Enjoying Colombia's Coffee Region

Going to the coffee region in Colombia was one of the most memorable parts of my travels in that country. I went there when my mother came to visit me in July 2012. I can't believe it has almost been a year!

We traveled to this part of Colombia after exploring Bogota, the capital city. This was the most challenging leg of our trip, hands down. That's because we ran into a major problem not long after arriving. I'll talk about that later.

 



My mom posing by the shuttle to Salento

In the morning, we got our things ready and took a taxi to the bus terminal in Bogota. We had booked a place to stay in the tiny town of Salento. However, there were no direct buses, so we had to take a bus to Armenia, the closest big city.

The trip took about 9 hours and the ride had impressive views of the mountains in Colombia. It was windy/loopy, however. Headache medicine if useful for those who get dizzy!

From the bus terminal in Armenia, we had to go to the back of the terminal and go outside where we could take a smaller shuttle to Salento. For a few bucks, we could take the shuttle and arrive to Salento in about 40 minutes.





Salento, Quindio, Colombia

The shuttle took us to the main square of the small town. It looked very simple and had a beautiful backdrop of the mountains surrounding it.

Exploring the main square

When we got there, we went to find the hostel since we arrived in the evening. We eventually snapped some photos of the main square and in front of a statue of Simon Bolivar. Looking around, it was very touristy and there were a bunch of shops, restaurants and bars around the main square and along the side streets. You could see plenty of tourists among the locals.

We did just a tad bit of shopping. I knew I would need a pair of sneakers, so I bought one pair of those along with a pair of sunglasses. They sold all of the typical stuff that you'd find in touristy shops in South America, including the clothes, souvenirs, etc.

We didn't interact with many locals, but they were certainly warmer than the people in Bogota.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Friendship!

Last weekend has been an eventful one for me.

At first, my heart was broken by someone and I was a bit upset, but luckily for me I was able to recover and I had a great time.

Cinco de Mayo at On the Border restaurant

It started with a simple Cinco de mayo get together at the On the Border restaurant located by Apgujeong Rodeo station. On this particular night, a group was able to buy out the restaurant for a get together. We were able to have all-you-can-eat tacos, burritos, chicken wings, salad and nacho chips. Not to mention a seemingly endless supply of margaritas! I tried a bit of everything, and I'm happy to say that the food was all great! 

On the Border, taken from their website

To those who might be concerned about the quality of the food, On the Border served us our tacos, burritos and salad with real salsa, sour cream and guacamole. The servings also had an acceptable amount of meat. Don't worry, I've been to my fair share of Mexican restaurants in Korea and have gone through the tragedy of paying a fortune to receive substandard food. Imagine paying more than $20 for a plate only to receive more lettuce and tomatoes than carne (meat/beef)? At On the Border, this is not so. I was also cynical about the margaritas ("Oh, they'll probably run out then serve only cheap beer...") but these surprised me as well. They truly meant all-you-can-drink and the drink was strong. They kept those coming too. 

To check this place out, keep in mind that the restaurant is located in Seoul by the Apgujeong Rodeo station on the Bundang Line. After coming out exit #6, walk straight and make a left onto the first small street. Then, make a right into the first little alley way and walk down. The restaurant is located on the left.

Here I was able to meet some chill people and have good conversations.

Club Answer

Our next stop was club Answer in Cheongdam. 

We took a taxi there, so I can't be sure of the exact directions, but the internet tells me it's close to Cheongdam station on line 7. 

My Magical Adventure at Lotte World

One view of Lotte World, an Amusement Park

Last weekend, we were wondering about how we were going to spend our Sunday evening. I decided that it would be convenient for us to go to Lotte World! It was actually the third time I've been there, but it has been awhile since I've been. I last went to the park in 2011.



Taking in the Scenery



Lotte World (or 롯데월드 in Korean) is a small to medium-sized amusement park in Seoul. It's located in the eastern section of the city and can be accessed by subway. Anyone interested in going should head to Jamsil station on line #2, and you can enter the park without having to exit the subway station. It can also be accessed from the outside, behind or beside the large Lotte Hotel World. 

Lotte World has all sorts of games and rides, including roller coasters for all ages. As a result, there were tons of children, adults and couples there. They also give live performances every now and then. They have an ice skating rink, too. Visitors can buy pretty souvenirs, carnival-type junk food and there are plenty of restaurants. We decided to only have a snack at the park and we went to the nearby TGI Friday's for a real dinner.

I like this amusement park in particular mostly because of its size and convenient location. It's easy to arrive here, but it's more complicated to get to Everland. We only had Sunday evening, so it made sense to come here. And we managed to have a good time in a few hours. Another big plus is the fact that many, if not most attractions are indoors. That way, I can enjoy myself even in poor weather!

The Unplanned Vacation

One of my most memorable experiences took place with almost no plan in place

Over the next few weeks, I have a few coworkers who will be taking holidays from work. I've just started with the company, so I'm not allowed to plan any vacation days yet ... but I can still think about them, right?

That let me to think about my past travels, and how I'll plan future vacations. The most memorable of those have one thing in common. They were all unplanned vacations.

By "unplanned vacation," I mean the type where you purchase a plane ticket to an exotic locale, and just go. This is without mapping out your activities for each day or tightly scheduling your sightseeing. You just go and do whatever comes to you at the time.

