How To Peacefully Coexist

So, I think I mentioned that we rented a camper-van and are driving around the North Island of New Zealand. 

Have you ever been in a tiny box with the same person for a very, very long time? You sleep in it; you (sometimes) eat in it; you put your dirty socks in it; you drive everywhere in it. It is not self contained, aka, it does not have a shower or a toilet or a power supply, so you spend a lot of time with your head light strapped to your head, playing rummikub inside the van (down by the river).

You also spend a lot of time fighting over who's going to drive, directions/where to go, why so and so's stinky socks are sitting on so and so's backpack, why so and so forgot to plug in or unplug the fridge, where did so and so put the cups.....and so on.

And there is no place to go. You can go and sit in the front to "be alone", instead of sitting in the back. We have made a joke about it -- the front is the study, the back is the living room.

The problem is compounded by the fact that it gets dark around 6, so there is not really anything to do after that. Also, the camping grounds often close their gates around 6 (it is going on winter here), so you can't even leave and go do something. Also, some of them don't even have lights or a table or anything! So you have no choice than to...you guessed it...sit in the van!

We have also only had one place with hot showers, so not only is it dark in the van, but it's pretty smelly! So, why do we subject ourselves to this, you are wondering. Well, despite all above statements, it's FUN! We can go wherever we want, whenever we want to. We can even drive till we drop and then sleep pretty much wherever! We have spent the night near the beach, in prime forest locations, with great views and...even in a parking lot. We have all our food with us -- I can have a ham a cheese sandwich ready in a jiff, no matter where we are! We don't have to carry our backpacks or find out when the next bus is! We can go to all the nooks and crannies that public transportation doesn't go to! It's GREAT! Such freedom!

Anyway, it's been 7 days so far -- we have 15 to go. We haven't killed each other YET (keep your fingers crossed for me). I will check back in a week or so and we will see how it's going then, shall we!

Today's post is part of the A-Z blogfest. H is for How. You can find the rest HERE. 

I leave you with a photo:

Snell's Bay

PS -- Deirdra over at A Storybook World just awarded me this. Thanks Deirdra! 

Great News (and No Net)

I have great news! I was featured over at For The Love of Blogs!! This is like the granddaddy of all good blogs! If you are looking for a new blog to read, new things to learn, fashion, food and fun, this is a great site. AND all the folks who are part of the community over there are really great as well. Thanks girls!

As a side note, as gung ho as I was about the A-Z Blogfest, I have some sad news to report. There is not very much wifi in New Zealand. I KNOW! I thought it would be no problem getting online, but alas, I was mistaken! Sometimes you can find internet cafes, but the going rate seems to be about 8 dollars an hour. And as much as I love blogging, I am just not sure it is worth that much. So. Darn it! I had such great plans! However, I will probably keep up the letter theme just for fun. As you can see, today is G for Great!

Right now, not only are we deprived of the internet, but we are driving around the North Island of New Zealand in a camper-van. What an adventure! The camping facitilies range from a dark "parking lot" to nice ones, like the one we are in now, which has hot showers (NOT common), laundry (yay for not being smelly for a little while) and wifi (for 8 dollars an hour! This will not be a long post *wink wink*)

We spent the last week touring Northland, which is the area north of Auckland. We did a lot of hiking -- we have been *trying* to hike a little each day so we will be "in shape" when we get home (just in time for summer and bathing suit season).

I am going crazy thinking while hiking: adding things to my mile long To Do List, thinking about how and when I will get a job, thinking of the people to visit and the things to see while I am home. It will be really nice to unpack and at least be in one place for a couple of weeks. Then I will have to go back to work!

I will leave you with some photos of the New Zealand scenery.

As seen from the back window of the camper-van.

Northland -- Snells Bay

Typical NZ Resident

Fun fact about New Zealand: There are about 4 million people and 40 million sheep. This = 10 sheep per person!

Ten on Tuesday (13)

Okay so I really don't have time for this week's ToT, but Lisa from LisasYarns, who I totally think is cool, posted these Q's to Chelsea at Roots and Rings, so I am going to do it, for Lisa's sake. Dude, she runs, she travels, she travels to run, she is a finance whiz. She's cool. I relate to her. So...now to the Qs. 

1. If you work, do you drive to work or take public transportation?
I don't work! But once I get a job, I will probably drive, although I would rather walk, ride my bike, or take pub tran. In SF, I took the Muni (public tran) or walked. I loved it. I think it is the way to go. All these singles in cars really drive me crazy!

