So as many of you know, I dabbled in basketball back home. Even post-college, me and MC were ballin it up every Sunday. Basketball is a great joy for me. I actually dont mind running when im playing it. Now running for 'fun' oh hell nah. That is not my thing. So for the first few months me and Stu were trying to find somewhere to ball it up. Fortunately, theres a guy, Dennis, who lives in Stus building who found a place for us to play some ball at.
The gym is basically a rec center for kids to go and play at. We have been goin for about a month now, mostly Saturdays and occasionally Wednesdays. Its been pretty fun. We play some 5 on 5 with/against the Koreans. I can see why Korea is not spelled with a D. None exists. Seriously. If i wanted i could score every single time i get the ball. And not just cuz im super tall. Thats partially it but like no D exists. It can get slightly boring but I still love playing and its good fun.
At the gym its mostly high school and college students that come play. Most of them have pretty spotty English but, they try and talk with us a lil bit and its cool. The oddest thing tho that I have experienced is after i absolutely swat the crap out of one of their shots. The other kids think its amazing. I have experienced a range of reactions. Some are embarrassed and dont feel like playing. Some get mad and so try to prove they can score against me, so i have to swat em again. The oddest tho were a few will give me high fives afterwards because they think its cool that I just did that to them. I must say I have never been congratulated by someone after I blocked their shot. Oh well. I guess Ill just chalk it up to cultural differences.
Godzilla out
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
New school year
As i have said many times, the school year in Korea runs from March til mid December. So just recently the new school year started. And with that I got a whole new group of smiling little 7th grade students I would get to interact with. I would say speak with but half the time more hand signals and noises are made when speaking one on one with students. At first I found it frustrating but now I think its fun. Neither person really sure what the other is totally trying to say and having to over exaggerate things can be such a delight. There are a few girls who will come up to me every time they see me and beg for candy. I of course pretend like I have no idea what candy is, so they have to somehow act out candy. Much whining ensues which of course just makes me laugh. Sometimes ill be nice and give them candy if they sing or dance or do something else thats funny.
As of right now, all the new students think Im amazing/some kind of foreign creature so they are still really impressed with the fact that Im different. Which is wonderful because then they pay attention. Unfortunately the 8th graders are not the same. Well at least the boys arent. Some act too cool for school cuz now theyre no longer the youngest at the school. Most of the girls classes are still good. Boring but good. As i have said in the past, boys are a pain in the ass sometimes but more fun.
For example, I played a game with the students where they have to speak English and then play rock, paper, scissors. Might not sound all to thrilling. But im pretty sure RPS will eventually decide the Korean dispute. Seriously. They take it that serious. But anyway the game involves the students trying to beat each other to get to me so they can try and beat me at RPS to become the new 'king' and sit in my chair. Every boys class got really into it, some a little too much. However, some of the girls classes were not as thrilled about it. One class in particular was really boring. None wanted to play RPS or try to become 'king' so i was literally pushing the girls to play. Kinda sad but whatevs.
Anyway, the new school year has started off good so far. I have a new schedule and new co teachers. Im really looking forward to this year. If things keep being as amazing and fun as they are right now, I will for sure stay 2 years.
Dont worry tho, Im still a bro at heart and nothing will ever change that. I miss my buddies, but know that they are having a blast back home while im having tons of fun here. Even tho were out of college, doesnt mean we have to grow up yet. And from some of the stories Ive heard (and experienced) we havent.
POD 76 WHAT?!?!!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8
As of right now, all the new students think Im amazing/some kind of foreign creature so they are still really impressed with the fact that Im different. Which is wonderful because then they pay attention. Unfortunately the 8th graders are not the same. Well at least the boys arent. Some act too cool for school cuz now theyre no longer the youngest at the school. Most of the girls classes are still good. Boring but good. As i have said in the past, boys are a pain in the ass sometimes but more fun.
For example, I played a game with the students where they have to speak English and then play rock, paper, scissors. Might not sound all to thrilling. But im pretty sure RPS will eventually decide the Korean dispute. Seriously. They take it that serious. But anyway the game involves the students trying to beat each other to get to me so they can try and beat me at RPS to become the new 'king' and sit in my chair. Every boys class got really into it, some a little too much. However, some of the girls classes were not as thrilled about it. One class in particular was really boring. None wanted to play RPS or try to become 'king' so i was literally pushing the girls to play. Kinda sad but whatevs.
Anyway, the new school year has started off good so far. I have a new schedule and new co teachers. Im really looking forward to this year. If things keep being as amazing and fun as they are right now, I will for sure stay 2 years.
Dont worry tho, Im still a bro at heart and nothing will ever change that. I miss my buddies, but know that they are having a blast back home while im having tons of fun here. Even tho were out of college, doesnt mean we have to grow up yet. And from some of the stories Ive heard (and experienced) we havent.
POD 76 WHAT?!?!!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
화장실 어디에 있어요
화장실 어디에 있어요 pronounced in English hwajangshil udeae essuyo means 'Wheres the bathroom?' Im sure as many of you know they speak a different language here in Korea. Kinda the only reason im here. So ive decided that it will be helpful to learn as much Korean as I can. You know the necessities. Like wheres the bathroom?
About a month after living here i decided i had to at least learn how to read the language. It really doesnt take that long and is quite helpful. There are many "konglish" words in Korea. Basically, words that have been changed from English to Korean. They can sound very different sometimes but its the same thing. For example, 카드 or caaduh is card. To explain why its caaduh would take way to long and it doesnt really matter but the words are similar and if u can read it ur off to a good start.
