Seoul to Japan to Seoul - Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto

The next two days of my journey were spent in the three cities of Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto. They are all very near each other so it was easy and quick to get from one to the other.

I arrived in Kobe late morning after a train ride from Hiroshima. For lunch my friend had his heart set on sampling the world famous Kobe beef so we headed to a nearby restaurant.

Since it was lunch time the price was more reasonable and it included a salad, soup, veggies, ice cream, coffee, and the steak of course. Breaking my vegetarian diet to sample this potentially once in my lifetime opportunity meal, I was wowed! Ethically speaking there are a couple sides to the Kobe beef issue, although none of the urban legends are confirmed. I personally didn't go out into the hillside and see the cow treatment for myself, but knowing there are only around 3000 head of this beef, that doesn't leave near as much measure for the overcrowded facility treatment that is so commonplace in America.

So leaving behind the ethics debate, I'll move on to the taste agreement. For sure, Kobe beef is the best tasting meat I've ever eaten. It nearly obliterates from memory all other steaks previously enjoyed. The belief that steak needs sauce or dips or rubs or added flavor is inaccurate in regards to Kobe beef. There was nothing but sea salt sprinkled on as the chef began grilling the steak on a hibachi grill right in front of my eyes. Then, after getting a few bites ready, he offered me the first bite instructing that I not place it in more salt or pepper or sauce, but just eat it completely natural. My taste buds exploded and an involuntary "oh wow" escaped from my lips. I expected it to be good but my expectations were shattered with the flavor and melting meat in my mouth.

    

Unfortunately, you can't get Kobe beef in America. You'll have to go to Japan. All the people claiming it elsewhere are making false claims. Ask them for the 10 digit code that proves what cow it came from if you want to verify it's authenticity and you'll find they don't have one for you. Some restaurants import the same cattle but from other prefectures. It's not actually Kobe beef but it's really close. You'll pay a pretty penny though, so beware. If you want to experience the true thing, just go to Japan. The country is worth the visit and the Kobe beef is one of the extreme highlights along the journey.

After lunch it was time to explore the nearby woodlands. I hiked up through several small waterfalls, around a dam, up some giant sized steep stairs, and then strolled along a rather steep incline that wove its way through the Herb Gardens. Since it was winter time, not much was blooming but things were planted and the ground was being taken care of quite meticulously. It was still very beautiful. At the top there was a very handy and welcoming cable car ride to the bottom where it was time to jump the train to Osaka for dinner.



 

Osaka has an entertainment district called Dotombori. It's a canal street that's super lit up with so many lights it's distracting. It's also crowded so moving along can be slightly difficult, even if it's a weekday evening. There was a recommended old fashioned noodle house in the Lonely Planet guide book so off I went for some udon. (Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle of Japanese cuisine. Udon is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form, as kake udon, in a mildly flavored broth called kakejiru, which is made of dashi, soy sauce and mirin ~ thanks Wikipedia) This was by far the best udon I've ever had before and since. The noodles were perfect and the broth was delectable! I had a tempura prawn in mine and with the flavors of the broth soaked into it, that prawn was the most delicious prawn I've ever had in my life! I could have had two bowls of that soup!

 

But the night was young, so after a light dinner it was off to explore and hunt down some sake!  The first bar was a hole in the wall, straight out of a movie scene, packed with locals, nice looking bar...that didn't serve any sake. So instead (I wasn't going to waste the trip, right?) I enjoyed some nice port wine as an after dinner beverage.



Now the need for dessert got much stronger and it was time to taste the famous waffles advertised and eaten for every meal in every restaurant it seems. It wasn't hard to find an open cafe with some waffles served with ice cream, chocolate sauce and a banana, YUM!



After dessert it was back to the mission of sake hunting. It is now extremely apparent that the Japanese don't drink sake like the Koreans drink soju. Both are the local famous beverage, but the Japanese merely export it because many bars don't even offer it and you rarely see the locals drinking it (this was my experience anyway).

After much hunting, I finally found a bar that had sake plus a lot of character! I mean, a lot of character. And the owner surely put his character into the bar because he was sooo thrilled to see Americans. My friend and I were ushered upstairs along some crazy narrow stairs (the kind where you have to use the right foot on the corresponding stair to walk up them) into a small room with silver Sharpie writing everywhere. There was a little sink and a little bathroom and just a few very small tables. He brought us some free food and a nice sake gift set. Then as we went to leave the bar he offered to take our picture and thanked us a million times for visiting.

   

It was late by then and time to head to bed before a big day in Kyoto the next day. Osaka sure was fun and full of life. Someday I'd love to go back!

My favorite artsy picture of the Dotombori Canal featuring the ever popular bicycles and sparkling lights!

Kyoto is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Japan and in the late spring/summer and maybe even fall I could see the possibility, but during the winter... it just wasn't charming for me.

Still, there were many many many many (did I mention there were many?) temples and castles and other various religious monuments to go see. My friend wanted to go see the Golden Palace first so we did. Here's the picture.

