Saturday, 6:30 am
Some closing thoughts on South Korea:
There are way too many little boys with perms in this country.
The baseball cap of choice of S. Korean youth - Red Sox.
I don't like sitting on the floor to eat.
If given the choice, I will not eat a baby octopus with its head still intact.
If you see any restaurants advertising "healthy stew," be advised that they mean dog.
Seoul feels remarkably familiar. Maybe because I've spent so much time in Fort Lee, NJ over the past few years or maybe because there are so many Koreans in NYC, but Seoul did not feel all that different than home. Except, of course, for all of the boys with perms.
Friday, July 28, 2006
I Hate Monsoon Season
Friday, 8:50 pm
Monday
After the amusement park, we went to downtown Gyeongju. About halfway through the ride, our cab driver turned the television mounted above his radio on. It was quite an experience driving with a guy who was watching TV as he drove.
Downtown Gyeongju is chockful of boutiques and corporate stores. We ended up deciding to eat at Pizza Hut. And I'm glad that we did. It was amazing! It was the best of both worlds. We weren't in the mood for a full-on Korean meal so a pan pizza with kimchi and bulgogi hit the spot. We thought about seeing a movie but both of the theaters were showing Pirates of the Caribbean and we just weren't in the mood for two and a half hours of Johnny Depp preening. For Youthlarge's take on the day's meals, read this.
The cab driver on the way back insisted that our hotel didn't exist because he had never heard of it. Youthlarge directed him to the place but he still didn't believe her. He pulled into the hotel entrance but overshot the front doors. As Youthlarge insisted to him that this was our hotel, he pulled up to another cabbie to ask if he had ever heard of our hotel. Even when that cabbie told him that he was currently parked in front of it, he refused to believe it. We handed him his fare and hightailed it out of the cab before he decided to go ask more people for directions and take us further from the entrance.
The lobby seemed dead and despite the promise of some amazing karaoke, we headed to our floor bedding for some sleep.
Tuesday
The day did not start well. We were awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a snoring man that we could clearly hear in all of his glory through the walls. However, the earplugs that I packed did the trick. Upon waking up, we discovered that the shower towels given to us were the size of hand towels.
After showering, I was very happy to see that there was major league baseball on TV because the Korean pitcher Jae Seo was pitching for Tampa. During the game, there was an ad for the Padres game the next day because Korean pitcher Chan Ho Park was on the mound. It was a great ad mixing closeups of Park with long shots, quickly edited, althernating between color and black and white. Then the word "Korean." Followed by "Major Leaguer Fighting." Then even bigger "Korean Major Leaguer Fighting." Best ad ever, I believe.
We took a tour of the sights of the town. There are many relics, temples, Buddha statues, and the like from the Silla dynasty. My favorite fact that I learned was that King Munmu so loved his people that he wanted to protect them even after his death. So he had a floating tomb built for him in the East Sea (easily seen from the beach) so that when he came back to life as a dragon, he would be nearby to protect his people. By the way, the town was pretty nice and the other hotels were very nice. We just happened to be staying at a bizarre place.
After the tour, we took a train to Suwon, a city about an hour south of Seoul. Youthlarge's dad's oldest friend Mr. Park and his wife picked us up at the train station and dropped us off at the hotel. Mrs. Park gave us matching shirts to wear the next day. Not that Youthlarge and I are the kind of couple to parade around wearing matching shirts but if we were, we definitely wouldn't wear shirts with a skateboarding teddy bear. Please keep that in mind if you ever choose to shower us in any future matching attire. Apparently, it is very common here for couples to match their clothes with matching couple tees.
Wednesday
The Parks' son Joonpil hung out with us all day. We took a city tour of Suwon and then hung around town for a spell. I've got to say that the mall parking attendants in Suwon are the most graceful parking attendants I've seen in my life. Lovely attire. It was almost like ballet.
Everywhere we drove, there were signs promoting the city with the cheerful declaration of "Happy Suwon." Also, Youthlarge noticed a sign that stated that Suwon is "The first certified safe city in Asia." In case you were wondering.
In the evening, we went to a Suwon Blue Wings soccer game. As we crossed the street, a guy on a motorcycle didn't see the red light at first. When he tried to brake, he began to skid. He violently fell to the pavement. His helmet made a loud crack on the ground. It was quite scary. Many people came to help him. Amazingly, he was okay. He seemed quite dazed and was clutching his arm but it could have been a lot worse.
Anyway with that out of the way, we headed into the game. It was both Youthlarge's and my first ever soccer game. If I lived in a country where soccer was king, I would become hooked. It was so much fun. The Blue Wings took a 1-0 lead right after halftime. With about ten minutes remaining, Seoul scored a goal. It was pretty bad - the Blue Wings' goalie seemed completely frozen and did nothing to stop the goal. One of the Seoul players posed for Suwon's chanting minions as a taunting gesture only to be bombarded by water bottles. The game was at a stadium built for the 2002 World Cup. There were only about 10,000 fans there. Perhaps the steady rain didn't help attendance.
At halftime, seemingly everyone rushed to the large hot water carafes for their ramen. Not much beer was consumed by the crowd which surprised me. We bought beers and they were warm. I thought people got drunk at these things.
After the game, Mr. and Mrs. Park drove us back to Seoul.
Thursday
A steady soaking rain. All day. I guess that is why they call it the monsoon season. The forecast for the next seven days here and in Japan calls for the exact same thing. Lovely.
We hung out with Youthlarge's cousin Sueun all day. I already knew her because she recently lived with Youthlarge's parents for a year as part of her English studies. We ended up spending part of the day at Lotte World - the world's largest indoor amusement park. There was a lot of couple tees action going on at Lotte World.
