Here are some of the highlights (but not all) of my trip during the past three months. Enjoy!
Warning: This page might take a while to load. It might be better to leave this window and do something else for a couple minutes before looking at this page. I am aware this is not the most efficient web page I have ever made, but the quick and dirty solution with PHP and TextEdit, and that I made this page to cater to a few, and will plan to delete it after a short while.
Here is a view of the window. We experienced (literally) twenty hours of daylight, so we kept the window closed most of the time as to adjust to the new and incoming jet lag.
At one point during our flight, our entertainment system bugged out and had to restart. Now we know that Korean Air's blackjack game is powered by Linux.
We arrived in Korea (via Incheon International Airport). After customs, baggage checks, and numerous swine flu screenings, I was able to meet my relatives (more importantly my only grandparent alive, my grandmother) in Ilsan. My uncle living with my grandmother brought me hiking a day after we arrived at one of the mountains nearby.
After trying out some of the outdoor exercise facilities (they have outdoor pull up bars, surfing machines, etc... along the trails to keep hikers and runners fit), we arrived at one of the scenic points on the mountain, and got a nice view of Ilsan.
My aunt (the next day) drove me towards the DMZ (38th parallel). Drive along the highway near the demilitarized zone, and you'll pretty much see kilometers (no standard system here) and kilometers of barbed wires "to keep the spies out."
The next day, I checked out Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, where the old King and Queen used to live.
When I arrived, I was greeted with "the changing of the guards" ceremony.
The place was pretty...historical, and half the exhibitions have been rebuilt from scratch due to damages caused by previous wars. In addition to the usual King and Queen's quarters, soldier barracks, etc... there was also a building dedicated to the birth of the Korean alphabet (below).
The palace had a very nice backyard.
Most Koreans don't have style. You will usually see black, grey, silver, or white Hyundais or Kias in the parking lots or on the roads (one of my aunt is an exception, she drives a flashy red car).
I arrived at Yonsei University, and as part of my program, I joined a cultural field trip. Here is the Korean Folk Village.
This is a device to smash rice (used back then).
...and here's me trying to play this ancient Korean game (where I try to throw sticks into one of the holes). A pretty good time waster requiring massive understanding of physics and accurate physical skills.
A Korean folk performer doing stunts on a tightrope.
And a glimpse of the Korean Folk Village.
A day later I checked out Gyungju, former capital of the Korean peninsula and home of many originally preserved national landmarks.
The province itself is a sight to see.
People all over the world left their marks here.
These below are ancient tombs (although I told the tour guide whether kids went sledding on them during the winter...a pretty bad question).
...and finally I got back from the field trip and arrived at Yonsei University. The campus is large (pictures later on), and the area outside is pretty massive considering the district Sinchon is home to a few universities (including Ewha Women's University). There are many shops and restaurants geared towards the well off college kids here.
One day, I went to Dongdaemun to buy some shorts (I didn't think the Korean summer was going to be that bad, but I was wrong. It was extremely humid and hot, and could not survive without air conditioning). Dongdaemun was home to a ton of stores and several super clothing malls. I personally didn't like this place, though. The salespeople were very harassing, and most would crack jokes behind you if they knew you were a foreigner (all I wanted to do was walk around). So I had a hard time shopping here for the first time.
The underground mall was somewhat amazing. Prices thrown on front of everything (you can haggle with many things in the open markets of Korea, so most salespeople would usually take advantage of the foreigners). This one stretched through three subway stops (so I burned a lot of calories just walking around that day).
Another day I checked out the COEX (Convention & Exhibition). This is one mega complex with a lot of upscale (and expensive) stores and restaurants. It even has a museum, aquarium, a movie theater, and a casino (open to foreigners only; Korea law prohibits their citizens from gambling).
I only have one good photo of the place, and that's the outdoor mall.
And another day, I went to the 63 building, Koreans Financial Insurance building and (used to be) the tallest building in Seoul.
It's not 63 floors. It's really 60 stories high with three underground floors...
The top floor gives a great view of Seoul (below is part of the Hans River). There's also an iMax theater, aquarium, Wax museum, and a cafeteria.
One weekend, members of my father's old Alpine club decided to take me and my sister hiking in Bukhansan mountain range, just north of Seoul. The mountain range was a great hiking experience (felt more like rock climbing in several instances).
My sister had a hard time trying to figure out how to conquer the steep hills...
...however, this mountain is so steep that only rock climbers can take on this slope. I had to skip this place and keep hiking (no rock climbing gear, sorry).
I had to climb this...
Another day, I visited Namdaemun Market, a huge open market that sells...everything. I can safely say that you can find anything in this place.
...even army gear!
...and places like this china shop is commonplace. I had a lot of fun here, and didn't have to deal with too many salespeople (except for the clothing and camera ones. They're pretty aggressive). Most locals come here to buy whatever they need in bulk, and this is a great place to practice your haggling skills.
By the way, this my dorm at Yonsei (buildings segregated by gender, and attempts to enter areas of the opposite sex will get you a huge black mark or expelled from the dorms).
I took classes here.
The buildings here are not all asian; some remind me of the ones at home (like East Hall).
Finishing the program at Yonsei, my aunt and uncle brought me to Daejon. My uncle works at KARI (Korean Aerospace and Research Institute). They deal with satellites, planes, and other advanced technologies.
Here's a top secret photo of a plane in their hangar.
Home of the largest department store in the world (Shinsegae).
