Yukon Chatter Bug

Visiting a foreign country involves exercises in daily life that are sometimes familiar, sometimes unusual, and sometimes downright quirky (for the Canadian visitor, at least). But getting to Korea meant first flying south to Vancouver, then back up north over the Yukon, Alaska, and Russia which afforded us a view of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.

Getting Around

Orienting yourself is not an easy task as all signs are in Hangul, the Korean alphabet. Even when translated into English, the names are so foreign to the English speaker that it’s difficult to wrap your head around the words. These street signs are found on major roadways or highways that travel through the city.

Like in Canada, small areas of cities are further subdivided by smaller residential streets and roads, but in Korea, many of these roads (that are more like laneways to us Canadians) are so narrow that you cannot fit two cars side-by-side. If you can, then parking still reduces them to one-lane driving.

Residents who park their cars here at night generally display their phone number on the dash so that others who want to get in or out can contact them to move the vehicle. This doesn’t sound very efficient, but then again, I live in a country that has wide open spaces.

We noticed that most vehicles have some kind of small contraption hanging over the rear window. Apparently this is a mirror for backing up, and drivers also have a feature where, at the touch of a button, the side-view mirrors can be tucked in for the narrow street parking/driving.

Notice how narrow this street is and the tucked in mirrors.

Don’t be fooled by the house number on the right in the photo above. House numbers are very random which makes it a nightmare for taxis, delivery people, and mail. House numbers are assigned according to when a building or house is erected. So 542 Smith Ave. can be right next to 1087 Smith Ave. which is next to 49 Smith Ave. and so on.

Delivery people and mail have access to maps detailling addresses, and taxi drivers refer to landmarks rather than addresses. For instance, getting to my brother-in-law’s apartment meant telling the driver the name of the all-girls school or the library in the neighbourhood. The subway station (Bupyeong Station) was also a good bet since we knew where to go from there.

Slurping, Eating, and Drinking

Speaking of delivery people, we ordered out one night from a Chinese restaurant and were surprised to learn that restaurants deliver food in real dishes, not disposable ones. They tightly wrap it with cellophane, and voilà! How they get the food to your door without spillage is a mystery. As an added bonus, they return a couple hours later to pick up the dirty dishes.

Eating out is very inexpensive, so guess what we did most of the time? You could have a full meal for $5 – $6. The only expensive item on the menu was Canadian beef.

In most restaurants, patrons remove shoes at the door and sit on mats on the floor. Certainly not meant for very tall people; notice Dave’s knees.

A variety of side dishes are served with the meal, and you can order them to your heart’s content. Hot, hot, hot! Koreans love hot, so there is no shortage of hot spices on side dishes, cooled down with Soju.

And more Soju in the Soju Tents if you haven’t had enough. These will keep you busy, and staggering, until the wee hours of the morning. Call it city camping!

Slurping: eating and drinking simultaneously. No, slurping your noodles is not considered rude and is thought to bring out the flavour. Here Iain gives us a demonstration on our first day in Korea.

Outdoor vendors sell everything from sweet potato chips, to dried seafood, to roasted hazelnuts.

Shopping

Shopping in traditional markets means navigating narrow mazes through throngs of people and merchandise. If you decide to go to underground shopping areas, it means navigating narrow mazes through throngs of people and merchandise.

But it’s all worth it for a good deal. Check out the logo for The Cools Pace next to a better known brand.

Or you can stop by Chinatown because there’s always one near you, and you can purchase traditional Chinese clothing. Don’t they make a cute couple?

Beware of Heights and Bites!

Check out this daycare in Incheon, Korea.

Our brightly coloured slide conveniently places your child under your waiting vehicle, ready for pick-up.

Daycare Slide

Wheeeee!!!!!!!

