Today is my second day in Langkawi and effectively the last day of this holiday (tomorrow is all travelling). I still have a few days off before I have to return to work, but believe me, they're already spoken for. Probably a good thing I have a bit of a break, they say one needs a vacation after a vacation anyway...
So today I got up early and I was expecting yesterday's light shower to have blown away by this morning. Wrong-o. It was completely overcast and raining steadily. The cool air must have accumulated last night because the temperature was much less than yesterday, and it didn't look like it was going anywhere.
I called and asked how much a later checkout would be, and they said I could have until 1pm on the house. Boo yah.
I went to visit the pool or the beach, but it was colder than I thought and blustery anyway, so I didn't feel like swimming. On a whim, I decided to check out a local waterfall, which turned out to be a nice decision. It's called Seven Wells Waterfall, or Telaga Tujuh, and it's rumored that fairies come to frolick there because it's so nice. It was a bit of a hike and I was only wearing my flip-flops for the pool, and it was raining, so my feet kept slipping off my shoes. When I got to the top of the hill, it was really nice. The water has carved several pools into the top of the falls and made the area smooth, almost like a waterslide. At the bottom of the falls, there were some more pools, so I was walking among them and enjoying the seclusion.
Then I saw it.
There, in the water at my feet was something shiny, shinier than what should be there. I bent down to pick it up, like Bilbo Baggins, and claimed my prize....
No one else may have it....must keep it safe...it is mine....my precious.
After that, erm, experience, I returned to the hotel to quickly take a shower and check-out. I still had the beach towel I signed out from the pool shack, so I went to go lay under one of the cabanas on the beach and relax. And relax I did. I ordered a fancy tropical fruit drink and watched the rain and wind make the palm trees sway in one direction.
Finally, it was time to go to the airport. I took a taxi and then had a quick bite to eat at a restaurant. The place I chose happened to serve Teh Tarik, which is the Malaysian version of milk tea. It's the best kind I've had on this trip so far! Satisfied, I did a bit of shopping and then boarded the plane. Oddly, I had a row to myself, but I was sitting behind a seatbelt-refusing family with a small child, so as soon as possible I relocated to an empty row at the back of the plane.
I'm not sure if I'll write about tomorrow, since it won't be interesting (actually, when it involves Koreans or travelling to/from Korea, there's almost always drama...so maybe I will write).
One thing I do want to write about is just a...cultural note. Asians are terrrrrible at lining up for things. "Oh, there's a spot beside you. It was obviously meant for me to use to get ahead of you". If you ever travel here, be prepared to be cut in front of like crazy. It's so irksome.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Langkawi Day 1
Langkawi is an island paradise off the northwest coast of Malaysia. It's practically in Thailand it's so far north.
I woke up, watched an episode of Recess (surprise!), and then caught a cab to the best place I've ever stayed, save for Cannon Beach, the Berjaya Langkawi Resort.
I checked in, had my card declined for the deposit (seriously Desjardins?! I gave you a trip notification weeks ago, and you do this to me in Hong Kong too... :( and went to my room. I'm literally staying in a cabin in the rainforest. It's beautiful.
There's a sandy beach nearby and you can smell the flowers and hear the birds. How lovely. :)
It's quite hot and humid here today, As soon as you stand up you've worked up a sweat. Thankfully, the resort has a pool.
Langkawi is designated as a duty-free island, so I took a shuttle to a local shopping place so I could pick up some snacks. It had started raining by this time, so when I got back I decided to stay in and relax at my jungle house (no sunset anyway, on account of how socked in it was). I watched a bit of the academy awards on TV and finished the movie (Memoirs of a Geisha) I had started watching on my tablet. I opened all the windows of my jungle hut and turned on the celing fan so I could still hear the rain on the palm fronds outside and feel the warm breeze of the jungle.
This place is bliss.
I woke up, watched an episode of Recess (surprise!), and then caught a cab to the best place I've ever stayed, save for Cannon Beach, the Berjaya Langkawi Resort.
I checked in, had my card declined for the deposit (seriously Desjardins?! I gave you a trip notification weeks ago, and you do this to me in Hong Kong too... :( and went to my room. I'm literally staying in a cabin in the rainforest. It's beautiful.
There's a sandy beach nearby and you can smell the flowers and hear the birds. How lovely. :)
It's quite hot and humid here today, As soon as you stand up you've worked up a sweat. Thankfully, the resort has a pool.
Langkawi is designated as a duty-free island, so I took a shuttle to a local shopping place so I could pick up some snacks. It had started raining by this time, so when I got back I decided to stay in and relax at my jungle house (no sunset anyway, on account of how socked in it was). I watched a bit of the academy awards on TV and finished the movie (Memoirs of a Geisha) I had started watching on my tablet. I opened all the windows of my jungle hut and turned on the celing fan so I could still hear the rain on the palm fronds outside and feel the warm breeze of the jungle.
This place is bliss.
Kuala Lumpur Day 1
Last night I got to Kuala Lumpur after dark. The presence of the sun apparently has no effect on the amount of heat here though :( it was hot and humid. Blech. I suppose that's what you get for being near the equator.
I made my way to my hotel. KL (the locals love to abbreviate things: LCCT, KLIA, KL, KLCC, ERL, Mohd, etc) is kind of like Korea in that there's lots of garbage everywhere. One thing I noticed is the amount of idleness though. People are just everywhere, but they aren't doing anything. In Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, people are still everywhere, but they don't stand still. They're usually on the move. But in KL, people just congregate and stare at you and then speak loud, foreign words about what they think.
At midnight, I was awoken by the sound of firecrackers on the street below. It's not even a holiday...
For my day in KL, I went to Batu Caves, which is a very famous Hindu temple in some caves in the north part of the city. There were lots of other tourists there speaking Swedish, German, Spanish, Russian, and some English.
The caves are pretty interesting and you have to take a million steps to get there. The complex is guarded by a giant, golden, silent statue of Murdugan, a Hindu god or something like that.
Along the steps and inside the caves, evil monkeys scatter about, preying on tourists who think they're "cute" and naively try to feed them or pet them.
After Batu caves, I went to KLCC, which is the complex for the Petronas Towers. Petronas is the oil company that controls derricks off the coast, and has consequently made Malaysis wealthier than its neighbors (not sure if state-run company or not). Anyway, they run a science centre called Petrosains inside the mall at KLCC, so I went to have a look. It was pretty interesting, all about how petroleum is produced and why it exists and what we use it for. They had a large scale mockup of a sea rig, which was pretty neat. I especially enjoyed the dark ride at the beginning and exit of the exhibit.
Finally, I made my way back to the airport to catch my night flight to Langkawi.
I made my way to my hotel. KL (the locals love to abbreviate things: LCCT, KLIA, KL, KLCC, ERL, Mohd, etc) is kind of like Korea in that there's lots of garbage everywhere. One thing I noticed is the amount of idleness though. People are just everywhere, but they aren't doing anything. In Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, people are still everywhere, but they don't stand still. They're usually on the move. But in KL, people just congregate and stare at you and then speak loud, foreign words about what they think.
At midnight, I was awoken by the sound of firecrackers on the street below. It's not even a holiday...
For my day in KL, I went to Batu Caves, which is a very famous Hindu temple in some caves in the north part of the city. There were lots of other tourists there speaking Swedish, German, Spanish, Russian, and some English.
The caves are pretty interesting and you have to take a million steps to get there. The complex is guarded by a giant, golden, silent statue of Murdugan, a Hindu god or something like that.
Along the steps and inside the caves, evil monkeys scatter about, preying on tourists who think they're "cute" and naively try to feed them or pet them.
