The Analog Sessions.

Here's images from the film I shot. All analog, all the time. No digital here, baby!

If only Neil Diamond, the Boss, et al. could see us

One time warp later and we're finally back. It seems as if we left for just a couple of days. Good thing Laura took 1,500 pictures so our souls are solidly frozen in Japan/S. Korea. That's right folks, fifteen hundred!! And you thought we were showing you the good stuff.

I'm not going to go into all the differences between the Koreans/Japanese and N. Americans, that'd be pretty boring. But I will tell you all about how Seoul was perhaps not as relaxing as it should have been.

On arriving in Seoul, with Bonnie still as tour guide, we took a cab to our fancy schmancy Ramada hotel. Not that much more expensive than a hostel, and a way better stay, or so you would think. At the hotel the bellboys rushed out and unpacked all the bags and told the taxi to drive off. Except at dinner, I think to myself, hmmmmm don't remember bringing my backpack up to the hotel room. Sure enough, after a quick jog in my sandals, no backpack.

After overcoming the horror, bonster and I go to the front desk for some help. They are both not very good at speaking English and not very sympathetic. We talked to the bellboy for any clues and he suggested checking the CCTV video cameras. Of course, at 12 midnight the engineer is not there to help but they promise someone will look at it in the morning.

We take our DMZ tour, which was quite bizarre, and come back to hear that, of course, they cannot make out anything identifiable on the taxi. Good thing they have all of those cameras around. Laura convinces them to let us watch the tape ourselves and while we can't make out a license plate or anything, we manage to print out some pictures that sortof show the taxi logo and info.

So there we are, detectives four, sitting on a sidewalk cafe drinking espresso watered down to make "American coffee". Lo and behold, we spot a cab and phone # that looks like our blurry picture! The race back to the hotel desk begins, again.

Despite Laura's brilliant idea for picture sleuthing, the cab company has no bags that turned up and none of the drivers that were scheduled on the routes we took "remember" anything. Oy vey. And that was the end of new bag + camera + pottery + postcards + book w/ japonais bookmark + my fun time in Seoul except thankfully my passport.

But back to the DMZ tour and the bizarrity. You can tour one of the 3 tunnels discovered by the South Koreans, although there are believed to be about 10 in existence. They are all about 50 or so km from Seoul and one that was discovered is large enough to fit tanks and armored military things through it. And now... they're used for tours of the "peace and unification zone"! An exact quote from a South Korean propaganda video we got to watch. A peace zone with about 1.5-2 million soldiers staring at each other.

Everything was just as odd through the rest of our tour, from our unification loving guide, to the train station built 5 years ago showcasing pictures of our beloved still president bush. The train station was full of tourists and yet none of them could actually get on a train. A train built for noone.

Friday and Saturday went pretty quick. We walked around downtown Seoul Fri. Independence day ceremonies took place in the morning, these we slept through. Who has time to see ceremonies when there is sleeping to do? There was also the worst Modern Art Museum right near where the giant stage/korean flag were set up. 9,000 won (~$9) for 5 rooms of artwork which included a woodblock with Frida's signature. Where they kept the paintings, we'll never know.

And now we've been back for almost a week and I'm still adjusting. Not sure about Linda and Laura. Finally weather that doesn't feel like hot mold spores attacking your lungs! I've said it before and I'll say it again, never thought I would miss NY weather in the summer.

One more obligatory exercise routine.

Laura as Korean Ruben.

Kimchi pancakes!

Seoul from the tourist trap tower.

Samjin!

Linda's favorite store.

안녕히 가세요 한국 (Goodbye Korea!)

The 38-hour, 20 minute long Saturday.

We left Seoul on Saturday night at 7:30pm. We arrived back in NY on Saturday night at 8pm. It was the longest half hour of my life. I could swear we sat on that plane for 14 hours and 20 minutes. ...TIME WARP!

So what ever happened those last 4 days??

...stay tuned to find out!*


*we will have photos and an update in the next day or so, now that the jet lag and shuffling around is over. Promise.

