Mulloskeys Adventures Abroad

Okay… last but not least, all the other stuff we did over 4 days mixed together in one hodgepodge of a post. Fasten your seatbelts.!

Lets start with our resort. Erin found this wicked off season special for 4 nights which included breakfast, 1 dinner, 2 massages, free drinks, airport pick up, etc. for super cheap. It turned our to be super posh and well worth the $40 a night for the package. Even better, we were upgraded to the deluxe cottage as all the standard rooms were full. Rainfall shower, plasma screen, daily fruit baskets. It was the nicest place we have ever stayed.

Im not sure whether it is a Hindu tradition or simply Indonesian superstition, but everywhere you went you found offerings. These banana leaves filled with flowers and burning incense are placed in the front of buildings, establishments, on the roads and even on the beach in front of some guy selling beers. All are wishing good luck for the day. Luck is such an important part of life for these people. Even when you bartered really low, most gave in saying “okay - it’s for good luck”

As for beach culture, it’s very public here. There are no resorts on Kuta beach.. only across the road. This means access for locals and tourists alike. Every 15m you find the same set up: guys renting surfboards and another guy selling drinks out of a cooler on a stand.

The only bothersome part was people constantly soliciting for massages, T-shirts and crappy souvenirs. Erin tried to get a beach massage by one lady but it backfired. Others saw that she was “paying out” and knelt beside her head while getting ruined selling this and that. After there were 4 people doing this she finally gave up trying to relax. Occasionally there was some good stuff like this head pillow that looks like a mini folding chair.. but that’s about it

Kuta is a surfing mecca and we were surrounded by Aussies enjoy the huge waves. The morning is high tide with high rollers coming close to shore. Toward the afternoon the low tide gives swimmers and surfers shallow waters to take on easier waves and currents. Here is what is is like in the morning.

Even the McDonald’s has a place for customers to store their boards. And good ol’ Ronald shows us how it’s done.

I had been boogie boarding before but had never surfed. The waves seemed ideal and the pros out there made it look do-able. I had to try it. I rented a long board and dove in. My first thought was how much bigger the waves are once you are in the water. Second, how the hell do you get past them when they are crashing on you in a wall of white foam and rip currents? I spent 40 minutes been beaten and battered, tossed and flipped. While being tossed, I held onto my board for dear life. I was clearly out of my league here and exhausted from paddling. There is a reason why surfers have wicked bodies, it’s the hardest exercise there is. Here is me on my way out….

………and my not-so triumphant return; utterly exhausted and glad to be alive.

;

When the tide lowered in the afternoon, I gave it another shot. It was easier to get past broken waves as I could walk a little on the ground. The long board helps beginners to catch the smaller waves and stand up. There were surf schools all around but I tried to do it myself. And I did!

Sure I wasn’t gliding through a 15 foot pipe, but I was riding a wall of water and the thrill was indescribable. After about 2 hours I asked Erin to try and get some video. Unfortunately this meant coming much closer to the shore and riding some brief and puny waves. So in video form.. here is me riding a wave for about 2 seconds before it dies. Ohh well.

Still I was exhausted - time for a beer!

Sunset is when the real action starts. It feels like the whole island comes to check it out. We would take our little bamboo mats and cozy to watch it all go down. When you buy a beer you it comes ice cold and in a beer sleeve (that you give back). There is tons of action and even some die hards catching the last of the days waves. We saw 4 of them and here’s a few pics.

Erin also snuck some of our VIP free drinks form the Ocean club - Here is us celebrating.

On one of the days we took a taxi north to Seminyak. Erin had heard from one of her trashy magazines that there was an ultra posh beach club that the stars frequented in Bali. It was open to the public and their outrageous prices (by Indonesian standards) where about the same as in Canada. How could we not go for lunch? The place was called Ku-de-ta. Our cab let us out near the valet parking and we tried to look as un-poor possible as we walked through the gates. Everything about this place was cool. The benches, pillows, lighting, architecture, and staff uniforms were of top design. There weren’t lawn chairs, there were lawn beds. Next to them were ice buckets with champagne bottles. My idea of true heaven.