Anyway, about a week ago i started doing a language exchange. I go to this coffee shop type place and they have FREE beer. There are other foreigners paired up with koreans there too. So I was paired up with a korean who is already pretty good at English but wants to get better at speaking, and then they teach me Korean. In Korea the focus for learnin English is writing, reading, and listening because it is much easier to test those. Because of that many Koreans can understand English and can read/write it for the most part but speaking is hard because they were never really forced to do it. Anyway, my partners name is Elli. Shes also a English teacher but she teaches little kids. Shes a little older than me and is very kind and wonderful. I meet with her twice a week for about 2 hrs and then after that there is a social time. During social time you can just go around and talk with anybody to get to know them. Most of the convos are in English but some people use a lil Korean too.
My first week Elli taught me how to count money and ordering food at a restaurant along with a few helpful words thrown in. We meet Tuesday/Thursday so she teaches me words on Tuesday and then I practice and she will test me Thursday. Elli is so wonderful that she made fake money that we could practice with...too nice. But yes as of right now I can count money and understand when people tell me how much things cost. Also, I have gotten decent at ordering at restaurants and bars.
Not sure how far ill take this learning Korean thing but as of right now, Im really enjoying the challenge. Am i pretty terrible at it? Of course. But slowly I am gettin better at pronuncing the words and i can every once in a while hear words and think "I know what that means...I think."
Anyway, 안녕 yall
About a month after living here i decided i had to at least learn how to read the language. It really doesnt take that long and is quite helpful. There are many "konglish" words in Korea. Basically, words that have been changed from English to Korean. They can sound very different sometimes but its the same thing. For example, 카드 or caaduh is card. To explain why its caaduh would take way to long and it doesnt really matter but the words are similar and if u can read it ur off to a good start.
Anyway, about a week ago i started doing a language exchange. I go to this coffee shop type place and they have FREE beer. There are other foreigners paired up with koreans there too. So I was paired up with a korean who is already pretty good at English but wants to get better at speaking, and then they teach me Korean. In Korea the focus for learnin English is writing, reading, and listening because it is much easier to test those. Because of that many Koreans can understand English and can read/write it for the most part but speaking is hard because they were never really forced to do it. Anyway, my partners name is Elli. Shes also a English teacher but she teaches little kids. Shes a little older than me and is very kind and wonderful. I meet with her twice a week for about 2 hrs and then after that there is a social time. During social time you can just go around and talk with anybody to get to know them. Most of the convos are in English but some people use a lil Korean too.
My first week Elli taught me how to count money and ordering food at a restaurant along with a few helpful words thrown in. We meet Tuesday/Thursday so she teaches me words on Tuesday and then I practice and she will test me Thursday. Elli is so wonderful that she made fake money that we could practice with...too nice. But yes as of right now I can count money and understand when people tell me how much things cost. Also, I have gotten decent at ordering at restaurants and bars.
Not sure how far ill take this learning Korean thing but as of right now, Im really enjoying the challenge. Am i pretty terrible at it? Of course. But slowly I am gettin better at pronuncing the words and i can every once in a while hear words and think "I know what that means...I think."
Anyway, 안녕 yall
Monday, March 21, 2011
Taiwan
The last weekend in Feb me and Stu went to Taiwan for 5 days. We had the Tuesday off so we took a sick day for Monday and thought, "What the hell, lets go somewhere." So we headed to Taiwan, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I guess before I went I knew nothing of Taiwan. Thankfully Stu likes planning stuff so he kinda looked up cool stuff to do when we got there.
We flew in to Taipei, the capitol city, around 8 or so that night. The weather was wonderful if only because it was soooo much warmer than in Korea. We headed to our hostel and went in search of one of the night markets in the area. There was some guy staying at our hostel who claimed he knew the area. So we followed his directions and just got lost. Not awesome. Anyway, we were randomly walkin and saw another white person so we asked him for directions. It just so happened that he happened to be stayin in a hostel close to that market so we followed him. With our new found bro, Rudy, we headed off to find some markets to check out, and more importantly find some food.
The food in Taiwan was good. Not quite as good as Korea. And honestly nowhere near is good as in Thailand. But still good nonetheless. Anyway, we stopped for some type of bbq?? not totally sure what it was but it was really good. After we walked around the markets for a bit and then decided it was time to get drunk. So we went in search of some bars to go into and have 'a few' casual beers. However, all we could find were clubs and at the moment we were to sober for that. We eventually found a place that was more like a bar but if i was in MN i would probably consider it more of a club. We didnt stay out too late that night cuz we didnt wanna spend our only day in Taipei hungover. A lil too mature for me...probably.
To start off day 2 we headed to the train station to get tickets for the train down south. We were heading there the next day and werent sure how far in advance we had to buy them. While at the train station we stopped over at tourist info and asked about Taroko Gorge (google it) and if we could book a trip thru that tourist info place. Fortunately we could. After the train station we headed to the Taipei 101 building. Basically its the tallest building in Asia, and you guessed it, its 101 floors. The elevators were also incredibly fast. It took us about 30 seconds to travel 90 floors. Basically a roller coaster ride just to get to the top of the building.
So that was cool. After that we made our way to the Chiang Kai Sheik memorial hall. Oh btw we traveled by subway the whole time we were in Taipei. It was nice except for the fact that they were clearly not built for people my height. In some places, if I stood straight up my head would touch the ceiling. Also on the subway they have hand rails to hold for people. Nice right? No. They were right inside the subway doors and I would forget just about every time and hit my head on them. Very unfun. Whatevs. So the Chiang Kai Sheik memorial hall just so happened to be under repair for the weekend that we were in Taiwan. Awesome. We still could walk around the outside but we just couldnt go in it. So it wasnt all for loss.
After CKS hall we made our way to some museum that had a bunch old cool stuff in it, thats really all you need to know.
And after that we went to another night market. This one was huge. Not sure exactly how big but real big. They had lots of delicious food to eat and some not so delicious food. At one point i thought that some one around us had pooped their pants cuz it smelled so horrible. I was wrong. Stu informed me that it was some type of food that was giving off the horrible smell. Now why would anyone wanna eat something that literally smells like poop? I have no clue, they eat dog here ok.