The Last Post from Capsule 5022

So I am fairly sure that I love capsule hotels. If you're traveling by yourself, on a budget, not claustrophobic, and love hot baths in the evening after long day of walking about in 100% humidity, this is the thing for you. What I love the most is the control panel by my head that has a small speaker so I can listen and watch the Japanese volleyball team kick Poland's ass at 1am and not bother any of my neighbors, of which there are many. It's been a wild ride. Safe to say that I'm ready to get back to America, though that is a sentiment that I don't come to lightly. I miss pizza. Glorious, savory, crispy crust pizza. I can't even describe the horror I came across when a guy in the capsule next to me a few days ago told me about the worst pizza he ever had. I was tempted once or twice out of sheer drunken nostalgia for my favorite food, but there's something about the plastic display food that just turns off the beast in my stomach when looking at a pepperoni slice with a layer of dust on it. Ech. There's a great many things that I have learned on this trip, besides how much I love eating sushi and gyoza all the live long day. Striding headlong into this other world has given me insight about myself and the world, how could it not? I also feel that much of what I have seen and taken in is only because I have done enough traveling to know what to look for, how to see things, and just go with the flow. Being by myself was also a boon, not because the company I had on the first week of this trip was lacking, but that I tend to get things done at my own pace. That pace is often quite exhausting, but entirely worthwhile. Here's a few things I want to share about this trip.

The People I Met:
Two distinct groups, the Japanese, and the other travelers. The Japanese kids that I met were kind beyond words. Though the barrier of language was alway present, both sides did their best, often a few beers and a couple shots of sho-chu helped get the conversations rolling, be it mostly hand gestures. What surprised me most is the idea they had of what America is like. The stereotype of guns and the wild west persists. I was often asked if I owned a gun, what kind of car I drove, etc. But the greater median is that they were living their lives as best they could, in the only ways they knew how. I saw a lot of similarities in how they had very tight, but small groups of freinds. To call someone your friend, or best friend for that matter, is a very big deal. This means that you are there for your friends no matter what, under any circumstances. It gave me pause when I thought about how much that word gets thrown around in the US. A lot like the word "love", "friend", I think, has become somewhat less potent than it really should be. The businessmen I came across in Hiroshima were genuinely interested in my views on world politics and economics, and were equally shocked to find out that I had a very educated perspective on such matters. They kept asking me about Obama, and I had to keep my anger to myself when one of the more drunk members of their group made many motions of basketball and baseball... I could read in between the lines - he was telling his friends that he thought black people were only good at sports. Mazumi, the one who spoke the most English brushed it off casually saying that his friend was really drunk (and racist), and proceeded to pad the issue by buying me some really expensive Japanese whiskey. Suntory Yamazake, 18 year.

The other travelers were predominantly European, with a vast majority being French or German. I made a good friend my second night in Hiroshima, the day after I went drinking with the businessmen. Jörg, from Desden, had been in Japan for almost a year, as a part of his education. Evidently German students are required to go abroad. Lucky. He was very enthusiastic about the experience he had, and while we talked and he translated for me in a small first floor bar where a bunch of people my age were celebrating a friends birthday, I got my first taste of the flip side of that coin. In walked Ed. A very tall white guy, instantly he stood out as the odd man, and came in only because he was interested to see what was going on... since there was about three people passed out on the sidewalk outside the bar. This can be common behavior, as I have come to witness. Ed and I got talking, he is a teacher in a small town in Kyushu, the southern part of Japan, and has lived here for almost 20 years. My first reaction was, "Wow, you must love it here!", but he was quick to tell me that's hardly the case. He does love this country, but as he explained, the honeymoon with Japan is over after three or four years. "Once you learn the language really well," he said very somberly, "you go back to being a complete outsider." I was rather taken aback. It was completely opposite of what I gathered from the people that I had met so far. But I'm just a tourist. He's been here for almost as long as I've been alive. It made a little sense, but it was by no means positive in regards to the Japanese people. According to Ed, the longer you stay in Japan, the people here consider you more on the outside of society because it you are a foreigner who "wants" to be Japanese. "But you'll never be Japanese. It's really as simple as that," and with that we moved on to other subjects like literature and music.

