that's good bye and thanks!
so having done very little on my final day in Seoul, Luke (Australian guy staying the hostel) and I decided we'd go and see a Korean martial arts comedy theatre show called "Jump!" last night.
It was 7 men and 2 women chosen from a rotating cast of about 50 I'd say.
Wow, wow wow wow and wow, it was amazing!
I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and my hands were raw from clapping by the time whole show was finished.
The best part was the finale where each character shunned their costumes and the (fairly loose) plot and just gave the most stunning martial arts display i've ever seen.
their mastery of their own physicality is just awesome. and inspirational.
the funniest part was when they did a little audience participation and who did they pick out first? the one person in the crowd who was most opposite to every single cast memeber, Luke!
well it was like seeing Gulliver in Lilliput for real. He was about 15inches taller than anyone else on stage and well, i guess you had to be there so i won't bore you, but it truly was hilarious.
i got my photo taken with one of the cast aswell, i'll post it when i get a chance.
he was the one all the Korean girls were most taken with and it was easy to see why!
it's a pity the girls wouldn't come to see it while they were there too, i know for a fact that Karen would have been in her element! ;)
so then we went back to the hostel where a small crowd was gathering of all the solo travellers and we had a few bottles of beer and a good laugh.
at 12 the guys decided they were going out on the pull and seeing as Bora (the Korean girl in the group) wasn't going out it was decided that i might lend a little credibility to their mission....hmmm!
so anyway, Marc the Manillan-born New Yorker, Deech the half-Indian Australian, Luke the really tall Australian, Julien the French-Canadian and myself hit the town.
unfortunately it seemed that not one girl in the club we went to spoke english so the guys didn't really do very well for themselves at all but I took great pleasure in rubbing it in their faces that I did in fact get chatted up by a Seoulite called Joel.
ok, just one more time - haaaaaa haaaaaa, I won! (sorry!)
so anyway, given that all of their attempts failed, we just ended up dancing the night away until the club closed at 5am and then made our way back to the hostel in the breaking morning so i could pack my bag and head to the airport.
there's organisation for you eh?!
so there you have it, it's now 9pm SE Asia time and i haven't been to bed in 36 hours so i'm going to hit the hay. i'm really glad to have met all the lovely people i did in the hostel, it's renewed my confidence about meeting people during the rest of the trip and i'm looking forward to it.
i'm also really glad to finally be in Vietnam. the language and the people are just so lovely and i'm really looking forward to trying to speak it and learn some more. i'm more than a little anxious about the work ahead and what is about to unfold, i think it's going to be pretty hard.
but i'm also quite sure it will be well worth it.
just a note though, it's 9pm but the temperature is in or around 29degrees celsius.
if it's hot now, what will the daytime be like?!!
yikes
i'd love a bit of soda bread and real butter right now
bye!
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
some photos
so here are a few photos of what we've been up to so far...
Out on the town, at Ho Bar...!
At Seoul Tower, and this is where I'm off to next!
The immensely impressive military dressage display at the War Memorial
Michelle, Karen and Mairead [and soldier] standing in front of the 'photo line' at N1ce lookout point, DMZ.
In the background are the viewers into North Korea and you can only take pictures from behind that line....hmmmm....
Gyeonghoeru Pavillion at Gyeongbokgung Palace
"Kimchi!" Karen's famous here dontcha know!
Everland
Mairead, Karen, Triona, Jay and Michelle
Out on the town, at Ho Bar...!
At Seoul Tower, and this is where I'm off to next!
The immensely impressive military dressage display at the War Memorial
Michelle, Karen and Mairead [and soldier] standing in front of the 'photo line' at N1ce lookout point, DMZ.
In the background are the viewers into North Korea and you can only take pictures from behind that line....hmmmm....
Gyeonghoeru Pavillion at Gyeongbokgung Palace
"Kimchi!" Karen's famous here dontcha know!
Everland
Mairead, Karen, Triona, Jay and Michelle
the lady doth protest too much
on our trip to the DMZ, the tourguide told us how there is a two year mandatory military service for all South Korean men. [in the North it is ten years...and seven for women...]
she mentioned how this often breaks up young couples but that also sometimes those relationships do survive.
there is a saying though, that if the girlfriend cries too much when the boy leaves for duty that she probably doesn't really love him that much and therefore the relationship won't survive.
i suppose she knows she's saying goodbye!
anyway, i was reminded of that last night when i was talking to mam, emer and eoghan and mam was asking if i was awful lonely.
well i'm not! :)
of course i was when i was in the airports and when the girls left and i'm sure i will be from time to time again as the trip goes on but i know i'll be home and i made this choice to go so i suppose i don't have much right to be lonely really.
but apart from that, i've met some lovely people already and i'm looking forward to the rest of my trip with and equal mixture of excitement, anticipation and anxiety!
