Hong Kong - My Newest Love

As I stated a few posts ago, one of my best friends came to visit me. Korea was never on his list of places to visit, but then again it wasn't on mine either - they just happen to pay me a lot of money. However, he stopped here to visit me before we both headed onto Hong Kong. He had lived there for 6 months a few years ago for school and this of course was my first time.

(Before you get any further - this post will be long and probably not as entertaining as others. You've been warned.)

Hong Kong is one of those magical cities that just blindside you. You of course go and think it's going to be a good time, but you wind up leaving it begrudgingly and figuring out ways to come back. It is a captivating city, and you can feel its energy and that people are there and getting things, important worldly things, done.


You also never forget that you're in a Chinese area, as things are still slightly off... case in point - a street of dried seafood with fresh shark fins on the side of the street:

We got there early Wednesday afternoon, hopped on the excellent Airport Express Train and were in central Hong Kong within 24 minutes.

We checked into the Marriot Courtyard and as we entered our room on the 25th floor and looked out our gigantic floor to ceiling windows we were pretty pleased with ourselves.

We wasted no time, and once we got over the happiness of the room, we took the trolley (yes, amazingly fun trolleys) down to a plaza in central Hong Kong. We walked around there for a bit to see all of the buildings and then subwayed it over to the Kowloon Peninsula to site see.

As we walked around we came to the Peninsula Hotel - an old time British luxury hotel - so we stopped in for a bit of afternoon tea. We took the Star Ferry back to central Hong Kong and took a trip up one of the longest escalators in the world through the mid-levels full of shops and restaurants. Once at the top we headed over to Lai Kwai Fong - the foreigner bar area - and had a beer and some food before heading back to the hotel for the evening to crack open the mini bar and stare out the window (yes, we just sat and stared out the window).

Thursday saw not too much action as there were some meetings to be had, but I did get to see a bit of the Syracuse University program at the City University of Hong Kong. SU is the only American University presence in HK which made me feel pretty good for my alma matter.

Thursday night we did stop on the Kowloon side for a bit to watch the nightly Laser Light Show that HK puts on from their skyline. They play music and each of the buildings light up and its a nice little flair that they add for tourists.


We then took a walk around the lit up area and saw all of the Olympic craziness around. Hong Kong is helping Beijing to host the Equine part of the games this summer. Plus all of China is crazy about it all anyway...

Friday we took a little trip over to Hong Kong Disneyland, and being that I had never before been to a Disney anything it was a really fun afternoon. The highlight for me had to be the Philharmagic Show - which was a 3D theater performance complete with water, smells, wind, and smoke. It was excellent. Also we did the It's a Small World Ride which had only been open for about a week, and the song is forever burned into my brain. The park is very very small though, and took us only about 3 hours to go through the whole thing. It's just hilarious that Disney has a presence in HK.


After Disney we went on one of the craziest bus rides through Lantau Island and wound up on top of a mountain at the Big Stone Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery. Truly a site to see, so if you're there - I recommend it.


We of course went out for a bit of drinking with some of my friend's old friends in Lai Kwai Fong and returned home at 5am, only to wake up and check out at 9am. For our last night in Hong Kong, I was surprised with a night at the Mandarin Oriental - one of the world's premier hotels. We had tea in our room on the 19th floor, overlooking the harbor and central Hong Kong that our concierge herself brought to us.


We headed to an excellent Dim Sum lunch in Kowloon with a few Chinese friends and then went to the Tsim Sha Tsui area to pick up our newly made clothing. Hong Kong is an incredible place to go shopping, but what you should definitely do is go and have clothing made. My friend got a suit and some shirts made, while I had some shirts and a skirt made cheaper than you'd ever get at home.

Saturday evening we took a long trip out to the New Territories and had dinner in Tai Po with a British Syracuse Professor who has lived in Hong Kong for 30+ years. The stories he had to tell were fascinating and he took us out to one of the best Thai food dinners I've ever had. He drove us back to the train station and when we returned to our hotel, we headed to the top floor for an evening in the hotel spa - WHICH happened to be ranked Asia's best spa. This was a title that is well deserved because for 60 minutes I was in pure unadulterated bliss. I've seriously never felt that good in my whole life, that I'm sure of.

For our last night in HK we once again sat looking out our window overlooking the harbor with all of the lights before meeting up with the same friends from earlier to have drinks in the hotel rooftop bar. We sat in this classy establishment enjoying martinis and such before calling it a drunken night around 2am.

