Weary But Worth It

I think the title sums up my week pretty well.  After one day of classes on Monday, I and about a dozen other stuff members and the second grade (think juniors in high school) headed off for a class trip to Jeju Island off the southern coast of Korea.

View from the Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone on Jeju.

My trip was filled with more pictures and hellos than I could ever expect, but it was great.  I had the opportunity to bond more with both teachers and staff.  I felt so much more useful as a teacher talking with students in small groups about anything relative than trying to keep the interest of 40 students in a classroom.

We hiked the to the highest peak in South Korea, checked out a beautiful world heritage sight (picture above), saw a green tea field, a bamboo forest, enjoyed a talent show and just hung out together.

The crater at the top of Hallasan.

Green tea field.

The trip got off to a little bit of a slow start as our flight wasn't until after 2 p.m. Tuesday, so we drove to check out a beach near Incheon Int'l.  The thought was to do something interesting rather than just killing time at school, but it was cold with threatening clouds, so it didn't work out too well.  On the way to the beach I avoided having to ride on the bus with the crabby, old English teacher (new to our school this semester).  We hadn't gotten off to the best start, mainly due to his demeanor and rude comments, so I wasn't thrilled to find out he was going on the trip, much less seemingly destined to be my "buddy".  At the beach he made a gesture that I'm sure was meant to be kind, but it bothered me more than anything.  Just because I'm from America doesn't mean I eat McDonald's hamburgers all the time.  In fact I never eat them or really any fast food, and I actually like Korean food and have eaten with him previously.  He also went on to explain the most basic of things about Korean culture like I had just arrived here.  Mostly I just brushed it off, but it was annoying and seemingly patronizing.

At the beach the teachers settled down for a delicious lunch of noodles and shellfish, and what would become a recurring trend, alcohol.  I shouldn't have been surprised, but maybe because it was shortly after 11 a.m. I was caught off guard.  Chalk it up as another cultural difference, but this is one of those things that happens in Korea that would never happen in the states.  However, to be fair there are things that happen at home that wouldn't happen here.  Anyway, we had a little bit of makgeolli, or Korean rice wine, with our lunch.

Finally we got on the plane and on our way.  We got settled in at the resort, had dinner and seemingly were free for the night, which was good because I was exhausted.  I had a surprise for myself at 10:30 though as the teachers all gathered downstairs, after the students were all in their rooms, for some snacks and drinks.  Korean culture is very much about respect, so even the teachers who had no interest in drinking at least put on the pretense of participation.  I ducked out after not that long to catch some sleep, as we had a big day of hiking ahead (I was a little more prepared for day two).  I retired to my private room with a bed, apparently the westerner couldn't sleep on the ondol floor like everyone else.  No complaints here!  It was nice to have a little bit of privacy and comfort.

Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea, is quite the undertaking.  Counting time for lunch, it took us between seven and eight hours to reach the summit and return.  It was worth it as the view was great, albeit a little obscured by haze.  The temperature was noticeably different at the peak too, as a steady windy rippled jackets and tossed hair.  At times it was like I was participating in a photo shoot at the top, as I would finish taking a picture with one group of students only to have another yell, "teacher, picture!" At the bottom the teachers enjoyed some incredibly refreshing makgeolli and delicious haemul pajeon (seafood and green onion pancake).

My calves were certainly paying the price for the hike the next day (still are actually).  Things were a little too rushed for my taste (and judging by complaints, the students, too) on our last day on the island.  The tuff cone was definitely a standout out though and the views of the coast line elsewhere were pretty beautiful, too.  After a quite sub-par early dinner we hopped on a large ferry to head back to the mainland.  Wow, did that thing really rock out on the open water.

We arrived at our hotel after 10, checked in and settled in for the night.  I didn't sleep particularly well on the ondol floor, although the elder teacher's snoring probably didn't help.  At least in the morning we hit up the sauna for some relaxation time in the hot waters.

The trip wiped me out, as I'm used to getting more sleep than the average Korean, but it was well worth it, and miles better than the alternative of sitting at my desk all week with nothing to do!

Dance Your Heart Out South Korea

As part of my class learning about traveling the world, we watched a video of a man that traveled the world and danced in various locales.  See below.

wherethehellismatt.com

In an effort to spice things up a bit, I offered a challenge to my classes: who can best replicate the Matt dance.  Here is the result:

Vacation Recap: Siem Reap

The end of our trip is really where it all started, since the one place I really wanted to visit during my year here in Korea was the Angkor temples.  And now in Siem Reap we were just minutes away.

Having booked our tuk tuk driver for the night before we got an early start on our first full day in Siem Reap.  Up at 4:50 and soon after on the road, we made it to the most famous of the temples, Angkor Wat, before sunrise.  It was quite a crowded scene, but I'm glad we made it there for a sunrise, and it was probably a good decision to do so on day number one.

