SEA: Korean Moment

a large part of the reason i went to visit jessica in korea, aside from the fact that we're such good buddies, was to celebrate her recent engagement! while i was there, her friends had planned an all day engagement/bachelorette type party. this had been weeks in the making, and with all the coordination of her moving apartments within korea and my roaming around asia, we had logged some serious logistical planning time. so by the time the day actually rolled around, it's safe to say, we were both pretty stoked.

the night before, after dancing to whitney houston and watching bridesmaids, obviously, jessica and i picked out our party clothes. well, she knew what she was going to wear, but i had to borrow something since everything i had was either a bathing suit or neon colored, all of which screamed tourist. she settled on a white dress, very appropriate we decided, and i picked one that could almost have passed as a bridesmaid dress, which we also deemed appropriate.

the day of celebration consisted of everything from, brunch to trying on wedding dresses, to dinner and clubs in the evening. the girls did an awesome job planning, and what was even more impressive was the fact that we all kept the activities a secret from jess. well done everyone!

bride to be.
vogue status.

brunchin.

after brunch, it was off to a place called princess diary. where young girls, and sometimes their boyfriends, come to dress up in wedding dresses and take tons of pictures. with props. never in the states would any boyfriend be willing to dress up in a tux and pose for fake wedding pics. we didn't quite understand it. only in asia.

drinks before dresses.

this was happening around us.

and then it was jessicas turn! the lady took her in and jess picked out a dress to try on while we anxiously waited, cameras ready.

after dress fun, we headed to an awesome chinese restaurant for dinner before hitting the town. jessica's friend megan, who had organized everything, had planned for us to hit up a few of jess's favorite bars and clubs. and the theme of all these shenanigans? WIG OUT! we all bought wigs and dressed in black, while jess wore white, and made our way through seoul, causing quite a stir in the process. *the pictures on the street were taken by the lovely lisa. so nice meeting you, lisa!

it was such a grand day! congrats again jessica, we are all so very happy for you and patrick!

love you friend,
kate

and with that last picture of us and a few random koreans, that concludes my SEA installment. i hope you enjoyed it, i had such a great time creating it!

SEA: Korea

KOREA

hello: 안녕하세요 (an nyoung ha seh yo)

capital: seoul

language: korean

population: 50,004,444

currency: won

area: 38,691 sq mi

drives on the: right

government: Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic

thank you:    감사합니다  (kamsamnida)

clean, organized, calm, orderly, hot, productive, lively.

welcome to korea.

after saying goodbye to kris in phuket, i flew from southern thailand to korea to hangout with jessica for a whole week! the morning i arrived in korea, a typhoon was set to hit, and seoul was on lock down. great. on the plus side, as a result, jessica had the day off work. she kept an eye on the news, and from the airport i watched for any signs that my flight might be delayed. it was not. and the typhoon didn't really effect us in anyway. for a week, jessica, her fiance patrick and i hung out and played house. during the day i went into seoul and explored shopped and jessica and patrick were adults and went to work. 

sometimes we're more similar than we realize.

knowing my fascination with north korea, jessica had signed me up for a tour of the DMZ (demilitarized zone). the DMZ is the region separating north and south korea. i had been once before, last year, but went on a low level intensity tour. i wanted to up the ante.

the day of my tour, i got up early with jessica, saw her off to work and made my way to downtown seoul with the rest of the tourists. i handed over my passport and boarded the bus, where i was sat next to a guy from san diego. small world.

we drove for an hour or so, from seoul to the DMZ. signing papers and going through check points along the way. the guide would tell us when it was and wasn't ok to take pictures. when we finally got inside the DMZ, an american officer boarded our bus to escort us through the DMZ up to the check point. when we finally got to the final check point we signed one last paper that essentially stated that we wouldn't start any sort of trouble or WWIII. they double checked that we had our badges on correctly and that we met dress code. then we headed outside to look at the 38th parallel.

part of our tour was supposed to include a visit to the JSA (joint security area, those blue buildings in the photo below). the JSA is the only neutral zone where north and south korea meet to discuss. but because north korea had a tour at the same time we did, we couldn't enter. the guides explained that visiting the room, is on a first come first serve basis, and since NK beat us there, their tour got to go in, while we did not. i was so bummed!