Day 3 was an early start. I think maybe 630 or so. But we had to catch a train so we could get to the south in time to make our tour. Looking back im glad we woke up and got the tour. Taroko gorge was by far the coolest thing in Taiwan. Basically its like a tropical grand canyon. Pretty amazing. While we were in the gorge we stopped at about 4 or 5 different places to walk around and take pics. It was really beautiful and amazing. Looking back, if we could do it again we would do this day differently. We would rent mopeds and then moped around the gorge for the day. Then we could be there for as much or as little time as we want.
On the 4th day we headed back north to Joashi. Apparently its famous for being one of the only places in the whole world with natural hot springs. So basically the water is naturally warm/hot. However, it is now a tourist attraction so u have to go to like a resort to get the natural hot springyness. Whatevs. We did that for the day. It was a nice relaxing day after the first 2 which were packed with doing something constantly. That evening we got a train back to Taipei cuz we had a flight at noon the next day.
For our last day in Taiwan we went to check out a few temples and then made our way to the airport to get back to Korea for school the next day. Our flight flew from Taiwan to Shanghai and then we had to switch airports in Shanghai and fly to Incheon from there. Seems like it wouldnt be a problem. Wrong. We landed in China and because we didnt have a visa to travel in China they took us into some back room to make sure that we werent trying to sneak into the country. So for about 30-45 mins i was playing out different scenarios that could possibly occur. Missing our flight? Detained in China? Sent to jail? Murdered? Yes, all those thoughts crossed my mind at some point. I mean its China. Who knows what will happen.
We were finally allowed to leave and took the subway to the other airport and barely made it onto the flight.
I was asked if I would return to Taiwan. Its hard to say. It was a really cool country and glad i went but would I need to go their a 2nd time? Probably not. With that said I would recommend stopping there if you ever get a chance to. 안녕
We flew in to Taipei, the capitol city, around 8 or so that night. The weather was wonderful if only because it was soooo much warmer than in Korea. We headed to our hostel and went in search of one of the night markets in the area. There was some guy staying at our hostel who claimed he knew the area. So we followed his directions and just got lost. Not awesome. Anyway, we were randomly walkin and saw another white person so we asked him for directions. It just so happened that he happened to be stayin in a hostel close to that market so we followed him. With our new found bro, Rudy, we headed off to find some markets to check out, and more importantly find some food.
The food in Taiwan was good. Not quite as good as Korea. And honestly nowhere near is good as in Thailand. But still good nonetheless. Anyway, we stopped for some type of bbq?? not totally sure what it was but it was really good. After we walked around the markets for a bit and then decided it was time to get drunk. So we went in search of some bars to go into and have 'a few' casual beers. However, all we could find were clubs and at the moment we were to sober for that. We eventually found a place that was more like a bar but if i was in MN i would probably consider it more of a club. We didnt stay out too late that night cuz we didnt wanna spend our only day in Taipei hungover. A lil too mature for me...probably.
To start off day 2 we headed to the train station to get tickets for the train down south. We were heading there the next day and werent sure how far in advance we had to buy them. While at the train station we stopped over at tourist info and asked about Taroko Gorge (google it) and if we could book a trip thru that tourist info place. Fortunately we could. After the train station we headed to the Taipei 101 building. Basically its the tallest building in Asia, and you guessed it, its 101 floors. The elevators were also incredibly fast. It took us about 30 seconds to travel 90 floors. Basically a roller coaster ride just to get to the top of the building.
So that was cool. After that we made our way to the Chiang Kai Sheik memorial hall. Oh btw we traveled by subway the whole time we were in Taipei. It was nice except for the fact that they were clearly not built for people my height. In some places, if I stood straight up my head would touch the ceiling. Also on the subway they have hand rails to hold for people. Nice right? No. They were right inside the subway doors and I would forget just about every time and hit my head on them. Very unfun. Whatevs. So the Chiang Kai Sheik memorial hall just so happened to be under repair for the weekend that we were in Taiwan. Awesome. We still could walk around the outside but we just couldnt go in it. So it wasnt all for loss.
After CKS hall we made our way to some museum that had a bunch old cool stuff in it, thats really all you need to know.
And after that we went to another night market. This one was huge. Not sure exactly how big but real big. They had lots of delicious food to eat and some not so delicious food. At one point i thought that some one around us had pooped their pants cuz it smelled so horrible. I was wrong. Stu informed me that it was some type of food that was giving off the horrible smell. Now why would anyone wanna eat something that literally smells like poop? I have no clue, they eat dog here ok.
Day 3 was an early start. I think maybe 630 or so. But we had to catch a train so we could get to the south in time to make our tour. Looking back im glad we woke up and got the tour. Taroko gorge was by far the coolest thing in Taiwan. Basically its like a tropical grand canyon. Pretty amazing. While we were in the gorge we stopped at about 4 or 5 different places to walk around and take pics. It was really beautiful and amazing. Looking back, if we could do it again we would do this day differently. We would rent mopeds and then moped around the gorge for the day. Then we could be there for as much or as little time as we want.
On the 4th day we headed back north to Joashi. Apparently its famous for being one of the only places in the whole world with natural hot springs. So basically the water is naturally warm/hot. However, it is now a tourist attraction so u have to go to like a resort to get the natural hot springyness. Whatevs. We did that for the day. It was a nice relaxing day after the first 2 which were packed with doing something constantly. That evening we got a train back to Taipei cuz we had a flight at noon the next day.
For our last day in Taiwan we went to check out a few temples and then made our way to the airport to get back to Korea for school the next day. Our flight flew from Taiwan to Shanghai and then we had to switch airports in Shanghai and fly to Incheon from there. Seems like it wouldnt be a problem. Wrong. We landed in China and because we didnt have a visa to travel in China they took us into some back room to make sure that we werent trying to sneak into the country. So for about 30-45 mins i was playing out different scenarios that could possibly occur. Missing our flight? Detained in China? Sent to jail? Murdered? Yes, all those thoughts crossed my mind at some point. I mean its China. Who knows what will happen.