Friday
We woke up early for a tour of the DMZ - an hour north of Seoul. Luckily, it was only overcast with a occasional slight drizzle for most of the morning. The most interesting part of the tour was the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. Apparently, N. Korea has built about 20 or so tunnels for an invasion of the South. Only four have been found so far - the last in 1990. We walked down the S. Korean built ramp down 25 floors to reach the infiltration tunnel - designed for 10,000 troops to pass through. The tunnel is an extremely tight fit so it would have been insane to have 10,000 soldiers pass through. We were able to walk for a bit on the S. Korean side before we reached the walled off part. Through it, a sliver of light passed through but I couldn't see anyone on the other side. However, if I start receiving harassing messages from the N. Korean gov't, I'll know why. Walking back up that blasted ramp was interesting.
From there, we headed to the observatory. An English - Korean soldier briefed us on the DMZ in a briefing room straight out of The Manchurian Candidate. He pointed out things to us on a model. Directly in front of us through floor to ceiling glass - the DMZ and further on N. Korea was in our grasp. Outside, we were allowed to take pictures from the designated yellow line which basically didn't allow you to really see anything. Tourists posed for pictures with Korean soldiers.
Our tour guide told us about the N. Korean propaganda village right past the DMZ line. Each country was allowed to have one village within in an attempt to dissuade attacks. However, no one actually lives in the N. Korean vilage. It is all fake. All of the lights in the supposed village go on and off in every house at the same time each day. She also told us about how the N. Korean gov't has asked for a cut of the money that the S. Korean gov't is making on the tours of the DMZ. S.Korea kindly told them to shut up and leave them alone or so our guide said. We also learned that Korea has been invaded 900 times in its history. Youthlarge commented, "No wonder we have han." Also, the DMZ has become famous for the flourishing wildlife in the wake of no human intervention.
We also went to a train station that apparently will be a big deal once it connects to other rail lines. Also, it signals hope at a possible reunification of the Koreas. Bush was there in 2002 at the grand opening. There is a lot of land cleared, ready for factories and warehouses to be built on. Right now though, there are only a few trains each day from Seoul to the DMZ. And if you S. Korean, you have to get the proper papers to travel on it because the fear is that N.Korean defectors will board the train to safety and that ain't no good politically in this era of hope of reunification. It is an odd scene - a clean, modern station that is empty except for tourists and a couple of soldiers. The slogan of the station: "Not the last station from the South. But the first station toward the North."
Then we had some dinner with Joonpil and his sister Moka up from Suwon to see us. Now I'm drunk on Hite beer and contemplating drinking more at the bar hotel. Maybe Sueun will meet us after tutoring some kid in English.
I'm very sad though because of the rain. No Korean baseball for me. Both last night's game and tonight's game were rained out. Oh well, at least the Yakult Swallows - Hanshin Tigers game is on right now. Hopefully, we'll have better luck in Japan. We fly there tomorrow morning.
Until then.
Anyunghee gahsehyo.
Monday
After the amusement park, we went to downtown Gyeongju. About halfway through the ride, our cab driver turned the television mounted above his radio on. It was quite an experience driving with a guy who was watching TV as he drove.
Downtown Gyeongju is chockful of boutiques and corporate stores. We ended up deciding to eat at Pizza Hut. And I'm glad that we did. It was amazing! It was the best of both worlds. We weren't in the mood for a full-on Korean meal so a pan pizza with kimchi and bulgogi hit the spot. We thought about seeing a movie but both of the theaters were showing Pirates of the Caribbean and we just weren't in the mood for two and a half hours of Johnny Depp preening. For Youthlarge's take on the day's meals, read this.
The cab driver on the way back insisted that our hotel didn't exist because he had never heard of it. Youthlarge directed him to the place but he still didn't believe her. He pulled into the hotel entrance but overshot the front doors. As Youthlarge insisted to him that this was our hotel, he pulled up to another cabbie to ask if he had ever heard of our hotel. Even when that cabbie told him that he was currently parked in front of it, he refused to believe it. We handed him his fare and hightailed it out of the cab before he decided to go ask more people for directions and take us further from the entrance.
The lobby seemed dead and despite the promise of some amazing karaoke, we headed to our floor bedding for some sleep.
Tuesday
The day did not start well. We were awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a snoring man that we could clearly hear in all of his glory through the walls. However, the earplugs that I packed did the trick. Upon waking up, we discovered that the shower towels given to us were the size of hand towels.
After showering, I was very happy to see that there was major league baseball on TV because the Korean pitcher Jae Seo was pitching for Tampa. During the game, there was an ad for the Padres game the next day because Korean pitcher Chan Ho Park was on the mound. It was a great ad mixing closeups of Park with long shots, quickly edited, althernating between color and black and white. Then the word "Korean." Followed by "Major Leaguer Fighting." Then even bigger "Korean Major Leaguer Fighting." Best ad ever, I believe.
We took a tour of the sights of the town. There are many relics, temples, Buddha statues, and the like from the Silla dynasty. My favorite fact that I learned was that King Munmu so loved his people that he wanted to protect them even after his death. So he had a floating tomb built for him in the East Sea (easily seen from the beach) so that when he came back to life as a dragon, he would be nearby to protect his people. By the way, the town was pretty nice and the other hotels were very nice. We just happened to be staying at a bizarre place.
After the tour, we took a train to Suwon, a city about an hour south of Seoul. Youthlarge's dad's oldest friend Mr. Park and his wife picked us up at the train station and dropped us off at the hotel. Mrs. Park gave us matching shirts to wear the next day. Not that Youthlarge and I are the kind of couple to parade around wearing matching shirts but if we were, we definitely wouldn't wear shirts with a skateboarding teddy bear. Please keep that in mind if you ever choose to shower us in any future matching attire. Apparently, it is very common here for couples to match their clothes with matching couple tees.
