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May 2002

May 3-6 2002:   Well the parents made the long flight over the Pacific and came to say hello.  I warned them and begged them to be prepared for a lot of walking. Me thinks they thought I was joking.  After the second or third trip to the subway they knew I wasn't.  I've mentioned it before, but Seoul has no shortage of stairs.  Some subways have 4 or more flights of stairs and very few have escalators.  The standard 10 minute walk to the subway is a bit of a shock for the typical American that only walks to the car as well.  So, with that said, I think they still had a good time even though they were dead tired every night. (They wanted to sleep in too, can you believe that! All those years I wanted to sleep in...pfft!)

I won't bore everyone with all the details of their visit, they can write their own page if so inclined. This is my journal not theirs ;) Suffice to say we hit a few of the sights and did a few culture type things (had galbi at a local Korean restaurant twice, saw the same palace I went to back in Feb...it is much prettier in the spring, went to Itaewon for some shopping, did some more shopping in Namdaemun which sadly was rather subdued for some reason, and had lunch with Ms. Na...whom my Mom hit it off with like they had been friends for years...). Time was a major issue so what little we did was kind of hurried.  Maybe one or both of them will come back with some more free time available. 

My Mom did teach a class I do at Daewon Middle school.  It was pretty funny, well I hate to say funny, but I got a kick out of it. For those of you who don't know my Mom, (Hi, Mom...sorry) when it comes to teaching she's a perfectionist. You ask her to fill in 15 minutes of a class and she'll prepare lesson plans and back-up plans.  She's good at what she does, but I think she drove my dad nuts the weeks prior to visiting. So she tricks the kids into liking her with candy, (making my life hell in the future!) then after pumping them up with sugar she has them color.  (Now I have to live up to that every week!) As for why it was funny, Ms. Na, their normal teacher and my Mom's new buddy, comes in and after a bit they just forget about the class and start gabbing.  Ya ya, they let the kids have a break which is fine and all, but the 5 minute break lasted, well I better not say!   It was still a good class but Mom's Spanish didn't help her much here in Korea.  Blank looks are the same in every language, hehe.

May 7-10 2002: This is Communism? The parents and myself headed to China on the 7th. They figured it was a good opportunity to catch a tour since they were in the 'hood, so I set it up. Air fare, 4 days and 3 nights in Beijing, very nice hotel and 3 meals...great meals a day, all for 600,000 won. Not too shabby.

We were part of a tour group of course, so we had a bus driver and English speaking guide. The kicker though was that we were the only ones on the tour! So make that a private bus and guide! Pretty nice since I saw pictures of my friends groups there that had 20-30 people (with the same company even).
 

Well the tour hit the big stuff in Beijing...Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven as well as a circus, opera and various "Friendship" stores (more on those in a bit).  My favorite was the Summer Palace I think. It was the prettiest and seemed to be maintained the best. Temple of Heaven, while very cool, needs some serious maintenance and TLC.
The Forbidden City is gigantic and has lots of neat little places to get lost, but the rooms and artifacts are in very bad shape.  Most of the rooms are "sealed" off but they did such a half-assed job at preservation that you can see the effects of time.  Sealed rooms had cobwebs, water stains and obvious UV damage. It's a shame really, as there is some serious history there.

Oh, the Great Wall. What can you say about it other than it is a really big wall built in the worst terrain. Impressive bit of work, but kind of a "been there, done that" feeling.  The area we saw it at had a very long climb to the top of a mountain on the Wall...I thought I was going to die. The stairs are all different heights and widths all the way up. 2 inches to 2 feet every step was different.  Many of my students say they took a cable car to the top, slackers ;p.  I can't imagine being a Chinese soldier stationed along the wall looking out across the mountains of Northern China day after day, likely dreading the walk home at the end of the rotation more than the walk there to start it.