This place has 9+ floors packed with the usual department store shops as well as a theater, spa, golf range (somehow), and grocery store.
My cousin living in Busan brought me to Taejongdae, where a popular Lighthouse sits.
It was pretty windy that day...
....and I also visited Haeundae, one of the biggest beaches. Notice how Koreans hate the sun (by the large volumes of umbrellas).
I am togo to Japan from Busan (much cheaper than a plane ticket), so my cousin (with special connections) traded my money for all this yen (all gone in less than a week thanks to all the overpriced shops and taxi services in Japan).
I took this ferry.
The Yahoo! Dome is located in Fukuoka, the city where I landed in.
Fukuoka sure does have its nice beaches and sunsets.
Fukuoka tower gives a great view of the city. The building itself serves absolutely no purpose except as a tourist attraction. The top was still cool, though.
For 3000 yen (~$300), we have access to the Shikansen (high speed trains) and various subways throughout Japan for a week).
And here's one of them (the one I rode to Kyoto).
I settled in a hostel near Gion, the Geisha district. This place below is a huge tourist trap. All the restaurants were overpriced. Walk around a little more, and you'll be rewarded with the cheaper and unhealthier curry and ramen shops.
Anyways, here's a temple I visited nearby.
After throwing a couple coins (very worthy coins) into the box, I pulled the rope to ring the bell. Hopefully my wish will come true.
The Gion had many stores, including some souveneir shops that sold a lot of cutesy wares.
If I were a woman, I would have access to this train...
The next day, I woke up, took a subway to Nara just outside of Kyoto to say hello to God's messengers, the deers. Hunting deer for venison or for recreation here might get you killed (as they are as previous as the Hindus with the cows).
Here, deers are pretty much domesticated, so they walk around fearlessly.
For 150 yen ($1.50), you can get a pack of biscuits to feed the deers.
Deers are pretty aggressive here, though. If you toy with them, they will go through any means to take that biscuit from your hand. Some headbutts me, a couple bit my shirt, and another rammed me off the walkway. So lesson learned, just give it to them.
Later on that day, I visited Fushimi Inari, the mountain with trails that are lined up with Torii Gates. Each and everyone of these gates were donated by business people for good luck and wealth. Here, I had a fun photography adventure and hike.
Last day, I visited Nijo Castle, location of the creaking Nightingale floorsas seen on Shogun. No pictures allowed, but you can go walk in the ancient house and witness how no ninja assassins can walk in this place without the floors giving them away.
Finally, I arrive at Tokyo.
Compared to Kyoto, this place is insane. After settling at the hostel here, I visited Shinjuku (at night).
Note: Some bathrooms have indicators at the front, so if you're in a hurry, you can see who's using what without going in to check...
The next morning, I took a ride on the monorail...
...to witness (this summer only), a real life mecha (a life sized mechanical robots popularized by Japanese cartoons).
I visited Akihabara afterwards, an electronics shopping district (except now the place is filled with Japanese cartoon shops).
For lunch, I had some tasty Sushi.
Here's a display of action figures to choose from.
This is a very, very, very, very, very, very large electronics mall.
You can tell by the photo below. This entire aisle is dedicated to keyboards, and you have too many to choose from.
The next day, I prepared for the biggest mission of this trip, Mt. Fuji.
Me and my sister crazily decided to go climb the mountain during the night to catch the morning sunrise at the top. It was cold, raining, and supposedly there was an earthquake while we were hiking up this mountain.
There isn't ten stations as the guide book suggested. They threw in all these random stations (like 9.5 and old and new 7th station). That pretty much demoralized us a few times during our hike up.
...but we still made it!
We didn't get to see the sun come up (because we were too tired from eating unhealthy Japanese food like udon and ramen; I should've done more homework on Japanese culture).
Nonetheless, we were proud of our accomplishments.
...and were rewarded with a nice cloudy hike down the mountain.
The trails were filled with volcanic pebbles, so I slid down the mountain most of the time (made the journey quicker).
After that tiring venture, we went to Jeju-do, a tropical island just south of the Korean peninsula. The place resembles Hawaii.
One of the attractions was the rare volcanic basalt rock formations.
Considering this is a volcanic island, I visited the lava tube system.
One kilometer into this cold cave, we reached the end of the tube.
I also tried some archery (which, due to my awful physics and physical skills, I didn't do too well that day).
The Samguburi crater was a beautiful landmark (that reminded me of the foresty scene in the Lord of the Rings).
After my sister left, I visited Busan again. Below, I walked around the fish market.
I also got lost in the countryside nearby trying to find an ancient fortress in the mountain (which I failed to find).
...but the hike was fun nonetheless.
And I got a great view of Busan from one of the scenic points.
Finally, I arrived at my study abroad school, INHA University.
The campus was small (unlike Yonsei, where it takes forever to get to places).
So getting around was pretty convenient.
Early in the semester, I visited Yongsan, Asia's largest electronics market.
You can find anything that runs on electricity or requires something that runs on electricity (computers, game systems, mp3 players, cell phones, cameras, even record players, VHS's and other antiques!). Haggling here was a feat, but walking around here was still fun.
One of the mega malls held one of Korea's crazy e-sport stadium. If you need to ask, think of the Super Bowl except that people here cheer for their favorite video gaming team, and you'll get the idea.
That's my visit so far. Hope you enjoyed this quick, very abridged version of my trip progress thus far (there are more photos, but I don't think it's necessary to throw them all up there). I will leave you with a sunset I took a picture of from my dorm room a few weeks ago.