In the restaurant we drank Canadian priced drinks and ate lobster sandwiches, crab cakes, calimari, ahi tuna and more - all for the price you would pay at Jack Astors. It was well worth the splurge. I totally recommend going there. It was a major highlight of the trip. We would have taken more pictures but we didn’t want to look like “those people”.

Our favourite happy-hour/lunch place was the Ocean beach club. The venue was really chill and the food was awesome. We weren’t ones to take in the late club scene after dark until. that is, on our 2nd night we were approached by a promoter with VIP passes to various events there for the next 4 nights. Each night had free cocktails for an hour, free admission, and 1/2 price drinks the rest of the night. What a bonus! Here is a ceasar-martini with a giant pepper as garnish. Plus some more from around the place

Also as art of their promotion they put on these ridiculous shows. The skanky costumes and brutal lip synching had little to do with traditional Balinese dance.

Erin really liked the guy with the penis shooting fire in this next one… she commented that it was guys like that that were the reason behind the ‘no glove, no love’ campaign in the late 90s.

[gv data="957qZQDgjY0"][/gv

Basically the rest of the time we went from beach, to resort poolside, to massage tent, to sunset, to food, to free drinks, to watching Discovery travel shows in our cottage - and doing it all over again the next day. It was a great last trip and a perfect finale to our South-East Asian tour. Let’s finish with some more photos of the sunset from other nights.

Time is of the essence so another condensed BLOG post is before your eyes. Little text but a lot of pictures.. Some of the best yet. 5 days will be condensed into 2 Bali posts. Here is the first.

In the middle of the island is a small town called Ubud. It boasts a thriving art community and a sacred monkey forest. Since you can rent a jeep for the day for $15 we decided there was no better way to get there. As if driving on the opposite side of the road, in the opposite side of the care and driving stick with your left hand isn’t hard enough. Add crazy moto traffic and complete lack of street signs to boot. It took us a little longer to get there than planned but as they say .. the road less traveled and all that.

The first stop was the sacred monkey forest. Here, an ancient temple was abandoned centuries ago during a volcanic eruption. Over time, it was taken over by monkeys and now is a protected site for visitors. We were amazed at how many monkeys there were and how friendly they were. Even the babies got really close. The first hour was spent taking about 10,000 pictures of monkeys playing and resting.

Erin fell in love with this poor old guy who seemed to be saying “If I ever see another f*ckin banana…..”

The whole time we heard the chanting form a nearby Hindu temple on the outskirts of the jungle. We walked up these hidden steps and stumbled upon a huge ceremony. It was a celebration of their ancestors and funeral for recent dead. We watched as a parade of brightly coloured offerings went by seemingly forever. The colours of fruit, flowers and fabric, coupled with the music made for a magical experience. There even was a sacred cow being marched around. Here are a million pics and some video.

Next when walked across this wicked ancient stone bridge. The moss and vine covered stone spanned a deep valley and ran through a mass of hanging vines. It felt very ‘Lord of the Rings’-ish. Having monkeys playing all around us only added to the exoticness.

A quick left turn brought us halfway down the side of the valley where two giant Komodo Dragon sculptures peek out ominously. I’m still not sure why they were there but hey, here’s a pic anyways

This side of the bridge was where we first found some of the temple remains and enjoyed the monkeys run of the place. Down by the river, local children whose parents might have been at the ceremony nearby, played in the water and rocks. It was all so serene.

We continued to walk around and play with monkeys. In another part of the forest we found endless baby monkeys. Every time we saw a small cute one, there would be an even smaller cuter one around the corner (a la baby sheep at the petting zoo on The Simpsons). This one got real close for a bit before the come came over to check things out. Erin was squealing in joy.

Then this other guy got really curious about what might be under Erin’s skirt. I felt some bonding going on here. I clicked the camera as fast as I could and was rewarded with the best picture I have seen of Erin this year.

At the other end of the forest is the rest of the temple. Gates forbade our entry but this is what it looked like. When it is open to visitors, there are some pretty strict rules. For example.. check out the sign board which states “No entry while menstruating”

Our favourite part of the temple were these monkeys licking the walls. Whether it was the moss, salt or simply a tongue message, we don’t know. It was like they were in a trance - licking away in ecstasy. It was brilliant.

