picked up Taey's uncle again and made our way to Gyeongju, which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom (the strongest and longest lasting Kingdom of old out of the 3 they had). It's called 'the museum without walls' cause of its historical buildings and artifacts all over the city. It's one of the only cities where the buildings were not destroyed in the Korean war, therefore there are no high apartment towers but original housing. Very nice and impressive. I just wished we would have arrived earlier so that we'd had more daylight. But Taey's uncle showed us the main temple in Gyeongju. We got in with our car and without problems, again, it was nice to have a monk with us. He also told us loads of interesting things about the temple life and the monks. I really enjoyed that. At dinner later we had the chance to ask more questions. Again, I wish I could have understood him. Poor Taey had to translate the whole time, so thank you for that.
When we spent the time down in the South of Korea, it snowed in Seoul, so we missed the whole thing. Now snow is still out and it's bitter cold, but dry and sunshine - very nice. People in the South are apparently much more friendly. A guy at a service station showed that by expressing a lot of compliments towards me only because I said 'Hello' and 'Thank you' in Korean. He told Taey that I spoke very well, to which I replied to him in English: 'Not really.' But he didn't stop being very enthusiastic and woudn't stop splattering out loads of compliments, lol! In Seoul I couldn't impress anyone with that. On the island at New Years Eve I've stunned a few kids. I think, I must have been the first person they met that didn't look like them. And that I said what my name is in Korean stunned them even more :) They were very cute though. In general, all the kids are very cute here, the women beautiful and the men grumpy ugly ones. Apart from Jae-hyung :) I hope, I haven't offended anyone now... sorry if I have... just my personal taste... :)
more soon... jx
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Seoul day 1-3
On my first day in the centre of Seoul Taey had to get her visa for America, so I queued in line at the American embassy while Taey was picking up her passport somewhere else. That was quite funny cause all of the people in line, including all the guards, probably thought: what the hell is she doing here?! She is probably lost! At least that's what their faces said...
When Taey came back and went inside the embassy, I went to the nearby bookstore which seems to be THE place to buy books, magazines, DIARIES (Koreans are big on diaries too) and other little things. Again, I've never seen such a busy bookstore, and I saw only one level. Apparently the whole block is the store, and again, we are talking here about a 15-20 storey building.
Taey got her visa for America! Yey! Finally!
After that we went to a nice area were you can see traditional Korean houses and have loads of little designer shops and galleries. Taey bought a necklace in one of the shops and as a present we each got a brochure for free which was made out of Lego stones :)
We also looked at two galleries. One gallery was inhabited by a German photographer, the other had Korean contemporary art, and the gallery owner recognised Taey as soon as we went into the gallery! So I am on tour with a famous artist here! :)
The next day we met one of Taey's friends - Yoola, who speaks perfect English and soon will be off to Germany to do her PhD in Bonn - wow! She took us around Myeong-dong, the hip area with all the shops and department stores. I was feeling a bit rough and sick at times, so couldn't get that much into a shopping mode, but it was very interesting to see, and again very very busy. We had something to eat in the 12th floor of one of the department stores.
Then we went to see a Korean musical in which one of Taey's friends played and sang. They had chosen a night with English subtitles, so I could understand. That was really cool and very funny, and I am so glad I had the chance to get that experience! So thank you Taey and your friend! We went for some drinks/food after that, unfortunately I couldn't join in so much as I was still feeling rough.
Therefore, I took a day off today, Taey was busy meeting more friends, and I watched the remaining Lost episodes I have with me. Taey's mum was so sweet to bring me some flu medicine. She also made me a strawberry milkshake! So good night and more soon...x
When Taey came back and went inside the embassy, I went to the nearby bookstore which seems to be THE place to buy books, magazines, DIARIES (Koreans are big on diaries too) and other little things. Again, I've never seen such a busy bookstore, and I saw only one level. Apparently the whole block is the store, and again, we are talking here about a 15-20 storey building.
Taey got her visa for America! Yey! Finally!
