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Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

Alex and Chickpea Do Southeast Asia: The Night Bus from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Posted on by Alex

First, your hostel proprietor gives you wrong time for the bus.

Well, not necessarily the wrong time for the bus, but the wrong time for the mini-van to come pick you up and take you to the actual bus. After some frantic calls, you finally get to the bus terminal — a small, nondescript storefront with two huge buses in front. You wait. As people of various nationalities rush around you, asking worried questions and receiving no answers from the Cambodian bus operators, you start to wonder if you’re at the right place. After all, there is more than one night bus that leaves from Siem Reap.

You shove your $24 ticket at someone who looks like he drives the bus, or at least has ridden it before. He points to one of the buses. Inside the seats are numbered. A girl agrees to switch with you so you can sit by your girlfriend (the guy who booked your tickets didn’t make sure of that). That girl is headed to a different city (Sihanoukville) and you’re a little nervous that this might not be the correct bus. But when you ask, there is no definite answer.

The bus is a little larger than a Greyhound and has comfortable multi-colored blankets on the seats for you to use, which is great because the bus is freezing. Despite the seemingly unorganized nature of the whole affair, the bus leaves right at midnight. You settle down to sleep, occassionally adjudsting your blanket or peering out of the windows.

At 6 a.m., you arrive in Phnom Penh and the bus driver empties everyone into the parking lot of a small, outdoor bus station. “Wait here,” the driver says and then he’s gone. Your fellow passengers look confused too, heads darting back and forth, looking for any indication of where the connecting bus may be. So we all wait together under a tin awning. Several times, men come by asking where we’re going. When we answer, “Ho Chi Minh City” they say “OK, OK” and walk away.

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

Isn’t That Nice: South Korea sends birthday balloons for North Korea’s Kim Jong Il

Posted on by Alex

Yesterday was North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il’s birthday. And as they’ve done sporadically for years, a group of South Korean activists sent some birthday balloons.

Of course, those balloons carried about 100,000 anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets  to the North Korean people, but you know, we all get birthday presents we don’t fully appreciate.

Honestly, I’m fascinated by this low-tech psychological warfare. It’s so old school — sending propoganda by helium balloon to incite the masses.

Apparently, it actuallly works. In 2008, The Economist wrote a story profiling a North Korean nurse who came across one of these pamphlets dropped from a balloon. She says  it planted a seed in her mind for a better life and before long, she escaped to South Korea.

In fact, North Korea has been so bothered by these balloons that in the winter of 2008, it threatended military action if the balloons continued to flow across the border (they were bluffing, as usual). Although the South Korean government stopped its own balloon wars in 2004, but they wouldn’t take a stand against human rights activists releasing the balloons. Then, after the North Korean attack of a navy submarine and increased tensions, the South Korean defense ministry announced it would begin the propaganda war anew. When North Korea attacked the residential island of Yeonpyeong, the military immediately responded with 400,000 of its own propaganda balloons. The balloons released yesterday was openly supported by South Korea’s president, President Lee Myung-bak.

Balloons typically carry DVDs and leaflets about the uprisings in Egypt, anti-communist writings, dollar bills, transistor radios and plenty of insults against Kim Jong-Il, including calling North Korea “the Republic of Fat.”

But balloons aren’t all fun and games for South Korea. Last summer, the South Korean government panicked when residents of a small town near Seoul reported 40-50 objects resembling parachutes landing on a nearby mountain. When police and military personnel arrived, they found the objects were just balloons released by a nearby school.

Bipartisan Guide to Ridiculous Legislation

Bipartisan Guide to Ridiculous Legislation: Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejects high speed rail funding

Posted on by Alex

In a move that has astounded politicians of both parties throughout Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has passed on $2 billion in federal funding for a high speed rail system linking Orlando and Tampa.

Although this is not technically a piece of legislation, and there questions about the Republican governor’s constitutional authority to unilaterally reject the funding, I can’t think of a single Florida politician who has proposed an idea that is more ridiculous than this.

Florida’s unemployment rate has risen to 12 percent; it’s been higher than 10 percent for at least two years now. Florida has some of the highest mortgage and credit card delinquency rates in the country. There are few states with a higher foreclosure rate. The state’s economy, which has relied on construction, agriculture and tourism, is in shambles.

According to a recent Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll, 43 percent of Floridians feel their economic situation has worsened over the last two years.