As we were leaving, a couple who had just arrived found themselves overwhelmed with the excitement generated with a bunch of bananas they just bought. They eagerly gave them to us and we got to have one last moment of monkey friends time. They were just so awesome.. their little fingers and toes so human like. I want a monkey pet more than ever.

After the forest we had some lunch in one of the many charming cafes in Ubud. The streets were lined with displays of art, crafts and pottery. Up the road was a central market where we indulged in some shopping for our future home (quilts, dishes, etc). The stuff was amazing and the prices so cheap… If only we had more time and bigger suitcases!

Back in Bali.. and I’m not sure which night, we went to the famous Jimbaran Beach. This beach is entirely devoted to seafood barbeques. There are no hotels or condos.. only restaurants and tables on this gorgeous white sand. As you walk the menus are displayed beachward for you to see their prices.

Before you say anything the hosts will offer you 50% discount. Sounds good right? Okay.. so the food is literally caught that day and the boats are being offloaded at the far end of the beach by the docks. Lobster, crab, snapper, squid, king prawns, etc are all at your pleasure. But here is where the real fun begins. The waiter takes you into the restaurant to choose and weigh your food. I chose a giant lobster, whole snapper and 15 king prawns to start. He put them all in a basket and filled out the order sheet. $30 he says. What?? This was after my 50% discount. So then I had to negotiate for my dinner too.. this was a first. Basically I got all of our food for $9 with some fudging of the scale, but it took 20 minutes and threatening to leave 6 times. But it was all in good fun and just how things go. Here’s where the action is.

Heres the BBQ MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm………………

And here is the result.. It was divine. Everything I could have wanted. Just perfect.

The best part was the food, but a close second was the ambiance. You choose your food then sit and watch the spectacular sunset, listen to the waves crashing and drink ice cold beers with your beautiful wife. All along the beach candlelit tables glow as the darkness falls. Best meal ever.

The next morning we enjoyed a simply superb breakfast from our hosts at the Ministry of Coffee. Next we headed to the Sultan’s palace, still in use by the current Sultan and his family. In all the place was pretty decrepit and had little to offer except some interesting architecture, paint themes and exotic birds in cages (read: tourist trap to the extreme).

One of the cool things was that there were guards all around who were dressed in traditional clothes and who carried a small curved knife as their only weapon. Even better, not one was under the age of 60 and they were all just sitting around. We got some cool photos.

There was one room of relative interest which had a wonderfully ornate ceiling. All in all I would not go back here.

The real attraction of this amazing city is the city itself and its amazing people. It’s not the most popular tourist destination so one really gets to blend in and get an authentic southeast Asian experience. As we walked around outside the palace life went on and we weren’t even noticed.

Next stop, down the road, was the water castle. The was designed in the 18th century by a famous Portuguese architect. The Sultan was so pleased and so intent on ensuring the originality of his new waterpark, he killed the architect when it was finished. Since there were no signs to tell us how to get through the maze of back alleys and homes to get there, we were soon chased by a “guide” offering his unofficial services for a reasonable price. He was impossible to shake. By now we have developed some keen travel senses and thick skin. We found our way and told him the same thing we did at the beginning “No thank you”. Regretfully most of the castle lay in ruins from various earthquakes over the past century. The pools themselves have only seen a small portion restored. Here is what is left. Notice the former castle in the distance.

Next stop - The bird market. It was hot and thankfully there were ladies selling $0.10 bottles of water everywhere. The bird market was so cool. Nothing touristy at all here - it is where the locals buy and sell all kinds of foul, supplies and insects to feed them. That was the first thing we noticed, cages with thousands of crickets in cages and bowls with maggots (to the right).

The next thing you notice is the overwhelming smell of bird poop. After that it is the sounds of all kinds of birds saying god knows what in their silly bird languages. It was like something out of the movies. The men here were quite creepy which made us not stay too long. Here is a video walk through

It was the perfect place to get some of those artsy black and white photos. The cages plus the lighting were ideal.

From there we wanted to head to the central town market. We hired two cyclo drivers (bicycle/tuk-tuk things) to take us the 30 minutes up the road. We seriously offered a 10,000 Rupiah ($1) and he squeeled as if he was scamming us. I’m more than happy to pay $1 to get someone to ride me around for almost an hour - apparently so was he. The only problem was I was way to big for these things.. my neck hurt for days afterwards.

