my last days in bali and 6 hours in kyoto, part 1

i’ll jump right into a story. i’ve realized that my last few posts have been pretty ranty and i want to change the tone. because really, the traveling’s been truly awesome and so good to me, and i can honestly say that this has been the best experience of my life. the complaining was probably instigated from being just so tired and agitated from moving about every few days, anxiety that the impending ‘End’ was near, getting too much sun (too much heat and sun exposure make me fussy), and reverting back to the second phase of culture shock – that being the irritated phase.

so to jump right into a story because… well, i’m already nostalgic for the last few months.. it’s hard living in the past tense, but i think if i put these stories down on paper (well, online, as is the case), i’ll be better able to cope and try to do things in the present tense, like find a job and find a place to live!

ok, so to begin, bali then kyoto.

well, i had a pretty good last 2 days in bali as i mentioned in my last post. i was awesome in bargaining for the most part. i bought two nice traditional masks for about $6 altogether, and some other goods. part of it had to due with the fact that i got to the market just before closing when the vendors wanted to get rid of stuff before leaving for the day. the other part had to due with the excessive rain we got on one of the days i was there. the vendors were hoping that if they gave me a good deal, the rain gods would bestow good luck upon them in return! you see, the vast majority of the balinese are hindus (keep in mind that indonesia is predominantly muslim except for bali), and it’s a special division of hinduism only found in bali itself. so a few of the vendors, although displeased with how little they were getting, gave me a great price in hopes of good karma.

oh! also, i did get to meet up with my dutch friend mark again who i was suppose to meet in bali. we apparently had some sort of misunderstanding in our online communication which was partially the reason for his delay. anyway, all in all, i was generally happy with where i was. oh, mark also taught me how to say “no thanks” in indonesian, so that when taxi touts started hassling, i could snap back with “tidak, ga mau.” i love being able to say no in the native tongue!

anyway, we both got back to kuta beach from ubud on our last day together (he also had a flight, to sulawesi, a different island in indonesia, the same day i was flying out), and we got a sweet deal of 10,000 rupiah (less than $1) for the both of us to use the shower and the pool for the afternoon, before our flights at the guesthouse he had stayed at some nights before. at around 6 pm, it was time for us to go to the airport. well, my flight wasn’t till 1 am, but i decided to take the taxi with him, since it would cut costs for the both of us (drivers usually charge more for single passengers). and so after our brief goodbye, i had a 7 hour wait at the outside terminal area of the airport, not realizing i couldn’t just sit at the gate and read my book! the JAL check-in desk wasn’t opening until around 10 pm!

one gripe i have about bali is that they have very few banks, much less legitimate money exchange centers. and when you do exchange money (or have to deal with money in any form), a lot of times they’ll cheat you a couple thousand rupiah by rounding down.  at an exchange place at the airport, this money exchanger tried to do the same, and i really had to twist his arm to give me the exact amount – although the second time i needed to exchange money again to pay immigration the mandatory exit fee, i changed my mind and figured it was chump change (and besides there’s no tipping in asia). so, thought what the hell, i’ll let him keep the 2,000 rupiah.  (at a different place, the guy actually refused to exchange any money at all because he knew i wanted the exact amount).

freeze for a second here. being back to reality in the states, i’m having serious trouble getting used to tipping again. and bad bud light. and cars actually in real marked lanes and on the right side of the road! okay, had to get that out there. continuing on with the story..

so i finally got to the gate area, and jesu christo, there are cockroacks sneaking about on the seats and i’d catch sight of one every few seconds! i mean, i had seen a cockroach on the window of the money exchange place downstairs that i was taken aback by, but shit, on the seats in the gate area made it difficult for me to sit still. by this point, i had switched into socks and sneakers (which i had only done on treks in the entire 5 months i’ve been away by that point) and put on my long-sleeved flannel – one of only 2 long-sleeved shirts i still had with me, not counting my rain jacket. also, i had no pants, as i had sent my only pair of jeans home before i left seoul. so, i knew kyoto would be interesting (or that I would look interesting in it), because it was going to be 50 or 60 degrees over there, and i was only going to be in my denim short shorts and could expect to get a lot of strange looks. oh well!