After spending some time with family in Northern Ontario, my sister and I decided to zip down to Ottawa for the Canada Day long-weekend. No, I do not have photos of the royal couple because first, my 13-yr old niece wasn’t interested in seeing them, and second, I already had a princess in the house (my niece, of course) sleeping in ’til 12:30.  How appropriate that her father named her Tiara, but we just call her T-Bone. You can always count on family for keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground. Here she is:

And when you’re 13, a celebration is not a celebration without cotton candy:

When you hit uni, you move on to healthier foods like french fries and poutine, and to new dress: a mixture of Sparta, Ottawa Senators, and Canada flag capes.

This is Sparta CANADA

And this young man must make his momma proud:

Guy with no ass

It wouldn’t be right to not visit the National War Memorial on Canada Day:

National War Memorial

The city prepares for the big event by closing off some streets near Parliament Hill:

And the people respond:

The moment you’ve all been waiting for: the non-edited backs of people’s heads, bald spots, and children on shoulders.

The end.

Walking toward the War Memorial of Korea, the building and grounds are imposing and grand. To start, here are photos of only some of the things to see in the outdoor exhibit.

Korean War Monument

Outdoor Exhibit of War Planes

ROK Cargo Plane

USAF B-52

Tanks

Statue of Brothers

Patrol Boat

While visiting the War Memorial of Korea, we came across a traditional Korean court wedding where we saw this drummer.

The wedding couple was easy to spot with the colourful over-sized umbrellas.

Here you can get a glimpse of the intricate embroidery on both garments.

Our first evening back in Korea started with another Korean BBQ, this time at a very popular all-you-can-eat place called Dino Meat. To prevent people from taking more than they can handle, the restaurant charges en extra fee if you leave leftovers (aside from a few bites).  Here’s Ann busily working again:

You can see all the side dishes that are served and, as a standard practice, there is no tipping in Korea. So the price posted is what you pay, end of story. The only problem is trying to pay as Korean tradition means the host pays for everyone, and Anne is one tough cookie. She kept saying, “When we come to Canada, you can pay for me” and wouldn’t let us pay until we would either trick her by paying before she noticed or by enlisting Iain’s help.

After dinner we went to one of Iain’s spots where he meets with friends on Friday nights. On our way, we got a taste of what Incheon looks like at night. Advertisements tend to be on thin vertical signs all the way up buildings. Most streets are very, very narrow.

In Korean bars, you usually buy the liquor by the bottle and share with people at your table. I don’t drink hard liquor, but the bartender was nice enough to make me and Anne a drink of vodka-cranberry. It was either that or pay $50 for a bottle of cheap wine. Bars also always serve snacks as it’s considered unhealthy to drink on an empty stomach; we had a bowl of popcorn.

As in many bars, the techno music was deafening, so you had to yell across the table to be heard. Not my thing. Here’s a neon ad on the wall (in English) for tequila. I’m guessing this sign can be seen in some North American bars too.

By far, the most popular drink in Korea is Soju, a fermented rice beverage. Though traditionally made from rice, most major brands supplement or even replace the rice with other starches such as potato, wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca (Wikipedia) [Updated Mar 23]. It is similar to vodka but with 25% alcohol.

In Korea, going out is a three-step process. First the group decides where they’re going to eat (restaurants usually specialize in one or two dishes, so you decide what you want first, and that narrows the choice in restaurants), then it’s kareoke or some other bar, then it’s a dance place. Oh, and according to Iain, bars close when the last customer leaves.  And if that’s not enough, once out of the bar, you can go to what’s called a Soju Tent. These are bright orange tents erected at night for the sole purpose of drinking Soju (and eating). They stay open until 5-6am, when the subway system starts running again. I wonder where the AA groups meet. Here’s a blurry picture of a soju tent.

Nanzen-ji is a Buddhist Temple established in 1291 that was within walking distance of our hotel.  Upon entering the grounds, you see a great gate called The Sanmon. Apparently it is one of the three largest gates in Japan.