Day one was like a visiting the temple Hall of Fame.  Starting with Angkor we continued on to the most grandiose and must-see temples, including my favorite temple, Bayon, with its signature four-sided faces.

Gina loved the elephants.  Unfortunately we missed her chance to ride one.

Ta Prom, aka the Tomb Raider temple.

Buddhas without heads.

The nice thing about starting your day early is the day seems so much longer.  We were back at the hotel early in the afternoon and had time for an afternoon swim and just pure relaxation time.  Later we walked across the river toward downtown checked out some of the markets and had Cambodian barbecue for dinner, which included some new meat choices in crocodile and snake.  All in all it was a great meal.

We slept in the next day (if you can call 6 a.m. on vacation sleeping in!), before getting picked up by our driver at 6:30 to head a little further out to hit the rest of the major temples in the area.  After the majesty of day one, it was a little hard to be impressed by the sights of day two, but if you take each temple as its own, they all are still pretty cool.  But needless to say by the end of our rotation on day two I was ready for a break.  We rested for a little bit and then hit the downtown again for a couple of drinks and relaxation before dinner.  It was nice to just sit with nowhere to be and nothing to do.

Unfortunately our last day of temples we had to skip as Gina wasn't feeling so hot.  But really it was nice to just be lazy on the final day.  Plus I don't think missing the temples we were scheduled to hit was anything worth crying about.  At day's end it was back to the cold of Korea.  What a trip!

Vacation Recap: Phnom Penh

Maybe for the first time the whole trip I was truly hot in the afternoon sun in Phnom Penh.  Thankfully for $2 we got a tuk tuk ride to a little hole in the wall guesthouse that thankfully still had room for us, and maybe more importantly boasted air conditioning!

After throwing down our gear we headed back out in the heat to check out the Killing Fields and S21.  If you know nothing about the Cambodian Genocide here is a brief synopsis.  Rebel army wins civil war, wrecks havoc on the population, basically enslaving and causing mass starvation for a period of almost five years.  The Killing Fields were an area where political dissidents were, well, you can fill in the rest.  S21 is a former school turned prison for "enemies" of the ruling regime, the Khmer Rouge.

Yes, they are real.  Creepy.

Victims of the Khmer Rouge.

A cell at S21.

Tired and incredibly hungry, we had a delicious Cambodian dinner near the river and went back to crash.  We slept in a bit and then wondered out in search of breakfast before checking out the Royal Palace.  However, we ended up having to trek back to the hotel because we forgot that you can't wear shorts in the palace.  Whoops!  The palace itself was neat, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I expected a little bit more. 

I think I could have spent one more day in Phnom Penh.  There were a couple more things I would have liked to see, including the markets.  But we had greater plans yet and had an afternoon bus ride to Siem Reap to catch.

Note to self: in the future, avoid bus trips over five hours, if at all possible.  We opted for the nicer of the two bus options.  It had a bathroom sans toilet seat, a semblance of air conditioning (it cut in and out) and seats that reclined.  However, they played non-stop Vietnamese dramas, comedy performances or music videos at a blaring level and the seats were not build for anyone not of the smallest of Asian builds.  Not a fun seven hours, but we made it to Siem Reap in one piece and had a tuk tuk driver waiting for us, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Next up: Siem Reap.

Vacation Recap: the Mekong Delta

The bus ride was long enough (almost five hours), so I was certainly grateful to pull into Can Tho a bit earlier than expected.  After checking in and a little shopping on the waterfront we settled down for dinner with a view out over the river.  The highlight for me was a fantastic drink made of lime juice and mint syrup.  It was so good I had it again the next day.

Valentine's Day came extra early for us.  We were up at 5:30 and on a small boat by 6.  Our destination: the Cai Rang floating market.  As we motored down the river, our guide crafted all sorts of objects out of reeds.  Boats flaunting everything from pineapples to mangoes and bananas dotted the river when we reached the market area.  In between the larger wholesale merchants darted smaller boats selling drinks, breakfast or other conveniences.

Breakfast is served!

We continued down the river a bit past the market and headed up a small canal to a little village, where we saw how the equipment for making rice noodles and a small little farm.

Canal to the village.

The night before we had booked a bus, hotel and boat package to take us to Chau Doc near the border of Cambodia and then on to Phnom Penh.  It was nice to not have to worry about finding accommodations or boat tickets in Chau Doc, although we did have to stop at a pretty lame crocodile farm on the way to Chau Doc.  But I guess it was nice to stretch our legs, and the milkshakes were phenomenal.  We then had one more stop on our journey to Chau Doc.  Near the city is the tallest mountain in the area and it's covered in temples, so we stopped by to check out a couple of Buddhist temples that included caves.  That was worth the visit, and the view from the temples out toward Cambodia was great.

Cave entrance.