2. How often do you get your haircut? Do you go to the same person every time?
Wow. That is an interesting question. I used to ALWAYS go to Karen at Hairplay in San Francisco. She is awesome. Plus she has hair similar (thin) to mine. So she knows. BUT I have not "lived" in the city for about (it PAINS me to say it)...7 years -- Since 2004. So, basically here is my hair routine. No haircut. Then I lived in Florida in 2005. A gay guy cut my hair there. I loved it. Then I went for about 3 years without a cut. In 2008 my friend Chris cut it (you can read THAT story HERE) so I could send it to Locks of Love. Then I didn't cut it again. Until about 2 months ago. Remember I asked you guys if you thought I should cut it? And then I did? So there is a really long answer to a short Q.

3. Do you read the newspaper? If so, a hardcopy or the online version?
I usually just watch the CNN summary. I also listen to NPR. I don't really read the newspaper.

4. What is the best book you have read this year?
Wow, this year hasn't been too long yet. I just read the Girl Who Played With Fire. That was good. Otherwise, I am having a hard time "loving" books this year. I seem to find fault with each one. Around Africa on My Bicycle was good.

5. What is the best movie you have seen this year?
I haven't really seen any.

6. Do you tend to crave sweet or salty foods?
Salty.

7. Do you eat breakfast every day? If so, what do you have?
Most days, yes. Cereal or fruit. Definitely coffee. Every day, coffee.

8. If you celebrate Easter, what Easter treat/candy are you most looking forward to?
I do celebrate, but I am missing the family fun this year. I miss the homemade ice cream.

9. How late is “sleeping in” to you?
8 o'clock

10. Where are you going on your next vacation?
Well, that is a great question. I think maybe Sweden, or Czech Republic. Or maybe Romania. Or Morocco. Who knows. 

Thanks Chelsea and Lisa! What a fun list!

Food Lovers Paradise

I love food. And South Korea has not let me down. Here are a few of the yummy things I have tried here.

1. Street Food -- of course! I always try the street food, as it is usually cheap, fast and what the locals eat!

Bacon wrapped sausages. Yum.

Tempura Veggies and Seafood

2. Fresh Food Markets. There are so many of these, and they are so fun to walk around! However, my favorite experience was when we found a weird shellfish (previously mentioned here and photo below) which we wanted to see the inside of. A fisherman obliged us, cut one open and gave it to us raw, right then and there!

Fish Market

Does anyone know what these are?

3. Next we have...of course. Kimchi. It comes in many shapes and sizes and colors. They put each one in a separate bowl. I love it!

Who needs food when you have kimchi like this?

4. Last but NOT least, all you can eat, Korean MEAT BBQ. Actually they have potatoes and rice and veggies and kimchi (of course). But mostly it is meat. There are about 30 different kinds, you pick it out, pile it on a plate and cook it yourself at your table.

MMMMM Bacon!

Anyway, I am not getting any skinnier, that is for sure! But I am happy!

This post is part of the A-Z blogfest. F is for Food! You can find other posts HERE.

Essential Travel Items

I have written a bit about packing before. Last week I wrote about how to pack light. I have also written about 10 things every person should have in their pack for a long trip. For those two as well as additional travel tips, go HERE. Today I want to talk about my essential travel items.

- Wet Wipes: I use the Target brand face wipes. They come in a pack of 60 or a pack of 10. This pack of 10 just came out. Before I would buy the 60 pack and separate them into Ziplocs so I wouldn’t have to carry around 60 at a time. But now Target does it for me. Thanks Target. These are good for everything. Miss a shower, use one! Eat an orange on the bus, use one! Go pee in a questionable toilet, use one! There are so many uses for these things -- you can even use them for their intended purpose and wipe your face!

- My Paperchase Notebook: If you don’t know about this brand, you should. You can find them online or at Borders. The notebook I love the best is a travel notebook with dividers, pockets and one little Ziploc pocket in the back. There is plain paper, lined and grid. It is great for keeping track of my travel notes, budget and keeping stubs and mementos! This is the best notebook EVER.

- Earplugs: Yes, I use these A LOT. On the bus, in hostels and even sometimes when I just want to read my book and my boyfriend is watching TV (in the same room of course). They come in very handy.

- Money Belt: I don’t always wear this, but it is a handy place to keep your extra money and your passport. I do use it a lot, but even when I am not using it, I know where my important things are.

- Gold-ban Antibacterial Lotion: This moisturizes and cleans! And by golly, it doesn’t smell really chemically. It fact, it smells good! And doesn’t leave your hands all dried out like the regular Purell Antibacterial stuff.

- Shampoo: I know, you are thinking, “duh”, but really, shampoo can be used as shampoo, body wash, hand wash AND laundry soap. Really, you should always have some on you. It’s not just for hair.

