Vietnam

August 26th-28th: Hanoi
August 29th: Halong Bay
August 30th: Hanoi
August 31st-September 2nd: Sapa
September 3rd- 4th: Hoi An
September 5th-7th: Saigon
September 8th- 9th: Chau Doc

Cambodia

September 10th- 12th: Phnom Penh
September 13th-15th: Kep
September 16th: Phnom Penh
September 17th-19th: Battambang
September 20th-22nd: Siem Reap

Laos

September 23rd-25th: Luang Prabang
September 26th-27th: Vientiane
September 28th-October 2nd: Pakse and Champasak

Thailand

October 3rd- 5th: Bangkok
October 6th-8th: Chaing Mai

China

October 9th: Guilin
October 10th-12th: Yangshuo
October 13th-14th: Xian
October 15th-19th: Kashgar
October 20th: Urumqi
October 21st: Chendu
October 22nd-November 1st: Tibet ( Lhasa, Everest Base Camp)

Nepal

November 2nd- November 4th: Kathmandu

India

November 5th-6th: Varanasi
November 7th-8th: Khajuraho
November 9th: Orchha (TBD)
November 10th-12th: Jaipur
November 13th-14th: Pushkar
November 15th-16th: Jodhpur
November 17th-21st: Jaipur
November 22nd: Delhi
November 23rd: Agra
November 24th: Delhi

United States of America

November 25th: Newark, New Jersey then Walled Lake, Michigan!!!!

We are going to seven countries in 3 months . We will see some of the world’s mightiest rivers (Mekong, Ganges) and its mightiest mountains (Karakoram, Himalayas). The highest, the oldest, the longest, the holiest. We want to see and do as much as we can, while we can. We are ready.

A weekend after spending our anniversary in Pusan, we headed into the city to see what baseball is all about here in Korea. The game itself was pretty familiar, but the ballpark experience was wholly different.

First off, there was not a hot dog to be seen, since people generally pack their own snacks or buy some at the convenience stores (think 7-11) on the concourse. We saw a lot of families, some with blankets and pizza boxes to suggest this could be the place for a sort of urban-style picnic in a city with no grass.

It turns out Jamsil Stadium was originally constructed for the 1988 Olympics, and is now shared by the LG Twins and the Doosan Bears, two of the eight corporate-branded teams comprising the KBO. We saw the Twins take on their Incheon-based rivals, the SK Wyverns, in a battle over who would get my next Korean cellphone contract.

We had the hardest time finding our seats since the sections weren’t really marked, but once we did, it was clear we were in the heart of the LG fan zone. Everybody had thundersticks (which Wikipedia tells me are a Korean invention) and there were coordinated cheers on a scale I’ve never seen at a baseball game. Each player had an accompanying chant or song with his name worked into it, with fans young and old yelling before each pitch. We thought this enthusiasm would wane over time, especially once the home team fell behind, but the Twins have some persistent fans (though not quite as disciplined as their relatives up North).

It was a fun time, and we’re definitely glad we went, especially when LG pulled ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth after trailing almost the whole game. The crowd went nuts, of course, and I can still hear the cheers for their closing pitcher ringing in my head long after that clinching strikeout.

Watch this in HD.

We had a long weekend for Buddha’s Birthday and Children’s Day at the beginning of May, so we took took the opportunity to escape—dare I say, defect—to Beijing. The more time we spend in China, the more we love it, and our five days there were perfect with great food, spectacular sights, and wonderful company.

While my parents took a quick jaunt to Shanghai, we brought Nick back to Korea to hang out in our neighborhood for a couple days. He got to see our school and meet some of the students, and when Mom and Dad were done with China we met in Seoul to spend their final days in Asia relaxing and introducing them to our favorite haunts.

We all had a great 10 days together, and Nick was able to stay on here for another week, which gave him the inside scoop on our life here in Korea. After all the wining and dining, I bet he left wondering what we ever complained about, but I’m sure he’s happy to be sleeping on a proper mattress again.

Here are the best shots from Beijing, as well as some from Seoul so far this spring (there are a couple videos forthcoming):
87839118

Nobody would be caught dead listening to “Nobody” these days, and despite its supreme reign for months, the song has all but disappeared from public consciousness. Here’s a taste of the new black, starting with Super Junior, the 13-boy megagroup we mentioned before:

Yes, all those guys are absolutely necessary. And let’s not forget the latest super-hit from 9-member Girls’ Generation who seem obsessed with the 50s-era meme “Gee”:

That’s been all over the place the last month or so. Which leaves us with the last, most ungrammatical-est, and bane of our existence:

That’s no joke, they’re actually saying “If you wanna pretty, every wanna pretty.” Our best guess is that “pretty” is used here as a hybrid noun/verb/article. Man, we hate that song so much; it’s possibly the most annoying tune we’ve ever heard. And it plays at least four times an hour everywhere we go.

So that’s the latest here in Korea. It’s become clear to us how much our time has been marked by the rise and fall of these songs. Thinking back, “One More Time” seems like, so 8 months ago.

