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One of the delights [and sometimes dangers] of traveling is experiencing different foods. Korean tastes in food are quite different from the USA. Of course, I knew that before making the trip. I’m not a vegetarian, but I have it on good authority that it’s not an easy place to be one. Most dishes have small amounts of beef, pork, fish, or… let’s say other critters. On the other hand, it’s a really tough place to find a big steak too. And most of the food is spicy, so you need to expect that and, um, whatever it does to your digestive system. Korea is also unique in their use of stainless steel chopsticks, which are a bit harder to use than the wood ones you’re probably used to [if you're used to any at all].

Koreans don’t seem to distinguish much between foods for different meals. Food is food and they eat pretty much the same things at any time of day. We were able to get cereal in the grocery stores and pastries [at the really mediocre Paris Baguette] for our breakfasts, though.

I just love this cereal box, by the way.

There are “global” franchises all over the place — McDonald’s, Burger King, Papa John’s, Domino’s, KFC [they call Colonel Sanders "Grandfather Chicken"], Popeye’s, etc. They have slightly modified menus though to suit local tastes. And, of course, they have Korean versions of all of these. You gotta love Mr. Pizza [and their slogan, "made for women"]. Here are the toppings on their Mr. Pizza Combo: Ham, pepperoni, beef, mushroom, corn, onion, green peppers, bacon, black olives. Yup, corn on a pizza. Kinda reminds me of the schol cafeteria menu when we had pizza and corn every week. They all end up in the same place anyway.

I didn’t try anything I would consider really strange — no live squid or dried-squid-on-a-stick, no bugs, no dog meat stew…. Probably the most unusual thing I ate was a dessert [I don't think anywhere in Asia is famous for their desserts] while in Jeju. Imagine a big bowl of shaved ice, a layer of red beans, a layer of sliced fruits (bananas, pineapple, watermelon, kiwi), breakfast cereal, corn, and beaten rice noodles coated with powdered sugar, all topped off with a big swirl of soft-serve ice cream or frozen yogurt. [We never reached a consensus on whether it was ice cream or yogurt.]

This one had a green tea-flavored swirl on top.

More later. Have a yummy weekend!

When we learn other languages we don’t always translate our thoughts correctly. Or sometimes we translate too literally. Koreans (the current generation anyway) learn English in school and it’s not very hard to find someone to speak with. [In fact, all of the very few places I have traveled I have found that if you stand on a street corner or in a public transportation terminal looking at a map, someone will ask if they can help you....] Almost all of the T-shirts I’ve seen here have English words on them and more than half are for Western products like Levi’s and DKNY. Some Koreans are eager to have someone to practice their English with. One man approached me near the beach in Jeju to ask where we are from. “It is my dream to come to your country,” he told me….

But this post is about the signs used by government and businesses. Because sometimes….

You just need to know the rules.

What a yummy sounding sports drink!

Every business in Korea says it’s the best. Or better than the best. Or, in this case, so much better that it,s [sic] the only one.

If you get dissed at the Ho Bar you have only yourself to blame.

This photo didn’t turn out well, but I love how proud they are to have been in business “Since 2007″.

In Italian cooking there’s no such thing as too much garlic.

I’m not sure. I think this is supposed to be better than the first.

We visited Rodeo Street. [In my opinion, don't waste your time. But I don't have the shopping gene.]

I love this one.

This is a men’s wear shop.

I’m sure they intended to suggest that the best way to take the self-guided tour is to refer to the numbers on the map….

And I’m sure that with my extremely limited Korean vocabulary that I am making a horrible mess of what I’m trying to say to them. For their willingness to put up with me I say, “kamsa hamnida” [thank you].

I’ll skip giving you a history lesson [for now]. We visited a couple palaces and a shrine in Seoul. Considering how expensive land is around here, I’m glad to see that they are making a real effort to preserve some of their heritage.

And then there’s all the typical big city stuff, which I still find pretty fascinating.

And then there are things that just defy explanation.

I’ll be getting all my photos into albums eventually, but here are a few glimpses to whet your appetite.

We spent the weekend on Jeju Island (Jejudo). It is of volcanic origin and is well known (according to my nephew) for wind, rocks, and women. More about that in another post. [See how I'm teasing you, stringing you along, hoping you'll come back?] They stack rocks everywhere — into fences, markers, etc. — and there are statues called Harubang that are usually placed at entrances, gates, and bridges.