The other great part was the low speed helped us capture some great sights. Like babies riding shotgun on motorcycles. Scooters and motorbikes are the perfect way to get around and it allows people of all income to get to and form work and around the city. Have a moto-centric culture gets very interesting around the end of school. Here, instead of cars, parents swarm the schoolground to pick up their kids on their motos.

Here are some of my favourites from around the city. One finds themselves unable to stop taking pictures; especially knowing this would be our last time in a place like this for a long time. It’s simply impossible to describe just how it is to be here - so here are some pics to fail miserably in that endeavour.

The Indonesian Bizarro….

Indonesia is fairly politically unstable. Typical of many countries in the region. Along the sides of the roads are thousands of flags for various political parties (mostly a black bull on a fiery red flag representing the people’s democratic party). In the middle of one intersection there was a non-violent protest going on. Here’s the video

The central market was interesting because there were no tourists whatsoever. This was a completely local market. It was packed with mostly women buying fabrics, clothes and hijabs. We had hoped to find some stuff for us, but to no avail. Still it was cool to be part of the buzz.

Surrounding the market were fruit stands and food stalls. Fresh noodles, chicken curries and fried rice was available to anyone wanting to risk food poisoning from the lack of refrigeration (don’t get us wrong, Indonesian food overall was awesome… however, this is just begging for food poisoning). Instead we watched as locals ate up and elected to play it safe and buy some lychees and snakeskin fruit.

I have a theory about fruit while I travel. If you haven’t seen it before or heard of it (in Canada) that’s because it doesn’t taste good. Rambutans for example are an exotic fruit in Canada and I see a few in every Loblaw’s. They are expensive but available. Available because they are delicious. So too goes dragon fruit and lychees. Now, the snake skin fruit feels and looks just like a snakes skin (photo right). The inside its the texture and flavour of a chestnut. Not delicious. I should have known better than to go against my instincts and experience here, but if Cobra was good I thought…. you know.

We spent the rest of the afternoon evening getting massages, eating more cobra and just relaxing over some cold happy hour drinks. Then it was back to the airport and back to Bali.

Of course, a brief flight is no way to finish your day. So Erin and I decided to get one more late night massage. We were surprised to see all the foot massage chairs taken.

Regretfully, this meant we had to settle for full body massages for $1 more.. alas. Erin and I both got put into a private room and were given disposable, and VERY TINY, black undies to through on. This made me a bit nervous as usually in other countries I got to keep my own drawers on or at least be totally naked. I’m not sure why this felt the most awkward of the 3 options. Regardless, I tried to put on my best face and keep an upbeat attitude. (Yes that shaded patch on my upper chest is a few hairs that are finally coming in. Puberty should be finished in a year or two)…

We forgot to post the two videos we have of the biggest Buddhist monument in the world…. the path to enlightenment. This is the temple where you ascend from earthly vices, up through transcendence, and finally reach enlightenment through a noble life.

As with any Buddhist monument, one should always proceed clockwise around. Here is the first video of our trip around the fourth level on the 5km trek up to enlightenment. Notice the carvings. At this point in the journey, people are starting to live more compassionate and pious lives and are on the path to enlightenment.

This next video was taken at the top where there are three levels of stupas with Buddha’s inside. There are 32 on the first level, 16 on the second and 8 at the top. This is ‘enlightenment’. For the record, it certainly felt like it.

The following posts on your fabulous last trip are regrettably short on text due to the need to get the posts finished before we go home in a few weeks. So get ready for the reader’s digest versions (massive sigh of relief I’m sure).

We arrived in Bali on a Sunday afternoon. As we approached the island from the air we got our first glimpse of the islands volcanoes peeking up through the clouds. Check it out.

We flew out early the next morning to Jogyakarta, so we spent the evening relaxing and exploring Kuta Beach area where we would be stating a few days later. It was the tail end of the winter break for Aussies so the area was crammed with surfers and party-goers from the land down under. Kuta Beach itself was more developed and party-oriented than I had anticipated. During sunset all of the restaurants hire DJ’s to play to the beach crowd. Even the Mini-Mart convenience store had its own DJ.

