Finding my Seoul...

I flew into Seoul and Sangwon was there to pick me up, it was so great to see him. It is nice to be with people who care about you when you are ill, and I instantly felt more at ease and less stress about attending hospitals on time. He was here to look after me; he had a car and a place for me to stay....what a huge reassurance that was!



He was really worried about my medical situation so we immediately went back to his apartment for me to rest. I slept almost the entire day while he was busy on the phone trying to find out as much as he could in regards to the Rabies, the Bird Flu and the treatment available.

Apparently the Rabies vaccine is not so common in Korea. We had only 2 days for me to get the shot. He eventually was able to find out where it would be administered. The next day he took me to the hospital, we arrived and he talked to the doctors regarding my situation.


They then told us that the Rabies is actually not kept there, and we have to go pick it up at a special lab where they keep not common medicines. So we immediately went to the lab to get the vaccine and I signed the paperwork. After returning to the hospital, they took the vaccine and refrigerated it while we waited to be seen.

Sangwon was really stressed once he learned what the Korean word for Rabies is....apparently he didn't actually know what I had until the doctors explained it to him...I think he was more scared for me than anyone had been yet. First treatment in Seoul was a success! Now I will live until my next shot! Yippee!

Next on the agenda is a lot of good food (I can’t even express how much I misses cooking!) and a lot of resting so my body will recover.



But let’s not forget my obsession with noodle soups…and of course I found one in Korea that stole my heart as well….Jampong. It is a spicy seafood soup…red color from the chili powder…MMmmm!


Seoul was so different than the other places in Asia I had visited....perhaps because it was much more modern than S.E. Asia, and feels a lot like the US…but still feels really Asian.





I felt strange to be here....I had been living out of a backpack for a long time, and not always looking so fabulous. I was instantly self-conscious being in such a modern city looking like a complete dirt-bag climber…. so after resting for a few days we went SHOPPING! YAY!




Sangwon decided to show me around the city…we did a lot of driving.

Seoul is a massive, massive, massive city. We get stuck in traffic all the time…we drive for like an hour and will still be in Seoul. The side streets are what dumbfound me the most. S. Korea is a small country, but there are a lot of people, so they don’t waste any land.



Think of it this way, it’s like Europe in the way that it crams so much in to a tiny little area; side alleys winding to and fro, houses built on tiers up on hillsides, sidewalks weaving through the levels, so people never miss an opportunity to make use of every patch of land. It’s in credible. So although it feels European in the structural weaving, it feels America in the accessibility and the convenience. I suppose it is because the modern style of S. Korea is relatively new since the Korean War. At least these are my theories.

These two photos are from building 62, the tallest building in Seoul, we were at an art gallery at the top, and this is the view of Seoul from the window…so pretty…love the river and bridges. The view from here makes me feel like I am in the US..you can really feel the influence our contry has had here after the war.



One of the days after I was feeling more up for doing things out and about on the town. Sangwon took me to the ever famous Lotte World. Imagine an Asian version of Disney land and you are getting close.

The place is pretty large, but not nearly as big as Disney Land…more of the same size as Lagoon in Utah is.

There are 2 main sections, the outside theme park area and the the indoor area. There is even a rail system through the park where you can take the tram from the outside area to the inside.

We of course had to do the paddle boats in the park, the friggin lines were so long for the roller coasters that I go so exhausted waiting. Finally I just stood in line here because I knew it would be faster, more relaxing for me, and probably a better option. But we did do some of the rides of course…how could we not?!


These photos are from the inside area of Lotte World, I felt like I was in a movie, or like a child’s dream playground, On the ground level (not visible here) there is even an ice skating rink…they have movie theaters, restaurants…basically anything you could want.



This is a photo we took when we went inside a fun house…really cool effect. Except the creepy skull in the top left corner…not sure what that is all about??

Next up...more from S. Korea!

Farewell Ha Long bay!