Wednesday
The Parks' son Joonpil hung out with us all day. We took a city tour of Suwon and then hung around town for a spell. I've got to say that the mall parking attendants in Suwon are the most graceful parking attendants I've seen in my life. Lovely attire. It was almost like ballet.
Everywhere we drove, there were signs promoting the city with the cheerful declaration of "Happy Suwon." Also, Youthlarge noticed a sign that stated that Suwon is "The first certified safe city in Asia." In case you were wondering.
In the evening, we went to a Suwon Blue Wings soccer game. As we crossed the street, a guy on a motorcycle didn't see the red light at first. When he tried to brake, he began to skid. He violently fell to the pavement. His helmet made a loud crack on the ground. It was quite scary. Many people came to help him. Amazingly, he was okay. He seemed quite dazed and was clutching his arm but it could have been a lot worse.
Anyway with that out of the way, we headed into the game. It was both Youthlarge's and my first ever soccer game. If I lived in a country where soccer was king, I would become hooked. It was so much fun. The Blue Wings took a 1-0 lead right after halftime. With about ten minutes remaining, Seoul scored a goal. It was pretty bad - the Blue Wings' goalie seemed completely frozen and did nothing to stop the goal. One of the Seoul players posed for Suwon's chanting minions as a taunting gesture only to be bombarded by water bottles. The game was at a stadium built for the 2002 World Cup. There were only about 10,000 fans there. Perhaps the steady rain didn't help attendance.
At halftime, seemingly everyone rushed to the large hot water carafes for their ramen. Not much beer was consumed by the crowd which surprised me. We bought beers and they were warm. I thought people got drunk at these things.
After the game, Mr. and Mrs. Park drove us back to Seoul.
Thursday
A steady soaking rain. All day. I guess that is why they call it the monsoon season. The forecast for the next seven days here and in Japan calls for the exact same thing. Lovely.
We hung out with Youthlarge's cousin Sueun all day. I already knew her because she recently lived with Youthlarge's parents for a year as part of her English studies. We ended up spending part of the day at Lotte World - the world's largest indoor amusement park. There was a lot of couple tees action going on at Lotte World.
Friday
We woke up early for a tour of the DMZ - an hour north of Seoul. Luckily, it was only overcast with a occasional slight drizzle for most of the morning. The most interesting part of the tour was the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. Apparently, N. Korea has built about 20 or so tunnels for an invasion of the South. Only four have been found so far - the last in 1990. We walked down the S. Korean built ramp down 25 floors to reach the infiltration tunnel - designed for 10,000 troops to pass through. The tunnel is an extremely tight fit so it would have been insane to have 10,000 soldiers pass through. We were able to walk for a bit on the S. Korean side before we reached the walled off part. Through it, a sliver of light passed through but I couldn't see anyone on the other side. However, if I start receiving harassing messages from the N. Korean gov't, I'll know why. Walking back up that blasted ramp was interesting.
From there, we headed to the observatory. An English - Korean soldier briefed us on the DMZ in a briefing room straight out of The Manchurian Candidate. He pointed out things to us on a model. Directly in front of us through floor to ceiling glass - the DMZ and further on N. Korea was in our grasp. Outside, we were allowed to take pictures from the designated yellow line which basically didn't allow you to really see anything. Tourists posed for pictures with Korean soldiers.
Our tour guide told us about the N. Korean propaganda village right past the DMZ line. Each country was allowed to have one village within in an attempt to dissuade attacks. However, no one actually lives in the N. Korean vilage. It is all fake. All of the lights in the supposed village go on and off in every house at the same time each day. She also told us about how the N. Korean gov't has asked for a cut of the money that the S. Korean gov't is making on the tours of the DMZ. S.Korea kindly told them to shut up and leave them alone or so our guide said. We also learned that Korea has been invaded 900 times in its history. Youthlarge commented, "No wonder we have han." Also, the DMZ has become famous for the flourishing wildlife in the wake of no human intervention.
We also went to a train station that apparently will be a big deal once it connects to other rail lines. Also, it signals hope at a possible reunification of the Koreas. Bush was there in 2002 at the grand opening. There is a lot of land cleared, ready for factories and warehouses to be built on. Right now though, there are only a few trains each day from Seoul to the DMZ. And if you S. Korean, you have to get the proper papers to travel on it because the fear is that N.Korean defectors will board the train to safety and that ain't no good politically in this era of hope of reunification. It is an odd scene - a clean, modern station that is empty except for tourists and a couple of soldiers. The slogan of the station: "Not the last station from the South. But the first station toward the North."
Then we had some dinner with Joonpil and his sister Moka up from Suwon to see us. Now I'm drunk on Hite beer and contemplating drinking more at the bar hotel. Maybe Sueun will meet us after tutoring some kid in English.
I'm very sad though because of the rain. No Korean baseball for me. Both last night's game and tonight's game were rained out. Oh well, at least the Yakult Swallows - Hanshin Tigers game is on right now. Hopefully, we'll have better luck in Japan. We fly there tomorrow morning.
Until then.
Anyunghee gahsehyo.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Back in Seoul with Seoul Train
12:50 pm, Thursday
Apologies to Youthlarge for referring to her by the nickname that Hot Tub Eric tried to foist on her a few years ago.
Anyway, where was I?
After Youthlarge napped on Monday afternoon, we went exploring. I should not have said that the hotel we were staying in was nice because it wasn't. It was a dump. But yet, foot massages were available so go figure.
