Hardcore Art Dancing

Not real. But I did enjoy all three and more.

Okay there are some things I missed last blog like that I went to a skit thing at Kelly's school and it was fun and the song digital bounce is cool. Also she and I started a boxing class. It is alright, but a little frustrating because they don't speak English and I don't speak Korean so instruction is limited to visuals. It gets me active though and everyone is nice, even if they pick on me a bit and mention my name then all start laughing.

Last weekend I went all out in Seoul. First I met up with Russ and his friend Hyunsik (or Joe). Here is the art.




Lee Rim


Hong Young In (embroidery)


Park Eun Young


We ate at Buddha's Belly, then we went shopping kinda uneventful but I got thinking about the things I wanted and needed. It is hard though cause they are just stalls in a huge building so it is really hard to come back to find something.

Then Russ went off to the Flaming Lips and Joe and I to find a hotel. Then we went to a show in Hongdae. Super great. Shellback and the Geeks played some covers that I really like and I may or may not have gotten into it and sang along. You will never know cause you are not here. Here is a real punk.



Met back up with Russ and a new friend named Ashton. Several other drunk friends were also supposed to meet us but had been at an all you can drink event and thought it was still 9 when it was actually 10:30.

We went to a lovely place called Museum bar which is my new favorite. I had a single glass of wine. I'm fancy like that. Here is Joe having a fun time there.



Then I braved the crowded streets alone to find Cassandra and her friends to bring them to Go-go's where we would all rendezvous later. However there was all you can drink at Club FF so they went there which had a $10 cover. So we never saw each other again that weekend. We finally danced it up (poles included) at Go-go's, lost interest and went to a Hookah bar. I liked the taste a lot. Here's how it looked to us.



Here's how we looked!



I hadn't eaten since 2pm so we went to Lotteria for a snack. They have a shrimp and a squid burger. The shrimp burger is alright HOWEVER on special right now called the red and white. It is the best. It is 2 shrimp patties, with one thousand island dressing then the other with sweet chili sauce. I always flip the bun around so the 2 sauces mix up it is the best. I hope it is on special forever. I had one yesterday. Some guy with another blog took this! He feels the same way about it!



We slept, then we were woken up by the phone ringing. Russ unplugged it but then somehow it kept ringing. Then he unplugged it more. Still rang. Then he answered and the receiver was unplugged but he plugged it back in and just said random things to her. We had some serious laughs, got ready and met up with some ladies he knows for brunch. Here was the view.



It was really, really good and french. We then looked at books and a foreign food store then I split off to shop. I got serious about it and got some much needed items. There are more things to buy here than in all of Winnipeg.



Then I went home.

November thus far...

First week, Friday I took it easy on Friday and Saturday. Visited Kelly at work, watched movies with snacks on my computer, etc. Sunday I met up with Cassandra and we went shopping with a new friend named Mae who was on here way to Japan. I spent about $80 CDN got 2 shirts, a dress, a skirt and most importantly a winter jacket. It is really great.

Last week, I didn't do anything on Friday but I climbed a mountain with Stephen that is 10 minutes from my house. Here is the view.



Then he went to dinner with a man he met on the bus but I went home then we went out to try to find more foreigners. We started near the university. Hard Rock there was one guy but he didn't talk to us. We left and walked around and we met a lovely couple from Seoul here to mountain bike. Then we went to a place called New World with said couple. They wouldn't let us in. So the couple left. But then we said we had to us the bathroom and we partied for some time. It was a giant lounge with a dance floor. Smokey and red. Also whenever we sat down guards pulled us out of the booths but then didn't kick us out. It was weird, Stephen stole beers and we made lots of Korean friends.

crying children and really bad sleeps

First of all I ate this ice cream sandwich at some point. It was good, though it's message creepy.



Halloween is not really a big deal here. No trick or treating. Except at an English School! It was a day of fun all day Friday which meant I had to be there from 9:30am to 8:40pm, no break! However it was just a day of fun, 11 hours or not.

Here are my little monsters. I was not in the "scary room" but Stephen was and they made all of them cry super bad and drink/eat weird things.