And yet Gov. Rick Scott, who campaigned on bringing jobs to the state, has refused a project estimated to bring up to 23,000 jobs, with thousands more created indirectly. He’s ignoring that the installation of the first high speed rail line in the United States could also bring Florida to the attention of large businesses wishing to move to a mass transit-friendly area. He’s neglecting the possible adverse effects that heavy traffic along the I-4 corridor have to the economy.

The economic growth caused by connecting two of the Florida’s biggest cities is hard to calculate but easy to imagine.

Plus, Scott seems to be deaf, even to his own party.

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

Alex and Chickpea Do . . . Southeast Asia?

Posted on by Alex

It’s true. Right now, Chickpea is on her way to Thailand — I’ll join her at the end the week — for a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asia. And I do mean whirlwind. Between January 19 and February 6, we’ll visit the traffic-clogged, neon-lit, pagoda-stuffed skyline of Bangkok, Thailand; the ancient and mysterious temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia; enjoy a few days of R&R on the beaches of Vung Tau, Vietnam; battle motorbikes and stuff ourselves silly with pho in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and wrap up in Vietnam’s burgeoning capital of Hanoi before flying back to Seoul.

Visiting other Asian locales is a large part of an EFL teacher’s overseas stay. If you ask 10 English teachers why they came to Korea, nine will list “travel” as one of the reasons.

We’re no different. So we’re using our 2-week winter vacation to see three countries we’ve watched countless travel shows about: Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Consequently, there will not be any new posts until the second week of February. But check back here for a series of posts about our travels, including how to find the cheapest plane tickets and navigating visas to what fried tarantula tastes like.

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

The saddest zoo in the world: A look at Dalseong Park in Daegu [video]

Posted on by Alex

Dalseong Park is the oldest park in Daegu. Located in the central part of the city, this park has some nice hiking trails overlooking downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, some gardens and historical statues. But the main attraction has been the zoo.

Now, I’ve been to zoos across the U.S. and seen some sad sights, but nothing really compares to this zoo. Watch the video, but WARNING: animal lovers will not enjoy it.

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

City bus tour purgatory, more octopus adventures and, of course, fireworks: A look at the 2010 Busan Fireworks Festival [video]

Posted on by Alex

In October, Chickpea and I visited the dynamic port city of Busan to attend the 2010 Busan Fireworks Festival. Intrigued by “Korea’s San Francisco” we arrived early to see the sights, smell the smells and eat wriggling octopus from the Jagalchi Fish Market (for the second time – natch!).  Here’s a look at that day, all the way to the exploding climax!

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

Christmas in Seoul: Eight fun things to do on your expat ho-ho-holiday

Posted on by chickpeainkorea

Before I dive in, let me start by saying that this is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of stuff to do in Seoul on Christmas. There are myriad fascinating things to do in Seoul every day of the year, and December 25th is no exception. A second caveat: Christmas is to Korea what Valentine’s Day is to the West — a couple’s day. If you’re thinking family gathered ’round the fire and decorating the Christmas tree, you’re probably S.O.L. But if you wanna explore one of the world’s largest cities during the hap-happiest time of the year, here’s Alex and Chickpea’s 24-hour itinerary:

1. Breakfast of champions. If you’re looking for fast, cheap, and delicious (no doubt MSG-laced) breakfast, follow your nose to the nearest subway station. My favorite way to start the day is with a heaping bag of manjoo from one of the vendors who take up residence in the mass transit hubs. These cream-filled fluffy corncakes are so delicious you’d rather scald your mouth and stuff your face than wait for them to cool.

2. Take in the views from Namsan Tower. Also called N. Tower or Seoul Tower, this 237-meter behemoth towers over the city and provides 360-degree aerial views of the megalopolis below. A lover’s destination year-round, N. Tower was especially crowded with couples on Christmas. Pledge your everlasting love by inscribing a lock with a special message, to hang forever from one of the many lock-filled trees, banisters, benches and railings across the tower. Or, you can do what we did and pose with every mascot.

