Gyeongju

Hi all, another quick message without an pictures (Actually i am just adding them in now... mg)- i am at the hostel in Gyeongu, which is Southern South Korea, almost down to Pusan. Its nice that it isn't as hectic as Seoul, but there isn't that much to do, and i have seen most of what i planned to. I will stay one night, then return by train to Seoul tmrw. I think i will spend tmrw morning looking at a big park, maybe go out to the lake area, and then check out a market - i want to get some things for friends and damily - especially seeing i will be away for Christmas this year.

The hostel i am at is quite good, it is only about AUS$25 for a single room without private bathroom - and it has free internet and breakfast, as well as a kitchen, and a REALLY helpful host who has good english. The room is very basic, and the walls are literally paper thin (made of paper! duh!), and all open onto a shared courtyard which is cool. So far there are no people my age here as i hoped for hanging out, but still - its cheap, close enough to the train station and bus stops (about 10 minutes walk - 15 at the end of the day!), and ... well thats enough really!

I am pretty tired now, have had a lot of long days, with lots and lots of walking (as the expression goes, my blisters have blisters), and generally i have not gotten as much sleep as normal - between 4 and 7 hours a night. And whilst i wouldn't say i am home sick, i certainly miss my friends and family - especially princess katie. So yeah, i look forward to taking it easy here, sleeping as late as the noise around me permits, then heading back to Seoul for my last days before going home. I will try to post more pictures once i am back to seoul, and will be sure to after returning to Australia. If anyone is actually reading this, feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email - i still check it daily. Byyyyeeee.

This is the fast train i took down to Gyeongju - and on the left is just a picture i took of a town we passed at 300kmh.

This is a 1000 year old necklace on display at the boring museum i went to..

This was the 'Traditional Korean' meal i had at the restaraunt at the museum... i had a really interesting time ordering and trying to retrieve the piece of paper i had info about my dietary needs written in korean on - i had no korean, and they had no english, it was fun!

A shot from the mountain top temple i went to, as are the ones below.

I just thought this was nifty - a mobile phone that was just a small pair of headphones.. they have to coolest technology there.. especially with phones.

This was the totem at the door to the entrance of the hostel i stayed at.

In the large memorial park in the centre of town, which houses lots of massive tombs of previous emperors etc.

This is my puppy in front of one of the tombs

This is two of the bigger tombs. They buried the person in a wooden casket, then piled up loads of stones, then covered it in dirt, then left it to grow over with grass.. i guess the bigger the size, the more important they were.

Some pictures... in reverse

Ok, so this is kind of dumb, but all the photos loaded in reverse order, so i couldn't be bothered changing it all... so here they are.This is me at one of the lookouts at the DMZ - beside me to the left is the massive 160m flag pole in North Korea - it has the worlds biggest flag! 31m long, and apparently 600+ pounds!

With one of the South Korean Army members at the DMZ border (actually this is standing in North Korea - the room straddles the border)

That is the North Korean official building on the border, and the SK officer gaurding the line.

This was what we ate as we drank last night... as i mentioned, you have to buy food when you are drinking, and we got this seafood hotpot!

This is my new friend Yoonah, who showed me around.

This is my rice, served in bamboo - with a chunk of charcoal to keep it fresh!

This is the rest (or some of) the spread.

And after eating most of your rice, you add green tea and make a rice soup to finish off..



And this was just some fancy tea i had earlier in the day with Jongil, actually its from paris, but it was nice, and came with a little hourglass counter to let you know when it was ready to drink!

So there are some pics, may update again before i leave, otherwise will when i get home!

Matt

Soju, DMZ and Markets

Hi all, sorry no photos with this post, as i am at a net cafe. Last night i met up with yoona, a cool girl doing her MA here in Korea, wh0 spent a session in UOW last year. She took me and two of her friends to dinner, (will post details and pics of that later) then to the premiere of an independent documentary film festival - which was attended bya famous french doco maker. Unfortunately the movie had no subtitles... so yeah. After we went out to the club district, as the last friday of the month is Club Night, and really big. We ate and drank soju until about 1.30, then i got a cab home (drunk). I got to sleep around 2. Then i woke up at 6 to go to the DMZ (demilitiarised Zone) at the border with North Korea. I will post pictures and more details later.

Now i am at a big market, tossing up whether to buy a new (fake) bag or not... Tomorrow i am up early again, heading to a famous old city, then on to Pusan, then staying the night there before returning on Monday evening (thats the plan right now anyway!)

So, if i have time tonight i will post more details and pictures. Miss u all!

Day Three

This was just a fountain i spotted when walking around tonight.

Eating a french baguette in Seoul... i am getting ahead of myself...

Today was completely different from the last two except that it started badly and ended well (as they all have). I slept in (yay! am so tired) this morning, then headed in to town after lunch at about 12 - expecting to make it to my appointment by 1, giving me an hour and a half to look through the library of the organisation i was visiting. Well - long story short, with some major train mishaps, then the absense of the bus i was told to take, the pay phone denying my phone card and eating all my change... and every cab driver unable to read the address i had to go to... i was screwed! It came 2.10 (20 minutes before meeting) and i could not find a net cafe, or think of another option... in the end i found a cabbie who called an interpreter for me! Then called the organisation i was meant to visit and got directions from them, and took me there! Seeing he did all that and used his own cell phone, i tipped him. After all that, the meeting was fantastic, the best yet, and really really rewarding.

