Thailand

Ok, so it's been a while. I apologize. I've had a rough week though. For those who don't know, my Grandfather past away last weekend. After advice from the family I decided to stay in Asia and continue with the Wedding that is on the 15th. All the Grandkids were doing the Eulogy, so I have been spending lots of time writing mine, which at this time has probably already has been read by my sister's. It's tough being away from family when all this is going on, but I have had a lot support from my Korean family here. :)

Excuses aside. Here is the blog on Thailand. It's long. So grab a couple of Singha's right now. I'll wait.

Ok. So anyways, our first stop was Bangkok. One of the first things I noticed was that Thailand is hot. Insanely hot. It's always +30 with lots of humidity. As a white dude from Canada, it was a lot to handle... but was something I'd learn to get used to for the next 10 days. Also, nearly every place had Air Conditioning, so it's cool (pun intended). Bangkok is a mixture between tradition and modern. On one hand, you have an insane amount of temples and Buddha's... on the other hand, you have huge skyscrapers, night clubs, gogo clubs, and markets. Our hotel (which was only 20 bucks a night) was near the market, so we went there first.

There are a ton of deals here. You have to wheel and deal a little, but you can get t-shirts for like 6 dollars, sometimes cheaper. Jeans and stuff are kinda pricier around 15 dollars. It was fun to barter, but it really got annoying after a while. I rant about this later... you'll see.

Korea has this too, but there are also a ton of food stands. They sell everything from western friendly stuff, to weird Thai seafood... like whole fishes, octopus, etc.

You'll never walk more than a block without some Thai guy saying: "Hello Tuk tuk" (pronounced toque tuque, like the warm canadian hat.). These are 3 wheeled taxi's that scoot you around town. They are cheaper than regular taxi's (again, only if you barter), but they are loud as hell, and kinda dangerous. I thought Seoul was bad for traffic and craziness, Bangkok is 10x worse. They also drive on the left side, which is something different you have to adjust to (especially crossing the street. Look RIGHT first.) Everyone drives like it's a nascar event, and I'm sure people are killed hourly. The taxi drivers are the worse offenders, as they drive as fast as they can so they can pick up as many customers as possible. They will try and rip you off, but if you stay firm and ask around, usually one will take you for the price you are asking. We rented this guy for 50 baht for 45 min. That's like less than $1.50!!

We then went to a few clubs. The night life in Bangkok is amazing. There are lot of places to drink, and this is a backpackers hub, so there people from all over the world here. We met people from the UK, all over Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, .. it's pretty crazy. I'd say that most of the people that come here are from the UK or Australia... I say or because I can't tell the difference in their accent. You have to be careful when going into a bar because it might not be what you think it is. It could be a Gogo club, which is basically women dancing, and the female pimps ask you which one you want. YIKES!. Also, when a guy stops you on the street advertising to see a ping pong show, it's not two athletic guys playing a game of ping pong. Yeah, so anyways, we found this awesome club where this dude was spinning insanely rad tunes. It was huge and it also had couches where you could chill out and relax.

After this insanity we decided to check out some of the Temple's and Buddha's n' such... These people really love their religion here. Over 90% of the people here follow the Buddhist religion, and it definitely shows. Here are some of the temples. The temples have a lot of intricate designs on them, and of course have gold plated tips as well. More impressive than the yellow paint I saw in Korea.

There were a million of these various designs outside the temples in the courtyard. I'm not sure what they are called but they were pretty cool.

There are also Buddha's the size of skyscrapers. At first you are led to believe that all these are solid gold, but it's just gold plated, and they keep it maintained. Still impressive though, and it's still a lot of gold.

This is the lying down Buddha. It is insanely large. I can't believe that this thing is inside the temple. I guess it was probably built after the statue was constructed. I need to show you this angle, because I think it's like a city block long. lol!

After seeing so many of these, it's insane how much gold Thailand really has. Even if it's just plated, I can't help to wonder that if they melted this gold, sold it, Thailand would be an insanely rich country.

Next up, we went to Koh Phi Phi. These are islands are located south of Bangkok, and just 45 km east of Phuket. It's even warmer here, but it's worth it. We have blue oceans, white sand, and rocky cliffs. You need to see photo's to appreciate what's going on.

First of all... our hotel (although way more than 20 dollars a night), was off the hook. It was right along the beach and had a sick pool with a fountain:

I took this photo when it was raining, and it still looks beautiful.

Just outside our hotel is this... The beach at Loh Dalam Bay. It's an amazing lagoon with blue water and white sand. The cliffs in the background make a rad photo.