i was really excited for my flight on JAL (japan airlines), because i’d heard so many things about how it was a lush airline. but sadly, it wasn’t nearly as nice as my asiana airlines flights to seoul and to bangkok. i mean, that airline was loaded, even on economy. each passenger was provided eye masks, ear plugs, long socks! (for the chilliness in-flight), a pouch for all of that stuff,  great service, pretty hosts and hostesses, great food and drinks, and a nice set of good, plastic playing cards for those who requested (haa).

anyway, digression aside, about 7 or 8 hours later, i arrived in osaka kansai. as soon as the plane landed, i was in a ‘touch and go’ state of mind. you know, ‘no time to lose, i only have 12 1/2 hours in japan and i gotta make it worth it!’ so i was literally speedwalking the entire way to the exit, got to 2 different information desks asking ‘okay, i have 12 hours in japan, what can i do?’, studied a few maps, and decided on kyoto an hour and 15 minutes away by the express train.

okay, i’m going to have go to sleep now and continue the story tomorrow. stay tuned…

totally tubular and radical, dude! err, sorta

i am currently in bali, indonesia. i’ve been here for about 4 nights and 5 days, and quite honestly, the first few days (well, nights really) have been absolutely crappy. i mean, AWFUL. yesterday night, i could not stop hating, i mean really HATING, kuta beach, the beach that i’ve been on until today (this afternoon, i have transported myself to ubud, a nice quiet country town a few hours to the north).

what was the problem, you ask? well, kuta beach is extremely, OUTRAGEOUSLY touristy, and is entirely full of couples, holiday-makers and schoolies. schoolies are the slimey aussie kids and 20-somethings who’ve only just finished high school and are just bumming around with a little cash to burn, surfing and clubbing around the area. the afternoons have been fine as the first two full days i learned how to surf for the first time ever, and yesterday, some people i knew and i took some scooters around to the other beaches on the island (this place called dreamland beach was just absolutely glorious – three shades of clear blue and massive killer waves). so, mainly it’s been the evenings and partly the company that haven’t been so great. the people i know are these guys (and some girls who are all right) who i met in ko phi phi and phagnan, thailand and who cause a lot of drama and are kinda crazy. anyway, this plus the club scene, which i absolutely hate hate hate were sources of extreme exasperation and agitation.

a few other things: i was quite paranoid about the security and the police here as this is indonesia and extreme intoxication is not a good state to be in in a country like this (although everyone was pretty much hammered every night and this is bali). and once again, i’m again totally annoyed of the locals street hawkers and the taxi drivers’ touts. there was literally no street, store, or corner i could go on without being hassled or harassed in some way.

this is how a ‘conversation’ normally went on kuta beach (and even in ubud) with the locals and me:

‘konichiwa, nihon mo? japanese? taxi? transport? where are you going?’

‘no thanks’

‘yes, transport? where do you need to go?’

‘no. you don’t need to know where i’m going.’

alternatively, it starts like this:

‘(whistles/cat calls) konichiwa. japanese?’

shake my head

‘chinese’

shake my head

‘where are you from?’

don’t answer

‘korean’

‘none of your business.’

every 2 minutes dude! it drives me insane. they ALWAYS all speak to me in japanese. hell, they know way more of it than i speak french now! granted, there are heaps of japanese tourists (probably the most of any asians here, and here in ubud, they’re absolutely everywhere and are apparently the largest group of expats). in thailand and bali, i cannot get away with someone not initially thinking i’m japanese, although a few times, i’ve gotten chinese/taiwanese/singaporean/even malay for being so dark now.

okay. now the surfing. trying to surf was loads of fun. but learning was insanity. not because it was hard and not because i was frustrated, but because of the freaking local surf instructor. he did not really speak english that well, he did not really teach me much of anything other than one basic form, and he could not stop hitting on me – actually to the point of harassing me. 1. he continuous said i looked japanese about 1000 fucking times, after EVERY single surf. 2. he continuously opined that i looked like the other japanese girls he taught how to surf the previous day. 3. he wouldn’t stop talking about how beautiful i was and how i looked like a japanese artist (?!), and 4. he just made me absolutely sick. digusto. awful awful awful.

so basically, the best part of kuta beach was going to the other pristine beaches nearby, flying at about 70 miles an hour on the small hilly windy roads hoping not to get killed in a motorbike crash riding behind this crazy dutch guy named sunny. yeah.