After that we went to a nice area were you can see traditional Korean houses and have loads of little designer shops and galleries. Taey bought a necklace in one of the shops and as a present we each got a brochure for free which was made out of Lego stones :)
We also looked at two galleries. One gallery was inhabited by a German photographer, the other had Korean contemporary art, and the gallery owner recognised Taey as soon as we went into the gallery! So I am on tour with a famous artist here! :)
The next day we met one of Taey's friends - Yoola, who speaks perfect English and soon will be off to Germany to do her PhD in Bonn - wow! She took us around Myeong-dong, the hip area with all the shops and department stores. I was feeling a bit rough and sick at times, so couldn't get that much into a shopping mode, but it was very interesting to see, and again very very busy. We had something to eat in the 12th floor of one of the department stores.
Then we went to see a Korean musical in which one of Taey's friends played and sang. They had chosen a night with English subtitles, so I could understand. That was really cool and very funny, and I am so glad I had the chance to get that experience! So thank you Taey and your friend! We went for some drinks/food after that, unfortunately I couldn't join in so much as I was still feeling rough.
Therefore, I took a day off today, Taey was busy meeting more friends, and I watched the remaining Lost episodes I have with me. Taey's mum was so sweet to bring me some flu medicine. She also made me a strawberry milkshake! So good night and more soon...x
start into 2007
First of all...
Happy New Year to all my friends around the world! I hope it will be a great one for all of you!!! ... and better than the last two for some ... including me... :)
And welcome to my blog which has been overdue for a long time. Me wanting to archive my pictures in a convenient way never quite worked out, so I am trying it this way! ... with some inside info to what I've been doing, ... and what better way to start with the beginning of 2007, which was very exciting for me.
It happened the Korean way... :)
I travelled from Frankfurt to Seoul on December 29th, arriving midday-ish on the 30th (Korea is 9 hours ahead of London). Taey and her mum were so kind to pick me up from the airport. We went straight to have some lunch in Ilsan which is a town between Seoul and Paju where Taey's mum lives. There, in a Japanese restaurant, we had a whole menue but in Korean style which consists of many little dishes. Very nice and very filling when not telling me that after all the sushimi and sushi another two courses were due!
Taey's mum lives as said in Paju, an apartment town an hour North of Seoul. Such apartment towns are springing up everywhere and usually almost only consist of high rise apartment blocks built by different companies.
The next day, on the 31st, we met 4 of Taey's friends in Seoul. Dongwon, Hyunsun, Mina, Jae-hyung, Taey and I made our way to Kanghwa-do - the island of Kanghwa - where Dongwon has rented a room for us. The 6 of us on the floor only, which was a nice experience cause Korean houses usually have all floor heating, so sleeping on the floor is actually quite nice (as long as the pillow is right :) ).
The Koreans say good bye to the old year by watching the sunset, and they celebrate the new year by watching the sunrise. So we went to a beach on the island, joining many other people. As soon as the sun was down fireworks were let off. We then went for some food - we had a traditional BBQ of seashells. You sit around a table with a grill in the middle. You then get a load of mussles - living! So the shells are closed and put on the grill. When the shell pops open the muscle is dead and ready to eat. If the shell takes a long time to open or doesn't open at all it's too old. Sounds a bit gross but it is very yummy.
After dinner we went back to our accommodation were I fell asleep at around 10pm still very jetlagged - probably the first time in 25 years that I slept through new year's eve! However, that was really good cause we had to get up at 4.30am the next morning to track up a mountain to see the sunrise. First I thought we'll be the only ones doing that, but it seems a real mass sport for new year's day, cause hundreds and maybe thousands had the same idea to cimb up that mountain. We started out at 6am (after spicey noodle soup for breakfast at 5am LOL) and finally made it to the top around 8am. The sun was not seen because of the clouds but it was nice to be up that bright and early.
Tracking down was a real experience cause the hundreds or thousands of people tried to do that all at the same time! I have to say, I have never seen a human traffic jam on a mountain! Needless to say, it took another two hours to get down. They tried to form a queue - a one-liner - which Jae-hyung didn't want to queue in, so I said: 'Well, I don't understand Korean so I don't know what they are trying to do, so just follow me and blame me when they start complaining.' So we did, and later found out that they queued cause only one side was walkable as the middle had loads of ice on it. After landing on my bum once we decided to join the queue... :)
Getting back to our accommodation, and once again having another snack (eating is big over here) we took a nap which totally killed me (still on jetlag), and we took off back to Seoul in the afternoon. I just about made it through dinner at Jae-hyung restaurant which specialises in Ddouck-bo-gi, which spelling was just made up by Taey and is too difficult to explain what it is right now. I'll take a picture and post that here. Dongwon and Hyunsun were so kind to take us back to Paju by car, again I didn't see much of that journey cause I was falling asleep again.