[DMZ behavior...]

-our dress code for the tour consisted of, no jeans, nothing with holes, no tank tops, no sandals and no military wear.
-we had to bring our passports and sit in our assigned seats on the bus.
-when we got off the bus, only cameras and phones were allowed.
-cameras with large lenses were not allowed, as north korean soldiers could potentially think it was a gun.
-no waving or hand gestures at all. the chinese tourist on the NK side were waving at us, but we were not allowed to wave back.
-we had to stand in a straight line, shoulder to shoulder. the idea being we weren't hiding anything.
-i also heard someone say that south korean nationals can't take a DMZ tour, but not 100% sure if that is true.

the 38th parallel.

do you spy the north korean man and his binoculars?
look to the left of the woman with an umbrella.

do you see how the north koren soldiers (above the line) are standing facing each other? they stand like that to keep each other in check so that one of them doesn't defect to the south. the other NK solider standing with his back to the line, is watching the stairs to make sure no one runs down, across the line, and into south korea. the south korean soldiers (bottom half of the picture) are standing in their fighting position. the south korean soldiers that guard the 38th are the best of the best. all meeting a height requirement, fluent in english (as they have to work with the americans), and highly advanced in some sort of martial art. 

sometimes when they move around, they are so close to each other it was really hard for me to believe that they didn't talk to each other. so i asked the american officer who just so happened to also be from LA. we bonded. 

"so they really don't talk to each other?" i asked.

"naw, we don't really want anything to do with them."

"do they ever say anything at all?" i wanted more.

"oh ya, i've been cussed out, asked if i wanted to die and stuff like that. the south korean soldiers had to translate it for me, but basically it's pretty clear we want nothing to do with each other."

the concrete line is the 38th parallel.
from the line up is north korea.
from the line down is south korea.

the south korean guards stand in fighting position.
check out their newest asset.

[a few facts...]

-apparently NK puts their tallest, most well fed guards at the the 38th.
-their have been studies done on the height of the NK guards over the years, and they have gotten increasingly shorter.
-military service in south korea is mandatory for all men for 2 years. in north korea it is mandatory for 10.
-and here are a few more well laid out facts. i didn't write this, but heard all this stuff on my tour as well.

after my DMZ tour and a few more fun days in korea, it was time for my month of travel to come to an end. jessica and patrick drove me to the airport, where i headed back to tokyo to start work the following day. it was such a lovely and relaxing way to end my month of traveling. thank you for everything jessica and patrick!

sayonara jess.
see ya in japan in a few weeks!

감사합니다,  
(kamsamnida)
kate

                                                                             [up next...]

                                                                         a korean moment

SEA: Monks

i have always been fascinated with organizations or groups that choose to live differently than the main stream. this has led me to research groups like the KKK, the amish, and strict religious groups extensively. after this recent trip, my focus has turned to monks. they were intriguing with their bright colored robes, wandering about the town. the more i saw them the more i became curious as to what exactly their beliefs were and how they lived. i wanted to talk to one.

blessing.

the first time i saw a monk on a motorcycle, or moto as they're called in cambodia, i literally laughed out loud. something about the robes whizzing by me as i was in my tuktuk, and the phrase monk on a moto, struck a cord in me. plus, the word monk is just funny. monk.monk.monk. see? ! i believe it was then that i decided to take a picture every time i saw a monk. it became my own secret mission. i felt like a private investigator, as i discretely tried to take pictures of the monks getting out of taxis, or off boats. here is the result of, Mission Monk.

monk in a book.

monks at the market.

monks en mass.

monks and umbrellas.

monks on the move.

monk on a moto.

monk on the metro.

and then my monk dream came true. kris and i were eating lunch in chiang mai with helen and lizzy, two girls from the UK, who we met on our over night train from bangkok. i was flipping through lonely planet trying to decide what we could do that rainy afternoon. and then i saw it. one of those super special blue boxes lonely planet has to show you an activity that is extra special. it read, "monk chat." that was it. we were off. we mapped out the specific temple choices and headed in their directions. i was practically running i was so excited. 

