back in korea; korean style

I've been back all of two nights, and last night i didn't sleep. It's 8:22am, and i'm just getting in the door.

These Koreans are hardcore man! The thing is to just stay out so long that the subway starts up again and you can get home. 

It all started when I called my friend, and there happened to be a art installation show on one stop away on the subway, so I just walked over to the abandoned hospital it was being held in, and we got to scope out 5-6 different rooms that had been decked out in different scenarios; from a student who had cheated in school and had to run away (this work space complete with police tape), to an entire room sound-proofed with egg shell cartons and set-up to look like a news room with feeds of a man in white make up and a stuffed monkey discussing ... something. Sorry, my Korean is just not that great yet. They had a great set-up for it all though - they're all art students, and from what I was told, is that it was a srt show not supported by their professor, who they don't seem to agree with for their final exhibitions for their graduate show, so they had their own vision executed here, with live bands, free pizza, and free alcoholic beverages.

From there we boosted to one place, after another, after another, each entailing food and drinking, but some venues having karaoke and giving us a free fruit platter, eating live octopus, or a restaurant with non-stop music videos playing, even though it looked high-end other than that, but met some awesome people, and had an amazing night hanging out with them until the sun rose back in the sky.

I've got to go to bed.

Two countries, two islands

 

Power Station Beach, Lamma Island

Lately I've been on a slight hiatus; a holiday from the arduous task of my .. erm.. holiday. After brilliantly missing my original flight from South Korea to Hong Kong, I finally made it all work the next day and arrived in one solid piece. I've been staying on another island next to Hong Kong island; Lamma Island; known as one of the 'Outlying Islands' of the Hong Kong area, and a real treat since it is a carless, green tropical paradise only a 30min ferry ride from the central station in Hong Kong, but a complete escape from all the mayhem.

Hong Kong IS organized chaos. It's a hilly, efficient, and eclectic city with all the amenities you could hope for all boiled in a Chinese mixing pot. It's good. Really good. I've been describing it as a world city for all these reasons to all those who ask what my opinion on the place is. Halloween a few days ago was the epitome of organized chaos, with the whole downtown area completely congested by decorated and costumed foot traffic, and the police making the most popular areas a one way for said party-goers to ensure nothing like what happened a few years ago happens again, when some participants were trampled to death by the sheer mass of the surging crowd literally plowing over their bodies.

 Downtown in Macau, known as 'Centro'

I also went to Macau, one of the strangest culture mashes I have ever seen - it's a Portugese colonial area of China (now a S.A.R. like HK), meaning it LOOKS like Europe in so many ways, with brightly coloured, slightly decaying buildings, mosaic tiled streets, and portugese foods at hand, but the people are most definitely Asian. It's as if they were supplanted into an area not their own. I loved it; it's not like anything else I've seen anywhere in the parts of Asia I've trekked through. Not just the culture mash did it either - it's also been set up to be Asias answer to Las Vegas of all things, with gaudy, towering casinos blaring their expectedly bright lights. The handy thing here is that even though they have their own currency; the Macau Patacas; they readily accept the Hong Kong dollar everywhere, which is handily currently right on par with the local currency.

I met some other travelers; two Swedes; and we adventured down south to Coloane Villiage. There r e a l l y wasn't a lot there. We scoped out the beach - a blend of tan and black sand mixing with the brown and black sea water - and then explored a hotel that seemed as if it was from a childrens book or horror movie plot. It was a slightly delapitated old five star hotel, complete with missing characters from it's title clinging to the far of the front entrance, then once you walk in, it is fully staffed and just as fully free of guests. We were convinced to check out the 18hole golf course built into the side of the hill the hotel was built into, the indoor and outdoor pools, and the driving range with the deranged cat skulking around it.

Woman in Macau

abandoned lanterns

 

I was playing at a volleyball competition on Jeju Island, South Korea when I found out all the cool stuff you could see from the beach was an abandoned lantern festival that just was left there rather than being taken down.

Obviously, I snuck in, tried to flick the breakers to make the lights turn on to no avail (can you IMAGINE how cool that would have been?!), and snapped some photos I really love.

sucked back in

The odd thing about having lots of free time, is that you really just go where the wind blows, towards whatever happens to pique your interest that particular day.

I had randomly made a friend in a supermarket, ended up meeting up with him and his friends in Jeju city, about 25kms away and spent the day with them, and ended up crashing at one of the girls' houses with her. Next day, I went along to play volleyball on the beach as my last day on the island off the south coast of mainland S.Korea. Next thing I know, I'm joining up to play in the volleyball competition the following week, and deciding to stay at my friend's house until then. So I've been playing tennis, basketball, going for bike rides, and watching the 'Korean Population Control Ride'. I took video of this yesterday, that I'll put up soon. It's my new favourite ride.

Today's plan is to go to Mt. Hallasan, and wander around there for as long as I feel like it, before heading back to play volleyball tonight. I honestly can't wait for the weekend - and who can blame me. It starts at 7:30am on Saturday, ends with a beach dance party and group camp-out on the beach before commencing again on Sunday. Holy crap. I love it here.

The sun is still out and shining in October (I've even been swimming in the ocean, although that takes a little more of the steeled nerves to work myself up to that), and the weather is predicted to be about 71F/20c for this weekend, then the plan for now is to peace out via boat on the high seas on the following Monday and head back to Daegu. The Pusan International Film Fest (known as PIFF) is also on in Busan though, so I'm kind of interested in making my way that way as well, however ...