- Ziploc bags: Can be used to separate laundry, to carry that shampoo I talked about so it doesn’t leak, to carry food if you buy any in bulk or to keep your camera in when you go to a place in the rainy season. Basically I usually bring half a dozen gallon sized ones and half a dozen quart sized ones. One tip, don’t buy the cheap ones. I did that, and they just all ended up splitting open anyway.

Okay, so now you have it, some essential travel items. I am sure I have probably left out several and I am sure that you guys have many more suggestions!

Let me know what I am missing. What do YOU consider an essential travel item?

This post is part of the A-Z Blogfest. E is for Essential. You can see my other “letters” HERE.

Delightful Dives

Do you like to go diving and snorkeling? I do! If you haven’t done it yet and want to, there are a few cheap places to get certified. You can go to Koh Tao, Thailand. I believe as well that Roatan, Honduras, is cheaper than most. Once you get certified, the world is, literally your oyster, and your puffer fish and your loggerhead turtle. Below are some of my favorite places to dive, in order of preference.

- Sipidan, Malaysian Borneo - This was the perfect dive site. The water was clear, you could see for miles, the coral was brightly colored and there were huge schools of fish, turtles and sharks. This was a divers paradise.

- Dahab, Egypt, Red Sea - The Red Sea looks like a swimming pool. It is gorgeous. It is also warm. The area here was very clear and there was tons of great coral. The fish were plentiful and I even saw two octopus!

- Padangbai, Bali, Indonesia - We just recently went here, and although we got overcharged by the dive company, the dive was great. Again, you could see for “miles” and there were tons of schools of really colorful fish as well as plentiful coral.

- Cairnes, Australia, Great Barrier Reef - Of course this had to make the list, but surprisingly, it wasn’t my number one. The coral here was not as nice as the above mentioned sites, although there were tons of reef sharks and many fish.

- Koh Tao, Thailand - I learned here and it was a great place to learn, as the water is nice and warm and the seas are not too rough. Also the wildlife is plentiful and the water is usually clear. We did have a few days where the visibility was not as good, but all in all I count this a great place to learn or to dive.

So, now you are ready to go! Strap on your tank and let’s get diving!

Have you been diving before? If so, where? Did you like it?

This is part of the A-Z Blogfest. D is for Delightful. You can find my other “letters” HERE.

Car Talk

Car Talk has dual meanings for me. First I am going to talk to you about the radio show on NPR. If you haven’t listened to Car Talk, you should. You can download one free every week as a podcast on iTunes, or listen to it on NPR; I think it is on Saturdays, but I am not positive, as I usually just listen to it as a podcast. Anyway, whether or not you like, or have, cars, you will love the sassy attitude and corny jokes that Click and Clack provide for you each week. Two Italian guys from Boston, they are funny, witty and they actually do know a bit about cars.

This brings me to the second subject:  My car. I have a super old car. It runs great, but there is only one problem. About 10 years ago, a lady hit me in the front drivers side and it dented the fender and smashed out the headlight housing and bent back the hood a little. Right afterward, I moved to San Francisco and didn’t need a car anyway, so I never fixed it. I put it on the front lawn in the driveway at my parent’s house and left it, not knowing if I would need it or not.

So, now I am trying to decide if it is worth fixing OR if I should just scrap it and go and buy another used car somewhere else. I really don’t know. It does run great. However, it is a diesel, which is good for mileage but bad for the environment. The interior is nice; I had just put a rebuilt engine in it right before the accident; all the power windows work. It is not a super crappy old car. The only thing wrong with it is that it has a big dent. Oh, and it’s a 4 cylinder and barely makes it up hills! But I can live with that.

It will probably cost a couple of thousand (hopefully less, but that’s a generous estimate) to get it back on the road again.

What should I do? Also, do you listen to or like Car Talk?

NOTE: This is a post for the A-Z blogfest. C is for Car. You can find others below.

A is for A Day.
B is for Bookmark.

Play Ball (and Beer of Course)

I know, as always I am early for Kimberly's Grab a Beer and Look What I Did Last Week, but I am posting anyway, and if I get a chance to link up, great!

On Monday, I went to the DMZ and barely, not really, got to look over the fence at North Korea.

On Tuesday, I relaxed and explored the streets of Seoul. I also talked about food on Ten on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I checked out the Palace Museum in Seoul. I also talked about confusing English words.

Palace Museum

 On Thursday, I had a bus ride to Busan.

On Friday, I started the A-Z Blogfest. I also walked around the fish markets in Busan and saw an Octopus escape it's bowl!

Yesterday, I went to a Korean Baseball Game! I am very bummed that I am missing the SF Giants, which is my favorite baseball team. However, I got to see the Busan Lotte Giants instead. What fun! It is much more active than a US baseball game. There is tons of cheering, song singing and funny bags on the head! It was great!

