Back in Taiwan! So, I seem to have accrued quite the backlog on my blog…a backblog if you will, since I’m at about mid-december in my stories, and as I write this it’s just before April Fools (do they have April Fools here….guess I should check that out before I do anything). Gotta catch up. So, rather than typing up about 30 pages of Taiwan stories, I’ll sum up my 2 months there in one post. So I met back up with Kyle and a good solid drunkening ensued. As I was leaving Taiwan the first time, Kyle had just joined with the soccer team. While I was gone, they had won a big tournament and had a week of partying. So the team was pretty tight by this point and Kyle knew half the foreign population of Tainan. Didn’t take long to meet tons of people. While I was there, Kyle and I did some English teaching. I started as a substitute teacher for a guy taking leave over Christmas, and occasionally taught at an alternative English school about a 30 minute scooter right away. Pretty great school….the kids were learning English through music, movies and games. The pay was also amazing, since it was a bit of a commute for me, so I didn’t have to work many hours to get by. Also got to spend 4 or 5 days with my couchsurfing friends in Taipei again and was taken on a long bike ride along the river, and did a bit of hiking and hot springing as well. I also satisfied my appetite for towers by going up the Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world. Around this time, the wheels started turning, so to speak, on a plan to bike across Taiwan, from the north to the south. Sam and David were gonna hook we up with EVERYTHING I needed for this trip during Chinese new year break while they were on vacation in NYC but the weather never panned out :(. Would have frozen my taiwans off. Anyway, ended up going on a scooter trip with Kyle and Jeff. I’ll go into more detail on this later cause it was radical.
Tainan, the city kyle and I lived in, is the cultural center of Taiwan (it was an older capital) and the 4th biggest city in the country. EVERYBODY rides a scooter there. People are quite generous as well. I was loaned a scooter for most of the time I was there, and kyle was GIVEN a motorcycle. Also, just as I arrived, I met a girl who was leaving the country, and she hooked me up with her cell phone and blankets and lamps and whatever she couldn’t take with her. Great people.
I did the walking tour of Tainan that the Lonely Planet suggested, and it was awesome. I had already seen a few temples, including a temple complex that is the biggest is East Asia supposedly, but the map in the book brought me to heaps of temples hidden within city blocks that I would never have found. I’m sure there are signs for these, but they all looked Chinese to me. Some of these temples and ancient walls were hundreds of years old. I also got to see the “Tree House”, which essentially was the remnants of a house overgrown by massive trees. There were a lot of vines in this house. So off course we got Tarzan and ninja photos.
There was a couchsurfing meeting in Tainan while I was there, with people from all over Taiwan. One of them was the first host I stayed with, back in Taipei. I joined them for coffee and that eventually turned into a night out. Going out in Taiwan with a bunch of Taiwanese people is the bomb. They took me to all of the best restaurants, some of them very small places, and we tried a few things at each place. Since this is in Tainan, its the best of the best of Taiwan really. Then we checked out a temple at night where everything was lit up and there was a festival going on on the grounds as well. Really cool authentic Taiwanese experience.
I had heard about this “monkey mountain”, a hill in Gaohsiung, the 2nd biggest city in Taiwan just an hour or two south of Tainan. I rode a scooter down there and hiked up. No monkeys, because apparently they’re only out until 4pm-ish, but a sweet hike nonetheless.
Tainan is near the ocean, so a scooter ride can take you to the beach where there's surfing, kite surfing (sometimes free), good reading spots, and all sorts of beach stuff.
The scooter trip was a little iffy at first. None of us knew what we were getting ourselves into, other than everybody telling us it would be freakin cold, and to bring full-on winter gear. Hard to believe this whilst sweating buckets in town, but we did bring everything just in case. I turned out to be a long weekend, and all the scooters were booked, so we had to wait until the evening to pick them up. They only had 2 available, so kyle decided to take his old beast of a motorcycle and see how she fared. Our friend Ian speaks some Chinese and was kind enough to help us sort of the bike situation. So, this trip would take us from the west coast of Taiwan where we lived, across the mountains on the Southern Crossing HWY to the east coast, then along that coast to the most southern point of the country, then back up the west coast to home. Taiwan is over 70% mountains, with all the major cities along the flatter coast lines, so there were LOTS of mountains to cross, and we got pretty high up there. Once we got the scooters (important side note: jeff’s was very new, mine was very old) it was already 8pm and we weren’t sure if we should hold off our departure. Jeff eventually persuaded us to hit the road that night because he was short on time before he had to head home, so we did, and even before the mountains bundling up was very necessary. Also, scooters can cruise! My bike stalled on one of the longer straightaways…..foreshadowing? We made it to Maolin where we had reservations at a lodge, but the English speaking person who we spoke with from the lodge decided to leave, and we couldn’t communicate with them on the phone to obtain directions anymore. None of the locals seemed to be able to help us either. We found a hotel lobby type place with a party going on, and started talking to these guys who spoke a tiny bit of English thanks to their Marine training. They were wasted and friendly and one of them invited us to stay at his place. His wife didn’t like that very much, so he invited us to stay at his uncle’s lodge instead. At this point it was midnight or something. He woke up his Uncle, who got up all smiles and prepared us a feast. They even busted out a brand new bottle of Johnny Walker. We sat there and chatted, and there were a lot of high fives and handshakes and shots every time we understood each other. They showed us our room, which was big enough for 6 but it was only the 3 of us, and we crashed hard.
To be continued...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Korea, Part 3
One of Meg’s friends hosts an open mic, and I showed up just as he was wrapping up, so he gave me the go ahead to play as long as I wanted, which was awesome because I had only played alone anymore once before. Sweet.
I spent one afternoon drinking coffee at a Starbucks and writing out Christmas cards containing the worst English I could find, and sending them back home. Felt like I was home again, complete with a snowfall.
One of Meg’s friends was hosting 2 couchsurfers while I was there, and they both were in the process of biking across Asia. One of them had started cycling from Germany 2 years ago and had come through Turkey, Iran, the Himalayas and Russia. The other had paid the North Korean government 1500 Euros to let him bike through for 7 days! A big deal because at this point, North Korea had put a stop on the tourist groups allowed into their country because of an incident with a south korean woman who was shot dead for trespassing into the military zone. Tourists were only allowed in to very few areas though, and only since the last year or 2.
I guess I was in Seoul at the right time, because on a night out on the town we met up with one of Megs friends who was planning a trip to Japan in the near future, and he was a firm believer in karma. He wanted to treat the bikers and I to a crazy night out in Itaewon, the big foreigner bar section of Seoul, in hopes that somebody would do the same for him in Japan. It was pretty awesome…countless bars to choose from. From hookah bars, to dance clubs, to quieter bars that will download any song you request, no matter what genre you want to hear (odds are they have it already in their endless vinyl collection). By the way, at the beginning of this night, we went to check out the band of the guy who hosted the open mic. His band’s name was “U. R. Seoul”. Say that out loud. I laughed.
Anyhoo, the same guy later on took Meg and I out to the fish market for some live squid. Yes, live squid. You walk along the stalls and pick the one you want, and they have it brought over to one of the restaurants bordering the market, and they prepare it there for you. The squid is really just chopped up, but the nerves remain active for quite a while afterwards so the pieces are still squiggling and sticking to anything they touch. Not for the faint of stomach. Requires lots of chewing too if you want to avoid the suction, so don’t show up with a weak jaw. You dip the squid in a special sauce and can eat it with lettuce leaves. Pretty tasty, actually. If you ever see the movie “Oldboy”, probably the most famous Korean movie, there’s a scene where he eats live squid. It wasn’t like that, but check out that scene anyway. It’s gross. Also had string ray...this one was cooked, and was pretty good too.