The beach is really long, and there's a lot going on there. You can't really tell from this photo, but it's a lot busier than this. There is usually a couple of boats in the water and many tanned ladies in bikini's (for better and for worse... but mostly for better :D )

We then took a tour to Maya Beach which is on a different island called Koh Phi Phi Leh. It's a short boat ride from Koh Phi Phi Don. This is the first part of the island you see:

Around the corner is Maya Beach. Maya beach is where the movie, "The Beach." was filmed. It's crazy cool, but we were there when the tide was low... I don't know why, but, I still kinda liked Loh Dalam Bay better, just cause there's a lot more going on there.
Before we left, we wrote our name's in the sand. I risked my life getting this photo. I had to climb this big rock to get this photo. As I was climbing this jagged rock in flip flops (which was sketchy by itself), halfway up, I had to deal with this tropical snake that was hissing at me. I kinda freaked and it thankfully never attacked me. Lord knows what kind of venom it had in its arsenal. I had to jump down and climb a different side.
Our boat guy took us to a place with some awesome snorkeling. This is where Koh Phi Phi leh is better. The water is crystal clear blue, there are a ton of reefs and the fishy's are really pretty too.
I took this photo underwater with our camera.

Leaving, there was a rad sunset, so I had to nab a memory of it.

The night life at Koh Phi Phi isn't as great as Bangkok, but it has beach bars... which are super dope. There's always one of the local dudes juggling fire, making everyone not drunk quite nervous... but he didn't screw up, so it's cool.We like this place so much, we decided to stay another night and change our flight plan. Our hotel even gave us the last night for free.

Anyways, our next stop is Phuket. For all of those people laughing at the name before, it's pronounced "poo ket", not that it helps much. lol. Anyways... Phuket is a mixture between Bangkok and Koh Phi Phi... It has the night life, the shopping, and the white sand and beaches.

Unfortunately, by this time, I had enough sun. I was burnt even using SPF 60 sunblock. My whitey skin wasn't made for it.

So our beach time was limited. Here is some of it anyways on a cloudy day:

As you can see, it's not quite as nice as Koh Phi Phi. But they have more water sports and risking your life stuff going on. Like pulling a parachute dude behind a boat!

The bars are awesome. They are out in the open and they always have games to play. The cute waitresses play with you. We played connect 4 and Jenga. Yay!

Jenga was more fun, and got intensely high. I look drunk here, but it was a mid blink... I swear.

They also have Thai Lady boys. Yikes! Look at all of them lined up in the background!
Rant on Shopping:
Shopping really bugged me cause I had high expectations for getting good deals and cool stuff... but the people and items themselves ruin the experience... For one thing, it's the land of smiles. The people are very friendly, but after a while, you see that the smiles are fake. Basically, they just want you to buy a suit, thai massage, ride in a tuk tuk, etc... They just don't shut up. They just keep talking to you, sometimes following you 1/2 a block. You can't walk 5 steps without this happening. They'll tap your shoulder and touch you to get your attention. They'll also talk in your native tongue to get your attention... They try and guess where you are from, but usually fail. eg: so many times I got "Oi! You from Australia, mate?", or "you from England, mate?"... Sohee either got, "Inichewa!" (hi in japanese), or "neehow!" (chinese). They rarely get it right. It was humorous at first, but it quickly got annoying. When you actually do want to shop, they act like your best friend and try think like they are giving you a big deal. It isn't until we went to a real shopping mall in Bangkok that we realized that the real deals are the ones you don't have to barter. The t-shirts in the mall are about 100-150 baht (3-5 bucks)... and on the streets, about 300-500. They jack the price and capitalize on tourist areas. My advice is to only shop in the malls. Unless you want that fake Louis Vuitton handbag, or Versace t-shirt... you'll have to go to the streets... I didn't see any of those in the malls for legality reasons. Also keep in mind that pretty much everything you are buying is crap. Just because it says chanel, on it, it's actually worse quality than if you made it yourself. One laundry machine ride will destroy the clothes and the clothes around it. Ink runs and they shrink. Happened to all the shirts I bought there. SUCKS!!! End of rant.

So what's my overall view of Thailand? It's gorgeous, but the tourist trap is in full effect. You have to be careful and do your research. Hotels are cheap, clothes are cheap, taxi's are fairly cheap, and the food is cheap (and super delicious). My problem is that I hated arguing to get it cheap. lol. Anyways... If you were wondering, the best place was Koh Phi Phi. Everyone should go there at least once in their lives.

