B006: Korean Whereabouts

IFWanderer Jerico sends an open letter to his travel friends.  Read on!

Dear IFW,

Hi! I’m nearing my contract’s end, and guess what? It will be renewed (as if you don’t know that already).  So, for at least a year, I will continue living in Korea.  Now before I see all of you on my coming vacation, let me give a recap of my whereabouts for the past 11 months.

The first impression I got when I stepped foot on Koreansoil was, hmm, this reminds me of Japan. The people look similar, there is a language barrier, life looks fast-paced and hi-tech and the transportation system is efficient.  Because of the similarities, I adjusted easily to life here.  As days went by, I didn’t just see more similarities but differences as well.  I like Korea, but when people ask me which country I prefer, I don’t hesitate to say, Japan.  (Again, I like Korea. :))

Moving on, let me start by talking about the food.  Food here is great!  But be ready to taste something spicy – they love that flavor here!  If you cannot tolerate spicy food, it will limit your gastronomic experience.

Here are my top picks: 

• Jampong and Jajangmyeon: these are Koreanized Chinese noodles.  They can only be found in Chinese restaurants, but are evidently influenced by Korean taste.  Jampong is this super hot seafood noodles in soup.  Most servings have generous amount of seafood (octopus, squid, mussels and/or shrimp), the flavor of which combines perfectly with chili soup – delicious!  Jajangmyeon is wheat noodles with dark soybean paste sauce added with vegetables and meat or seafood.  The sauce is salty and sweet at the same time.  It’s like “pancit canton” with sauce tailored for Korean taste.  I like ordering the seafood version: Samseon Jajangmyeon. For both noodles, I noticed that they put a lot of onions.

Chili Jampong!  The color is enough warning.

• Kamjatang: Spicy pork-bone (spine) soup with vegetables, served boiling hot. This reminds me of bulalo, but some would even say it reminds them of kaldereta and sinigang.

What does this remind you of?

• Korean barbecue: This usually comes to mind first whenever I think of Korean food.  Korean barbecue varies with type of meat and preparation, of course, but you will most likely eat them with the same set-up: cooking by yourself using a grill or stove built on the table. Perhaps the most popular is samgyeopsal, pork belly cut with 3 layers (fat, meat, fat or meat, fat, meat). My favorite would definitely be hanu (Korean beef) – delicious and uh, expensive.  It’s interesting to note that they like eating barbecue with greens, i.e. lettuce and perilla leaf.  They dip the meat in soybean paste (or other sauce), wrap it with leaf and then eat.

At Choice 21 - an eat all you can barbecue restaurant with an assortment of meat

It’s a shame though that I don’t like one of their staple foods: kimchi.  I just don’t like fermented vegetables in general, so sorry for me.  And whenever a dish has a strong kimchi flavor to it, I spare it if I can.  Another one I avoid is Sundae, or “blood sausage” – enough said.

I should also mention that many people here love to drink.  You will be surprised about how even the ladies drink a lot!

Now on to places...

It’s actually a shame that for the length of my stay here, I haven’t explored a lot.  I rarelywent outside Seoul.  Hmm, I’m not really the type who enjoys traveling alone.  I tried it during one long holiday: Chuseok and I didn’t feel all happy about it.  Nonetheless, here are the places I’ve been to during that time.  I went with friends for the first and last items, for those in between, I went alone:

• Caribbean Bay: this is a water amusement park which is part of the Everland Resort. This isn’t really our type of travel, is it? At least I enjoyed the Aqua Loop, the most extreme slide I tried by far.

• Seoul N Tower: many famous cities have that “it” place, where you go and get a bird’s eye view of the city. In Seoul, this is it.

• Gyeongbokgung Palace: Korea is also known for its palaces.  This one’s the biggest of them all.

The palace was crowded during last year's Chuseok (holiday).
During that day, admission was free.