Room serviced breakfast woke us up at 6:15am. It was a cloudy rainy morning which fit our moods perfectly being that neither of us wanted to go home. I didn't want to take my 3 hour flight to Seoul and my friend definitely did not want to take his 15 hour flight back to New York. Most people would say that life could be worse, but we now know that it could be better...

Happy Birthday Buddha!

Perhaps the biggest holiday in Korea may just be Buddha's Birthday. It's one of the few national holidays and has about a week's worth of events planned. From what I've seen holidays tend to be very family oriented and quiet, but not for Buddha. Buddha's birthday this year was May 11th, but Seoul put on a parade of parades on Sunday May 5 in the Insadong area. The parade lasted about 2.5 hours and it featured every imaginable and unimaginable type of lantern.

Before the parade on Sunday the Cheoggye Stream near City Hall had quite a few lavish lanterns set up that were all lit up at night. Also the temples and palaces around Seoul gave out lanterns to those who walked through their doors. Unfortunately I didn't get one, BUT they don't condense so it'd be hard to take home anyway. The day of the parade there was the Lotus Lantern Festival that took place down one of the main streets near Insadong where people could make their own lantern, watch performances, and eat all types of Korean food.

Basically it was one of the best celebrations I've seen here, and wish that they would go this all out for all of their holidays. Oddly enough, the closest I saw was when the westerners took over and celebrated St. Patrick's Day.

Anyway - enjoy the photo highlights:

A Tower by Any Other Name...

On Sunday we decided to head up Namsan Mountain to go to Seoul Tower. The funny thing about this tower is that its considered one of the top 10 tallest in the world, but its actually a very tiny little thing. What winds up pushing it towards greatness is the fact that it stands atop the center of one of the biggest mountains in the area in the middle of Seoul.

I also think the tower suffers a bit of an identity crisis as it goes by 8,000 names. You'll see it called Seoul Tower, Namsan Tower, and N Seoul Tower. The official website calls it N Seoul Tower, but once you get up there you'll see all three names in various places.

To get to the tower take the subway to Myeondong and leave out exit #3. Walk towards the hotel and then walk about 15 minutes past it up some stairs and then walk to the right towards the cable car. In order to get to this tower you can do one of three things - A) walk up the many many many stairs B) hike up the trails or C) take the cable car right to the top. My friend and I of course being the lazy SOB's that we are, opted for the cable car. It was about an hour wait to take the cable car - but it was also a Sunday afternoon of a 3 day weekend. The cable car is a great little ride, so in essence its worth the wait.

Once on top of the mountain you'll walk up some more stairs and pass a huge stoned enclosure that used to be a smoke signal area to warn Seoul of an emergency or an attack. This thing must have constantly been smoking for as many times as Korea has been invaded throughout its history.

We bought tickets to go up and had to wait about 20 minutes. There are little shops and snack bars everywhere so we got some tea and waited. The tower has two floors - the top floor which as you walk around shows you the customary distances to other cities in the world, and then the second floor which has various places of Seoul on the windows with little histories.
(Long way away from home)
If there's one thing you do when you visit this tower it should be to go to the bathroom. Being that there's absolutely nothing in front of you the whole bathroom is one gigantic window. It's the same in both the men's and women's bathroom:

Overall its an excellent way to become more aware of this sprawling city and a good way to spend an afternoon. We ended up walking down the mountain afterwards and it wound up spitting us out somewhere near Seoul Station. Not what I intended, but it worked out. Get a map or something before you head out.

Unconventional Stay in a Traditional Korean Hanok

One of my best friends flew halfway around the world to come and visit little old me this past week so I thought I'd attempt to do it up a bit. After our tour of the DMZ we headed back to Seoul and stayed at the Tea Guesthouse near Anguk Station and Insadong.

Now, most people when they travel want to find the best hotels possible, but when in Asia why not do things a little differently?

The tea guesthouse was one of the most unique places I've ever stayed. It's down a quiet street and a pagoda filled area. When you walk in, you enter a small courtyard filled with knick knacks and small houses.