so, there you go, i miss you all but i'm not crying myself to sleep at night!
in fact, there was a serious thunderstorm last night so i lay in bed and listened to the pelting rain through the open window and it was just lovely.
she mentioned how this often breaks up young couples but that also sometimes those relationships do survive.
there is a saying though, that if the girlfriend cries too much when the boy leaves for duty that she probably doesn't really love him that much and therefore the relationship won't survive.
i suppose she knows she's saying goodbye!
anyway, i was reminded of that last night when i was talking to mam, emer and eoghan and mam was asking if i was awful lonely.
well i'm not! :)
of course i was when i was in the airports and when the girls left and i'm sure i will be from time to time again as the trip goes on but i know i'll be home and i made this choice to go so i suppose i don't have much right to be lonely really.
but apart from that, i've met some lovely people already and i'm looking forward to the rest of my trip with and equal mixture of excitement, anticipation and anxiety!
so, there you go, i miss you all but i'm not crying myself to sleep at night!
in fact, there was a serious thunderstorm last night so i lay in bed and listened to the pelting rain through the open window and it was just lovely.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
a word on Korean health and safety
people don't generally jay walk here.
it's very much frowned upon and the only people i've really seen doing it are the business men in the financial district.
i don't know why though.
scooter and motorbike drivers [sometimes only wearing hard hats as helmets] are just as inclined to drive on the footpath as the road. they're either motorists or pedestrians depending on what suits.
today on my way to the Seoul Museum of Art i found myself in the middle of a building site pretty much. not that i chose to but as i followed the signs to the building, part of the footpath had been completely dug up and wasn't blocked off, so i had to either walk out on the road or step gingerly amongst the rubble.
the other day i walked by a site and even though it was hoarded off, i looked up and noticed that the scaffolding was anchored to the trees lining the street with cable ties.
with cable ties!
the scaffolding was being held to relatively immature trees with cable ties!
so in other words, they don't really get health and safety here yet...!
it's very much frowned upon and the only people i've really seen doing it are the business men in the financial district.
i don't know why though.
scooter and motorbike drivers [sometimes only wearing hard hats as helmets] are just as inclined to drive on the footpath as the road. they're either motorists or pedestrians depending on what suits.
today on my way to the Seoul Museum of Art i found myself in the middle of a building site pretty much. not that i chose to but as i followed the signs to the building, part of the footpath had been completely dug up and wasn't blocked off, so i had to either walk out on the road or step gingerly amongst the rubble.
the other day i walked by a site and even though it was hoarded off, i looked up and noticed that the scaffolding was anchored to the trees lining the street with cable ties.
with cable ties!
the scaffolding was being held to relatively immature trees with cable ties!
so in other words, they don't really get health and safety here yet...!
Monday, 26 May 2008
some quiet time
so the holiday is over and the work of travelling begins! the girls (Mairead, Michelle and my lovely roomie Karen) all left this morning to head back to Ireland. we've had a great few days and did loads. at first it was all a bit strange and the curious stares from people and all the bulgogi sort of put us out a bit but as the days passed we all really enjoyed ourselves and found seoul to be a lovely place. everyone is very helpful - when they're not trying to walk through you off the metro - and we stared just as much at the kids as everyone did at us!
so, what did we do? well saturday we just walked around and got the feel of the place and tried to get over our jetlag. on sunday we went to Everland, "where every day is a holiday!"
ooooft! talk about cheese! it was fantastic though! it's a crazy fairyland amusement park on a level of cuteness i've never experienced before..! only thing is that it rained and thundered like none of us had ever seen or heard before. it was mad. but on the upside we did get stunning yellow everland macs to keep us dry (pics to follow hopefully!)
we also saw the main palace in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung. it was beautiful, really and truly. the attention to detailing on the buildings was mezmerizing. it was full of school children who had great fun practicing their english us, asking us where we were from etc.
karen made the mistake of walking off on her own though and was well and truly mobbed! a pretty girl in a pretty dress with pretty blonde curly hair is sure to guarantee celebrity status here in Korea! it was hilarious to see her surrounded by fawning schoolgirls! (and she loved it!)
we went to the DMZ and the JSA also. the DMZ (de-militarised zone) is 2km deep on either side of the MDL (military demarcation line) and we were given a history of the area and the war/invasion. we also watched a south korean propaganda movie and took a trip down into the 3rd infilration tunnel dug by the north Koreans during the war and discovered in 1978. they had dug it out in such a fashion that 10,000 north Korean troops could be in Seoul within one hour of departing on foot if necessary. scary business.