After that i went to find the seoul city bus tour, which was equally frustrating - no one speaks english here, and i am rubbish with new languages... After LOTS of searching i found it, and made the last bus, which meant i couldnt get on and off as usual, just had to take the ride as is.

Before finding it, there was an art installation on the sidewalk, based on the subway, with sculpted people, i will attach pics. (its hard to describe, but the people were of odd proportions, and emaciated, but it looked trippy) Anyway, then i walked around a new area for a few hours, then came home, met Irhe's Father, and now i am relaxing and writing this!

Ok, that guys is reall, but the ticket box isnt...

Ok, now maybe no one else thinks this is funny, but there were Bat Boy (from weekly world news) posters up all over the place... odd

Anyway, things are ok, hoping to attend a documentary film festival opening night tomorrow, then dinner and a jazz club.. should be great.

Miss u all. matt

PS. to answer the comments i got - Kimchi is like a major traditional/obsession here. There are over 200 forms, but basically it is fermented cabbage with chille - and it varies in terms of fermentation and heat, oilyness etc etc. With all the sidedishes, it is not just with meals. If you go for a drink, you are expected to buy all these side nibbles as a kind of cover charge... and they normally cost more than the drinks! Also, will try to post pics of my homestay soon. Take care!

photos

as requested, here are a couple of pictures.
This is my bed, it is a solid stone base, with a soft quilt cover thing as mattress.

This is the entrance to one of the palaces i visited

The sunset at the second palace

Outside the national folk museum they had a chinese zodiac setup with carved characters for each of the zodiac - here is me with the Dog. (Photo taken by a french girl - lots of french people here).


This was last nights dinner. The soup is a cold beef broth, with soba noodles, fresh vegetables, half an egg and small strip of beef. It was yummy, but odd - it is served icy cold. All the side dishes (or a smiliar variety) are served with every main meal here. (Especially the kimchi - the one closest to my soup).

So theres some pics! I will try to put up another lot in a few days.

Insa Dong Tourist Information

Hi all. I am now in Seoul - in Insa Dong at the Tourist Information center - they have free internet!

Things have been fine since i got here, i am in a homestay with a student from KNUA (Irhe) and his family. The apartment is nice, and only 3 blocks from the subway station. Yesterday Irhe and I went to a big park area, then i came into the city to look around. Same as today, i ended up in Insa Dong. I checked out one of the big palaces, and all the arty stalls and shops along the strip here. I met with my lecturer and his wife for dinner and drinks, and i was lucky that we were joined by a renowned Korean screen writer from the 1950s/60s - Mr Beck (spelling?), who is experiencing a second wave of adulation as some of the films he collaborated on with a famous Korean director were recently showcased at the Busan film festival. Luckily my lecturers wife is fluent in English and Korean, so we had a lively discussion on all things life, love and film over many bottles of Soju. We were also joined by a well known producer who has just returned from America, and is planning the production of a film penned by the screenwriter.

In the end i stayed in a cheap hotel in the city for the night, then doubled back to Irhe's house at 9am, showered etc, then came back into the city for my first interview. It went well, only took half an hour, but it was good. I have another tomorrow and one friday. On saturday i will go up to the Demilitiarised Zone on the border with North Korea. And on Friday night i will meet with 2 former UOW students, one of whom is running an independent documentary film festival - and we will attend the opening.

I am considering heading back a little early, as some of the places i thought to visit it seems may not be worthwhile - especially without a loca to show me around. It is not as tourist friendly here as some cities - which is good and bad. I am not sure if the earlier trip is possible tho, as all the flights are wait listed at present.

Tonight i will meet again with my Lecturer for dinner. Tommorow i may sleep in, as i still feel tired - from the flight, climate or lots of walking?? Maybe a combination - also i am still adjusting to the beds here, which is basically sleeping on the floor - in my case the bed unit is about 5-10 off the floor, and is a heated stone tablet!

Anyway, hi to everyone, i miss you all, take care and see you soon!

Matt.

36 hours til i leave!

Hi all, its now Saturday night, and i am leaving for South Korea very early Monday morning. (the plane leaves at 8.40am, so i have to get there at 5.40! So that means leaving wollongong at 4.40 if by car, or 3.30am by train!?)

Otherwise, things are going great. College formal was on last night, great fun.

Oh, i have decided to post info about the different restaurants i experience, both travelling or in Australia - and maybe even some reviews of Beers and Wines i try. So, here is the meals i had at the Lagoon Restaurant in Wollongong.

This was the Port Lincoln scallops - grilled in the shell with ginger and shallots - the scallops seemed reasonably fresh, but were Very small - and a couple were just under cooked. ($14.60)

This is the Lobster main - sadly they only offer it as a mornay - but on special request they steamed this one for me with ginger, chilli and garlic. It was meaty and fresh - but would have benefited from grilling in my opinion ($market price - $55-75)

The setting is really nice - especially for wollongong, and the cocktail lounge is fantastic. However, this is by no means a world class restaurant. Cheeers.

So, back to the travel - wish me luck, and i will try to update this page regularly.

First Posting

Ok - so clearly there is more to learn on this site that i realised! I just lost my first posting.. Oh well. Basically, i have created this blog so i can update it on the road, and that way people can check it if they are interested, rather than being bothered with bulk emails all the time. It is now 16 days til i head to Seoul, South Korea, and i cannot wait. I just hope it doesn't blow my budget for the big trip to Europe at Xmas.

Hope all are well, and stay tuned!