We stayed in the double room which had two andols (mattress on the floor), antique looking furniture, heating/ac, and a desk and computer/tv. When you opened up the back door to the room it opened up into a backyard with a small pond and access to the puppy that was running around.
(The double room)

(The pond in the back)
It was a very nice, secluded little haven in the middle of the city, but it felt like it was miles away from everything (which is a good thing). The staff was helpful, they offered an excellent western breakfast in the morning, and there were plenty of brochures and magazines around to help plan a day if need be. It was nice to spend a night in a traditional place that had paper thin walls like you'd see on tv. We both really enjoyed it and it was a come and go as you please kind of place.

The DMZ - A Toursity Kind of Warzone

Ah the DMZ. The De-Militarized Zone. A span of only a few miles between two warring countries. One at the forefront of modernism and the other led by a madman who may or may not have extremely dangerous weapons. In between the two lies this space of farmers and military co-existing in an active war zone state, BUT also runs daily tours and sells knick knacks and tasty treats.

Specially made DMZ rice.

At a first glance, its thought provoking and fascinating and frightening all at the same time. There are two countries that have been so against each other for so long that they actually have to have miles between them to keep each other out. There are people living in South Korea that haven't seen their family members because they're stuck in North Korea and vice versa. They've been at a standstill for years, and the North is still trying to figure out ways to break into Seoul, as is evident with their digging and finding of tunnels underground. The 2nd most recent tunnel, the 3rd tunnel, was found when they were only 52km (about 32 miles) away from Seoul in the 1980s.

Looking at North Korea, this is the border between the two countries.

At any given time you never know what those crazy North Koreans are up to. The DMZ was built as a temporary barrier between the two, but as they continue to build more permanent structures and keep things freshly painted, its very clear that there will be no resolve in the near future.

However, after all of that goes by the wayside in your brain and you realize you're sitting on a United States Organization (USO) Tour Bus, that you paid $44 to get onto with other tourists, that there isn't exactly any imminent danger. They take you to snack shops, rest areas, banquet halls, and gift shops. I bought some souvenirs for my parents. We joked about walking out the door when we were standing in North Korea and seeing what happened. We were also told not to make any communicative gestures towards the North Koreans and we openly talked about how we were gonna get thrown in jail for waiving furiously at them.


The sign as you head into the 3rd tunnel explaining the stupidity of North Koreans

The whole trip for the USO first takes place in Ballinger hall for a debriefing, then onto the Joint Security Area (JSA) to see where the peace talks were held, then to lunch, and then the Dora Observatory, and lastly the 3rd tunnel where they make you put on hard hats and walk down a steep incline to get to the tunnel that's very wet and dark and short. It was a long day, and extremely informative, and we met some cool people on the tour that were mainly just passing through Korea.

South Korean Soldier guarding the door into North Korea

It is most definitely something everyone who lives here should see, if only to see something that is so definitive in history. It really is some of the most beautiful countryside I've seen here, and it is home to a lot of rare wildlife. Once the countries become united (if ever) there are plans already in place to keep it a nature wildlife preserve. Not to mention it has some of the most fertile untouched soil in the world and grows ginseng, rice, and other various important crops. So much so that the farmers who live in the DMZ are there to farm and making an untaxed living of about $80,000. Yes, dollars. It's unbelievable actually.

North Korea

If you're going to take a tour, make sure you take one through the USO and you book it about a month in advance. This is the third time I've tried to book a tour, and the first two were unsuccessful due to the popularity of the tour. All of the information you would need can be found here.

Olympic Torch Relay Insanity

This whole Olympic Torch Relay thing has taken on a life of its own inciting riots and controversy everywhere it goes. First, this race has been happening all over the world for years, but its just supposed to be a way for everyone to be involved in it. I read in the NY Times the other day that this was actually a Hitler idea in order to shift the public eye to a fake vision of peace while other atrocities are taking place elsewhere. Fascinating idea if you think about it.

The torch came through Seoul on Sunday April 26, and I actually just happened to accidentally see it. We were heading to Smokey's Tavern to try their delicious Burgers in Itaewon when we got off the bus at Hannam to see hoards of Chinese people and flags all lined up along the street. The torch was supposed to come through Seoul on Saturday, but due to security issues they changed everything and the route to be on Sunday instead. I was on one of the last buses to cross over the Han River, which was pretty lucky for me.


We waited about 15 minutes before we saw dozens of police filled buses come down the road, along with the the coca-cola and Samsung floats and then hundreds of runners surrounding the one guy holding the torch.

