JD's Blog

A Busan Vacation

Here are some wonderful things to see and do in Busan. It’s a fantastic beach town in the South part of the Korean peninsula. I definitely recommend it as a vacation destination.

haeundae_beach_umbrellas — Haeundae Beach

Visiting Busan was a lot of fun. A huge part of why it was fun was a magazine called Busan Haps. I picked it up at the Tourist Information Center inside Busan Station. Between it and the tourist map they had, it was easy to get around and enjoy lots of the sights and sounds of Korea’s second biggest city.

barefoot_path_distant_view — The shoreline where the wooden path is

The main thing I recommend is the attractions at Haeundae Beach. There is a beautiful path along the shoreline, just to the south of the main beach area, behind the Westin Hotel.

barefoot_path_light_house_plain — The lighthouse at the end of the path

The path is well-maintained, and offers amazing views of the ocean. It also has several observation decks and benches to stop at. At the end of the long wooden path is a lighthouse. There are several attractions there as well, such as great views of Gwangan Bridge and the Nurimaru APEC House.

On the other side of Haeundae beach, you can take the bus north a few miles to some very nice Buddhist temples on the shoreline, which are beautiful.

Sitting near the ocean is peaceful. Sitting at a Buddhist temple near the ocean is fantastic, and I highly recommend it.

busan_aquarium_sign — The fantastic Busan Aquarium

But best of all is the Busan Aquarium. It’s underground, so it’s easy to miss. But the entrance is in the center of Haeundae beach, near the road. As long as you’re walking along the right sidewalk, you’ll be able to find it.

busan_aquarium_big_tank_1 — One of the huge fish tanks in the aquarium

The Busan Aquarium is excellent, and features a huge tank full of sharks that you can walk under. There are many wonderful types of fish to see, as well as penguins and otters.

The jellyfish room is not nearly as cool as the one at the aquarium in Muai. But they do have some types of jelly fish I have never seen before. They were amazingly cool looking.

busan_aquarium_jelly_forest — Really cool jelly fish

Everyone says to go to Jalgachi fish market. It is kind of neat, but the live fish at the aquarium are better.

market_fishes — I liked the live fish better

I skipped the UN cemetery, since I don’t like to depress myself. But it is the only UN cemetery in the world, and I hear it’s beautiful, though somber.

fun_fuzzy_navel_me — Me drinking a kiwi martini

The night life is great in Busan too. I had a fantastic soft taco and kiwi martini at The Fuzzy Navel bar.

fun_fuzzy_navel_food — Yummy food and drinks at The Fuzzy Navel

Busan is beautiful. I love beach towns, and this is a great one. There are many tourist information centers. Most everything is in English. Also, there are lockers everywhere, so if you stay at a hostile or something, you can stash your backpack anywhere while you wander.

fun_fuzzy_navel_max_guys — Giant beer endorsements and party kids

Uneo Park in Tokyo, Japan

Uneo park is a wonderful place to spend a day if you happen to be in Tokyo. I really enjoyed Tokyo, and this park was fantastic.

japan_me_with_blossoms — Uneo Park, Tokyo, Japan

In Tokyo there are many wonderful places to visit. One of those places in Uneo Park. It’s a beautiful place to see cherry blossoms in the spring. Anytime of year is good to visit though, as it has Tokyo’s first zoo and a variety of other entertaining things to see.

japan_uneo_park_swan_boats — The swan boats are a nice way to pass an evening

The swan boats are affordable to rent, and they are a nice way to see the park. In the pond, there are Koi fish, and turtles. There are also a variety of birds to see.

japan_me_and_pagota — A six stories Patagonia in the park.

In addition to temples, pretty sights, and the zoo, you can see many other wonderful things. Street performers hang out in Uneo park. You can watch them do magic, dance, and and mime. It’s very exciting. They even have a park for kids with rides and games.

japan_shrine_round — Here is one of the shrines in Uneo Park

You could easily spend an entire day in Uneo Park. I only spent a few hours there, but I rushed through the zoo and skipped the museums. They looked interesting, and I would have liked to see them, but I had other places I wanted to visit.

japan_uneo_park_amusment_park — The kid's play area.

