NYC TO NE BY TRAIN!

So my friend Emily was finishing up an artist residency outside of Lincoln, NE when I got back from Beunos Aires. She wanted company for the drive back east but with the amount of flying I was doing I couldn't image getting on another plane. Instead I used that as an excuses to do something I've been wanting to do for a while and that is, try out long distance train travel in the states. I took off from Penn Station on an overnight train bound for Chicago (via going north to Albany first), had a short lay over in Chicago and then took off on another train for Lincoln. All in all it was about a 28 hour journey. I wouldn't recommended it for everyone, but I had a great time. Slow travel really is the best travel sometimes. Much more about that later!

Waiting for the Shore Line Express at Penn Station.

Everything I need for the 1.5 day train trip and the week long drive back.

We headed north and right around sunset started to pass the Catskills. The train follows the Hudson all the way up to Albany.

I made it safe and sound to Chicago the next morning.

The best part of train stations is that they are in the middle of cities. During my "lay over" i was able to pop out to the Lou Mitchell's, an awesome and famous dinner located a few blocks from the train station.

I thought the ride after Chicago would be really boring, but it was really pretty!

The train I was on had a sweet observation car... this same train would continue on all the way to San Fransisco! Right through the Rockies!

A train yard somewhere west of the Mississippi.

I finally made it Lincoln, Emily was happy to see me, I was happy to see her. We stayed on the farm where her studio was for a few days and then took off.

We took Highway 2 through the northwest section of NE know as the Sand Hills. It was very different then what most people picture NE to look like.

The next morning we went and saw Mt Rushmore and then climbed to the highest point east of the Rockies (a look out tower in the Black Hills)

It was cold.

after making it to Rapid City (what a weird town) we spent half a day exploring the Badlands.... i think this was the highlight for both of us! I felt like we were on Mars!

After this we B-lined it home, stopping in Chicago to see friends, and Cleveland to play pool and western PA to go bowling! What a great trip, makes me realize how much more of the US I need to see.

CAMPING!

Wow its been way to long since I have updated my blog. This summer was the summer of camping! I took a few different and awesome trips. First up are some photos form a motorcycle camping trip I took with everyone at www.chinonthetank.com.

The Second was a super fun trip I took with my awesome girlfriend up to the Finger Lakes and then to Frontenac Park in Canada.

SEOUL!!!!

Seoul was the last big stop on my trip (except a short stop back in Nagoya, Japan for two days to get the rest of my gear). I have always wanted to go to Seoul but actually knew very little about it before researching my trip. For some reason I had a gut feeling I'd really like the city and I was totally right! Although Seoul is a super city, I really enjoyed the fact that most of the downtown area was very walkable. You could walk from one neighborhood to another and see completely different looking parts of the city. You could be in a posh area with lots of bars and coffee shops and 30 minutes later be walking through a street market. I felt like Seoul had something to offer everyone.

One of my favor spots in Seoul was Namdaemun Market (fairly close to Seoul Station). It was a great maze of street stalls and restaurants. I found it a great place to shoot photos and meat locals. Just like everywhere in Korea, everyone was exceptionally nice. The last night I was there I was offered drinks by an older gentleman who use to study Shakespeare. Despite claiming to never have study english outside of Korea, he had a very british accent. Interesting....

Other highlights include renting a bike, taking the cable car up to Seoul tower (which as an awesome view of the city) and getting to see the premier of my friend Tammy Chu's documentary film Resilience. Its always interesting attending film festivals / events in other countries.

Out of all the big cities I visited in the last 6 weeks (Portland, San Francisco, LA, Chicago, Nagoya, Kyoto, Tokyo and Busan) I have to say Seoul was one of my favorites. The city had a good energy and reminded me in some ways of NYC. If I had to pick one city in either Japan or Korea to live in, I'd pick Seoul!

Looking southwest from the base of Seoul Tower.

Street vendors in Namdaemun.

1) Dumpling Stall = Pink 2) Bar = Green

Making it rain! Actually thats only about 9 bucks!

Namdaemun Market

These two women are respobile for the dish below! So good! Old Korean women are the best!

I lived off of Bibimbap! One of my new favorite dishes!

Cooking in the alleyway in Namdaemun.

Guards in traditional dress at the national fortress.

1) Robert Frank... do you get it? 2) A sax playing, street food serving Korean!

Seoul is not just tiny back alleyways... this neighborhood had lots of posh restaurants and coffee shops!

Serving up some traditional sweets on a posh shopping street!

Shoppers in a posh (how many times can I say posh in one post?) shopping center stop to watch a street performer.

A not so posh shopping street shortly after dusk.

Wondering around at dusk with my camera in hand is my favorite thing to do when traveling!

I dont think she is staring at my camera, I think she is staring at my red hair.

An alleyway with lots of texture.

Dongdaemun Market

Another great looking wall!

That there is a bottle of Makkoli, a very unique Korean drink.

To the left is "Jason" and to the right is his friend. Jason bought me a drink and told me about studying Shakespeare. Seemed like a nice guy, I had to cut out early to make it in time for the film fest, wish I could have stayed longer. Oh well, maybe next time.

North Korea.... kinda.

I spent the first day in Seoul just relaxing and getting familiar with the city. I was staying in Seoul for about 5 nights but I didn't really have any set plans. One thing I knew I really wanted to do was visit the JSA camp in the DMZ (the neutral zone running between North and South Korea). The USO runs tours of the JSA and I was really hoping to take one but the lack of planning on my part didn't allow it to happen. Instead I found a Korea tour company that ran tours. Now I'm not big on guided tours, in fact I hate guided tours, but the only way to visit the DMZ is through a tour, so i sucked it up!

We started heading north out of Seoul and the first stop was the Odusan Observatory, which overlooks the Han River. On the other side of the river is the North Korean town of Gaeseong City. The Odusan Observatory also houses an interesting and almost assuming measure that shows how everyday North Koreans live. They even had a mock classroom and living room.

After this we kept heading north along the river, where you could see lots and lots of barb wire and military watch towers. We hooked a left and headed into the DMZ, where the bus stops and a South Korea Soldier checks all passengers Passports.

When we reached the JSA (Joint Security Area) all the passengers switch to a JSA bus driven by a South Korean soldier. From here the tour visit is very brief but super interesting. We're allowed in one of the meeting halls where technically half the building is South Korea and the other half is North Korea. This is the highlight of the trip. The bus also takes us around the compound as the tour guide points out other important sights such as the Bridge of No Return.. one of the few bridges that still connects North and South Korea.

Like any typical tour…. it ends in a gift shop. Yup, a gift shop. The only gift shop in a DMZ! All in all i'm glad I did the tour. I think i would have enjoyed it better with the USO because the tour guide I had was okay, but not the best… but hey at least I can say I took a few footsteps into North Korea!

The view of North Korea from the Odusan Observatory.

1) A South Korean guard tower along the Han river. 2) A South Korean solider standing guard inside the North Korea / South Korea conference room (inside the JSA)

The JSA with the North Korea town of Kijong-dong in the background.

Bridge of No Return... one of the only bridges between North and South Korea.

1) Our South Korea bus driver. 2) The only giftshop in a DMZ.