The restaurants all had super laid-back bench/bed seating full of pillows and cool lighting. Our first meal was at the Ocean Beach Club where great food was super cheap and the sunset was enjoyed with a crazy Aussie didgery doo one-man show playing from a floating stage. Not a bad first hour.

(Ocean beach, video of Dig guy playing)

We walked, toured, ate and drank then caught our flight early the next day.

Jogyakarta (Yogyakarta) is located on the island of Java and is said to be the cultural capital and pulse of Java. We were excited for coffee, volcanoes and ancient temples. We hired a driver for the day and our first stop was a Hindu temple Prambanan constructed in 850AD. In 2006, the eruption of the nearby volcano Merapi caused earthquakes of up to 7.5 magnitude on the Richter scale. This caused major damage to this ancient structure which was almost leveled by the quakes. It was undergoing restoration … piece by piece when we arrived. We tried to take pictures in areas without scaffolding. It was cool seeing the volcano in the background as we walked around.

It was here that I first dabbled in souvenir purchasing. The thing about Indonesia that is different than anywhere else we had been, is the shopping is mostly authentic and not kitchy tourist stuff. Like the real blow-dart gun from the Borneo tribe that I bought. You will just have to come over and see it. Next we went to lunch in this really cool restaurant in this little river valley. The layout was multi-tiered with water running throughout, plant and bird life bursting from the surrounding jungle. The food was pretty good too.

Next stop volcano-ville. On the way we passed many villages and farms where workers and school children went about their daily business. We stopped for a few minutes among beautiful rice paddies. A farmer with an ox waved and yelled “hello tourist” in as much English as he could muster. The volcano in the backdrop made it, and the pictures, serene.

As we drove up the mountain our life flashed before our eyes, speeding up inclines and passing trucks on guardrail-less drop offs. Our drive took us about halfway up the mountain and our ears had long since popped from the altitude. The is currently one of the world’s most active volcanoes. The last eruption was in 2006 and the top is still smoking. We toured the spot where lava and pumice first poured down the mountain and destroyed a small village there. Though still, you can almost see the flow’s movement down the mountain… there is a barren tract of land where the lava scorched the countryside.

As the eruption continued, a huge valley was created from the lava pouring down the mountain.

You can see the remains of houses here along with a bunker used for shelter. Unfortunately the shelter turned out to be a deathtrap with temperatures soaring over 1,000 degrees. The remains of melted bodies were found inside. Ouch.

There are people who have moved back into the area still living and working there - as you can see.

Next stop, the world famous Borobudur temple. I had seen this on Discovery Channel a few times and know a few friends who have seen it. It is a Buddhist structure which offers pilgrims a detailed guide to enlightenment via its engraved stone walk. Getting in is challenging as the vendors are relentless, walking with you in groups of 6 or more grabbing at you not taking no for an answer. It was even worse than Cambodia. Interestingly, there was a WHO medicine handout tent in the park where thousands were lining up to get treatment and medication for things like malaria. It was very interesting to see an international health project in action.

Okay, so back to the temple. The bottom layer tells of the trappings of a vice-filled life. Drinking, dancing, prostitution, all that good stuff. One who is unable to avoid these will face the lowest reincarnation. Unfortunately, to reinforce the base of this ancient structure, most of the bottom layer is covered with added stones. Also, now that Indonesia is a Muslim country, it was thought to be inappropriate to display graphic sex scenes and drug use. However, a small section remains uncovered to give us a glimpse of the ancient red light district - what a party it was! You can see people drinking, being lustful, dancing promiscuously, not living mindful lives etc.

Walking around the walls of each of the levels is a total 5km walk termed the ‘pilgrim’s walk’ . All along the way is depictions of higher re-incarnation as rewarded from mastering the previous level/life. Here we find animals and pilgrims chatting with wise men, gifts of offering and sacrifice being made, and groups of solemn worshippers. The lighting made for some spectacular black and white shots too.

All along the way mindful Buddhas watch and guide the pilgrim further on. Spires remind the pilgrim to head upward, and on the east side of the structure, 2 volcanoes are not far off in the distance. It was so cool.