After Batu caves, I went to KLCC, which is the complex for the Petronas Towers. Petronas is the oil company that controls derricks off the coast, and has consequently made Malaysis wealthier than its neighbors (not sure if state-run company or not). Anyway, they run a science centre called Petrosains inside the mall at KLCC, so I went to have a look. It was pretty interesting, all about how petroleum is produced and why it exists and what we use it for. They had a large scale mockup of a sea rig, which was pretty neat. I especially enjoyed the dark ride at the beginning and exit of the exhibit.
Finally, I made my way back to the airport to catch my night flight to Langkawi.
Macau Day 1
Today I had a flight to catch from Macau to Kuala Lumpur. However, I've been feeling kind of sick lately, so I rested for most of the morning. When it was time to check out, I exited my hotel, went to a nearby Subway restaurant and ordered a nice, delicious, genuine sandwich, and then headed to the Macau ferry terminal. They have sailings basically every 15 minutes, and most of them are pretty full. I would expect the last ones of the day to be most depressing, as people return from Macau, either penniless or feeling quite lucky.
Anyway, I bumped and bounced along in the ferry for an hour along with other loud and yelly Chinese people on their cell phones. Surprisingly, there were quite a few Portugese speakers along for the ride. Perhaps due to Macau's heritage as a Portugese colony.
Macau is basically Las Vegas for the Chinese. It's a special administrative region of China (think Puerto Rico), so I suppose if you think about it, it's an excellent method for the communist regime to capture more citizen money than just by taxes alone. However, seeing the damage this vice causes in South Korea (especially when Koreans aren't allowed to enter casinos in Korea), it makes me sad to see it taxing the poor of China as well.
Nevertheless, when casinos take your money, they do it in style! When you get out of the ferry terminal, you can take one of many shuttle buses to each casino in Macau. I unfortunately didn't have time to see the downtown area, so I took the shuttle to Galaxy Macau because I could connect to its airport shuttle there.
That was an interesting ride to say the least.
As you are driving, you can see all the other amazing casinos along the way. These buildings are quite something! The shuttle bus has TV screens which tell you about people just like you who have won millions of dollars, seemingly without any risk or loss.
Once we arrived at Galaxy, I was blown away by the architecture of this building. It was so luxurious! A long-legged beauty showed me to where I needed to go for the airport bus, and I got to witness a gigantic glass diamond rising dramatically out of the hotel fountain.
I got a few stares going through the place, probably on account of my touristy appearance and large backpack. Fine with me, take money from someone else.
Anyway, I bumped and bounced along in the ferry for an hour along with other loud and yelly Chinese people on their cell phones. Surprisingly, there were quite a few Portugese speakers along for the ride. Perhaps due to Macau's heritage as a Portugese colony.
Macau is basically Las Vegas for the Chinese. It's a special administrative region of China (think Puerto Rico), so I suppose if you think about it, it's an excellent method for the communist regime to capture more citizen money than just by taxes alone. However, seeing the damage this vice causes in South Korea (especially when Koreans aren't allowed to enter casinos in Korea), it makes me sad to see it taxing the poor of China as well.
Nevertheless, when casinos take your money, they do it in style! When you get out of the ferry terminal, you can take one of many shuttle buses to each casino in Macau. I unfortunately didn't have time to see the downtown area, so I took the shuttle to Galaxy Macau because I could connect to its airport shuttle there.
That was an interesting ride to say the least.
As you are driving, you can see all the other amazing casinos along the way. These buildings are quite something! The shuttle bus has TV screens which tell you about people just like you who have won millions of dollars, seemingly without any risk or loss.
Once we arrived at Galaxy, I was blown away by the architecture of this building. It was so luxurious! A long-legged beauty showed me to where I needed to go for the airport bus, and I got to witness a gigantic glass diamond rising dramatically out of the hotel fountain.
I got a few stares going through the place, probably on account of my touristy appearance and large backpack. Fine with me, take money from someone else.
Hong Kong Day 3
Today I checked out of my hotel and got on a Star Ferry to the other side of the harbour. What a surprise when I found out this major tourist attraction costs $0.25! It offers fantastic views of the skyline as you motor across the waters.
Disembarking, I was met with another pleasant surprise. A real-live Triple O's! In Hong Kong of all places. I enjoyed a very delicious original burger.
I went to my new hotel, and was very confused as the check in desk was nowhere to be seen and the valet desk was unmanned. I found someone and they told me to ascend to the 5th floor. Once there, I checked in and asked for a nice room.
Boy was I rewarded! I got an amazing room with a million dollar view on the 29th floor. I could spend a long time watching the harbour and all the boat traffic.
I Skyped with Amanda for awhile, and didn't feel like going out. By the time I was ready, the thing I wanted to see was closed, so I decided to go for dinner.
I had read about a nearby restaurant with great food, so I went to give it a try. It was the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant.
First of all, it was 6:30pm and no one was there eating. The middle aged Chinese waitress spoke at me with contempt the entire evening because I didn't want to order more food, and she hovered barely four feet from me the entire meal. Finally, when it came time to settle the bill, she charged me a hefty gratuity for doing nothing. My $78 bill came out to $119, and she made me settle right. There. At. The. Table. She watched and stood right next to me as I dug through my bag to get some cash, and then said "no change?" assuming I wanted to leave her even more money for her discriminatory and offensive "service".
I wrote a nice review for the restaurant and a nice letter to the hong long tourism board.
After the insulting ordeal at the restaurant, I went to take the Peak Tram to the top off Victoria Peak. It was really crowded and many people cut in line all over the place. The tram ride itself is actually pretty interesting. It takes you at a 45• angle, which is really impressive. What's even more impressive is that this same journey used to be done by rickshaw drivers, and before that, "chair men" (you can figure out what that entails).
Finally, I took a ubiquitous Hong Kong tram (the narrow ones that run on the street--the locals call them "ding dings") back to my hotel for some pleasant rest and some more time with that stunning view.
Disembarking, I was met with another pleasant surprise. A real-live Triple O's! In Hong Kong of all places. I enjoyed a very delicious original burger.
I went to my new hotel, and was very confused as the check in desk was nowhere to be seen and the valet desk was unmanned. I found someone and they told me to ascend to the 5th floor. Once there, I checked in and asked for a nice room.
Boy was I rewarded! I got an amazing room with a million dollar view on the 29th floor. I could spend a long time watching the harbour and all the boat traffic.
I Skyped with Amanda for awhile, and didn't feel like going out. By the time I was ready, the thing I wanted to see was closed, so I decided to go for dinner.
I had read about a nearby restaurant with great food, so I went to give it a try. It was the worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant.
First of all, it was 6:30pm and no one was there eating. The middle aged Chinese waitress spoke at me with contempt the entire evening because I didn't want to order more food, and she hovered barely four feet from me the entire meal. Finally, when it came time to settle the bill, she charged me a hefty gratuity for doing nothing. My $78 bill came out to $119, and she made me settle right. There. At. The. Table. She watched and stood right next to me as I dug through my bag to get some cash, and then said "no change?" assuming I wanted to leave her even more money for her discriminatory and offensive "service".
I wrote a nice review for the restaurant and a nice letter to the hong long tourism board.
After the insulting ordeal at the restaurant, I went to take the Peak Tram to the top off Victoria Peak. It was really crowded and many people cut in line all over the place. The tram ride itself is actually pretty interesting. It takes you at a 45• angle, which is really impressive. What's even more impressive is that this same journey used to be done by rickshaw drivers, and before that, "chair men" (you can figure out what that entails).
Finally, I took a ubiquitous Hong Kong tram (the narrow ones that run on the street--the locals call them "ding dings") back to my hotel for some pleasant rest and some more time with that stunning view.