We also went to an incredible Buddhist temple. Those photos will probably be an album by themselves. (I had read that you should never take photos inside a temple without permission, so I was thrilled that this was okay.)

The day after returning to Seoul we went to the border with North Korea. The USO arranges the tours. The tours start from their office in downtown Seoul and it is about an hour bus ride from there to Panmunjeom and the Joint Security Area.

I’m enjoying the food [for the most part]. Meals are accompanied by a variety of side dishes called banchan. I haven’t tried anything really risky like live squid, but I like most of the dishes I have tried, especially some of the jjigae.

We’re on a little side trip to Jeju Island for the weekend. Only Internet access is from a computer in the lobby. Will have stories and lots more photos to share within the next couple days.

Be jealous. I don’t care.

Walked around downtown Seoul a little this afternoon. There is some interesting architecture like this:

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And a few minutes later I looked up and saw this:

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That just doesn’t look right. But soon I got to where I could see:

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Aha. Still unusual, but not as precarious as it first appeared.

Everyone is in town safe and sound….

From my notes on Tuesday:

I slept very little last night — no more than a couple hours. After tossing and turning I got up a little earlier than I had planned. Better to be early than to sleep through the alarm and miss my flight. I left my house at about 3:50 AM. There is very little traffic this early. [Where the hell are these people going?] I get quickly through the off-site parking, check-in, and security and am at the gate just after 5:00. My flight leaves at 7:00.

I sit and read a little, but my eyes are starting to droop. All I need is to fall asleep now and miss my flight — that would be great! The coffee shop wasn’t open when I arrived, but I make the short trek back up the concourse now. Good. It’s open. I just get settled back in my chair when I think I should be taking notes. Dammit — I intended to bring a small notebook with me so I could jot things down during the day and type them in here at night. Oh, well. Since I worked off a mental list, if this is the only thing I’ve forgotten I’ll be doing quite well.

I walk back up the concourse to the newsstand. Maybe they have notebooks. No such luck. Then I remember: I bought a Korean phrase book and it has a few blank pages in the back for taking notes. That will do until I get in country. I sip the coffee and wait for boarding. I’m in the last group. Even when I’m not in the last group I sometimes wait till they are called before I get on. I’m going to be sitting for hours in a seat I know will be cramped and uncomfortable. Why would I want to do that any longer than necessary?

The first leg of my journey — wait… is the first leg the first flight or was the first leg from my house to the airport? Or from my house to the Park & Fly? My first flight is from Orlando to Chicago. It’s pretty uneventful — most of the trip everyone is too tired to be causing problems. I’m seated in the middle of a large family returning home from their Central Florida vacation. The kids are kind of squirmy the last half-hour or so, but there are no big problems.

News from the Windy City Blows:

Inside the Chicago terminal I look for the gate number for my connecting flight. Then I look for the gate for a flight arriving from Louisville. My sister and [ex]brother-in-law (sis&xbil) are flying out of Louisville and we travel the rest of the way together. I should have about an hour till they get in and then a couple more hours before we fly out. All of the screens show only departing flights in the first three places I look. I find a customer service area and ask what gate the flight from Louisville is coming in on.

I start walking to their gate on the next concourse. I pass another bank of screens and this one has both arriving and departing flights. I do a quick double-check of the gate the agent gave me… and it says the flight is canceled. Uh-oh. I turn on my cell phone. There’s a message waiting. Their flight has indeed been canceled. [DAMN!] I call them back. The plane that sis&xbil were supposed to be on was hit by lightning on it’s way into Louisville. The airline in their infinite wisdom is not sending another plane. Everyone is in a long line waiting to be rescheduled onto another flight. At this point, it’s likely that they won’t fly out until tomorrow.

The gate area is hot and crowded so I walk up and down the concourse a couple times. I munch on some organic trail mix [good for me!] and some macadamia nut cookies [just really good....]. I know this news is not tragic, but it does put a crimp into the plans we had. And it means I’ll be navigating the airports in Japan and Korea alone. I’m not afraid to travel alone, but this is a long way to go into areas with very unfamiliar languages. But it’s all part of the adventure….