If you want to visit Tokyo and see some beautiful sights without having to travel a lot, I highly recommend Uneo Park.

japan_thai_pagota — Given to the Japanese Royal family by the Thai Royal family. In Uneo Park.

Nami Island

Nami Island was a lot of fun. There is a lot of beautiful artwork, and the plants and animals are fantastic.

Nami Island is an enchanting place. Most people go there because the movie “Winter Sonata” was filmed there. Sadly, the star of “Winter Sonata,” Park Yong-Ha, recently killed himself. In spite of this, it’s a very lovely island.

Nami Island has a lot of really wonderful artwork. There are a few galleries, but there are also several sculptures around the island.

statues1 — Some nifty statues near the boat dock

In addition to the artwork, there are several varieties of wildlife. Ostriches, rabbits, squirrels, and a variety of colorful small birds roam the island freely.

Love is certainly the overall theme of the island, which makes it an excellent place to take a loved one. There are several hearts around the island.

heart3 — Some of the many hearts of Nami Island

Many couples take pictures with the various hearts around the island.

heart1 — Another of the hearts on Nami Island

Renting a bike is an excellent way to see the island. Unfortunately, the bicycle-rental area is kind of a hike from the boat dock. But if you follow the main path, you’ll come to it. There are several lovely trails that you can ride on.

Take time to stop and look at all the interesting art in random places.

I spent about two hours on Nami Island. I could have spent a lot longer there, as there is a lot to do. I could certainly see spending a day there. There are restaurants and even a place that serves beer.

If you visit Gangwon Province in South Korea, I recommend taking a tour of Nami Island. It’s definitely beautiful, and touring the island was a wonderful experience

Suwon’s Folk Village

Suwon’s Korean Folk Village is a great place to spend a day. Break out your walking shoes and give it a try!

Suwon’s Folk Village is a really interesting. It’s a re-creation of a historic Korean Village. There aren’t any original historic villages in Korea, because most of their historic buildings were destroyed during WWII and the Korean War. But this re-creation looks really authentic and it was really neat to tour.

I have always had the impression that in America we don’t think much about history. I guess this has a lot to do with the fact that we really don’t have much in the way of history to think about. Our country is younger than the Korean written language (Han Gul) which revolutionized writing in this part of the world in the mid-fifteenth century.

The history we do have is sordid, and we try to forget it and pretend slavery and the extermination of the native people happened long ago and should be respectfully swept under the rug where no one can see it.

From the perspective of an American, Korea has an amazing history. It’s thousands of years of mostly peaceful and spiritual lives farming the land. The Korean Folk Village in Suwon demonstrates this history very well with old farm equipment, re-creations of ancient houses, and even rows of traditional crops.

Don’t get the impression that the Folk Village is like a museum. There is a lot going on. From traditional wedding ceremonies to tightrope walkers, there is plenty to see in the way of entertainment. And the more I learn about Korea and its people, the more impressed I am with their heritage. It makes me feel like a punk kid sometimes coming from such a young and vain country. Meanwhile thousands of years of the Korean’s ancestors’ bones are buried here. It really makes you think.

I was thrilled with the parade of people playing traditional Korean instruments because I bought my grandmother a Korean drum, and she wanted a picture of someone playing it. So now I have one to show her.

hay_stack — Just a haystack. But it made me smile. How often do you see a haystack just chillin' like this?

I admit, Korea isn’t anything like this anymore. Its one MacDonalds after another, and girls running around with Gucci handbags. But seeing it for what it used to be makes you appreciate the perspective these people have on life, (even if they are currently importing a mass amount of our worst culture here.) Americans may have cornered the market on being an upstart country with fresh ideas and dreams too big for reality; but Koreans blend our culture with something we know nothing about: Moderation. And when you mix it with such a novel and un-American concept, it’s really not so bad.

me_and_lion — Me and a stone lion in a quiet little garden area.

