Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Chuseok 2015

This year we were only lucky enough to get a three day Chuseok. A law was recently passed that mandated that all public employees get a fourth day (the Tuesday) off, but it was optional for private companies. Being that it is Korea the children must study, so Tuesday I went in to work.

That didn't stop me from having a great three day weekend. On Saturday Darren came down from Daejeon. He got in around noon and we went to Apsan. We opted for the cable car up as it was getting late for a hike up and down. We went to the observatory and then walked along the ridge, popping out in Sangin a few hours later.

Daegu

Afterwards we got home, showered and cleaned up, and went out to one of my favourite bbq places by Seobu terminal. We ate enough to put back anything we burnt on the hike, and then a bit. Still, it is great pork. We then headed back to Sangin for a couple of beers and then crashed.

The next day we got up and began wandering for food. After having no luck in Sangin we opted to head downtown. Thursday Party patio had a brunch and so we opted for eggs and sausages. It was good, and got rid of any lasting effects from the night before. After a while Darren had to get going but I decided to stay downtown, as Jon was in from Seoul.

waiting downtown

We met up and went to a patio I had never been to before. After a few hours there it was dinner time so we decided to try a Russian/Uzbek place that has opened downtown, called International City. It was run by a great lady from Uzbekistan and the food was amazing. Some of the best beef I have ever had. Russian beer isn't half bad either. We ended up staying there for several hours.

Baltic 3, Baltic 5 was better

this

We got the last subway home, and I was asleep early. Monday I was giving a few of our things to Yen's friends in Namdaegu. They drove over around one and we loaded up the car. We then headed over there for lunch and to catch up. It ended with dinner out at a Makchang place. I hadn't seen Nicole since I got back from Manila so it was great to catch up. Again I wrapped it up and was home by noon.

Makchang

It was a day of hiking and two days of eating. Not exactly healthy, but a lot of fun. Now for my last week at Yongsan.




Wednesday, September 23, 2015

My Last Work Weeks

Well my last month at Moonkkang will be a strange one.

I got an email from my boss a couple of days ago saying that my branch was downsizing again. Originally they were going to have my new coworker take over my classes when they go from eight teachers to six. However, it was decided that she would take over my classes on Monday Oct 5th and I would spend my last three weeks doing office work and covering sick days. It makes sense, having Emily go then come back three weeks later is unfair to her and to the students. I have also done office work in the past and so I can be used in non teaching ways fairly easily I think, which I am happy to do. In fact, it might be (knock on wood) a great change. While I do like my school and students a lot, the combination of school and work these last three years has left me burnt out. Working from home or from the head office, while still work, is a welcome change. I did this sort of office work before and it is actual work, but I can do lots of it in my pyjamas.

Oct 3rd will probably not be my last teaching day at Moonkkang. It will, unfortunately, probably be at a branch I have never been to before with students I don't know. That being said it is a nice way to wind down my time here. My flight to Manila is booked for October 24th. This final run to that is something that (knock on wood) will be fun.

Paper Done and Daejeon Trip

Last Saturday I woke up early stressing about my dissertation. It wasn't due until Sunday but it was so close to being done that I just finished it and sent it off at 830am. I was very happy to be finished with school.

I thin hopped a KTX to Daejeon to visit Darren. We walked along the Gapchon river to the large garden/museum/arboretum. It was warm, but the humidity was way down from previous weeks and so it was actually quite nice. Along the way we found dragon boat races and a great walking path. There was a museum with dinosaur bones and an arboretum with tropical plants and a huge park. We were out all afternoon enjoying the tourist sites of Daejeon.

We then got back to Darren's place and sat at a patio around the corner for a few Japanese beers before a bbq dinner. I've always liked Daejeon. Hardly a tourist city, but a fun crowd and a good atmosphere. I am looking for University jobs next year and Darren's University is certainly on my list. I could live in that area for two years.

A Korean crane

EXPO bridge on the Gapcheon

again

Dragon Boat races

walk along the river


Arts Centre

Near the patio

Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Bridge of Death

well not exactly, but a few campaigners up at Wolgwang Park would have you believe so.

