Buddha's Birthday

Earlier this month, all throughout Asia, people were celebrating the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, better known as Buddha. Buddhism being a major religion and the impact being seen throughout Asia, it is imperative that he be celebrated.



The holiday is mainly observed by hanging lots of multicolored lotus lanterns all over temples and streets. But we found some more creative lanterns along the stream in Gwanghwamun.





The lighting and design was so bright and brilliant that it was perfect for a night viewing. People were lined all the way from one end of the stream to the other. There were also assorted statues along the walkway, but people were far more interested in the lanterns.



What was also cool is that the whole area seemed to take on a "Light Up" theme, along with the lanterns. Particularly beautiful was the waterfall at one end of the stream with blinking spotlights set on either side.



But my personal favorite, was the fleet of specially lit, horse-led carriages. We watched couple after couple hop into these things and I almost considered hopping into one by myself.



But I felt like there should've been disco music playing on the inside. I imagine this is how the movie "Tron" would've looked if it was set in medieval times. Disco carriages aside, this was all visually awesome and a wonderful way to celebrate the Supreme Buddha.

Away for the Weekend

Teaching English grammar and vocabulary to unruly children can be testing at times. So some co-workers and I took a ride to the east for a weekend getaway. To the east of the province is a rural county called Gapyeong. It's quiet, the scenery is lovely and there's great food. We rode up to a small cabin for the night.



The cabin we stayed in had a nice and comfortable feel. The outside was strung with lights and decorations, while the inside was bright colors and pictures



We went in two groups, and our group didn't arrive until late, so we spent the evening making dinner. The guys had some trouble with the barbecue pit because it was so old and a bit rusted. At one point, the aluminum foil on top was almost completely engulfed in flames. You should've seen Andy trying to stomp it out. But we made it work.



Of course we had to have a good amount of rice and kimchi. No Korean diet is complete without those two things. But we also had a lot of pork, beef and even threw some shrimp on the bar-b



The next day was gorgeous. It was the kind of day that you had to spend outdoors. Luckily, Gapyeong has the perfect place for you to enjoy a sunny day outside.



We took the ferry over to Nami Island. There were some people who took a zipline over, but opted for a more conventional route. The views were really fresh and natural. There were different structures made of clay, straw, even one made of old magazines. I saw a guy try and push it over. He did not succeed.



My favorite part was listening to this band from Ecuador. The music was amazing, and the outfits were pristine. They had a wide array of instrumentation and even brought up a little kid to play on the drums. And shockingly, the lead singer spoke perfect Korean. He would talk to the crowd and make jokes in between songs. Of course I couldn't understand a word he was saying, but it was still cool.



Afterward, we had dinner and made the ride home. But it was a fun getaway and a sunny Sunday trek. Oh, and if you're into anime at all or have ever watched Samurai Champloo, you'll enjoy this car decal of Mugen.

Absolut Art

I'm always looking for different areas where I can buy clothes in Korea. My personal mix of graphic t-shirts and cardigans doesn't take too much effort, but a lot of places are overpriced or just not quite my style. But Darin told me about a street in Sinsa that has a bunch of vintage shops and boutiques, so I had to check it out.



They had an A-Land, which was two stories, and a men's boutique with all female employees (not bad). Also, in said boutique, there was a Spartan helmet on one of the mannequins that Darin just couldn't keep his hands off of. But the high point of the day didn't come in one of the clothing stores, it came with an art exhibit we happened to stumble upon.



If you're a person on the planet earth you've surely seen an advertisement for Absolut Vodka at some point. But you may not know that there's a collection of Absolut-inspired artwork, which recently made a stop in Seoul.



The exhibition was a bit small, but there was an eclectic display of vibrant paintings, bizarre creations and some brilliant takes on the iconic Absolut bottle design.



I never thought a Swedish vodka could spur so much artistry. Paintings by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michael Basquiat, a small city being decimated by a giant goose in rain boots and sunglasses, a short film projected on the bare wall, and a sound system playing music through a row of empty Absolut bottles.



Such great works and creations make for a nice exhibit, but there was one thing that made it even greater: the bar.



Now, this wasn't just any bar. This bar served drinks inspired by the works in the exhibition. The visitors of the gallery were treated to three different cockatils: Absolut Art, Absolut Andy and Absolut Louise. Of course all of the drinks featured an Absolut flavor, and two of them paid respect to renowned artists Andy Warhol and Louise Bourgeois. Oh and did I mention that the drinks were free? Don't worry, I only had two, and they were like 60% crushed ice. Still pretty tasty though.