It was all over in a matter of minutes, but it was still interesting to be apart of. It traveled past us down to City Hall where it met up with 5,000 more fans or supporters before heading onto North Korea for the first time ever. It is interesting to say that North Korea was the only country to have absolutely no protests. A North Korean in Seoul however did try to ruin the festivities by dousing himself in gasoline and running towards the torch attempting to light himself on fire, but the authorities saw and stopped him before he could do any damage. He was of course, protesting China's policy of finding North Korean defectors and sending them back to North Korea which is against UN refugee laws.

Whether or not I think China should have the Olympics, I can never remember a time of the games having this much attention. It is extremely fascinating to see the world's reaction to all of it though. It's also interesting at the rate that we are truly becoming a global community...

Korean War Memorial

If there's anything you do when you get to Korea it should be to see the Korean War Memorial. Roughly 60 years ago Korea fought in a war to gain its freedom from basically everywhere. Japan had its hold on it for years, China did at some point, and then North Korea has tried again and again to get into Seoul.

I recently learned the basics for the war. The US helped Korea to gain its independence from Japan but only because it wanted to be in control of the peninsula for at least 15 years. This wasn't in Korea's plan so the US left the country in 1949 with virtually nothing. However, the Soviet Union had given tanks and money and trained personnel to North Korea and then that's when South Korea was invaded. The US then came back to bail out Korea and it has been here ever since. Basically it was a mini proxy war between the US and Russia that was fought on Korean soil. However, Korea has climbed nicely out of its past life and is now enjoying the modern life and doing quite well for itself.

It however, has not forgotten its past and has sunk a considerable amount of money into one of the most beautiful museums I've ever seen, and I haven't even been inside of it yet. Walking around the grounds at sunset is something I whole heartedly recommend. If you choose to go, it is just outside of Itaewon next to the Yongsan Army Base.

Field Trip - Train Museum!

Every month we go on a field trip. The last field trip was terrible as it was to the Land Museum - but at the end of April we went to the Korean Train Museum and it was actually pretty entertaining. Not to mention it was a well taken care of, huge and beautiful place.

The exhibits were well put together and had every piece of every train you could ever imagine. A good portion of it was in English too, which was pretty impressive. The tour ended with a 15 minute show in the Panorama Room where they had model trains set up and a model of Seoul that each train went around to give you a working view of the various types that go around Korea. It was even accurate in telling which trains were the fastest (KTX - Korea's newest high speed train) and slowest (freight as you'd expect).

Afterwards we went and had a picnic lunch on the grounds with the kids and even got to play around with actual old train cars later. I actually wish we were able to spend more time there, but what can ya do. At the end of the day everyone had a pretty good time.

GO BEARS!!! (Baseball in Korea)

I had the luxury of going to my first Korean baseball game today, and I have to say - Well Done, Korea. I am now a tried and true Doosan Bears fan.

The KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) has 8 teams throughout the country. Each team is sponsored by a company such as the Doosan Bears, LG Twins, Samsung Lions, etc, etc. It's run somewhat like the setup in the US - as far as having a spring training, and a 126 game season, ending with playoffs and a championship.

The Doosan Bears and the LG Twins are the two Seoul Teams and they play out of the same Baseball Stadium in Jamsil, right next to the Olympic Stadium (which is gi-normous):



Today's game was a Bears vs. Twins game and it was great fun to see the "home" teams duke it out. I imagine this would be something akin to the Yankees/Mets subway series, only they just share a city, not a stadium.

There are a few cool things about these games...
1) Tickets are only 8,000W.
2) Said tickets are general admission (or at least they were today). Seriously you can sit anywhere you want in the whole stadium.
3) There are Burger Kings, KFCs, and GS25s directly inside of the stadium so its not just normal stadium fare. Well, if you call this normal:

4) The fans are absolutely insane! They have cheers, and cheerleaders, and tons of songs, and those awesome balloon stick things that you bang together to make lots of noise - which I love and now own to be used again and again.


And last but not least - the 5th coolest thing are the men walking around with kegs on their backs and taps in their hand ready to give you delicious (ok well, mildly tasty at best) Hite Beer for the amazingly low low price of 3,000W. Honestly - what an ingenious idea to carry around a mini keg on your back - it beats carrying a tray up and down stadium stairs spilling it all over the place.


Today's game resulted in the Twins beating the Bears, but I have faith that my team will seek revenge at some point. I'm now the proud owner of a sweet, sweet, white Doosan Bears hat, and have a newfound love for Korean baseball. I will most certainly be back...