A few months ago city planners lowered the level at Wolgwang lake park (probably the place I will miss most in Daegu) and built a bridge over the water. The problem is that it is horribly ugly, VERY poorly built, and has already caused a few injuries. A few older people have been out by the bridge every day with pictures of kids who have cut themselves on the thing. Half of it is just iron poorly welded together that acts as a flooring, presumably so you can walk on it and see what water looks like? Little pieces of metal stick up everywhere and it feels very flimsy. I wouldn't want too many people on it an once. The rest of it has a huge rail that lights up in this horrible neon at night.

There is a petition going on and, when it gets 10,000 signatures, it will be sent to the city to have the bridge removed or completely redone. I am not sure which of the cities nephews got this contract, but my guess is it will be him last public project. It won't be fixed before I go, but hopefully it will be done by next summer. I have a few pics that don't really do it justice, but as an eyesore you'll get the idea.


the bridge from the park

This is where there is wood flooring. 
I am not going anywhere near the grid.

Bridge under the mountain

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Some Really Cool Music From Japan

I came across these guys a while ago and was impressed to see such great musicians are still around. They are a Japanese band called Wagakki that combine modern music with more traditional instruments. It reminds me a lot of what Flogging Molly did combining traditional Celtic music with a rock band. They are also just great musicians, something that you don't see enough of in pop music in Asia.

It is also cool to see a more western form of music (hard rock) combined with Japanese Shamisen (traditional music) and have it work so well.

God I miss Tokyo.


Saturday, September 5, 2015

I Hate Lonely Planet

Or well, at least I have stopped using them as my main source of info when I check out a new place. In fact, I often recommend that people skip them entirely, except for info on things such as customs and their maps, both of which are well written.

This blog offered a few great reasons for not using them, my favourites being that he doesn't trust the authors. Frankly neither do I.

So I have decided to throw up a few reasons of my own, though I am going to steal a bit from this blog, as the author beat me to it by several years.

1- The Authors

This blogger writes:

Do the authors actually know what they are talking about? How well do they know the country and culture? Did they even visit the place?
One former Lonely Planet authors, Thomas Kohnstamm, actually admitted that he did not always visit the places he reviewed. He states that he wrote about Colombia home in San Francisco, without ever visiting the country. Furthermore, he reveals that during his visit to Brazil he was going to review a restaurant. The waitress suggested that he should come back after she had closed down the restaurant, around midnight. When he came back, they had sex, reviewing in the guidebook “the restaurant ‘is a pleasant surprise … and the table service is friendly”.
Moreover, I have a friend that visited Bolivia for a couple of weeks. She did not know Spanish, was unable to communicate with local people and just visiting a few places in the country. Based on this she got a contract with a publisher to write a guidebook about the country. I am not sure if this qualifies for making a guidebook?
Along with his reasons, I will add that going through the few LP books that I still do have, the authors all have something in common. They are white, liberally educated westerners. Now admittedly that is who they are writing for, but the fact that they never employ locals and rarely employ expats to do their writing says a lot about the sort of "expert" advice you are getting.

2- Holy Judgement Batman!

These same authors have lots of wonderful things to say about tour groups, luxury travel, expats and, well anyone who isn't a backpacker. I did my backpacker thing when I was 25. A hostel in Bangkok where the shower was a garden hose zap strapped to the wall. Cost me $10 a night. However, sucked in by the LP mantra that backpacking is the only real and authentic form of travel I stuck with it.... for about three days. Then I checked in to a place that, for $30 a night gave me a shower, BBC News, free breakfast and aircon. I have never figured out why showering everyday and getting a good nights sleep makes for less authentic travel, but apparently it does. I also don't get how staying in a hostel is more "authentic". How does drinking cheap beer with two guys from Sydney make for a more authentic Thai experience? Seriously, I've never been able to figure it out.