the JSA is the joint security area held by the UN and Republic of Korea (south) forces. it is right on the exact dividing line between north and south and we got to stand, technically, in the north for a moment. we were taken to an observation tower just behind the border line to see the north korean visitors centre and altogether the whole thing was a little scary. we were marched two by two off the military bus and told not to point or take a drink from a bottle. not to take camera cases or bags with us either. we were being watched like hawks by the north koreans and apparently any gesture we made that could be construed as positive by the north would be used as propaganda by them in the future.
all this talk of propaganda, who do you believe?! anyway, it was fiercely interesting to see and then when we went to the war memorial it gave us a fantastic perspective. seems like it must be pretty frustrating for the south koreans. they didn't start the war (it would seem) and only ever really defended themselves. they have built an amazing railway station at Dorasan, just inside the ROK border in the hopes that someday travel between north and south will be free. if that re-unification does happen, the south will then end up supporting their northern counterparts technologically and economically and you have to wonder what the cost of that support will be to the already not-so-well-off south koreans. guess we'll just have to wait and see...
for your entertainment only, this could never be a true representation of Mr. Kim Il Jong...
Team America:
the markets around the city are amazing too. trying to travel light, i really haven't done any shopping but the girls got some fantastic stuff and for fantastic prices. the fashion here is very cute. and modest. the girls all dress very smartly and pretty much all wear heels all day long but would never expose their shoulders or their chests at all really and few wear short shorts.
we were all a bit taken aback by this and the girls were pretty disappointed that all the vests they'd brought with them were pretty much redundant but we made do and got some lovely clothes that you'd never find in Ireland.
so on saturday night we all got dolled up and went into town. we started off in the HO bar and then moved along to S Club. however, on saturday night for some reason the girls hardly dress up at all! they were out in force in their jeans, tshirts and runners. man, we just couldn't get it right! but we had fun and the music in S club was good and we could dance and stuff. i don't think any of us had ever felt so white before though, everyone was pretty much either black or koreans who thought they waz black. fun times! we got absolutely no hassle though which was great, i don't think it would have been quite like that in an Irish club.
and so to end our little Seoul holiday on a sweet note and Triona treated us to a gorgeous cake last night. ;) there are bakeries everywhere all over the city and the cakes are just stunning. pure works of art.
so now i'm off to try and track down a bed for the next few nights and wander a little. by saturday i'll be installed in Vietnam and getting down to the volunteering, how time flies.
missing you all
eadaoin
so, what did we do? well saturday we just walked around and got the feel of the place and tried to get over our jetlag. on sunday we went to Everland, "where every day is a holiday!"
ooooft! talk about cheese! it was fantastic though! it's a crazy fairyland amusement park on a level of cuteness i've never experienced before..! only thing is that it rained and thundered like none of us had ever seen or heard before. it was mad. but on the upside we did get stunning yellow everland macs to keep us dry (pics to follow hopefully!)
we also saw the main palace in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung. it was beautiful, really and truly. the attention to detailing on the buildings was mezmerizing. it was full of school children who had great fun practicing their english us, asking us where we were from etc.
karen made the mistake of walking off on her own though and was well and truly mobbed! a pretty girl in a pretty dress with pretty blonde curly hair is sure to guarantee celebrity status here in Korea! it was hilarious to see her surrounded by fawning schoolgirls! (and she loved it!)
we went to the DMZ and the JSA also. the DMZ (de-militarised zone) is 2km deep on either side of the MDL (military demarcation line) and we were given a history of the area and the war/invasion. we also watched a south korean propaganda movie and took a trip down into the 3rd infilration tunnel dug by the north Koreans during the war and discovered in 1978. they had dug it out in such a fashion that 10,000 north Korean troops could be in Seoul within one hour of departing on foot if necessary. scary business.
the JSA is the joint security area held by the UN and Republic of Korea (south) forces. it is right on the exact dividing line between north and south and we got to stand, technically, in the north for a moment. we were taken to an observation tower just behind the border line to see the north korean visitors centre and altogether the whole thing was a little scary. we were marched two by two off the military bus and told not to point or take a drink from a bottle. not to take camera cases or bags with us either. we were being watched like hawks by the north koreans and apparently any gesture we made that could be construed as positive by the north would be used as propaganda by them in the future.
all this talk of propaganda, who do you believe?! anyway, it was fiercely interesting to see and then when we went to the war memorial it gave us a fantastic perspective. seems like it must be pretty frustrating for the south koreans. they didn't start the war (it would seem) and only ever really defended themselves. they have built an amazing railway station at Dorasan, just inside the ROK border in the hopes that someday travel between north and south will be free. if that re-unification does happen, the south will then end up supporting their northern counterparts technologically and economically and you have to wonder what the cost of that support will be to the already not-so-well-off south koreans. guess we'll just have to wait and see...
for your entertainment only, this could never be a true representation of Mr. Kim Il Jong...