 

Yes, it's gold. Would I bother going all the way there to see it? No, the Notre Dame dome in South Bend is just as big and more sparkly if gold is your thing, and there are many other more fascinating historical monuments elsewhere around the world.

Kyoto was where the hot pot meal was had. It was all you could eat for 2 hours and it was very delicious! Definitely still a huge fan of hot pot!

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Geisha's are a popular sight in Kyoto and in the Gion district you can see them walking home every evening.

These girls were even nice enough to take a picture with us.

All in all, it was a fun and fast couple of days. In Kyoto was were I stayed in a Ryokan, the traditional Japanese housing. There are tatami mats on the floor with some cushions and blankets and that's about it. It was actually super soft and comfy. Ryokan stay, check :) Next it's off to Tokyo!

Seoul to Japan to Seoul - Hiroshima

After a short flight from Seoul to Fukuoka, and my favorite noodle dish of the entire visit to Japan!, it was time for my first bullet train ride ever!



I was really excited to experience these famous trains. Getting the ticket wasn't too difficult, but traversing the station for the first time was impossible. I'm well versed in traveling foreign transit and can almost always find my way around fairly quickly and rarely have to ask for directions. I actually had to ask a passerby for help trying to read the track schedule. Once that was figured out I made another error not realizing that the trains are different lengths so for some trains you use one set of boarding numbers and for other lengths you use different sets of numbers. I know now :)  I didn't miss the train though so that is good!

The train was quite nice and comfortable and quite. But as soon as we started there was an instant pressure on my ears. My ears don't ever pop. Even if I fall asleep on the ground and awake in the air during flight, I'll be nearly deaf and in some pain because my ears haven't popped at all. This train pressure was different though. It didn't build up, but was instant and wouldn't go away if I swallowed or chewed gum or yawned really big. After a few minutes it hurt and I was miserable for the remainder of that ride and into the rest of the day as my ears recovered from the journey. I was carrying three-tiered decibel lowering ear plugs with me and used those as deep as I could get them for the remaining rides throughout the week and it seemed to confuse my ears and brain enough to keep the pressure pain tolerable and let me sleep or focus on other things.

           

After the train ride from Fukuoka to Hiroshima, I checked into the favorite named hotel of the trip....drumroll...Hokke (I pronounce it "h"okay). Is that Hokke with you?? haha!! Making fun of that name never got old and never will.



The Hokke Hotel had an onsen so I tried that out one night. It was very hot and very relaxing and quite nice, especially since I had the whole place to myself :)



The Hokke (lol) Hotel was perfectly located just a couple of blocks from a large covered shopping area with a couple bakeries and a slew of restaurants.



The first night was a tasty traditional meal that was literally cooked over tea light :) with some sake on the side ;-p



But the second night was a not so tasty okonomiyaki dish. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake (I much prefer pajeon, the Korean pancake). They cook it right in front of you on a hibachi grill and it's a popular local dish because there are many okonomiyaki restaurants and they are usually full, but I'll stick with my pajeon thank you.



I also got to have my first time at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant! It was great and one of the sushi chefs even came over and asked us if we wanted something specific a few times. It was super tasty, super friendly, and super awesome!



The full day I spent in Hiroshima I walked through the Hiroshima Castle and the Hiroshima Peace Park. Both places were nearly completely flattened by the atomic bomb. The A-dome in the Peace Park is still standing and there are various foundations on the grounds and one section of a wall of the castle that still remain, but the rest was all rebuilt.

 

The Castle has a nice museum that's multiple (I think 5) stories.



Although each ascending story gets smaller so it's not near as daunting as it sounds. Once you reach the top there is a nice view out over the city.



The Peace Park is much larger. Most of it is located across the river from the A-dome structure. After crossing the "T" bridge, that was the target for the bomb, you walk through the park visiting numerous memorials along the way.

The A-Dome

At the far end of the park is the museum. If you're a reader like me, this museum will take several hours to go through. There is a solemn attitude that is set with a video right at the entrance and it's a quiet mood as people transition slowly through the displays. There are a couple of sitting areas located throughout in case you get tired of standing or reading or fighting the crowd.

Nothing survived.

Hiroshima was the first city in my Japanese tour and one of the big things I noticed was how much cleaner Japan was/is. There are numerous articles about rules to follow when visiting Japan. The ones I witnessed on a regular basis were no cell phones (either talking or ringing) in public areas, no blowing your nose in public (I totally broke that one), and it was about half and half on the rule about no drinking while walking. I saw some people eating and drinking while they walked and many others who stood near the shop or vending machine to consume their purchases. There is a rule about women not showing their teeth when they smile or laughing with an open mouth, but the young people seemed oblivious to that. Only the older grandmas covered their mouths with their hands.

Coming from South Korea, where people just walk right into you, no apologies, Japan was a bit of a shock. Everyone was so overly polite and went far out of their way to communicate and help and there was definitely no bumping in the crowded streets or subways without apologetic bows.