Lack of updates = Thailand

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been in Bangkok, Phuket, and now Koh Phi Phi. It is totally rad here. Internet is scarce and slow so the updates have been lacking. I did have one chance to post something a couple of days ago... but Rambo First Blood was on TV, so I opted to watch that. I do not regret that decision. Anyways... I'll post something in a couple of days when I have more time. It'll all be good when I'm on South Korean super fast high speed internet.

North Korea

A brief history lesson from Wikipedia: "In the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Korea, which ended with Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945, the Soviet Union accepted the surrender of Japanese forces and controlled the area north of the 38th parallel, with the United States controlling the area south of this parallel. Virtually all Koreans welcomed liberation from Japanese imperial rule, yet objected to the re-imposition of foreign rule upon their country. The Soviets and Americans disagreed on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea, with each establishing its socio-economic system upon its jurisdiction, leading, in 1948, to the establishment of ideologically opposed governments.[11] The United States and the Soviet Union then withdrew their forces from Korea. Growing tensions and border skirmishes between north and south led to the Korean War.
On June 25, 1950, the (North) Korean People's Army crossed the 38th parallel, with the war aim of peninsular reunification under their political system. The war continued until July 27, 1953, when the United Nations Command, the Korean People's Army, and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement.[12] Since that time the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has separated the North and South."

Ok, now that you know the background, it's time to visit the most heavily guarded border in the world. Technically, these two countries are still at war, with just an armistice agreement, not an actual peace treaty. Thousands of people die each year trying to cross the DMZ (From the North going to the South). The tour I went on is kind of a little disappointing. The DMZ is about 4 km wide and I didn't really get to go super close to the North Korean side because... I was on the South Korean tour. If I want to go to the JSA (Joint Security Area... where you actually get to see North Korean Guards), there is a few days of a waiting period where they do a background check and whatnot. Sohee can't go there without a 2 MONTH waiting period. Not many South Koreans go to the JSA.

I first have to let you know that there isn't many pictures of the real cool stuff because basically, the ROK (military police) will smash my camera if I snap a photo in the wrong place.

So we head north arrive by train (cost only 1.50 cents for an hour and 10 min train ride) in a town called Imjingak. It resides just below the DMZ and it wasn't wasn't what I expected. It was flashy, very tourist like, had an amusement park with all these rides for children. You can ride the "peace train", shop at all these tourist outlets (you can buy North Korean alcohol, merchandise, a piece of the DMZ fence, and get North Korean currency). We went to the "Freedom Bridge", which used to be called "Bridge of no return". Basically, people just send out wishes of Unification on this bridge:

This is the last passenger train to have gone to North Korea from the South. They are currently building tracks to go all the way again, and the South side is already built.

In fact... why don't we go on those tracks right now. Because both countries want unification (even though it is quite impossible right now), they have already built railroad tracks to someday carry passengers to and fro. Here is the train station sign... A little blurry, but the left arrow says "Pyongyang"... the capital of North Korea.

Here comes the train to the DMZ!!!

So now we are in the DMZ. There is one town of about 500 people that live in the DMZ. Because these people are not technically citizens of South Korea, they don't have to pay tax or go into the 2 year mandatory military service. One of the first things you notice is that there is razor wire fence EVERYWHERE! It's to keep people from crossing but more importantly, this is because any place beyond the roads and farming (they actually farm rice there too) is a land mine field. Scary! I couldn't take pictures of this, but I was warned not to wander off (in Korean, then translated by Sohee). Taken on the train... this is one of the many military posts along the DMZ:

While in the DMZ we toured one of the tunnels. South Korea discovered 4 tunnels built by North Koreans. The purpose is believed to be an invasion route for the North Korean army, although the North has denied this and told them it was for coal mining. It's an obvious lie and in the tunnel you can even see black spray paint that they used to try and cover it up. More information at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone#Incursion_tunnels

I went to the 3rd tunnel. I wasn't allow to take photos in the tunnel. So here is one outside the tunnel. Everyone has to wear helmets because the tunnel is about 5'8. Custom fit for Asian size. I suppose.

Outside the tunnel, there is a museum with a few artifacts from the DMZ, we watched this 15 min presentation that was really interesting... but, it basically unification propaganda by the South on how the DMZ now represents "peace" and all that. I wasn't really buying it.

Then there were more Unification type ornaments everywhere. Here is a good one:

Yeah, I'm pushing the world back together because Communism and Democracy go really well together. :) .

We then headed to a military base where you can actually view North Korea. Photographs are tricky here, because I am given a line. If I step over the line and shoot a couple of frames, those military dudes will bust my camera.

