What happens when you go third class in a third world country

Here is the journal entry I penned on the train tonight. Shudder...

8:33 PM We are on a train to Nha Trang Vietnam from Ho Chi Min City. It's pretty much what you'd expect from a 3rd World Country. We couldn't get a damn sleeper car, so we settled for an 8 hour trip in coach, soft seats, air conditioning (well, sometimes). These are the kinds of experiences I should write about, because it's been a heck of a train ride so far. We left Saigon at 3:45, it's almost 8:45 now, still 3 hours remaining...oh God.

I started the ride by playing hide and seek with the seemingly cute child in the seat ahead of us. It turns out, he was the devil reincarnate. He's about 4 and I've hands down diagnosed him with a very severe case of ADHD. Hyperactive?!? He was the Vietnamese Energizer Bunny!! To start, the kid made lollipop mouth raspberries on the window, them moved on to spitting some kind of nut peel at me. When I turned around to retrieve the wet shell in my seat, he assaulted me by pulling my ponytail. I handed it back to his mother, and she slapped his butt a few times. We have come to find that this technique of parenting does not work with this particular child (or any child?!) He continued to pull down the shade, nodding his head yes and chattering away in Vietnamese, while I shook my head saying, "no,no, no" in English. He giggled, then took a swipe at my head. He missed. What was better was that his mother missed it too. In fact, she failed to respond to most of his antics. How nice for her to take the hands off approach while he harassed me.

Ryan calmed me down by holding my hand (or maybe holding my hands down?) to make me feel better. I decided to read and ignore said devil spawn by reading my Nook. Devil baby thought it funny to try to hit it out of my hands because I wasn't giving him the attention he was craving. I ignored that. Then he turned his attention on Ryan, slapping his iPhone and pulling out his ear phones a couple times. Ryan's death stare did not faze the possessed youngster.

I had opened a bottle of water and set it on the windowsill. Devil baby grabbed it, put it in his seat, the shook it in my face. Eventually I stuck my hand over the seat to get it back, and the mother tried to hand me two opened bottles. For all the efforts of not drinking Vietnamese water, I'm certainly not sharing possible germs with the crazed tiny person. I gave up on the water. Especially after he tried one last ditch attempt to taunt me/ return the bottle upside down, where it started dripping all over me. Finally, I was just readjusting in my seat after hour 3, when out of nowhere the tiny hand of Beelzebub came shooting out to fully knock my glasses from my face. Dear Mama Risdon, I know you claim to never have met a child you didn't like. Well God Bless you if you fall in live with this one. Ah 3rd class riding in car 8 in Vietnam!

I must focus on something good. Some high points include seeing one of the most spectacular sunset skies. The hues of pink splashed behind big billowy clouds in the distance was truly a sight to see. As it grew darker, we could see a lightning storm taking place inside the largest cloud. Pretty amazing. Other than that, a overly boisterous and/or drunk Vietnamese man tried to make friends with us and had to find a very nervous teenager to interpret for us to be careful with our passports, while for the previous 5 minutes we thought he was talking about baseball. I love language barriers! A group of teenagers also gave a few charming renditions of some of their favorite Vietnamese camp songs, and actually harmonized quite nicely. Good on ya girls. Also, they showed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the first couple hours. Not bad, if but for the glare off the windows.

Oh great, El Diablo is literally running up and down the aisles cackling away in his tiny possessed voice. He might have also just coughed on Ryan. Ew. Alright. It might be time to just take a nap in order to make it through the rest of this semi-torturous ride. Is it a bad sign that Ryan asked a little while ago if we could go back to Cambodia?!

11:33 PM Longest train ride ever... It's late. I'm tired. The terrible two footer finally went to sleep on a mat under the chairs in front of us. His dirty feet are now taking up the space in front of me. The train stopped for 10 minutes for no reason. To top it all off, our boisterous/drunk friend ordered ramen noodles and has now spilled them all over the floor of the train. He's been slowly picking up the noodles with a plastic fork for at least 5 minutes. I cannot WAIT to get to this hotel!!!

Temple Run: Angkor Wat Edition

As we were sitting in the Ho Chi Min Airport Ryan exclaimed, "This is so awesome!! We are taking a vacation from our vacation!!" And he's right! Even though we are only in Cambodia for 4 days, it has been an excellent decision and added country to our itinerary.