 

One other big difference for me between the two countries is that Korea is a connected country. You can practically walk down the street and always be connected to the internet. Everyone has it and no one secures it. It's wonderful! In Japan, few people and businesses have it and of the ones that do, 99.9% secure it. Even museums and public office buildings that I would expect to have free wifi often don't have wifi at all, and if they do, it's not for free. This was a more difficult issue just trying to access all the data on my smartphone the way I had in Korea.

Did I mention Japan is clean? OMG! They even soap down and wax their sidewalks! One day I went into a public (think a small one stall per room at the local park where they clean it once a month and it smells from a mile away in America kind of place) toilet. This was a typical squatter although many of the buildings had super nice, heated seats, bidets, music mufflers, air your butt dry toilets. When I went in, there was not a single piece of toilet paper or trash anywhere (there never is), and as I pulled on my toilet paper roll a small piece tore off and fluttered down onto the floor. I looked around and felt terrible that the place was so clean that I reached down and carefully picked it up and put it in the toilet. I miss the pride the Japanese took in their cleanliness. Americans could take a cue...

Seoul to Japan to Seoul - DMZ & Panmunjom

The second day my friend was in Seoul we had an all day tour booked to the DMZ and Panmunjom.

A short history for those not familiar with those names; the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and the abandoned village of Panmunjom Korea, are historical landmarks for the Korean war and the second world war. When Japan was stripped of its colonies in 1945, the 38th parallel was marked as a divider between the Soviet Union and the United States occupancy in Korea. The 38th parallel was supposed to be a temporary solution with an end goal of uniting the country under a new system of democracy, but in June of 1950 North Korea advanced on South Korea and pushed their troops nearly completely off the peninsula, save for the remaining city of B(P)usan. Realizing that a successful mission by the North Korean troops would engulf the whole of Korea into communism, the UN entered and pushed the North Koreans back to the 38th parallel. They could have stopped there, but hoping to free the entire country of communism they chose to continue pushing northward and ignored the threats from China if they continued to advance toward the Chinese border. When Korea was nearly liberated and the UN troops were closing on the border of North Korea and China, China fought back and pushed the UN troops back to the 38th parallel. This border area was mostly held during the next few years and in 1953 an armistice was signed to cease fire. There have still been bombings and aggressive actions taken by the North Koreans against the South, but a civil war has been avoided thus far.

With all that in consideration, the following is my account of the DMZ and Panmunjom tour.

We got up early, and the company I had booked the tour with, Seoul City Tours, picked us up at our hotel which was super nice and way easier than getting to the meeting place on our own. It took a while, but once everyone was collected and transferred to the tour bus we headed out to the first place called Imjingak Park. This park is very touristy, but you can see the engine from the bombed train that would run between North and South Korea. There was also a freedom bell you could ring for a fee as well as a selection of restaurants and tourist shops. I found this park unappealing and crowded and eagerly boarded the bus to the next stop, the 3rd tunnel.

Just outside the 3rd tunnel area.

The North Koreans have dug multiple tunnels and it's believed there may be more currently in process that South Korea hasn't discovered yet. But the 3rd tunnel was the shortest one between the DMZ and Seoul (the destination of the tunnel). There are no cell phones or cameras allowed in the tunnel, so I don't have any pictures to show you, but it was a neat experience. The South Koreans have a steep tunnel that descends to meet the North Korean's unfinished tunnel. From there it's a bit short for people over 5 ft and fairly narrow, but you can walk all the way through the tunnel up to the DMZ line where there is a very small window to look through toward the North Korean side. There's a bunch of barbed wire and a not so friendly looking barrier between the locked door on the South Korean side and the door on the North Korean side. After you take a quick look through the window you return back through the tunnel and ascend the steep incline back to the souvenir shop (where you can purchase North Korean alcohol btw) and also view a video in the screening room.

The tour also takes you to the train station built just on the border in South Korea that they hope one day will be the first station across the border if you're taking a train from Russia or North Korea into South Korea. Right now the station is completely vacant but is kept up in a show of faith to reunite the two countries.

This picture shows the finished ideal of a united railway system  connecting South Korea to the rest of Europe.

After this part of the tour, lunch is provided at a Korean restaurant for those that purchased it and then a few people continued on to Panmunjom.

The cement slab in the middle is the border between the two countries.
That is a South Korean soldier standing in the intimidating stance they all use.

Panmunjom is located at the center of the DMZ where peace talks are held and constant security is at a high alert all the time. There is a "welcome center" on each side of the border for both the North and South Koreans. Directly on the border are a few conference rooms that literally straddle both countries. During this part of the tour, you must sign a waiver declaring you will follow all the instructions, that you will not point or make gestures toward the North Korean soldiers and are dressed according to the required attire. There is a dress code to enter Panmunjom. After the waiver is signed, you watch another video and then get on a bus to the South Korea welcome center. Everyone is instructed to walk in double lines and not to make any sudden movements or break away from the troupe. There is specific designated amounts of time to stay at each location and there is a very strict policy about which direction you may point your camera and how much zoom you can use. The Korean soldiers were all very solemn and never moved or spoke or even seemed to breath. The US soldiers there were much more relaxed and I got to joke with one and he was very pleasant and his was a refreshing smile and laugh amidst the stifling composure and solemnity that surrounded the complex.