It was extremely cloudy that day, and because we are above sea level and kind of in mountain areas, I couldn't get really good photos. The picture below is the tallest flagpole in the world... It's in North Korea and bears the North Korean Flag.

Ok... So you can't see anything. Let me try again.

Yeah, it just looks like a foggy pole and you can't even make out the colours of the flag. Well just look at this then... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gijeong-ri_Flag.jpg

So anyways, we then ate some food then went home. I took a photo of the train station in the DMZ. George W. Bush was here in 2002 when this station was finished being built. As of now, you still can't take a train into North Korea. Even though it indicates everywhere that someday you will be able to take this train to London. Yeah. That won't be for a while.

So at this station, you can also get your passport stamped. It's not a North Korean passport stamp, but more of a DMZ stamp indicating you are in the middle of nowhere. The top stamp indicates that the train goes to Pyongyang.

The tour was a little disappointing as I didn't get really close to the North Korea. I think I'll go on the JSA tour next time without Sohee so I can get some photos of North Korean Guards. I also want to pick up some North Korean Soju (alcohol), currency, and some other touristy stuff.

By the way, some of you might ask if I actually can go to North Korea. Yes, I can. But I have to go through China. It has some cool and exciting things to see, and maybe someday I'll even go, but when you get down to the nuts and bolts... It's not a pleasant place to visit. You should see this guys blog about it...

http://www.aboutnorthkorea.com/

Anyways, I was very humbled by this experience. It's hard to believe that I was in Seoul enjoying the night life, the freedom the safe streets, advanced technology, etc.... and just 1.5 hours north is a 3rd world country where people are starving on the streets and getting executed publicly for practising religion or saying anything bad about the gov't. It is quite bizarre and extraordinary that something like this exists in our world... a 3rd world country resides right beside a 1st world and neither side can do anything about it.

So, It will be exciting to go back on the more "Dangerous" tour. But for now, I gotta go to Thailand. I leave in 4 hours. GTG!

Downtown Seoul and Cheonggyecheon at night

Yesterday, we explored downtown and Cheonggyecheon. Seoul is absolutely gorgeous at night. The pictures below will prove it.

There are actually about 5 different "downtowns", but this one is in the middle of Seoul. Before going out and exploring, we stopped for a couple of beers at Wa bar. This bar is super nice and has beer with ice in the middle of a few tables:
The first beer I chose was "Hite". The 2 big domestic beers here in Hite and Cass. Cass is probably the most popular and it tastes really good. I wanted Hite because I haven't had it since I've been here. You can get Hite in Vancouver, but I haven't seen it anywhere on the prairies.



They also had this area where you have your own little acrylic neon tall box thing to put all your beer caps in. Then, everytime you drink there, you put your bottle caps in. They sorta have that back home too, but this is set up all pretty and whatnot:


Then explored around the streets for a bit. They were packed. It was Sunday, and Sunday is usually the busiest because it's the only day off for people. (They don't get Saturdays off). The whole place is lit up with neon signs. There are bars, kararoke rooms, pc rooms, pool (the game) rooms, and a whole lot of street vendors.

Sohee stopped for a bite to eat at this vendor. Chicken on a stick. It was sweet and spicy. Yum.

We then headed over to Cheonggyecheon. Essentially, this is a small canal that ran through the middle of the city. It previously ran underneath the streets, until one politician thought it would be a good idea to expose it to beautify the downtown. So, the street is cut in half and the canal runs through the middle. It's pretty cool. I honestly have so many great photos of this place, it's really hard to pick just a few.
So, walking through, there are trees, shrubs, stone paths, stone bridges to get across, small lit tunnels, waterfalls, etc. It's simply gorgeous and something you have to experience.

Waterfalls along the pathway...The main waterfalls ...

Tunnels...

Lights along the pathway...

Fountain thingy's...

I know there's a lot of pictures here, and that's because I can't upload anymore pictures to flickr right now. I reached my limit there for this month already! haha.

So then we decided to go home. Before hitting up the subway, we stopped at the Samsung Building. This is Samsung's main headquarters. It's really big but not actually super big compared to some of the other buildings, but what makes it more amazing is this glass "floating" platform at the top (the lit up area). There is a restaurant up there, but Sohee says it costs about 100 dollars a person... yah, we won't be eating there. The picture's a little blurry. I needed a tripod.

I also took a little video of it. The quality is not the greatest because it's a digital camera video.

Here is a daytime shot from a week ago:

Anyways... That's it for now. Take care!