Now, I saved this bit for the end because I know I can ramble on about it for a while. I’ll try to keep it short though. I hopped on a guided tour to the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea). I had planned on going into North Korea, but as previously mentioned, they canceled all this just before I arrived. This was amongst the most interesting things I saw on this entire trip so far. Here’s a quick story to explain the DMZ as I understand it: after WWII, Korea was still an undivided country, no North or South Korea, but there was lots of pressure being applied on the country, communist Russia and China from the north and west, and capitalist Japan and the U.S. from the east and south (the US had troops in Korea). Korea was in a very unique position to grant either party quite a bit of power because of their geographical location, but Korea was tired of violence. So, without war, they split the country in two: communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea, and everyone had to decide which side they would reside on, and there was no coming back. To avoid violence between north and south troops at the border, they created the DMZ, a 4 km wide zone with no military presence. This is the zone you get to see from a distance on this tour.
The biggest and heaviest flag in the world is there, north korea’s, because there are small villages in the DMZ that existed before it was created, 1 on either side of the border, and they kept one-uping each other on flag size.
So, many years after this split north korea put into action a plant to invade south korea, which they had been working on all along. They took it all the way to Busan. The U.S. decided to step in and helped retake all the territory, and then some, all the way into north korea. China shows up and moves north korea back down, and it goes back and forth like this for a long time. Eventually, there was a cease fire signed, and a limited number of troops are allowed to patrol in the DMZ on either side of the border. Once they go in, they aren’t allowed to leave for a pretty long time.
Surely enough, south korea eventually discovered 1, 2, 3, then 4 tunnels under the DMZ! It’s rumoured that there are 94 more tunnels so far undiscovered. They contacted the UN, and north korea denied responsibility at first, then in the face of undeniable evidence they change their story to that it was a rogue prospector digging a coal mine without realizing where he was. Such an interesting place.
When tourists were allowed, residents were not allowed to make eye contact, let alone speak to them. Only a select few were allowed to learn English and communicate. A giant antenna blocks out all outside information, so they only know what they are fed. They believe their leader has supernatural powers, that he changes the seasons, etc.
Anyway, I just ordered a collection of essays by North Koreans who somehow managed to leave, sometimes by swimming across a river and dodging bullets. The essays are all about life in the country and where the country is headed. Such an interesting place.
My flight back to Taiwan was booked for Friday, 2 weeks after my arrival, but I moved it to Monday so that I could snowboard the second time. Oh yes, and while I was in Seoul, I bought a 2 month visa to go back to Taiwan, the whole reason I had to leave in the first place. Caught my flight Monday, and I was off.
I spent one afternoon drinking coffee at a Starbucks and writing out Christmas cards containing the worst English I could find, and sending them back home. Felt like I was home again, complete with a snowfall.
One of Meg’s friends was hosting 2 couchsurfers while I was there, and they both were in the process of biking across Asia. One of them had started cycling from Germany 2 years ago and had come through Turkey, Iran, the Himalayas and Russia. The other had paid the North Korean government 1500 Euros to let him bike through for 7 days! A big deal because at this point, North Korea had put a stop on the tourist groups allowed into their country because of an incident with a south korean woman who was shot dead for trespassing into the military zone. Tourists were only allowed in to very few areas though, and only since the last year or 2.
I guess I was in Seoul at the right time, because on a night out on the town we met up with one of Megs friends who was planning a trip to Japan in the near future, and he was a firm believer in karma. He wanted to treat the bikers and I to a crazy night out in Itaewon, the big foreigner bar section of Seoul, in hopes that somebody would do the same for him in Japan. It was pretty awesome…countless bars to choose from. From hookah bars, to dance clubs, to quieter bars that will download any song you request, no matter what genre you want to hear (odds are they have it already in their endless vinyl collection). By the way, at the beginning of this night, we went to check out the band of the guy who hosted the open mic. His band’s name was “U. R. Seoul”. Say that out loud. I laughed.
Anyhoo, the same guy later on took Meg and I out to the fish market for some live squid. Yes, live squid. You walk along the stalls and pick the one you want, and they have it brought over to one of the restaurants bordering the market, and they prepare it there for you. The squid is really just chopped up, but the nerves remain active for quite a while afterwards so the pieces are still squiggling and sticking to anything they touch. Not for the faint of stomach. Requires lots of chewing too if you want to avoid the suction, so don’t show up with a weak jaw. You dip the squid in a special sauce and can eat it with lettuce leaves. Pretty tasty, actually. If you ever see the movie “Oldboy”, probably the most famous Korean movie, there’s a scene where he eats live squid. It wasn’t like that, but check out that scene anyway. It’s gross. Also had string ray...this one was cooked, and was pretty good too.
Now, I saved this bit for the end because I know I can ramble on about it for a while. I’ll try to keep it short though. I hopped on a guided tour to the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea). I had planned on going into North Korea, but as previously mentioned, they canceled all this just before I arrived. This was amongst the most interesting things I saw on this entire trip so far. Here’s a quick story to explain the DMZ as I understand it: after WWII, Korea was still an undivided country, no North or South Korea, but there was lots of pressure being applied on the country, communist Russia and China from the north and west, and capitalist Japan and the U.S. from the east and south (the US had troops in Korea). Korea was in a very unique position to grant either party quite a bit of power because of their geographical location, but Korea was tired of violence. So, without war, they split the country in two: communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea, and everyone had to decide which side they would reside on, and there was no coming back. To avoid violence between north and south troops at the border, they created the DMZ, a 4 km wide zone with no military presence. This is the zone you get to see from a distance on this tour.
The biggest and heaviest flag in the world is there, north korea’s, because there are small villages in the DMZ that existed before it was created, 1 on either side of the border, and they kept one-uping each other on flag size.
So, many years after this split north korea put into action a plant to invade south korea, which they had been working on all along. They took it all the way to Busan. The U.S. decided to step in and helped retake all the territory, and then some, all the way into north korea. China shows up and moves north korea back down, and it goes back and forth like this for a long time. Eventually, there was a cease fire signed, and a limited number of troops are allowed to patrol in the DMZ on either side of the border. Once they go in, they aren’t allowed to leave for a pretty long time.
Surely enough, south korea eventually discovered 1, 2, 3, then 4 tunnels under the DMZ! It’s rumoured that there are 94 more tunnels so far undiscovered. They contacted the UN, and north korea denied responsibility at first, then in the face of undeniable evidence they change their story to that it was a rogue prospector digging a coal mine without realizing where he was. Such an interesting place.
When tourists were allowed, residents were not allowed to make eye contact, let alone speak to them. Only a select few were allowed to learn English and communicate. A giant antenna blocks out all outside information, so they only know what they are fed. They believe their leader has supernatural powers, that he changes the seasons, etc.
Anyway, I just ordered a collection of essays by North Koreans who somehow managed to leave, sometimes by swimming across a river and dodging bullets. The essays are all about life in the country and where the country is headed. Such an interesting place.