We are staying in a little guest house called Angkor Villas, an web though this is the low season, there aren't many people here and we've gotten in credible service. We opted for the budget type room, but it was a big bed, comfy and it was a good place to sleep after climbing around an up and down temple ruins all day. The food was excellent, the staff greeted us by name every morning, and they were great at recommending a tuk-tuk driver to drive us around all day on our temple excursions (Jut-nee was amazing by the way, he waited patiently for us at each temple, recommended places for lunch, came back and drive us to dinner, and one of the nights, successfully navigates us through about 2 feet of flooding rain water in the streets of Siem Reap(Ahhhh!)). They also recommended a dinner buffet/Cambodian traditional dance show one night and a really yummy Cambodian BBQ place another night (yum- grilled Tiger Shrimp!). All that said an done, my memory of our guest house will be severely eclipsed by the fun and adventure we had wandering around the temple ruins of the Ancient Angkor times. They were phenomenal, I am sad to see the last one because I would live to see them all. We took 3 days of touring and we still haven't seen every one! Most people know of Angkor Wat, the biggest and most famous temple grounds, but that wasn't my favorite by far. We had a blast pulling up in our little motorcycle driven carriage, fending off, ignoring, or actually buying water/postcards/scarves from the hawkers outside the temples, children asking, "lady, you buy silk scarves? You buy from me? I sell you good price". It was hard to say no to the little girls (one actually just set her bracelet on my shoulder so I would come back and buy from her on the way out (which I totally did...sucker).

The temples themselves were unbelievable. We walked in through a gate to one of the temples that has amazing banyon trees growing up from the walls, an I actually commented to Ryan about how it looked fake, it actually looked like a movie set!! It was so surreal! You could basically just wander around to your hearts content, snapping pictures (which will never do it justice) and taking in all the ornate sandstone details that are found carved on almost every wall, pillar and tower you could see. The moss and trees, the sun beating down, sweat running down as you climb heart-stopping steep steps up to the 'heaven' level of a temple...it's so out of this world. It was actually easy to imagine the kings, the wives, the harrams, servants, guards, elephants all of them living in a place so divine. I can see why they built it. Completely breathtaking beauty and awe.

The countryside, although poor, was inviting, and warm. We passed many rice fields, dotted with palm trees, water buffalo and cows grazing as we zoomed past, stilted houses and people selling fruit, goods, water, palm oil. I love seeing how others live.

Cambodia, I have fallen in love with you and your history. I don't know if I'll be back, but I'm pretty sure you changed my life. I go to sleep dreaming of faces on towers, and it is peace.

Conical hats in the crowds of Saigon

It's been a few days since our last blog, but we're still alive! We flew in to Saigon really late on Friday night. A note about Seoul Incheon Airport: We love that place! Even though we haven't been on the road that long, as travelers, you have to appreciate a place that goes above and beyond to ease travel. We were able to check in, check our bags through, and go through customs all at the Seoul Train Station, then boarded a 40 minute express train to the airport where we were whisked through VIP-esque immigration check and security at the airport. We really couldn't get over how efficient it was!

We had our final Korean meal in the airport because Ryan (as I have learned today, sitting at my gate 2.5 hours early for my flight!) LOVES to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I had one of my favorite Korean soups, Dwen-Jong- cheegay, and Ryan had a cheeseburger. Old dog. We also might have had a wee bit too much Soju, but it pretty much put me right to sleep on the flight. It was about 5 hours, and then we had to go through customs and get a taxi to our hotel in Vietnam.

Now, taxis in Vietnam, as we have been warned, are not always how you might say...trustworthy. We did much searching previously on our iPhones about which taxis to take, and they do pretty much harass you as soon as you step outside into the heat with your bags. They know your going somewhere and they assume you need them to rip you off as soon as possible. We had to tell several men no, right from the start, even as we were consulting our notes. We found a supposedly reputable one, but as soon as we got to our hotel, he didn't give us the right change. Annoying, but it was late, and we were tired, so we let him have the $6 extra or whatever it was. He must have smiled as he drove away. I hope he bought his kid diapers or something! Or maybe he needed a new conical hat. They really wear those hear, like for real, all around the streets. Maybe he bought is baby a conical hat. Now that would be worth it!

Anyways, the hotel was very very nice. I've also realized that when I leave Ryan in charge of finding a hotel, he might pack as if he's slummin' it, but he wants to sleep like a king. I cannot say I mind, in the end, but it's a long way from my hostel days! The Equatorial Hotel was impressive with chandeliers, a huge pool, spa, and very comfortable beds. After the Love Motel fiasco, I tell myself we deserved it!