anyway, basically, bali is probably really nice for couples and vacationers, but not for the average backpacker. it’s really a mistake that i’m here. but it’s my own fault. i was supposed to go to melaka, malaysia and singapore, and/or fly to oz or back to bangkok, but decided oz was too expensive and vast to do in a couple of weeks. and again, as i LOVE to think in hindsight, i should’ve gone with my gut instinct and gone back up to chiang mai and pai in northern thailand as i longed for. but ‘course, i didn’t go with my instincts and didn’t really do my homework in advance. also, i was supposed to meet a friend here, but basically, flying all the way to another country that’s not so close is kind of a bad idea to do when plans are made so far in advance and not set in stone. basically, i kinda got ditched but again, i mostly blame myself.

in fact, the day before i left KL for bali, i met an irish guy who was just there, and he sort of forewarned me about what it would be like. i almost, just ALMOST changed my plans and wanted to cancel my ticket and fly back up to bangkok, but i didn’t take the right risk. it’s also low season here, which could be why it sucked too. bali is a big place, and i’m only going to basically 2 places, when most people spend about 2 weeks here with a week in the gili islands alone, which is the ko phagnan of indo but is really quiet right now.

that’s enough complaining. if there are a few lessons i learned from traveling, it’s: DEFINITELY go with your gut instincts even if it means having to take some small risks (like changing plane tickets at the last minute); always get advice from multiple sources and never just one person as you go along; compare notes with others; go where there are hostels or more likely to be a backpacker scene; get the latest lonely planet guide (’cause they really know what they’re talking about – and mine’s 2 years too old); if you meet someone really cool and your gut instinct is that person is really legit; don’t be shy about traveling with them (which i was a few times to do); it’s never a bad thing to go back to a place you’ve already been and liked; don’t trust too many people (which i did a few times too many); and finally, never travel too fast. that i think could be the biggest mistake a traveler makes (even the lonely planet and rough guide say so, which i initially didn’t take seriously!).

hmm, i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to go on a proper vacation or holiday again. i just love the rough lifestyle of backpacking way too much!

anyway, ubud isn’t so bad. it’s picturesque and sort of reminds me of chiang mai. i’m also really digging reading “eat pray love” while i’m here as well, as a third of the book is set in this town. i’ll be able to do plenty of shopping here. indonesia’s quite cheap. the other saving grace is that it’s cheaper to fly out of here to honolulu than bangkok, and i have a stopover in osaka, japan for 12 hours! maybe i’ll try to see some of japan! i don’t know, we’ll see! that would be SAWEEEET though.

the locals

i’m currently in phnom penh, cambodia, headed for sihanoukville tomorrow. good ol’ eli b. brings up a good point in his comment on my last post, so i’ll dedicate this post to my experiences with the locals which i’ve been remiss about as of late.

truth be told, i wasn’t very fond of the vietnamese, although i love thais and laos (i think i mentioned this in a previous post). let me explain why. these are generalizations, but for the most part, the vietnamese are very rude and basically only care for your money. they will talk to you and approach you only to offer you a motorbike or cyclo ride. “motorbike miss? motorbike madam?” are encountered at every corner a thousand times a day. it gets immensely annoying after a while. it’s hard to simply ignore them when they also follow you down the block. (also imagine being a solo girl with a huge pack when you’ve just gotten off a bus and have to look for the right guesthouse or hostel, and you’re basically just being bombarded by a chaotic mass of motorbike drivers thirsting for your money). so you’re either compelled to be rude back at them or pretend they don’t exist.

here’s a solid example of rude behavior in vietnam (also bear in mind that my image of the vietnamese was tainted by the hellish 29-hour bus ride and the incident at the food stall – go back a few posts for that story): you cannot simply browse or window shop in vietnam. if you touch something, the saleswomen will scurry over to you and say “very nice, i give you very good price.” and whether you intended to bargain and buy it or not, if you don’t end up purchasing it, they’ll hastily and roughly snatch the item right out of your hands, turn away with a loud “hmph,” speak loud insults in vietnamese, and turn abruptly to another customer.