Of course you have to have a little bit of fun too. You for those of you who haven’t recently checked out the FLAP album of our photo section, do so now for the latest of its worldwide exposure.

Finally, if one is successful in all these ventures, and achieves a mind free of all desire and individuality, they reach the top level: enlightenment! Truly if the spiritual path has a greater monument I have not seen it. One could sense exactly what was intended by the builders. No engravings, no statues, just the earth and the sky.

On the top of the monument, one reaches ‘enlightenment’ where there are series of levels of perfection where there are stupas in multiples of 8 (ex. 32, 16 and finally 8 on the top level). Inside these stupas are Buddha statues. It is said it is good luck to touch one except the joke is on the visitor whose arms are always too short to reach it inside. Well, that is until I tried it. Though it took most of my reach I had no trouble rubbing on all the good luck I needed from the little Buddha inside. Finally, freakishly long arms come in handy!

We walked in awe down the steps and toward the grassy area beyond. What an experience! We finished of with some pictures of the entire exterior then went back to the car and to our hotel about an hour away.

If you have any photo energy left, I highly recommend checking out the photos section as there are many stunners.

Erin found this amazing little hotel/cafe called “The Ministry of Coffee”. Half hotel and half cafe it was most famous for its homemade chocolate and deserts, and of course its coffee. Because of some airport pick up confusion, they upgraded us to the deluxe suite for no charge. (Our original room was only $25). This was the most amazing place we had ever stayed (in southeast Asia up to this point). The design of the building was very contemporary and artsy with high ceilings and unique corridors. We had our own private stairway leading only to our room. Here are some pics

The only downside was the proximity to the public speakers that blasted the Muslim prayers. They were so cool to hear except at 5am. The plus side? The food from the cafe was some of the best we had on the entire trip. Everything was made with fresh ingredients and meticulous attention to detail and flavour. It was so good that we never had room for desert. Nothing on the menu was more than $3.50 (including entrees).

Oh yeah, the other downside is they were a Muslim cafe so there was no beer (no biggie really as this place was so amazing and the people so friendly and welcoming). So we walked down the street to hit up some bars. Though I wasn’t hungry, I could not ignore the selection of King Cobra dishes at our first bar (Jogiakarta is famous for Cobra). I had to try it. Remarkably, it was very very delicious. The texture was a cross between chicken and calamari. The local spices made it that much better. I ate it 3 more times in 24hrs. Mmmmmmmm. Check it out.

There was a band that went from bar to bar playing some pretty classic tunes that I couldn’t help but stomp my feet to. We hung out for a bit and went to bed.

Very reminiscent of the Spoke but in a dark alley in an Indonesian city…

When one ponders one’s national identity on the international playing field, one hopes (especially as a traveler) that we are well-respected, well-liked and welcome in various host nations. In October, Sean’s passport expired. I know, who let’s a passport expire while living abroad on a work visa? Sean. In any case, we had occasion to visit the Canadian embassy in Seoul. As a proud Canadian, I was excited for the opportunity to visit the Canadian embassy here in Seoul to see just how our government has elected to portray us to our host nation.

What did I expect you might ask? Oh, I don’t know. A bastion of freedom, equality, human rights…. a beacon of hope on the horizon… Ok, admittedly, my expectations were a little out there… I’m not totally ignorant of our shortcomings. That said, I was hoping for something to make me feel at home. A place where I would not be stared at strangely for my appearance, and perhaps some nostalgic glimpses of the true North, strong and free….

What we were actually greeted with:

A flag…

A giant polar bear eating an ice cream cone…

The seal and some tourism ads:

And then some Canadian ‘art’ which was said to ‘capture the true spirit and identity of the Canadian people’…

Namely:

A woman with creepy beaver hair….

A strange perpetual motion machine, a totem pole of briefcases, and multi-coloured liquid flowing through wood….

Giant lego (a personal favourite)…

And the piece de resistance…. quite literally the centerpiece of the embassy’s gallery…

Creepy dead Ann of Green Gables-esque child in a flower coffin….

I know I felt proud. Do you feel appropriately captured and represented by our ambassadors abroad?