A North Korean soldier is keep a close eye on our tour groups' activities.

After visiting the border everyone gets back on the bus to return to the souvenir shop and then all the way back to Seoul.

It was an enlightening tour and I'm extremely glad I was able to go. I would definitely recommend the experience, especially the 3rd tunnel and Panmunjom. History is always more memorable and the lessons better learned I believe, when experienced in such a fashion. My next post will be another historical one featuring my trip to Hiroshima, specifically the Peace Park.

Seoul to Japan to Seoul again - Seoul

It was a whirlwind of 10 days at the end of my contract at Aqua Planet on Jeju. There will be multiple entries to cover the various cities I visited because there's just too much adventure to fit it all in one post :)

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After I finally reached Seoul (you can check out that story in my last entry here), I spent the next week practicing and recording orchestra excerpts and concerto expositions for potential summer jobs. Hopefully it will all pay off in the near future in the form of a paycheck as opposed to just the long term productivity of extra practice hours and more solidity in the pieces.

If you'd like to watch me play selections of some of the hardest music written for violin in the orchestra repertoire you can see me on my YouTube channel here.

Now I'm back in the Unites States, but the following entries are short tales of the various places I visited during my 10 day vacation.

Seoul

After practicing and recording for a week indoors I had one day on my own before a friend from the United States flew over to join me on my vacation trip.

The day was beautiful, although cold, and I headed to Gangnam-gu and Apujeong for a much desired and long overdue appointment with a highly reviewed spa parlor. The lovely ladies spoke great English and when they realized that I'd booked more services than they'd scheduled in their book they accommodated me and had two girls attend to me to squeeze me through their tight schedule. It was blissful and now I'm spoiled for sure. Everything was super clean and super hygenic and they charged my phone behind the counter while I was being serviced and then spent quite some time calling the place I wanted to visit next to get me directions. The business is called Samantha Waxing and I highly highly recommend!

I felt so so so good and was so happy. They were all laughing
as I danced around the lobby with a huge smile on my face :-D

While I was waiting for the directions to my next locations I spotted an English sign outside the window that said "Super Juice". Some of you may now that I'm a huge fan of juicing and drink veggie juice whenever possible. While living on Jeju I had not had the opportunity once in 8 months and my body was unhappy, as was I, at the less than ideal nutrition I was getting.

So not knowing exactly what "super juice" meant, and guessing it was only fruit juice at best, I walked over to check it out and low and behold, they had a small selection of actual veggie juices just like you'd see at Whole Foods or someplace similar.

They juiced me up a drink right there and I was now so happy I could have burst but instead I skipped delighted out the door and started toward my next destination.

After a few steps I looked down at my half drank smallish cup and thought, "There is no way I will be satisfied only drinking one of these", so I turned around and greeted a slightly confused staff with a smile and another juice order. They'd never had anyone like me I don't think because they took my picture a couple times and asked my name and where I was from and where I lived in Korea and just stopped working entirely for a while.


Armed with two cups of fabulous freshly juiced deliciousness, I headed toward my next destination, a visit with some Dr. Fish. If you've never heard of Dr. Fish, they are fish that eat the dead skin off your feet and hands. They're popular in Asian countries and I'd heard of them, but never tried one and after working 8 months in all the salt water at the aquarium, my feet were more the ready for some love and attention of lots of little fish mouths.

I took this picture at the beginning before all the fish had swam over
and entirely engulfed my apparently delicious feet!

Feeling absolutely superb in all manner of body both inside and out, I concluded my daytime activities and headed toward Sinchon to meet a couchsurfing friend for some live jazz. Jazz is not the typical music of Korea and I didn't have high expectations, but it was quite nice really. Since I hadn't been to a club in over 8 months it was a welcome respite. We drank some tea, chatted, and soaked in the live jazz scene at Jazzda for what it was worth in Seoul.

The jazz club concluded my amazing first day playing tourist in Seoul and was especially rewarding after a long week of hard work put in recording.

I will mention here that I actually did get hired by one of the companies I recorded a video for, so all the time and effort put in was immediately rewarded this go around. If you're anywhere near Ohio this summer, stop by the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster to enjoy a musical with a LIVE orchestra!