The longer I stayed in certain places, and the more people got used to seeing me, especially this 24 hour sushi place not too far from the capsule hotel, where I am writing this, the easier things become. It's 50/50. I'll walk into a restaurant and they immediately hand me an English menu, other times they give me a regular menu and it isn't until they come around to get my order and see the confused look in my eye as I flip through the pages of kanji do they realize that I'm not Japanese, or at least can't speak it. More importantly, just going through the paces of going here and there, doing this and that... somedays I would be crawling back to the hotel, the wave of exhaustion spilling over me as I limped into my capsule and passed out. But I have seen so much. The last two days has been chock full of museums and a blitz of shopping for swag for family, buddies and myself. The national galley had an amazing exhibit that showed rival artists from distinct periods, very interesting to see the conflicting styles and stories of they came into a rivalry. The museum of advertising was enthralling as they had stations that allowed you to watch the best 100 commercials from Japan dating all the way back to the post-war era. I spent almost three hours watching some of the most innovative and bizarre spots I have ever seen. The Tokyo Museum of Photography was... meh... I was hoping for contemporary artists, but it was an exhibition on early American artists, which was nice to see some prints from people that I have studied intensively in the past, but nothing new. However, their bookstore was impeccably stocked with tons of people that I had never heard of, and I scored some majorly awesome books that I will cherish forever.

My last day was spent gathering the last of my gifts for friends, namely price hunting for Kimono's and the like, and then hitting the streets of Shibuya (as I like to call it, Shi-BOOYAH!) and Shinjuku for some pics with the big guns. Really happy with how some of these are going to turn out.

When I get back stateside, I promise a major upload of pics, videos and other stuff that I just haven't had time to get up on the 'net. But I swear on the soul of Eastman Kodak that I will barrage your collective eyes with choice cuts from John's Photo Chophouse.

To the Last!!

It's off to Seoul in about 20 min., depending on whether bonakin skywalker is late or not. It's been quite an adventure so far in Jinju. A good portion of the week and a half has been just hanging around, which we've all become experts at. Except for Bonnie and Mikey, who still have to work. HAHA.

Yesterday we were somewhat more productive than usual and left the apartment at 12:30pm. Quite an accomplishment, although Linda was up at 9am attempting to get her elder sister to wake up and go shopping. Despite her love of shopping, sleeping of course won out.

Instead of shopping, we hiked up the mountain/trails near bonnie's house. There were moments at which Linda was afraid we would all "be chopped up and scattered through the woods", or something like that, but in the end we did not die. Instead we found the fabled outdoor gym that after 4 months bonnie and lupinator do not frequent anymore. It was so scenic we were compelled to stop and workout in the middle of our hike. Bill would have been proud!

The evening consisted of Mikey and I mistakenly ordering 3 courses of potato and cheese dishes. Needless to say, the walk home was a bit arduous and uncomfortable. If only we could read Hangul!

We all then met up and got bad korean beer, which is all of it, and went to nurri-bang (sp.?) Pictures below, but it's a room just like the japonais where you embarrass yourselves. 

And that's all, we won't have a computer till we come home!!

Mikey scoring 100.

Sputnik holding the weight of the world.

Laura is displeased.

Bill's prodigy.

The world was movin she was right there with it, and she was

      So I think my favorite part about South Korea so far has been this road trip.  Evan had the brilliant idea of renting a car, which proved to be economical and afforded us the time to move at our own pace on our way to Daegu, and to make some pretty cool stops.  Mike took off work for the day to head out to see some dinosaur prints on Saturday.  The view from that beach was unbelievable.  The water was so warm and clear and there were beautiful rocks and seashells on the shore which I couldn't help but grab a few of.  The dinosaur prints looked like little circular divots in the rocks spread out over the water.  We were surprised when we turned the corner and saw that one dino was still just hangin around.  Little Samjin seemed to be enjoying himself in the water which was cool cause I figured the ocean might scare him.

      After walking on the little boardwalk over the prints we grabbed some food at this raw fish joint overlooking the water.  No much food for me, but I did get to eat some kimchi and rice.  Laura, Evan and Mike ate some pretty interesting fish, some came out in crazy colors like deep yellow and orange.  They got to try some octopus as well!

      It was getting kind of late in the day at that point so we headed back to Jinju to see if we could catch Ana before she left from work but we missed her and so we were a bit late driving out to Daegu to meet up with her (she had gotten on a bus).  The ride was very scenic though and the sun setting behind the mountains was quite a site as well.