They also love to pass casual judgements on teachers in Japan and Korea, expats in SE Asia, anyone in a nice hotel and anyone on a package tour. Now personally I hate package tours, but if your only language was, say Korean, you would not be able to communicate with too many people outside of Korea without help. Thus you have Hana Tour. As to expats. Well I have a dog in this fight I guess, so I'll state up front that I have worked abroad for years and am with a woman who is not Canadian. I chose to work abroad because I wanted to see the world but didn't have a trust fund to cover it. Again these authors. Bryant is a journalist from L.A who has written for Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Morocco and Spain. Must be wonderful to be able to just fly all over the world whenever you want to, especially as a journalist. Which news outlet do you work for again? Thus the LP guide books are full of comments about drunk English teachers or sexpats or bitter expats. Now admittedly there are more than a few of them out there. They suck. They are also a minority. However the overwhelming majority are a far, FAR better source of information on a country than the LP writers. Who knows more about Seoul, Steve who lives in Seoul and has been married to Kim Soo-Min for five years or Trent from Melbourne who likes ultimate frisbee and surfing brah?

Also, the fact that I no longer stay in hostels (Tokyo being the exception) doesn't mean that my experience is less valid. As I said before, drinking with two guys from Sydney in a dorm room is not more authentic than watching BBC News in a hotel room when you are in Bangkok. Frankly, I think part of it is the simple poverty of youth. I make enough that I can afford to spend money on a real hotel room. You don't yet. When you do let me know where you choose to stay.

Besides, if you really wanted an authentic (whatever that means anyway) experience, you would have thrown your LP book away, left the hostel world and joined couchsurfing.org or AirBnB a long time ago.

Finally, and it could almost be its own subsection titled "Don't Tell Me What to Do." There is a stream of commentary looking down on people who do things that are not backpacker enough. I want to go to Disneyland in Hong Kong? So what? The write up for Nagasaki is a prime example. There is a Dutch fort there (a replica anyway) from the days when only the Dutch were allowed to enter Japan. I find that period interesting (so does anyone who read Shogun I bet) but the LP writeup simply ends by dismissing it and saying "you didn't travel to Japan to see a European town now did you?" How do you know why I went to Japan Trent from Melbourne and Bryant from Los Angeles (my two fictional and highly stereotypical LP writers)? I find that part of Japanese history fascinating so I will go to Deshima island and see it (one day). Maybe after I play a round of golf in the Philippines. Get off me.

3- The LP Effect

Again from Places People Stories:

I have seen restaurants that have been full every night, due to that it is mentioned in Lonely Planet. While other restaurants that were not mentioned, despite to that they have better and cheaper food, always have space. It is pretty crazy, the amount of money one business get based on one person or authors experience. I usually look for the places where locals are eating. I noticed them to usually be the best and affordable.

Spot on.

Add to that the prices are always jacked up and restaurants pay to keep themselves in LP and you end up eating bad food. This may tie in to mistrust of the authors, but I've never had a good LP recommendation with respect to food, though a few of their mid range hotel recommendations have been quite good. However this may be that restaurants and hotels operate under different rules, and are less subject to subjective tastes (emphasis on less). If you want to know if a restaurant has good food look at the clientele. If they are all 24-30 and western, the food will be very expensive and probably not amazing. Go to where the locals are.

4- Only Western Countries Can Develop

This one kills me and is an editorial stance common to LP. While London and New York are described as vibrant, world class cities, a write up for Singapore begins with "ditch the image of Singapore as a sterile utopia" and then goes on to talk about how it is great despite its modernity. To be fair they are kinder to it than others, but it still fits in with a mentality so common among the backpacker crowd that lament what has been lost now that a (non western) country has modernized. I am sure they did lose something. Anglo-Saxon England had cool stuff that we don't have anymore either, does that make London boring or sterile? Singapore is amazing, and while LP does actually bring up a few great things about it, the commentary on the expats there and the persistent undertone that Singapore just isn't Asian, or is a mix or east and west, leaves one with a bad taste. In fact Singapore is Singapore. Its own thing and amazing in its own right. I would also ask Trent and Bryant which city they would rather raise a family in, Singapore or Phnom Penh? 

5- Don't Be a Mark

Again a title taken direct from People Places Stories. But again spot on.

The first rule I learned when travelling to distant countries was that if you would like to avoid being robbed or tricked, do not stand in the street with a guide book. This is like putting a sticker in your forehead saying “I’m a tourist. I’m new here. I don’t know this place”. By doing so, you become an easy victim. That they do not mention in Lonely Planet, right?


You see a couple of kids with oversized backpacks and their heads buried in a LP book. Man I am tempted to offer them a tuk tuk ride to Big Temple.


