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.

FERRY TO MOKPO, TRAIN TO SEOUL

I was really really looking forward to the ferry ride from Jeju to Mokpo and then the KTX train ride from Mokpo to Seoul… but unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worst and I was stuck with a few nasty days! Next time I visit Korea I'll make sure to do so in the summer! I ended up taking the slow ferry to from Jeju to Mokpo, about 5 hours. I stayed the night in Mokpo and then took the KTX (Korea's fast trains... not as cool as japanese fast trains but a WHOLE lot cheaper!) to Seoul, about 3 and a half hours. All in all it was pretty simple and fast!

Pushing off from the port in Jeju.

The open sea.

1) One of the many islands between Jeju and Mokpo 2) A shot out the window of the KTX train from Mokpo to Seoul

JEJU, KOREA

Jeju Island is perhaps one of the most popular domestic tourist spots in Korea. For this reason I wasn't sure what to expect (Its been called the Hawaii of Korea). I wasn't sure if it was going to be cool or just totally over built and touristy. Well both were true. It was definitely touristy, but geared towards Koreans so that just made it even more interesting to me. The coast was fairly built up, but the minute you turned off the main road, you would hit farm land.

I was hoping to rent a motorcycle but since it was low season I couldn't find any shops with one ready to go, instead I had to settle for a 125cc scooter. I spent two days just cruising all over the Island. The 125cc could at least hit mid 50s but maxed out at 92 kph.

On the second day I rode around with Mark, an english teacher on break, who had his own 250cc motorcycle. The great thing about riding around Jeju is that it had a lot to offer scenery wise. Jeju is a volcanic island and has the highest peak in Korea. So once you started to ride up in altitude, the landscape would change. All these photos were shot within two days, I think you can probably see the diversity.

Jeju was pretty badass. This may sound silly, but Jeju was my vacation within a vacation. For this reason I didn't really take all to many photographs, I mostly just rode my 125cc around (I clocked over 300 km in two days!) and drank coffee (just like at home!).

Over looking the island of Udo.

#1 - Climbing to the top of Seongsan Ilchulbaong Peak (north eastern side of the island) #2 - Beach on the north west coast.

Seongsan Ilchulbaong Peak

Wild flowers near the coast.

My beast... actually it had a sticker on it that said "my bike is a beast"

An island and a horse.

Underground lava tubes, one of the longest in the world.

Continuing along the coast on the second day.

#1 - Wind farm, north west coast. #2 - Directly behind the wind farm, traditional burial mound.

On the second day the wind got really nasty, so at this point we turned inland.

Shortly after turning inland we can across this farmer co-op.

Climbing up on route 1117, the scenery quickly began to change.

Up at about 700 meters, looking out towards the sea. I would have loved to have kept claiming, but the scooter didnt like the step hills.

A vegetarian restaurant called "the loving hunt" it was great to have a veggie burger, in fact i ate three!

Directly behind "the loving hunt" was a random batting cage right on the street. 500 won (less then 50 cents) for 10 balls! I couldn't resist. I visited the batting cages a few times.

Sunset at the harbor.