Ryan was up and at 'em Saturday morning, but that might have been due to the fact that he didn't set his watch 2 hours back. Once we got ourselves up, we had some breakfast downstairs, then caught the shuttle downtown to the main tourist areas of Saigon. It was a little scary at first, which is probably why we found an outdoor Vietnamese coffee place, plopped down and consulted maps and free wifi for our routes, landmarks and destinations for the day. After a Tropical Tea and some banana cake, we set out for the main market in the town Ben Thahn Market. It's incredibly popular, and is a covered space, not unlike a farmers market in the states but 1000 times more cramped, crowded and full of junk you want to take home, but have to bargain for. We braved it, while all the Vietnamese ladies touched my arm and asked me if I wanted a handbag, a t-shirt(good quality, good for tourist), or a kitschy keychain. Why yes, I would love a vietnamese table runner, but I don't think it will fit in my backpack. Oh, you lowered the price? I just dont know...wait, you see me walk away and lower the price again? Well, ok, we'll see if I can squish it in between my toiletry bag and my rain poncho.

And on this went, with the food section, housewares, and more keychains and coin purses than you could possibly imagine. Oh, and conical hats. People love those things!

After the market, we made an attempt to walk to a sort of hidden train ticket vendor so that we could get our train tickets for the next leg of our journey through Vietnam. We searched for the place to sell us the train tickets to Nha Trang, but we couldn't find it and ended up taking the LONG way around the Reunification Palace. They had an English tour starting in a few minutes so we joined up. Basically it is a government building that was a big part of the planning for the Vietnam War. It had been redone in the 70s due to previous bombing, so it's this giant retro style building with a really weird mix of 70s and Asian style furniture. The basement is a different story, where you can still see the maps from the war in the walls, and it looks like they all just got up and left their desks in 1975, which they did I guess when the gates we stormed by northern tanks (that are still sitting outside). Kinda creepy, kinda cool. I'd recommend it.

The day was complete when we booked a couples massage at the hotel which was so incredibly relaxing that I almost fell asleep a few times. Ryan loved it too. Haha, I've made him in to a total spa convert! I will dream about that massage for years to come!!

I was the one to wake up early this morning, so I grabbed the leather journal my mom got me for my birthday and headed down to the pool. It was expertly designed. The breeze rippled on the water and the palm trees swayed around it. I found a big cushioned lounge chair to write and then had a swim. So calming!

After we stored our bags for the day and checked out, we went back to town in search of train tickets downtown again. It was noon, and they close for lunch until 1:30, which seems the custom in Vietnam. Ok, so we found a nice little place near the backpacking district where we could sit at a table on the sidewalk. It was lovely, the food seemed very fresh and delicious, and it was nice out until the amazing downpour that ensued right as we were paying the bill. Another Saigon beer it is! It lasted only 10 minutes, which Ryan has dubbed Disney rain. We found a ticket place next, and booked for Wednesday up to Nha Trang (beach- here we come!!).

The War Remnants Museum was next, which I don't feel like I want to talk about much because it just reaffirmed I hate war, war is dumb, especially senseless ones, it had lots of planes and tanks and countless pictures that I probably didn't need to see. I left feeling like I should apologize to everyone. Ryan didn't like it that much either, but for different reasons I suppose.

So, with having seen and enjoyed most of our time in Ho Chi Min City/Saigon, we are now waiting for a plane to Cambodia to relish in the magnitudes of the temples of Angkor Wat! More from Cambodia later!

Home is where Hwamyeong is?

We are currently back on the train en route to Seoul. We actually really liked our first hotel so much, and it was such a great location that we decided to book another night with our frequent flier miles. Thanks United! We've done the love motel, which was pretty cheap, and we liked it fine. It had a computer and a little fridge. There was no shower curtain, and the sink and shower both emptied right onto the bathroom floor where the drain was (in true Korean fashion), so yeah, maybe having a bit of an upgrade again is good. Another plus- we can do our laundry. We want to be fully reset to begin our 3 week stint in Vietnam tomorrow. Whoa, that's exciting! Korea hasn't been that hard for me (well, maybe a little), because I lived here before. I can read and speak a little of the language, I'm comfortable with the customs. Vietnam will be a whole new story! Kinda exciting and a little scary too!