My flight back to Taiwan was booked for Friday, 2 weeks after my arrival, but I moved it to Monday so that I could snowboard the second time. Oh yes, and while I was in Seoul, I bought a 2 month visa to go back to Taiwan, the whole reason I had to leave in the first place. Caught my flight Monday, and I was off.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Korea, Part 2
Kyeunju had no shortage of sites to keep tourists occupied. The city and surrounding area are dotted with royal tombs...mainly big parks you pay to enter and you walk around large mounds in which kings and queens are buried. One had been escavated and you could see the inner workings of these things: a mix of wood structure, rock piles, earth, and precious belongings. I also saw an ancient astronomical observatory, a sacred pond, a few more temples, and an ancient traditional city that had been preserved. Tourists are able to walk around and experience what it was like hundreds of years go, but the town still has inhabitants. So you get tourists snooping around while these people are just going about they daily chores, tilling their small crops with their Toyota Corollas parked out front.
What definitely takes the cake for me in this city was an early morning hike I undertook on my last day there. It started snowing, which was an unexpected but welcome surprise. This hike took me to a scenic lookout wayyyy up in the mountains, but not before passing several Buddhist landmarks, including a giant Buddha carved into the rock face. The view from the top allowed me to witness the full scope of this thing in comparison to the people standing around it. It was pretty freakin big! Like 25-30 feet high.
Just beside my hostel, there was a Korean bathhouse. I was told to try this out. Basically, there were two big rooms, one for men, one for women, with many shower heads and stools with scrubbers beside them. In the center there was a big hot tub, in the corner a cold tub, and a dry and wet sauna. The idea is to lather, scrub, rinse, soak and repeat for as much time as you have to spare. I didn’t have much time, but I can see how you’d come out of there like jello. Also heard there are sometimes old men who’s job it is to scrub down your back for you. I didn’t encounter said old man for I was the only one there at the time, but I can envision the naked ackwardness.
I forgot to mention that on my second night at this hostel, upon walking into the common area, who do I come across? Bazu. Reunited at last. He and I, along with however else was game out of the hostellers, checked out a few really nice restaurants over those couple of days, one in particular with the cushiony floor sitting that I had grown to really enjoy. I also forgot to mention that Bazu was a drinker. Every night he would bust out the Japanese Sake he had brought from home, or the Sodju and Mackaulay (both very popular Korean boozes….booze….boozei??), and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. As you’d try to finish your 8th glass, he would tell you another of his countless travel stories accrued during his time on pretty much every continent. Quite the interesting character he turned out to be indeed. Sadly, when I left in the morning he was still in bed, so I left him a goodbye note with my email on it, but when I returned to pick up my bag and catch my bus, the note was still there, untouched, and he had checked out, so it would seem I just took off without saying a word. Hope he’s still doing ok.
Now I’m on the bus to Seoul. I have my 2nd couchsurfing stay lined up with Meg, an English teacher from Canada. Within 10 seconds of being on the bus, I met a guy from the states and we chatted the entire 4 hours there. Went by pretty quickly. Thanks to some directions from Meg, I made it to her place to find that she had a loft apartment, with the whole upstairs section just for me! Also, I got to be her first couchsurfer. Her friend had collected so many good stories from CS that she wanted to give it a try too. We got along spendidly. So much, in fact, that I extended my stay for an extra weekend. While in Seoul there was never a dull moment. Actually, minutes after meeting her at her apartment, she took me away to collect some more friends, and we all walked over to a party, where there were like 6 guitars laying around, with even more guitar players, and everybody was singing along to songs that I knew. A much missed slice of a home. I nearly shat myself. They even had the fabled acoustic basses that I had wanted to try for years. We rocked out until the wee hours and had a great time.
The next day, I picked myself up a subway pass, because traveling around Seoul requires a ton of commuting if you aren’t living right downtown. Seoul seemed like an old cartoon where the characters are running and the same background is passing by over and over, except this background was Starbucks, Holly Coffee and Pizza Hut. Don’t let me give you the wrong impression because there was a lot of local food too.
I managed to fit a lot into the 9 days I stayed with Meg. We all went snowboarding twice...yes, snowboarding...not many runs upon yet but one of the hills was nominated for the winter Olympics that hit Seoul in the 70s I believe, so the runs that were open were pretty long and pretty sick. We just rented the gear at the hill, and the people I went with were nice enough to hook me up with hats and gloves and everything else I couldn't rent.
I caught a Korean Basketball League game, in which each team has a height restrictions of 6 foot 5, and each team is allowed 2 foreign players. Coincidentally, each team had 2 6'5" guys from the states.
Also caught a b-boyz show…highly recommended if you’re ever in Seoul. It’s a breakdancing show at a small venue, but its mixed with several styles of dancing, like the ROBOT, lots and lots of the robot, and the whole thing follows a plot. Its very up close and personal and extremely entertaining.
I met up with the Russian girls from Busan again and Natalya showed me around Suwon, where they were just wrapping up their semester at uni. We walked along the fortress walls that surrounded the small city just outside of Seoul, and hung out at a little pub until my bus arrived. I rode the bus for an hour into town, and took a cab for nearly another hour from there to Meg's. Turns out, it was just a big triangle, and I could have caught a cab straight to Meg’s for half the cost and a quarter of the time.
More...
What definitely takes the cake for me in this city was an early morning hike I undertook on my last day there. It started snowing, which was an unexpected but welcome surprise. This hike took me to a scenic lookout wayyyy up in the mountains, but not before passing several Buddhist landmarks, including a giant Buddha carved into the rock face. The view from the top allowed me to witness the full scope of this thing in comparison to the people standing around it. It was pretty freakin big! Like 25-30 feet high.
Just beside my hostel, there was a Korean bathhouse. I was told to try this out. Basically, there were two big rooms, one for men, one for women, with many shower heads and stools with scrubbers beside them. In the center there was a big hot tub, in the corner a cold tub, and a dry and wet sauna. The idea is to lather, scrub, rinse, soak and repeat for as much time as you have to spare. I didn’t have much time, but I can see how you’d come out of there like jello. Also heard there are sometimes old men who’s job it is to scrub down your back for you. I didn’t encounter said old man for I was the only one there at the time, but I can envision the naked ackwardness.
I forgot to mention that on my second night at this hostel, upon walking into the common area, who do I come across? Bazu. Reunited at last. He and I, along with however else was game out of the hostellers, checked out a few really nice restaurants over those couple of days, one in particular with the cushiony floor sitting that I had grown to really enjoy. I also forgot to mention that Bazu was a drinker. Every night he would bust out the Japanese Sake he had brought from home, or the Sodju and Mackaulay (both very popular Korean boozes….booze….boozei??), and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. As you’d try to finish your 8th glass, he would tell you another of his countless travel stories accrued during his time on pretty much every continent. Quite the interesting character he turned out to be indeed. Sadly, when I left in the morning he was still in bed, so I left him a goodbye note with my email on it, but when I returned to pick up my bag and catch my bus, the note was still there, untouched, and he had checked out, so it would seem I just took off without saying a word. Hope he’s still doing ok.
Now I’m on the bus to Seoul. I have my 2nd couchsurfing stay lined up with Meg, an English teacher from Canada. Within 10 seconds of being on the bus, I met a guy from the states and we chatted the entire 4 hours there. Went by pretty quickly. Thanks to some directions from Meg, I made it to her place to find that she had a loft apartment, with the whole upstairs section just for me! Also, I got to be her first couchsurfer. Her friend had collected so many good stories from CS that she wanted to give it a try too. We got along spendidly. So much, in fact, that I extended my stay for an extra weekend. While in Seoul there was never a dull moment. Actually, minutes after meeting her at her apartment, she took me away to collect some more friends, and we all walked over to a party, where there were like 6 guitars laying around, with even more guitar players, and everybody was singing along to songs that I knew. A much missed slice of a home. I nearly shat myself. They even had the fabled acoustic basses that I had wanted to try for years. We rocked out until the wee hours and had a great time.