It looks good on the surface, but the government’s “Friendly Digital Korea” initiative which helps foreign residents gain access to Korean members-only websites is really just lipstick on a pig. The only reason a change is necessary is that users of major websites in Korea are required to register using their full names and verified government identification numbers. Just think if you wanted to sign up for an email account and were prompted for your actual Social Security Number—no way!

I can sleep easier now knowing I can use my foreign registration to sign up for Naver and have the cops show up at my door when I search for things like “Bodo League massacre” and “how to defect to North Korea”.

Unfortunately, it looks as if the regulators are even getting at Google and YouTube, with Google Korea announcing that South Korea “is the first country worldwide for which Google will be collecting real-name information that can be used to identify individuals.” They don’t even do this in China, so that’s saying something.

I guess the only upside is that maybe we can track down and stop the next star wars kid before he makes a fool of himself with over 12 million views and counting.

Is it delivery or DiLaundry?
He’s enamored with home-delivery, this one:

The most outstanding [modern convenience] is our excellent delivery service system. For example, many supermarkets deliver groceries to your home free of charge regardless of the amount you purchase…Not only groceries, but virtually anything can be delivered to you in Korea. Every morning, for example, a laundryman comes to my apartment complex to pick up clothes for dry cleaning and delivers them back the next day.

Back up a second; you can pay someone to, um, do your laundry!? Far out! Also: no mention that although you can have that single can of tuna delivered for free, it’ll cost you four bucks to buy it in the first place. Milk: about 10 bucks per gallon. (By “bucks” I mean “thousand won”; Something that costs a dollar in the US runs about 1000 won here.)

Plastic makes it possible.
Credit cards are a very new, cutting edge technology:

Another convenience is the extensive use of credit cards. At McDonald’s or Burger King, young people buy hamburger meals for 4,000 won and pay by credit card. In most countries, people won’t use or accept a credit card for just $3. But in Korea amazingly, even delivery boys accept credit cards. When the delivery boy from Papa John’s brings a pizza to my home, my daughter just hands over her credit card to have it swiped.

Imagine the convenience! I like the use of “young people” there, too. You won’t catch any ajimas pulling this stunt. Or eating at McDonald’s. Note that it’s his daughter—not him—who knows how to swipe the darn thing.

Speak no evil.
He has a couple mentions of political improvement scattered herein:

…South Korea has transformed into an entirely different nation. For example, one can enjoy freedom of speech and press and does not have to worry about political oppression or surveillance anymore.

Tell that to the blogger who was arrested for predicting—and writing about—the current financial crisis. Nice work.

We fly the friendlier skies.
But really, it’s the Korean flight attendants who put this country over the top:

Fly Asiana or Korean Air, and you will have a pleasant trip thanks to the friendly and attentive flight attendants.

I hope he doesn’t mean “friendly and attentive” in the same “I’m a store clerk and would like to hover over your shoulder and speak through a megaphone” kind of way.

Room for improvement
Now, that’s all well and good, but when will there be a bank that’s open past 4:30 pm? And why do I have to wear three different pairs of shoes when I go to the gym?

Also, the largest denomination of currency is the equivalent of a ten-dollar bill (It’s all about the Hamiltons baby!). If you go to the ATM to get cash for groceries, you’ve got a stack of bills an inch thick. It’s no wonder they like credit cards!

“Welcome to the 22nd century!”

Violence as a Last Resort?

More than three out of every 10 Koreans regard violence as a more effective solution to problems than the law, showed a survey released yesterday.

Asked whether violence could be the answer to problems that communication or the law could not solve, 565 people, or 37.5 percent of the respondents, answered in the affirmative, according to the survey by the Korean Institute of Criminology.

The article reports that just 28 percent of respondents “showed a clear objection to the use of violence.” Seriously, people? Take a vacation or something, okay? It’s gonna be alright.

Last weekend, we went into Seoul to take care of some last-minute business, and they’ve got a pretty nice setup downtown with a Rockefeller-style ice rink and music/light show. Still, it’s nothing like Christmas in the US where the ‘holiday spirit’ is inescapable. We’ve almost come to miss the non-stop media blitz that marks the holiday season back home. Almost. Here are a few shots here from around the city if you’re interested:

Before takeoff, we’re having a nice little Christmas with a tiny tree set up in our bonus room. One thing’s for sure, the kids at school (rather, their parents) are certainly keeping us well-fed with edible gifts (especially cakes—four of them).

In the spirit of the Wise Men, he also came bearing gifts from afar, including but not limited to medications, candy, snacks, christmas decorations, and good tidings from some of the people we miss this time of year.

Check out some of the photos:
7962

It was still fun getting out with a couple of our co-workers to celebrate (in fact, “oot” since one was Canadian) so it at least didn’t feel like just another day. Thanksgiving was harder to explain to my kids than I had anticipated, but when I told them that Americans are off school and work for two days they were obviously jealous. In fact, our British co-worker has come a long way on his American history these days, having only recently uncovered the Boston Tea Party—he was livid—now he has been fully briefed on Turducken.