The tour had plenty of time between locations, especially since a group of 3 is so much faster than a group of 30, to stop and eat or shop at one of the many Friendship Stores or go to the opera (stop the gongs please!) or circus.  What's a Friendship Store?  It is a government approved tourist shopping location (aka tourist trap).  Prices are a bit higher than a Mom and Pop store I think, but they gladly take almost any currency you have in your pocket.  Most of the stores are attached to one of your secondary locations, like an enamel factory or a jade workshop. We spent ample hard currency there like good tourists, anything to help US relations right? (there should be a tax credit for blowing cash around the world) Got myself a spiffy jade dragon as well a a cute enamel one.  Our guide was always very happy when we spent a few bucks, I'd wager she gets a nice kickback from every sale.  Oh well, whatever keeps the wheels of capitalism...I mean communism...running.

I mentioned eating, and I think I'll mention it again. EATING.  Chinese food, in China, is out of this world.  I've had good Chinese before, I know good Chinese. (Dot Wo's Chef's Menu items and China Star's Special Chicken when it's had time to marinate...hmm wonder what restaurants I miss ;p) Where was I...oh ya, Chinese food is so good.  Seven meals (breakfast doesn't count) and only one wasn't "BOOM" good. It was ok, but the rest blew us away.  I chowed. One surprise though, they really do eat sweet and sour chicken and pork and it is incredible.  None of that crappy red sauce here, just amazingly good stuff.  We had Peking duck one night as well.  It's a pricey item fit for kings or some such. My parents loved it, but I wasn't as impressed...good but the other items were just as good.

We were back a the hotel (Downtown Holiday Inn...can't get more Commie than that!) every night by 10 or so, which was fine as my parents were wiped from all the walking.  But hey, I'm young or at least think I am so I was off to explore each night.  Downtown isn't the party area of Beijing, so I was kind of out of luck there, but there is plenty of activity to be had still.  The first night I walked a couple of hours out just taking in the night view and did some shopping.  What is there to buy at night?  DVD's!  Ah glorious screener copies of new releases, DVD to VCD rips of the latest releases, and wonderfully mislabeled discs of all types all for a buck or 2 each.  I bought a handful =).  Most of them really really suck but there were a few gems. Watching a movie with "This release is not intended for sale or rental" plastered on the screen is fun for the whole family. Although my favorite has to be the videotaped movie copied to VCD. The crowd response and cell phones ringing in the background is just like being there.

My thoughts on this beast known as China:  China will be a world player on all fronts sooner rather than later.  By the time they host the Olympics in 2008, Beijing will be a renovated city. I haven't seen so much new construction in my life. Seoul is constantly building large new apartments and offices, new places dot the skyline wherever you look.  Beijing's construction blows Seoul's away. Huge apartments, offices and renovation everywhere you look. There is obviously lots of money there just waiting to burst upon the world scene.  I saw more Jeep Cherokee's in China than I ever saw in the US. Nissan, VW, BMW, and Mercedes were all very common.  Most people had cell phones and technology seemed very prevalent. I found several PC bangs (net cafe's) and all had full net access (cheap too, about 50 cents an hour).  I also found many young people that spoke passable English.  They are very ready to be a world player.

Communism isn't dead, but it sure is being bent to the needs of the country. Letting people buy property and participate in free markets seems pretty much like capitalism to me.  The good of the nation and the state (nation being a group of people with a common bond or heritage and state being the government of a nation or group of nations) is the goal of most ruling bodies, be they Commie bastards or Capitalist pigs.  The people seemed happy and the country feels strong, so whatever their government is, it seems to be working for them.

One last thing. I was in SO many photos. Everywhere I went I was asked to be in pictures with little kids to old people. It was great! My hair was super bleached and spiky I think that had a lot to do with it. "Your hair is very...special" I was told by a group of cuties at the Forbidden City. =)

I should write more on China, but I'll just say this: It was a wonderful experience and I'd love to go back.  The people were great. The food was amazing. I can't wait to spend a couple of weeks there in 2008. 

Here's a group of pictures from China. I have more, but this is a decent start.