The next day, I picked myself up a subway pass, because traveling around Seoul requires a ton of commuting if you aren’t living right downtown. Seoul seemed like an old cartoon where the characters are running and the same background is passing by over and over, except this background was Starbucks, Holly Coffee and Pizza Hut. Don’t let me give you the wrong impression because there was a lot of local food too.
I managed to fit a lot into the 9 days I stayed with Meg. We all went snowboarding twice...yes, snowboarding...not many runs upon yet but one of the hills was nominated for the winter Olympics that hit Seoul in the 70s I believe, so the runs that were open were pretty long and pretty sick. We just rented the gear at the hill, and the people I went with were nice enough to hook me up with hats and gloves and everything else I couldn't rent.
I caught a Korean Basketball League game, in which each team has a height restrictions of 6 foot 5, and each team is allowed 2 foreign players. Coincidentally, each team had 2 6'5" guys from the states.
Also caught a b-boyz show…highly recommended if you’re ever in Seoul. It’s a breakdancing show at a small venue, but its mixed with several styles of dancing, like the ROBOT, lots and lots of the robot, and the whole thing follows a plot. Its very up close and personal and extremely entertaining.
I met up with the Russian girls from Busan again and Natalya showed me around Suwon, where they were just wrapping up their semester at uni. We walked along the fortress walls that surrounded the small city just outside of Seoul, and hung out at a little pub until my bus arrived. I rode the bus for an hour into town, and took a cab for nearly another hour from there to Meg's. Turns out, it was just a big triangle, and I could have caught a cab straight to Meg’s for half the cost and a quarter of the time.
More...
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Korea, Part 1
The high speed hydrofoil ferry to Busan, South Korea from Fukuoka, Japan takes less than 3 hours. With a 30 minute bob break halfway across the sea because something was stuck in the propeller and they announced they were letting it ‘work it’s way out’, we pulled in a bit late. As I was figuring out how to get to the hostel I had booked, an elderly japanese guy introduced himself as Bazzu and asked if he could tag along because he hadn’t booked anything. I said sure and we navigated the subway network together until we found the meeting point where June, the hostel owner, would come pick us up. After several failed attempts at calling him, we finally got through and he showed up shortly after. The hostel, Forjuneteller's Backpackers Inn, was full (only an 8 person place) but he let Bazzu stay on the couch for the 1 night. We passed by an eel restaurant, an all you can eat tuna place, a dog meet restaurant, and probably four 7/11s before we got to his backpackers. This turned out the be the nicest, most modern hostel I’ve ever stayed in. It was on the 21st floor of a highrise, and was totally brand spankin' new. Complete with a skype-ready computer, free breakfast, free laundry, a giant tv for chill-out time, and a cool roof you could sneak up to. All of the highrises in that area had helicopter landing pads on the roof, a great place for a quick beer and a fantastic view.
I spent the next day getting used to the idea that I was now in Korea. Went for a few shorts walks, checked out the cuisine, and got a feel for how the ordering of the food would go. Did lots of catching up on skype that first day too. One interesting thing I noticed was the dancing girls in front of certain stores with sales going on. One particular store had two girls dancing in sync, half naked but balancing it out with big warm fuzzy boots, because, after all, it was the dead of winter. They were also occasionally mentioning whatever they were selling into a PA.....I think it was shoes.
I spent about 4 days in Busan, the 2nd biggest city in South Korea, and saw many a cool thing, such as temples (including a cliff side temple, which is one of a kind or at the least very rare), a temple hike along a mini great wall of china studded with amazing glimpses of the city, the biggest indoor fish market in korea, some more hikes down sheer cliffsides, and several very different but very tasty dinners. At one point I tried a cup of juice from a roadside stand that was made from some sort of root. That one tasted like wood.
I got to meet several cool people during my stay here, including an American army couple now teaching high school math in Seoul, and 2 girls on a student exchange program from Russia. Downed quite a few beers with the former, which led to an intense game of flip cup with a gang of teachers, and a few tear jerking songs at the karaoke rooms, and spent a day wandering around with my new russian friend Natalya and her schoolmate. I also had my second couchsurfing.com experience here...not quite the same as I wasn’t staying with anyone this time, but rather just meeting up for a coffee. We ended up catching a movie afterwards too. Made for a great afternoon/evening of conversation. Met an Australian brother and sister duo as well that I hope to catch up with later on during this trip.
Bazzu was a reoccurring character throughout my time there as well, sometimes there, sometimes not. I was never sure when he’d pop up, but he was always up for whatever I was doing. This wasn’t always a good thing, because being 80 years old he was a bit of a slower walker than I was. Also, he met and surpassed his quota on saliva production, which almost made me vom a couple of times. But he always had an interesting story to tell.
From here it was an hour bus ride to Gyeongju, which is the cultural center of South Korea, much as Kyoto was the place to be for temples in Japan. I had been told of a famous hostel with a traditional korean atmosphere, so I followed through with this tip, and it turned out the be a great decision. My room was very simple, straight to the point, but very comfortable, and the hostel grounds were straight out of an asian movie. My sliding door was made of paper with a wood trim, and my mattress laid directly on the heated floor, with nothing more than an end table and a mirror in the room. The courtyard was enclosed by tropical looking trees, and korea bbqs were had most nights out on the picnic tables. The owners were, I’m sure, some of the nicest people on the planet. The husband demonstrated his musical stylings with a korean flute type instrument, and then showed me the hostel water well, which seemed to be his pride and joy because of how deep and clear it was (the green light he had installed added to the effect too), and his wife pretty much planned out my 3 days there for me.
I met 2 soldiers on break from their service (south korea has a mandatory 2 years military service), and they introduced me to the real Korean bbq experience. I had thought I knew all about it because I had tried it a few times in Canada, but this was totally different. Big slabs of ‘bacon’ (really just big slabs of pork) are cut up with scissors on the portable grill, mushrooms are grilled up, kimchi is served (spicy cabbage in sauce), and you eat this all wrapped in lettuce leaves or this very pungent herb leave, and dip the whole in a delicious sauce red sauce. This is all washed down with beer served glasses ('Cass' or 'Hite'). So good. Kimchi would become my obsession for the rest of my time in Korea. The guys spoke very little English, but managed to invite me over with a “Hello! You like food?”. With a little help from a translation website later on, one of them explained to me that he was training to be a paratrooper. He had completed 8 solo skydives so far, and he was only 18 years old.
Continued....
I spent the next day getting used to the idea that I was now in Korea. Went for a few shorts walks, checked out the cuisine, and got a feel for how the ordering of the food would go. Did lots of catching up on skype that first day too. One interesting thing I noticed was the dancing girls in front of certain stores with sales going on. One particular store had two girls dancing in sync, half naked but balancing it out with big warm fuzzy boots, because, after all, it was the dead of winter. They were also occasionally mentioning whatever they were selling into a PA.....I think it was shoes.
