A Fling with Beijing

Dan and I finally took our Beijing vacation we had been planning since May. We were in China for just five days. Here’s how it went:

Day 1 Wednesday: Started the day at 2am with a bus ride from Gwangju to Incheon International Airport. After a short 2 hour flight, we arrived in Beijing. We took the airport express train into town and a cab to our hostel, Peking International Youth Hostel. Even though it was 11am they let us into our room, which turned out to be amazing! We paid 400 yuen a night (about $60) and it really was worth the money. After we checked in we took a walking tour, passing The Forbidden City (right next to our hostel), The Gate of Heavenly Peace (where we said hi to Mao) and Tiananmen Square. Then we attempted to find a recommended duck restaurant, but it didn’t happen so we just stopped at a nice restaurant on the street next to the square.

At this point we were both overheating, sweaty and tired. So after lunch, we finished the tour and went back to the hostel to book our trip to the Great Wall for Thursday. Then we relaxed and read up on Beijing and the Great Wall before going to bed early.

Day 2 Thursday: Because we went to bed so early, we were both up at about 6:00am! Well, actually, I forgot to change the time on my IPOD so we actually woke up an hour early and surprised the old Chinese man watching the lobby by asking for breakfast! So we had to go back to bed for an hour before we could have breakfast and join the other people in the lobby for our tour to the Great Wall.

There were quite a few people going (maybe 10) but we were surprised (but later understood their hesitation) to learn that we were the only ones who signed up for the hike! We had to get out at the Downtown Backpackers Hostel and catch another van from there.

Dan is going to write about our Great Wall experience soon… it’s just too much for one post!

Day 3 Friday: We got up early once again and had a mediocre breakfast at the hostel. Then we rented bikes and set out for The Temple of Heaven Park. The ride was a little chaotic, nothing too extreme although we did have a mini crash when a guy pulled out directly in front of Dan and our brakes didn't work too well. The temple was CROWDED. So many people. Too many people. We checked out the “cookie jar” and the Echo Wall but there were just too many people to really enjoy it.

After we returned the bikes, we set out to meet Dan’s friend Jake at a subway stop near the Summer Palace. Jake has been living and teaching English in Beijing for 4 months so it was great to catch up with him and have a little boating adventure. Once we actually found the Summer Palace, we rented a paddle boat. The Palace is actually a big park that is made up mostly of water, so a boat is ideal to see everything. We paddled away, trying to avoid the ferries and small rented motor boats zipping along beside us. The smog made it a little difficult to see, but it was pretty sweet overall. After a couple of hours we returned the boat and took a walk around the lake. Then Jake had to run off to his Chinese lesson and we had to meet Adam and Alison for dinner.

After a shower (which was necessary after every voyage out of the hostel) we met our Gwangjuian friends Adam and Alison who are on their way home (to the USA) from working in Korea. We headed to the Beijing duck restaurant recommended to us by the owner of the Chinese restaurant in Gwangju. We found it after we wondered through the Donghuamen Night Market (delicious fried mice, scorpions, huge beetles and star fish for sale). The restaurant, Quianmen Quanjude, was nestled among the high end shopping found in Chongwen. This place can definitely make you forget China had any communist intentions at all. The duck was delicious, although we weren’t really sure what to order so we ended up getting 1 ½ ducks and made Vietnamese style wraps out of it.

After dinner we met up with Jake, and he took us to the seedy foreigner underbelly of Beijing, Sanlitun Lu. We saw a great Uighur band at Cheers and had a few beers. Alison and Adam were exhausted from a grueling day of traveling, so they took off and left the three of us to wonder around, admiring the pretty Chinese girls (much less done up than the Korean girls) and boys and drinking beer. Then we got to witness a street fight. Pretty awesome. At 3am we called it a night.

Day 4 Saturday: After getting in so late, we took a well deserved break from getting up at the crack of dawn and slept in until 11am! Then we headed to our main destination for the day: the Silk Market. Located in Chaoyang directly off the Yonganli subway stop, this six floors of shopping is a shopaholics dream. It could also be the anti-consumers nightmare. We planned on buying some gifts and cheap clothes. We came out a little over budget, but I think we did alright. Personally I thought the sales people were pushy, but not smothering. They definitely wanted you to come into their shop, but compared to the desperation I’ve seen in places like Mexico and Vietnam, this was a cake walk. The market was basically a mall, with lots of small shops, air conditioning and a food court.