We were finally allowed to leave and took the subway to the other airport and barely made it onto the flight.
I was asked if I would return to Taiwan. Its hard to say. It was a really cool country and glad i went but would I need to go their a 2nd time? Probably not. With that said I would recommend stopping there if you ever get a chance to. 안녕
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Overnight trip with Korean teachers
The school year in Korea ends at the end of February. Because of this many of the teachers and staff of the school take an overnite trip to somewhere in Korea to celebrate the end of another year. I was asked if I would like to attend and thought it sounded fun. It was goin to be me and 40 other Korean teachers on the trip. So pretty much I was gonna blend in with all of the other teachers...
We left school early that day and headed north on a nice coach bus. We stopped at a rest stop after about an hour, and once we left there the boozing began. I soon realized that this 'trip' was really just an excuse for all the teachers to get together and drink. If you know me, Im totally against that kinda stuff...
4 of my co teachers (Jay, Diana, Ran, and Lucy) were on the trip so I thought I would be able to at least talk to them. However, when the booze started flowing so did the English. I loved it. Most of the teachers have at least a lil bit of English experience. Some were able to communicate with me on a very basic level using simple words and hand signals. It was really cool.
We ended up going for dinner at a disgusting place that served raw fish. I HATE FISH. Luckily they had some fried fish. Lemme explain that fried fish here in Korea is VERY different than fried fish back home. They dont cut off the heads or the tails and dont remove the scales. So they fry the fish whole. Luckily I was slightly wasted at this point so i could handle the fried fish. Without booze I surely woulda puked or starved.
After dinner we headed to the hotel and I found out that I would be sharing a room with 4 other Korean men. Their English was all pretty decent and they could understand me most of the time. The liquid courage helped us communicate. We went to play pool before we met with the women in the norebong. If you dont know what a norebong is, its basically a karoke room. Karoke in Korea is very different than karoke in America. In Korea you pay for a room and then its just you and your friends there. So you dont have to sing in front of complete strangers. Since im terrible at singing I wasnt exactly thrilled when one of the female teachers gave me the book and said, "You next." I gave it my best effort and didnt think I did too awful. I found out the next day it was as bad as I thought it might be.
After norebanging with all the teachers til around 2 or so I went back to my room with the other men and we decided to drink more soju. We got blitzed and talked til about 4 that morning. Needless to say, the next day was rough. Wee had to wake up at 8 for breakfast. I wasnt allowed to skip even tho it ended up being fish soup...AWESOME.
That day we went to Nami Island. Apparently its famous cuz of a really popular tv show that was filmed there. I was told by a co teacher, "Its really nice in the spring, fall and summer." So happy we got to go in winter... It was a pretty nice place and after the island we went to eat some duck cooked inside of a pumpkin. It was really good.
In the end, I would say it was one of the best things I could have done. Not only was it really enjoyable, but I got to bond with some of the other teachers a lil more.
We left school early that day and headed north on a nice coach bus. We stopped at a rest stop after about an hour, and once we left there the boozing began. I soon realized that this 'trip' was really just an excuse for all the teachers to get together and drink. If you know me, Im totally against that kinda stuff...
4 of my co teachers (Jay, Diana, Ran, and Lucy) were on the trip so I thought I would be able to at least talk to them. However, when the booze started flowing so did the English. I loved it. Most of the teachers have at least a lil bit of English experience. Some were able to communicate with me on a very basic level using simple words and hand signals. It was really cool.
We ended up going for dinner at a disgusting place that served raw fish. I HATE FISH. Luckily they had some fried fish. Lemme explain that fried fish here in Korea is VERY different than fried fish back home. They dont cut off the heads or the tails and dont remove the scales. So they fry the fish whole. Luckily I was slightly wasted at this point so i could handle the fried fish. Without booze I surely woulda puked or starved.
After dinner we headed to the hotel and I found out that I would be sharing a room with 4 other Korean men. Their English was all pretty decent and they could understand me most of the time. The liquid courage helped us communicate. We went to play pool before we met with the women in the norebong. If you dont know what a norebong is, its basically a karoke room. Karoke in Korea is very different than karoke in America. In Korea you pay for a room and then its just you and your friends there. So you dont have to sing in front of complete strangers. Since im terrible at singing I wasnt exactly thrilled when one of the female teachers gave me the book and said, "You next." I gave it my best effort and didnt think I did too awful. I found out the next day it was as bad as I thought it might be.
After norebanging with all the teachers til around 2 or so I went back to my room with the other men and we decided to drink more soju. We got blitzed and talked til about 4 that morning. Needless to say, the next day was rough. Wee had to wake up at 8 for breakfast. I wasnt allowed to skip even tho it ended up being fish soup...AWESOME.
That day we went to Nami Island. Apparently its famous cuz of a really popular tv show that was filmed there. I was told by a co teacher, "Its really nice in the spring, fall and summer." So happy we got to go in winter... It was a pretty nice place and after the island we went to eat some duck cooked inside of a pumpkin. It was really good.
In the end, I would say it was one of the best things I could have done. Not only was it really enjoyable, but I got to bond with some of the other teachers a lil more.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Shanghai
Our flight from Bangkok arrived in Shanghai around 7am and my next flight wasnt until 6pm. I was desperately hoping that immigration would allow me to leave the airport and check out the city, and for some crazy reason I was able to. Not caring to much as to why I made my way into the city. I had no clue what to do so asked a tourist info lady and she gave me a lovely map and circled cool things.
I rode the subway into the city and must say that I was really surprised with how industrialized and modern Shanghai is. I mean I wasnt expecting like a 3rd world country, but Shangahi reminded me of any modern major metropolitan city I had been to. To say the least it wasnt what I was expecting. Now im sure there are waaaaaaaay more places in China that resemble 3rd world countries, however, Shanghai is not one of those. It really was an amazing city with many amazing landmarks to see.
