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Thank you for reading my report and I hope you will tell me what you thought of it. | Log entries 11 - 15 of 15 | Page:
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Apr 20, 2001 06:00 PM Seoul, South Korea
The Korean War Memorial was dedicated to the history and victims of the Korean conflict. The outdoor display featured American and Republic of Korea military aircraft, vehicles and tanks and some equipment seized from the North Koreans during the war. The indoor exhibition is dedicated to the history of all the wars that have happened in Korea. The top floor has been dedicated to items from the Korean War. It costs a few dollars to see it.
We like the park across from the Sheraton Hotel. I love to watch the children play the Korean games. The children fly kites or teeter-totter on a wooden plank that is placed over a cut tree trunk, or play a ball on a string attached to a flat bat. The ice cream stand here is wonderful!
The Kyongbok Palace is very interesting.
We visited the Art Gallery both times we were in Seoul. It is wonderful.
We also enjoy the National Folk Museum, where you can see all the traditional dances and music from the old days.
We went to see the Bathroom Museum. Koreans have an obsession with toilets because for a long time they only had outhouses and they stunk.
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Apr 12, 2001 06:00 PM South Korea
The Korean people are not like any other Asians, except the Mongolians. There are four countries that have the same language base: Mongolia, Korea, Hungary, and Finland. Most of the younger South Koreans speak English (if they go to a private school, they learn it there, or if they don’t, their parents hire a private tutor), because English is South Korea's second language.
South Korea is going back and using the old names. Daegu is now the correct name for this city.
South Korea is divided into economic zones and Daegu is in the zone that focuses on the fashion industry. The University is affiliated with one in Melbourne, Australia and one in Milan, Italy.
During a student’s high school years, they are being watched to see which industry would be best for them. In addition to that, the top 20 students in any industry are given a four-year scholarship, fees, an apartment, food and spending money at the university. Because my son’s university teaches all aspects of fashion (materials, cutting and designing), the students must learn all of those things, plus English, Italian, and Japanese.
We left Narita and we had to go to Seoul to connect to a small plane that went to Daegu. My husband refuses to use suitcases on wheels and when he tried to lift it off the luggage carousel it broke. A JAL representative helped him tape it up so we could make our plane. I believe he got his 3 hernias from this!!!!
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Apr 12, 2001 06:00 PM Daegu/Taegu
Daegu/Taegu is the third largest city in South Korea with a population close to three million people.
He picked us up and we went to his apartment. We passed a large memorial that showed where the Korean War ended.
We were in Daegu twice and he was in a different Apartment each time we stayed with him. Neither had an elevator and so we had to drag out suitcases up 4 flights of stairs, (3 the second time).
The second time was last year so I am going to combine our trips.
Daegu is surrounded by beautiful, round mountains (like you see in pictures of China). It is a beautiful city with a lot of parks. Driving here, like driving everywhere in Korea, is dangerous, which makes walking dangerous as well. My son calls us snail drivers because we drive so slow, and he finds the rage drivers here hard to take.
I had a two cataract operations, (and even with glasses I can only see shadows in one eye), and the first one didn't work, because the lens was not the right size. Before we met his friends at a Drinking House, (they serve hot and cold home made wines and small dishes of Korean food), he took me to where he bought his glasses and bought me two pair and they were thinner and cheaper than any thing I could get in Canada.
It was nice to meet his friends. Each night one of them took us out for dinner and wouldn't let us pay for anything.
It is cheaper for most people to eat their meals out or have them delivered to their homes. Fruit and vegetables are cheap, but meat is not. Most Koreans buy their fresh vegetables and fruit from the local vendors.
When he was teaching, we took take the subway (it is cheap and fast). Bus service is good and the taxis, are cheap but they are on the roads with the cars, so, if you visit us, I suggest you use the subway as much as you can.
Downtown there are great shops that sell designer clothes (many designer clothes are make in South Korea now). We browsed through these shops but didn’t buy anything there because we could by the same items in the stalls that are in the middle of every downtown street. We bought clothes, shoes and purses for less than $20.00, (in the Vogue fall issue that year the cost thousands of American dollars).