I spent about 4 days in Busan, the 2nd biggest city in South Korea, and saw many a cool thing, such as temples (including a cliff side temple, which is one of a kind or at the least very rare), a temple hike along a mini great wall of china studded with amazing glimpses of the city, the biggest indoor fish market in korea, some more hikes down sheer cliffsides, and several very different but very tasty dinners. At one point I tried a cup of juice from a roadside stand that was made from some sort of root. That one tasted like wood.
I got to meet several cool people during my stay here, including an American army couple now teaching high school math in Seoul, and 2 girls on a student exchange program from Russia. Downed quite a few beers with the former, which led to an intense game of flip cup with a gang of teachers, and a few tear jerking songs at the karaoke rooms, and spent a day wandering around with my new russian friend Natalya and her schoolmate. I also had my second couchsurfing.com experience here...not quite the same as I wasn’t staying with anyone this time, but rather just meeting up for a coffee. We ended up catching a movie afterwards too. Made for a great afternoon/evening of conversation. Met an Australian brother and sister duo as well that I hope to catch up with later on during this trip.
Bazzu was a reoccurring character throughout my time there as well, sometimes there, sometimes not. I was never sure when he’d pop up, but he was always up for whatever I was doing. This wasn’t always a good thing, because being 80 years old he was a bit of a slower walker than I was. Also, he met and surpassed his quota on saliva production, which almost made me vom a couple of times. But he always had an interesting story to tell.
From here it was an hour bus ride to Gyeongju, which is the cultural center of South Korea, much as Kyoto was the place to be for temples in Japan. I had been told of a famous hostel with a traditional korean atmosphere, so I followed through with this tip, and it turned out the be a great decision. My room was very simple, straight to the point, but very comfortable, and the hostel grounds were straight out of an asian movie. My sliding door was made of paper with a wood trim, and my mattress laid directly on the heated floor, with nothing more than an end table and a mirror in the room. The courtyard was enclosed by tropical looking trees, and korea bbqs were had most nights out on the picnic tables. The owners were, I’m sure, some of the nicest people on the planet. The husband demonstrated his musical stylings with a korean flute type instrument, and then showed me the hostel water well, which seemed to be his pride and joy because of how deep and clear it was (the green light he had installed added to the effect too), and his wife pretty much planned out my 3 days there for me.
I met 2 soldiers on break from their service (south korea has a mandatory 2 years military service), and they introduced me to the real Korean bbq experience. I had thought I knew all about it because I had tried it a few times in Canada, but this was totally different. Big slabs of ‘bacon’ (really just big slabs of pork) are cut up with scissors on the portable grill, mushrooms are grilled up, kimchi is served (spicy cabbage in sauce), and you eat this all wrapped in lettuce leaves or this very pungent herb leave, and dip the whole in a delicious sauce red sauce. This is all washed down with beer served glasses ('Cass' or 'Hite'). So good. Kimchi would become my obsession for the rest of my time in Korea. The guys spoke very little English, but managed to invite me over with a “Hello! You like food?”. With a little help from a translation website later on, one of them explained to me that he was training to be a paratrooper. He had completed 8 solo skydives so far, and he was only 18 years old.
Continued....
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Japan, Part 3 of 3
Since I had unlimited rail system access, I could travel back across the country to Fukuoka, where I had already passed and would be heading again to catch the ferry to Korea in a week. There, I met up with the Virginias again, and we partied like it was our job. The next day, I think I may have had the worst headache of my life, but we were all so zombied out from the prior evening that I probably laughed more that day than any other time in my life as well. I'm talking tears. Everything was so funny, even though it hurt to laugh. Come the next morning at 6am, we cabbed to an arena and were 2nd in a line with our hotel blankets. Once it opened, we bought our tickets and went back to sleep.
Later that day, we headed back over to that arena. The tickets we had bought, the reasons we were in Fukuoka, were the sumos. It was the final day of the sumo festival that occurs 4 times a year, each one lasting 15 days. This was wicked. We had a full day of watching these huge babies in diapers, from the lowest ranking to finally the Yokozunas (top guys with the most time allowed for intimidation). Learnt a lot about the rules, the history, the ranking system, and the current condition of the sport...ask me if you wanna hear about it! One interesting thing about it is that there is actually a drop of several feet around the sumo stage, that is relatively small to begin with (compared to the fighters) and the crowd seating begins just a few feet away from the stage. People were getting trampled by rolling fat naked men left and right, but nobody seemed to care. Doesn't that hurt? That night we hit a bar and some of the sumos showed up for drinks. Also, the dancefloor was cleared eventually for some breakdancing crews to perform. I headed back to Nagoya the next day.
I left Les & Sarah's place the following day to check out Kyoto. First thing I did, which I thought would just be a little side activity, was hike up a hill to try to catch a glimpse of some monkeys I had heard about. It turned out the be one of the coolest things I would see in Japan. On my way up, I found one in the grass and watched him for a while, since it could be the only one I'd spot. Once I'd had enough, I continued up to find about 99 more monkeys in the clearing by the tourist feeding house (for feeding monkeys, not tourists). You buy a bag of apples and pass them the pieces through the fence. I help on to one of the pieces as Charlie (or so I named him) grabbed it, and I observed his tiny hands for a while. So human like. I taught him how to catch the pieces I'd toss to him from a few feet away. I was called outside then and the monkey master threw down some monkey seeds or grains or something, and instantly the monkey population doubled as they all swarmed in from the trees. A freezy of fights, flailing and fun ensued. I spent a good hour up there snapping shots. The rest of that day was fairly uneventful, mainly just fighting through the masses, trying to get to the next temple, or to just walk around. Lots of people there for the pretty fall colors. I returned to Kyoto the next day, but this time I stayed in the city. The temples were nice enough during the day, but to my surprise, as soon as it was dark enough, massive lineups were forming. After curiously watching from a distance, I decided to see what all the hype was about and go into one of the temple grounds. Upon entering, I realized immediately that the fuss was all about the colors. The lights turned on at night and the tress were on fire. Bright orange, red and yellow everywhere. Majestic ponds with statue centerpieces reflected these images seamlessly, and of course the grounds were spotted with temples and other things. Way cooler than during the day. I walked for a while longer and then headed back.
I said my 3rd and final see-yas to Les and Sarah and thanked them for letting me freeload for a total of over a week, and I set off for Hiroshima. All of the bomb related stuff was within one area, the Peace Park, which used to be a busy section of town but was the hardest hit by the bomb. To be completely honest, this was the first time I'd even been in a museum where I was just as alert and aware when I left as when I had arrived. I think I read every single piece of english text in the place. I even rented an english audio guide. The museums, memorials, and the actual ground zero were all very captivating, although at times slightly disturbing, due to the graphic posters and wax statues. There were 4 photos taken minutes after the bomb went off, until the photographer couldn't stomach it any longer. It definitely served its purpose. I made sure to stick out my bag with the canadian flag on it, to avoid the dirty looks that I was certain would be shot my way, but it turns out that wasn't the vibe at all. In none of the exhibits was there really any blame placed anywhere, just unbiased facts. I spent the rest of that day again in a cool hostel, making friends, playing ugitar, and sharing stories. The next morning I bussed back to Fukuoka and rode a highspeed hydrofoil boat across the sea to Korea.
Other interesting stuff about Japan -->
-The Metro employees who's job it is to cram the last people onto the Tokyo subways before the doors close.
-The Japanime porno comics at the convenience stores. I call it Japornime.
-The ease of getting addicted to coffee. I drank more coffee in Japan that any other time in my life.