I made it back to the airport with plenty of time and finally arrived at my apartment in Korea around 10pm that night. My Thailand trip was really long and amazing and will surely be something that I never forget.
I rode the subway into the city and must say that I was really surprised with how industrialized and modern Shanghai is. I mean I wasnt expecting like a 3rd world country, but Shangahi reminded me of any modern major metropolitan city I had been to. To say the least it wasnt what I was expecting. Now im sure there are waaaaaaaay more places in China that resemble 3rd world countries, however, Shanghai is not one of those. It really was an amazing city with many amazing landmarks to see.
I made it back to the airport with plenty of time and finally arrived at my apartment in Korea around 10pm that night. My Thailand trip was really long and amazing and will surely be something that I never forget.
Final day in Thailand
Ayutthaya was probably one of the coolest places we visited while in Thailand. Was it worth being extremely tired the whole day...probably. We wondered around the city for around 2 hours that early morning just to find that they had guards making sure nobody went in them when they werent open. Once the sun finally rose we ended up sneaking into one of them anyway. Ya im a bad ass.
It was really crazy to see the amazing temples and towers that the people were able to build in the 1400's (thats when most of them were built) before they had modern technology. Possibly more remarkable was how in tact the buildings appeared. Im sure that if I stood on them they would crumble, I mean I am Godzilla yo. But regardless, They were really really cool to see.
We left Ayutthaya around noon or so and bought tickets for the train into Bangkok. The train took a lil under 2 hrs and cost around 50 cents. I know. Really expensive right? Unbelievable. Once in Bangkok we made our way to the grand palace and met up with our British friends. It was really amazing and big. There was one particular temple inside which was especially amazing. It was basically completely covered with gold and jewels of all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately you were not allowed to take any pics of it, but it was amazing.
We ended up shopping a little bit more that evening before we had to leave for the airport. Our flight was at 2am and I was not looking forward to the lack of sleep i was about to have.
It was really crazy to see the amazing temples and towers that the people were able to build in the 1400's (thats when most of them were built) before they had modern technology. Possibly more remarkable was how in tact the buildings appeared. Im sure that if I stood on them they would crumble, I mean I am Godzilla yo. But regardless, They were really really cool to see.
We left Ayutthaya around noon or so and bought tickets for the train into Bangkok. The train took a lil under 2 hrs and cost around 50 cents. I know. Really expensive right? Unbelievable. Once in Bangkok we made our way to the grand palace and met up with our British friends. It was really amazing and big. There was one particular temple inside which was especially amazing. It was basically completely covered with gold and jewels of all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately you were not allowed to take any pics of it, but it was amazing.
We ended up shopping a little bit more that evening before we had to leave for the airport. Our flight was at 2am and I was not looking forward to the lack of sleep i was about to have.
Day 15, Womens Prison Massage
When I awoke this day I had no idea that it would be the last good sleep I would have until I returned to Korea. Regardless, we had heard on our trek that the womens prison in Chiang Mai offered many services by current women in prison for pretty cheap. Apparently its like some kinda program that is offered to prisoners who are within 6 months of release that helps them get money for when they leave. One of those services happens to be massages. Stu and I enjoyed the one from the day before so much that we had to take John to get one. The massages were pretty amazing and the fact that the women were prisoners made it even cooler. We didnt do much else this day because we had a train to Ayutthaya, the old capitol of Siam, thats about 2 hrs north of Bangkok. The train was supposed to head out of Bangkok around 2pm, but of course its Thailand so it was delayed, and that wasnt all, we had to ride on a bus down to the next train station because there was something wrong with the tracks in Chiang Mai.
The train would be an overnite train and we were to arrive in Ayutthaya around 4am. We assumed that we would arrive a little bit later, considering everythings delayed, and so it wouldnt be too early for us and we would have a little sleep. How wrong we were. First of all, the sleeping area of the train was designed for Thai people. In case you didnt know, Thai people are short as hell. So i was trying to cram myself into a little ball to sleep. Awful. Second, the train tracks in Thailand are not built to well so i was pretty much shaking back and forth the whole time and every once in a while we would fly back and forth in our little bed like areas. It was awful.
I probably feel asleep around 2am and was hoping the train would be late/delayed. And of course it wasnt. Ya it arrived right when it was supposed to. So with 2 hours of sleep I got off the train and was 'excited' to check out the old capitol of Siam.
The train would be an overnite train and we were to arrive in Ayutthaya around 4am. We assumed that we would arrive a little bit later, considering everythings delayed, and so it wouldnt be too early for us and we would have a little sleep. How wrong we were. First of all, the sleeping area of the train was designed for Thai people. In case you didnt know, Thai people are short as hell. So i was trying to cram myself into a little ball to sleep. Awful. Second, the train tracks in Thailand are not built to well so i was pretty much shaking back and forth the whole time and every once in a while we would fly back and forth in our little bed like areas. It was awful.
I probably feel asleep around 2am and was hoping the train would be late/delayed. And of course it wasnt. Ya it arrived right when it was supposed to. So with 2 hours of sleep I got off the train and was 'excited' to check out the old capitol of Siam.
Massages and Muay Thai
Day whatever, I lost track, started out so promising. We were gonna eat a delicious breakfast, rent mopeds, and then travel around Chiang Mai and the surrounding area for the day. However, that is not what happened. In Thailand they have both automatic and manual mopeds for rent. Because none of us were anywhere near experienced in our moped skills we didnt wanna have to figure out how to drive a manual at the same time. This made things quite complicated. Our hostel only had automatics for rent. However, there were some places in the city that we could, hopefully, rent some automatic mopeds from.