We wandered out into the great unknown of the desolate stretch of a resort town. I had a ring burning a hole in my pocket. Monday was Youthlarge's and my second wedding anniversary. I decided about a year ago that I wanted to buy her a diamond ring (apologies to all the diamond haters out there but let it be known that I haven't set foot in a Wal-Mart in years). So I saved up some money behind my dear wife's back and put it in our safety deposit box that she never checks. I also decided to use saving bonds that I had held onto since my Bar Mitzvah to help pay for it. While she was in LA in June, my plan began to unfold. A parent of a former student is a jeweler and he lives just up the block from me. Over the last 6 weeks or so, I went to his house a number of times to make the purchase. I finally picked it up on the day before we left the U.S.
So on Monday, I had to decide when the best time to give Youthlarge the ring would be. And this bullshit town wasn't doing me any favors. But then I saw a bizarre sight. A huge hot air balloon with a corporate logo apparently was there to advertise and give people free rides. That might be fun. But I didn't want to give her the ring sitting amongst others.
And there, off in the distance, stood the sight of that alluring old amusement park that didn't seem to be operating. But I figured it might be nice to give her the ring in the shadow of a rundown Ferris Wheel so I convinced her to take a walk towards the looming roller coaster.
On the way, we almost decided to rent an ATV that were all the rage in this apparently near the seaside resort. Alas, we let the teenagers rule the roost on that one. Instead, we kept walking.
Finally, we reached the amusement park. Was it open? Nothing seemed to be running. The roller coaster definitely wasn't. But the Ferris Wheel almost looked like it was. Or was that just the wind gently pushing it along? We got closer to the parking lot. There was an attendant working. Could it be open? There were a few cars in the lot. We kept walking to investigate. Look! People! But where was the entrance? From behind some perfectly manicured bushes, we heard children singing a song in perfect unison. But the sound wasn't coming from within the amusement park, but rather off to the side. What was going on?
We kept walking. We were in the shadow of the quiet roller coaster. Was the Ferris Wheel running or not? There were no sounds coming from the amusement park. But as we got closer to the main entrance, an ominous yet promising sign - the unmistakeably scary piped in song "It's a Small World."
Around the bend was the front entrance. A few people were streaming out. It was open! Or was it? It still was hard to tell. Youthlarge went up to the solitary ticket seller. It was indeed open. And, yes, we could go in.
If you have ever seen the movie Westworld, you can begin to picture this place. There was nobody in the place upon entry. The stands were closed, no one was around. But as we rounded a bend and got closer to the Ferris Wheel, we began to see some people. Not many, but a few: A trio of teenaged couples, a few senior citizens relaxing on the robot dogs(!), and about two dozen frolicking youngsters. Not all of the rides were open but enough were that the kids were having a blast. No lines, ride after ride were free and clear to go.
I knew what I wanted to do - a Ferris Wheel Diamond Ring ride. It looked like I was going to get my wish. But the question still remained: Was the damn thing running? Even as we were right next to it, we couldn't tell. The thing was clearly moving but at a snail's pace. We couldn't see anyone on it. But as we came to within a few feet of it, we did see an operator. Hooray. The time had come. Unfortunately, we had to get a ticket to ride. Of course, the closest ticket seller was closed so we had to go to another one. This only took maybe four minutes, but every second was so heightened for me because I was so anxious to get going.
Finally, the time arrived. We stepped onto the slowest moving ride I've ever set foot on. We were the only people on the ride, I think. It was hard to tell because it moved so slowly that it wasn't obvious when people got in or got off because the thing never stopped moving.
So I waited a few moments for the car to actually get high enough above the ground before I decided to give her the ring. Let's just say that it was a complete shock to her. She couldn't quite believe that I had bought her a ring and that I had kept it a secret from her for so long. It was a very nice moment, hovering in the Korean air in a car of a decrepit Ferris Wheel in a near empty amusement park in a bizarre resort town.
After the ride, we headed to the completely empty arcade for a couple of games. We marvelled at the completely empty water park section that was lazily cordoned off to the public by a flimsy sign. I was tempted to go on a waterslide but ended up not doing it. We were amused by the ride based(?) on the Digital Underground song "The Humpty Dance." As we strode from the park, the closing song on our amusement park experience was perhaps the worst song ever recorded: The Beach Boys - "Kokomo."
That was Monday early evening. I'll catch up on the ensuing few days in my next entry.
Apologies to Youthlarge for referring to her by the nickname that Hot Tub Eric tried to foist on her a few years ago.
Anyway, where was I?
After Youthlarge napped on Monday afternoon, we went exploring. I should not have said that the hotel we were staying in was nice because it wasn't. It was a dump. But yet, foot massages were available so go figure.
We wandered out into the great unknown of the desolate stretch of a resort town. I had a ring burning a hole in my pocket. Monday was Youthlarge's and my second wedding anniversary. I decided about a year ago that I wanted to buy her a diamond ring (apologies to all the diamond haters out there but let it be known that I haven't set foot in a Wal-Mart in years). So I saved up some money behind my dear wife's back and put it in our safety deposit box that she never checks. I also decided to use saving bonds that I had held onto since my Bar Mitzvah to help pay for it. While she was in LA in June, my plan began to unfold. A parent of a former student is a jeweler and he lives just up the block from me. Over the last 6 weeks or so, I went to his house a number of times to make the purchase. I finally picked it up on the day before we left the U.S.
So on Monday, I had to decide when the best time to give Youthlarge the ring would be. And this bullshit town wasn't doing me any favors. But then I saw a bizarre sight. A huge hot air balloon with a corporate logo apparently was there to advertise and give people free rides. That might be fun. But I didn't want to give her the ring sitting amongst others.