when we got to the first temple, a man told us it was closed for the day. we i was crushed. we continued to walk down the street to look at the other temples. as we were inside one, trying to be as respectful as possible, kris silently waved us over and pointed out an open door to a sign across the parking lot. "welcome to monk chat." i let out a gasp squeal as i tried my best to be respectful inside the temple, before walking bolting out the door and across the parking lot. barefoot. 

as we walked over to the benches i realized that i didn't know what to say. this coming from a person who had dreamed up questions to ask the monks for weeks. i smiled. the monk smiled at us. then looked from my feet to my face, "where are your shoes?" he asked. valid question sir. uh, well we were just so excited to talk to you that we left them at the main entrance and bolted out the side door. 

he led us to a bench and asked if we had any questions. kris, helen and lizzy chuckled and looked in my direction. he followed. i smiled. "i have lots!"i said. he made a gesture that said bring it on. so we did. for about an hour we chatted, and here is what we found out...

-his name was...i don't remember, let's call him mr. monk.

-23.

-became a monk at the age of 14.

-became a monk because his best friend became a monk, though noted that he had always been a temple boy.

-university student at a buddhist university, studying english, and wants to be a teacher.

-first language was karen (hill tribe language), then thai, then chinese and finally english.

-during the rainy season, boys can essentially "try out" being a monk, for weeks or months at a time to see if they like it.

-boys can start being a monk at any age.

-the robes have three parts. shoulder piece, main robe and undergarments.

-the colors of the robes mean nothing. it's personal preference. they cover their shoulder when they are out and about as it is more polite, though less comfortable they said.

-only sees his family maybe once a year.

-he is now a monk at the city border.

-monks can use modern things (i saw one with an ipod so i asked) but they cannot acquire them for themselves. they aren't allowed money. so any modern gadgets etc are donations or presents from family and friends...though these rules differ between temples.

-no signing or dancing. 

-only allowed certain types of music. 

though mr. monk confessed to liking slip knot, green day and linkin park, then he admitted to singing and sometimes dancing, and then as he was saying all this...he fell of his chair. karma? we all had a good chuckle at that.

-no sports, but individual activity for exercise is ok. ie: yoga, running, push ups etc

-people become monks for their own reasons. not all do it to achieve nirvana.

-can stop being a monk at anytime. mr. monk said he may stop in the future if it no longer serves a purpose for him.

Monk Chat Club.

mr. monk and friend.

[daily rules to live by...]

-no money.

-no possessions that they bought/acquired.

-no intoxicants...drugs, alcohol, cigarettes etc.

-no sexual activities.

-shaved heads, some cases all body hair including eyebrows. 

-no beautification...in some temples this meant no deodorant.

-no eating after 12pm. cannot buy food, they collect it in the morning from donations where they bless those that donate...he admitted he gets hungry in the evening and it can be really tough at times. the city monks are a little more lenient on this and can eat things that are not technically food. so, milk, ice cream, and water are all ok.

-their day consists of waking early, morning prayers and ceremonies, chants, mantras, chores, food, free time, studies and classes.

-mr. monk explained that buddhism teaches restrains, discipline and control of desire. of course they still feel them, as well as negative emotions, but they try to control and understand them.

it seemed like a life that would take some definite getting used to. but mr. monk and his friend who also joined us, seemed completely content. frequently stating that no one was making them do this, and they could leave whenever they wanted. they seemed generally really happy, it was lovely to see.

and in case you're wondering, cause i was, he does have a facebook. but forgot his password. fail mr. monk.

monkin around, 

kate

[up next...]

korea

SEA: Thai Moment

when kris and i were planning this trip, we knew we wanted to incorporate elephants somehow, and we knew thailand was the place to do that. kris and i both agreed that we wanted a place that was legit, less touristy (if that was at all possible), and above all, really took care of the elephants. after a bit of research and talking to others, we settled on patara elephant farm in chiang mai. (thanks josh!) we had been warned that it would be one of the more expensive things we would do, which it was, but would be completely worth it, which it was.