So we set off around the city in hopes of finding some tight rides. However, that never occurred and around 2pm we decided to throw in the towel. The mopeds werent happening like we hoped. John decided to head back to the hostel so me and Stu went to go get some amazing Thai massages that literally were everywhere. Seriously. Im sure wherever you are in Thailand, you are no more than a 5 minute walk to any massage parlor, and not the dirty kind either. Altho those are everywhere too.
Anyway, me and Stu walked into what appeared to be a very happy and peaceful looking massage place. We looked at the menu, yes they had a menu, for what we wanted, and we happened to notice that they had a one hour massage for like $6. How could we say no to that!! Was the massage amazing? Yes. Should they have named it beating/massage? Hells ya. Omg. I swear this older Thai woman was loving beating the crap out of me. I felt so good after it tho. Wow, I just realized how dirty those last few sentences could sound...
That evening we decided to go to a Muay Thai fight. They too are everywhere in Thailand, but apparently the best and cheapest are in Chiang Mai. So we decided to go to one. I was expecting men fighting each other, and I was half right. The first few fights were kids that couldnt have been older than 12. But they gradually got older and more intense. We saw 2 knockouts and it was really cool. The best part would of course be the halftime show. Yes I said halftime show because thats really the only possible way to explain it. Basically they gave us a program that had 7 fights listed and after 5 there was a listing for a 'special fight.' I remember John, Stu, and I joking about what the special fight could possibly be. Maybe itll be like a tag team match. Maybe itll be like a wrestling cage match with chairs and stuff. We had no idea how close we were.
What occurred was hard to fathom. 4 guys walked into the ring and sat down in a circle facing each other. Then a different guy came in and blindfolded, yes BLINDFOLDED, the 4 guys. Who preceded to stand up and wildly throw blind punches at each other for the next 4-5 mins. It was absolutely mind-blowing. I really couldnt believe what was happening cuz it was so crazy. Definitely something I would never ever do. But it was another ridiculous experience that Im happy I was able to experience during this journey Im on.
So we set off around the city in hopes of finding some tight rides. However, that never occurred and around 2pm we decided to throw in the towel. The mopeds werent happening like we hoped. John decided to head back to the hostel so me and Stu went to go get some amazing Thai massages that literally were everywhere. Seriously. Im sure wherever you are in Thailand, you are no more than a 5 minute walk to any massage parlor, and not the dirty kind either. Altho those are everywhere too.
Anyway, me and Stu walked into what appeared to be a very happy and peaceful looking massage place. We looked at the menu, yes they had a menu, for what we wanted, and we happened to notice that they had a one hour massage for like $6. How could we say no to that!! Was the massage amazing? Yes. Should they have named it beating/massage? Hells ya. Omg. I swear this older Thai woman was loving beating the crap out of me. I felt so good after it tho. Wow, I just realized how dirty those last few sentences could sound...
That evening we decided to go to a Muay Thai fight. They too are everywhere in Thailand, but apparently the best and cheapest are in Chiang Mai. So we decided to go to one. I was expecting men fighting each other, and I was half right. The first few fights were kids that couldnt have been older than 12. But they gradually got older and more intense. We saw 2 knockouts and it was really cool. The best part would of course be the halftime show. Yes I said halftime show because thats really the only possible way to explain it. Basically they gave us a program that had 7 fights listed and after 5 there was a listing for a 'special fight.' I remember John, Stu, and I joking about what the special fight could possibly be. Maybe itll be like a tag team match. Maybe itll be like a wrestling cage match with chairs and stuff. We had no idea how close we were.
What occurred was hard to fathom. 4 guys walked into the ring and sat down in a circle facing each other. Then a different guy came in and blindfolded, yes BLINDFOLDED, the 4 guys. Who preceded to stand up and wildly throw blind punches at each other for the next 4-5 mins. It was absolutely mind-blowing. I really couldnt believe what was happening cuz it was so crazy. Definitely something I would never ever do. But it was another ridiculous experience that Im happy I was able to experience during this journey Im on.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Jungle Mountain Trek, The Finale
To say I woke up in an amazing place isnt quite accurate. First, one must sleep to wake up. I did not sleep that night up in the mountains. Why? Thanks for asking. Its because we pretty much slept on a 'mat' that was like a half of an inch thick, im being generous too. Second, this place was more than amazing. Mountains covered with jungle as far as the eye could see with clouds weaving in and out of the mountains. Absolutely beautiful.
Any who, we had a delicious breakfast and began our descent down the mountain. Our group of 17 split at this point. Some had a 3 day trek while we only had a 2 day trek. Fortunately, all the old people booked a 3 day trek so we could get down much faster. Halfway down we stopped at yet another amazing waterfall before preceding to ride an elephant and go white water rafting.
After white water rafting...wait what? You said I skipped over something pretty quickly. Really? What was it? Ohhhhhhh elephant riding. You wanna hear more about that? Im pretty sure Im the one writing this blog, and if you dont like the way I do it you can go read somebody elses... Hey I was kidding. Get back here. I was joking. I love you. Ill write about whatever you want. OK? OK
Ok so theres like an elephant and I rode it. Is that good? NO? GEEEEEEEEEZ. You are such a demanding audience.
Anyway, our group arrived at the bottom of the mountain to see 4 huge monster creatures known as elephants. There were 7 peeps in our group at this point and so one person didnt get to have a partner for the elephants. Surprise, surprise they isolate the ginger. Racism wherever I go.
So the ride starts out and we are along this river on a tiny path that I was convinced the elephant was gonna kill me by just shaking his head and flinging me to my death to the river below. Thankfully there was a Thai guy there guiding the elephant and didnt let it kill me.
For some reason whenev I thought of elephants I always thought there 'skin' or whatev its called was soft. It in fact is not. And actually they have these really long hairs that kept stabbing into me. I guess I cant really complain because I was riding on top of him. Get over it elephant.