Hong Kong Day 2
Today I lived the dream and worked on one of my bucket list items. I visited Hong Kong Disneyland.
I got up early, got some wrong directions from my hotel, doubled-back, and made it to the park a little before opening. There weren't too many people, which I was thrilled about. Surprisingly, they opened the park gates early, so people could walk around a little bit, but only as far as the end of Main Street.
Quick summary: Hong Kong Disneyland is the newest park of the Disney company I think. They were selling some 7th anniversary stuff. Unique to this park, they were still celebrating Chinese New Year (the actual event was a week ago) by having themed decorations, music, and costumes.
Because I really (I mean reeeally) like things Disney, I had read up on this park before I came. I'm a member on an Internet Disney forum, and the current buzz around this park is what will happen to visitor demographics once Shanghai Disneyland opens in a few years. Many mainland Chinese visitors make a holiday in Hong Kong and HKD is a very popular spot to visit (as was evidenced by the crowd of people today). I saw a few White people like myself, some Japanese, and some South Asians. Other than that though, they're all Chinese. Anyway, once the park opens in Shanghai, only time will tell if the mainland Chinese will still come to HKD.
First, the good news: HKD is fairly large. If you come to visit, expect to do a lot of walking (not a lot of the areas are interconnected--they mostly connect to the middle of the park) in a wheel and spoke fashion. As well, most of the cast members can speak fairly good English. You shouldn't have trouble communicating your needs or inquiries. As well, the characters can understand English, and Disney has hired White people for the non-suit characters (I.e. the princesses, Tinkerbell).
Now, a special word of admonishment from myself. If you happen to find yourself visiting a Disney park overseas, please play along and chat up the folks in character. They can be lonely, having very few English speakers to interact with day after day. A little fun goes a long way to make a difficult life overseas easier.
That said, I really had a nice time with these folks. They're genuinely sweet people and they want to make your experience a pleasant one. I was able to get some great photos (HKD let's you take more than one photo with your camera) with them.
Now for the bad. I'll try to be brief, otherwise I could drone on for a long time.
Not a lot of bad things to say about the park itself to be honest. It's definitely up to Disney quality (garbage-free streets, no rust, painted equipment, smiling cast members). Cinderella's castle was a little short to be honest, which I didn't expect.
The worst part of my experience was a big one: the other visitors. Seriously, those mainland chinese people are the WORST tourists I've ever seen. They were pushy, loud, sometimes smelly, they would leave performances in the middle of the show, they would yell and talk during shows and songs, and they cut in line constantly. Now, I've been in Korea for awhile now, so I've gotten used to being tossed around in a crowd. That's fine.
This was something else though. People would try and take any open space to try and cut in front of me. Bratty little kids would weave through my legs and then proudly call to their parents to join them standing in front of me, as if they had done something worth actual praise. Unfortunately, most of my visit was spent developing a strong distaste for the mainland Chinese visitors.
After my day at the park was finished, I walked around the grounds to take a look at the hotels. Finally, I returned to Kowloon for the night, having beautiful Disney dreams in my head.
I got up early, got some wrong directions from my hotel, doubled-back, and made it to the park a little before opening. There weren't too many people, which I was thrilled about. Surprisingly, they opened the park gates early, so people could walk around a little bit, but only as far as the end of Main Street.
Quick summary: Hong Kong Disneyland is the newest park of the Disney company I think. They were selling some 7th anniversary stuff. Unique to this park, they were still celebrating Chinese New Year (the actual event was a week ago) by having themed decorations, music, and costumes.
Because I really (I mean reeeally) like things Disney, I had read up on this park before I came. I'm a member on an Internet Disney forum, and the current buzz around this park is what will happen to visitor demographics once Shanghai Disneyland opens in a few years. Many mainland Chinese visitors make a holiday in Hong Kong and HKD is a very popular spot to visit (as was evidenced by the crowd of people today). I saw a few White people like myself, some Japanese, and some South Asians. Other than that though, they're all Chinese. Anyway, once the park opens in Shanghai, only time will tell if the mainland Chinese will still come to HKD.
First, the good news: HKD is fairly large. If you come to visit, expect to do a lot of walking (not a lot of the areas are interconnected--they mostly connect to the middle of the park) in a wheel and spoke fashion. As well, most of the cast members can speak fairly good English. You shouldn't have trouble communicating your needs or inquiries. As well, the characters can understand English, and Disney has hired White people for the non-suit characters (I.e. the princesses, Tinkerbell).
Now, a special word of admonishment from myself. If you happen to find yourself visiting a Disney park overseas, please play along and chat up the folks in character. They can be lonely, having very few English speakers to interact with day after day. A little fun goes a long way to make a difficult life overseas easier.
That said, I really had a nice time with these folks. They're genuinely sweet people and they want to make your experience a pleasant one. I was able to get some great photos (HKD let's you take more than one photo with your camera) with them.
Now for the bad. I'll try to be brief, otherwise I could drone on for a long time.
Not a lot of bad things to say about the park itself to be honest. It's definitely up to Disney quality (garbage-free streets, no rust, painted equipment, smiling cast members). Cinderella's castle was a little short to be honest, which I didn't expect.
The worst part of my experience was a big one: the other visitors. Seriously, those mainland chinese people are the WORST tourists I've ever seen. They were pushy, loud, sometimes smelly, they would leave performances in the middle of the show, they would yell and talk during shows and songs, and they cut in line constantly. Now, I've been in Korea for awhile now, so I've gotten used to being tossed around in a crowd. That's fine.
This was something else though. People would try and take any open space to try and cut in front of me. Bratty little kids would weave through my legs and then proudly call to their parents to join them standing in front of me, as if they had done something worth actual praise. Unfortunately, most of my visit was spent developing a strong distaste for the mainland Chinese visitors.
After my day at the park was finished, I walked around the grounds to take a look at the hotels. Finally, I returned to Kowloon for the night, having beautiful Disney dreams in my head.
Taiwan Day 4/Hong Kong Day 1
Today I left cloudy Taiwan for also cloudy Hong Kong. I flew Hong Kong Airlines, which is a subsidiary of EVA Air (Taiwan's national carrier). We were on an EVA Boeing 777-300 ER, which is a massive, beautiful, quiet plane. Little did I know I was in for the best flight ever. Seriously, I had an economy class ticket, yet I felt like I was flying business or first. The seats were large and luxurious, had foot rests, a large personal entertainment unit, and most importantly, the most legroom I've ever seen in coach in my life. Seriously, with my arm outstretched I could barely reach the tv screen, and I could extend my legs fully. Wow!
When I got to Hong Kong, I took the sleek airport express train to Kowloon station where I was picked up by a shuttle from my hotel. Hong Kong is pretty neat, they're really into high density. The whole city feels...well, smushed together. There's not a lot of room to breathe.
After checking in, I hopped on the shuttle again to get to Tsim Sha Tsui, which is the southern tip of Kowloon. I walked by all the high end luxury shops, visited the space museum (happened to be free admission day), and bought some Doritos at Sogo, a Japanese department store. I visited the Avenue of Stars, which is like a Hong Kong walk of fame for famous Chinese movie stars (ie Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan). Then, at 8pm I watched (along with hundreds of other pushy, loud chinese people) the light show put on by the skyscrapers across the harbour. Pretty neat, minus the fact that two loud, middle-aged Chinese women standing on either side of me were trying to have a yelling match through my head...
After enjoying the light show, I walked back through Kowloon, on Nathan Rd. (sort of the main drag). Apparently I must have met many people here already, because they all seemed to know me ("Hey, my friend! Come over here"). Apparently they all work in the tailoring business and have some amazing deals for me.
