Strange things in Korea

While on the train to Suwon today, where there is a fort and palace, I witnessed some strange going-ons. Normally on the subway in Asia you will see cripples coming through begging for money, or terrible musicians playing an accordion very badly. Today, I saw a man come through with a push cart and demonstrate a vegetable slicer which cut cut cucumber very thin. He was also selling something that looked like pantyhose. He gave a long spiel and then sold at least tewn of the things my car. I was surprised by his success! Next, I saw an obese man come through and hand everyone a sheet of paper in Korean, including me. Then he went to the front of the car, closed his eyes and muttered silently, before collecting the sheets of paper. I'm sure this was some sort of religious thing. Christianity is very popular in Korea. Of course, I had to see a talentless musician, which I did. He was an old man playing one note on a harmonica. It was painful to listen to. I also saw a woman dressed completely in orange. She was wearing all orange clothing, orange shoes, and orange hat and an orange hand bag. The train is filled with colourful characters, it seems.

Seoul

This morning I hung around the hostel for a while to do my laundry, which desperately needed to be done. Then, I went on the very efficient subway system to one of the city's five palaces. I stopped for a lunch of noodle soup on the way. I enjoyed the palace, as it was quite different from the Forbidden City. It seemed more primitive, with the grounds being dirt rather than stones. Most of the palace had been rebuilt, as the Japanese almost completely destroyed it during their occupation. It started rainig while I was in the palace, so I decided to return to the guesthouse. There I had a quick nap before heading out to dinner, where I had some diffculty ordering. No Korean restaurant has an English menu, apparently.

Seoul

I arrived in Seoul yesterday at around six and checked into my lovely hostel, where the owner was very helpful. I went to dinner, and with the help of the owner's Korean writing, ordered a delicious tofu stew with kimchi. Unfortunately, I did not sleep so well, as the air conditioner was too strong in our room. I was frigid.

Taipei - Day 2

I didn't sleep very well last night (I never sleep well in dorms), and felt tired for much of the day. I started out by going to the Confucian Temple, which to my disapointment has been closed for renovations. I went to the nearby Baoan temple next door, which was ok. The temple architecture here is different from that that I've seen on the mainland. It's a bit more garish. I next went for lunch and then went to the Longshan temple to make up for the missed Confucian temple. It turns out this temple was having some sort of special day. According to a security guard, I asked, every month there is one day that attracts tons of people to the temple who leave offerings. There was tons of food and other offerings in the temple. Unlike the mainland, it appears as though religion is alive and well in Taiwan. Also, no temple has admission charges here, which is nice. Nor should temples charge admission. Taipei has recently built a couple of distinctive buildings, one of which is the Taipei 101, which I visited yesterday. The other is called the Living Mall, and while it is just a boring old mall on the inside, the building is quite distinctive, containing a sphere that is witihin a standard building. I went to the Starbucks there, and it wasn't too expensive (compared to the one in Singapore). I fell asleep in the plush chair for about half an hour, and then returned to the hostel for a longer nap. I like the subway here. I compare it immediately to the one in Beijing, and the difference in the way passengers behave is striking. There is no pushing, people stand to the right on escalators, and people wait for people to get off the train before boarding. There is still hope for the mainland, thank goodness.

Taipei

I spent the last two days on flights or at the airport. I will say that the Singapore Airlines flight to Beijing was the best I have ever taken. I'm quite tired now, but have arrrived in Taiwan, which is very hot.

I went and got some breakfast this morning, but was confronted with a Chinese menu. I asked the lady to serve me something Taiwanese, and was pleasantly surprised to get a turnip cake. Then I walked over to the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall, a grandiose structure that celebrates the life of a despot. I went to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world, and paid too much to go up. The view was impresive though, and I did ride the world's fastest elevators. I had lunch at the food court. It was good, but prices are higher than in South-East Asia and China. I was nearly out of money, and wanted to change some but none of the changers would accept my USD because the serial number were 'bad'! I'm not sure why. I never had problems anywhere else changing mony, although in Laos, people would not accept 'old-style' bills. I had to get money from the ATM, which I really did not want to do, because I still have plenty of cash. I next went to the National Palace Museum, which contains the relics smuggled away from the Forbidden city in 1948. It was interesting, but very small. They need to expand the exhibition space to put more of the collection on exhibit.

Singapore - Day 2

Yesterday I woke up early and had a mediocre breakfast offered by the hostel. I wanted to the nature reserve and climb the highest point in Singapore, but as I had no guidebook, I did not want to hope that I could find my way there. Instead I went to the botanical garden, which was enjoyable. They had a terrific orchid garden, where they name orchids after heads of state. The Margaret Thatcher orchid was not very nice. I had a second breakfast of Laksa at the garden's food court, which was delicious. I love Singaporean food! I next walked out of the garden, and walked through a residential neighborhood with huge houses until I arrived at Orchard St., a shopping area. I ate Indian food in one of the food courts for lunch, and was hassled by tailors whenever I walked past one. They all wanted to make me a suit. Next, I took the subway and went to the philatelic museum. I collected stamps one day, so thought the museum might be interesting. It was moderately interesting, but the admission fee was too high. I then went to the Singapore History museum around the corner, which dare I say, is possibly the best history museum I have ever visited. It is totally interactive, with nearly no reading. Everyone is given an audioguide which directs the visit. Overall, it was an extremely pleasurable experience. When I asked mother what to do in Singapore, she suggested going to the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. I decided to go and see if it was affordable. The hotel is lovely, but my jaw dropped when I saw that the drink cost $22 (about $16 Canadian). That was too much for my liking! I stopped for dinner, where I ate Indian and retired to my hostel for the evening. I walked past a Chinese temple which had closed for the day, and returned this morning to take a peek. It looked much like the temples in China, but had nice English explanations of all the statues.

Singapore has been a very positive experience, and I would definately return. However, I think it is a place best enjoyed by people with money. I think that when I have some more money, I would like to return so I could really enjoy all of Singapore's amenities.

Singapore

I arrived at the airport with no problems, and enjoyed a pleasant time in the the very nice Singapore airline lounge at the Bangkok airport. The flight was also very good, indeed it was the best flight I have ever taken. The lovely stewardesses addressed me by name, and constantly served me drinks, including excellent champagne. The food was also very good, with my dish apparently designed by Gordon Ramsay. Add this was in business class too - I wonder what first class is like! The Singapore airport is excellent, and It took me less than an hour to get out onto the train system. The train was veryh clean and very efficient. I got off on the train in the center and noticed everything was very clean and organized. I felt like I was in the West. I arrived at my hostel after a bit of a trek and then headed off to Chinatown to eat dinner. I found lots of food stalls and had some noodles for dinner. Chinatown is a delightful area. I went into a Hindu temple there, which was interesting. There are quite a few Indians in Singapore. Prices are much higher here than in Thailand.