Even at this time of year before everything is in bloom, the gardens are beautiful:

There are many rooms throughout that you can peek into. There are paintings on sliding panels (fusuma) decorated in Japanese landscapes and tigers. Visitors are not allowed to take photos of inside these rooms, but here is what the outside looks like:

There were several Zen gardens also:

And more photos around the temple grounds:

This wooded path seemed to lead up the mountain.

With only one full day in Kyoto, we didn’t have the time to visit everything we wanted, including the famous bamboo groves at the far west end of the city. But we did come across a smaller one:

To finish our evening, we walked along the main street where our hotel was located (The Westin Miyako Kyoto), and we came across this quaint little restaurant: Asuka. It had a Lonely Planet review displayed in the window, so we decided to give it a try.

Like in Korea, this restaurant had low tables and square cushions to sit on.

Dave showed his little note written in Japanese script mentioning his sesame allergy, and the two mamasans who seemed to run the place had no problem with it. We both enjoyed a delicious meal.

And this is the view that greeted us outside our bedroom window.

On our first day in Korea, we were greeted with what’s called a Civil Defense Drill. This drill used to be carried out monthly, but now it happens twice a year. All traffic stops for about 20 minutes, and people prepare for a possible air-raid or other threat.

That afternoon, we went to a quaint little coffee shop just around the corner that would fit right in in Whitehorse. The owner has different plants and trees all over the shop, some of which are only found in Korea.

And they served my favourite: Caramel Macchiato.

You think losing one hour is bad when switching to Daylight Saving Time? Try a whole day. That’s what happened to us since we had to cross the international date line to get to Korea. Eighteen hours after leaving home, we found ourselves touching down in Seoul, South Korea. We took the subway line out of the airport, and I was amazed to see an electronic map above each door showing the progress we were making on the way. TTC? Hello? Can you hear me?

After catching up on some sorely missed sleep, we headed for a walk up a hill to view the city of Incheon from above. We only went a short way, but the walking trails go all over this pine forest on top of hills.

It is cool and dry at this time of year, so there’s a lot of brown. Apparently it’s quite beautiful after they receive some rain. I still thought these pine trees were pretty.

There are many, many apartment complexes, I guess, like in any big city. Between the major streets, however, there is a system of very narrow streets (almost like back alleys). It’s easy to get lost in this maze, but it’s fun exploring.

North Americans can learn a great deal from Koreans. For instance, South Koreans put a lot of emphasis on an active lifestyle. They have gym equipment scattered all over in public places and free to use. One woman even whipped out her skipping rope as we were taking a leisurely stroll through a park.

My brother-in-law brought us for lunch in a traditional Korean establishment. This restaurant specializes in noodle soups. Notice how the tables are low and everyone sits on the floor to eat their meal.

We had the clam noodle soup with an order of dumplings. It was delicious!

Before the long-weekend, everyone asks you if you’ll be doing anything special. I was so looking forward to not being on a schedule. So being the spontaneous person that I am, I decided to take an afternoon trip to Skagway, Alaska. I now realize it’s been more than a year since my last jaunt south.

As usual, the quirky Arctic Brotherhood building with driftwood siding greeted me like an old friend:

Arctic Brotherhood Building, Skagway, AK

Established in 1899, I wonder about the history of the shovel handle I noticed between the entrance and the windows.

Arctic Brotherhood 1899

AB - Shovel Handle

There are many nooks and crannies that provide interesting photo ops, like this old axle:

Old Axle

Yet another old faithful call-him-what-you-will:

Soapy Smith's Parlour

And what would be a visit to Skagway without checking out the old rotary snowplow used by the White Pass & Yukon Route (W.P. & Y.R.)?

W.P. & Y.R. Rotary Snowplow

A train going through after the deed is done in 1899:

Snow Trench dug in 1899 by W.P. & Y.R. Rotary Snowplow...now another train can get through - photographer H.C. Barley, courtesy of Yukon Archives

Rotary Snowplow Blades

It may be a coincidence, but just about every time I leave the Yukon, it greets my return with some smiling blue skies:

South of Carcross