Honestly, this was such a surreal place. Strangely not Canadian….

or perhaps perfectly Canadian…

bureaucratic, unwilling to embrace a proud and unapologetic identity, and in seeking to offend no one, offending everyone…

When you log into Facebook from Korea there is an advertisement on the left margin for T-shirts for foreigners reflecting interesting or funny things about Korea. For my birthday Erin surprised me with 3 of them that she had ordered online. The first is a mock warning sign for use of fans that cause death. For those who don’t know the majority of Koreans believe that a fan can kill you if you leave it on with the windows closed or for too long. The belief is (and among highly educated people everywhere), that the fan blows oxygen away from the face and the unknowing victim suffocates in their sleep. Apparently cases of death are reported every year. Erin has gone on many rants on how a fan can’t differentially blow one gas… I’ve had to stop her from talking about it because she was offending people with her skepticism. So only other foriegners here find it funny.

By the way, if you don’t believe us.. visit:

www.fandeath.net

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death

The second is a “rock, paper, scissors.. the ultimate decider” is also amusing to other foreigners who all are amazed by the frequency of the system’s use amongst people of all ages. In ANY disagreement, kawi, bawi, bo (scissor, rock, paper) is law.

Finally, the greatest ever. It is a shirt that has written in Korean “Way guke een” which means “foreigner”.

In Korea, there are only 2 kinds of people. Koreans and foreigners. And I am as foreign looking as they come. So whats the big deal? Well, for starters you can’t walk down the street, to work, the corner store without someone, usually a child pointing at you and shrieking ‘waygukin’. Despite the fact that foreigners are quite common now in most Korean towns, we are still a site to behold, especially to children. So, to our complete surprise and amazement, the shirt makes every Korean who sees it laugh hysterically. I guess it’s becaue you’re beating them to the punch in their own language. Wearing it on the busy streets of Seoul is like walking around with a happiness gun and shooting people as you pass them. It’s quite the attention getter. After a little while we decided to get some video of people’s reaction. Erin followed with the camera. Here we are walking in the busy Gangnam area of Seoul.

The reactions do vary. Some people don’t think I know what it means and that the joke is on me. Others are trying to be respectful and cover their mouths and duck away to laugh. Others want to take pictures of and with me. After the baseball game a mother approached me asking to take a picture with her kids. While she struggled to get the flash right, a small crowd gathered and soon there was a line of people laughing and wanting to take a picture with me. Erin took some too. The first of this set is actually outside a bar in a trendy university area of Seoul where these friendly guys had to get a pic. The rest are outside of the baseball game.

Walking around and looking at peoples faces as the read it and react simply fills me with joy. Its a shame its meaning will be lost in 2 months when we get home. But for now.. I will wear it everyday. Thanks Erin.

If you have seen the movie “Mr. Baseball” (Tom Selleck gets traded to Japan) this will be familiar to you. If not, you are in for a treat. Simply put, watching a game here is one of the craziest things I have ever seen.

We bought tickets from scalpers. Except here the scalpers were old women with scowls on their faces that hit you (quite hard) when you attempt to negotiate price. Outside the stadium, in place of ballpark franks, was dried squid, Kimbap, and cheap beers.

Nothing beat being able to carry your beer (and a few more in a bag) right into the stadium without hassle. That said, there was no need. There was a convenience store (a post on the wonders of Korean convenience stores will follow) in every section stocking very cold, cheap beer. I will miss this country.

Baseball is the second most popular sport in Korea and has a huge following and TV air time. But off the field, it is very different from back home. First major difference: Korea is a country made up of one huge city, 3-4 medium cities, and a bunch more smaller towns. Picture Ontario; you have huge Toronto and large Ottawa, London, Kingston, Windsor and maybe Barrie. For this reason you cannot have city based teams in a league like the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB etc has. So how does Korea have a thriving baseball league? The teams are owned by companies. For example: Samsung Lions, LG Twins, Hyundai Unicorns, Kia Tigers). The teams share home stadiums in Seoul and other major cities and tour the country playing each other. So the #1 cool thing is that each game has a split stadium with supporters of both teams. Living in Seoul means nothing. You loyalty is decided based on favourite players or perhaps which company you work for. Our side was the Doosan Bears.. notice the motto “Jump. Hustle Doo!”