I particularly like Buddha. I mean, nearly everyone here is a Christian now… but Buddha’s ideas live on in their society even as they convert en mass. We could stand to import some of those ideas ourselves, and it wouldn’t hurt us to get some historical perspective either.

I would recommend the Korean Folk Village to anyone who visits. It was a fun day, and it’s a very peaceful place. (Oh, except for the huge kid’s play land. That’s not peaceful at all- though it looks like a paradise for children.)

Kid's play land inside the Korean Folk Village

The Suwon City Wall and Hwasong Fortress

If you go to South Korea, spend some time looking around the Suwon City Walls and Hwasong Fortress. It’s a wonderful historical experience.

Hwasong Fortress Monument — The caption is in Korean, Japanese, and English

Suwon City was once totally surrounded by walls, like other cities in South Korea. Most of the walls and fortresses were completely destroyed during the Japanese occupation, and then again during the Korean War. But the walls have been rebuilt in Suwon as a tribute to Korea’s past.

There are so many stairs — It's a long way up, but it's worth it

The stairs are pretty intense. And all along the walls on the way up, you can see holes for archers to shoot from. It’s pretty amazing.

There are several guard towers along the walls. There are also bells, which were used to warn citizens in the valley below of incoming invaders.

The Fortress and all its surrounding area are really beautiful. There are many things to see. There is a war memorial for Koreans who died in both WWII and the Korean War.

Taking a tour of the Suwon City walls is a really fantastic historical experience.

The Art of Sumo

Korean sumo match- Seoul South Korea. Off the beaten path.

I had read about sumo wrestling. I had heard it was an ancient Asian art form. But to be honest, it all sounded kind of boring, until I actually saw it.

competitiors — The wrestlers being introduced

The position the fighters have to be in is precarious, to say the least. They have to hold each other in specific places, and then try to push or flip their opponent. Of course, because they are stuck holding each other, they have no leverage, and so it is based almost entirely on strength. It’s really impressive to watch.

starting position — The Starting Position

I looked up Sumo wrestling on Wikipedia, and I was horrified to find the entry stating that Sumo is only practiced professionally in Japan. The match I went to was in Seoul, Korea! Clearly the Wiki page is wrong.

One way to win- throw your opponent down — First way to win- throw your opponent on the ground

However, Sumo did start in Japan. I suppose the Japanese occupation of Korea during WWII influenced their culture more than they want to admit.

out_of_the_ring — Other way to win- push your opponent out of the ring

My friends and I were the only non-Korean audience members, with the exception of two other guys. I guess it’s not something tourists generally participate in. However, that does not mean tourists are unwelcome. When our group walked in, we got a very warm welcome from the Koreans, who helped us find our way to our seats and gave us balloon sticks to clap with.

clapping_sticks — The balloon clapping sticks they gave us.

The matches were exciting, but there was a lot more than that. Traditional Korean dancers and even cheerleaders added to the event to make it far more than just a wrestling match. It was a cultural experience.

pretty_dress_close_up — One of the dancers in a very fancy Korean outfit.

I would highly recommend attending a sumo match if you travel to Korea. It is a unique experience that most tourists don’t see, and it’s definitely worth checking out.

One of the cheerleaders. Sumo isn't popular with young people so I expect the cheerleaders are supposed to help with that.

Best moment ever: I was amazed at how big the wrestlers were (after all- I’m a big westerner and Koreans seem kind of small to me.) Suddenly it occurred to me that the wrestlers aren’t huge at all. They are just the average size of Americans! That made me laugh.

Moved to Korea

I’ve moved to Asia for awhile. Had to get out and see the world, as much as I love Phoenix.

I’ve moved to Asia for awhile. I really do love Phoenix, but sometimes you need to get out. So here is a bit about my new adventure.

The woods near work — The mountain next to the building I work in.