After Nathan Rd, I tried some Hong Kong style milk tea, which is made with sweetened condensed milk. Then, I continued on to the Temple St. Market. Disappointing. There were many stalls peddling their trinkets of "jade" and other household things no one really needs, and surprisingly, many stalls selling cheap looking latex things for adults. Repugnant. I had had enough for today.
When I got to Hong Kong, I took the sleek airport express train to Kowloon station where I was picked up by a shuttle from my hotel. Hong Kong is pretty neat, they're really into high density. The whole city feels...well, smushed together. There's not a lot of room to breathe.
After checking in, I hopped on the shuttle again to get to Tsim Sha Tsui, which is the southern tip of Kowloon. I walked by all the high end luxury shops, visited the space museum (happened to be free admission day), and bought some Doritos at Sogo, a Japanese department store. I visited the Avenue of Stars, which is like a Hong Kong walk of fame for famous Chinese movie stars (ie Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan). Then, at 8pm I watched (along with hundreds of other pushy, loud chinese people) the light show put on by the skyscrapers across the harbour. Pretty neat, minus the fact that two loud, middle-aged Chinese women standing on either side of me were trying to have a yelling match through my head...
After enjoying the light show, I walked back through Kowloon, on Nathan Rd. (sort of the main drag). Apparently I must have met many people here already, because they all seemed to know me ("Hey, my friend! Come over here"). Apparently they all work in the tailoring business and have some amazing deals for me.
After Nathan Rd, I tried some Hong Kong style milk tea, which is made with sweetened condensed milk. Then, I continued on to the Temple St. Market. Disappointing. There were many stalls peddling their trinkets of "jade" and other household things no one really needs, and surprisingly, many stalls selling cheap looking latex things for adults. Repugnant. I had had enough for today.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Taiwan Day 3
Today is my last full day here in Taiwan. I've been staying at a hotel in Zhongli, which is 40 minutes outside Taipei.
I went to Lee Foo Village today, which is a theme park sort of near Hsinchu. On the Internet it says you can "take the Hsinchu bus in front of Zhongli station for Lee Foo Village". Helpful, eh? I was able to find the Hsinchu bus website and figure out (completely in Chinese) what the route number was. I'm not making the same mistake twice!
When I finally arrived at the theme park, it was, well, deserted. Granted, it's a school day and it's raining. Nevertheless, I went inside. You can tell they expect a lot of people during the year, because the park is absolutely massive. There were several theme lands, such as Arabia, the Wild West, South Pacific, and African Safari. My favourite ride was the Screaming Condor in Wild West: it's a feet-dangling high-speed half-coaster. Basically you get harnessed in and the thing shoots you up a tower, twists, and brings you back with enough force to shoot you up the other tower. It was awesome, especially because it was only me and 2 other people on the ride.
I also went on a free-fall ride called "Pagoda's Revenge" which was actually too intense. I couldn't even scream or yell while I was falling, the only thing I could manage was a hilariously weak primal struggle-grunt. How embarrassing to hear that.
I went on a water rapids ride too which was also excellent. You need at least 2 people to be admitted on, and I was single, so I had to wait for some more people to show up. When some young people came, we rode together. It's a circular inner tube with benches on it, and the current makes it spin all the way down the course. Thankfully, they let me sit by myself at one end. I remembered reading once that weight increases the amount of water likely to enter the ride vehicle. In other words, sit separately from others to get the least wet.
And we did get wet (well, they got wet, really). Language barriers disappear when sharing such an experience. It was awesome.
I also went on the Safari Train, and Indiana Jones style car-type ride, and a roller coaster.
They were playing Dolly Parton music in the Wild West area. They even played "Make Me a Vessel".
When I was finished with the park, I went to catch a bus to Taipei because I had some last minute sightseeing to do. I waited 40 (!) minutes for the blasted thing...and then there were some complications that would have left a non-Chinese speaker/reader high-and-dry. I had asked a question to some young ladies, but they didn't know how to answer in English, so they pointed to me when I needed to get off the bus.
When I got to Taipei I went to check out a subway station that was used as a reference for one of my favourite computer games, Alpha Protocol. Then, I went to check out Longshan Temple. It's one of the most famous temples in Taipei, and it was humming with devotion and prayers tonight.
You're supposed to purchase 7 sticks of incense, light them all, and then drop them off in pots as you go around the temple bowing and praying to the each member of the dream team. If you want to have a question divinely answered, you can do a ritual with two small blocks of wood. You ask your question and describe your issue and then toss them to the ground. Your answer is determined by the way the wood lands.
Taiwan has many distinct smells: often it smells like fennel and another sweet spice (cardamom? I can't put my finger on it), and whenever you walk by a temple or roadside god, it smells of earthy, heavy incense. Sometimes it's the salty seawater that flows in some of the rivers, and sometimes it's the putrid smell of aptly-named stinky tofu.
After I returned to Zhongli, I had a bit of time left, so I went to see the Zhongli Night Market. Disappointingly, it was also deserted and mostly closed. Oh well. I stopped by a bubble tea shop on the way back (bubble tea was invented in Taiwan: it's tea + milk + 1/4" spheres of tapioca jelly (the bubbles)), and got some really delicious milk tea. By the way, they sell milk tea in the stores here. Heaven!! I love the stuff, but strangely they do not sell it in Korea.
Final cultural note: Taiwan is pretty awesome (clean and cheap!!! Shocker!). I think it's worth visiting. They don't have many world-class things to see, but they have their own distinctive island culture which is a mix of Chinese, indigineous Taiwanese, Japanese, and European. Actually, I'm a little surprised about the Japan-love thing here. I mean, Taiwan was occupied (and all the mess that comes with it) by Japan just like Korea was, yet they have 100% different views on Japanese culture and people now. Still, if you're in the area or want to do a circuit of East Asia and can't get a visa for China, try Taiwan, it'll touch your heart (lol, that's their national tourism slogan).
I went to Lee Foo Village today, which is a theme park sort of near Hsinchu. On the Internet it says you can "take the Hsinchu bus in front of Zhongli station for Lee Foo Village". Helpful, eh? I was able to find the Hsinchu bus website and figure out (completely in Chinese) what the route number was. I'm not making the same mistake twice!
When I finally arrived at the theme park, it was, well, deserted. Granted, it's a school day and it's raining. Nevertheless, I went inside. You can tell they expect a lot of people during the year, because the park is absolutely massive. There were several theme lands, such as Arabia, the Wild West, South Pacific, and African Safari. My favourite ride was the Screaming Condor in Wild West: it's a feet-dangling high-speed half-coaster. Basically you get harnessed in and the thing shoots you up a tower, twists, and brings you back with enough force to shoot you up the other tower. It was awesome, especially because it was only me and 2 other people on the ride.
I also went on a free-fall ride called "Pagoda's Revenge" which was actually too intense. I couldn't even scream or yell while I was falling, the only thing I could manage was a hilariously weak primal struggle-grunt. How embarrassing to hear that.
I went on a water rapids ride too which was also excellent. You need at least 2 people to be admitted on, and I was single, so I had to wait for some more people to show up. When some young people came, we rode together. It's a circular inner tube with benches on it, and the current makes it spin all the way down the course. Thankfully, they let me sit by myself at one end. I remembered reading once that weight increases the amount of water likely to enter the ride vehicle. In other words, sit separately from others to get the least wet.
And we did get wet (well, they got wet, really). Language barriers disappear when sharing such an experience. It was awesome.
I also went on the Safari Train, and Indiana Jones style car-type ride, and a roller coaster.
They were playing Dolly Parton music in the Wild West area. They even played "Make Me a Vessel".