Lotte Giants

First, it's a hat. And then you put your trash in it! Genius!

All in all, a great week. Today we will do some hiking, relaxing and get ready for another bus ride back to Seoul tomorrow!

Bookmark Break Update

After a few days on the beach and a couple of long bus rides, my book list is finally getting longer! At my last update we were at 13 books.

Add to that:

With No One as a Witness - Elizabeth George **** (great Mystery read if you are looking for a new author. She often uses the same characters)

Whirl of the Wheel - Catherine Condie ***(free ebook from Amazon. Kind of a kid‘s book, but it was cute enough and it was definitely short and sweet)

Compromising Positions - Jenna Bayley-Burke ** (totally chick romance beach book)

Meridon - Phillippa Gregory *** (I had heard she did great Historical Fiction, but this one was a little strange, and not that historic in my opinion, but it was still a fun read)

New Moon - Stephany Meyer *** (I am getting tired of the main character. She seems like a melodramatic pain in the butt. I will probably read the rest of the series though)

So now we are up to 18! I am still way behind many of the others, but ahead of the average, so I am not doing too bad!

What I am currently reading:

The Girl Who Played With Fire - Steig Larsson

For more book info and fun and to see the entire list, you can go to my Bookshelf page!

What book are you reading? Is it any good? If it is, let me know -- I will read just about anything! Also, if you want to join in on the Bookmark Challenge, it’s not too late. All you need is a list of whatever books you have read in 2011.

Note: This is day two of the A - Z blogfest. B is for Bookmark.

Click HERE to see A (A is for A Day).

A Day In Busan

Being in Korea is so different from being in many of the other Asian countries. For example, and most importantly, there is toilet paper in the public restrooms. And there ARE public restrooms! Wow! In fact, I know I talk a lot about toilets but Korea has had THE BEST toilets in all of my travels so far. They have things to wash you, front and back, heated toilet seats, rear end dryers AND automatic toilet seat lifters (for both up and down, one seat or two. This would make a great present for many of our male significant others, I think!)

Super Fun Toilet

Also, everything is more expensive. Aside from Singapore, Korea is the most expensive Asian country we have been in so far. However, having said that, things ARE run very efficiently here! The bus is fast and comfortable and there are no goats or chickens on board with me!

The third and most difficult thing is that they really don’t speak English. As always, hand gestures and facial cues really can get  you far, but sometimes you feel like you are missing out or doing things the hard way since you can’t always ask directions.

Yesterday we traveled by aforementioned bus from Seoul to Busan. Busan is in the very south of the country, and Seoul is in the very north. However, South Korea is not so big, and the ride only took about 4 hours. Busan is a very heavily trafficked fishing port, and I have to admit, I heard it was a fishing village and I pictured a tiny town with stone houses, cobblestone streets, little boats and wrinkled old Korean fishermen wearing cute hats. I was wrong. It is a HUGE port, with big harbor full of freighters. Also, apparently many Russian and Filipino sailors, as we found out last night when we took a walk and found both Russian Karaoke Bar and a Filipino Karaoke Bar.

Today we went to the fish market. There were all kinds of fish, octopus, squid, crabs and more! It was packed with stalls full of frozen, dried, fresh and LIVE animals and was a sight to behold. I saw an octopus escape it’s bucket and get away and when I pointed it out to the lady, she just laughed.

Octopus!

Another great highlight of the day was that we found a new shellfish. I don’t know the name but it is the strangest looking thing. It is red with little bumps -- it almost looks like a tuber. I can’t explain it. We were sitting near a vendor, watching him shuck them, and he let us try one, straight from the shell, raw and salty. And it was good! Then he gave us a shot each of Souju (Korean spirit) and even let us take a photo with him. We offered him some money but he just laughed at us and sent us on our way.

strange new shellfish

So, all in all, a great day in Busan! Hopefully tomorrow we will find even more new things to see and meet many different people who we can’t talk to but with who we still can find a common ground!

Have you ever had to use finger pointing and grunting to get what you wanted in a foreign country (or maybe even your own?)

NOTE: Today kicks off the first day of the A - Z Blogfest. You can read more about it in the link, but the basics are that we have to blog every day in April except Sundays, which will make 26 days. This is the same amount as letters in the alphabet and so each blog (in order) will have a letter theme.

Today is Day 1. A is for A Day.

ABC's

In honor of my future attempt to do the A-Z blogfest, I am filling out this A-Z of me. I know, everyone has done it, but what the heck. It seems appropriate AND if I am going to write 26 posts in the next 30 days, I need to keep my brain matter for the future.

Age: 32
Bed size: I had a queen. I gave it to my brother.