in another instance, i bargained really well for myself for some fruit, and the lady just snatched the money right out of my hands because she wasn’t satisfied with how much she was getting. (and another thing is more often than not, you need exact change or they will simply take all the money for themselves.) there are countless, COUNTLESS stories of these things happening in vietnam. also bear in mind that i almost didn’t go to vietnam because of all the bad reviews i’ve heard about the country. many fellow travelers have said they would never go back to vietnam again because of all the brusque and unappetizing attitude of the locals. and this is not taking into account just the general loudness, ill/strangely-mannered behavior of the people there (particularly men, who’ll just whip out their members on the side of the road in more rural areas and just take a piss right in front of you). and YES, i realize that’s part of being immersed in a different culture, and i take all of these sights with a grain of salt and understand that this is how the people here live, but it’s something that’s hard for a lot of westerners to digest – even for any open-minded person.

to be fair, the people in the north were much more abrasive than the southern vietnamese. still, i got the sense that they all only really cared for you money. you essentially feel like a walking atm machine. they don’t care to get to know you at all, which is also a fairly big contrast from the laos and thais. even when we went on a small excursion up a river known as the fairy stream in mui ne, little boys (9 and 14 years old, who really looked more about 6 and walked beside our group. but we rarely spoke back to them as we all knew what they intentions were: money. i finally caved a bit and talked briefly to the boys, and they told stories of how their parents had passed away and that they were very poor (but one of the boys had dyed hair – hm, how could he afford that?). at the end of our little trip up the stream, they demanded “MONEY MONEY MONEY!,” and started screaming and throwing huge tantrums. this is my general perception of the vietnamese. they won’t hesitate to cheat you for more money – not in the slightest.

the vietnamese are a hardy people. even their landscape is really rough. they’ve been through a lot for sure, but so have the laos and the cambodians. i’ve only been in cambodia for a day, and i haven’t encountered the same kind of rudeness i did in vietnam. sure, they still want your money here, but they’re never short of a smile back at you. i feel i’ve rarely seen the vietnamese smile other than to make fun of something.

so this is why my posts in vietnam lacked anything much about the people there.

it’s also tricky business being a female traveler in these countries. in lao, my aussie friend and i befriended a 25-year old local guy who worked at the bar we were chilling at, and although he was very friendly, extremely nice and probably totally harmless, he was clearly talking to hit on us and flirt with us, particularly my white aussie friend.

in thailand, i had befriended a few locals through couchsurfing (i think i’ve mentioned this before, but it’s a super awesome networking sight for travelers) and they were great. but the problem i had with them was that i couldn’t ever get them to talk about anything serious. they didn’t really want or care to talk about the real conditions and situation in their country. they also liked to drink LOADSSSSS of alcohol, and i couldn’t keep up with them and really couldn’t handle hanging out with them much more towards the end of my stay in bangkok and chiang mai as they wanted to get drunk literally every night!

so far, here in cambodia, i’ve met one nice 19 year old guy. i sat next to him at a food stall yesterday in the late afternoon, and he just started talking to me. he spoke great english for a guy who didn’t learn the language in school.  i learned that he was a car driver (i don’t believe they have real taxis here, so he just picks up anyone who wants a ride for a small fee). that was nice, but we didn’t get very far in our conversation. i think he mentioned something about being poor and still living with his parents (which is very typical here even as adults). still though, this conversation was a nice reprieve from the quite literal animosity i felt in vietnam. i can already tell the cambodians are friendlier than their eastern neighbors.

speaking of cambodia though, it’s definitely a very poor country. i don’t know if it’s supposed to be one of the poorest or not.. however, phnom penh seems to be rapidly developing (with the help of korean construction companies it seems, as i see korean construction, restaurant and store signs everywhere. in fact, it was also like that in saigon. i think korea must be doing a lot of development work in this region). anyway, the biggest difference i notice from cambodia and vietnam or thailand is that although the main road is paved, the side roads are not at all. and although lao was quite poor, it was mostly that the entire country seemed rather underdeveloped and pastoral. i didn’t see so many beggers even in their biggest city of vietiane like i’ve already seen here in phnom penh. for some reason, although lao has been through a lot, the people there always seemed happy. here, i get a slightly mixed sense. i guess the people are still trying to recover from the khmer rouge days.

speaking of this, i went to the s-21 museum today, the prison where they used to confine, torture and execute thousands of people during the khmer rouge revolution. really gruesome stuff. it really dampened my afternoon, and i have decided i don’t want to go to the killing fields. i think today was enough.