Ryan figured this out quickly, when the other morning he said, "there is a big difference between traveling and vacation!" True dat' brothah'! And this is NO vacation. Don't get me wrong, we fully plan on totally laying out on several beaches around the world, and we're even in talks about maybe taking a quick cruise around parts of Turkey. Those parts might be relaxing and free of worry, but for as much planning as we put in to this trip, we couldn't have planned everything! We're planning as we go along, and I think that's sort of the beauty in it. I think some days Ryan agrees. :)

Busan was actually really good. We did just enough adventuring and just enough resting I think. I checked many things off my "Want to do in Korea" list. We visited Lotte department store, had a great night out with my friend/teacher Billy for Shabu Shabu (a soup you make at your table with thinly sliced meat and veggies and seafood) and then hit up a beer bar that had drink sized coolers installed in the table. Why they STILL don't have those in America is beyond me.
We went up and walked around Beomeosa Temple in the mountains, which was absolutely gorgeous and serene. We found a little area in the woods around the temple that was just covered in boulders, looking like that had cascaded down the mountain, but they were stable, and underneath them was the clearest mountain stream I've ever seen. We climbed around a bit, and listened to an old Korean man, taking a break from his hike, sit on a boulder and play his harmonica. It was hot, so after jumping and climbing over a few rocks, I decided that that stream looked way too inviting and I took my shoes off and just waded for a little while. I could see these little Chinese minnows darting around my feet, and the water felt so cool on a day that just had us dripping sweat. Calm. Sigh. I love finding moments like that!

Next we hit up the Korean spa, which Ryan has so kindly filled you in on. After the initial shock, it became really relaxing. Body scrub was lovely!
Yesterday we laid low a bit. My tummy was a little funny, but eventually we went over to Busan station to move up our train tickets (we decided to get into Seoul a little earlier). It poured from the sky huge buckets of raindrops, but, we didn't let it stop us.

I still knew I wanted to get to Hwamyeong to see my old neighborhood. Home was in Hwamyeong, but it's so different now! They're in the process of building a raised freeway over the middle of the main street, my apartment building looked the same, but maybe a little bit more worn. My school, Wonderland, I couldn't find it, so they must have closed it or moved it. Breaks my heart a little. I couldn't find another one of the restaurants I had enjoyed, so we got really cheap and yummy Korean BBQ for dinner. Loved that!

So, we've come full circle and are back on the bullet train to Seoul on this rainy afternoon. I shall continue to watch the countryside go by ever so quickly. Still looks beautiful to me in the rain.

Traversing rock gardens and nudity in Busan

I (Ryan) am admittedly  not an adventurous traveler (when informed of this fact, Jane shouted, "WHAT?! NOW you tell me?!").  I could just as well spend the next two months seeing a museum each day, while spending evenings relaxing in a hotel pool.  Yesterday, Jane and I satisfied my first urge by visiting the Beomeosa temple in Busan.  The temple was idyllically set in the mountains of Busan.  We spent our time wandering through the temple grounds, climbing a garden of rocks, and experiencing the mountain views, while walking (and sweating) a lot. But what about relaxation?

Ever the helpful guide, Jane shepherded me to a Korean bath (jjimjilbang) at the Hotel Nong Shim.  The Hurshimchung Spa there features dozens of pools and saunas, a helpful staff, and the occasional English translation.  It also required that Jane and I venture into separate male and female areas, leaving me on my own to confront the Korean language.

Jane and I agreed to meet about 10 minutes after entry in the unisex "Grand Resting Room."  I started by stowing my shoes and clothes in an assigned locker, and then making my way to the showers and baths.  Of course, this required me to be completely naked.  While I have no issues with nudity under ordinary circumstances, I needed to locate the showers, arrange a robe rental, and find the "Grand Resting Room" all without the luxuries of pants or a rudimentary understanding of Korean.  After forty minutes (fifteen of which were spent in a milk bath soaking/sulking after giving up any hope of locating Jane or making my way back home), I finally figured out how to rent my robe—which even at XXXL (Korean size) was comically tight.  I finally located Jane nervously waiting outside the men's locker room, praying that I had found the strength to not board a plane back home just yet.

We lazed together in small, igloo shaped saunas, resting on the mats with nothing but a surprisingly comfortable wood block for a pillow.  We ate delightful noodles in the spa restaurant and soothed our nerves before returning to our respective bath houses for some soaking time.