That night we once again met up with Jake, who this time brought a friend, but we somehow missed hooking up with Adam and Alison. The four of us had some dinner (hot pot) that was similar to shabu shabu in Korea. It was okay, but I wasn’t really completely satisfied. Because Jake and Ben have been in Beijing much longer than Dan and I, we kind of let them take over the ordering and I don’t think they have quite the appetites we do!

After dinner we headed to the main backpacker hutong (alleyway), Nanluogu Xiang, for some drinks. Ben turned out to be quite the misogynist, which was interesting for a minute, until he realized that making blatantly sexist statements in the presence of at least one sharp tongued feminist might not be the best idea. Dan, being the mediator that he is, managed to distract him for a while, but we called it an early night anyway.

Day 5 Sunday: We slept in and checked out of the hostel at noon on the dot. Luckily, the weather had cooled considerably so we walked over to the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, probably because of the cooling weather, the lines to get tickets and to enter the palace were INSANE. So we just hung out in the park that skirts the moat.

After one last delicious meal we set off for the airport the same way we came, taxi to the airport express train, train to the airport.

Our flight was delayed for some unknown reason, giving us cause to worry that the bus tickets we had purchased back to Gwangju might not have been a very wise decision. But Dan and I managed to pull off some of the best traveling either of us has seen in a long time. We had exactly 25 minutes to catch our bus from when we departed the plane. We had to catch a shuttle, go through immigration, grab our one bag from the baggage claim, go through customs (where we did not have the proper form ready) and RUN LIKE HELL for the bus. But we made it. With one minute to spare. I think we can now be declared professionals.

Overall, fantastic trip. I’d love to see more of Beijing when it’s not quite so hot, humid or polluted. Here’s to wishing!!

An Epiphany

I’ve been all stressed out about Korea and trying to make a decision about staying, going, and what to do after, when it FINALLY happened! As Dan previously mentioned, my major life decisions are usually made with absolute finality and come like a lightning bolt from the sky. I almost never second guess my decisions because I’m always super positive they are right ones, and if I do make a wrong move, I know it’s wrong the whole time because of the way my brain is screaming, “THIS IS WRONG AMANDA! ALL WRONG!” Usually my epiphanies come late at night, but in this case it was after a particularly arduous day at work. I just thought to myself, “If Dan wasn’t here, what would I do?” And I KNEW. I would simply leave in August, take the $10,000 I had saved and move to Latin America. I would live off my savings as long as I could (probably eight months), maybe work a little, or maybe not, and then go back to the states in the summer of 2011 to start grad school. This was sooooo obvious. There are simply no other options. I need A LOT of rest and relaxation after this crazy culture. I need time to figure out which grad program I want to apply to and some time to do that. I need fresh air and to get back in shape. I would also like to practice my Spanish.

I immediately spoke with Dan about my thoughts. He LOVED my idea! All weekend we have been trying our best to figure out a.) Where our money will go the furthest b.) Where we will be the safest c.) Where we will love it the most.

So we are for sure leaving in August! I can’t wait to not HAVE to get up in the morning. Seriously, waking up at 7am is NOT COOL.

We also just booked tickets to Beijing for six days at the end of July. Absolutely cannot wait for that. I really hope these next few months just fly by, and I’m sure they will, because that’s how life is in the ROK!

It ain't all bad

So in light of my last post I thought it was high time to write my "Korea is not so bad" post. I've lived in the land of the morning clam... er... i mean calm, for almost 20 months now and I'd say I have a pretty good grasp on what makes this country and culture suck, AND what makes it cool. Here are some things I like about living and working in Korea:

1.) The money and job security. A#1 top reason fo sho. Free apartment (besides utilities), pension, severance pay, paid vacation and sick leave make this job pretty sweet.