3. Forget the Christmas ham. You’re in Korea for Christmas, you might as well go all the way. If cheap and greasy is your style, try fishy odeng, spicy ddukbokki rice cakes, pa jun veggie pancakes or perhaps a double-battered, double fried, sugared corndog from one of the ever-present street vendors. If you’re looking for some soju to accompany your meal, try samgyeopsal (heaven on a grill) or pop into a kalbi joint. You won’t regret it. Try sundubu jjigae (tofu soup) if you’re looking for a lighter meal, or sample some bibimbap if a spicy mix of veggies and rice sounds good. If noodles are your thing (and they’re mine), try jjajangmyeon, a black soybean noodle dish commonly advertised as Chinese, but it’s all Korean. Trust us, you won’t run short of dining options in this city. (Just steer clear of the many Italian places. Alex is tired of the sweet-and-sour “spaghetti.”)

4. Get schooled at the Seoul Museum of Art. We took our second trip to this trendy art spot on our Christmas trip. Set back in a peaceful cobbled road near Deoksugung Palace, SMA has regularly rotating exhibits, both local and international. This time, we saw an enlightening Chagall retrospective; our first trip was the tasty multimedia smorgasbord Seoul Media City.

5. Take a time-out at the War Memorial of Korea. Yes, it’s sobering to learn about the tragedies of Korea’s war-torn past on Christmas, but it’ll also make you grateful for what you have, and you’ll leave in awe of how far South Korea has come in the last 60 years. Even the courtyard monuments could take a few hours to see; the museum itself is enormous. The War Memorial museum could fill an entire day, but since admission is often free (if not, just 2,000 won), we decided to take it one gallery at a time.

6. Run with the bulls in Myeongdong. The fashion heart of Seoul is throbbing with people on Christmas. If you don’t mind a crowd (hey, it’s a good way to stay warm), this is a sight to see. Seoul’s hip and trendy converge with tourists to shop, eat and people-watch here. And trust us, there is people watching aplenty. We even spotted a sign-carrying, loud-speaker wielding messenger of the Lord, encouraging the heathen masses to remember the reason for the season.

7. Warm up in Shinsegae. Named in TIME Magazine as one of the top Seoul sights, this behemoth department store includes more name brands than you can shake a stick at, along with a multi-floor food court and an upscale grocery. Plus, it’s a great respite from the cold. Bonus: it’s connected to the subway station and offers the best Christmas light-views in city.

8. Stroll the Cheonggyecheon. After warming up in Shinsegae, you’re ready for a riverside stroll, right? We were. We braved the single-digit temps to take in the most stunning (and eco-friendly) Seoul attraction. This underground stream — running nearly 20 feet below street level — used to be covered by a highway. But when a new city beautification project began, the stream was one of the first things to get a facelift. A mix of natural beauty and the ever-present blazing neon lights makes Cheonggyecheon the perfect symbol for Seoul. Take a walk, check out the underground art exhibit and light show, or pack a picnic.

Bonus: Public drinking is a-okay in Korea, so a stream-side bottle of wine is the perfect end to the day — if you’re willing to stay outside long enough to finish it.

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

Korean student stress saga

Posted on by chickpeainkorea

Yesterday, while my English Winter Camp students were busily scribbling away at their daily journal entries, I noticed that one of my brightest girls had a few white hairs poking out of her otherwise jet-black ‘do. When I asked her about it, she said “Stress, teacher.” She’s 13.

When I was 13, the only thing stressing me was that my parents wouldn’t let me wear JNCO jeans (for which I’m now and eternally grateful). Teenage life is a bit more taxing here in South Korea: it’s not unusual for my middle schoolers to spend anywhere from 10 to 16 hours a day at school, after school classes, private school classes and studying. And this is during their school vacation.

This subject deserves a detailed, man-on-the-ground post, which I’ll get to one of these days. But for now, check out Ask A Korean‘s polarizing thoughts on the subject here, here and here. Spoiler alert: He thinks American teenagers should stop whining and start studying as hard as their Korean counterparts. Discuss!

http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/04/interesting-article-in-dong-ilbo.html
Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

A guide to New Year’s Eve in Korea

Posted on by chickpeainkorea

Since arriving in Korea five months ago, Alex and I have been trying to do things the Korean way. We’ve sacrificed burgers and fries for live octopus and samgyeopsal. We’ve foregone shopping malls for immense, age-old markets. We’ve ignored Gap in lieu of streetside clothes hawkers (um, mostly).