Korean baths are not for the faint of heart.  As a fairly chubby American, I was quite the novelty, and found a number of men staring at my figure upon my return.  But Jane could not have picked a better place.  I switched from hot spas to frigid pools and marveled at the huge selection (milk, salt, "cavern," philosophy, and waterfall baths just to name a few).  I lounged in a half-dozen saunas ranging from 10-90° C (50-194° F).  And even though I could not work up the courage to get a massage, I did receive an incredibly thorough Korean scrubbing.  I think I might have lost a pound just from all the dead skin they removed. 

All in all, while initially terrifying, I can heartily recommend a stay at a jjimjilbang.  My only advice: bring a friend.   

Searching for "Love" in Busan

The plan was always to try to find a cheap "Love Motel" in Busan, because, well, we need to be cheap if we are going to make it all the way around the world. This plan has wavered here and there, but after yesterday in Seoul visiting Deoksygung Palace and REALLY getting to try out my Sony DSLR camera, viewing the art of Lee Il-Sung at the National Museum of Art (on the Palace grounds- thank you God for air conditioning!), and hiking it to see the Seoul Musem of History (very interesting view points on the occupations of Japan in Korea) we took the KTX bullet train down to Busan.  It was almost 10 pm before we even got out of the station, so pickin's were slim when it came to really trying to find a motel. We settled for one right outside the Busan train station, which was conveniently nestled between the gigantic neon "Welcome to Busan" sign, the homeless guys sleeping under it, and the prostitutes mingling in the shadows. All that said, the Toyoko Hotel in Busan (it's Japanese!)- not so terrible. It was less than $70 a night, which was way more than I wanted to pay, but it was nice, seemed safe, and this morning had a nice view of Busan shipping harbor.

After we dined on Japanese style breakfast of rice, rice and more rice, we repacked our overstuffed backpacks and headed out on the subway to get to a more desirable section of town.  Seomyeon is sort of the hub of Busan, so I knew there would be plenty of places to choose from, I just had no idea where.  These are the parts of my personality that I'm not sure Ryan really has taken on, because even though he says he loves to go with the flow, I think a serious bought of culture shock has taken hold, because we decided that he might do better sitting in a Starbucks with our backpacks while I went on a motel hunt. This was probably a better idea than trampsing all over the place in a VERY foreign world looking for a cheap place to sleep. Give him a mocha and a hug, and most problems were solved. Actually, he wanted to try Kiwi juice, but he seemed content for the moment.

Off I went looking for the famed Love Motels of Korea. Now, most young people live with their parents until they are married here, so the Love Motels can be rented hourly or nightly.  They rarely are rented for several days, but I've stayed in many that are very nice, on trips I took when I lived in Korea. I would never hate on a Love Motel, but some are more acceptable than others. I was on the hunt for one that looked decent, didn't have a large porno collection near the check in window, and was willing to let me see a room.  Don't get me wrong, I like wandering around, and there are parts of Korea that I have definitely missed, but in 90 degree weather, with pretty much no idea where I was going, I had to muster up the courage to keep going on this one. At one point I may have emplored the Lord for some guidance.  I found a really cool outdoor market selling loads and loads of all sorts of fresh fish, little old Korean ladies sitting on the side of the street selling onions, and a few really really shady love motels. Several I just walked by. I was truly hoping I wouldn't have to just give up and go to the Lotte Hotel on the main drag, because I knew it cost over $200 a night. Not happening. I needed to make my husband proud and not scared of Korea, so I kept going!

Finally, I saw a promising 모 달 sign in the sky (I think I mispelled it in Korean, oh well). I went in and the lady was very nice to me. She let me see the room, it had a big bathroom, a huge bed (ha, go figure), and seemed very clean (EXTREMELY important in these types of places).  So, I decided to go fetch my Ryan. I used the Lotte Hotel as the landmark, and when I got back to the main road, I sorta started to panic because I couldn't quite remember where I left him. I rememered Starbucks, but...um..where was that. I found a map, and started walking in the direction I thought it was. I had to cross more streets than I thought I needed to, then I had to eventually go back down to the subway station, when I remembered we got out of Exit 8! Awesome- problem solved! However, exit 8 was way harder to find than I thought (so much for sequential order!), but eventually I did, and even though it looked different than the first time we exited, I was so greatful when I saw the Starbuck's sign appear as I walked up the stairs! I found him! Hurrah!

Of course I came in, all out of breath, sweaty, and happy that I'd finally relocated him, and he's all like "I wasn't worried at all!". Typical. We made it back to Hotel Nix, located above a large fish restaurant, and we chilled out for a bit. Found the Korean fishing station on TV, which Ryan watched in honor of his father. It has a computer too, so I am able to log on. We've been relying mostly on WiFi for our phones, but this is nice.