as far as the war remnants museum in saigon, there was a lot of terrible stuff there as well. america did a lot of horrible things for sure, agent orange, napalm and the whole “burn all, destroy all, kill all” policy. and although there was one exhibit about the american soldiers who died sponsored by some american foundation and another exhibit about the war protests around the world, it was quite one sided, as was the cuchi tunnel tour and the hanoi hilton museum. i suppose it’s all propaganda and that’s just how it is… it got me thinking though, does america have a substantial exhibit or museum dedicated to slavery? i know there are native american museums, but i haven’t yet been to one solely dedicated slavery, and i’m quite curious to see what’s shown and exhibited.

oh, i get stared a lot here! like, a LOT! i got stared at in vietnam (in hanoi and saigon especially) and most thais and laos assumed i was japanese or korean. but MAN, i can’t avoid it here at all! and i’m not even white! i was walking with my dutch friend mark today and i felt that they were staring more at me than at him.

anyway, off i go to take a much needed shower – it’s boiling here! contemplating eating a ‘happy’ pizza tonight. can you guess what that is? hmmm…

still in HCMC..

i’m nursing a pretty bad hangover from a pretty riotous night out. this usually happens when we order buckets, which are literally small buckets full of something like jungle juice. apparently, i hit my head really hard while dancing, but i don’t recall it! i tell ya, the saffy (south african) boys are ridiculous drinkers. i don’t understand how they do it nearly every night, but i’m guaranteed a wild, fun night out every time i hang out with them. they start the party at whatever bar they go, sometimes to their detriment.

i’m leaving tomorrow for a 2-day mekong delta tour, then taking the slowboat to phnom penh, cambodia. should be fun times. well, minus the killing fields.. but i’m certain cambodia will be an interesting country to visit. i’ll probably be there for about a week or so.. 2 or 1 day in phnom penh, 2 or 3 days in sinoukville (a beach town), and 2 days in siem reap for ankor wat.

my previous concern that i’d have to meet a whole slew of new people has been thrown out the window. besides the handful of friends i keep bumping into and/or traveling with, i’ve also run into doug, an american guy from dc/virginia i first met in chiang mai, the israeli woman i was previously traveling with in northern vietnam, an irish girl from my bus trip from laos who doesn’t like beer (poor excuse for an irishman!), and a few others. the sad thing about hcmc though, is that this is either the last leg or the start of most backpackers’ trips, so i’ll have to say goodbye to most of these guys soon…

i’m still considering meeting up with some people in indonesia as well as australia… we’ll see.

having been in vietnam since sept 27th, i’m quite glad i came (i almost didn’t, due to the poor reviews some previous travelers gave of the country). the only regret i have is not having gone to sapa, a mountain village up in the north where the hmong tribes live…

a brief note: this post has no coherence whatsoever, i’m just writing whatever comes to mind.. i wish i could write more about some of the adventures i’ve had and my friends’ have had, but that takes time, so i’ll save it for another day.

on an entirely different note, being american really does kinda suck sometimes while traveling. you get the feeling that everyone hates the american gov’t. you can’t believe the countless conversations i’ve had in which we’ve all (myself included) endlessly bashed american foreign policy and just the general backwardness of some things about america. EVERYONE, seriously EVERYONE in the world (except for one of the south africans whose mom is an american from nevada) wants Obama to win. the world wants Obama to win, and it will be VERY disappointed if he doesn’t. they probably pay attention to the debates and the ongoing news about the presidential race than the average American. go Obama!

well, right now, i’m off to the war remembrance museum, which used to be called the american atrocities museum. lovely! should make me feel great about being american.

i’ve posted a select few photos on facebook. check it out. there will be more to come soon.

in Mui Ne, Vietnam

So I’m currently in Mui Ne, Vietnam, another beach town (if you can really call it a town, because it’s so small) in the south. To be honest, I wish I’d stayed in Nha Trang a bit longer. This place has better beaches, but there’s essentially no town – there’s only something that resembles a small resort strip.. Nha Trang had a good nightlife (i.e. rowdy, boisterous backpackers’ bars), and some of my travel friends since my slowboat trip in Lao are still there.. In any case, there are two new developments since my last Vietnam update.