So when it was time to plan our first New Year’s in Korea, we wanted to do it old-school. That means a pilgrimage to Pohang, where a gigantic statue of a hand emerges from the East Sea to cradle the first sunrise of the New Year. Stay up all night, take in a few traditional dance and musical performances, eat rice cakes and shiver on Homi Cape while the symbolic first sun of 2011 comes up. Unfortunately, foot-and-mouth disease had another plan.

So, instead we headed to Korea’s coastal party capital, Busan. Here are a few of the highlights — the must-sees, the can-dos, the be-prepared-fors.

Tip #1: Arrive early. We hopped the 5:50 KTX train from Daegu, and by the time we arrived at 7 p.m., downtown was already in full swing with musical offerings, contests, street food vendors, swarms of people, and, of course, lights, lights, lights.

Tip #2: Stay warm. As a Florida native, I’m new to this concept of cold, so I might be overstating the case when I say that I was freezing my buns off for 14 hours straight. I think the temps were hovering somewhere in the 20s, but try wandering the city and beach for the better part of a windy evening, and you’ll understand why I recommend thermal underwear. Of course, if you do bundle up, you’ll be the only one (especially us ladies). Apparently impervious to little things like below-freezing temps, Korean gals will all be wearing miniskirts, tights and sky-high heels, topped off with a puffy, fur-trimmed jacket. Damn your cuteness, Korean girls. Making me look bad.

Tip #3: Go to Yongdusan Park. Starting around 11 p.m., seemingly half the city congregates in “Dragon’s Head Mountain Park,” just a few steep flights of stairs away from famed PIFF Square and Jagalchi Fish Market. Volunteers hand out free coffee and balloons to be released at midnight. There’s music and merrymaking, and you can rub elbows with Busan’s mayor, who rings the giant Korean Watch-Night bell at midnight. Then there’s the obligatory fireworks show and everyone heads to …

Tip #4: Hit up Haeundae. If you’re willing to drop a few ten thousand won notes on cover, we hear there are some fantabulous parties to ring in the New Year inside the numerous clubs on the strip. From techno to hip-hop (and, honestly, not much in between), if you’re looking to dance, Haeundae is where the party people are at. Being the cheap-os that we are, we took refuge in a warm bar with cheap(ish) beer called 88 in Miami. That way, when we were finally kicked out at 5:30 a.m., we were close enough to…

Tip #5: Watch the first sunrise of the New Year at Haeundae Beach. It’s cold. We’ve have at least five or six cups of coffee apiece. We’ve spent the last few hours prying our eyes open at our last source of refuge, a nearby noraebang.

But it’s finally here. It’s 7 a.m. and everyone in Busan who hasn’t fallen into slumber’s sweet, sweet embrace has trudged their way to Haeundae Beach to watch the indescribably beautiful seaside sunrise. Camera crews, monks tapping out a steady tune asking for alms, bleary-eyed foreigners, kids in pajamas and ajumma in track suits, and the ever-present mascots — they’re all here to start the Year of the Rabbit together. Depending on your frame of mind, it’s an awe-inspiring sight or something straight out of a Hunter S. Thompson novel.

It’s a rough road — we lost a lot of people along the way to the siren song of sleep — but it was worth it. Especially when I passed out in a nearby McDonald’s a few minutes later. (Hey, I deserved hash browns after all that.)

A few quick hits: Eat hodduk in PIFF Square, where the street stand rumored to have originated this salivatingly sweet stuffed pancake fries up hundreds of the tasty treats every night. Play sa-gu in any one of the hundreds of billiard bars (a misleading name, as they often don’t serve alcohol). And eat the tiny, meat-filled, mandu-like packets of noodle goodness at No. 18 Wandang, where you can get a front row seat to watch the artisans rolling and stuffing the noodles for their famous traditional soups.

Alex and Chickpea Do Korea

See EXCO’s Trick Art exhibit before it disappears

Posted on by chickpeainkorea

If you live around Daegu and are looking for something indoors to do in the next couple of weeks (this Floridian is ready for spring), Alex and I are giving our official stamp of approval to Trick Art, the traveling exhibit that’s landed at EXCO until Jan. 22. You might learn a little about classic art, but mostly you’ll just make rude poses that make other spectators uncomfortable.

Score!

Many buses go right to EXCO, but if you are cabbing it, any taxi driver should know where to take you. Admission is 10,000 won and worth every bit. We spent about three hours making fools of ourselves, but depending on how creative your poses are, you could really make an afternoon of it.

Now go forth and get tricky!