Today is sort of a more relaxed day than we had in Seoul. At first we were going to go to a Korean Spa for the day, but after the Love Motel fiasco, we decided to lay low. However, we did get up and go over to Lotte Department Store. If you read my previous post about Lotte Mart, imagine that, but 100 times bigger. Like, Macy's, that you might find in heaven. It's so cool. They sell stone beds. We went there for the Korean food court for lunch, checked to see if there are any good movies playing at the Lotte Cinema (yeah, Lotte owns everything in Korea) and the only thing that caught Ryan's attention was the Korean version of some sort of Top Gun-esque movie. So, it's about military, flying and it's in Korean? I'll pass. We decided to check out some of the 8 other floors in this MegaMall. It's quite amazing.

As of now, we are back in our motel resting. My Korean friend Billy, who was my Korean tutor when I lived in Busan is going to meet us for dinner tonight. Good times with old friends. That's it for now! We found Love in Busan! Phew!

Long roads and tired feet

The adventure has really begun!! We were up pretty early yesterday, and that gave us lots of time to dig in to Seoul. We had a breakfast buffet in the hotel that seemed a little expensive, but it was definitely filling and a good mix of eastern and western fare. Eggs, bacon, Korean sausage, rice, bulgogi, lots of breads, cheeses, juices, cereal. We tried a bit of everything, but overall, it was a good way to fuel our bodies for the first day out and about.
Even though the forecast called for rain and thunderstorms, I had kept my eye on the weather all morning, and dubbed it safe to go out armed with an umbrella in my purse. Ryan opted for packing the poncho, but seeing how those are highly unfashionable, incredibly hot, and only necessary in a humongous downpour, I packed it for him, but he is now the proud owner of a Korean made travel umbrella. Good thing, sharing my tiny polka dot one looked silly for many reasons.

Anyway, the first thing we did, like all good tourists do, is argue about which way to go. Standing in the boiling hot sauna of the Korean weather, new map in hand, pointing and gesturing and whatevering, all in good time brought us to the Seoul train Station. Good place for many things, including the train tickets to Busan (on which I am riding at the moment). We purchased said tickets, and felt like champions of the world, then, I saw that the train station was attached to not only a shopping center, but a Lotte Mart as well. Score! As I recently read, Korea is the Mecca of consumption and shopping malls and centers abound. First stop was the shopping mall where we we witnessed the goods that prove Korea's love of everything outdoorsy and anything to do with hiking. Oh, and toys. Could I go anywhere with Ryan and not look at toys? The answer is no, my friends. I married a man who really loves toys. I accept this. And it's a good thing, because I found a tiny bunny toy entitled "Smorkin' Labbit" I had to buy it, that's just too good.

Now, the Koreans also love their shopping centers. One of my all time favorites is Lotte Mart- man, that place has EVERYTHING!!! No, really. It's like a Meijer, or Super Walmart/Target, but way, way cooler. Their electronics section resembles a small Best Buy, and their toy section actually is a small Toys R Us. That's just the 3rd floor. On the 2nd floor is any kind of household or health and beauty item you would ever dream of, and the 1st floor is a grocery market that has fresh meats and veggies that will make your mouth water, and a fresh fish section that will make your head spin. It's pretty unnecessary that I mention how much I love grocery stores, but this one just leaves me in awe every time. Ryan was equally impressed! How often do you photograph food in a supermarket? Anyway, praising of Lotte Mart over: if you are ever in Korea you can't miss it!

They even sell glasses, which was our next stop, and actually, we had both planned and saved to purchase new glasses for both of us and sunglasses for me. They were a bit more expensive than I remember, but it's pretty sweet that you can just walk in, they'll check your eyes for free and you can get glasses made on the spot. They told us to come back at 5, and we walked back out into the sauna weather, and high fived because it was only noon and we are the best travelers of all time. So much accomplished!

It still wasn't raining or thunder storming, so I gave up trusting the weather report as we made our way over to Namdaemun Market- a great indoor/outdoor market in the center of Seoul that sells all the bath mitt scrubbies, bags, blankets and bulk bags of candy you will ever want. Ever. The thing goes on for miles. Ryan and I literally just wound our way through different alleys and doorways and basements and up ramps and around and about this market. Ryan bought aforementioned umbrella and we also got a new spoon/chopstick set. We walked down one pretty tightly packed alley that was filled with all kinda of food stalls, men crowded around plastic tables, ladies in aprons storing pots of red stews and soups, and even more ladies trying to entice us to come in to try their bulgogi and bibimbap. We passed, but Ryan mentioned that the whole thing was like something out of Bladerunner. Cool to see!