The ‘visiting’ team across the field, struggling in fans and standings but not spirit, was the Samsung Lions.

Cool thing #2: The fans from each team buy these blow up tube things used for noise making and following coordinated motion cheers. This is common in Japan as well and really does produce the desired effect.

Cool thing #3: The cheers are all unique and based on the company and its products, rather than its baseball teams players and performance. In addition, special cheers are sung against your opponents company. For instance, if you are watching a KIA and Samsung game and supporting KIA your cheers go something like this. “KIA makes the best cars. We are so efficient in design and value!”. While to your opponents you would cheer “Samsung electronics are garbage. Their DVD players break down easily and the warranty does not cover it!” (We had a Korean friend with us to give a rough translation of what to expect).

Cool thing #4 (kinda) - Each side, 1st base line and 3rd, has a small stage halfway up the stands. Here cheerleaders dance and help direct the crowd what to do and say. While their team is batting the cheers are non stop. So throughout the entire game at least half of the stadium is going crazy. Look carefully to see the cheerleaders on the stage in this video.

So needless to say we spent the entire game watching the fans, taking video and drinking beers. Every 20 minutes or so I would realize there was a baseball game happening and had to find out the score. The fans were that distracting. Props to the Koreans for very cheap beers at the game and a Burger King in the stadium to rot my gut. One last thing. After the game most fans stick around and picnic after the game. Food stalls on carts feed hungry fans who sit on makeshift cardboard seats. Getting to the cabs was like walking through a minefield of picnickers.

In a country where the all dogs are small, and any others are entrees, it makes sense to offer storage lockers while people shop. If for some reason you just can’t leave little fluffy at home you can stick her in here, next to where you store your backpack.

We didn’t realize what they were as we almost put our bag in one and onto a tiny pile of dog poo.

Just ridiculous what you see on an average day…

Erin and I found ourselves with a random Wednesday holiday and nothing to do. We figured it was time to break out of our routine and normal hotspots and explore some place new outside the city. The first plan was to take the KTX bullet train but the tickets were sold out. Our boss recommended Nami Island.. which is an island in the middle of the Han river, about an hour east of Seoul and 2 hours from our city of Ansan.

It was great being on a bus again. They are actually quite comfortable and a great way to see the beautiful mountains and blooming magnolias along the way (this was spring time - yes, another late post). The island was started as a kind of nature reserve by a former Korean general. Now it boasts huge trees, gardens, art exhibits and ostriches roaming freely. The flowers were at peak bloom.

As we ventured on we were being passed by kids who rented what looked like Segues but with a 3rd wheel on the back. Plus they were much noisier. It was all I could do not to punch one of them in the intestine given that they nearly ran us down… I guess we’re old now… damn teenagers. We found a really cool hotel that is all traditional Korean lifestyle with some cool woodwork by the water. It was here that we also saw the first squirrel we’ve seen in Asia. It must have been imported, but not from Canada as it had some freakishly long ears.

There was a cool train that I found more interesting than I should have. It was slow enough that we could follow it around for a while which Erin was just thrilled about. She is such a rebel. Here she is standing on the tracks while totally ignoring the poorly painted wooden warning sign.

The coolest thing about the island was our surprising discovery of ostriches roaming freely. Not in cages or pens, but just walking around, falling victim to the Korean paparazzi and children soon to develop a healthy fear of ostriches. I was quite nervous to get as close as I did.

Koreans love to snap photos as much as any other nationality we’ve encountered… if not more. For the right photo op, people here are more than willing to throw themselves in harm’s way. This includes inching closer and closer to untamed ostriches. When they don’t look at them, they inch ever closer. When that doesn’t work, some will even start poking or striking the ostrich to get it to look at the camera. Ostriches kick… and bite as we would soon find out. This was by far not as bad the restaurant at the zoo called the ‘Lion’s Den’. It quite literally overhangs the lion’s habitat and there are windows at the ground level (about 6 feet off the ground) that open up. We saw numerous people hanging their hands or *gulp* their children’s hands out the window with ‘treats’ for the lion. I wonder how many people have lost hands…