• Huashan: The Danger Trail

    Huashan: The Danger Trail

    On December 20th of 2006, I received an e-mail from my dad. It contained this Powerpoint file. The forwarding messages all included such phrases as: “I CANT EVEN LOOK AT THE PICTURES WITHOUT GETTING DIZZY!!” […]

  • A Different World

    A Different World

    Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that this post officially marks the first time in almost two years that I’m actually writing about the country I’m in! Welcome, at long last, to Cambodia πŸ˜€

  • Dare to Dream

    Dare to Dream

    Somewhere around six months ago, I was sitting in my apartment talking on the phone with my mom. From just outside my window I could hear Buddhist monks chanting at Ninnaji, an enormous wooden temple […]

  • A Different Experience

    A Different Experience

    I’m here. In Tokyo. Finally. During my idle time on the flight over I kept on thinking, “what am I going to write to everyone once I finally get to Japan?” Most of you already […]

  • Into the Lion's Den

    Into the Lion’s Den

    How many of you have heard the name “Transdniestr?” Not too many, I’m guessing. Transdniester – also known as Pridnestrovie in Russian – is a small rogue nation occupying a narrow strip of land along […]

  • Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Warning This post contains some graphic images. If blood makes you queasy, you may want to skip it. I’ve mentioned a few times how, although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so […]

I was last seen 5 months ago in Los Angeles, .

Korea, Part 2: The Bathhouse

 Korea, Public  9 Responses »
Feb 022006
 
A street full of food vendors. They <i>really</i> love their street food &#8217;round these parts. Once I tasted it I immediately understood why. A street full of food vendors. They really love their street food ’round these parts. Once I tasted it I immediately understood why.

After spending a few days wandering around Busan, I’ve begun to view Korea as a nice cultural average taken between Japan and China. Japan is a spotless country whose citizens are obsessed with manners and etiquette, where everything is clean and efficient, and where everything is impossibly expensive. China on the other hand is covered in garbage, people don’t seem to place much emphasis on manners, and everything is so inexpensive that even your average Joe from the United States can live like a king.

Mmmm, street food. Mmmm, street food.

To me, Korea seems to be right in the middle: reasonable prices, friendly people, and a pleasant (i.e. not filthy, but not sparkling) look. It without a doubt has that “Dense Asian City” feel, but somehow isn’t quite as overwhelming as many of the other spots I’ve been to.

Of course, this could just be because I’ve already gotten used to living in Asia.
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Korea, Part 1: Arrival in Busan

 Korea, Public  12 Responses »
Jan 312006
 
Welcome to Korea! Welcome to Korea!

Well, here I am in Korea, the twenty-sixth foreign country I’ve visited in my short twenty-three years on this earth. I remember when I visited my first Asian country, Thailand, something like eight years ago. I had literally no understanding of Eastern culture so everything just seemed alien and strange. I had already grown quite accustomed to the slight cultural differences I’d find in Europe or South America, but to visit a place so utterly opposite was a bit hard to grasp.

See ya again soon, Kyoto. See ya again soon, Kyoto.

But now that I’ve lived in Japan for over a year, traveled a decent amount in China, and made countless friends from various parts of Asia, I feel like my ability to understand, compare, contrast, and assimilate all of the different things I see has grown immeasurably. Rather than looking around and thinking to myself, “Whoa, what the hell is that?” I find myself thinking “Whoa, I totally see where that Japanese word comes from,” or “Whoa, I can totally see how that custom developed along with this very similar Chinese one.”
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Andy’s Visit: In Tokyo

 Japan, Public  1 Response »
Jan 262006
 
The obligatory &#8220;bright lights of Tokyo&#8221; shot. The obligatory “bright lights of Tokyo” shot.

Alright, now that I’m all rested up it’s time to continue The Tale of Last Week. Where was I?

Oh, right. Andy and I decided to go to Tokyo.

Having read all of my previous blog posts about Tokyo’s craziness, he felt that a trip all the way to Japan without at least seeing the megopolis would be a waste. But he didn’t want to go alone, and with my upcoming trip to Korea I could hardly afford the significantly overpriced bullet train ticket there and back.

I reckon if JR didn&#8217;t hire such grossly underage employees it wouldn&#8217;t have been so easy for me to make it to Tokyo and back on my old rail pass. I reckon if JR didn’t hire such grossly underage employees it wouldn’t have been so easy for me to make it to Tokyo and back on my old rail pass.

Lucky for me, the Japan Rail (JR) employees don’t check the dates on expired “all-you-can-ride” passes quite as carefully as they should.

Ain’t I a stinker?
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Andy’s Visit: Impressions

 Japan, Public  2 Responses »
Jan 252006
 
It&#8217;s either a portal to a parallel universe, or your average everyday torii gate. I&#8217;ll let you be the judge. It’s either a portal to a parallel universe, or your average everyday torii gate. I’ll let you be the judge.

δΉ…γ—γΆγ‚Š! Sorry for the long silence everyone, I’ve just been way too busy sightseeing, drinking, and goofing off for the past week to be able to update my blog as much as I’d have liked. Honestly, my schedule just never seems to give me a break these days.

The preceding statement was made in sarcasm. Life in Japan rules πŸ™‚

Mr. Strauss has arrived! Here we are exploring the dead rice fields to the east of my apartment. Mmmm, dead rice. Mr. Strauss has arrived! Here we are exploring the dead rice fields to the east of my apartment. Mmmm, dead rice.

Andy, the last of my visitors during this year abroad, has just left after a week of debauchery, tomfoolery, and any other funny words ending in “ery” that you may be able to come up with. His visit went as perfectly as I could’ve hoped. That’s not to say that all of the other visitors – my mom, my dad, Nick, David, Ron, Jason – weren’t equally fun, I just felt that this time many of the limitations that held me back in the past had completely disappeared.
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Relaxing Week

 Japan, Public  9 Responses »
Jan 172006
 
::drum roll:: Jumbo Okonomiyaki!! ::drum roll:: Jumbo Okonomiyaki!!

Having turned in all of my final reports with a week to spare until my last exam, I’ve finally been able to spend some time doing what I’ve been craving for months now. Just relaxing.

As I mentioned, I began with a celebration of Chie’s birthday. The original plan was to go out drinking downtown, but some adverse weather conditions forced us to return to her dorm immediately after dinner at Jumbo Okonomiyaki.

Inside the Restaurant of Restaurants. Left-to-right you have Park, me, Chie, Bobby, Min-Kyong, and Itsu. Inside the Restaurant of Restaurants. Left-to-right you have Park, me, Chie, Bobby, Min-Kyong, and Itsu.

Does that mean that our drinking plans would be cancelled?? Oh, heavens no! Instead we spent the evening learning a new drinking game that I found pretty interesting.
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