We Got lunch at a place called Nulboo, which is a yummy Korean soup place. I guess having the American GIs around for so long because on top of noodles and mandu dumplings and beans, they put pepperoni, spam, balogna, and a slice of American cheese in there to make it a little creamy. I used to have a restaurant like it right under my school when I taught in Busan, so it took me back. Yum!

We still had a little steam after lunch and the rain was mostly holding, so we took the tram up Namasan park to Seoul Tower. We got the whole view, even though it was cloudy. My feet were aching, so we took the subway back to Lotte to pick up the glasses and headed back to our room. We both pretty much immediately fell asleep, thinking we'd wake up in an hour to go to dinner, but neither of those things happened. I woke up at 9, and we still weren't really hungry, so we went to check out our hotel pool and spa instead. It felt good to dip my weary feet into the hot tub! We swam till 10 when the pool closed, then went back up and settles in for the night. We were just about as tired as reading all this has made you.

Lucky for us, we got a good rest before we started up again today, so, I guess it's ok if you want to take a nap before reading about today. Go ahead...

So, breakfast buffet happened again cause we were hungry! We replaced our bags and stored them at the front desk. Today we didn't argue about the direction, because we are now map pros, and we easily found our way to Deoksung Palace, where I put my DSLR camera to good use! I love me some temples!! It was still very very ho, but it wasn't so crowded. Beauty within the city. There was a great exhibit by a Korean artist at the Seoul Art Museum which is within the palace walls. The air conditioning was a welcome respite from the drenching humidity, and I did like a lot of the art.

We got sandwiches for lunch and then continued up to another temple area, but opted for the Seoul History museum, which is free, like all museums should be (you got it right Korea!), and a very, very good museum. We looked at a really interesting exhibit about the Japanese occupation of Seoul in the 40s. I love challenging my American perspective. I know it's so limited, so this was fascinating. They did a nice job of really considering how the Japanese occupation changed their way of life for good and bad. Another great part was a 3D lit map of the city that took up the whole bottom of a room that has suspended glass floor above it to interact and investigate the tiny city from above. Very cool!

The walk back to our hotel was not that long, but we our feet were tired, and I think we've done well with the jet lag thing, expect I. The afternoon when all we want to do is pass out.

I'm on the train now down to Busan, Ryan is napping by the window and I'm updating this bloggity blog. Maybe you are ready for another nap too! Me too. Darn you jetlag!

Quick notes from Days 1 and 2 of the Adventure by Ryan

- Within five minutes of entering JFK, I had lost my passport. If not for the attentiveness of the Asiana Airlines employees (who found it on the ground and started looking for me), I'd still be in the U.S.

- My Ecco sandals, which I ordered several months ago for this trip, had such a horrific odor that I bagged them as soon as I boarded the flight. My first act in Seoul was to throw my sandals in the combination washer/dryer in my hotel room. Jane just mentioned that she spied the gentleman next to her in the window seat waft his nose several times.

- I can highly recommend Asiana Airlines. Great staff, nice in-flight entertainment, and two scrumptious Korean-style airplane meals made even our coach seats very enjoyable for the fourteen-hour flight. The only hiccup was that we were delayed at JFK for 1.5 hours while the ground crew tried to disconnect a trailer from the aircraft.

- After 2.5 hours in immigration and busing to Seoul, I threw up my arms in praise once we made it to our hotel. Jane and I had been up 27 hours before laying down on our rock-hard (but strangely comfortable) mattress.

Time to start Day 3!

I've got Seoul

We touched down in Korea tonight! We have checked into a superbly located hotel, walking distance to two temples, and on of my favorite street markets!

It took simply FOREVER to get from the airport to our hotel. At least an additional one and a half hours. My head was lolling around in the seat, plus the driver had the AC blasting away. It's very hot and humid outside, and we were sweating waiting for the shuttle bus at the airport. However, the bus was so cold I needed a sweatshirt and I debated rooting around in my bag for another layer.

Ah well, it dropped us off right outside our hotel, so I can't complain. We've already unpacked too much, taken showers and visited the local 711 for Korean snacks. Yup, first night in Korea and I'm back to eating Ramyun noodles.