First, Korea is not a third world country. I heard a lot of silly things like that when I announced I was moving here. For the record: It’s much more modern than the US. We have great public transportation and fantastic medical care, not to mention thousands of years of interesting culture. Plus, the buildings are more modern than in the US and we have nifty doors that slide open when you walk up, just like in Star Trek. You may not hear a lot about Korea as a citizen of the US, but that’s not because there’s nothing going on here. The US is just a bit… self-absorbed.

Yes, North Korea is communist. Yes, they are our neighbors. But the North Koreans and South Koreans view themselves a lot like separated cousins. If North Korea attacks anyone, it won’t be us. They would rather convince their cousins to join them. I worry more about my friends in the US than I do about myself.

suwon — Yeoungtong, in the city of Suwon

No, I am not being deprived of all things American. From 7-11 to MacDonalds, there are plenty of American things here. They even sell Pringles at the corner store. I can get almost everything here that I can get in America.

So to put it quite simply; it’s not anything like people seem to think. It’s much nicer. And no, I am not here as a journalist. I am not going to sneak across the border into North Korea for some story on Communism. I am actually just here for adventure. I am teaching English to pay for it. It’s a lot of fun, and I promise to stay away from North Korea.

Fall Color In Arizona

For a few weeks, you can go up north and see colorful leaves. It helps me a lot. I need to see leaves change color in between the hot season and the cold season here.

It’s fall, and that means the seasons are changing. It’s not all that apparent in the city (we noticed it was over 100 degrees one day- and then suddenly 80 degrees the next.) But if you go out of town, you can see more changes than just the temperature. I headed up to Flagstaff for some great fall color.

I was headed for the hiking trails just below Snowbowl Ski Resort. The mountain has more aspen trees than you find down around the town. When I arrived at noon, it was 48 degrees on the mountain. The night before, it had been below 32 degrees and there was a tiny dusting of snow. It didn’t stick, but it was the first snow of the year.

No more ferns & grass, but lots of color

You can tell there had been a frost the night before, because there was very little undergrowth left. I hiked The Katchina Trail because I hiked it in the spring, and I wanted to compare.

In the spring, this trail was all ferns and lush green plants. Now it’s covered in bright yellow falling leaves. It’s still beautiful- though in a different way.

If you hike the Katchina trail or any forest service trail, always be sure it sign in at the trail head. This helps the forest service track how many people use the trail, and it also leaves a record of where you were just in case anything were to happen to you.

I was excited to dig my sweaters out of the closet for the first time in months, and I definitely needed one! Under the trees it’s dark and chilly as can be. Dress warm if you’re going up north, particularly if you’ll be there later in the day than I was.

This rock is a favorite picnic spot of mine. I like to bring a blanket to sit on and some snacks, and just sit and enjoy the woods. Also, the view looking up when laying on the rock is pretty great.

There are several trail heads in the area. The Katchina trail is the last one before you are actually on Snowbowl property. But there are many others, and they all offer long walks around the mountain and beautiful sights.

As close as my car has ever come to "off road."

This particular meadow (above) always catches my eye because of the amount of aspen trees around it.

And here I am enjoying them. The leaves will stay of the trees for another week or two, unless there is a huge storm (which I doubt) so if you haven’t been up north yet, don’t worry! Take a day sometime before Halloween and head up.

Oak Creek Canyon has some very pretty colorful leaves every year as well. Even in Flagstaff, there was a variety of colorful views to enjoy.

Get up north and check it out! It always feels a lot more like fall once you’ve seen some leaves falling.

Freaky fun in October

If you want to test-drive your Halloween costume, try wearing it out to a Goth club.

October is here again. I think it’s my favorite month. There’s the haunted houses, the pumpkin carving, the trick-or-treating, and lots of people trying to look scary. But my favorite part about Halloween is that I don’t stand out as much when I go out on the town. That’s right, in October I can wear a vinyl dress and people say “nice costume” instead of “freak!” It’s nice that there is a time of year when my style is appreciated.