And don't forget to say hello while you're there :)

The next day I woke up fairly late, gathered all my luggage together and met another couchsurfing friend for lunch. It was nice to catch up since we'd met at the beginning of my contract in Korea. Per the usual gentleman that he is, he helped me with all my luggage to check in to my hotel room for the next couple of days before saying goodbye. I gratefully showered, unpacked, and then hopped the metro for the long ride (think between and hour and hour and a half) from downtown Seoul to Incheon airport to pick up my friend from the States. Once you get to the airport it's another half hour walk through the maze of passages to the baggage area. I use the word maze only because there are many passage ways, but not because they are not easy to navigate. I found the Korean subway system far easier to use than the Japanese, although I would use either any day over any "system" in America.... My timing was perfect because as I was walking up, my friend was walking ?down? after just picking up his luggage so neither of us had to wait for the other. After a long flight (with no sleep) my friend was tired so he slept off some jet lag and I finished some backed up internet business I still needed to address.

The next day after a lazy morning and some coffee and pastries, we headed to our first tourist spot, Changdeoukgung Palace. Unfortunately, after we walked all the way there, we discovered it was closed on Mondays. Sigh. Having worked six days a week, I was unfamiliar with the Monday closing normalcy across much of Asia and so hadn't considered it in the schedule. Luckily, we hadn't walked far and the day wasn't bad weather, so we headed on to the next spot, Bukchon Hanok Village. This village is one of the largest in South Korea, and is a protected village of the traditional houses. You can get a walking map at one of the info kiosks and walk around for free. Because people live there they ask you to be quiet and respect their privacy, but it's a neat little area to get a glimpse of the older living style.

Then, after asking if it was open, we headed to the next nearest temple, Gyeongbok Palace, which was open on Monday and closed on Tuesdays so tourist have one or the other to see at least. I was really underwhelmed though. You couldn't get anywhere close to the temple. Even the stairs leading up to it were blocked off. You could walk around the grounds and see statues and displays of various kinds and there was a museum on the property which was all in Korea.

After we left Gyeongbok Palace, we got lost wandering the streets toward the tower, meandering through various underground shopping malls (Seoul has numerous underground malls) as well as above ground street mazes. We finally found the market we had been aiming for and after walking around and asking directions a couple of times, we located "restaurant alley". All the ajummas (Korean middle aged women), welcomed us and tried to direct us into their local restaurant. At the end of the alley my friend spotted a sign proclaiming an English menu so he chose to eat there. We had a pleasant bowl of soup each since it was rather cold outside.

I had a sweet potato chowder and my friend had a dumpling stew.

After the nice warm lunch, we braved the cold Korean winter weather again to hike up to the top of Seoul Tower. It's not the highest tower in the world but it has a fabulous view and the tower windows are not obstructed much so good panoramic pictures are easy to take (as opposed to the Tokyo Sky Tree I'll write about later). 

A city divided in two. The river is actually quite large.

The Seoul Tower was fantastic and we enjoyed it thoroughly. But it had been a long day so it was time to head back toward the hotel to rest before our next adventure; the DMZ/Panmunjom Tour.

Check back soon for the entry of my visit to one of the most intense country borders in the world.

To get to Seoul

And the journey begins: from Seojikoji to Jeju City to Seoul.

With my good karma angel retired, demonized or off gallivanting somewhere else around the world, the end of my Aqua Planet days were slightly messy.

In long detail, my boss wanted me to work an extra couple of days but was unwilling to give me a bonus for extending my contract. Unfortunately, I needed those days to practice and record for video auditions that had a deadline in less than a week so he needed to make it worth my while to give up a couple or even one entire day. He wasn't interested in the deal so not only did I not make a little extra money on the side I also lost the remainder of that month's salary. I did however retain the time that I needed to finish my practicing and recording. It was several nights in a row of very little sleep and days in a row of an aching body, but I got the first recording done. You can check it out here :)

The next to last day in my double priced room (literally every other place I enquired about was half the price per month but none of them would allow extensive violin playing) I went to speak with my landlord and ask about my deposit and a ride to the bus stop with all my luggage. My landlord speaks very limited English but enough to communicate that he was unhappy with the amount of the electric bill over my four month stay. When I moved in I was told electric, water and internet were included, but oil to heat the floor was not. He had also said the room gets very cold in the winter time. I was planning on living there from November through February so I asked about a space heater, explaining that when I practice I need the air to be warm, not the floor. He voluntarily brought me a large space heater and I used it at night and in the morning when I was practicing. I also ran it on low during the nights and sometimes on high during the coldest nights just to keep warm. When I asked about my deposit being returned he claimed the electric bill was too high and he could only give back a third of the deposit. I inquired as to the cost of the bill to see if he lost money or simply broke even but he was still making more than the previously stated cost of rent of the other locations. He was definitely not hurting for making money on my account. I tried to reason with him that he had not only stated that electric was included but had also given me the space heater and said I could use it. AND I had also tried to save electricity by turning it off during the day and running it on low at night. He refused to budge so I called my boss to plead for help. I'm not sure who was lying between the two men, but in the end, no one cared and I didn't get my money back. Then my boss proceeded to defended my landlord, claiming he is not business minded but is a kind man. I disagree (insert angry fuming emoticon here). And in case you were wondering, I wanted a written contract and asked for one several times but was told it was unnecessary by the people I asked so I gave up trying to get one.