When I was finished with the park, I went to catch a bus to Taipei because I had some last minute sightseeing to do. I waited 40 (!) minutes for the blasted thing...and then there were some complications that would have left a non-Chinese speaker/reader high-and-dry. I had asked a question to some young ladies, but they didn't know how to answer in English, so they pointed to me when I needed to get off the bus.
When I got to Taipei I went to check out a subway station that was used as a reference for one of my favourite computer games, Alpha Protocol. Then, I went to check out Longshan Temple. It's one of the most famous temples in Taipei, and it was humming with devotion and prayers tonight.
You're supposed to purchase 7 sticks of incense, light them all, and then drop them off in pots as you go around the temple bowing and praying to the each member of the dream team. If you want to have a question divinely answered, you can do a ritual with two small blocks of wood. You ask your question and describe your issue and then toss them to the ground. Your answer is determined by the way the wood lands.
Taiwan has many distinct smells: often it smells like fennel and another sweet spice (cardamom? I can't put my finger on it), and whenever you walk by a temple or roadside god, it smells of earthy, heavy incense. Sometimes it's the salty seawater that flows in some of the rivers, and sometimes it's the putrid smell of aptly-named stinky tofu.
After I returned to Zhongli, I had a bit of time left, so I went to see the Zhongli Night Market. Disappointingly, it was also deserted and mostly closed. Oh well. I stopped by a bubble tea shop on the way back (bubble tea was invented in Taiwan: it's tea + milk + 1/4" spheres of tapioca jelly (the bubbles)), and got some really delicious milk tea. By the way, they sell milk tea in the stores here. Heaven!! I love the stuff, but strangely they do not sell it in Korea.
Final cultural note: Taiwan is pretty awesome (clean and cheap!!! Shocker!). I think it's worth visiting. They don't have many world-class things to see, but they have their own distinctive island culture which is a mix of Chinese, indigineous Taiwanese, Japanese, and European. Actually, I'm a little surprised about the Japan-love thing here. I mean, Taiwan was occupied (and all the mess that comes with it) by Japan just like Korea was, yet they have 100% different views on Japanese culture and people now. Still, if you're in the area or want to do a circuit of East Asia and can't get a visa for China, try Taiwan, it'll touch your heart (lol, that's their national tourism slogan).
Taiwan Day 2
Yesterday I had planned to go to Taroko Gorge, which is about 2 hours southeast of Taipei. I had juggled my itinerary around so that I could take a later train because I went to bed so late, but it meant taking a regular city bus in Hualien to start, and then transferring to the more popular tourist shuttle to the gorge later on.
When I arrived in Hualien, I was of course offered the services of several taxi drivers ("hey guy!") but I was going to the visitors centre first. They told me to go to the orange bus depot building across the plaza. However, when I got there, the elderly man behind the ticket counter and I didn't really communicate with each other. I bought my day pass for the shuttle, but I wanted to take the city bus because otherwise I'd have to wait an hour. However, everyone (by now people were trying to help me) assumed I only wanted the tourist bus. Now, looking at the bus system schedule, it would appear the route number for Taroko is 8. However, there were no buses labeled 8 anywhere to be seen. I knew the bus was leaving at 10:50 because I read it on the Taroko Park website. I matched the Chinese characters of my destination to one of the buses nearby and asked the driver, "Tianxiang?" (where I wanted to go) but he said no and wrote on his hand "11:30"). Perplexed, I waited. Buses came and went, as did 10:50.
A couple of Taiwanese-American retirees came and sat with me. Steve and Cindy were also going to the gorge, and they told me they would help me get on the right bus.
Finally, the later tourist shuttle came and we boarded and left for the gorge. Hualien is quite pretty; it has dramatically high misty mountains on one side and the bright blue Pacific on the other. Apparently the wind is also good because there's a large air base there as well.
I sat next to a silent woman who would point out interesting things to me like a pretty tree in bloom or a waterfall, and point out where we were on the English/Chinese route map. Oddly enough she reminded me of the garlic lady. Am I emitting some sort of pheromone that attracts middle-aged women? Maybe it's my "big" Western nose (if you live in East Asia, you know what I mean).
I arrived at Tianxiang (tee-an-shyang) which was the last stop of the route. Almost as soon as I got off the bus a restaurant lady was yelling at me to try her food, ("Come sir, English menu! No delicious, no money!").
Since I wasn't able to take the earlier bus, I only had time for one hike before I had to catch my train. I chose to do the Baiyang waterfall trail. I walked about a kilometer up the highway from Tianxiang, past huge cliffs and rock faces, and then came to a long, dark, drippy tunnel. When I emerged, it was beautiful hiking. Originally the trail was meant to be a service road for a hydroelectric project, but it was abandoned and turned into a recreational trail instead. It hugged the gorge walls and twisted and turns, offering scenic views the whole way. The rocks in the river were polished white with time and the crystal clear water, and the gorge walls showed all the layers of sediment that has compacted with age.
I was standing a few feet from the edge to take some photographs when a trio of young people passed by. One of the young ladies was kind enough to warn me about the riskiness of standing close to the edge ("hey...hey hey! *she beckons me). How considerate.
On the walk back to Tianxiang I was fortunate to see a Formosian Macaque (Taiwan is also known as "Isla Formosia" by the Portugese) in a tree on the other side of the road, having a snack. I took a photo he/she kept eating.
The bus back to Hualien was PACKED and I learned that Taiwanese people aren't as good as Koreans at squishing onto a bus. Seriously, I'm pretty sure Korea or Japan holds several records for this. There was still considerable amount of personal space, which I thought was rather unusual. Oh, and nobody offered to hold anyone's bag like in Korea... I was fortunate enough to have a seat and there were 2 young Americans standing in the aisle, one with a large backpack. Noticing his struggle, I offered to hold it on my lap.
I took the train to Zhongli (Jong-li) this time, to another hotel. I knew on the map where it was, but the hotel had absolutely no English on the outside, so I made a guess. Turns out I was right. The hotel smelled a lot like cigarette smoke, so I was a little worried. Surprisingly, my room was completely smoke free! And luxurious to boot.
When I arrived in Hualien, I was of course offered the services of several taxi drivers ("hey guy!") but I was going to the visitors centre first. They told me to go to the orange bus depot building across the plaza. However, when I got there, the elderly man behind the ticket counter and I didn't really communicate with each other. I bought my day pass for the shuttle, but I wanted to take the city bus because otherwise I'd have to wait an hour. However, everyone (by now people were trying to help me) assumed I only wanted the tourist bus. Now, looking at the bus system schedule, it would appear the route number for Taroko is 8. However, there were no buses labeled 8 anywhere to be seen. I knew the bus was leaving at 10:50 because I read it on the Taroko Park website. I matched the Chinese characters of my destination to one of the buses nearby and asked the driver, "Tianxiang?" (where I wanted to go) but he said no and wrote on his hand "11:30"). Perplexed, I waited. Buses came and went, as did 10:50.
A couple of Taiwanese-American retirees came and sat with me. Steve and Cindy were also going to the gorge, and they told me they would help me get on the right bus.
Finally, the later tourist shuttle came and we boarded and left for the gorge. Hualien is quite pretty; it has dramatically high misty mountains on one side and the bright blue Pacific on the other. Apparently the wind is also good because there's a large air base there as well.
I sat next to a silent woman who would point out interesting things to me like a pretty tree in bloom or a waterfall, and point out where we were on the English/Chinese route map. Oddly enough she reminded me of the garlic lady. Am I emitting some sort of pheromone that attracts middle-aged women? Maybe it's my "big" Western nose (if you live in East Asia, you know what I mean).