And there, off in the distance, stood the sight of that alluring old amusement park that didn't seem to be operating. But I figured it might be nice to give her the ring in the shadow of a rundown Ferris Wheel so I convinced her to take a walk towards the looming roller coaster.
On the way, we almost decided to rent an ATV that were all the rage in this apparently near the seaside resort. Alas, we let the teenagers rule the roost on that one. Instead, we kept walking.
Finally, we reached the amusement park. Was it open? Nothing seemed to be running. The roller coaster definitely wasn't. But the Ferris Wheel almost looked like it was. Or was that just the wind gently pushing it along? We got closer to the parking lot. There was an attendant working. Could it be open? There were a few cars in the lot. We kept walking to investigate. Look! People! But where was the entrance? From behind some perfectly manicured bushes, we heard children singing a song in perfect unison. But the sound wasn't coming from within the amusement park, but rather off to the side. What was going on?
We kept walking. We were in the shadow of the quiet roller coaster. Was the Ferris Wheel running or not? There were no sounds coming from the amusement park. But as we got closer to the main entrance, an ominous yet promising sign - the unmistakeably scary piped in song "It's a Small World."
Around the bend was the front entrance. A few people were streaming out. It was open! Or was it? It still was hard to tell. Youthlarge went up to the solitary ticket seller. It was indeed open. And, yes, we could go in.
If you have ever seen the movie Westworld, you can begin to picture this place. There was nobody in the place upon entry. The stands were closed, no one was around. But as we rounded a bend and got closer to the Ferris Wheel, we began to see some people. Not many, but a few: A trio of teenaged couples, a few senior citizens relaxing on the robot dogs(!), and about two dozen frolicking youngsters. Not all of the rides were open but enough were that the kids were having a blast. No lines, ride after ride were free and clear to go.
I knew what I wanted to do - a Ferris Wheel Diamond Ring ride. It looked like I was going to get my wish. But the question still remained: Was the damn thing running? Even as we were right next to it, we couldn't tell. The thing was clearly moving but at a snail's pace. We couldn't see anyone on it. But as we came to within a few feet of it, we did see an operator. Hooray. The time had come. Unfortunately, we had to get a ticket to ride. Of course, the closest ticket seller was closed so we had to go to another one. This only took maybe four minutes, but every second was so heightened for me because I was so anxious to get going.
Finally, the time arrived. We stepped onto the slowest moving ride I've ever set foot on. We were the only people on the ride, I think. It was hard to tell because it moved so slowly that it wasn't obvious when people got in or got off because the thing never stopped moving.
So I waited a few moments for the car to actually get high enough above the ground before I decided to give her the ring. Let's just say that it was a complete shock to her. She couldn't quite believe that I had bought her a ring and that I had kept it a secret from her for so long. It was a very nice moment, hovering in the Korean air in a car of a decrepit Ferris Wheel in a near empty amusement park in a bizarre resort town.
After the ride, we headed to the completely empty arcade for a couple of games. We marvelled at the completely empty water park section that was lazily cordoned off to the public by a flimsy sign. I was tempted to go on a waterslide but ended up not doing it. We were amused by the ride based(?) on the Digital Underground song "The Humpty Dance." As we strode from the park, the closing song on our amusement park experience was perhaps the worst song ever recorded: The Beach Boys - "Kokomo."
That was Monday early evening. I'll catch up on the ensuing few days in my next entry.
Monday, July 24, 2006
In Korea
4:40 pm
3:40 am ET
Recap of the last few days.
Friday, Youthlarge and I flew to Tokyo. I've never flown for 13 straight hours. It was tough. I could not sleep so I was going nuts. I watched some amazing footage of The Tom Snyder show from the late 70's/early 80's on DVD on Youthlarge's laptop. It is a new Dvd compliation of bands on the show. I watched four episodes and they all were amazing - Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, Joan Jett, The Plazmatics (one of the best performances ever on television!), and Iggy Pop with a bloody nose. Incredible. I read 100 pages of the book Mooney lent to me for the trip American Tabloid (also quite great) by James Ellroy. I also was very excited to get a chance to hear Bob Dylan's show on XM Radio on the flight. It was so damn good, it makes me want to get XM.
After arriving in Tokyo, we had a 3 hour layover. Plenty of time to check the Internet and make a fantasy baseball move. Too bad that I guessed wrong on who would take over as the closer for the Brewers. I love picking up Milwaukee middle relievers while in Tokyo. That sounds much more exotic than it really was, trust me.
After the layover, it was just a two or so hour flight to Seoul. Fortunately, I was able to get a little sleep on that leg of the journey. It wasn't until we reached Seoul at 9 pm on Saturday that it was finally dark. From the time, we left New York, it had been light out the entire time. Very disconcerting.
On Sunday, we ate lunch at Youthlarge's family's apartment in Seoul. It was a great time - quite a few characters. Then ended up at Seoul Station picking up some train tickets and then walked back to the hotel. While at the station, we had a green tea donut at Dunkin' Donuts. Not as good as I had hoped it would be.
We're staying in some trendy neighborhood that is always extremely well lit. The name of the neighborhood escapes me but it is very Blade Runner-like in a Tokyo kind of way. Seoul is not the city to go to if you want to escape the specter of Starbucks. Or Outback Steakhouse for that matter.
Youthlarge was last in Korea in '98. She says that it seems that the youth are much less repressed that they used to be. Hell, the whole city seems like one big party. Plus, I've never been to a place with so many girls/ young women walking around holding each other's hands. For Youthlarge's take, read her food blog, where else? The only downside has been that we've been ripped off a few times by unscrupulous cabbies and katsu cashiers. Interestingly, they only rip us off about fifty cents or so each time. Even when they screw you, Koreans are polite.