Team America:
the markets around the city are amazing too. trying to travel light, i really haven't done any shopping but the girls got some fantastic stuff and for fantastic prices. the fashion here is very cute. and modest. the girls all dress very smartly and pretty much all wear heels all day long but would never expose their shoulders or their chests at all really and few wear short shorts.
we were all a bit taken aback by this and the girls were pretty disappointed that all the vests they'd brought with them were pretty much redundant but we made do and got some lovely clothes that you'd never find in Ireland.
so on saturday night we all got dolled up and went into town. we started off in the HO bar and then moved along to S Club. however, on saturday night for some reason the girls hardly dress up at all! they were out in force in their jeans, tshirts and runners. man, we just couldn't get it right! but we had fun and the music in S club was good and we could dance and stuff. i don't think any of us had ever felt so white before though, everyone was pretty much either black or koreans who thought they waz black. fun times! we got absolutely no hassle though which was great, i don't think it would have been quite like that in an Irish club.
and so to end our little Seoul holiday on a sweet note and Triona treated us to a gorgeous cake last night. ;) there are bakeries everywhere all over the city and the cakes are just stunning. pure works of art.
so now i'm off to try and track down a bed for the next few nights and wander a little. by saturday i'll be installed in Vietnam and getting down to the volunteering, how time flies.
missing you all
eadaoin
Saturday, 17 May 2008
seoul
ok, so we all got to seoul ok.
the emirates flights were just great. i had a whole row of four seats to myself on the way to dubai. watched two films and slept for maybe an hour.
[see pic below of stewie enjoying the flight also.]
the one to seoul was jammed but still all good. all in all, by the time i got to bed last night i think i'd had about 4 hours sleep in nearly 60hours though, which was a bit much...but i'll recover!
so we went to a "hof" (pub) with Triona and Jay last night. no one stands up in bars here, you go in, sit down, decide what you want and then press the bell. no waiting at the bar or any such inefficient nonsense. we had 2 x 3lt pitchers of beer, a coke, a plate of German style sausages (don't ask!) and some nachos. all came to 65,000W. which works out at roughly about e40. not bad at all between six of us eh!
so it's almost 10 and we're going to meet Triona and Jay for breakfast soon so i won't delay, not sure what we're doing today, going to the markets and just generally soaking up the Seoul atmosphere i think. seeing as Karen was the only one to get any decent amount of sleep on the flights we're all a bit zombie like so we'll just take it easy today hopefully.
hopefully i'll have some interesting entries soon...!
the emirates flights were just great. i had a whole row of four seats to myself on the way to dubai. watched two films and slept for maybe an hour.
[see pic below of stewie enjoying the flight also.]
the one to seoul was jammed but still all good. all in all, by the time i got to bed last night i think i'd had about 4 hours sleep in nearly 60hours though, which was a bit much...but i'll recover!
so we went to a "hof" (pub) with Triona and Jay last night. no one stands up in bars here, you go in, sit down, decide what you want and then press the bell. no waiting at the bar or any such inefficient nonsense. we had 2 x 3lt pitchers of beer, a coke, a plate of German style sausages (don't ask!) and some nachos. all came to 65,000W. which works out at roughly about e40. not bad at all between six of us eh!
so it's almost 10 and we're going to meet Triona and Jay for breakfast soon so i won't delay, not sure what we're doing today, going to the markets and just generally soaking up the Seoul atmosphere i think. seeing as Karen was the only one to get any decent amount of sleep on the flights we're all a bit zombie like so we'll just take it easy today hopefully.
hopefully i'll have some interesting entries soon...!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
gatwick..
so i'm here in gatwick.
killing time and using up my sterling.
saying goodbye to that lovely sunny island home of ours was tougher than i thought it would be.
hell, it's always hard leaving when it's so sunny and nice and it sounds so good described like that!
the weather here is awful today. suits my mood i suppose, it's just a bit dull and overcast but not raining anymore.
i've slept for approximately 45 mins in the last 28 hours now and drank more coffee than my poor body can handle but i'm looking forward to the emirate flight, should be nice, even if i do look like a hobo by now.
my archos is full to bursting thanks to Moe, full of music and entertainment to keep me happy and distracted if needs be, and needs must, at this point anyway.
gotta go now, the sterling's gone
south east asia here i come!
killing time and using up my sterling.
saying goodbye to that lovely sunny island home of ours was tougher than i thought it would be.
hell, it's always hard leaving when it's so sunny and nice and it sounds so good described like that!
the weather here is awful today. suits my mood i suppose, it's just a bit dull and overcast but not raining anymore.
i've slept for approximately 45 mins in the last 28 hours now and drank more coffee than my poor body can handle but i'm looking forward to the emirate flight, should be nice, even if i do look like a hobo by now.
my archos is full to bursting thanks to Moe, full of music and entertainment to keep me happy and distracted if needs be, and needs must, at this point anyway.
gotta go now, the sterling's gone
south east asia here i come!
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