Last Day in Bangkok
I have had two surprises today. First, I noticed that I had only one breakfast voucher left at the hotel. That caused me to realize that it is tomorrow that I fly to Yangon for my travels in Myanmar. For some reason, I had been thinking that it would be Saturday when I depart. I probably would have realized it anyway, because I knew that the flight was scheduled for Sept. 2, but it sure was helpful to have the vouchers bring my attention to it.
The second surprise was to get here and find that my blog had published yesterday. Every time I tried to view it after making the posts, I saw a version without the new posts. I guess that computer was relying on a cached version of the page. I should have thought to hit the button for refreshing the page. Anyway, I thought I had wasted all that typing.
My finger looks better and better. It is amazing how fast it is healing. Is it the Far East doing that? Or do laser cuts heal faster than knife cuts. When the doctor finished on Monday, the hole looked as big as the one I had when a knife had been used a few months ago. But that hole took much longer to heal. Maybe it was deeper than the laser cut and I have just forgotten.
Several people have asked me if I am aware of the Hurricane Katrina. I have BBC on my TV at the hotel, so I have seen coverage every day. The devastation is terrible. It's what I always feared might happen before I sold my house in Corpus Christi. I feel so glad to be free of it and the treat of such a disaster. Those poor people in Louisiana and Mississippi are going to have a horrible few months ahead of them as they deal with the lack of water, lack of sewage, clean up operations, rebuilding, etc.
I have no special plans for today. There is a movie that is opening I think I will see. It seems to be from Afganistan or somewhere like that. The poster doesn't say whether it has English subtitles, however. I will have to go to the theater and see. Sometimes foreign films like that already have English subtitles and the Thais only add their own. But usually there is a sign on the poster indicating that. If I can't see it, I'll just be lazy another day, I guess.
I finished reading Being Dead by Jim Crace. I have it 3 stars out of 4. It is an interesting story, and his method of describing everything and every process in scientific detail is fascinating. It's not a book for the religious or the squeemish; they would have trouble sticking with it.
There is an apartment building behind my hotel that sweems to have no electricity. I've seen movement during the day to indicate people are living there, but there has been no light in the building at any time during the evenings. I don't know if it's an abandoned building with squatters or if people are renting apartments with no electricity. Either way, it's a sad situation for the people living there.
I had breakfast this morning with an Australian man who is married to a Thai woman. They live in her home village near the Cambodian border and have three children. She was the hotel maid, and he fell in love with her and moved here about 12 years ago. Now he works as an independent contractor here in Thailand. There are about 6 homes in their village--all shacks except for their nice home. It was interesting talking to them about their life. He's trying to raise his kids without undue influence by western standards, so he hasn't taken them to Australia.
Well, this is when I go silent for about 25 days. I leave Myanmar for India on May 24. So on May 25 or 26 I hope to be back online. Sometime during the next few days after that, I hope to update the blog with some of the highlights from the journals I write in Myanmar. Of course, there is always a chance that the generals have or will relent and let tourists access the Internet while I am there. If so, I will post while there. But I have not read anything to indicate that this has happened or is being considered. You might check the blog in a few days just to see if there is a post of some king. It will seem strange being out of touch with everyone. There should be some good stories when I do get back online!!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
I have spent two hours writing everything from the past week to update the blog. The computer said it published, but I cannot see it when I open my blog now. I'm sorry, but it is just too much to try again. Maybe you will see it, but if you don't and you see this, please realize I tried. What a MESS!
Continuing to Update Blog Notes
Wow! I had just typed an entirely new entry and hit a wrong button that closed down the computer! Now I must type it again.
Tuesday, Aug. 30, Bangkok
I am sitting by the pool watching two Indian children play. The boy (about 12-13 years old) pushed his siter into the water. Then she asked him to pull her out, and she pulled him into the pool instead!
I can't do much this morning, since I have to wait until after 2 p.m. to clean and treat my finger. I'll just stay unkempt and in the neighborhood.
I forgot to take my mephloquine yesterday, so I took it today. It's my horrible tasting anti-malarial medicine. I take it once a week starting two weeks before being in an area with malaria and continuing for four weeks after leaving. I'm supposed to take it until I leave India (which means I must continue it through late January). It tastes so bad because it is quinine-based. Yuck! It's impossible to get it down without having a bitter taste everywhere it touches the mouth and the tongue.
I walked to the river (about 1 mile or 2 km away). I wanted to explore some of the back streets along the way and then to see the river traffic. I returned via another back street. Both streets were interesting because of the large number of older buildings along them--Chinese-style buildings with shops on the ground floor and living quarters above, and some freestanding Euro-tropical buildings (what would be called "colonial" architecture in the countries that were ruled by European powers). Among the latter, several were in poor condition, a dad state to observe but an opportunity maybe for someone to buy them cheaply and renovate them. Almost all of the Chinese buildings were functional while apparently lacking much in upkeep over several years.