One day our son took us out for lunch. When he parked his car we could see a marble building like you would see in India. This restaurant only served chicken soup with rice noodles and onions, carrots and celery. The only choice you have is if you want your soup made with a young chicken or and old one. The Korean's like their chicken soup made with a young chicken. We had ours made with an old one. As I took a spoonful my son looked at me and said, "Mom when I'm homesick I come here because the chicken soup tastes a lot like yours." It did!
We went to see Palgong-san Provincial Park. You wouldn’t believe how many mountain trails I climbed to reach it. The Donghwa-sa Temple is built in the center with two three-story large pagodas on either site. One Buddha was not made of gold (like I’ve seen many times), but carved out of some type of white rock. The white stone standing Buddha is the largest stone Buddha in the world.
We went to the Culture and Art Hall to see the exhibits (which are changed every month), and to see a Korean Cultural Show.
South Koreans live with their parents until they get married so you see a lot of "love hotels". You also can reserve a room at a Karioke Bar. We did that one night and I'm sure the 3 of us were the only ones singing!
We went to a few movies. They have Hollywood films and other films from around the World, (the latter are dubbed).
They have food from around the world, so if you visit South Korea, you will find there are many places for you to eat at.
The best place to eat in the evening is at the Park Hotel. The entire top floor of the hotel is a restaurant that serves the biggest buffet I have ever seen. On each table, there are foods from a different country. The buffet area was as big as our condo!
Even though we had to sit on the floor, we love to eat Korean barbecue. All you pay for is the cost of the meat, (pork, beef, fish, seafood or chicken). The side dishes, like potato pancakes, bean dishes, salads, and soup, as well as beer, or pop, are free.
Try to find a nice drinking house. I don’t mean the ones that are set up at night and look like tents, but the ones that are in a house. These are bars, and each makes their own wine and serves beer.
The Stadium for the FIFA Games, (2002), the Stadium wasn’t built when we were here the first time. It was completed by the time we visited again. On the side that cars drive past it, it doesn’t look too exciting. I saw that on the opposite side there was a hill from where you could look down into it, (it’s an open-air stadium), and we drove to the back. WOW! Even my son, (who had never been up there), couldn’t believe what we saw. This is the largest stadium that has been built in both Japan and South Korea. It holds almost 70,000 people.
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Apr 11, 2001 06:00 PM Japan & South Korea
We took JAL from Vancouver to Narita in Japan. We stayed at the Narita Hotel because we were going to leave for South Korea the next day. When you are force to break your flights, (in Asia), the airline you are flying gives you a one free night at a hotel and a meal ticket for breakfast
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Apr 11, 2001 06:00 PM Narita City
I had been to the hotel before and knew that it costs $15.00 USD for a cup of coffee. We arrived before dinner so my husband and I took a free shuttle bus to Narita City.
The Japanese use the city as a place to stay when the go fishing.
The only attraction to see is a park with the third largest temple in Japan (Narita San-Shinshoji Temple) in the middle of it. The temple is three stories. You begin at the gate, spin a prayer wheel three times, and make a wish. Next you go to the Mysteries of Nartisan area that displays a 1,000 years of history. In the art gallery, there are displays of local artists. One was showing us how to draw with calligraphy. At the end you go and see a short Kauki show.
There is a large department store, and the food court is on the top level. Outside every restaurant is a window that displays the food (it's plastic, but it looks so real) they are serving. There is a number by each dish/bowl, so when the waiter asks you what you want to order, you walk out side with him and point. I've tried a few of them, and the best one is the café that serves large bowls on noodle soup.
On the lower level there are some tourist shops, a few fast-food outlets, and a food court. The first time I was here it was just before Valentine’s Day, and I took home a chocolate heart with my husband’s name in Japanese written (with icing) on it.
My husband bought kimonos and Japanese T-shirts for our children.
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