For dinner we settled on a couple of street-side bowls of Pho - maybe the quintessential Vietnamese dish.  Unfortunately this was the first bowl we had in Vietnam.  I'll blame that primarily on my stomach problems that made street food seem like a poor choice for a couple days there.

I think I could have spent a little more time in Chau Doc, checking out some of the culture and the floating fish farms/homes, but it was nice to be on the way to Phnom Penh at an early hour.  The boat ride was nice enough, and it was cool to watch the landscape change to a much drier one, but it also dragged on a bit, especially the immigration run around.  But eventually we made it to our destination with plenty of daylight left.

Next up: Phnom Penh.

Vacation Recap: HCMC

Refreshed and ready to go we set out with big plans for a full day of exploring in Vietnam's largest and most chaotic city.  First stop of the day was a small Hindu temple bursting with smells (incense) and sights that overloaded the senses.

The it was off to the Reunification Palace, formerly the home to the president of the south. Mostly the upstairs was just old furniture and things from the time the president lived there, but in the basement, or operations center, was pretty cool.  The maps, old radios and other communications equipment, shooting range and sleeping and working quarters were pretty cool to see.

A break down of the number of American troops that served in Vietnam and their branches.

But the Reunification Palace was really just an appetizer for the real star of the day: the War Remnants Museum.  It would be easy to get caught up in the actual war machinery on display and the propaganda posters from countries around the world.  That stuff was interesting, but what I found fascinating was the stories of individuals: those that fought, those that were tortured and those that dealt with or are still dealing with the effects of chemical weapons like Agent Orange.  The story told was slanted, no doubt, but it's hard not to feel for the incredible burden the Vietnamese people bore throughout the war, and in some respects continue to pay.  I could have spent more than the two hours we were there, but the joint closed at 5 p.m. sharp.  They don't mess around.  It was lights out and you have to leave at 5 p.m. on the head!

The next day we headed out of the city to visit the Cu Chi area - a heavy Viet Cong strong hold near a former American base that is famous for its once impressive tunnel system.  Lucky for us we had an excellent guide named Mr. Bean (at least that's what he wanted to be called; I think his real name might have been Vinh).  He was quite the character, Filipino-Vietnamese, he fought with the Americans but didn't truly consider anyone the enemy.  After the war he spent four years in a re-education camp clearing landmines and learning of the glories of communism, but he said he's not bitter.  It seemed the only thing that boiled his blood was his abandonment by the Americans and the lack of adequate compensation for his services.

One of many different kind of "traps".

Tunnel entrance.

View from the Saigon River on our way back to the city.

The tunnels themselves were pretty cool, although they were widened for tourists.  I shudder to think what it would be like to navigate an original, especially if I didn't know where I was going.  On the way home we opted to take a boat back to the city and enjoy a little extra time with Mr. Bean.  It was nice to take in something different and try to imagine the area as a hot spot of activity as it was in the war.

Next up: the Mekong Delta.

Vacation Recap - Hue

Thankfully the 13-hour train "experience" went better than expected, and we hopped off the train into the blinding early morning sun.  Avoiding the multitude of various transportation options, we made the short hike to the Binh Minh Sunrise hotel. Thankfully they had rooms available and we could check in immediately.  Hello nap time!

After our much needed break we headed out across the Perfume River to check out the Citadel - the former home of the Nguyen dynasty for 400 years.  It was heavily hit during the Vietnam War, considering Hue's position near the DMZ.  That damage is still quite visible today, and it definitely added another element to the site.  Although reluctant at first, we agreed to hire a cyclo driver to pedal us around the area.  That was one of the best decisions of the trip.  Not only did we get to see more in a shorter time period, but we gave our weary legs a welcome respite.  I can only imagine what the immense complex and it's beautiful architecture and gardens looked like at its peak.

The next day we set out on a short boat cruise to see one of the Nguyen family tombs before our evening flight to Ho Chi Minh City.  We could have done a much longer trip and took in more sites, but the trip ended up being almost five hours anyway, and that was plenty long.  But it was nice to relax on the boat and enjoy the wind in your face while taking in the surrounding Vietnamese countryside as it alternated between jungle and farm land.

One of the courtyards in the massive tomb complex.

Boats of all shapes and sorts floated the river.

The only real negative from the trip was that we ended up being a captive audience for the sales pitch of our hostess.  From post cards to bookmarks, clothing to figurines, we were offered it all.  There were some interesting items, so we did make some purchases, probably more than we would have in different circumstances, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Back on land, we hurried back to the hotel to check out and then waited for our bus to the airport.  Because I waited too long to book tickets we had little choice but to purchase business class tickets.  The experience was pretty cool, but it would have been nice to have for a flight longer than an hour!  Having called ahead we checked in to our hotel in HCMC and crashed in the blackness of our window-less room.  I don't think I've slept that well in quite some time.

Next up: HCMC.