2.) The food. Don't get me wrong I like Thai food more... but you can't go wrong with some delicious Korean BBQ. It's cheap to eat out, and everyone knows I love eating out! And come on, who can say they don't like kimchi? ;)

3.) I LOVE teaching! So much fun. Sure I gripe about it (it's a JOB after all), but especially now that I've finagled my way into teaching pretty much whatever I want, almost all my classes are successful. It's a beautiful thing. My students are hilarious and sometimes we spend the entire class just laughing about stuff. Don't get me wrong, I have some real asshole students, but since I know my students pretty well now, they know I mean business!

4.) Excellent transportation system. I hate driving and I'm happy to take a cab or the bus. In Portland, the bus drivers drive at least 10 miles under the speed limit. I hate that! Here they drive like they have somewhere to be. Love it, love it, love it (except when I am fearing for my life).

5.) Location. Conveniently located in central Asia, it is very easy to travel to other, cooler, places.

6.) Safety. Yousoek's blog aside, I feel safe here. I know I can walk any dark street at night and no one is going to put a gun to my head and rape me. Plus, I'm taller than half the men here, and my white ass scares the crap out of the other half, so I don't think they'll mess with me. I still lock my doors, I'm just not as worried about it.

7.) Good friends and cool people. Lots of the people coming to teach here are cool. Everyone has a college education, everyone is pretty liberal. My kinda crowd.

8.) Korea is not the USA. I don't like what the government does with our tax dollars and I don't want to live in a police state. Thanks but no thanks!

So as you can see, there are some perks of living among the Kim's and the Park's. I'll never be one of them, and hell, I won't even try to be like them, but it's not all bad. Maybe another six months won't hurt?

A

Should I stay or should I go now...

Daniel and I have recently been discussing our next move. We thought we had it all figured out. We would finish our contracts in August, then get the hell out of this country. Then we realized if we stayed we could make more money. That there's the dilemma. I had the brilliant idea of just staying six more months. Dan could freelance (illegally) and I could go home with one less student loan bill and three grand more in savings. We could move to NYC in the spring and skip the gray winter all together. Every year you stay in Korea your money making potential increases dramatically. When I first got here I was making 1.9 million won ($1,650) a month. Today I make at least 3 million ($2,600). I work a little harder, but not much. This income makes it very difficult to go back to a country in the depths of an economic recession, no matter how much the culture here bugs the living shit out of me.
BTW, when I say six months more, I really mean only four months of actual work. The other two months would be desk warming and taking a three week trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. So instead of being in NYC in snow, we'll be on the beach or hiking in the jungle.
It's a tough choice! On the one hand, I might go mentally insane if I stay here even one extra month, especially without the booze. If we do decide to stay we might have to give up on the no-drinking thing altogether. But if we go, we could end up broke and unemployed. Which means we might have to give up on the no-drinking thing in that situation as well. Everyone knows you can't be on the wagon and unemployed.
We are still debating, I have until next month to decide. I'm leaning toward going back to the states though. I miss my friends and family and I'm desperate for a road trip. I think the logical part of me says stay. This is the most I've ever made, and no rent, car payment or taxes is a serious bonus. Go or stay?

Busan! Forward!

Busan is an ambitious city. Its motto, Dynamic Busan, is a spot on description of its topographical features. Whether it was planned to house a city the size of Los Angeles or it was simply a historical accident, a last refuge at a time when the war seemed all but lost, the citizens of Busan have ignored the geographical shortcomings of their native space. Buildings, increasingly shorter, rise halfway up the impossible slopes of miniature mountains only for nature to take over on the crown, like an urban tonsure. The city resides on the slopes and crevices of the sharp hills spiking their way through the land to the harbor guarded from the tides by Youngdo island, which houses the 5th busiest port in the world. The city has a more eclectic population, unlike most areas of Korea its international freight traffic attracts and forces it to sustain an international population. Waegook sonsaengnyms, military pricks, international sailors, Pilipino guest workers, Russian… Russians, all populate in an abundance even Seoul lacks. A megatower is being built among the arcologies typical in Korean megalopolises, planned to be the third highest in the world when completed in 2013. I genuinely like Gwangju as a city, but I was reminded why my first choice location in Korea was Busan.