So without any Korean money (for the landlord had given the part of the deposit he did return to me in Japanese Yen) I took the free bus to the airport and handed over my three bags to the luggage storage under the agreement that I would pick them up in 24 hrs for a fee of 25,000 won.

It was pouring rain that day. And I mean pouring, not sprinkling or gently raining, but pouring. I was soaked within minutes of stepping out from under the airport cover and having no money, could not take a taxi. If you are wondering why I didn't change some of the USD that I had, the reason is because it was a Saturday and ALL the banks were closed, even the ones in the airport. So I proceeded to walk half an hour to town. I literally had only 5,000 won so I decided I would go to the large grocery/"walmart" chain and buy a juice and use the internet while I tried to dry a bit. As I was walking into the store two American girls and two Korean guys approached me and asked if I would be in a picture pushing all of them in a cart. Definitely one of the strangest requests I've had in a while, but I was down, so they brought over a cart, all stuck a foot in it and I pretended I was pushing it while someone took a picture. No, sadly, I don't have that picture nor do I have any clue where to find it. As I was speaking with them I mentioned that I was looking for an open exchange place since my landlord hadn't returned my deposit so I only had USD. One of the girls agreed to trade the money she had with me so I traded for 35,000 won. It was enough to pay the luggage fee the next day and have a small meal but not enough to find a place to stay for the night.

You may wonder again why I hadn't already made plans for a place to stay that night, and I will tell you that I actually had, but my plans had been foiled. Before leaving Aqua Planet I had asked a couple of my friends if they would be interested in coming to Jeju to party one last night and then experience a tradition Korean spa called a jimilbang. It's very cheap (only 7,000-10,000 won for 24 hrs) and so we could all go enjoy the spa experience and then sleep overnight and then they could catch the free bus back to Aqua Planet while I caught a plane to Seoul. Sadly, neither girl that had agreed so enthusiastically actually came that night. Now I can hear you thinking, why didn't I just go alone? I totally would have if something else hadn't thrown another corkscrew into my day.

For over a month I'd been asking about flights to my boss and the week that I finished at Aqua Planet I personally told him what day I wanted to fly to Seoul. Then a couple of days later I emailed him that I'd like to fly that particular day in the morning. The email was sent a couple of days before I wanted to fly (there are a lots of flights from Jeju to Seoul) and he tried to book the flight the day before I flew. That afternoon, after taking the picture with the cart, I had wandered to a coffee shop to get some internet and received an email stating that all the flights to Seoul the next day were booked and that I'd have to fly out on Monday. I replied back that I had no place to stay an extra day and no money so now what should I do? Then I went in search of a flight just to check...and what do you know but there were flights available. There weren't a lot and they were higher priced than my boss wanted to pay, but they were there. So I emailed him back with the website and said there were indeed flights, if he could please book me on the day I had requested. Then I realized that I couldn't go spend the night at a jimjilbang because I needed to have internet so I could keep checking when my flight might be.

There is another cheap way to spend the night in Korea: it's at a PC bang (room). These are small cubicles with really nice chairs, some snacky food, a pc and coat rack, etc, so that you can spend the night. I figured, well, I can rent a room for the night there and have internet access and privacy to shed my soaking wet clothes and try to dry out. My clothes were so wet that when I sat down I left a puddle when I stood up on the seat. My hair had water droplets running down it and my book bag was so wet that all my clean clothes were soaked as well.

As I sat in this coffee shop wondering what to do, where to go, and how to pay for everything, I got an email asking where I was from an acquaintance in Jeju. This person had an office in Seoul and when they found out I was homeless and penniless for the night and needed wifi, they offered to let me stay for free in their office in town. So I emailed back my location at the coffee house and was picked up and taken to this empty office building. One highlight was my acquaintance actually bought me dinner which I was so desperate for since I hadn't eaten food all day. Once I got settled in the office room I realized there was no heat. I hung up my "clean" clothes hoping they would dry over night and that the next morning I could change. Then I waited at my computer for an email from my boss. Soon it came with confirmation of a flight booked two days away. Since I had his phone number I signed onto Skype and called him up and sitting in front of my computer screen verifying that there were flights the next day I asked him to please book me a flight when I had asked since I had no place to stay and nothing to eat and no money to pay for anything if I wanted/needed. He wasn't happy but an hour later I received a cancellation of the previously booked flight and a confirmation of a flight booked the next afternoon. Finally, I could go to sleep. Or so I thought.

There was a cot with a blanket in the room, but it was so cold that I did something I've never done in my entire life, I covered every part of my body, including my head completely with the blanket. I had taken off my drenched socks in hopes they would dry and my feet were so wet that they stuck to the blanket every time I tried to move them. I didn't sleep much that night.