The first is that I’m now traveling with a HOTTT (and i mean, excessively super HOTTT) Swedish medical student named Staffan. I met him and his other Swedish friend Anders (actually met this guy first) at the hotel myself and my two English friends (two girls who I’ve also known since my Lao slowboat trip) were staying at. Don’t get any ideas, it’s strictly platonic. But MAN, the first day we were traveling together, I could not look at him in the eye for fear of fainting from his hotness. I’ve been sharing hotel rooms with him along the way too (separate beds, mind you), which does NOT help one bit. It does NOT help that we’re also on the beach all the time. Literally, the first day we were together by ourselves, I think I went into the bathroom just to pace around and think in my head, “Shit, fuck, goddamnit man!” This has made traveling with him a bit difficult, but I think I’m slowly getting over it. At least he’s not super funny, or else, I don’t know what I’d do – I might have shot myself by now. Plus, tomorrow, I think we’re splitting up and going our separate ways. (Parting ways is always so sad, man… That’s the one thing I dislike about traveling!)

Anyway, this first development was made further difficult by a second new development I’ve had. I’ve developed a terrible rash all over my arms and legs. It’s turned out to be a really really bad heat rash (they look like boils really), but for about a half day, Staffan (who, as I said, is a med student) thought it could’ve been scabies. Thankfully, his medical contact back in Sweden thinks it’s not, which is a relief since there are no hospitals in this town. Plus I’m with a hot Swedish guy, and that would suck if I actually had something serious and contagious like scabies. Hopefully, it’ll go away in a few days because it’s terribly unbecoming.

Oh, another scare was that I thought I lost most of my travel pics, but I’m hoping I still have them – it’s a bit uncertain at this point, but I’m not going to freak out about it just this minute and I’ll wait till I get to a bigger town with better computers.. While traveling, you learn that your camera and flash drives are your life, possibly as or more important than your passport. And I don’t mean the physical camera itself, but the pictures in them, because truly, they are priceless.

I think I’m headed to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow, probably by myself… Most of my travel friends are either still behind me or long ahead of me headed towards home. I presume I’ll be by myself at HCMC, which’ll probably be a source of boredom and loneliness but I’m hoping I won’t be alone for too long and will meet some good people again..

I’m still thinking a lot about home – both the people and places back home, and also what I need/want to do once I’m back. Again, I think I’ll be home in the relatively near future. It’s gonna suck to miss Halloween and possibly Homecoming though. I’d really not prefer to miss Thanksgiving also…

i hate americans

and canadians.

okay, sometimes.

so i’ve been fortunate in that most of the ones i’ve befriended have been cool so far. but many, especially the women, love to complain and talk shit about living in korea. this girl i met over the weekend was really chill except for this (rather huge) flaw. she couldn’t stop griping about how koreans don’t understand her, can’t speak english, aren’t accomodating enough, and was also talking shit about some aspects of the culture here. (to be fair, i’ve done my share too. but i’m over it now; plus, i was mostly frustrated with myself. she, on the other hand, has been living here for 4 months and has 6 more to go.)

first off, in terms of the language issue, the whole time she was talking, i was thinking to myself, dude, you’re in a foreign country, learn the fucking language. i don’t see WHY anyone in korea should have to accomodate her. yeah, she’s a foreigner so it’s harder for her to get around, but she chose to come live here. just because she teaches english doesn’t mean everyone around her is obligated to know and speak english. she can’t expect everyone around her to understand her foreign language in this country. this is not america (or canada, in her case). moreover, i think this is entirely bullshit, because the entire public transportation system, restaurants, and so many other public places have english translations available.

secondly, as far as the cultural aspects, i think the intolerance on her part is terribly immature. that she had these glamorized expectations of how koreans should treat her is bullshit. there is no reason why anyone should be obsequious or deferential to her. the fact that she’s so often rude to people here is fucked up in itself. just because she’s white and american/canadian doesn’t merit her special treatment. finally, korea is not a fucking third world country (in fact, it is one of the richest), so don’t treat it like one (not that you should treat third world countries poorly, but that’s the way many americans’ think and behave..).

what was also funny about all of this is that she’s supposedly done a lot of traveling around south america, where i doubt anyone spoke english. sure she learned spanish, so why doesn’t she try to learn the language here?? or if her idea of traveling is hanging out with only english-speaking people, she needs a serious reality check.

i’m going to write it off as being partially due to the fact that the girls aren’t getting as much ass as the white dudes here, but this is definitely a large disparity i’ve noticed between the white men and women since i’ve gotten here. the white dudes love love LOOOVE korea, while the white girls think it’s only so-so. but man, the white superiority complex is really killing me..