I had no costume they were lost or something, so I had to wear a traditional Korean dress. Typically these are worn to weddings and special events and made of silk. Me in this just really confused the kids. Stephen talked about how great I looked in it and one of my other co-workers told me it was magic because it made me look skinnier. Then Stephen started laughing said that was not a compliment and looked at me and said "Yeah cause your other clothes make you look fat" I laughed and told them I was working on it.



Then I slept and headed over to Hongdae. I was really excited because it was the Korean finals for Battle of the Year. Battle of the Year is the biggest break dancing competition in the world and Korea wins most years so it was going to be so awesome. However I left late I got a nice skype call and had to pick up my wallet at work cause a man found it on the bus for me. I also decided to check out the hostel we reserved and then head out. I then got lost and never found Battle of the Year. Sad.

I met up with Cassandra we ate and then we went and got Kelly. On our way to find her we passed these bears dancing in unison.



Then on the way to the hostel we saw this "Silent Disco". We walked around drank soju and saw the disco again which is a bunch of people with headphones tuned to the same thing walking around with balloons. Then we went to a punk show that had an hour of free drinking. Then we went to ting tings again where "who let the dogs out" was playing and we met up with Kristin who was the 3rd friend made at the Korean Consulate.





then to soundholic however it was a little trying to find. However I didn't want to go in because it was $15 and after 1am but then this girl just made us touch her butt and she gave us a stamp. Mostly only foreigners in the entire bar. I drank some of this before I went in.



I got this food item. It was too much perilla leaf.



Then we went back to the hostel. It smelled really badly like dude but aside from that at about 7am two english idiots came in and wouldn't shut their mouths and one got into bed with me two times both times I asked he leave and he did immediately. They then proceeded to show each other pictures of girls they had been intimate with and rate them then move on to Kelly and ask her very inappropriate questions. We then woke up and went to a breakfast buffet with was super awesome the best. Free bloody mary too!

Chungju Scavenging

Several weekends ago I was invited to Chungju to participate in a scavenger list. Examples of things that we needed on the list included get a piercing, take a shot of soju with a Korea, get 100% in a noraebong, shotgun a beer etc.

Here is the list!



Then I ate a octopus tentacle for points!



It was this guys birthday. He pierced Mark's ear for $7 and we gave him all of our octopus.



The cruelest karaoke joke of all time.



Here is something nice. Here in Korea it is totally acceptable to show your love for your significant other by dressing in the same clothes. This would never fly back home. It is not cool to be in love. Sad.



It is pretty easy to do shots with strangers. Then one fed Cassandra.



Trying to find bondaegi (sp? also it is gross, cooked silkworm larva) and squatters. No luck.



We ate pizza then we drank in a park for a long time and it was nice. Then we played a naughty game.



We went to several pub type bars after and ate various fried potato items. Then we slept at Brock and Brittany's because they are nice!

In the morning I lost $10 in the cab then I ate a double shrimp burger called the red and white burger. I liked the white better than the red and this was the first week since I got here I gained weight.

I rerouted through Seoul instead of Wonju to do some shopping. Traffic was horrible due to the max exodus to the mountains for fall. I got lost but then ended up at a big flea market. However after that I lost my wallet in the bus. Bummer, especially since I went grocery shopping and didn't find out until the checkout. Whoops!

Seoraksan Wrapup

We woke up semi-early and headed off to the mountains. I got a snack for energy and Russ got cigarettes. My snack tasted like Captain Crunch. Then we walked in the general direction of the park caught a bus and were on our way. We locked up our stuff and entree to the park was whopping $2.50. So far best experience in Korea. It was stunning from start to end. Here is a taste.


Seoraksan Park
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We went through the waterfalls first. It was good but reminded me of the lake which made me sad because I will not get to see mine this year.

Here's Russ!



The pool was so deep it was black!



Pretty view.



The main event.



Something happened to my camera. Maybe the altitude maybe a button was pushed in error. who knows! some of them look cool though.







We had potato pancakes, then to the next. There was a giant statue then some temples and then we headed up the mountain. First stop was a giant rock that is on a cliff that is a bit wobbly but you can never push it over. Then we stood on some very steep stairs for hours to get to this.


Top of the Mountain
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My camera then died. When we got back down the line up for the bus was incredibly large. I got street treats and a man let us cut him in line. I got there just in time to catch the bus back home, sadly I had to leave Russ. There was a traffic jam because apparently people flock to the mountains in the fall to see the leaves change. I saw a bus filled with middle aged hikers dancing with disco lights and loud music and had a nap. I really respect that Koreans don't take these things for granted and exploit the beauty of their country to the fullest.