May 10-15, 2002: So after another 2 hour ride from the airport the parents had one more day here in Seoul.  They were pretty wiped from China so we didn't do much exciting stuff.  They had to leave at 3:00 on Saturday, so that meant leaving my place at 11 or so. (Getting to Incheon Int'l is a supreme pain in the ass. Bus or shuttle from one of the major hotels is an hour and half to two hours, the subway doesn't get there and a cab is over 60,000 won....brilliant planning)  As a wild hair type idea I decide to take a bag and some clothes with me in case something jumped out and said "fly me".

Ends up Thai Air was jumping. So as my parents did their check in I hit up a travel agent at the airport and got a flight to Bangkok.  The only problem with this was I had to kill about 7 hours. Sure, I could have gone home and back and killed 4 of it, but what fun is that?  You can learn a lot about an airport in 7 hours. Luckily I found free internet and a comfy lounge after doing some obligatory Duty Free shopping.  Speaking of which, yes it is a rip off most of the time, but the new safety regulations keeping people out of the terminals must be seriously hurting the shops in the airports.  No more drinking while waiting on your buddy, no more shopping while waiting on Mom, just sitting out on the edges of the airport waiting in the masses.

Anyway, the parents leave and I hang out and finally get to go to Bangkok.  I really like to fly at night. The world seems so peaceful.  About 11 pm I look up from my book and see the most incredible sight I have seen in a long time. Here, I'll just copy what I wrote in the back of my book as I had no other way to record it:

May 11, 2002 11:25pm KST
I look out the window and see a sight that inspires me to record it in the only way I can. Writing.
A flash of light causes me to look out. I see huge banks of rolling lightning and incredibly bright bolts arcing through the clouds. It is otherwise pitch black until my eyes adjust to the dark. It is only then I notice the brightest stars I have seen in many months, the many months since leaving home, if not much longer.
Orion's Belt is gleaming outside my window.
I am above the storm, seeing this hidden light show  from above the turmoil. There is more to the view though. The clouds seem to stop just in time for me to see Taiwan covered in lights. The island covered in city glows yellow and orange under the fray.
Stars, storm, city....a lucky view from 35,000 feet in the dead of night.

I arrive in Bangkok at 2 am or so, get the ol' passport stamped and set out to...well that was an all new question.  A friend and his girlfriend had headed out to Koh Samui, Thailand earlier in our break and suggested I come down but that was another flight and I wasn't even sure where they were on the island.  I was also starting to get tired so it was decision time. Another big nasty city or beach...ya, tough one.  First flight out was 6 am but the ticket offices didn't open until 5:30 and seats were very limited...isn't the internet great. So I find the ticket office and take a nap. Let me say this about Bangkok's airport: IT BLOWS.  It is about 30 years out of date and has nothing to do. The televisions mounted everywhere were blasting at full volume to prevent sleepers and the AC, while thankfully on as it was 90 degrees and 90% humidity, was almost bitter cold. I was glad I had my raincoat, would have had hypothermia otherwise. "Man dies from exposure in Airport....Today's weather: 90 as a high and low of 80"

Well I get a ticket to Koh Samui (Koh means island) around 5:30 am and head to the Bangkok Air lounge. I had to take the 7 am flight but that was ok, cause Bangkok Air has a decent free breakfast and a comfy couch.  Still I have no clue where to find Daven once I get there, but who cares, it's the beach.  I finally board the little turbo prop and scoot down to what ends up being a part of paradise.

I head to the major beach on Koh Samui, Chaweng.  It's still god awful early and NOTHING is open.  I could tell I was going to like it here as nothing opens till 10 or when they get to it.  I wander about till I find an open net cafe to check if Daven has e-mailed me (he never did, so I'll not mention it again ;P )  and to check on hotels and such.  Ends up I'm across the street from a decent one so I head over and find it to be pretty cool. Little bungalows on or near the beach for a whopping 350 Baht a night. (42 baht to the dollar)  I score a room and pass out.