no wonder americans get hated on around the world. this is the exact type of shit i hate about our country. ignorant, pompous bastards.

weekend in seoul

so i went out for the first time on friday and again last night (saturday), and was introduced to the nightlife here – well, at least the ex-pat’s nightlife. so far, i can’t tell whether koreans tend to drink much or not, i’m glad to know that most americans like to get nicely drunk wherever they are in the world.

oh, first, pics from week 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28819999@N08/sets/72157606394135264/
pretty poor quality once again, so apologies..

ex-pat culture here, let me tell you, is… interesting. i already had some notions about it, and to see and experience it in person definitely solidified some of those ideas.

there are two kinds of foreigners here:

type 1 – people who are educated, are actually interested in korean or eastern culture, history and language, want to travel, and/or have a genuine interest in being an English teacher or education as a career. these people are generally recent grads.

type 2 – people who left home to get away from something (perhaps a troubled past?) and start anew, didn’t have anything going for them back in the states or wherever they’re from, knew they could make a lot of cash here, and/or are interested in asian women.

about 70% of the ex-pats here are of the latter category. many of the americans i’ve met here are from small towns in the midwest or the south, are a little red-necky, and aren’t very educated, much less qualified to teach. (this is partly because korean expat culture started after the korean war with men of that type 2 quality, and some of the remnants of that old culture still exist now. whereas expat culture in, say, shanghai or hong kong started much earlier through business, trade and british colonialism, although i hear there’s expat seediness in those places as well..) anyway, the overarching reasons that nearly all young ex-pats are here – $$$ and nightlife. it really comes down to those two things.

so guys, if you want to make a lotta dough without much effort, come to Seoul. qualifications are fairly loose, as long as you have some post-secondary education from any crappy college and are a native english speaker. you will get paid handsomely, won’t work very much, and the koreans will treat you very well because they love white people. you probably won’t have to go through as much of the bullshit i go through at the tutoring center i work at, as they’ll at least try to be more accomodating.  in the words of a douchey guy from some random small town in manitoba i met last night, “they treat us like god” – ‘us’ being caucasian. by the by, this dude has been in korea for three years, hardly speaks ANY korean, and is marrying a korean girl in the fall.

speaking of korean girls, if you have an asian fetish (or yellow fever, as they call it), you’ll find a bonus. seriously, every white dude i’ve ever seen on the streets here is with some korean chick, and every white dude i’ve talked to so far has either had a korean girlfriend, is currently dating one, or is about to marry one… most dudes can’t speak korean and have no intention of learning the language (as in the case i just mentioned), and likewise, most girls can’t speak much english either. i wonder what some of these girls are thinking. although there are definitely some cool guys, many are pretty dumb, but think and act like they’re the shit. i guess it just goes to prove that white dominance and privilege is still very much alive around the world…

but that’s not to say there aren’t a lot of cool people here. don’t get me wrong. i met some cool german girls who’re exchange students and both half-asian through a friend of a family friend, and barhopped with them to the places they hang out at in shinchon.

we went to three bars that expats frequent. the first place, mike’s cabin, was on the sleazier side. a few korean girls were there with their friends hoping to pick up white men. and the guys were so clearly checking all the girls out, and kept coming by our and other tables to try to talk. the caliber was pretty low. reminded me a little of bar none in the east village.

drinks are comparable to nyc. a hoegaarden was 6,000 won (so about $6; 1000 won = ~$1). but cheap beers (think similar to pabst or bud light) are about $3. (seoul’s cost of living really is about the same as nyc. some food is cheap, but even then, that’s solely bc it’s street food, kind of like getting a falafel or shawarma in the city. most meals here are anywhere from $6 for lunch specials and up, depending on the quality of the place you go to. a standard filling meal ranges between $12-20. i know some of you have the notion that seoul would seem cheap because it’s asia and you probably think that korea’s not a first-world country, but you’ve got the wrong idea, or been fed the wrong impression through western media. it’s not as expensive as tokyo, but it’s up there.) you can also drink on the street (no open container law, although it’s frowned upon), so a lot of people get beer at 7 eleven and drink on their way to the bars, rather than buy them in the bars themselves.

anyway, while we were out, i asked one of the two girls what the dating scene was like. she told me that because all the foreigners know that none of them are really here to stay for the long haul and because they don’t know whether or not the foreigners they’re seeing have partners back home, cheating is pretty frequent in this community. in her words, “everyone’s fucking everyone” (germans know how to put it best). hmm, good to know.