• Banpo Bridge: Installed along the length of this bridge are water nozzles and lights which is the world's longest bridge fountain - the Rainbow Fountain. During summer, they run a musical light and fountain show, which is a spectacle to see.  It is a must-see for any tourist visiting Seoul in summer.

Did I say Rainbow Fountain?

• Seoul Grand Park: Within this is Seoul Zoo which is good for families, and an amusement park - Seoul Land.  One thing I would remember is trying the Sky X… it’s almost like bungee jumping

Marine mammals show at the Seoul Zoo

A picture before the three of us went to take the plunge via the Sky X

One place I went to which is outside of Seoul is Naminara Republic, or simply, Nami Island. You may know about this big Korean drama, Winter Sonata.  Parts of it were shot in this tiny island in the river.  After the drama’s success, Nami became a sensation and is now a top tourist destination.  I went there in autumn, and I would recommend choosing this season to anyone who hasn’t experienced living in a country with 4 seasons.  The change in the foliage’s colors that occur during autumn is a thing of beauty.  And seeing this phenomenon in Nami Island will mesmerize people from the tropics!

That gorgeous aisle...

Future Prospect

Halfway during my stay, I started attending the Seoul Toastmasters Club and eventually became a member.  It led me to meeting new acquaintances and possibly, friends.  And I’m happy to have met sporty and adventurous people.  Lately, I’ve been playing tennis again, and am getting hooked to wakeboarding!  Remember how I sucked at it in CWC?  I have been avenging myself from that experience, hahaha!  And this coming weekend, I will go to Busan and try surfing! (Whatever happened to our Baler trip?)

The recent happenings give me visions of a more active second year in Korea.  Who knows, I may just find a travel group here.  Rest assured you will always be my favorite travel friends! :)

I look forward to seeing you all (albeit separately) on my vacation!  We all have a lot to talk about! :D

Far from expert - my stance is still wrong :)

Regards,

IFWanderer Jecoy

PS

Shameless promotions!

I still have the hobby of creating travel videos, so to see more about the places I mentioned, you can check out the links below:

Chuseok Holiday

Nami Island

For more on my stay in Korea, you can check out the (irregular) series I created as a traveling engineer.

B005: Angkor What?

IFWanderer Dene shares her trip (with Gene) to Cambodia's famous ancient temples and more.  Enjoy reading!

I love the beach. I think it’s my (and IFW’s) sweet escape default setting. But since Gene and I just came from Tioman a few months back, we wanted to try something different for a summer getaway... ancient civilization perhaps? Hmm... Let’s go to Angkor Wat.

We flew to Phnom Penh instead of heading straight to Siem Reap, hoping to see a bit of the city before the adventure. I must say, this is typical IFW travel style: taking the farther route for fun, experience, and budget. Sad to say, we didn’t explore Phnom Penh as planned. It was so darn hot and dry that day, dust flew all over the place with every gush of wind. 

Anyway, the bus trip was longer than I expected - 7 hours! But the ride wasn’t that bad. I got to recharge and got my much needed beauty sleep (I was out ‘til morning the day before). The scenery was something like an out of town trip back home, reminds me of Bicol or Batangas. We reached the hotel by almost 11PM and though the restaurant was already closed, they still served us dinner - nice!

Late meals - check!


Temple Run

Well, not really run, we hired a taxi for 2 days to drive us around the complex. We first thought of hiring a tuktuk, as it is cheaper and more Cambodian. But with the day temperature at approx. 40deg. C, wait, no way! See how big the place is?!


We chose to visit the minor temples first to avoid the crowd in the well-known sites (When I say crowd, I mean buses filled with tourists in their color-coordinated shirts, caps or bandanas) There are a lot of sites to check out within the complex which are less popular but equally amazing. I think it would take at least three days to visit and appreciate all. Just be sure to wear your most comfy shoes and bring lots of water.

The temples were built in honor of gods and former rulers, and signify a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism. It’s better to visit the museum first before the tour - you’ll appreciate it more once you understand the background.