We arrived on Friday night around 1 and went right to a hotel in Gwangan. The hotel was on the beach, not the famous one but a damn nice one, with a large window overlooking sea and the massive suspension bridge that connects the two promontories that guard Gwangan’s inletted beach. Sober as we are, early as we rise, under the influence of headcolds as we were, we opted to nod off upon arrival set to rise at 10 to begin the next day. A new city with a rabid nightlife, and we’re in bed when the cab drops us off; my six months ago self is crying with disappointment right now. So we discussed our plans for the next day with Adam and Alison, our traveling companions and guides to this city that they had resided in just a year and a half earlier, and went to bed.

Saturday we woke to find that our hotel, which had been 40000 won on Friday was now 85000 won because… Korea. Well that effectively kicked us out of the Marina Hotel. We were homeless for an hour or so before the love motel around the corner agreed to lodge us for 40000 won.

Coffee, pretzel, ride the subway on the green line past Haeundae, get in a cab, tell him to take us to the sea temple, 6000 won, sea temple. Lines of stalls selling snacks, trinkets, dried fish, bundaegi (the smell was to be a theme of the excusion), stone statues of the Chinese zodiac, an eight tiered pagoda, we entered the temple; the crowd was reasonable. There was a strange statue of a woman/beast, that was a fertility goddess, boulders leading down to the sea the tide lapping into crevices, a red bridge, devotionals, and a bowl on the back of a turtle about 20 yards from and below a bridge where people tossed 100 won pieces in the hopes that a true shot will grant them a period of enhanced luck. Birthday vibes guided Amanda’s peerless arm to hurl a small coin with miraculous precision, so we may now empirically test the efficacy of the sea temple’s ability to grant luck.

Cab, subway, Haeundae, Mexican food, burritos, cab, Nampodong, bus, Youngdo island, walking along the beach. It started blustery, but the walk warmed us up. It was a nice reprieve from the city, which we would never have thought of or found without our companions. There were plenty of stairs, but we’re in pretty good shape despite the fact that we haven’t run in three weeks, right now with jeans on I’m 73.8 kg. I climbed up a little tower that may have been a primitive lighthouse. Though obviously manmade, it almost seemed a part of nature, like the cement between the stones predated human hands. The swirl of the slope up the phallic tower seemed a Fibonacci sequence, too perfect and too often found in nature like a conch shell. There were some stairs that may have made Rocky shit his pants, but we forgot to take a picture of that.

This is inappropriate.

Bus, Nampodong, Jagalchi market, overpowering nausea. My distaste for fish notwithstanding, the idea of soggy, mostly dead fish parts, and octogenarian Korean women who are also mostly fish parts hawking them squawkingly, should be enough to turn anyone’s stomach whether they eat seafood or not. Alison’s insistence that we witness it was certainly well founded, it was a marvel. Outside a seafood restaurant a waitress let Amanda hold up a crab bigger than she was, I stood across the street.
We went to the dry goods market. I can’t recall its name (someone should really write a Wikipedia for Nampodong). I bought some extra cool aviator sunglasses. Adam and I can now play good cop bad cop on any misbehaving kids once my school gets closed, and I get moved to Kumho-dong.

Subway, Busan station, Russian Texas street, sketch, Pilipino food, pretty good, no Pilipino beer. Sinus, cough, sore throat, getting harder and harder to ward off. Subway, Haeundae. Do you know where a bowling alley is? No. Do you know where a bowling alley is? No. Rinse, repeat. Some pictures on the beach. Seven eleven, outside table, wind growing colder, sickness. Cab back, sleep uneasily, at least there wasn’t much sex noise at the love motel. Sex noise is bad enough, Asian sex noise is unbearable.

Up and out the hotel at 12:30 or so. Woke up late, Adam and Alison are already out. They’d checked out at 11, knocked on our door but we didn’t hear, I sleep like a ton of bricks anyway. Walked on the beach for a minute, a few more pictures. Subway, bus station, run, bus, Gwangju, Vietnamese FOOD.