We were asleep by 10 pm, this jet lag thing is a bitch. Unfortunately, that meant we were up at 4 am this morning. No matter, we had an early train to Gyeongju, a town in the southeastern part of the country, recommended by Youthlarge's dad. The train trip was fun - about four and a half hours. We passed many, many high rise apartments and an insane amount of driving ranges.
Apparently, there are quaint things to see in Gyeongju but it has been a strange experience thus far. We've been here for about four hours. The hotel we are staying at is humongous but completely empty for the most part when we arrived. It has at least three restaurants, two of which had nobody in it (and I mean nobody) at lunch time. We ended up at one packed restaurant that was empty within ten minutes of us sitting down. They saw one whitey and they all left? Who knows? Youthlarge commented how ornate everything is but yet it seems a little dusty for a place so fancy. This place must have been something else in 1976. In the lobby, it is like a Cracker Barrel for Korean folk art. All sorts of chairs and wooden tigers for sale.
There is an amusement park right around the bend. Closed, of course. Youthlarge likens the whole place to North Korea - all for show but yet completely empty. Right now, she is napping (no bed in the room, Korean style) while I'm in the lobby. And things are hopping now. Everyone must be back from their day tours. Tomorrow, we'll have to get in on that action. Today, all I can think about is that the karaoke bar is only a few hours away. This place also has an indoor and outdoor pool but it didn't look like it was opened. Maybe Youthlarge will get a foot massage. I can't express how strange this place is. There's also some sort of youth convention going on here this week so I expect lots of running around in the hallways tonight.
3:40 am ET
Recap of the last few days.
Friday, Youthlarge and I flew to Tokyo. I've never flown for 13 straight hours. It was tough. I could not sleep so I was going nuts. I watched some amazing footage of The Tom Snyder show from the late 70's/early 80's on DVD on Youthlarge's laptop. It is a new Dvd compliation of bands on the show. I watched four episodes and they all were amazing - Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, Joan Jett, The Plazmatics (one of the best performances ever on television!), and Iggy Pop with a bloody nose. Incredible. I read 100 pages of the book Mooney lent to me for the trip American Tabloid (also quite great) by James Ellroy. I also was very excited to get a chance to hear Bob Dylan's show on XM Radio on the flight. It was so damn good, it makes me want to get XM.
After arriving in Tokyo, we had a 3 hour layover. Plenty of time to check the Internet and make a fantasy baseball move. Too bad that I guessed wrong on who would take over as the closer for the Brewers. I love picking up Milwaukee middle relievers while in Tokyo. That sounds much more exotic than it really was, trust me.
After the layover, it was just a two or so hour flight to Seoul. Fortunately, I was able to get a little sleep on that leg of the journey. It wasn't until we reached Seoul at 9 pm on Saturday that it was finally dark. From the time, we left New York, it had been light out the entire time. Very disconcerting.
On Sunday, we ate lunch at Youthlarge's family's apartment in Seoul. It was a great time - quite a few characters. Then ended up at Seoul Station picking up some train tickets and then walked back to the hotel. While at the station, we had a green tea donut at Dunkin' Donuts. Not as good as I had hoped it would be.
We're staying in some trendy neighborhood that is always extremely well lit. The name of the neighborhood escapes me but it is very Blade Runner-like in a Tokyo kind of way. Seoul is not the city to go to if you want to escape the specter of Starbucks. Or Outback Steakhouse for that matter.
Youthlarge was last in Korea in '98. She says that it seems that the youth are much less repressed that they used to be. Hell, the whole city seems like one big party. Plus, I've never been to a place with so many girls/ young women walking around holding each other's hands. For Youthlarge's take, read her food blog, where else? The only downside has been that we've been ripped off a few times by unscrupulous cabbies and katsu cashiers. Interestingly, they only rip us off about fifty cents or so each time. Even when they screw you, Koreans are polite.
We were asleep by 10 pm, this jet lag thing is a bitch. Unfortunately, that meant we were up at 4 am this morning. No matter, we had an early train to Gyeongju, a town in the southeastern part of the country, recommended by Youthlarge's dad. The train trip was fun - about four and a half hours. We passed many, many high rise apartments and an insane amount of driving ranges.
Apparently, there are quaint things to see in Gyeongju but it has been a strange experience thus far. We've been here for about four hours. The hotel we are staying at is humongous but completely empty for the most part when we arrived. It has at least three restaurants, two of which had nobody in it (and I mean nobody) at lunch time. We ended up at one packed restaurant that was empty within ten minutes of us sitting down. They saw one whitey and they all left? Who knows? Youthlarge commented how ornate everything is but yet it seems a little dusty for a place so fancy. This place must have been something else in 1976. In the lobby, it is like a Cracker Barrel for Korean folk art. All sorts of chairs and wooden tigers for sale.
There is an amusement park right around the bend. Closed, of course. Youthlarge likens the whole place to North Korea - all for show but yet completely empty. Right now, she is napping (no bed in the room, Korean style) while I'm in the lobby. And things are hopping now. Everyone must be back from their day tours. Tomorrow, we'll have to get in on that action. Today, all I can think about is that the karaoke bar is only a few hours away. This place also has an indoor and outdoor pool but it didn't look like it was opened. Maybe Youthlarge will get a foot massage. I can't express how strange this place is. There's also some sort of youth convention going on here this week so I expect lots of running around in the hallways tonight.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
The Epic Baseball Trip Draws to a Close
Wednesday, 7/5
Davenport, Iowa
My first time in a luxury box.
Thursday
Champaign, IL
Planbreaker takes a picture of Balgavy and KFan under the REO Speedwagon street sign. Unfortunately, no such photo was taken under the sign for Roger Ebert Street.