I really wasted a good day of tanning that day, but boy did I sleep good.  I spent a couple of nights in Koh Samui, and it was great. Never thought of my self as a beach guy, but I can dig on the bum aspect of beach life. Overall this place was so cheap you could live there if you had even a modest income. Food was a bargain. Even when eating at a nice place my bill was never over 10 dollars even with drinks. I had a good drink and fresh shark steak, pan seared with a sauce to die for (oh my was it good) for 390 baht.  Clothes and goods were cheap cheap too. Bought some Polo shirts for about 3 dollars each, got a new backpack for about 7, and a pile of PC games for under 10.  I had to buy the pack to carry all my "phat lewts."  Living in Korea helped me on the haggling, I was able to get better prices just about everywhere. 

On my third day I rented a scooter. Oooh what fun. 3 bucks gets you a scooter and another dollar gets a tank of gas that I didn't even dent after a day of riding.  I was halfway round the island when a thunderstorm rolled in. I was totally drenched in seconds. Luckily I found a place to pull off and spent the next hour watching the rain with 30 other drenched tourists. It was pretty enjoyable really.   Oh, dont miss "Hin-Ta & Hin-Yai"  and the Big Buddha if ya go.

Koh Samui is really beautiful. It was used in the movie "The Beach" if that says anything. The people were very friendly and many spoke English well enough to make life easy.  I highly recommend going there if you have a couple of weeks and want to relax.  Great night life, great shopping, and very nice weather...even when it rained.

On the 14th I had to go back to Bangkok, return tickets were harder to get so I had to take what I could get.  Ends up I had a night to kill in Bangkok, not an overall bad thing =).  I had no idea where to head, so I did the smart thing and asked the first cute girl I saw working in information. With a smile and a wink she told me what bus to take and what stop and that I'd find inexpensive hotels and be in a good spot.  Not one to distrust a pretty smile I hopped on the bus. 

Bangkok is a big city. It is also a city that wanted to grow and ran out of cash.  I saw many half built buildings and skeletons. They looked like old run down places or places being torn down until you look close and see that it there were just never finished. These are big buildings too, 20+ stories and mostly unfinished. 

No matter, I got to my stop and wandered about. There were many people offering to "help" me find a place or give me a ride...thanks but no thanks. Well,  I did follow a guy that said he had a good hotel but only because he was just chatting with me and didn't seem to care one way or the other.  Not like I was going to follow him into an alley or anything anyway.  He did take me to a decent place and it was even cheap. He probably got a kickback which is fine, he probably would have gotten a bigger one from the massage place he wanted me to go to later in the evening ;).  12 bucks a night for a room nicer than any Motel 6 could hope to be.  Gotta love it.

After a spot of a nap I hopped on the subway, well the El train, and took a little ride to the Hard Rock. I think I have a knack for subways, strange since I come from the land of "public transportwhat?"  Anyway, I went right there like I'd been there a dozen times.  Only went to the HRC because I wanted to get some pins for some cousins of mine and I realized I'd been to 2 other ones in 2 other countries within the week. (it does make for a cool bank statement, Seoul, Beijing and Bangkok one after the other).  I walked back to the hotel after eating, much to the chagrin of the bazillion cab drivers and hundreds of Thai massage hawkers.  You can see so much more when you just walk where you'd normally ride. Made it back by midnight or so and passed out for my 8 am flight the next morning.

For those that want to know. All that you have heard about Thailand is true.  The women are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen.  They just ooze sexuality. It really is amazing. [Rus' hierarchy of Asian women: Thai, amazing beauty and raw sexual presence; Japanese, cute as all hell, you could take one home to Mom; Korean, truly the most beautiful women, Korean men should be glad that the world doesn't know that tidbit; Chinese, they seem to be like the girl next door, still need more research. These views are based on rash generalizations, deal with it]  All that other stuff you heard is true too ;p.

Oh, and I did finally meet up with Daven and Myoung Hee....on the plane back to Seoul!
Last but not least, a small gallery of some pictures I took in Thailand. Most are pretty poor as I was using a cheap camera, but it's better than no pictures at all.

The Rest of May: The rest of the month ends up boring and routine.  Guess that's ok since June is World Cup time.

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