I arrived at Tianxiang (tee-an-shyang) which was the last stop of the route. Almost as soon as I got off the bus a restaurant lady was yelling at me to try her food, ("Come sir, English menu! No delicious, no money!").
Since I wasn't able to take the earlier bus, I only had time for one hike before I had to catch my train. I chose to do the Baiyang waterfall trail. I walked about a kilometer up the highway from Tianxiang, past huge cliffs and rock faces, and then came to a long, dark, drippy tunnel. When I emerged, it was beautiful hiking. Originally the trail was meant to be a service road for a hydroelectric project, but it was abandoned and turned into a recreational trail instead. It hugged the gorge walls and twisted and turns, offering scenic views the whole way. The rocks in the river were polished white with time and the crystal clear water, and the gorge walls showed all the layers of sediment that has compacted with age.
I was standing a few feet from the edge to take some photographs when a trio of young people passed by. One of the young ladies was kind enough to warn me about the riskiness of standing close to the edge ("hey...hey hey! *she beckons me). How considerate.
On the walk back to Tianxiang I was fortunate to see a Formosian Macaque (Taiwan is also known as "Isla Formosia" by the Portugese) in a tree on the other side of the road, having a snack. I took a photo he/she kept eating.
The bus back to Hualien was PACKED and I learned that Taiwanese people aren't as good as Koreans at squishing onto a bus. Seriously, I'm pretty sure Korea or Japan holds several records for this. There was still considerable amount of personal space, which I thought was rather unusual. Oh, and nobody offered to hold anyone's bag like in Korea... I was fortunate enough to have a seat and there were 2 young Americans standing in the aisle, one with a large backpack. Noticing his struggle, I offered to hold it on my lap.
I took the train to Zhongli (Jong-li) this time, to another hotel. I knew on the map where it was, but the hotel had absolutely no English on the outside, so I made a guess. Turns out I was right. The hotel smelled a lot like cigarette smoke, so I was a little worried. Surprisingly, my room was completely smoke free! And luxurious to boot.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Taiwan Day 1
So I'm waiting for the bus now. I figured it would be efficient to start "guerilla blogging" to save time.
I have two weeks off from work, so I planned a little holiday fun for myself. I'll be visiting 4 countries (well, 2 depending on your stance of what belongs to China) and having fun along the way.
I flew out of Seoul this morning and landed in Taipei this afternoon. It smells musty, like a cabin at summer camp. The Taipei airport is actually in Taoyuan, a city next door to Taipei. So, from the airport I took a bus to the high speed rail station in Taoyuan, where I then took a bullet train into Taipei Main Station. First impression: Taiwan is warm and humid right now, which compounds the heat. In the evenings it isn't too bad. Thankfully there has been a light breeze all day. On the train ride, I could see the, what I'm assuming to be, typical Taiwanese countryside. To be honest it looked pretty rundown which was not what I was expecting. Maybe it's the humidity that does that to buildings....but the rain should wash them up well... Regardless, that wasn't what I had in mind.
Anyway, I made it to Taipei Main Station, got lost trying to figure out how the labeling system works here, but eventually found my way. I walked by a kiosk selling (what I'm assuming was) stinky tofu. It literally smelled like a big fat ripe poo.
By this time, I was thoroughly sweated and disheveled. Good thing I had booked a hotel room nearby. I decided to go there first, even though it wasn't time to check-in. At least I could drop off my bag :)
Got to the hotel and chatted up the concierge. She told me I could use the lobby bathroom to change if I wished. I did. However, it was an unpleasant experience because that washroom had the foulest odour ever... When I came out and chatted up the concierge again, she told me she was upgrading my room and it was ready for me to enter. Alright!
I then Skyped with my folks for a little bit, took a shower, and then set off for today's itinerary. I have this entire trip planned out, but I like travelling alone because of the flexibility it offers. And I needed it too, considering the late start I was having.
First stop was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Grounds. I walked around the impressive complex, looking at families blowing bubbles with their kids, old people lounging on the cool grass in the shade, and romantic young couples walking hand in hand or arm in arm.
After, I walked down the road to a really famous Xao Long Bao (shau long bao are dumplings) restaurant. They make them all by hand and perhaps from scratch too. Well worth it and deserving of its international reputation. They even paid special attention to me because it was my first time (and maybe white privilege too).
I had planned ahead to visit Elephant Mountain around this time because it would be sunset and because the sun would be at a good angle for photographs. Elephant Mountain is a famous spot for great views of downtown and Taipei 101. It's several hundred meters in elevation and it was a monster to climb all those stairs..I was huffing and puffing but it was well worth the grueling effort. The view was priceless. Many people had staked out a spot already and were enjoying themselves with Chinese food.
I then caught another bus to Core Pacific City which is a shopping mall on the north side of the city. I had seen this architectural curiosity in a city-building computer game I own, so I wanted to see the real thing. Didn't disappoint. It's a mix between the Death Star and an alien hive. It was really interesting.
I walked to Raohe Street Night Market (Taiwan is famous for night markets) and plodded along with the crowd--listening to the vendors hawking their wares, smelling the sometimes sweet sometimes nasty odours coming from the food. I stopped by a Buddhist store which was kind of cool but I can't read Chinese so I don't know what any of the stuff was saying :( I ordered some sort of cake bread thing and enjoyed it while checking out the rest of the market.
I caught another bus to my final destination tonight: Daija Riverside park. I had to walk about 20 minutes to get there, but I got to go through the Taipei Lantern festival on the way. I was going to this place because I saw on Google Maps that it would be the perfect place to snap a photo of the Taipei Grand Hotel, another architectural landmark. It also happens to feature prominently in one of my favourite computer games: Alpha Protocol. Bad news though: when I finally got to the spot, the hotel was almost completely dark :( I guess they turn off the lights at night? How disappointing. I tried to take the best picture I could without a tripod, but I'm not sure if it worked.
Finally, I went back to the hotel. It was midnight when I finally returned. My itinerary specified that I was to take a 7:20am train the next day, but I couldn't handle that, so I changed it. However, reworking the schedule took some more time and the Internet connection was going in and out so it took longer than necessary. I finally went to bed at 1:30.
I have two weeks off from work, so I planned a little holiday fun for myself. I'll be visiting 4 countries (well, 2 depending on your stance of what belongs to China) and having fun along the way.
I flew out of Seoul this morning and landed in Taipei this afternoon. It smells musty, like a cabin at summer camp. The Taipei airport is actually in Taoyuan, a city next door to Taipei. So, from the airport I took a bus to the high speed rail station in Taoyuan, where I then took a bullet train into Taipei Main Station. First impression: Taiwan is warm and humid right now, which compounds the heat. In the evenings it isn't too bad. Thankfully there has been a light breeze all day. On the train ride, I could see the, what I'm assuming to be, typical Taiwanese countryside. To be honest it looked pretty rundown which was not what I was expecting. Maybe it's the humidity that does that to buildings....but the rain should wash them up well... Regardless, that wasn't what I had in mind.
Anyway, I made it to Taipei Main Station, got lost trying to figure out how the labeling system works here, but eventually found my way. I walked by a kiosk selling (what I'm assuming was) stinky tofu. It literally smelled like a big fat ripe poo.
By this time, I was thoroughly sweated and disheveled. Good thing I had booked a hotel room nearby. I decided to go there first, even though it wasn't time to check-in. At least I could drop off my bag :)
Got to the hotel and chatted up the concierge. She told me I could use the lobby bathroom to change if I wished. I did. However, it was an unpleasant experience because that washroom had the foulest odour ever... When I came out and chatted up the concierge again, she told me she was upgrading my room and it was ready for me to enter. Alright!