The custard in Champaign was more to Balgavy's liking than Ted Drewes was.
After custard, we went back to Amy and Donovan's. Balgavy made me shave so my Summer Stache would truly sparkle. I was also goaded into putting on my Summer Dan shirt.
Summer Dan visits Danville Stadium.
The Posse
After the game, we got some drinks at a bar. Balgavy and some of Donovan and Amy's friends spoke about the book The Game all night. At 2 am, we were told it was last call. Balgavy went up to the blonde waitress, showed her his NY driver's license and said that he was used to drinking until 4 in NYC so what could she do for him? She replied, "I've got some whiskey in my apartment if you want to come over." Balgavy, fresh from his knowledge of The Game and how to close the deal knew how to react.
He:
A. Replied with a smart answer, took the waitress home and treated her to the night of her life. I picked him up the next morning on the way to Kansas City.
B. Pulled her close, kissed her on the lips, and is still in Champaign as we speak.
C. Didn't reply at all and simply walked away from her. Went back to Amy and Donovan's lamenting his fortune and then brushed up on The Game once again.
Friday
Yeah that's right - D for Dan and M for Marc. I'm sporting the Danville Dans cap that I acquired the night before and Marc is sporting last year's purchase of a High Desert Mavericks cap.
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Missouri
Saturday
We spent the day driving around in vain looking for an American Legion baseball tournament before deciding to go see Superman Returns
Then it was time for the last game of the trip.
After the game, we got some burgers where we were served by the previously mentioned waitress who kept pouring salt into her arm wound.
Then we headed to a great dive bar before looking for a motel near the airport.
After about two or so hours of sleep, Balgavy drove me to the airport before gassing up the rental car and giving the young motel clerk our leftover fireworks from Memphis "The Chimes of Freedom" which I was very sad to never light. At least, some youngster in Kansas City got some joy out of it.
I'm heading to Asia for over a month on Friday. I plan on blogging on the trip.
First stop: Seoul
Davenport, Iowa
My first time in a luxury box.
Thursday
Champaign, IL
Planbreaker takes a picture of Balgavy and KFan under the REO Speedwagon street sign. Unfortunately, no such photo was taken under the sign for Roger Ebert Street.
The custard in Champaign was more to Balgavy's liking than Ted Drewes was.
After custard, we went back to Amy and Donovan's. Balgavy made me shave so my Summer Stache would truly sparkle. I was also goaded into putting on my Summer Dan shirt.
Summer Dan visits Danville Stadium.
The Posse
After the game, we got some drinks at a bar. Balgavy and some of Donovan and Amy's friends spoke about the book The Game all night. At 2 am, we were told it was last call. Balgavy went up to the blonde waitress, showed her his NY driver's license and said that he was used to drinking until 4 in NYC so what could she do for him? She replied, "I've got some whiskey in my apartment if you want to come over." Balgavy, fresh from his knowledge of The Game and how to close the deal knew how to react.
He:
A. Replied with a smart answer, took the waitress home and treated her to the night of her life. I picked him up the next morning on the way to Kansas City.
B. Pulled her close, kissed her on the lips, and is still in Champaign as we speak.
C. Didn't reply at all and simply walked away from her. Went back to Amy and Donovan's lamenting his fortune and then brushed up on The Game once again.
Friday
Yeah that's right - D for Dan and M for Marc. I'm sporting the Danville Dans cap that I acquired the night before and Marc is sporting last year's purchase of a High Desert Mavericks cap.
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Missouri
Saturday
We spent the day driving around in vain looking for an American Legion baseball tournament before deciding to go see Superman Returns
Then it was time for the last game of the trip.
After the game, we got some burgers where we were served by the previously mentioned waitress who kept pouring salt into her arm wound.
Then we headed to a great dive bar before looking for a motel near the airport.
After about two or so hours of sleep, Balgavy drove me to the airport before gassing up the rental car and giving the young motel clerk our leftover fireworks from Memphis "The Chimes of Freedom" which I was very sad to never light. At least, some youngster in Kansas City got some joy out of it.
I'm heading to Asia for over a month on Friday. I plan on blogging on the trip.
First stop: Seoul
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The 4th of July
My third 4th of July in Memphis in the last five years.
A Norman Rockwell painting or Memphis? You make the call.
Phoebe isn't sure what she thinks of the whole thing. Hot Tub Eric proudly supports his favorite Brooklyn bocce squad.
Balgavy recreates the Krispy Kreme brilliance.
Backyard alley bocce time.
The groundskeeper is on the left. For some reason, he decided to put on a shirt for this photo.
Hot Tub and T-Bone
Pre-game
More Phoebe photos.
Post-game
T-Bone lights them up while Amie plays with a sparkler.
The Limousine Hummer
Watch it in action.
Balgavy, Hot Tub, and I headed to another party for some more hijinks. Or at least some ping pong.
It started raining so we set up a piece of cardboard on the grass and kept lighting them off. Balgavy attempts to hula hoop to the beat of the explosions of the Hula Girls.
The matches weren't working so Eric had to improvise.
A Norman Rockwell painting or Memphis? You make the call.
Phoebe isn't sure what she thinks of the whole thing. Hot Tub Eric proudly supports his favorite Brooklyn bocce squad.
Balgavy recreates the Krispy Kreme brilliance.
Backyard alley bocce time.
The groundskeeper is on the left. For some reason, he decided to put on a shirt for this photo.
Hot Tub and T-Bone
Pre-game
More Phoebe photos.
Post-game
T-Bone lights them up while Amie plays with a sparkler.
The Limousine Hummer
Watch it in action.
Balgavy, Hot Tub, and I headed to another party for some more hijinks. Or at least some ping pong.