This isn't for everyone. I know many people who would be frightened at the very suggestion of forgoing planning. But the truth is, my experiences have showed me that things are just more fun that way.

Chicken Ginseng Soup and French Toast ... A Food Post?

This week has been a good one in regards to food. I've cooked some good meals and had a chance to try out some soup at a famous restaurant in Seoul.

The front entrance of Tosokchon

After doing some shopping, I decided to try out a restaurant with some folks. The restaurant is called Tosokchon (토속촌) and it is located in northern Seoul, a couple of streets down from Gyeongbokgung station (line 3) exit 2. Walking straight out of the exit, it's about two streets up. After a left turn onto a small street, the restaurant is located a little down on the left side.

Tosokchon is famous for its chicken ginseng soup, or samgyetang (삼계탕) in Korean. Samgyetang is a soup dish of a whole chicken, stuffed with rice, cooked in a broth with Korean ginseng. There are many varieties, but this is the main idea of the dish. Aside from it being very delicious, this soup is also said to cure and prevent illness. It is even consumed in the summer months to restore nutrients lost in the heat.

After arriving, I ordered a simple dish of samgyetang, which comes with tea and few sides including cabbage and radish kimchi. They also give you a shot of a ginseng liquor. The soup itself was great and filling. The sides were good too. The ginseng shot was pretty strong and wasn't tasty at all -- but this obviously isn't the point! The experience set me back 15,000 korean won, or $13.28. Not bad!

The restaurant has a touristy feel to it, since it's aesthetically nice and they had a host dressed up in a hanbok (Korean traditional dress) seating people. It's also a restaurant where the patrons sit on the floor to eat. That's something that looks cool from a touristy perspective, but it can get uncomfortable. In any case, the food more than makes up for it. I would definitely recommend this place to others.

My Korean Language Journey (So Far...)

Even though this is my 3rd year in Korea, I'll admit that I don't actually know much Korean. This is my fault, officially beginning with my waiting for more than 6 months to even learn to read the language. My life had changed and became much, much better after doing that one simple thing!

My textbook and a gift from a classmate!

I debated about how much effort I should put into learning the language, because I know that it would take years to just to become very good at speaking Korean. I also wondered how long I would actually be here. Would I put in an astronomical amount of effort, only to leave and never use it again? In the end, I figured that I should learn something, even if it's just to help me survive.

Lots to learn on the board

Eventually, in the fall of last year I --ahem-- picked up a copy of Rosetta Stone Korean. I worked on that for awhile and got through the three levels. I found it to be a good introduction for those that know absolutely nothing about the language. It isn't that comprehensive though, so I believe a serious learner shouldn't rely on it.

I knew that when I came back that I would at least sign up for a Korean class. There are many in the country. The best known courses are full time, fast-paced and offered by  universities here. Since I work and generally have other things to do, I knew that a comprehensive course would have been unfeasible for me.

My class all together

The good thing is that the Korean government provides funding for free Korean classes for foreigners. I was able to sign up for one of these in my area.

Posing!

The specific course has many different levels, from absolute beginner to test prep-level. The first course was fun, but it wasn't challenging because I was placed with beginners who were unable to read or introduce themselves in Korean. I asked to move and they moved me to a slightly higher level. The classes have been good ever since, and our teachers are pretty friendly.

The book they gave us is pretty informative and it cost less than $20. The pace isn't too fast and the atmosphere is relaxed. My classmates are also pretty fun to talk to. So, I'll be happy for the time being.

I don't have a specific goal on my language-leaning journey, but rather to just keep putting in effort to improve and hope I like where I'll end up eventually. In the meantime, I'll still do my best to keep up with my Spanish and will continue to practice Portuguese when I have time.

So ... What Is Going On with North Korea?

Kim Jong Un and North Korea have kept themselves in the headlines lately

While reading the news, I've noticed that Kim Jong Un and North Korea have been stepping up their ridiculous rhetoric over the past few weeks. As a result, North Korea has been dominating the news, occupying the top story spot for most of the past two weeks.

As a result, people all over the world have been wondering what is going to happen next. After all, I and everyone else would rather have peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

As an expat here in Korea, I've known quite a few folks to be receiving phone calls, e-mails and even facebook messages from worried friends and family members. No one in my family has contacted me personally, but that's because they probably haven't been paying attention (they tend to get their news locally on TV, and my family's not known for following international conflicts).

In related news, I'm staying relatively close to the Osan Air Base.  Just about every morning I hear different planes wizzing over my apartment building.

The truth is that life has been continuing as usual. Locals and expats alike are still going to work and heading home. They still find their way to the bars to get drunk. They still eat out at restaurants, and so on. There isn't any sort of widespread panic or chaos, and on average, expats are more "worried" than the locals, who have been hearing flaming rhetoric from their northern neighbors their entire lives. People are calm because threats of total destruction are normal for the south. So they continue to do what they normally do.

That said, it doesn't mean that nothing will happen. North Korea could still torpedo another ship or shell another island. They could even shoot rockets or invade. However, it appears to be unlikely that a full-scale war will happen, since Kim Jong Un would have nothing to gain and everything to lose after such a move. At the same time, we still have to be alert -- which is what people are. All Koreans know what is going on and are paying close attention. They just don't let it disrupt their lives.

As for me, I'm ok. All I can do is sit and wait to see what happens next. Let's hope for the best, shall we?