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We are on a bridge, an arrow straight length of asphalt stretching across the river. We are speeding towards a massive, slate grey wall of clouds in the distance. All around us, the incessant drone of the wind as it buffets our scooter. The young man in front of me is not the most experience scooter driver, neither does he have that solid build that would allow him to move unscathed through a storm, but I, with a few beers in my belly, am not particularly suited for driving either. Here we are, two men equally unfit for driving, heading … Read the rest
The view in front of me is the same as every day at this time: in the distance a jumbled row of apartment buildings; in the middle distance, a deserted parking lot; in the foreground, an unused train platform, weeds sprouting from the the cracks and a pedestrian walkway suspended above it. The sky is a pale, listless blue, intermingled white and grey clouds scuding across it. The light from the setting sun, filtered through a light drizzle, steeps the world in a strange yellow hue and fills the air with a vague sense of foreboding. Foreboding of what, I … Read the rest
When I woke up this morning, I felt like going out to do something, but at the same time didn’t really have any plans for where to go. So me and Yini took it easy for a little while, then took the lazy mans option, and drove out in the car instead of with the motorbike. We headed east towards the mountains with a semi clear goal in our minds but no map. We followed road signs in roughly the right direction but took a wrong turn somewhere and ended going more or less the wrong way. Luckily we found … Read the rest
This weekend, me and Yini have done a real land travel journey, the most interesting part of which was the journey itself, not so much the destination. The destination was Erlin and Yini’s parents house. I’ve been there several times before and though it’s nice, I kind of know what to expect by now. Yini’s mom will make lots of food for me, her dad will serve me tea and discuss some topic which is simple enough for my level of Chinese, and her nephews will use me as a sort of toy.
Like I said, getting there was more … Read the rest
The last day in Busan, we had one final thing we wanted to do before heading back. For few days now we had passed the Busan Aquarium several times, so we decided to check it out. I’ve been to a few aquariums before, and this one was pretty good, but not as exciting as I thought it would be. The only really fun thing in there was an enclosure of otters frolicking about, both in and out of water. With nothing more of real interest to see or do (if you are not really there for the beach life, there … Read the rest
I have entered the fomentation room (I don’t even know what that means) which is a large hall with a low ceiling, where people dressed in loose-fitting shorts and t-shirt, the men in all white and the women in red and orange, are lying or sitting on thin bamboo mats spaced out on the floor. This is supposed to be some kind of spa, but as far as spa experiences go, sitting on a bamboo mat is fairly underwhelming. Then I discover it, there is a series of doors along one wall, with signs on them saying things like “Jade … Read the rest
Having spent most of Wednesday at the beach, we decided to do something a bit different on Thursday. Looking over the possible tourist spots we had two options, one was an old fortress up in the mountains, the other a temple by the sea. As the day was hot, we opted for the sea hoping for a cool breeze.
I think the temple was a bit odd, though located in a beautiful place atop jagged cliffs sloping down towards turquoise water. Except for the scenery it was not much to see or do there, and to be Frank, the small … Read the rest
We arrived in Korea’s second city, and all around beach paradise, Busan yesterday evening. By the time we had checked in to our luxurious hotel room (we suspect it is a love hotel, but who cares) and rested up a bit, we only had time for a short stroll around the neighborhood before going to bed.
Today we set out to see more of what we only glimpsed last night. We strolled down the high street until we reached the local beach, but the sky being somewhat cloudy and the waves high, we decided to just go for a walk … Read the rest
I try to not take a tour if it is possible to avoid it, but for visiting the border with north korea, independent tourism was not possible.
I arrived at the tour registration desk at seven in the morning. Way too early for my taste, but that is the way of the tour. Speaking nearly constantly during the hour-long drive north, our guide made it abundantly clear that we could only take photos when told it was OK. We arrived at a checkpoint on the unification bridge, just shy of the border with north Korea, and showed our passports to … Read the rest
Me and Yini have gone on a short trip to Korea. We landed in Seoul on Saturday night, found our hotel, then went out to explore. The city was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night but we did find a vendor in Namdaemun market where we had a bite to eat. Other than that, almost everything was closed.
On Sunday we woke up late then went out to explore. I have seen many of the major sights before, so we decided to go for some less well known ones. We started with Bukchon village, an area where … Read the rest