Up and Over:

I call again just before boarding. Sis&xbil are still in a line at the Louisville airport. They think they can get on a flight at 6:00 AM the next morning. My nephew knows that I’ll be arriving alone. So off I go. The flight from Chicago to Tokyo is on a 777. They have a small video screen for each seat and each person can tune in to a selection of video entertainment. One of the choices is a map that shows the position and progress of the flight we are on. South Korea is at about the same latitude as Northern Georgia. [Oh yeah. The 38th parallel is rather important in Korean geography, in fact....] So from Chicago it seems like it would make sense to go WSW. Instead we start out WNW toward Edmonton, CA, past Juneau, Alaska, over the Bering Sea, and then SW [in very general terms]. I didn’t ask, but I assume this is so we don’t spend a long time over open water in the Pacific. It also takes us around what are probably very busy traffic lanes in and around Seattle.

I catch parts of a few movies and even manage to snooze a little bit. I have to be pretty much exhausted to sleep in a plane — and I am. The map flashes progress in miles and amount of time traveled with our ETA in local time. But we are crossing several time zones and the International Date Line in there somewhere. We are a little ahead of schedule so the flight that was scheduled to last 13 hours comes in just a little under 12 hours. I get really disoriented about time. When I land in Japan it is about 23 hours after I left my house. That was at about 4:00 AM Tuesday. But here it’s about 3:00 PM Wednesday. The flight for Korea leaves at 6:00 PM. Hurry up and wait….

Things to do in Tokyo When You’re Dead Tired:

Even though it is the same flight number from Chicago to Tokyo and Tokyo to Korea, it is not the same plane. We have to go through another security checkpoint, but not through Customs. I find the gate easily enough and then I walk the length of the concourse a couple times. I’m achy and tired, but not really sleepy. I ate on the plane so I’m not really hungry. But then I notice. Almost right next to my gate. This is what I must do. I had forgotten all about it, but it had occurred to me while planning that this might be the quintessential time killer here. I can now honestly say that I have eaten sushi in Japan. No one really needs to know that it was carry-out while in the airport….

Last Leg(s):

The last flight goes well. Even with a delay before take-off (about 40 minutes from when we pulled away from the gate until we actually left the ground) we get in a little early. Traveling from the USA for a short vacation does not require a visa, but I have to dig through my bag for my nephew’s phone number since I have no idea of the address where I’ll be staying. I wait for my bag to come through. [I don't think my bags have ever been near the first ones off in any of the trips I've taken anywhere.] Since I have nothing to declare, I breeze through customs. Although if I had been more alert, I could have been filling out that form while I was waiting for my bag….

My nephew is there waiting for me. I say hello in Korean and at that point have gone through almost all my knowledge of the Korean language. If I didn’t have him here to rely on I would have made more of an effort to learn some words and phrases before the trip. He is my crutch. He says it’s okay. I flew into the Incheon airport which is about a 40 minute bus ride from his house. Then it’s a five minute walk from the bus stop. It’s about 11:00 PM local time. My body has no idea what time [or day] it is. But we sit around and chat for a while. Sometime around 1:30 AM I’m fading fast.

Good night [or morning or whatever]…..

I am a mentalist. You are thinking of the number…

…

…

2!

Wait. I am thinking of the number 2. There must be some kind of trick to knowing what umber you are thinking of….

It’s not that I am a mentalist — I have a mental list. Approximately 17.37 degrees off kilter, I think. On a good day…

I’m not sure that’s right either. I have a mental list. I’m packing for a trip. I have a lot of stuff to remember to take. I haven’t written any of them down. Maybe I should be doing that instead of this….

This is a secret coded message. Some of you won’t get it. That’s sort of the point of things being secret and coded….

Some people just can’t tell a joke. But some jokes can’t be told — they have to be read to be funny [if then]. I laughed out loud the first time I saw, “There are only 10 kinds of people in the world… those who know binary, and those who don’t.” Yes. I am a geek.

And just couple days ago I saw this:

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It’s from xkcd.com - a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language [in it's own words].

You realize now that if this blog falls into the hands of the terrorists it’s curtains for the free world….

Revealing a lot of personal details is not just indiscreet, it may be embarrassing. So instead, here’s an old photo that one of my sisters recently ran across and emailed to me. This is me, my siblings, our mother, and her mother at Grandmom’s 75th birthday.

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Because, how could this possibly be embarrassing? You can stop laughing now. Really. Get up off the floor….

[Edit: Okay. I'm standing behind the chair. I also feel compelled to explain that, while it was fashionable at the time for men to get perms, my hair is really that curly. I just wear it a lot shorter these days. And I have no idea what was happening off to the side -- it would be a pretty good guess that one of my uncles was doing something stupid distracting us....]