It's time to tuck myself into my extremely firm, Korean style bed and experience the sleep of backpacking kings! Goodnight!

Holding my breath.

It's almost time! We are so close! Right now I'm laying amongst all my backpack stuff that I've packed, repacked and packed and unpacked again. It never ends, the decision making process of the things to carry around for a 65 day trip through multiple climates. Ay!

Ryan and I spent our honeymoon yesterday mostly in the car. It was a lot harder to leave my parents house in Michigan than I thought. We had had such a relaxing and memorable time, both my brother's and cousin's wedding, camping in the rain, sitting by the lake, playing with my nephew, even listening to the fountain out my window at night. It's never easy to leave, but this time was especially difficult. Much anxiety ensued while getting ready to leave, I was tired, anxious, nervous, and even though we were supposed to take off Sunday night, I really couldn't get it together emotionally to make that happen. I needed sleep, and Ryan was wide awake! So, getting up at 5:30 am didn't go over too well. We were both grumpy and still tired, so what started out as a crappy morning, soon was remedied with the idea that we would stop at Hersey Park in Pennsylvania for a bit to make our 1st anniversary a little bit less of a forgettable day. It was just what we needed!! We made that theme park our b#%^! We rode some awesome roller coasters and got some chocolate for the Daniel clan. We stayed a few hours longer than expected, but for $20 for an evening pass, and roller coasters that made me scream and laugh simultaneously, I'd say it was worth it.

I guess getting ready to travel is a little bit like getting ready to ride a new, big roller coaster. You wait in line, wait in line, wait in line, thinking about how great it will be, all the twists and turns , the inverted hills that will make your stomach drop out, the banks that will surprise you, the dips that will thrill you, waiting there with fear and excitement all mixed up because it's all an unknown, but you wanna do it anyway and you hope everything will go ok, and you will get off and turn to the person next to you, with your heart beating fast, and your hair all a mess and say, "that was AWESOME!!! Can we do it again?" Yeah, my stomach might be filled with butterflies now, but just wait till after we make this trip our b#%^!

Pack it up!

One week until we set a course for adventure!!! Ryan is so excited for this trip that he has literally been packed for months. Yes, months. Well, he's been taking things in and out of it, but he's got the list down pat. I started yesterday. Even though I was excited, I guess I needed to really see what I like wearing these days. This is going to be a pretty difficult trip to pack for, because, silly us, we are visiting Southeast Asia during monsoon season, which means HOT and WET! Yay. We did invest in panchos.

Most of our inspiration for packing has come from the blogs of others who have gone before us. My friend Ashley and her husband Justin are on a serious Round the World adventure now, a much longer and more physically demanding trip than we will be doing, but considering that we will be staying in some hostels along the way, we thought it best to pack lightweight, quick drying clothes. REI in New York became our best friend roundabout January. Ashley and Justin's packing lists are here http://theparallellife.com/things-we-carry/
Please check out their blog as well, because it's fantastic, and has been a true inspiration to us as we get ready for our own trip.

So, I'll be honest. I've never been what you call a 'light packer'. If you know me well, or have ever seen me move (and you've probably commented "you have so much stuff!" and you're right) then you might imagine how I actually fit a kitchen sink into a backpack. Not easily my friends, not easily at all. So, my goal for the trip was to really try to cut back. I've already started eliminating shirts. But, I guess I've done a better job at acquiring shirts that weigh next to nothing. I am limiting myself to 6 shirts, 5 tank tops, and 3 long sleeve tops. At least right now I am. We have to pack for the hot weather in Asia, the mild weather in southern Europe, and the not so warm weather of Denmark, London and Iceland at the end of October.

Let's start with my list so far: I have one Northface jacket for rain/wind/cool weather and a light zip up top to layer. After much deliberation, I am taking one pair of lightweight jeans, but Ryan won't be. I wear them a lot, I can roll them up like capris and I like them too much to leave them at home. I have one pair of black Columbia yoga/outdoor pants, one pair of Eddie Bauer travel pants that duel as capris and a pair of Eddie Bauer travel shorts. I'll take one pair of athletic shorts for beach and sleeping, 7 pairs of underwear, 3 bras, 5 socks, one pair of flip flops, a pair of Land's End lightweight gym type shoes, and my Chaco Travel sandals. I have a quick dry travel towel, a sarong for the beach, a hat and a scarf from my friend Liz Tracy. We're also carrying playing cards, a small LCR game, and a container of detergent. That's it so far. Toiletries and Ryan's list to follow!