So that was a cool, midday foray into the marvelous marriage of art and alcohol. I didn't find much in the way of clothing at the shops, most of the shirts were too small for me to even fit (darn skinny Korean people). But I got to see a pretty cool statue of a mermaid with a fish-gun haha.



Cheers

Visions from the Rooftop

Before I get into this post, I wanna make sure everyone knows that the recent disasters in Japan have not reached Korea. A lot of people have asked me if I'm ok, or what people are saying about Japan over here. I can't tell you what most people say, because I don't speak Korean. For that same reason, I don't really watch the news. But I know that for the most part, we're safe...aside from that constant fear of impending war. But I try not to think about that too much.

Anyways, I decided to showcase a bit of scenery and describe my location in this post. Most of the interesting stuff that happens to me occurs in Seoul, but Ilsan isn't awful. When it's warm outside, one of my favorite pastimes is taking my iPod to the roof of my apartment building and just zoning out. A well furnished rooftop is a great place to hang out on a sunny day.



This is the roof of the building where I work. Consequently it's only a block away from my apartment building, which is so very convenient. Most of the time you'll run into people from the other businesses in the building, having a smoke. Our building has seven floors: restaurants on the bottom, then a photographer studio, Christian bookstore, Yamaha music store, TaeKwonDo class, and a medical lab for the nearby hospital takes up the top floors (there's some kind of dark humor to be had when you see how many doctors smoke cigarettes). My school shares two floors with the bookstore and the music store.



You may notice the vast intersections we must traverse to simply cross the street. It's kind of crazy to try and fly across the street before the light changes. There's like eight lanes with a bus lane in the middle. It's only a little bit dangerous though. The cool thing about this intersection, though, is that there is an electronics store on three of the four corners. Samsung store on one, LG store on another, and a 4-floor mega-store called ETLand right across the street from my school building. That really comes in handy when you're in need of an HDMI cable or a surge protector.



The thing I don't like is the architecture of the apartment buildings. This tower block format on all these buildings is incredibly bland. But on the opposite side, there's some pretty cool architecture in some of the hotels behind my apartment building. One even has a Taj Mahal vibe.



However, I have been led to believe that many of these reputable establishments are actually of ill repute. They may be...Love Motels.

Yes. That's exactly what you think it means.

If that's still not clear enough for you, it works like this: some business men use these hotels for illicit dealings with women of a certain profession (I said that in the most eloquent way I could). It's convenient for them because they may rent these rooms in 4-hour intervals.

Now, before you start saying, "How do you know all this, Anthony?" firstly, shame on you for thinking so foul of me. If I'm gonna go do that, I'll at least leave my own neighborhood. Secondly, you can blame this bit of education on my colleague, Cryn Johannsen. She told me a story about one of her friends staying in one of these hotels and having a not-so-pleasant experience.



All in all, it's not a bad place to live. Not many young people live around here so there's pretty much no nightlife. But there's good Korean restaurants, a few bars, and coffeshops aplenty. It's usually pretty quiet, minus the constant roar of buses storming by. And just like anywhere else in Korea, you will see random drunk Korean men ambling their way down the street at night. Sometimes I watch them for fun. It's like watching a baby who's learning to walk hahaha.

Peace

The Rock Show

I'm back again. Since I took that extended absence from the blog, I figure it's best to fill you in on where I was. I'm no stranger to Seoul's nightlife; it's a staple of my weekend schedule. I usually end up running around bars and the occasional dance club. But seeing the same people around the bar in one place, and standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers while speakers bang out my eardrums in another, isn't always fulfilling. So one night, we decide to take in a live show.



There are a bunch of concert venues throughout Hongdae featuring everything from rock to reggae. We checked out a spot called DGBD. It's your average smokey basement, with a bar along the wall, space to stand around the top and bottom floors, and a moderately sized stage. Me and Darin got there a little late, so we missed the first act (Chris said it was a girl, punk japanese group, dang). But the first act we caught was well worth seeing.



This is No. 1 Korean. Yeah...that's the name of their band. Not the most creative moniker, but they put on a damn good show. They're this ska band with the most high-powered frontman I've ever witnessed. Not only was this guy flying all over the stage and pumping up the crowd, but he blasted that same energy through a trumpet.



The whole crowd was digging the sound and I'm not sure how many people knew the bands songs, but those guys got us all singing along.

After they wrapped up, a jazzier combo showed up on stage.