Looking up at the entrance to Transylvania

If you’re not Goth by nature, that’s okay. You can still dress up in honor of Halloween and enjoy some of the creepy clubs around town. We really won’t mind you dropping in and checking it out. We like fresh blood.

Alex and I on the back patio of the club

With that in mind; come check out Transylvania, a Goth club in downtown Phoenix. We have naked statues. We have obscene paintings in black-light-reactant paint. We have killer music, a great dance floor, and enough creepy kids to get you in the spirit for another wonderful October.

Just cruise down Central until you see the club on the west side of the road. It’s just north of Fillmore. Parking is available across the street. Please wait to cross until the light turns green so you don’t get mowed down by the light rail. Better yet- just take the light rail there and don’t worry about the parking.

If you’re not sure about your costume and it needs a test run, Transylvania is a great place to do it. The club opens at 9:30pm every Friday night. Leave your underage friends at home though. This club is 21 and over.

Taking the 89A through AZ

The 89a is a highway that takes a wandering path through arizona and connects seveal neat places to stop and enjoy.

I know you’re supposed to get your kicks on Route 66. But in Arizona, it’s the 89A that hits all the best spots. Don’t think I’m knocking Route 66, because it’s fun too. But the 89A is my favorite! This blog details a 6 hour road trip (accounting for stops to eat and hike) that you’ll love.

You can pick up the 89A in Wickenburg. You just take the US 60 out of town, and hit the 93 through Wickenburg, and you’ll see the signs for the 89A. It’s not far from Phoenix at all. While you’re in Wickenburg, stop at the Tasty Freeze for a snack and check out this adorable little western town.

The next town you come to is Prescott. There are a lot of cute shops in Prescott, and an old car dealership with some really beautiful classic cars. Stop and check out the many coffee shops and boutiques.

Jerome will be your next stop. This little town was founded as an artist’s collective, and it’s still mostly art galleries and craft shops. In Jerome you will find paintings, jewelry, and leather work that is unique and fun. Some of the stuff has a western feel to it, but most of it is just neat stuff.

You’ll also see a lot of rocks for sale. Mining turned out to be a great source of revenue for Jerome. It has done some unfortunate things to the country side. But then, so much of Arizona has copper pits and strip mines that I am almost used to the colorful slag heaps left behind as a legacy to what is underground here in AZ.

I passed right through Cottonwood. I am sure you could stop, but I was eager to get on to Sedona. Something about those red rocks calls to me. The landscape in Sedona doesn’t even look like it belongs on this planet. It’s like some otherworldly scene you have to see to believe.

Driving into Sedona and seeing red rocks

The shopping in Sedona is out of my price range. But if you like western art and you can afford it, Sedona has got what you’re looking for. In addition, there are the pink jeep tours, which give you a great view natures sculptures in red. The formations were formed from wind erosion over millions of years, but it only takes an hour to tour them and get an up-close look.

The Sedona street, with scultures and art galleries

Leaving Sedona on the 89A you find yourself driving through Oak Creek Canyon. This is a wonderful place to stop and hike. If you’re there in the summer, you can check out slide rock, which is a natural water slide formed by the creek flowing over the sandstone. It’s a refreshing stop for a dip.

As you’re leaving Oak Creek Canyon and heading for Falgstaff, there is a senic outlook. You want to stop. It’s a nice view, and the Apache Tribe sells some great art there.

Last stop in Flagstaff. Part mountain town, part college town, Flagstaff reminds me of a low-key version of Telluride or Aspen. It’s classy, and funky, and a great place to end your drive and stay the night. (And if you have had enough driving after 6 hours on the 89A, don’t worry! Take the I-17 back to Phoenix and you’ll be there in two hours.)

While you’re in Flagg, check out the town with its interesting murals and neat little shops. And of course, there is great hiking! Try snowbowl for ferns, aspen trees, and beauty like nowhere else in Arizona.

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