Chore you dislike: Laundry
Dogs: Smelly

Essential start to your day: Coffee
Favorite color: Blue, but I am starting to encourage Red as well.

Gold or silver: Platinum

Height: 5'7"

Instruments you play(ed): Clarinet and Trombone

Job title: Financial Analyst or Project Specialist

Kids: probably not

Live: World Travler (and sometimes N California)

Mom’s name: Mom, or Moogle, becuase she is like Google, a wealth of knowledge!

Nicknames: K, Korea,

Overnight hospital stays: None

Pet peeve: Late people, people who make sucky noises when they eat, messy people!

Quote from a movie: Bring Me A Shrubbery!
And my favorite funny quote: We are All Assholes, Sir!
Righty or Lefty: Right

Siblings: 1 younger brother

Time you wake up: When working, usually about 5:30. Now, usually about 7:30.

Underwear: Victoria's Secret

Vegetables you don’t like: I don't really think there ARE any!

What makes you run late: My boyfriend

X-Rays you’ve had: Little finger. Teeth.

Yummy food you make: I love to bake. Anything!

Zoo animal favorite: Giraffes.

Greek English

source

"Would you like a biscuit with your tea?", she asks. I am a little bit confused at first. I wonder, what kind of biscuit is she talking about? Is it a bisquick biscuit? If so, why isn't there any butter on the table? Is it a corn muffin perhaps? Maybe she is talking about a cracker. I am not sure, so I say, "yes please."

The last thing I expected her to hand me is a chocolate bar, wrapped in it's little plastic wrapping. It's similar to a Snickers bar and I look down at it thinking, "what the heck am I supposed to do with this? Aren't we about to have dinner?"

This happens a lot when you are traveling. You misunderstand people all the time. However, you would think that since we speak the same language as the British, we would understand each other better. But sometimes this is not the case. Sometimes the English (aka British) are speaking Greek.

Below are a few words you may want to know before you go to the British Isles.

- The first one I learned, and you probably know this one, is pissed. No, I am not mad at you, I am drunk!

- "us" -- this does NOT always mean more than one person. An example -- A- "give us a call later on". Me - "oh, who will you be with?" A - "I will be by myself". Me - "huh?"

- Biscuit - this can actually be a chocolate bar, a cookie or a bunch of other things, but they are always sweet. Don't be fooled. You will probably be getting cake, so get ready.

- Tea - this doesn't always refer to the drink. It refers to dinner. If someone says, "do you want to meet me for tea?" this means, "do you want to meet me for dinner?" The act of drinking tea IS included but it is not the only thing that will be happening.

- Cracker - Nope, not a Saltine. This means "excellent", as in "that party last night was a cracker." This also means "foxy" in terms of a woman, as in "whoa, that Sally is a cracker!" (aka "she's HOT!")

- Slapper - Basically the opposite of cracker. This is a woman who is a slut. However, I have an Irish friend who basically uses it as a term of endearment. I am not sure if other people do that or not. This is not a very nice thing to call someone.

- Fanny Pack - Do not say this in Scotland, as a Fanny is a bad word for a womans privates. They will look at you really funny, and I found this out first hand. You should  call it a Bum Bag. Just so you know. (ps by the way, the P word for a lady's bits is conversly okay to say there. It means Cat, and nothing more).

- Have kids? Do you have a babby? Or a bairn? To be honest I am not completely sure of the difference, but I think babby is younger than bairn.

- Some Foods: courgette = zucchini, coriander = cilantro, capsicum = bell pepper

- Some with moving parts: lorry = big truck, trolley = shopping basket, spanner = wrench

- In Scotland you may be confused about your Pants. That's becuase Pants means Underpants, and Trousers are what we would consider pants. Underpants are also referred to as Knickers.

Of course there are hundreds more, but I can't think of them all right now. For more information about weird words in British English, you can check out this site. Here are a few I found there that I hadn't know about before that are pretty funny.

- cabbaged Adj. 1. Intoxicated, by alcohol or drugs, to a state of uselessness. From being in a vegetative state. 2. Exhausted, extremely tired.

- septic or seppo Noun. A person from the U.S.A.. From the rhyming slang septic tank meaning Yank.

After looking around that site, it is a little bit lewd, so excuse me for that. However there are several non-lewd funny ones (as well as, if you are looking for them, several lewd funny ones!)

I have one last thing to add as a sidenote. When I was in China, I heard all the Chinese saying the N word! All the time!! You know which one I am talking about. THE "N" WORD. So I finally looked it up, and apparently "niga" means "that" in Chinese!! Imagine how many times a day you say "that!" They were dropping N bombs all over the place!

