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Xi’an:Armies, Mountains and New Ink

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

It has been nine days since I left the Kung Fu school and thankfully, the experience is quickly fading into a distant past. Every facet of life that was lacking during my time there has returned in full force.  Due to the hardships I recently endured, my sense of appreciation has also been greatly enhanced to enjoy it all the more!     [read on]

Liberation

Monday, September 10th, 2007

Ah, freedom… I can taste it again! I am happily writing this on my way away from Songshan and the hellish Kung Fu training experience endured there.    [read on]

Pingyao’s fifteen-hundred years of history

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007

After a hellish first experience with third class travel in a developing nation, I literally squeezed myself by force out of the overcrowded train car and into the dusty streets of Pingyao.  The first impression was of a more polluted but slightly smaller scale version of Beijing.  Clouds of dust kicked up by a constant rush of motor-carts, bicycles and motorcycles.  I heard this was an ancient walled Ming Dynasty City, but here I find myself in near third world urban sprawl?!?

Luckily the impression faded after passing through the city walls.  Inside is a straight up third world city still hanging onto an era long passed.  Old crumbling buildings covered in age-old dust wrapped around the random twists of cobblestone alleyways.  This is the type of place I’ve been waiting for since I started my travels.    [read on]

The Yin and Yang of Beijing

Saturday, August 18th, 2007

Would I ever want to live in Beijing?  Not even a possible consideration!  It is polluted, grimy, overcrowded and excessively hot.  After seven days here, my throat is sore and nose is stuffed from the smog.  Two showers a day would be barely sufficient to cleanse the filth from your skin, and fighting through the swarms of human traffic can be downright uncivilized at times.

Would I visit again?  Definitely!  Balancing all of the negative aspects is a city full of exotic culture, excitement at every corner, abundance of interesting excursions and endless supply of enticing cuisine.    [read on]

Character Development

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Five months deep into this adventure has taught me more than I could have learned in five years stagnating at home. I do know I am still far from an experienced traveler, but it is safe to say that I’m at least no longer wet behind the ears. It has been almost a month since I left the comforts of Gangneung, and I’ve found less and less time at a computers to update this blog.

So what has been keeping me so busy? Life… the way I want to live it. The weeks I’ve spent in Seoul kept me preoccupied with friends, playing music, taking photos and visiting the must see sights. I also took a twenty-five hour ferry into China and have been exploring Beijing for the last few days. Now I’m sitting in a quiet pavilion hidden in a secluded corner of Temple of Heaven Park and have pulled out my journal for the first time in weeks. [read on]

Goodbye Gangneung

Friday, July 27th, 2007

The last two weeks in Gangneung have been like a vacation from traveling.  Hanging out with Melissa and her friends at the beaches and suburbs was reminiscent of a summer at home.  It has helped me to shake a bit of funk that has been building up during the last four months on the road.  I was getting a little disillusioned and burdened by time limits and dwindling finances, so it was great to live a stressless life with no real agenda for a change.  A lot of my time there was spent wasting time in internet cafes and playing with the kids at Melissa’s school, but I did get into a couple photo explorations during my last week in town.    [read on]

I Sold My Seoul For Rock & Roll!

Sunday, July 22nd, 2007

The Plan: Wake up early, three hour bus trip to Seoul, wander the city, see a Crying Nut show (Famous Korean punk band), party until the buses start running in the morning!    [read on]

Busan, South Korea

Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

I boarded the Camellia Line ferry at Fukuoka and waved goodbye to Japan. The IYTC card I picked off more than paid for itself by saving me about $20 off the ticket. During the trip I met a Texan who has been living in Korea for the last three years. He juggled, showed me a few card tricks and gave me some advice about what to expect when I arrived. I also did some exploring of the ship looking for photo ops before passing out in the communal cabin. [read on]

Last Night in Kansai

Thursday, July 12th, 2007

Well that’s it.  Time to start making peace with Japan.  I have less than a week left on my visa.  My ferry to Korea leaves on Monday, and I still need to pay a visit to Megumi in Fukuoka before leaving.    [read on]

Kyoto Part I: Zen

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

 

I did it!  I escaped the magnetic grip of Osaka once again.  Somehow evading its mysterious tractor beam, I found myself on a train bound for Kyoto.  I intended to spend more time there, but the last month in Kansai has sped by in a blur.  The biggest festival in Japan, the Gion Matsuri, takes place annually in Kyoto throughout the month of July.  Although the climactic parade and main festivities peak after my visa expiration, I found information on the web about a lantern parade happening today.  Perfect reason to visit the cultural heart of Japan that I have been neglecting the last month I’ve been in Kansai.    [read on]