-The abundance of men in suits and women in miniskirts, no matter the weather.
-The obligation to drink with your boss, no matter what your situation is at home and how long he wants to drink for.
Mike
Later that day, we headed back over to that arena. The tickets we had bought, the reasons we were in Fukuoka, were the sumos. It was the final day of the sumo festival that occurs 4 times a year, each one lasting 15 days. This was wicked. We had a full day of watching these huge babies in diapers, from the lowest ranking to finally the Yokozunas (top guys with the most time allowed for intimidation). Learnt a lot about the rules, the history, the ranking system, and the current condition of the sport...ask me if you wanna hear about it! One interesting thing about it is that there is actually a drop of several feet around the sumo stage, that is relatively small to begin with (compared to the fighters) and the crowd seating begins just a few feet away from the stage. People were getting trampled by rolling fat naked men left and right, but nobody seemed to care. Doesn't that hurt? That night we hit a bar and some of the sumos showed up for drinks. Also, the dancefloor was cleared eventually for some breakdancing crews to perform. I headed back to Nagoya the next day.
I left Les & Sarah's place the following day to check out Kyoto. First thing I did, which I thought would just be a little side activity, was hike up a hill to try to catch a glimpse of some monkeys I had heard about. It turned out the be one of the coolest things I would see in Japan. On my way up, I found one in the grass and watched him for a while, since it could be the only one I'd spot. Once I'd had enough, I continued up to find about 99 more monkeys in the clearing by the tourist feeding house (for feeding monkeys, not tourists). You buy a bag of apples and pass them the pieces through the fence. I help on to one of the pieces as Charlie (or so I named him) grabbed it, and I observed his tiny hands for a while. So human like. I taught him how to catch the pieces I'd toss to him from a few feet away. I was called outside then and the monkey master threw down some monkey seeds or grains or something, and instantly the monkey population doubled as they all swarmed in from the trees. A freezy of fights, flailing and fun ensued. I spent a good hour up there snapping shots. The rest of that day was fairly uneventful, mainly just fighting through the masses, trying to get to the next temple, or to just walk around. Lots of people there for the pretty fall colors. I returned to Kyoto the next day, but this time I stayed in the city. The temples were nice enough during the day, but to my surprise, as soon as it was dark enough, massive lineups were forming. After curiously watching from a distance, I decided to see what all the hype was about and go into one of the temple grounds. Upon entering, I realized immediately that the fuss was all about the colors. The lights turned on at night and the tress were on fire. Bright orange, red and yellow everywhere. Majestic ponds with statue centerpieces reflected these images seamlessly, and of course the grounds were spotted with temples and other things. Way cooler than during the day. I walked for a while longer and then headed back.
I said my 3rd and final see-yas to Les and Sarah and thanked them for letting me freeload for a total of over a week, and I set off for Hiroshima. All of the bomb related stuff was within one area, the Peace Park, which used to be a busy section of town but was the hardest hit by the bomb. To be completely honest, this was the first time I'd even been in a museum where I was just as alert and aware when I left as when I had arrived. I think I read every single piece of english text in the place. I even rented an english audio guide. The museums, memorials, and the actual ground zero were all very captivating, although at times slightly disturbing, due to the graphic posters and wax statues. There were 4 photos taken minutes after the bomb went off, until the photographer couldn't stomach it any longer. It definitely served its purpose. I made sure to stick out my bag with the canadian flag on it, to avoid the dirty looks that I was certain would be shot my way, but it turns out that wasn't the vibe at all. In none of the exhibits was there really any blame placed anywhere, just unbiased facts. I spent the rest of that day again in a cool hostel, making friends, playing ugitar, and sharing stories. The next morning I bussed back to Fukuoka and rode a highspeed hydrofoil boat across the sea to Korea.
Other interesting stuff about Japan -->
-The Metro employees who's job it is to cram the last people onto the Tokyo subways before the doors close.
-The Japanime porno comics at the convenience stores. I call it Japornime.
-The ease of getting addicted to coffee. I drank more coffee in Japan that any other time in my life.
-The abundance of men in suits and women in miniskirts, no matter the weather.
-The obligation to drink with your boss, no matter what your situation is at home and how long he wants to drink for.
Mike
Japan, Part 2 of 3
Going into Tokyo on the train from the west, you get a pretty great view of Mt Fuji. I did not expect it....seems kind of surreal thinking bacck on it now because I was half asleep. Anyway, I had had the idea of checking concert listings for Tokyo before going and this turned out to be one of my better ideas, because to my surprise, Billy Joel was playing at the Tokyo Dome the night of my arrival. Just him & his supporting band. No way there would be tickets left. Sarah had heard that you could buy concert tickets @ the 7/11. She took me to the 7/11 near their place in Nagoya. After much trial & error, and the clerk ultimately coming to our rescue, we figured out that there indeed some nose-bleed section seats left! I managed to buy one by credit card. A 3 hour train ride later, some scrambling for luggage storage at the Tokyo Metro Station, and I found myself in a sea of Japanese B.J. fans, inching my way to my seat down yonder. The show kicked arse. His encore songs were my 3 favorite too. Not much movement on the part of the crowd, other than my section in which there happened to be lots of foreigners belting out the lyrics. No cameras allowed apparently, as I was reprimanded for shooting some footage, but the memory of the show is still pertty vidid regardless.
Afterwards, I retreived my bag and caught a subway to "Electric City" where I had booked a room. I made a mental note of the rollercoaster outside the Tokyo Dome. After some help from the hotel crek via payphone, I finally found the Athabasca Capsule Inn. It's called a capsule inn because you sleep in a 1 person pod with a tv and a draw curtain for the hole you came in through. You leave your bags and clothing in the lockers downstairs. I was in a room with 29 other capsules, and there were 4 floors of this, men only. These places were intended for business men who couldn't return home that night for 1 reason or another, usually because they had to get plastered with their boss. At first, women weren't allowed, but since the capsule inn's have gained popularity, some now have special floors reserved for women, as did this one. So, 7 floors of capsules total. There was also a bathhouse style bathroom with a hottub. I stayed 2 nights, not because I enjoyed the place that much, but because I couldn't be bothered to track down another hostel. I regret this now because, for one, the capsule inn, counterintuitevly, was very pricey (but in Tokyo, what isn't), but also I would have liked to stay in a Ryakan, a traditional Japanese hotel. I will try to track one down in Vancvouer when I'm back in Canada.
Anyway for the next 2 full days, I explored different must see spots, like the famous intersection you see in movies where if you were to look a building above, you would be hard pressed to see any pavement beneath you. I also checked out a palace with a swedish dude I met at the Starbucks, then the Tokyo Tower (just at sunset, so I caught the daytime view, then got to enjoy the nighttime view again --> best time to go to these places in my opinion). I yet again enjoyed good music, like a Japanese easy rock duo in the tower, and an amazing jazz trio in the street. Not only is the music fantastic, but people there really appreciate it. They were dancing and shouting along with the jazz band.
The next day, I crossed paths with one of those munks who chime a bell and take 1 careful, calculated step at a time down the busy Tokyo sidewalks, in a straight line amidst the hurried people heading every which way. This was featured in the movie "Baraka", if anyone has seen it. I gave him some $ after watching him for a good 5 minutes.