I then Skyped with my folks for a little bit, took a shower, and then set off for today's itinerary. I have this entire trip planned out, but I like travelling alone because of the flexibility it offers. And I needed it too, considering the late start I was having.
First stop was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Grounds. I walked around the impressive complex, looking at families blowing bubbles with their kids, old people lounging on the cool grass in the shade, and romantic young couples walking hand in hand or arm in arm.
After, I walked down the road to a really famous Xao Long Bao (shau long bao are dumplings) restaurant. They make them all by hand and perhaps from scratch too. Well worth it and deserving of its international reputation. They even paid special attention to me because it was my first time (and maybe white privilege too).
I had planned ahead to visit Elephant Mountain around this time because it would be sunset and because the sun would be at a good angle for photographs. Elephant Mountain is a famous spot for great views of downtown and Taipei 101. It's several hundred meters in elevation and it was a monster to climb all those stairs..I was huffing and puffing but it was well worth the grueling effort. The view was priceless. Many people had staked out a spot already and were enjoying themselves with Chinese food.
I then caught another bus to Core Pacific City which is a shopping mall on the north side of the city. I had seen this architectural curiosity in a city-building computer game I own, so I wanted to see the real thing. Didn't disappoint. It's a mix between the Death Star and an alien hive. It was really interesting.
I walked to Raohe Street Night Market (Taiwan is famous for night markets) and plodded along with the crowd--listening to the vendors hawking their wares, smelling the sometimes sweet sometimes nasty odours coming from the food. I stopped by a Buddhist store which was kind of cool but I can't read Chinese so I don't know what any of the stuff was saying :( I ordered some sort of cake bread thing and enjoyed it while checking out the rest of the market.
I caught another bus to my final destination tonight: Daija Riverside park. I had to walk about 20 minutes to get there, but I got to go through the Taipei Lantern festival on the way. I was going to this place because I saw on Google Maps that it would be the perfect place to snap a photo of the Taipei Grand Hotel, another architectural landmark. It also happens to feature prominently in one of my favourite computer games: Alpha Protocol. Bad news though: when I finally got to the spot, the hotel was almost completely dark :( I guess they turn off the lights at night? How disappointing. I tried to take the best picture I could without a tripod, but I'm not sure if it worked.
Finally, I went back to the hotel. It was midnight when I finally returned. My itinerary specified that I was to take a 7:20am train the next day, but I couldn't handle that, so I changed it. However, reworking the schedule took some more time and the Internet connection was going in and out so it took longer than necessary. I finally went to bed at 1:30.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Affirmation and Revelation
Affirmation: Yesterday evening after school, I boarded the bus back to Gwangju and happened to be boarding at the same time as my mentor teacher. We sat next to each other and we chatted on the way back to Gwangju. It was a really encouraging conversation. She told me that the school was very happy with me because I prepared a lot of stuff for the students and that I took my job seriously. She said sometimes Korean people don't like foreigners in their school because they slack off and only stand at the front of the class and expect to get paid just for speaking, not teaching. However, they appreciate the effort I put into my classes, and she said I am ready to be a good teacher. I was positively beaming. How can one not?
Revelation: I was talking with the male English teacher yesterday, and we were talking about the books I had brought with me from MCC. When I told him how much I paid for them, he was astonished how inexpensive they were. Of course, books in Korea are horrendously expensive. Now, however, I know why.
He told me it's because Korea is small and has so few loggable (is that a word?) trees! I didn't even think of that.... I guess the import on lumber would be expensive...
But then that doesn't explain why copy shops are so ridiculously cheap here... food for thought I guess.
On a similar note, in the news a long time ago I remember reading a story about how South Korea was planning to move to digital textbooks. Everyone was impressed that Korea was so forward thinking, but now I understand this issue further. Korean educational bureaucracy is actually quite wasteful with paper, and this is shameful. Schools receive a new textbook every year, for each grade! My English classroom has several valuable shelf spaces completely taken up by old textbooks (we're talking maybe 1 or 2 years) that haven't even been used. Perhaps that's why Korea needs to spend so much money on education... Even so, when the students do receive their textbooks, they treat them very poorly. Many have ripped the covers off and then basically lacerated the whole thing into oblivion. It's disgraceful really.
Revelation: I was talking with the male English teacher yesterday, and we were talking about the books I had brought with me from MCC. When I told him how much I paid for them, he was astonished how inexpensive they were. Of course, books in Korea are horrendously expensive. Now, however, I know why.
He told me it's because Korea is small and has so few loggable (is that a word?) trees! I didn't even think of that.... I guess the import on lumber would be expensive...
But then that doesn't explain why copy shops are so ridiculously cheap here... food for thought I guess.
On a similar note, in the news a long time ago I remember reading a story about how South Korea was planning to move to digital textbooks. Everyone was impressed that Korea was so forward thinking, but now I understand this issue further. Korean educational bureaucracy is actually quite wasteful with paper, and this is shameful. Schools receive a new textbook every year, for each grade! My English classroom has several valuable shelf spaces completely taken up by old textbooks (we're talking maybe 1 or 2 years) that haven't even been used. Perhaps that's why Korea needs to spend so much money on education... Even so, when the students do receive their textbooks, they treat them very poorly. Many have ripped the covers off and then basically lacerated the whole thing into oblivion. It's disgraceful really.
The First Week is Through
Hi All,
I just finished the first week of being back in Korea :) It started off rough, but got better and better. In fact, I'd say it was a downright nice week. At first I was very lonely teaching again because I was without my trusty co-teacher, Seon Ha. The kids couldn't understand me and it was very frustrating for both them and me--I felt like I was looking around in the dark for something. However, as the week has gone on, things have gotten better. Granted, my sentence structure has reduced a little bit and I can't use the awesome vocabulary that I've amassed over the years, but the kids are able to understand me more and they seem to like me, which is always a plus. In fact, if you ever come to Korea (especially if you are a male) be prepared to get treated like a rock star a little bit. Try not to let it go to the head :S
This morning I went with my previous co-teacher Seon Ha to sign a preliminary contract for the apartment I will be moving into at the end of the month (Feb. 28 is possession day). I'm going to be a neighbour to Irene, which I'm looking forward to, and I'm going to be seriously 5 minutes or less to the bus stop. I'm so excited :) It's not within walking distance to McDonald's anymore (perhaps no more weekend breakfasts with Harry Potter :( but there's a bus stop on the main road which will let me get to Mickey D's by the number 26 or 30. That same bus can go to the bus terminal too, which is also a big plus.
I've been eating at the cafeteria every day this week because I've been co-teaching with the other two English teachers in the mornings. I'm supposed to log 60 hours this month, and since there's only 2 weeks of school, we've had to smush them all into 2 weeks, which means I co-teach in the mornings and then do my regular after-school classes in the afternoon. I don't mind it actually, it's nice to see all the students who dropped out of my class again, lol. Some of these kids are seriously crazy though. I feel bad for their homeroom teachers.
It's been a bit of a game, trying to disguise the fact that I don't speak Korean. The kids always (naturally) try to speak with me in Korean, but of course I don't understand what they're saying. Sometimes I can, but sometimes it's too fast for me. When they ask me a question though, I usually say "try it in English" in Korean so that it looks like I'm a firm teacher, and it works as a nifty cover up I know enough Korean to drop a line here and there or respond to one of their questions to fake it though. However, I will be addressing this come March.