The highlight of the elephant ride came near the end. Lets just say it became a lil x-rated. Basically there was 1 male elephant and 3 females. One of the Thai guys guiding the elephants grabbed one of the females trunks and shoved it into the males um...dick. The female was curious for about 5 seconds until she realized what it was and unleashed one of those elephant 'shouts' or whatever they are called. However, even though she seemed clearly upset she began to sniff at it some more. So did one of the other female elephants...jealousy? Im not sure. Whatever was going down sure seemed a bit kinky. I did highly enjoy the elephant ride and it will be something i never forget
That night we met up with our British friends and Seung Jae at Rooftop bar, and apparently the girls had met some famous British actor guy that was around our age. I had no idea who he was but he was a bro. Anyway, we didnt get too crazy that night, but it was quite enjoyable.
Any who, we had a delicious breakfast and began our descent down the mountain. Our group of 17 split at this point. Some had a 3 day trek while we only had a 2 day trek. Fortunately, all the old people booked a 3 day trek so we could get down much faster. Halfway down we stopped at yet another amazing waterfall before preceding to ride an elephant and go white water rafting.
After white water rafting...wait what? You said I skipped over something pretty quickly. Really? What was it? Ohhhhhhh elephant riding. You wanna hear more about that? Im pretty sure Im the one writing this blog, and if you dont like the way I do it you can go read somebody elses... Hey I was kidding. Get back here. I was joking. I love you. Ill write about whatever you want. OK? OK
Ok so theres like an elephant and I rode it. Is that good? NO? GEEEEEEEEEZ. You are such a demanding audience.
Anyway, our group arrived at the bottom of the mountain to see 4 huge monster creatures known as elephants. There were 7 peeps in our group at this point and so one person didnt get to have a partner for the elephants. Surprise, surprise they isolate the ginger. Racism wherever I go.
So the ride starts out and we are along this river on a tiny path that I was convinced the elephant was gonna kill me by just shaking his head and flinging me to my death to the river below. Thankfully there was a Thai guy there guiding the elephant and didnt let it kill me.
For some reason whenev I thought of elephants I always thought there 'skin' or whatev its called was soft. It in fact is not. And actually they have these really long hairs that kept stabbing into me. I guess I cant really complain because I was riding on top of him. Get over it elephant.
The highlight of the elephant ride came near the end. Lets just say it became a lil x-rated. Basically there was 1 male elephant and 3 females. One of the Thai guys guiding the elephants grabbed one of the females trunks and shoved it into the males um...dick. The female was curious for about 5 seconds until she realized what it was and unleashed one of those elephant 'shouts' or whatever they are called. However, even though she seemed clearly upset she began to sniff at it some more. So did one of the other female elephants...jealousy? Im not sure. Whatever was going down sure seemed a bit kinky. I did highly enjoy the elephant ride and it will be something i never forget
That night we met up with our British friends and Seung Jae at Rooftop bar, and apparently the girls had met some famous British actor guy that was around our age. I had no idea who he was but he was a bro. Anyway, we didnt get too crazy that night, but it was quite enjoyable.
Mountain Trek, Part 1
Day 12 started out with a pretty awful Changover, but we had to a mountain trek in front of us so we couldnt worry about that. Before heading off to the mountains we stopped for a 2nd snake show and at some flower place. Kinda lame, but from there we went to a market to buy some water and TP for up on the mountain. At this market we saw one of the more remarkably dangerous things. There was a swinging baby in a pretty ghetto looking hammock that just so happened to be right next to a street with cars driving on it. The baby looked like it was gonna fly out of the hammock and get flatten at any instant. Back home that parent would have had there child taken away by Social Services, but we were in Thailand so it was all good.
The hike was located about an hour north of Chiang Mai. We eventually arrived from our 'base camp' and had lunch there. From there we set off on a hike up this mountain. And when I say mountain, I mean big mountain. I remember at one point joking with our hiking guide about going up above the clouds.
The exchange happened like this
Me "So are we gonna stay up above those clouds" jokingly pointing at a mountain that you couldnt see the top because of the clouds.
Tour Guide, totally serious, "Yes"
I clearly didnt fully understand the 'trek' concept when we signed up for it in Bangkok.
Oh well, we had a blast and the trek took around 3 or so hrs. Halfway there we stopped at a waterfall for a 'shower' before continuing on. I couldnt complain because in our group of 17 people, half were older than my parents and looked like they were close to death.
We arrived near the top of this mountain, in a village, above the clouds. Pretty normal stuff for Minnesota... Upon arrival, we were lead to the hut that we would be staying in for the night. It was completely made out of wood and yet they still had a fire going. Another normal thing for Thailand. In our group there happened to be some other people around our age. One of those people, Seung Jae, just happened to be a Korean college student from Incheon. We immediately bonded talking about the joys and pains of drinking soju.
Later, the kids of the village came around and we played with them for a little bit before we had a wonderful chicken curry meal. After the meal our group hungout by the fire while our tour guide played some music for us on his guitar. Before bed I went onto the 'deck' of the cabin/house/shack/whatever the hell they called it to just admire the view. It was possible to make out the outlines of the mountains and you could see the lights of Chiang Mai far off in the distance. Luckily there werent any clouds so I laid down and stared up at the stars in the sky. I remember thinking about the people back home. What were they doing at that specific moment in time? Was my dad watching some lame old movie hes seen a million times? Was my mom making some wonderful food that I miss? Was my brother ghost ridin his whip...again? What were my friends doing?
I feel like I have done and experienced a lifetime of memories in such a short time here and hope that the people that I left are enjoying their lives right now as much as I am mine.
Much love
The hike was located about an hour north of Chiang Mai. We eventually arrived from our 'base camp' and had lunch there. From there we set off on a hike up this mountain. And when I say mountain, I mean big mountain. I remember at one point joking with our hiking guide about going up above the clouds.
The exchange happened like this
Me "So are we gonna stay up above those clouds" jokingly pointing at a mountain that you couldnt see the top because of the clouds.