6- That Price Was SOOOO Last Year

The second you print a guide book it is out of date. With blogs, wikitravel and maps readily available for download on your smartphone or printed out at work, why would you lug around a huge book? Heck the LP website is actually very good, and because it is facts without the commentary it is actually very useful. That was 40 baht in 2009? Oh, well it is 60 baht now. It is called inflation. Trent reviewed this restaurant in LP? Prices just went up by 40%.


They Aren't THAT Bad

To be fair, as I mentioned above they do have a fair bit going for them. They do have great, if outdated, info. Their maps are spot on too. Actually their website is often my third or fourth choice when looking up new info on a place (out of a dozen or so). I guess what I hate most about LP is Trent and Bryant telling me what to see and do, and offering their snide, often very elitist commentary. I also hate that I did LP Thailand. I decided to boldly go where thousands of unwashed white people had gone before. I contrast that with my time in the Philippines, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong and there is no comparison as to which ones were better, more enriching and more fun. I actually forgot my Japan LP the last time I was in Tokyo. Best mistake I ever made. If you want some info their website is great and up to date, and a great resource when starting your planning. Leave the books, and Trent and Bryant, at home.






Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Getting a Health Checkup

With seven weeks left here in Korea, I decided to get a health checkup. Not that I am sick or anything, in fact I feel great, but being that healthcare is both cheaper and faster than in Canada and to a higher standard than most other places I am likely to be in the coming months, it seemed a sensible thing to do.

It was mostly done on Tuesday, except a blood test and something else that I will do Friday. My blood pressure is a bit high but way down from a year ago. The doctor may give me something for that, though because it is not danger zone high he may not. The nurse wasn't sure. I also wonder how much it will go down when I am no longer eating the salty food that is the norm here in Korea (marinades, pickled vegetables etc). My weight is down (in a good way) and the only physical ailments I had were from that torn muscle in my arm last year. The whole thing ran me 70,000 won ($75CDN/65USD) and I'll get the full results on Friday.

As I said, I feel fine, but no reason not to take advantage of this healthcare system while I am still paying insurance for it. Even if I end up just paying 70,000 for some health advice from a doctor, it still seems like money and time well spent.

A Daegu Weekend

Last weekend Will showed up for three nights in Daegu on his return trip to Saigon from Atlanta. It happened on very short notice but it was a fun weekend. I last saw Will in February 2014 on his last night in Korea, after a huge Seoul trip the previous weekend.

Will cabbed to my place after 24 hours of travelling from Atlanta via Toronto and Vancouver on Air Canada. We dropped his stuff off and went out to Sangin. My old favourite BBQ place has been totally redone, and has a military motif, with water in canteens and tables camouflage walls. The meat was also different. To be honest I didn't like it, which sucks because it was one of my favourite places for BBQ in Korea. However we still had a good time. We also managed our way to the beer tunnel, which I never go to anymore, so that was fun.

Saturday Will was beat, which is very understandable. He was also going to Zeke's that night, so we decided to just relax up at Lake Park and then head to Zeke's house. We went past his old neighbourhood and up to the reservoir to see a few old spots and have a drink. After that we dropped by Zeke's place for a whisky and a quick tour. I like Zeke's house a lot. I think he is looking at another year or two in Korea and so has put some nice things in to his apartment. With Yen gone and so much of my stuff in boxes my apartment has taken on a bit of a warehouse feel. Being in a real home was kinda nice. I want to do the same thing to my next place, wherever that may be. We then went out with Ezekiel and had delicious but very pricey beef BBQ and drinks at a really cool place downtown that I've never been to before. They had great cuts of meat and drinks from all over Korea, including stuff I have never seen anywhere else. Hallasan soju was a neat first, only available on Jeju-do apparently.

I saw the boys in Sangin again on Sunday morning for breakfast and again on Monday morning for a coffee before Will headed to Dong Daegu station and back to Saigon. I'll see Will again in November, so it wasn't a big goodbye or anything. Still, it was cool having him back in the neighbourhood for the weekend, just like old times.

I also went harder on food and drink than I have at any time since Tokyo. I hate to admit this but I just can't do it anymore. I've been tired all week, though a couple of early mornings have probably contributed to that. Still, I have a weekend of finishing my paper once and for all ahead of me, and I am surprisingly okay with that.