Do you have any to add? Are there words that you have heard and just thought, "huh?!" Have you ever been confused in a foreign country? Are there any English folks out there who think the Yanks talk funny?

Ten on Tuesday (12)

1. What is a food that you never thought you would try, but then tried and liked?
Beef hearts. Yuck. But actually...they are not really that bad!

2. Do you subscribe to any foodie publications? If so, which ones?
Nope. I eat a lot and love to make new things, but I usually just use Joy of Cooking or the internet.

3. What ingredient do you find yourself reaching for the most when you cook?
Chili peppers, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, onion. Or if it's sweet -- BUTTER.

4. Are there any foods that you hated as a child, but then learned to like as an adult?
I hated tomatoes. I used to have to close my eyes or drink them with water. love them now!

5. What do you like to eat that others may consider weird?
I guess see number one. Also, I love fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples with cheese, cucumber sandwiches and top ramen with an raw egg put inside.

6. What is the weirdest ingredient you’ve ever cooked with?
Okra. It's slimy and weird.

7. Do you have any major food allergies?
Nope. None.

8. Is there an ingredient that you would like to cook with, but are intimidated to try?
No. I will pretty much try anything. I just haven't heard about it yet.

9. Do you bake?
Oh man. Does a bear S in the woods? ooooh. Sorry! Yes,  I LOVE to bake. I haven't met a baked good I couldn't make.

10. If you could go on any “foodie” show to compete, which one would it be, and why?
Top Chef. I love that show. It has a lot of drama, but I don't care. Besides the first one was in the bay area and my brother's friend bought the building. I went there. They still have the Kenmore Kitchen.

Questions brought to you by Chelsea at Roots and Rings.  

Korea on Korea

As you may or may not know, some people call me "Korea". So, here I am -- Korea in Korea.

How is it, you are wondering? Well, it's great. The weather is a little bit colder than it was in Bali. Here is a photo of me last week vs. me this week.

Today we went to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) which is a 2 km (average) section between North and South Korea. After the war, when each side released their prisoners, they sent them over the Freedom bridge. Also, afterward, the North Koreans tried to dig tunnels under the zone in order to attack the south. The Southerners have found several tunnels and we got to go inside one of them. We were not allowed to take photos of the tunnels, but here is one of the Freedom Bridge. 

Freedom Bridge

There is a lot of interesting history to be found. I am sure you probably know this already, but Korea was occupied by the Japanese up until 1945. After this, they were struggling with their identity. Some people, who were backed by the Soviet Union, were in favor of communism. Others wanted Democracy. The two sides split and war broke out in 1950.

So today we went to see where a lot of the fighting took place. It was a barren landscape. There were soldiers everywhere. We even saw some US Army and UN folks. It was a little bit weird, being so non-nonchalant in a place where there had been such strife in the past. I felt a little strange about it.

Our guide, who was obviously from S. Korea, kept talking about how the N. Koreans are cannibals, as well as horrible people and terrorists. I wonder what the story is from the other side.

Have you ever been to a previous war zone? How did you feel about it? Did you relate more to one side than the other?

Top Tens and Beer

First, here are a few Top Ten Lists that I have written that you may enjoy. These are all travel related.

You can also find these and other info on my Travel Tips page.

Top 10 Essentials For Your Pack
10 Things You Will Be Glad You Lugged Around
10 Things You Want to Do Before Kicking The Bucket
10 Weird Things We Saw Abroad
10 Reasons Nepal Is Better Than India: A Guest Post

Also, althought Kim hasn't posted her linky already, she is the host of: Grab a Beer and Look What I Did Last Week. So, pull up a chair, grab a beer and tell me: How was your week? (PS even if I don't get a chance to formally link up with Kim, I am here! I have a beer in hand and am waiting to hear what you did this weekend!)

- My week, as I think I also mentioned here, was very relaxing. I spent the week in Bali, scuba diving, getting ripped off, snorkling and relaxing.

I have a couple of things to say about that.

(1) I love diving. I am going to write a whole post about where you should go if you do want to dive, because there are cheap places, expensive ones, ones with clear water, ones where you are basically swimming in dirt. Okay, well -- enough. I will save it for a future post. However, Bali is an A-OK in my book. Even the snorkling was great!

(2) It was HOT. I mean HOT. 90+ degrees the entire time with no wind and a humidity of, oh, I don't know, maybe 97%. So, if you do go, maybe don't go when it is summer time. Or spring time. Or Fall. I don't know. Or just be ready to sweat your ass off, becuase there is no AC and it is hot!