     We finally found our way to Daegu, the fourth largest city of South Korea, picked up Ana and looked around for a place to eat.  We enjoyed some fine burgers and cheese fries, one of the only places we saw at the time that had some outdoor seating so we could keep Samjin with us.  They forgot to bring out Evan's order so that was a little frustrating, but all was well once he devoured his mushroom burger.  Time to find a place to stay for the night!  We bumped into one of Ana and Mike's friends who recommended a motel up the street, and after checking it out decided we might try to find something a little nicer since there were five of us.  We looked up and saw the Novotel building and headed towards it.  Evan, Mike and I went in to check about prices and were told that one room was only $115.  We booked it without bringing Ana and Laura in...sneaky!  Ana put poor little Samjin in her bag to sneak him in, and Laura went in with her so as not to be suspicious.  The room was beautiful and had to  full sized beds so it was perfect for all of us.  We were on the 11th floor so the view of the city center was great.  In the morning Mike went to the hotel gym and Ana and I went up to check out the spa on the 23rd floor.  No one was in there so we had the whole place to ourselves!  The hot tub, which we soaked in for about a half hour was about 104 degrees and veeeery relaxing.  They had showers up there as well with little water buckets to wash off.  It was pretty awesome. 

     So after checking out we walked around the city and Ana, Laura and I split up with Evan and Mike to do some shopping for a bit.  We came upon this cute shop with beautiful dresses that were reasonably priced and all walked out with something.  I wish we had found this street earlier cause by the time we got out of that store we needed to get back to the car to meet up with Evan and Mike, but every store we passed seemed to have something I wanted.  heh, oh well.  Saved me from going overboard.

     We got back in the car, stopped to eat some yummy porridge, and then drove out of Daegu in search of the Gayasan National Park which had Korea's most famous temple, Haeinsa as its setting.  We arrived just in time to see the ceremony that the monks hold which start around five or six.  The weather had cooled down by that point and the mountains made it even cooler.  This was my favorite place so far in Korea.  It didn't feel so touristy like some other temples and shrines we had visited and the sound of the gongs going off set a very peaceful mood.  We walked around the site and watched the ceremony.  On our way out we stopped and tasted some pine tree drink that a woman was selling and she gave us some really yummy things that kind of tasted like figs.  We got back in the car and headed back home to Jinju.

     The following day Ana and Mike had to work so Laura, Evan and I walked around the market area again and bought some fruits and vegetables.  Ana and I went out to dinner at a veggie friendly restaurant which had amazing food, and Laura and Evan went out to dinner to celebrate their five year anniversary.  Mike stayed home because Laura showed him how to hook up his guitar to his computer to amplify the sound and record music on GarageBand, so he was pretty excited and preoccupied with that, which none of us could blame him for.  After dinner Ana and I met up with Laura and Evan to get some drinks at this bar called Bobos.  We watched some of the Olympic games there, those women archers were fascinating!  Afterwards Ana took us to the Tosta lady who makes awesome egg sandwiches from this cart right outside by the bar we were at.  Definitely not the healthiest midnight snack, but delicious!  

       So now its early the next morning and Ana and Mike have left for work.  I think Laura, Evan and I are gonna do a bit of hiking in Jinju, this being our last full day here.  Tomorrow we leave for Seoul with Ana around 5ish and stay there until Saturday which marks our last day in South Korea.  Jinju has been awesome and quite an eye opener so it's time to make the most of the last day!!

Ciao!

xoxo

 

Photoroll: ROAD TRIP!

And we go!

Freeeee Fallin

Always a nice view out the car windows

Two men and their little dog

Dinosaur prints!

OH MA GAWD THERE'S STILL ONE LEFT!

Teeth still intact

Little Samjin takes the wheel

Sunset

Daegu

Stayed at a fancy hotel and snuck Ana, Laura and Samjin in!

The Rockinspiel!

Pooped

Laura, Evan and Mike had enough energy to enjoy the terrace cafe

A cloudy morning in Daegu, view from our hotel window

Korean Love Turd?

ummm...

Back on the road...

Poor little Samjin, so tired from keeping his balance in the car

Mommy Linda

We found the temple!

We arrived just in time to see the monks hold their ceremony

Haeinsa temple

So peaceful

Following day, back in Jinju at the fish market

Later we meet up with Ana and have a drink at Bobos

Watching the Olympics

Tosta!

Tosta lady is out late!