I've signed up for two Korean classes at the university in March, which I'm pretty excited for. As a side note, I just want to mention that I received the course timetable on Wednesday and I was expected to pick and register by Friday. Nice. Good thing my elementary school knows whether or not they'll schedule me for co-teaching in the mornings this semester (read: I'm being sarcastic. They won't make my schedule until March). One of them is with the same professor that Irene and I had last semester. Coincidentally, that was the same class where we met Miyuki and Yu and Karla and Calvin and other international students. I'm hoping I can make some of the same type of friendships through these new classes. One of my students asked me today (in Korean) why she should have to study English if I don't study Korean. Good question! This reminds me of something Celeste-Tina said in class back at UFV. She said, "Never give your students something you haven't done yourself." In fact, she even asked us at the beginning of the year if we were studying another language, or had already learned one. She urged us to sign up for classes or get involved in a community group, because as teachers, we're nothing without credibility.
I heard through the grape vine that there are four more North American students coming to CNU next semester! One is from Missouri I believe and I think one is from New York. I can't remember where the third one is from, but the fourth is from good ol' University of Alberta! Time will tell whether the American exchange students will be of similar character and behaviour as the American TaLK scholars.
One student said I look like Woody from Toy Story.
Finally, I just want to write about one of the other English teachers here (the middle-aged, broken English, male one). I think he's hilarious (not in that he's a comedian, but he's just a funny person. Kind of like Mr. Bean). He sprained or broke is ankle a while ago, so he was on crutches for a long time (but he of course came to work. In Korea, a sick day only counts if you're an inch from death) and had brought a foot bath/massager to work. He would go use the "hospital" in our under-used English village for some good R&R.
He brought a big heater to school the other day, but yesterday it stopped working. He was fiddling with it, then he prayed, and then it worked again! Then he asked me about whether I believed in "the God" or not and then showed me a cool video (in Chinese, lol) about how they found Noah's Ark on Ararat.
I like this guy :)
Anyway, after work yesterday, we were walking to his car because he usually takes me to a bus stop in Gwangju. All of a sudden, he wheeled around and sheepishly asked my other English teacher (the 30-something, demure female one) if he could borrow 10 bucks because he was out of gas. ;)
Today he told me he was going to fix his heater over the weekend, because he's MacGyver.
And that's my week in review :)
I just finished the first week of being back in Korea :) It started off rough, but got better and better. In fact, I'd say it was a downright nice week. At first I was very lonely teaching again because I was without my trusty co-teacher, Seon Ha. The kids couldn't understand me and it was very frustrating for both them and me--I felt like I was looking around in the dark for something. However, as the week has gone on, things have gotten better. Granted, my sentence structure has reduced a little bit and I can't use the awesome vocabulary that I've amassed over the years, but the kids are able to understand me more and they seem to like me, which is always a plus. In fact, if you ever come to Korea (especially if you are a male) be prepared to get treated like a rock star a little bit. Try not to let it go to the head :S
This morning I went with my previous co-teacher Seon Ha to sign a preliminary contract for the apartment I will be moving into at the end of the month (Feb. 28 is possession day). I'm going to be a neighbour to Irene, which I'm looking forward to, and I'm going to be seriously 5 minutes or less to the bus stop. I'm so excited :) It's not within walking distance to McDonald's anymore (perhaps no more weekend breakfasts with Harry Potter :( but there's a bus stop on the main road which will let me get to Mickey D's by the number 26 or 30. That same bus can go to the bus terminal too, which is also a big plus.
I've been eating at the cafeteria every day this week because I've been co-teaching with the other two English teachers in the mornings. I'm supposed to log 60 hours this month, and since there's only 2 weeks of school, we've had to smush them all into 2 weeks, which means I co-teach in the mornings and then do my regular after-school classes in the afternoon. I don't mind it actually, it's nice to see all the students who dropped out of my class again, lol. Some of these kids are seriously crazy though. I feel bad for their homeroom teachers.
It's been a bit of a game, trying to disguise the fact that I don't speak Korean. The kids always (naturally) try to speak with me in Korean, but of course I don't understand what they're saying. Sometimes I can, but sometimes it's too fast for me. When they ask me a question though, I usually say "try it in English" in Korean so that it looks like I'm a firm teacher, and it works as a nifty cover up I know enough Korean to drop a line here and there or respond to one of their questions to fake it though. However, I will be addressing this come March.
I've signed up for two Korean classes at the university in March, which I'm pretty excited for. As a side note, I just want to mention that I received the course timetable on Wednesday and I was expected to pick and register by Friday. Nice. Good thing my elementary school knows whether or not they'll schedule me for co-teaching in the mornings this semester (read: I'm being sarcastic. They won't make my schedule until March). One of them is with the same professor that Irene and I had last semester. Coincidentally, that was the same class where we met Miyuki and Yu and Karla and Calvin and other international students. I'm hoping I can make some of the same type of friendships through these new classes. One of my students asked me today (in Korean) why she should have to study English if I don't study Korean. Good question! This reminds me of something Celeste-Tina said in class back at UFV. She said, "Never give your students something you haven't done yourself." In fact, she even asked us at the beginning of the year if we were studying another language, or had already learned one. She urged us to sign up for classes or get involved in a community group, because as teachers, we're nothing without credibility.
I heard through the grape vine that there are four more North American students coming to CNU next semester! One is from Missouri I believe and I think one is from New York. I can't remember where the third one is from, but the fourth is from good ol' University of Alberta! Time will tell whether the American exchange students will be of similar character and behaviour as the American TaLK scholars.
One student said I look like Woody from Toy Story.
Finally, I just want to write about one of the other English teachers here (the middle-aged, broken English, male one). I think he's hilarious (not in that he's a comedian, but he's just a funny person. Kind of like Mr. Bean). He sprained or broke is ankle a while ago, so he was on crutches for a long time (but he of course came to work. In Korea, a sick day only counts if you're an inch from death) and had brought a foot bath/massager to work. He would go use the "hospital" in our under-used English village for some good R&R.
He brought a big heater to school the other day, but yesterday it stopped working. He was fiddling with it, then he prayed, and then it worked again! Then he asked me about whether I believed in "the God" or not and then showed me a cool video (in Chinese, lol) about how they found Noah's Ark on Ararat.
I like this guy :)
Anyway, after work yesterday, we were walking to his car because he usually takes me to a bus stop in Gwangju. All of a sudden, he wheeled around and sheepishly asked my other English teacher (the 30-something, demure female one) if he could borrow 10 bucks because he was out of gas. ;)
Today he told me he was going to fix his heater over the weekend, because he's MacGyver.
And that's my week in review :)
Thursday, February 7, 2013
February Update
Hi all,
So I had written two previous blog posts, and I had stored them as drafts on my iPhone. Unfortunately, they were somehow deleted which infuriates me to no end because they were really good posts and I wanted those memories :'( oh well, it happens I guess.
So I'll tell you what's going down in the big Gwang these days.
- Recently I spent two weeks in Canada visiting my family and friends. It was an excellent time to see everyone again and I'm so glad I was able to come home for such a long time. I have read on Facebook how some other scholars decided to have some time at home but could only spend a week or even less time there.
- I am teaching more than ever now because these first two weeks in February are the only ones this month where school is in session. That means I teach in the morning and also after school in order to fulfill my hours for the month.
- This weekend is Lunar New Year here in Korea, which means lots of people will be going to their hometown to register. Josh and I want to do something this weekend... Maybe we will go to a theme park or something.
- Two days ago I received an e-mail from the university which included the much anticipated course timetable for the coming March semester. They told me to look through it and pick my courses and send it back today! How's that for advance notice/forethought eh?
- I recently made contact with an MCC SaLTer here in Korea and will be going to Gapyeong to meet up with her in a few weeks time. I believe she's from Morden.
- Big news. My co-teacher helped me find an apartment and tomorrow we will be going to sign the contract so I can live there for the rest of my contract! It's in a great location and the price is right. I'm excited to move in. I will be moving at the end of this month.
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