- Other than that, we had a long ass (sorry about all the A words, g-ma!!!) flight from Bali to Seoul. Actually the flight itself was not long but the entire journey was a pain in the -- (here I go again). We were supposed to take a shuttle at 4:30 (the last one to the airport) which didn't leave until 6:30, so we sat in the car (in the aformentioned heat) waiting to leave for two hours. Then we got to the airport around 8 and our flight was not until...get this...

3:30 am.

So we couldn't check in until midnight, so we sat OUTSIDE the airport waiting for check in. Finally we checked in, then sat INSIDE the airport waiting for the flight to board. So. Finally we got to Korea and then it is Immigration and another bus into the city, which was an additional hour and a half. So from city to city with all the buses, it was 20 hours. Not the worst ever, and LUCKILY only a one hour time difference, but I am pretty cracky today, let me tell you!

One good thing (I know, you guys are going to laugh) is that it is 40 degrees in Korea (as opposed to a bajillion degrees in Bali). I put on pants. I never thought I would be happy about that. Also, we are back (still?) in the land of items on sticks. Hurrah!!! Today I had four sausages and a weird rolled up rice ball of fried fish tasting stuff on a stick! Sweet!

So, I hope you all had a great week and weekend! I know my family got snow at their house in Northern California! Is March going out like a lamb for you?

Random Shmandom

- AubrieAnne over at Who's Your Editor featured me on her Weekend Wonder series! Go over to her site and check it out if you get a chance!

- I got an email from a coworker the other day saying:

Kyria,
 
You guys still in Asia?  From your blog, you must be near a library somewhere. 
 
ST

Geez, is it THAT bad!?? I guess I HAVE been talking a lot about books lately. The reason is this -- we have been mostly in places where we have been doing some relaxing and reading and not as much sightseeing. I know, it's boring. So I haven't really had anything "interesting" to say. So I apologize! Gosh, ST always keeps me on point! Thanks ST!

- And YES, we are still in Asia. In fact, we are in the airport flying from Bali to Seoul as we speak. I decided to put a new widget on my sidebar telling where I am, so even if I am talking about books, you (ST) can figure out where I am when I am not saying it! Actually to be honest,  I must not be communicating very well at all, because I sent my Mom an email today saying, "we are heading to Seoul" and she said, "Seoul? Korea?" I mean, oops, did I not tell her I was going there? I guess not. Huh. 

- This kid I went to school with, who was um, maybe 4 years younger than me, is getting married this weekend. Man it really makes you feel old when the "kids" you went to school with are getting married. He's just a boy! How did this happen? They are really getting married young these days, I guess. 

- In Bali they put each of their chickens and roosters in a separate wicker cage each night. 

- Yesterday I saw three chicks. One was dyed yellow; one was pink and one was green. What is that all about? 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Dollars and Sense

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Have you ever felt like you were being hosed? Cheated? Duped?

I have.

In fact, when traveling, you often feel ripped off, especially in poorer countries. But usually, no offense to any particular sort, but it is the locals who rip you off. Well, the day before yesterday we went diving. It was great! Beforehand we had spoken with an English lady who ran the shop and she assured us that the dive would be a certain price (in US dollars) minus ten percent, since we were two people.

So we dive, we get done and then I go up to pay. Well, first of all, let me tell you a little background. Right now, the Indonesian Rupiah is 8500 to 1 USD. So, our day of diving was supposed to be 85 dollars, which would be 722,500 rupiah. Well, I give her my credit card and not only were we charged an extra 3 percent to use the card, but we were charged at an exchange rate of 9200 rupiah which equals 782,000, which is ACTUALLY (in bank terms) 92 dollars. So, I KNOW this is only a difference of SEVEN dollars. You say, why bother with 7 dollars, but she knowingly duped me! And I trusted her. That bitch.

So later in the day, I went to get money out of the ATM. There is only one in the town we are in. My ATM card is a Visa/Cirrus card. We get in line for the ATM and the guard comes up to us and says, "what kind of card do you have?" and I said, "don't worry about it!". He insisted on knowing. I told him, "it's a visa". He said, "this machine doesn't take visa, only MasterCard." I said, "okay thanks, but I am going to try it anyway" (as there was a cirrus logo right on the ATM machine).

So I go into the little box. It's one of those personal ATMs where there is an airconditioned box to go into to use the ATM and only one person can go at a time. I am in the middle of using my card and he opens the door and says, "is it working?" I said, "can you please close the door?" He leaves, then comes back as my money is coming out of the machine. He says, "did it work?" I say, "yes". He says, and I am serious about this -- "How much money did you get out?"

Are you serious? Get out of my face! First of all, he tells me it won't work, and it DOES! Second he gets all up in my grill, third he has the balls to ask me how much money I got out! I couldn't believe it. I said, "get out, PLEASE."