The next day my acquaintance took some pity on me and picked me up and took me to a Korean 5 day market. These are very famous markets and lots of fun to walk through. I couldn't buy any food, but I enjoyed walking around smelling it and seeing all the different wares for sale. The market was quite large and we spent the late morning wandering around it.

My other boss was in town that day and I made contact with him and he brought me along to a Korean wedding around noon and I got my free lunch for that day. Then with time to spare before my flight (4:15) he asked where I wanted to go and I told him a certain museum I had intended to go to with the girls the night before but then hadn't managed to get there. So he dropped me off and I toured it for an hour. Then it was off to the airport to get my luggage. Since I still had no Korean money and it was Sunday so the banks were still closed he offered to take my USD in exchange for buying my bags out of storage. When we got to the airport the banks inside were open so I was able to exchange money for the luggage and then when I went to retrieve my bags, was informed that the 25,000 won price was now 45,000 won! WOW! Almost double the cost because I had an extra 6 hours past the 24 hr mark. What could I do though? Stay in Jeju indefinitely? I angrily paid the fee, told my boss goodbye (who was the boss who had defended my landlord and so knew of my money predicament and brags of his financial status, yet didn't offer to help me pay the fee as a parting gift or show of kindness), and went to check in for my flight.

It has now been two solid days since a shower, I'm still wearing wet clothes, have only eaten two meals in the last two days, and slept approximately ten hours in the last four days. All I want to do is get to Seoul, meet my couch surfing host, take a shower, eat some food, and go to sleep.

BUT, my flight was delayed. First only 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, and then 45 minutes. WHY? I was starting to wander through the duty free shopping looking for sample perfume to spray on me to help cover the odor for the people who were unfortunate enough to sit near me on the flight. After 45 minutes we started to board. YEA! I was so tired I almost slept through getting bumped by the beverage cart multiple times and the kid behind me kicking my chair and the kids in front yelling and playing boisterously but I just ended up with a neck cramp from trying to tilt my head too far to one side in my attempts to fall asleep.

When I landed I gathered my luggage, which was all accounted for and only wore very mild signs of luggage abuse before heading for the subway. The public transportation basically everywhere other than the United States is really easy to use, so I had no problem finding the way to the right train and riding to the correct stop. When I arrived my host was waiting outside the subway stop and he directed me and helped me haul my luggage all the way to his place (It really wasn't that far. It just felt like it in the condition I was in at the time.). The sundry greetings were given and then I asked for a shower. Humorously, after I emerged my host declared I was a new person. Apparently when I had arrived I seemed exhausted and worn down and after my shower I seemed happy and alert. It problem had something to do with the fact I was literally jumping around his apartment in glee...

This is the adventurous tales of the journey from Seopjikoji to Seoul.

More tales will come of my Seoul adventures :)

A short story: The She Puppy

It's not often I venture to town. Not that I don't like town, but because I'm too cheap to pay for a taxi, too busy to really enjoy the walk, too energetic not to wish I was running instead of walking with my purchases, too scared of the drivers on the narrow road in the dark with no sidewalk, too cold from the blistering wind to deem it worthwhile.

But it happened. My first day after I finished my contract, I went to town. It was a surprisingly sunny and beautiful day and since I wasn't so pressured with work constraints I could truly enjoy meandering around. As I headed down a less busy street with just a couple restaurants and a preschool I spied a bounding puppy across on the other side frolicking playfully behind a young boy. 

It's been a long time since I had any pets and it seems just as long since I've pet any animals. The sight of this playful and delighted puppy caused me to stop in my tracks, and catch my mouth hanging open several times wishing to call to the puppy but not wishing for it to cross the street in case of cars and also not to abandon its owner. As I stood there, mouth silently flapping up and down with my indecision, the puppy spotted me and sensing a friend started to bound out into the road. At first I turned away to discourage the puppy's direction, but soon realized that it didn't matter what way I was facing because the puppy was still doing its wandering puppy frolic dance slowly across the street. The boy wasn't calling it nor going after it so I jumped into action as I saw a car coming its way. I picked up the bundle of energy and wet tongue and crossed to the other side of the street.

When I get stressed my Korean language skills cease to exist entirely so mumbling something under my breath I made a questioning look and held the puppy out to the boy. He shook his head at me. Huh? The puppy isn't his? There was only a little grandma sitting at the bus stop left and she was already violently pushing away a phantom puppy in her vicinity and speaking very quickly in Korean.

Well, now what? There was no one else around. There were no houses nearby. 

I did have plenty of time so I decided to take full advantage of my lack of animal love in the recent months and carried the puppy to a small area just off the street very nearby. She was so well behaved but had no idea how to act like a puppy. She didn't know what to do with a stick. She didn't know how to play fetch. She didn't know how to even go get something I threw a foot away. She didn't know how to play tug of war. And she didn't know how to roll around in the dirt and just be a puppy. She nuzzled me and licked my hand and squirmed abundantly but if I picked her up she was a little baby. I could hold her any way I wanted and she didn't struggle once.