Here are some better pictures by Russ.

http://russless.blogspot.com/2010/10/rush-of-water-and-other-nature-lateness.html

Cold Beach and Hot Springs

We then walked in the direction of the old harbor and the hotel. It got weird and industrial until we found emart. We then saw a sign for the beach and I couldn't resist and got my shoes drenched. I made a video but it is sideways. I'll try to fix it.


Sokcho Beach
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Then we just walked to the harbor for a meal. I wanted Sundae a sausage made of seafood and spices. I didn't see it. We eventually just had a seat. It was kinda awesome, The floor was lifted and the ground was just the cement from the harbor. She motioned for us to pick a fish she pointed at one and said 5. We thought 5,000 w ($5) We though okay great deal. First we received the appetizer. It was squid and octopus freshly killed. Which means the tentacles were still squirming. If the suckers were on your tongue it would kinda grab on.



Then we received the sashimi worthy pieces with lettuce. Then we got our own burner with soup and the remains of the fish including head, tail and fins. Turns out when she said 5 she meant 50. Bummer.



Then we took an expensive cab to the hotel and checked in. It was fine but the pictures and the actual hotel did not co-relate. Also access to a hot spring doesn't mean a they have one in the back. It means you can walk down the street to the spa and get two dollars off. We eventually found the spa and we had to hot spring separately cause it was essentially just a bigger spa with a special mineral bath. Then we met up with some other people from Canada and one Russian, we saw them earlier and all bought bandannas with a map of the national park on it. We talked a bit and got shushed and went to bed.

A Surprise Parade and the Sea

We caught the bus and passed a huge water slide. Like extremely huge. A huge orange and blue checkered funnel that dumped into a indoor pool. We both agreed we would have to go back in the summer to enjoy it and the beach. Then we passed the a parade, we got off at the next stop.

There was this machine that made foam. Then pushes through either a batman shape or leaf! Look closely and you can see the batman sign near the arch. Did I mention we were on Rodeo St.



We missed the music.



Sunsetting on the parade.



Need a knife? A children's art parade is where you can get it.



Art.



We took this ferry. A little old man pulled it across along with the help of other random people.



Then we followed a staircase to here. I really like this photo.



We kept following the walkway until we got to this bridge it was cute and the view was great but it was eerily empty.



The sunset from the bridge.




Sokcho Sunset
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Musty Bears

Still so sorry to be behind. The weekend of October 16th and 17th I went to Sokcho with Russ Martin. We had several adventures that were very very Korean though we did not know what the weekend had in store for us until it unfolded.

First we got met up at the Chuncheon bus station. Then we were greeted by an army parade. There was a band on a flat bed and several tanks.



Then we got on the bus and since it was the first time we had ever spoke in real life we did a lot of talking and it was nice. Then we saw this.



We got out of the bus and I needed to see the water. I love the sea. It didn't smell salty and Russ saw a cool couch. I would eat these.



I took these home but I shouldn't have. If you ever see these and they are still squishy throw them back! They can live for 5 days out of water. I thought they were dead and once I read that they weren't tried to revive them but they are very fussy and it ended badly. They are now drying in my veranda, but I accidentally closed the window on them. Whoops and whoops again.



We went to the Teddy Bear Museum first because it would close first.

There was a party going on! I didn't know who's name to say if they started singing so I left.



Then I ran into some art. Teddy Period.



I saw Peter Pan. I told him how much his Disney film meant to me and he told me he didn't really have anything to do with that. I apologized and moved on.



These guys offered me a ride but it did not seem prudent. One, they are partying pretty hard and likely intoxicated. Two, the weight restriction on that boat is over, if not at least at it's limit. Sorry guys maybe next time.



I decided to hit the beach. These guys were a blast!



I got bored though and went for a walk, I wasn't sure where I was headed and then I realized I had reached the DMZ. Yikes!



I went too far South though and ran into these dudes.




He should not be in there.



Alright. I have to take a break now. Clearly I have started to lose it. But this will be installment one of many from this weekend and I am determined to catch myself up this week because it doesn't seem like things are slowing down anytime soon.