Tour Guide, totally serious, "Yes"
I clearly didnt fully understand the 'trek' concept when we signed up for it in Bangkok.
Oh well, we had a blast and the trek took around 3 or so hrs. Halfway there we stopped at a waterfall for a 'shower' before continuing on. I couldnt complain because in our group of 17 people, half were older than my parents and looked like they were close to death.
We arrived near the top of this mountain, in a village, above the clouds. Pretty normal stuff for Minnesota... Upon arrival, we were lead to the hut that we would be staying in for the night. It was completely made out of wood and yet they still had a fire going. Another normal thing for Thailand. In our group there happened to be some other people around our age. One of those people, Seung Jae, just happened to be a Korean college student from Incheon. We immediately bonded talking about the joys and pains of drinking soju.
Later, the kids of the village came around and we played with them for a little bit before we had a wonderful chicken curry meal. After the meal our group hungout by the fire while our tour guide played some music for us on his guitar. Before bed I went onto the 'deck' of the cabin/house/shack/whatever the hell they called it to just admire the view. It was possible to make out the outlines of the mountains and you could see the lights of Chiang Mai far off in the distance. Luckily there werent any clouds so I laid down and stared up at the stars in the sky. I remember thinking about the people back home. What were they doing at that specific moment in time? Was my dad watching some lame old movie hes seen a million times? Was my mom making some wonderful food that I miss? Was my brother ghost ridin his whip...again? What were my friends doing?
I feel like I have done and experienced a lifetime of memories in such a short time here and hope that the people that I left are enjoying their lives right now as much as I am mine.
Much love
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Chiang Mai
The next day we woke up to get on a plane to head north to Chiang Mai. Thailand is actually a pretty big country and if we woulda taken a bus/train from Phuket to Chaing Mai it woulda taken nearly 24hrs. As my mom says "Bleep that." Our flight arrived in the afternoon and we made our way to the hostel we would be staying at. Im not gonna lie, the beds at this place were awful. I could literally feel the springs stabbing into me when i laid down on the bed.
Anyway, we were feeling rather lazy and took naps that afternoon after chilling by the pool, ya they had a pool but crap beds. When we finally woke up, Stu and I decided to head out to this night market that we had heard about. As we were leaving we ran into some British girls, Abi and Nausheen, that were heading into the main part of the city as well. We spit some game and decided to meet up with them later that night at some bar. The night markets were pretty similar to every other market we went to, basically a buncha tourist stuff. After the first market we headed to a 2nd market. Or at least thought we were headed for the market, my bad Stu. We ended up walking in a dark alley and heard strange noises coming from the other side of the fence. Then suddenly these creepy F%$#@ing dogs came outta nowhere and im glad i was already sweating from the heat or i woulda wetted my self.
After our daring escape from the vicious attack dogs, we took a tuk tuk and went to the other market, which just so happened to be across from the bar we were gonna meet the British girls, convenient. As me and Stu were randomly walking around this big market we randomly ran into John, pretty crazy.
We soon headed off to the bar which was named Rooftop bar. I think u can figure it out from the name. It was really cool sitting up on a bar under the Thai stars, drinking a Chang with people from Canada, Ireland, and Britain.
My life is pretty sweet.
Anyway, we were feeling rather lazy and took naps that afternoon after chilling by the pool, ya they had a pool but crap beds. When we finally woke up, Stu and I decided to head out to this night market that we had heard about. As we were leaving we ran into some British girls, Abi and Nausheen, that were heading into the main part of the city as well. We spit some game and decided to meet up with them later that night at some bar. The night markets were pretty similar to every other market we went to, basically a buncha tourist stuff. After the first market we headed to a 2nd market. Or at least thought we were headed for the market, my bad Stu. We ended up walking in a dark alley and heard strange noises coming from the other side of the fence. Then suddenly these creepy F%$#@ing dogs came outta nowhere and im glad i was already sweating from the heat or i woulda wetted my self.
After our daring escape from the vicious attack dogs, we took a tuk tuk and went to the other market, which just so happened to be across from the bar we were gonna meet the British girls, convenient. As me and Stu were randomly walking around this big market we randomly ran into John, pretty crazy.
We soon headed off to the bar which was named Rooftop bar. I think u can figure it out from the name. It was really cool sitting up on a bar under the Thai stars, drinking a Chang with people from Canada, Ireland, and Britain.
My life is pretty sweet.
Day 10 - Phi Phi Island
Day 10 was a little over halfway thru the trip and yet we still had so much to see and do. We had booked for a tour of phi phi island (google it, seriously, its amazing) for the day. I had looked up pics of the place before we got there, but pics do not do this amazing island justice. The views of it are magical.
Phi Phi island really is 2 small islands that are about a 20 min boat ride apart. There is the bigger phi phi island which has hotels, restaurants, stores, roads, basically you can tell people have been there. Then there is the smaller phi phi island which has nothing built on the island. No hotels, no visitor center, no McDonalds, nothing. It has been purposely left this way, which was amazing to see in a country that has been so effected by tourism.
After we took the boat tour around the island we went snorkeling near the bigger island. It was pretty amazing and had a great time doing it. I of course wore a life jacket to protect myself from the sun.
Anyway, Phi Phi island might be one of the most amazing views we had while on the trip.
Phi Phi island really is 2 small islands that are about a 20 min boat ride apart. There is the bigger phi phi island which has hotels, restaurants, stores, roads, basically you can tell people have been there. Then there is the smaller phi phi island which has nothing built on the island. No hotels, no visitor center, no McDonalds, nothing. It has been purposely left this way, which was amazing to see in a country that has been so effected by tourism.
After we took the boat tour around the island we went snorkeling near the bigger island. It was pretty amazing and had a great time doing it. I of course wore a life jacket to protect myself from the sun.
Anyway, Phi Phi island might be one of the most amazing views we had while on the trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)