This well-dressed quartet goes by the name of Tama & Vagabond. No idea why. They weren't bad, but it was a tough transition going from a guy flying around the stage, to a guy just swaying from side to side. They had a nice, mellow sound though, a guy on the upright bass, and they were giving out free CDs after their set. Oh, and did I mention they had a girl drummer?



She even went off for a while, on a mean drum solo. But the show couldn't stay mellow forever, and the next act REALLY got the blood flowing.



Never, in a million years, did I expect to see a rockabilly band in Korea. And then I saw The RockTigers. But since this is a Korean rockabilly band, they prefer to call their sound, Kimchibilly. This group really put on a show. A pretty authentic sound with style and hair to match. They featured a guy on the upright bass as well, but his bass was just a bit cooler.



I think the majority of the bodies in that club showed up specifically to see the RockTigers. And anyone in the audience who didn't know about them, became an instant fan. People crowded around the front of the stage to really get the full effect. The big sound, the call-and-response, and the hot lead singer. Well, that's if you're into chicks in rockabilly bands, covered in tattoos and a blond pompadour...which I'm sure many people are.

And she gave the crowd as much as they could handle.



Definitely a good choice for the closing act. They gave a couple of encores and even stuck around to take a few pictures with the fans.



Awesome.

I haven't been to a lot of live shows, but that was a pretty satisfying lineup. Since the weather is getting nicer, hopefully I'll get to check out some more live shows, and maybe a music festival or two. 'Til next time.

Rock on

Return of the Blog AKA Under The Sea

Hey there, it's been a while. Yeah, I know, it's completely my fault. I kinda let my blog fall by the wayside. It's not that I don't enjoy sharing these stories. And it's not that I've stopped having adventures. I just kept putting off these updates until it reached the point where I forgot it existed. But I've blown the dust off my blogger and we're already through the first paragraph.

So, let's give this another try, shall we?

This is gonna be a simple one. I'll slowly reclaim my blog, but this one is mostly for the pictures. If you know me, you know that I think aquariums are one of the most worthwhile experiences that any human being can have. It's one of the reasons I love going to Chicago. Me and Shedd get along rather well.



They're timeless; enjoyable for babies who are mesmerized by bright colors, adults who like reliving they're first time seeing a dolphins dance, or that 20-something year old who maintains an affection for giant turtles.



If you've ever heard of the Coex Mall in Seoul, you'll know there's a massive movie theater, a nearby exhibition hall, and a kimchi museum (haven't been there). But it also houses a rather lovely aquarium.







Of course these big bright swimmers will catch your attention with their stunning display. But they also find creative ways of showcasing the smaller fish, by putting them into glass harps and toilet bowls. Though I think the latter could cause some painful memories for certain children.



Along with the citizens of the aquatic, there's also a small section of lizards that you might enjoy, but my favorite oxygen-breathing exhibit was the batcave. Ok, not so much a cave as a bunch of tree branches spaced between a painted wall and a sheet of glass. But they look comfortable right?



But my favorite part of any aquarium is always when I see the penguins. I love those little fuzzy guys. So majestic, yet so cute.



It's not the most extensive exposition of marine life, but it's a fun trip nonetheless. Hope you guys enjoy the pictures and if you ever end up in Seoul, maybe spend an afternoon with some sea creatures.

Until next time. (which is hopefully soon, haha)
Peace

Happy Birthday 대돈

A major part of life is getting older. And even though most people see birthdays as an incentive to drink more than usual, you can still celebrate in a relaxed and comfortable way. So, today is my boy Dae Don's birthday.



In certain situations, he might go by his American name (John), but in Korea, Dae Don Choi is like fam. In Korean, he's my 형 (hyung) or big brother, but only because he's older than me. He looked out for me when I first arrived. It's always convenient to have a Korean-American, who is fluent in both languages, living across the street from you. So I've gotten really close to Dae Don, and his fiance' Soo, since I've been here.



After work, the three of us went out to dinner and had some drinks. Soo bought a birthday cake and we even invited some of the friendly patrons and workers in the restaurant to sing Happy Birthday (in Korean) along with us. Other than that, it was pretty much dinner as usual (except we had pig intestines for dinner; chitlins?)



I also have to say a quick word for my blood brother DeMarcus, whose birthday was a couple weeks ago, and let the kid know I love him. But this is for my Korean brother Dae Don, cuz I love that kid too...and of course Soo, haha.

Happy Halloween y'all!