It started raining so we set up a piece of cardboard on the grass and kept lighting them off. Balgavy attempts to hula hoop to the beat of the explosions of the Hula Girls.
The matches weren't working so Eric had to improvise.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Too Much Food
Sunday Night
Gateway Grizzlies - Sauget, IL
The main attraction - the Gateway Burger
Yes, that is a bacon cheeseburger with a donut as the bun.
These photos were all taken between Balgavy's first and second bites.
Feeling great after downing such a treat of a meal, Balgavy walked around for a bit. Then he left and made some new friends. Friends who like catsup.
We drove to Collinsville, IL after the game to see the real replica of a catsup bottle that we had seen the smaller replica of the replica at the game. I didn't get very good pictures of it though. Then we went to a terrible bar called Sharky's because Balgavy thought that some of his new friends might be there. They weren't.
Monday
On the way to Memphis, we stopped in Sikestown, MO for some throwed rolls
Looking for a target.
What a tourist trap - but a fun stop nonetheless. I mean, how many chances does a person get to drink out of such a ridiculously large cup in their lifetime?
The place opened at 10:30. We got there at 10:45 and it was already pretty crowded but we had no trouble getting in. By 11:45, this was the scene outside of people waiting for some throwed roll action themselves.
After arriving in Memphis, it was soon time to head to Little Rock, AK for that night's game.
On the way, we stopped in Devalls Bluff, AR for Craig's Barbeque and some pies. Hot Tub Eric always knows the best places to go. We placed our order at Craig's and headed across the street to the pie shop.
The pie lady's grandkids? shoot off some bottlerockets.
Pie in hand, we chow down. Balgavy tries mustard and cole slaw for the first time.
Hot Tub Eric's new hero - Frisbee the ballpark organist in Little Rock.
After the game, we headed back to Memphis for Wild Bill's The last time I was there was in January 2003. Amie and Hot Tub Eric took Youthlarge and me there on a busy Saturday night. People were dressed to the nines and there was a whole hell of a lot of dancing.
This time on a Monday night, it wasn't so crowded. Wild Bill wasn't in the best of moods and tried to charge us ten bucks each instead of the usual five. After Hot Tub Eric refused, Bill relented but then said, "Prices got to go up or I'm going to have to close up." Gotta love grumpy 95-year-olds.
We settled in with our 40's and watched some music with the few other people in attendance - the too happy white folks to our right, the drunk guy dancing who was quite angry that no one else was dancing and even got into a little war of words with Wild Bill, and the woman behind us grumbling that there were too many white folks in attendance. During the entire time, Bill counted and recounted his money over and over and over again. Apparently, a few days after we were there, someone tried to rob the place but Bill refused to give up his money. Then the robber was beatdown by customers. Why would you try to rob a place named Wild Bill's?
After Wild Bill's
There is nothing more sadly beautiful than an empty Wiffleball field yearning to be played on.
We ended the evening in Eric's backyard where Balgavy got eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Gateway Grizzlies - Sauget, IL
The main attraction - the Gateway Burger
Yes, that is a bacon cheeseburger with a donut as the bun.
These photos were all taken between Balgavy's first and second bites.
Feeling great after downing such a treat of a meal, Balgavy walked around for a bit. Then he left and made some new friends. Friends who like catsup.
We drove to Collinsville, IL after the game to see the real replica of a catsup bottle that we had seen the smaller replica of the replica at the game. I didn't get very good pictures of it though. Then we went to a terrible bar called Sharky's because Balgavy thought that some of his new friends might be there. They weren't.
Monday
On the way to Memphis, we stopped in Sikestown, MO for some throwed rolls
Looking for a target.
What a tourist trap - but a fun stop nonetheless. I mean, how many chances does a person get to drink out of such a ridiculously large cup in their lifetime?
The place opened at 10:30. We got there at 10:45 and it was already pretty crowded but we had no trouble getting in. By 11:45, this was the scene outside of people waiting for some throwed roll action themselves.
After arriving in Memphis, it was soon time to head to Little Rock, AK for that night's game.
On the way, we stopped in Devalls Bluff, AR for Craig's Barbeque and some pies. Hot Tub Eric always knows the best places to go. We placed our order at Craig's and headed across the street to the pie shop.
The pie lady's grandkids? shoot off some bottlerockets.
Pie in hand, we chow down. Balgavy tries mustard and cole slaw for the first time.
Hot Tub Eric's new hero - Frisbee the ballpark organist in Little Rock.
After the game, we headed back to Memphis for Wild Bill's The last time I was there was in January 2003. Amie and Hot Tub Eric took Youthlarge and me there on a busy Saturday night. People were dressed to the nines and there was a whole hell of a lot of dancing.
This time on a Monday night, it wasn't so crowded. Wild Bill wasn't in the best of moods and tried to charge us ten bucks each instead of the usual five. After Hot Tub Eric refused, Bill relented but then said, "Prices got to go up or I'm going to have to close up." Gotta love grumpy 95-year-olds.
We settled in with our 40's and watched some music with the few other people in attendance - the too happy white folks to our right, the drunk guy dancing who was quite angry that no one else was dancing and even got into a little war of words with Wild Bill, and the woman behind us grumbling that there were too many white folks in attendance. During the entire time, Bill counted and recounted his money over and over and over again. Apparently, a few days after we were there, someone tried to rob the place but Bill refused to give up his money. Then the robber was beatdown by customers. Why would you try to rob a place named Wild Bill's?
After Wild Bill's
There is nothing more sadly beautiful than an empty Wiffleball field yearning to be played on.
We ended the evening in Eric's backyard where Balgavy got eaten alive by mosquitoes.
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