Heading to ‘Butterfly Valley go climbing…




I took a motorbike taxi to Butterfly Valley with some other people from the climbing shop that were going out that day. The drivers waited for us while we climbed. My ribs were still pretty sore since I had started climbing again since arriving in Vietnam. I had taken so much time off while teaching the monks that I thought they would be better by now, but I suppose all things heal in due time. Not a big deal though, I think my skin on my fingers hurt more than my ribs did. Once again, all that time off climbing I had lost my callouses on my hands! Tragic I know...but also in due time they will return. So the important thing during a time like this is to focus on how to enjoy and get some milage on the rocks. Just moving around felt damn good to the rest of my body. Each day that I climbed I was sore like none other and felt I could sleep a year after, but pushing myself a little while here was what I choose to do. Time is money and I cant stay here for ever...or I'd die...of Rabies. Gotta short time before I needed to get to S. Korea for my next shot, so I wanted to climb as much as I can. I'm pretty sure that Sangwon in Seoul will force me to rest alot...even if I'm okay...so enjoy now was my goal hahaha.






This is how they keep cattle tied up. They dont brand or tag cattle usualy here, and they just run a rope through their noses to keeo them from running off. I thought this little one was so pretty, and so different from the waterbuffalo I had seen all over the country sides of the rest of SE Asia. A real cow! Wow!

The climbing was fun, sharp but still fun. I questioned some of the bolting on the routes and wondered if I was safe if I were to fall, but that was on the lower grade stuff. Strange that people would be careless on the lower grade stuff considering that is where people warm-up and where beginers (or injured people) would be climbing. It was a nice day though, and I am glad I got out and saw the place.




My time had come to leave Ha Long Bay area…so before I left, I stopped in town to pack my things.

I decided to get a mango shake and some apple cake that the menu at the cafe boosted...I was a little surprised when the 'CAKE' that arrived at my table was nothing less than simple fried apple rings...guess thats what I get for expecting a cake when I have never even seen an oven anywhere in Asia. Oh well...it was deffinately an interesting experience HAHAHA.

As a last stop some of the climbers were at the shop and I stopped by to thank the owners for letting me join their outtings the past couple days at such short notice. As a farewell we took shots of the local rice whisky...nothing to write home about....but I decided to write home about it anyway...because that was also an interesting experience.













I took a motorbike from my guesthouse to the docks where I then took a small boat from Cat Bat Island to the port on the main land.











The port I arrived at was very industrialized and not at all like the experience I had while touring the bay on the junk the previous week. It wasn't touristy, it wasn't beautiful or picturesque, and it for sure wasn't like the postcards I sent home. It was raw and ugly and I liked it.
You may think...wow...she went to a dirty ugly port and felt happy; what is wrong with her?! But I don't see it that way at all...
This is what the land looks like after it is sucked dry of usefulness, this is what it looks like when the only purpose is to function in order to make money. It's not pretty, glamousous, or proud. It's something to be ashamed of and yet it is something to be inspired by to not let happen to other areas around the world. It's a tradgey to nature and yet I liked being there for the short time that I was. I felt that it is important to understand that when you travel to another country and the tourist industry pushes so heavily this nice image of what a place will be and you experience that and feel good then just go home from your holiday vacation. While often times there is a whole other world behind the scences you never see, experience or even phathom.
I like to discover those worlds, places, people and experiences. I feelt that those things are what makes the different cultures and people stand apart. I have found many of these types of experiences in different places around the world, and regardless if it is a good feeling, a bad one, or an overall shock, I always feel richer inside because of them. You gotta open up your mind and your eyes to see the world as it really is.









In this photo I sat on the curb of the street and waited for the bus that would take me to the next city where I would then catch a bus to Hanoi before leaving Vietnam and head for Seoul, S. Korea.
Vietnam had been a great expereince. It's a bit hard to explanin...its over-run with poverty, and everyone is looking to make a dime off of you. People are not nearly as kind with out hidden agendas as to how to take advantage of you and it is far more difficult to travel around than it was in the rest of Asia. It was a great experience, and I would love to go back again in the future and see the areas I didn't have time to see due to my medical conditions at the time...
Time to get to the hospital in Seoul for my injections for Rabies!