Travelling around Japan, you notice and hear about a lot of crazy stuff. One such thing, one that I failed to witness, was a gathering of young people every Sunday in a certain part of Tokyo, who all dress up like Japanimation characters. Apparently the realism is astounding, and they walk around the streets. They also meet up in a park and just chase each other around, my guess is its for the tourists. Give it a gander on YouTube.
The 2nd morning of my visit, I forced myself out of bed at 4:30AM and dragged my ass to the fish market to catch the early morning hustle and bustle of the seafood sales. It trully is a madhouse, interlaced with streams of tourists. Kind of funny to complain about tourists when I'm one of them, but I try not to interfere too much at least. I had been told to try a sushi breakfast at 1 specific restaurant right on the fish market grounds. It was the most popular one, but apparently worth the wait. Standing in line, I met an Aussie couple, and the guy didn't want to try the raw fish, so he took a stroll and I hung out with the girl while we ated and eventually dined. The sushi bar only sat about 10 people, so it was tight, but the food was inredible. They serve it to you right on the wooden counters. We got an 11 piece set of fish that had only travelled a few meters from where it was actioned off. That's fresh. So fresh in fact, the he slapped down a piece of surf clam in front of us and said "Still arrrrivvveee!". He meant "Still alive", we realized as the piece curled its up tentacles towards us.
Coincidentally, after parting with her, I went for a walk in that Electric City section of Tokyo, thus called because of its endless supply of multi storey electronic stores selling the same stuff, and i ran into the girls boyfriend. In a city of over 12 million people, I ran into the same guy twice in 2 totally different parts of town. So we hung out for a while looking for the outdoor store section.
I caught a quick pint at an Irish pub for a little taste of home, and then had to leave to catch my train back to Nagoya, but not before riding that rollercoaster I had promised myself I'd conquer. It went up to the tops of the buildings, THROUGH a hole at the top of one of them, and dropped back down, a couple of times over. Glorious. I was the only one screaming out of my group of 8 year olds.
Japan to be continued...
Mike
Afterwards, I retreived my bag and caught a subway to "Electric City" where I had booked a room. I made a mental note of the rollercoaster outside the Tokyo Dome. After some help from the hotel crek via payphone, I finally found the Athabasca Capsule Inn. It's called a capsule inn because you sleep in a 1 person pod with a tv and a draw curtain for the hole you came in through. You leave your bags and clothing in the lockers downstairs. I was in a room with 29 other capsules, and there were 4 floors of this, men only. These places were intended for business men who couldn't return home that night for 1 reason or another, usually because they had to get plastered with their boss. At first, women weren't allowed, but since the capsule inn's have gained popularity, some now have special floors reserved for women, as did this one. So, 7 floors of capsules total. There was also a bathhouse style bathroom with a hottub. I stayed 2 nights, not because I enjoyed the place that much, but because I couldn't be bothered to track down another hostel. I regret this now because, for one, the capsule inn, counterintuitevly, was very pricey (but in Tokyo, what isn't), but also I would have liked to stay in a Ryakan, a traditional Japanese hotel. I will try to track one down in Vancvouer when I'm back in Canada.
Anyway for the next 2 full days, I explored different must see spots, like the famous intersection you see in movies where if you were to look a building above, you would be hard pressed to see any pavement beneath you. I also checked out a palace with a swedish dude I met at the Starbucks, then the Tokyo Tower (just at sunset, so I caught the daytime view, then got to enjoy the nighttime view again --> best time to go to these places in my opinion). I yet again enjoyed good music, like a Japanese easy rock duo in the tower, and an amazing jazz trio in the street. Not only is the music fantastic, but people there really appreciate it. They were dancing and shouting along with the jazz band.
The next day, I crossed paths with one of those munks who chime a bell and take 1 careful, calculated step at a time down the busy Tokyo sidewalks, in a straight line amidst the hurried people heading every which way. This was featured in the movie "Baraka", if anyone has seen it. I gave him some $ after watching him for a good 5 minutes.
Travelling around Japan, you notice and hear about a lot of crazy stuff. One such thing, one that I failed to witness, was a gathering of young people every Sunday in a certain part of Tokyo, who all dress up like Japanimation characters. Apparently the realism is astounding, and they walk around the streets. They also meet up in a park and just chase each other around, my guess is its for the tourists. Give it a gander on YouTube.
The 2nd morning of my visit, I forced myself out of bed at 4:30AM and dragged my ass to the fish market to catch the early morning hustle and bustle of the seafood sales. It trully is a madhouse, interlaced with streams of tourists. Kind of funny to complain about tourists when I'm one of them, but I try not to interfere too much at least. I had been told to try a sushi breakfast at 1 specific restaurant right on the fish market grounds. It was the most popular one, but apparently worth the wait. Standing in line, I met an Aussie couple, and the guy didn't want to try the raw fish, so he took a stroll and I hung out with the girl while we ated and eventually dined. The sushi bar only sat about 10 people, so it was tight, but the food was inredible. They serve it to you right on the wooden counters. We got an 11 piece set of fish that had only travelled a few meters from where it was actioned off. That's fresh. So fresh in fact, the he slapped down a piece of surf clam in front of us and said "Still arrrrivvveee!". He meant "Still alive", we realized as the piece curled its up tentacles towards us.
Coincidentally, after parting with her, I went for a walk in that Electric City section of Tokyo, thus called because of its endless supply of multi storey electronic stores selling the same stuff, and i ran into the girls boyfriend. In a city of over 12 million people, I ran into the same guy twice in 2 totally different parts of town. So we hung out for a while looking for the outdoor store section.
I caught a quick pint at an Irish pub for a little taste of home, and then had to leave to catch my train back to Nagoya, but not before riding that rollercoaster I had promised myself I'd conquer. It went up to the tops of the buildings, THROUGH a hole at the top of one of them, and dropped back down, a couple of times over. Glorious. I was the only one screaming out of my group of 8 year olds.
Japan to be continued...
Mike
Japan, Part 1 of 3
Sam, my couchsurfing host and new friend, was kind enough to drive me to the international airport in the very wee hours of the morning, where I caught a flight to Naha, Okinawa. Okinawa is a cluster of Japanese islands between Taiwan & Japanaland. The original plan was to take the 4 day ferry from Taiwan all the way to Kagoshima, Japan, but soaring fuel costs forced the only ferry company into bankruptcy, so the compromise was to fly halfway and boat from there. I arrived in Japan and was greeted with posters warning me against drugs, weapons and pornography. After they confiscated my drugs, weapons, and pornography, they went on to take away the sandwich I was saving, which was given to me on the plane, ironically. I got some hostel info from a japanese girl at the info counter who had spent a few years in Banff, Alberta, and I set out into Japan. The hostels all seemed way too expensive (Okinawa is a very touristy area, as I discovered) so I asked a pair of girl travellers on the train (1 from england, 1 from sweden) if they knew of a cheap hostel, and we ended up spending the day together finding the hostel, hanging out on the beach, going to my first "Hotto Motto" (Japanese fast food chain) and legit Ramen noodle place, and learning some japanese numbers. The hostel turned out to be the sweetest one I'd ever stayed in --- $10 USD a night got you a bed, free internet, free laundry, free bikes, guitars, djembes, a dozens different spots to hang out in on comfy cushions, and a ton of people to hang out on them with. That evening, we got into a serious guitar sing-along. With access to the internet, the lyrics were flowing. At 2am, I found myself heading to a Kareoke room with one of my new friends. We belted out some Spin Doctors, Hanson, Bon Jovi, the list goes on... We also put a major dent in Japan's beer supply. These kareoke places are private kareoke rooms, so we have our own kareoke machine, comfy couches, and a phone to order more beer. Eventually 6AM rolled around and I had to be at the docks to catch my ferry, which I was looking forward to, because I could sleep for 25 hours straight. I staggered home, packed my bags, but upon arriving at the terminal, I found out that they did not accept credit card, nor were there any ATMs open in the city until 8am, and maybe in all of Japan for that matter. An exploratory cab ride that I could not pay for in the end proved this true. I missed my ferry, then couldn't find the hostel that I had come from. The hangover set in. After an hour long walk around, I finally found the place, somebody saved me from sleeping in the hallway and let me back into my room.