So, if anybody has made it through the end of my first entry (I know I can ramble), I'll put another post for today, my first day in the centre of Seoul.
night night
jx
Happy New Year to all my friends around the world! I hope it will be a great one for all of you!!! ... and better than the last two for some ... including me... :)
And welcome to my blog which has been overdue for a long time. Me wanting to archive my pictures in a convenient way never quite worked out, so I am trying it this way! ... with some inside info to what I've been doing, ... and what better way to start with the beginning of 2007, which was very exciting for me.
It happened the Korean way... :)
I travelled from Frankfurt to Seoul on December 29th, arriving midday-ish on the 30th (Korea is 9 hours ahead of London). Taey and her mum were so kind to pick me up from the airport. We went straight to have some lunch in Ilsan which is a town between Seoul and Paju where Taey's mum lives. There, in a Japanese restaurant, we had a whole menue but in Korean style which consists of many little dishes. Very nice and very filling when not telling me that after all the sushimi and sushi another two courses were due!
Taey's mum lives as said in Paju, an apartment town an hour North of Seoul. Such apartment towns are springing up everywhere and usually almost only consist of high rise apartment blocks built by different companies.
The next day, on the 31st, we met 4 of Taey's friends in Seoul. Dongwon, Hyunsun, Mina, Jae-hyung, Taey and I made our way to Kanghwa-do - the island of Kanghwa - where Dongwon has rented a room for us. The 6 of us on the floor only, which was a nice experience cause Korean houses usually have all floor heating, so sleeping on the floor is actually quite nice (as long as the pillow is right :) ).
The Koreans say good bye to the old year by watching the sunset, and they celebrate the new year by watching the sunrise. So we went to a beach on the island, joining many other people. As soon as the sun was down fireworks were let off. We then went for some food - we had a traditional BBQ of seashells. You sit around a table with a grill in the middle. You then get a load of mussles - living! So the shells are closed and put on the grill. When the shell pops open the muscle is dead and ready to eat. If the shell takes a long time to open or doesn't open at all it's too old. Sounds a bit gross but it is very yummy.
After dinner we went back to our accommodation were I fell asleep at around 10pm still very jetlagged - probably the first time in 25 years that I slept through new year's eve! However, that was really good cause we had to get up at 4.30am the next morning to track up a mountain to see the sunrise. First I thought we'll be the only ones doing that, but it seems a real mass sport for new year's day, cause hundreds and maybe thousands had the same idea to cimb up that mountain. We started out at 6am (after spicey noodle soup for breakfast at 5am LOL) and finally made it to the top around 8am. The sun was not seen because of the clouds but it was nice to be up that bright and early.
Tracking down was a real experience cause the hundreds or thousands of people tried to do that all at the same time! I have to say, I have never seen a human traffic jam on a mountain! Needless to say, it took another two hours to get down. They tried to form a queue - a one-liner - which Jae-hyung didn't want to queue in, so I said: 'Well, I don't understand Korean so I don't know what they are trying to do, so just follow me and blame me when they start complaining.' So we did, and later found out that they queued cause only one side was walkable as the middle had loads of ice on it. After landing on my bum once we decided to join the queue... :)
Getting back to our accommodation, and once again having another snack (eating is big over here) we took a nap which totally killed me (still on jetlag), and we took off back to Seoul in the afternoon. I just about made it through dinner at Jae-hyung restaurant which specialises in Ddouck-bo-gi, which spelling was just made up by Taey and is too difficult to explain what it is right now. I'll take a picture and post that here. Dongwon and Hyunsun were so kind to take us back to Paju by car, again I didn't see much of that journey cause I was falling asleep again.
So, if anybody has made it through the end of my first entry (I know I can ramble), I'll put another post for today, my first day in the centre of Seoul.
night night
jx
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