before we knew it, it was 4:30 am. i don’t know why, but time flies faster here, or at least it never seems late, maybe because there are always people out at all hours of the night. the subway stops service at around midnight, so the only option was a cab ride home – $17. during the ride, i continued an old habit that i picked up in ny – talking to cabbies on the way home after a long night. this guy in his late 40s spoke fairly good english and i was surprised. i asked him where he learned it, and it turns out that he was formerly a banker at merrill lynch, before he got laid off some years back during the asian financial crisis. i wasn’t sure how i should feel about him – whether to feel sorry or what, but he seems like he’s doing all right.

oh man, probably boring you guys… props if you made’ve it this far in the blog. saturday night, we went out with some american teachers (really, everyone’s an english teacher here) that we met the night before. mostly americans from the west or midwest and some canadian fellows. a couple of them are getting married to korean chicks and most others have serious girlfriends (though take ’serious’ however you will). we went to a posh hookah bar – a dim candle-lit place, where we sat at tables with plush cushions on the floor. each seating area was an island surrounded by water with floating flower petals – lush. after some time there, we went to hongdae, the hip area that’s the ’spot’ to go out to, not before stopping by 7 eleven for some beer. we were supposedly going to go to some more bars (even possibly a gay bar in itaewon, which is the ex-pat/foreign neighborhood in seoul), but couldn’t decide on going anywhere and just sat outside on some steps and drank (this is not uncommon). while we were sitting around and chillin, a man selling makgulli (rice wine) came by with his cart. he’s well known, frequenting that street at night to sell makgulli to all the foreigners hanging out. evidently, the people i was with knew him, and he gave us a ‘deal’ and sold us a bottle for $2. that mixed with soju (similar to sake), with beer, with wine, with hookah and cigarettes is not the best combination. therefore, i puked (not something i do frequently at all and try to avoid at all costs) at around 4:30 am (again) and it was time to go home. some wild times…

some days, i don’t even feel like i’m in another country. the lifestyle here is a lot like that of new york, but with a few new sights and differences that’s 5x faster paced.  i should note that i have visited this country before, although it was 12 years ago, and i am korean ethnicity, so i guess you could write it off as me being more familiar with this place than say a true foreigner. but an american friend i just made feels the same way. it’s so western here that sometimes i feel the only difference is the people. or at other times, i feel like i’m simply in koreatown in flushing, new jersey or LA… boston red sox and yankees caps aren’t uncommon, nor american brand clothing (as i mentioned before). and a week later, i’m still surprised each time by the abundance of americanness surrounding me. krispy kreme, dunkin donuts, the coffee bean, bennigans, even a hooters, they’re all here…

a couple things that are different:

- there are no street signs beyond the major streets, so i rely totally upon directions and trust from others. it’s a confusing feeling not knowing where exactly i am at any point. and because i don’t have a map other than the subway map and didn’t buy a guidebook for seoul or korea, i’m probably not making the most of my time here in figuring out all the places i should check out and sightsee.
- cigs are cheap here! $2.50 a pop. i might become a smoker just because it’s so cheap.
- the same friend i made the other night and i both decided that it’s very hard to make friends here. i’m lucky that i had a family friend around my age to show me around for a bit the first few days. but overall, it’s hard. the locals here (the koreans) are either totally family-oriented or home-bodies (like on the part of my family friend, who doesn’t really like to go out); they’re also simply aren’t known to reach out to strangers they’ve just met. the americans can be a hit or miss depending on whether they’re type 1 or type 2; and as i mentioned, my work environment is kinda whack.

this is just a musing, but it’s weird to learn how koreans think of me. some, when they first meet me and hear that i’m from the states, applaud my ‘good’ korean and are fascinated that i can speak it at all. but others, when they find out that i was born in korea, applaud my good english even as i tell them that i moved when i was a toddler, grew up in the states my entire life, and AM american, feel american, and identify with being an american. i don’t know why simply having been born in korea has anything to do with my english language skills when i clearly grew up in the states, haven’t been to this country in so many years, and haven’t lived here for even longer – some twenty years! it’s just weird when i know that they’re attempting to conceptualize me and put me in a box… people in the states do that too, but it’s funny to see it coming from the other side.