After "playing" for a half hour or so she climbed up in my lap and promptly fell asleep. I sat there and watched her and watched the people walk by. The boys would laugh and point. The men would ignore me. The girls would giggle. The women would start speaking immediately in very fast Korean and one even walked over and stomped her foot on the ground next to the dog as if to squish it?! 

Dogs are pets in Korea, but they are all very tiny ones that people paint pink and purple and dress up. There are also guard dogs chained up outside that always bark if you walk by. But there aren't really any dogs in between in the villages. And yes, Koreans still eat dog. 

Needless to say, I enjoyed my time with her and when I realized I didn't have all day to sit there nor was I really warm sitting still, I was conflicted about what to do with her. I couldn't just go house to house and ask if she was someone's puppy - there were no houses and I don't speak enough Korean. I've never seen an animal shelter here so I didn't know where to take her for adoption. I decided to just start walking and see if she followed me. I really wanted to take her home with me, but I was only going to be home another couple of days and the road between town and home is most certainly not safe from young puppies. 

After I walked the rest of the way to said road I turned around and there she sat, looking up with those big puppy eyes and floppy ears. "Now what"? She asked. 

I sighed. I didn't really have a good way to take care of her and I didn't know what to do with her either. But my selfishness for some puppy love and my fear of abandoning her found me picking her up and carrying her all the way home. 

The close passing cars scared her but she just clung to me tighter and would reach up to lick my neck and chin with apparently gratefulness. 

Once we got home I put her down and she very hesitantly came inside. She was very nervous and yet excited. She also was hungry I knew so I started looking up what human food I had that would be ok for dogs because I certainly didn't stock dog food and wasn't going to walk all the way back to town to get some with my last five dollars. 

I figured out some food for her and threw down a spare towel on a spare blanket on the floor next to my bed. She immediately jumped on it and checked out every square inch before running off again to discover more hidden places. It wasn't soon though before she was back to the towel and curled up fast asleep. She slept the rest of that day. I fed her again that night and took her outside to walk around and potentially do her business before going to bed myself.

The next morning I woke up to a pee puddle in the middle of the floor. I wasn't surprised.

The she puppy was more awake than yesterday. I fed her breakfast and then realized it was poring rain outside. I tried to lure her out in it but she wasn't going to leave the warm comfort of her new home so I gave up and found an old sock for her and started teaching her tug of war. She was a fast learner and soon she was chewing on everything. It seemed half my day was spent taking something out of her mouth and replacing it with her sock. That night she stayed with me again. I didn't know who to call or where to go so I delayed doing anything.

After four more accidents on the floor she started whining relentlessly if she wanted to go outside. It took me a bit to figure that out because she wouldn't whine at the door but if I walked toward to door she would run after me. 

She spent two days and two nights with me. I taught her how to be a respectful puppy and she learned quickly although she also learned how to be a challenging puppy. "How about this mom? Can I chew on this? No? Then how about this?" Before I caught her one night she completely chewed through my external computer keyboard. One less large awkward item to pack home I guess :-/

On the third morning I packed up two blankets and her sock and we headed to the beach for my last sunrise in Seopjikoji. She followed me, nearly tripping me sometimes, all the way there and romped around in the sand and made a toy out of some hard seaweed while I sat curled up in a blanket staring at the complete cloud cover that was entirely obscuring the sunrise.

When she tired out and grew cold she came and curled up with me. We laid there together like that for twenty minutes until it was time for businesses to start opening and time for me to see if I could find someplace to take her.

She was so reluctant to uncurl herself and join me on my walk into town, but with a little persuasiveness she trotted right along behind me all the way to town. Once we reached the edge of town I picked her up and as I headed up the first street a thought occurred to me. There was a couple that owned a local pharmacy that spoke a little English and had been very nice to me during my stay. Their pharmacy was nearby so I thought I might ask them for help.

I entered the pharmacy, the she puppy in my arms and greeted the husband working behind the counter. He smiled when he recognized me and then laughed confusedly when he spotted the she puppy in my arms. I explained as clearly as I could that I had found her and couldn't keep her but didn't know where to take her. He nodded and said, "Follow me".

He led me outside the pharmacy and two doors down to what I learned was his house. He called to his wife and left me standing in the doorway as he returned to his business. I waited and soon his wife emerged with one of their children. It was almost the same greeting she gave me that her husband had given me. I found this comical. But the smile on her face remained as I again explained I was looking for help because I didn't know where to take her. 

Her daughter peeked out from around her and I smiled and held the puppy out for her to pet, but she shrank away and her mother took the puppy from my arms. I handed the she puppy over and slowly realized; this was her new home. My friends were taking the she puppy into their home as their new puppy. It made me so happy. There weren't many people I had met that I liked as much as this family in the small village and to know the she puppy would be taken care of, loved and even have children to play with healed my worried and sad heart.

Today I am sure she's frolicking around, content and fed in a warm home with kind and gentle people to care for her. 

Finally, a story with a happy ending.