This looks like a candle, doesn’t it?  It’s in a room dedicated to a former king. See the “dimples” on the wall? According to the local guide, it used to hold gems to decorate the room. The hole faces north so light can shine through the whole day, illuminating the precious stones on the wall. 

By the way, most of the temples are under restoration, including Angkor Wat. So it’s quite tricky to get a good shot without the unsightly scaffolds.

It's interesting to see that trees grow on temples... Nature is taking over ancient civilization! :)

Two things I don’t like about tourist spots: the crowd and the vendors. Cambodians in general, converse well in English, but vendors here can be very pushy. A friendly advice: do not entertain vendors, especially the kids, if you have no intention of buying. They won’t stop once you show interest in their items.

We watched the sunset here at a temple on a hill.  Too bad, it was cloudy, so there was no glorious sunset to see, haha! It's too small to easily notice, but on top of that temple was a big crowd!


The next day was allotted for the main temples. We tried to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat but unfortunately, it was cloudy again. Nonetheless, being in Angkor Wat was a surreal experience, like immersing in the past. There were monks walking around, too. The walls are like books, with intricate carvings telling stories of creation, gods and ancient civilization.

Next stop was Ta Prohm, where Tomb Raider was shot. The place is spacious too, but mostly under restoration. It was packed with tourists - we can’t even get a descent photo without a stranger passing by. They also installed pathways for tourists, which to me, spoiled the Tomb Raider feel of the temple. We didn’t stay here for long.

BAYON is my favorite - I like it more than Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. It looks older, like stacked rocks ready to fall apart soon. The face statues are a bit haunting too, as if they’re watching you everywhere you go. The faces seem to be smiling, but they look scary to me.

There are other temples nearby, but I forgot what they are called.

The Town


We were supposed to go back to Pnohm Penh on the fourth day. But we enjoyed Siem Reap so much that we opted to extend another day - yey! We walked around the town center of Siem Reap, visited a pagoda, hopped on a tuktuk (finally) and visited the museum.

Food and Night Out


I love the food in Siem Reap. Being a well-known tourist destination, there are so many choices, Asian, Mexican, Italian, Indian etc. The local Khmer food is also good, and it seems they like to use lemongrass in their soups and dishes a lot.

Watching a cultural show is also a must-try. This usually comes with a buffet dinner so it’s worth it. Other things we tried were the night markets, pubstreet and spa indulgence.

All in all, the trip was great.  Will I go back to Siem Reap? Sure! But next time, I’ll go straight to it (skip Phnom Penh) and try a backpacker’s inn instead - travel on a budget the IFW way!

This was taken from the east gate. Since we didn’t get to see the sunrise nor sunset, I made my own.

B004: A Comeback of Sort

Hello Internet!  We are back!

The travel group has been scattered since last year, and so this blog has slept for months.  Wait, when was that last entry? Oh, okay, this blog hid in a cave for a year – so much for our Itchy Feet, huh?!

On a serious note, we apologize for disappearing like an accidentally pregnant friend.  Up until now, we are still scattered around the globe (okay, just Asia), not having traveled as a complete group for more than a year!  It will continue to be so in months, or even years.  But individually, we haven’t lost that desire to go out and explore.

In that light, we have thought of redirecting this blog’s content.  Instead of just talking about our travel as a group, we would exchange our individual travel experiences.  We can’t just dwell on the past.  We sure enjoy traveling most when we’re together, but it doesn’t mean we do not enjoy it if we’re apart. 

And… we would like to hear from you!  Let us make this blog an avenue to share experiences, ideas, reviews, suggestions, etc. about travel.  Wait, someone thought of that already? We thought that’s original – not!

Really, it wouldn’t hurt to add another site that has that purpose, right? “Right, no one’s viewing your blog anyway!”  (We can almost hear that from a stumble-upon reader.)  But whatever, in case you change your mind, you’re always welcome in the conversation!

-IFW

P.S. 

We have a YouTube channel, and it will wake up soon ;) ItchyFeetWanderings

Follow us on twitter! @IFWanderings