I woke up an hour after check out time, with a pretty solid headache on and no money to pay for this extra day I'd be spending here. I set out to find a bank machine from which I could withdraw funds, absurdly thirty and hungry, and discovered that the only ATM that would work for me, the guy with the foreign bank account, would be the Japan Post machine. I found this out after trying every other bank machine, of course. I now had money. I drank enough water to drown a whale. I spent most of that day chilling at the hostel because there was so much to do there, but interrupted that with a walk in the late afternoon around a hilltop castle, where I met some nice ducks, a cat, a turtle and some fish.
I'll speed this up a little now because at this pace, I'll be writing a novel on my 3 weeks in Japan. So, the next morning I finally caught the 25 hour ferry to Kagoshima. 'The Last Samurai' dude comes from here, not Tom Cruise but the other guy, and not the actor but the character. On the ferry, nobody spoke a word of english except for the one creepy drunk japanese guy who I kept catching staring at me with his head peering around the corner, and I'd have to pretend I was asleep to avoid him.
I arrived at 7 the next morning to find Virginia, a friend from back home who was teaching english in Japan, waiting for me at the terminal. Awwwwww. I stayed with her for 4 or 5 days, during which time I was further initiated into the Japanese lifestyle through shopping malls riddled with xmas sales, amazing restaurants, a freezing foggy hike along a volcanicaly active mountain ridge, some "onsens" (hotsprings), and a bike around an island who's centerpiece was another active volcano. The school kids on that island wore hard hats for protection from flying debris, and there were busstop style shelters in case of a major eruption. Lava flow tenches revealed solidified magma, which was very cool. I finished that day in a hotspring that doubled as a buddhist temple. So I was sitting there in the water robe they give you, surrounded by japanese men and woman, in this lagoon style place under huge outstretched trees, surrounded by rocks down a cliffside, seperated from the ocean by not more that 2 feet of stacked stones (you could lay back with your hand in the ocean and your body in the warm water...pure awesomeness), all the while people worshipping in front of the statue and candles carefully placed under one of the trees. Pretty cool stuff. The outdoor mall also had a foot massage hot water trench...almost as cool.
I said my temporary goodbyes to Virginia and her friends, who I had had an awesome time with, I activited my JR pass, which gave me unlimited access to their train system for 2 weeks, including their famous highspeed 'Shinkansen' trains, and I headed up to Nagoya to meet up with Les and Sarah, 2 more friends from back home. I had a great time staying with them for another 4 or 5 days. They introduced me to the game Jungle Speed. Check it out, you will never be the same. Nagoya is fairly central, so I was able to check out nearby places during the day too and head back to stay with them at night. Japan can get pretty pricy, so this helped me quite a bit. I rented a jam space with Les, Sarah made all sorts of awesome Japanese dishes, I also ate at great restaurants, and went on a couple of hikes.
Also, I happened to be there on a weekend and as I walked around to explore a bit, I stumbled upon lots of outdoor concerts. I ended up hoping from show to show. Started of with a Japanese Idol type guy on a stage in an outdoor mall, then I caught the end of a punk show with 10 bands playing 3 songs each, then on to a punk and funk type show that was just starting and went on for a good couple of hours. I was realizing that there was tons of good Japanese music in Japan....go figure! Also noticed that skateboarding, bmx-ing and breakdancing were all over the streets here at night.
I then headed to Tokyo for a brief stay.....
Mike
I woke up an hour after check out time, with a pretty solid headache on and no money to pay for this extra day I'd be spending here. I set out to find a bank machine from which I could withdraw funds, absurdly thirty and hungry, and discovered that the only ATM that would work for me, the guy with the foreign bank account, would be the Japan Post machine. I found this out after trying every other bank machine, of course. I now had money. I drank enough water to drown a whale. I spent most of that day chilling at the hostel because there was so much to do there, but interrupted that with a walk in the late afternoon around a hilltop castle, where I met some nice ducks, a cat, a turtle and some fish.
I'll speed this up a little now because at this pace, I'll be writing a novel on my 3 weeks in Japan. So, the next morning I finally caught the 25 hour ferry to Kagoshima. 'The Last Samurai' dude comes from here, not Tom Cruise but the other guy, and not the actor but the character. On the ferry, nobody spoke a word of english except for the one creepy drunk japanese guy who I kept catching staring at me with his head peering around the corner, and I'd have to pretend I was asleep to avoid him.
I arrived at 7 the next morning to find Virginia, a friend from back home who was teaching english in Japan, waiting for me at the terminal. Awwwwww. I stayed with her for 4 or 5 days, during which time I was further initiated into the Japanese lifestyle through shopping malls riddled with xmas sales, amazing restaurants, a freezing foggy hike along a volcanicaly active mountain ridge, some "onsens" (hotsprings), and a bike around an island who's centerpiece was another active volcano. The school kids on that island wore hard hats for protection from flying debris, and there were busstop style shelters in case of a major eruption. Lava flow tenches revealed solidified magma, which was very cool. I finished that day in a hotspring that doubled as a buddhist temple. So I was sitting there in the water robe they give you, surrounded by japanese men and woman, in this lagoon style place under huge outstretched trees, surrounded by rocks down a cliffside, seperated from the ocean by not more that 2 feet of stacked stones (you could lay back with your hand in the ocean and your body in the warm water...pure awesomeness), all the while people worshipping in front of the statue and candles carefully placed under one of the trees. Pretty cool stuff. The outdoor mall also had a foot massage hot water trench...almost as cool.
I said my temporary goodbyes to Virginia and her friends, who I had had an awesome time with, I activited my JR pass, which gave me unlimited access to their train system for 2 weeks, including their famous highspeed 'Shinkansen' trains, and I headed up to Nagoya to meet up with Les and Sarah, 2 more friends from back home. I had a great time staying with them for another 4 or 5 days. They introduced me to the game Jungle Speed. Check it out, you will never be the same. Nagoya is fairly central, so I was able to check out nearby places during the day too and head back to stay with them at night. Japan can get pretty pricy, so this helped me quite a bit. I rented a jam space with Les, Sarah made all sorts of awesome Japanese dishes, I also ate at great restaurants, and went on a couple of hikes.
Also, I happened to be there on a weekend and as I walked around to explore a bit, I stumbled upon lots of outdoor concerts. I ended up hoping from show to show. Started of with a Japanese Idol type guy on a stage in an outdoor mall, then I caught the end of a punk show with 10 bands playing 3 songs each, then on to a punk and funk type show that was just starting and went on for a good couple of hours. I was realizing that there was tons of good Japanese music in Japan....go figure! Also noticed that skateboarding, bmx-ing and breakdancing were all over the streets here at night.
I then headed to Tokyo for a brief stay.....
Mike
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