the patara people arrived early at our hostel to pick us up for a day of elephant fun. kris and i had been up for hours, ready with excitement. it was christmas in august...in thailand. we drove for an hour or so up into the hills of chiang mai. we met with the others in our group, it was a small group of 12, which was lovely. we were led on a 20 minute walk up the mountain, and paused half way up where a family of elephants was having breakfast. we instantly got out our cameras and took an obscene about of pictures. the guides brought over bananas and bamboo shoots for us to feed to the elephants, and encouraged us to pet and touch them.

we were all so giddy about being so close to them. but this was just the tip of the ice berg in terms of how much experience we were going to get throughout the day.

elephant butts.

ear kisses.

view from the bathroom.

after another 10 min walk further up the hill, we were given a bathroom break and bottles of water. patara did an awesome job of making sure we stayed hydrated. we then received a short orientation about how the day was going to go. 

we had signed up to be "elephant owners for a day". so after orientation we were all paired up with an elephant and a trainer to begin our day of caring for these gentle giants. we learned how to do a health check on the massive mammals, as well as how to feed, walk, bathe and command the elephants.

elephant commands in thai...

good-deedee, and pat below the eye

go-bye, talk about counter intuitive

stop-how

down-nalong

up-look

head down-damlong

come-ma

trunk up-bon

and now you speak as much thai as these elephants.

"never meet and elephant empty handed."
upon meeting our elephant and trainer, we fed each elephant a basket of fruit.
i think that solidified our friendship.

it takes a village.
patara explained how the elephants really look after each other.
these two are not related.

ti lo su.
meet my elephant! this is 7 year old, male, ti lo su.
ti lo su is thialand's largest waterfall, and this little guy loved to swim.
hence his name.

shower prep.
dusting off ti lo su before his shower. 

handshake.
this is how you meet an elephant.

shower toys.
we gave him sticks to play with during his shower.

peek-a-boo.

tip and ti lo su.

every elephant had a trainer. ti lo su's trainer was 24 year old tip. tip was quite a character. he spoke more english than any of the other trainers, which had its pros and cons. upon first meeting him, i asked some polite question like, "how long have you worked here?" he responded with, "4 years. do you have a boyfriend? do you have facebook?" so it's gonna be like that, is it? but he was darling, extremely helpful, and really sweet. he offered to hold my camera and i told him to take pictures of whatever he wanted. which he took to mean, take a picture every time kate (or keet at he called me) blinks. i kid you not i have over 400 pictures of me from that day. and here i was worried that i wouldn't get as many as i wanted. thank you tip!

tip preparing ti lo su for my mount.

"keet keet smile! so beautiful keet!"

"keet down! lay down!"

"hand up keet! and kree!"

"sa-wa-ti-ka"

"keet no hands!!"

elephant sweat.

come. come.

we rode the elephants for about an hour, then walked the last bit. they're not the quickest movers but i'm convinced part of that was because they kept pausing to eat. all. the. time. their little trunks were all over the place constantly lookin for a snack. those little trunks are like vacuums that've gone rogue.

tusk scrub down.

"harder keet!"
i was always in trouble because i was too gentle.

group rinse.

lunch break.

amazing lunch. 

family photo.

after bath time baby elephant video!

and then it was time to say goodbye. i patted ti lo su. he exhaled. i gave tip a hug. he gave me his phone number. i compensated and said we'd be facebook friends. he was satisfied with that. then patara drove us back to our hostel where we proceeded to tell everyone and anyone, who would listen, about what we had done that day. we were on a definite elephant high.

i cannot express enough how amazing patara was. they were completely legit, and did amazing work caring for these elephants. as elephants are dying out, patara's goal was to do what they could to help that situation. they work hard to keep the elephants healthy and happy. in the past 18 years they have had no deaths. they have also had a quite a few births, and just while we were there 5 elephants were pregnant. id say that's pretty impressive.

i miss you ti lo su, 

kate

[up next...]

monks

p.s. a baby tiger video in case you're interested!