He finally did and I left the ATM, the whole time looking over my shoulder to make sure he was not following me!

So yesterday was a strange day for monetary transactions.

The Whole Pack-age

When traveling, you sometimes go through many different climates, especially when you travel from Northern to Southern hemisphere in a short period. So how do you pack for this? I mean, you get to Europe in the summer time, then you go south and VOILA, it is winter in South Africa. A month later you are hiking in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. Different countries in the same region have completely different temperatures too. Sometimes it’s as if you go from Massachusetts in the winter to Florida in the summer, all in one week (or day sometimes!) This is especially hard when you are going to be on the road for a long period of time.

I am a light packer. I have learned this the hard way. On my first trip abroad, when I went to France for the summer (to do a work exchange), I had no idea what to pack. I didn’t know if the job I would have would require dressing up; I had no idea if the Frenchies would look at me funny if I wore my favorite pair of track pants; I wasn’t sure if they were more formal than us; I didn’t know if the apartment I was subletting would have an alarm clock; I didn’t know if they would have books in English!

So I brought everything.  I brought two, not one but TWO suitcases. Big ones. Back in the day, when I went to France, I was not blessed with a rolling suitcase. One had a little tiny strap, like you would have on a clutch handbag, and four tiny wheels. You wheeled it sideways (on the long side) and to do so you had to hunch way over and slouch backwards, causing you to be old before your time. Often, it would tip over, causing your whole production to come to a stop. My other suitcase did not even have the luxury of wheels, tiny or otherwise. I had to carry it. Have you ever seen Spaceballs? That is what I looked like; I had my industrial strength hair dryer, and I COULD have lived without it.

Now I am smarter. I have realized a few things which make life much, much easier.

- You are not going to the moon. They may not have Target, but you can probably find a store, even in the Heart of Darkness, that sells shampoo. Buy it on the road once you figure out how much you will need.

- Layers, layers, layers! A few tank tops, a couple of long sleeves and one heavier sweater will get you very far.

- Also black is always a good idea. If you have a black long sleeve and black pants, you can go from beach to restaurant in a snap. I have the most awesome pair of black dress pants that I got at Express that kind of look like Yoga pants. They can be used for running or for going clubbing (not that I do that!)

- A thin rainproof jacket (I got one at REI for about 40 dollars) that can fit into a really small package when you are not using it is a key ingredient to your featherweight pack.

- A sarong can be used as a towel, or a beach cover up, or a head wrap, or a skirt.

- Zip-off pants, although not attractive, are great for hiking or other activities, are lightweight so you can wash them in the sink and hang them to dry for the next day and they also double as an extra pair of shorts (or your only pair). Get these in black and you may have just killed two birds with one stone. A word to the wise, the more pockets the better. If you can avoid carrying a purse and instead stuff your pockets with your camera and wallet, you have one less thing to worry about.

- Unless you are doing some REALLY serious hiking, running shoes work for almost everything.

Do you have any travel packing tips? Are you a two suitcases kind of person or a throw a backpack on and go kind of person?

What I Love About Thailand

Thailand has so many things going for it! Here are a few: 

T-shirts like these (it says "horror movie")

Cheap clothes like these (5 dollars)

Coconut shakes - naturally!

Beaches like these!

Sweet chili sauce (and hearts!)

Pad Thai -- of course!

An alternative to Tabasco -- THAIbasco!

So much street food! Yummmmmmy!

Good Reads

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I was going to make a list of my ten favorite books from 2010 (books I read, not necessarily books that came out in 2010), but although I read a lot of books last year, not very many of them were really great. Here are a few I would recommend.

1. Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans – this book tells the tale of nine different people who lived in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. Starting in the 1960s it leads you through their (very different) lives going up through the events of the storm and telling of the aftermath. This was a good book, which was heightened by the fact that I worked for several years doing recovery work for Katrina and lived in New Orleans for quite some time.

2. Gumbo Tales – This is another book about New Orleans. Again, this was a good book no matter where you are, but is even better if you are in NOLA. It tells of the history of several foods that are “typical” New Orleans food, such as Po Boys, Snoballs and Gumbo. It was very informative and funny.

3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – I read this for book club and never ended up going to the club meeting, but I enjoyed the book immensely. It is a murder mystery, set in Sweden. The characters are strange but funny and the story is ridiculous but at the same time interesting and serious. I can’t wait to read the other two books in the series.

4. The Historian – This is a vampire book about a girl who goes looking for her family roots and finds out that they lead back to Vlad the Impaler. She travels to several countries, including Romania, to find out about her roots. It has danger, travel, suspense and history. All these together made for a great read.

As always, you can friend me on Goodreads to find out what else I have liked (and hated) in the book world.