I spent all afternoon in my hotel room watching movies and reading. Finally, I abhted at 6 p.m. and changed the dressing on my finger. I was surprised by how much smaller the hold looked than it did when the doctor finished yesterday. And it is such a nice, perfect round looking shape. I feared that I might have problems handling my luggage this Saturday when I head to Myanmar, but now I can tell it will be fine. There is only pain if I put pressure directly on the small wound.
I went to the corner street stall where I often eat when I am here. I had a noodle soup with slices of pork. It was delicious with crispy fresh vegetables in it. Then I returned to the room again.
By the way, I stopped at a department store when walking and found Pepsi Max in their food halls. I bought two bottles and brought them to the hotel. It's nice to have a cool cola when I return to the room now.
Gauze 12 baht
Cola and Snacks 86
Dinner 25
Total: 123 baht = $3.01
Wow! I had just typed an entirely new entry and hit a wrong button that closed down the computer! Now I must type it again.
Tuesday, Aug. 30, Bangkok
I am sitting by the pool watching two Indian children play. The boy (about 12-13 years old) pushed his siter into the water. Then she asked him to pull her out, and she pulled him into the pool instead!
I can't do much this morning, since I have to wait until after 2 p.m. to clean and treat my finger. I'll just stay unkempt and in the neighborhood.
I forgot to take my mephloquine yesterday, so I took it today. It's my horrible tasting anti-malarial medicine. I take it once a week starting two weeks before being in an area with malaria and continuing for four weeks after leaving. I'm supposed to take it until I leave India (which means I must continue it through late January). It tastes so bad because it is quinine-based. Yuck! It's impossible to get it down without having a bitter taste everywhere it touches the mouth and the tongue.
I walked to the river (about 1 mile or 2 km away). I wanted to explore some of the back streets along the way and then to see the river traffic. I returned via another back street. Both streets were interesting because of the large number of older buildings along them--Chinese-style buildings with shops on the ground floor and living quarters above, and some freestanding Euro-tropical buildings (what would be called "colonial" architecture in the countries that were ruled by European powers). Among the latter, several were in poor condition, a dad state to observe but an opportunity maybe for someone to buy them cheaply and renovate them. Almost all of the Chinese buildings were functional while apparently lacking much in upkeep over several years.
I spent all afternoon in my hotel room watching movies and reading. Finally, I abhted at 6 p.m. and changed the dressing on my finger. I was surprised by how much smaller the hold looked than it did when the doctor finished yesterday. And it is such a nice, perfect round looking shape. I feared that I might have problems handling my luggage this Saturday when I head to Myanmar, but now I can tell it will be fine. There is only pain if I put pressure directly on the small wound.
I went to the corner street stall where I often eat when I am here. I had a noodle soup with slices of pork. It was delicious with crispy fresh vegetables in it. Then I returned to the room again.
By the way, I stopped at a department store when walking and found Pepsi Max in their food halls. I bought two bottles and brought them to the hotel. It's nice to have a cool cola when I return to the room now.
Gauze 12 baht
Cola and Snacks 86
Dinner 25
Total: 123 baht = $3.01
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Updating the Blog
Notes: 1) My finger is not as bad as I expected. I have wrapped the bandage as tight as possible to try to avoid hitting more than one key at a time. If you see inappropriate letters, that may be the reason, however. 2) This is another strange keyboard--well worn. Sometimes letters just pop on the screen when pressing the shift key, so that could be another reason. I'm sure you can all read around any extra letters you see.
Saturday, Aug. 27, Seoul to Bangkok
I finished reading The Last Juror by John Grisham last night. I gave it 2 stars out of 4. It was much like a mainstream Hollywood film--no thinking necessary and rather fast-paced. I left it inb the breakfast room with a note for someone to take it, read it, and pass it on.
Today is a travel day. I'll leave the hotel around noon. The bus to the airport runs every 20-30 minutes, so I should get one around 12:30. It takes an hour to 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport, so I should be there by 2:00 for my flight--3 hours early. I'll arrive in Bangkok at 9:10 and will have to catch a bus there. It may be too late for the bus directly to my hotel. If so, I'll have to take the one to Lumphini Park and walk the half mile (1 km) from there to my hotel;. It's a procedure I know. I should be in the hotel by 11:00 p.m. or so.
_____
Because one of the zipper pieces broke on the main compartment of my suitcase on the flight to San Francisco, I've had to reorganize my luggage--moving anything valuable to my locked small pockets on the suitcase or to my carry-on bag. I moved my shaving kit and my metal box of emergency medical supplies to my backpack and moved books from it to the unloced suitcase. I moved sharp metal objects from my shaving kit to a locked small compartment of the suitcase. All I have to lose from my unlocked case now are clothes and books, but they are all the clothes and books I have with me!
_____
I ate lunch at the airport--noodles with black bean curd. It was tasty--a bowl of noodles covered with a brown sauce with onions and small chunks of beef and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was served with yellow pickled rounds of radish.
Bus to Airport 8000 won
Lunch 5000
Total: 13,000 won = $ 12.80
_____
Spending Update: I spent $181.73 in Seoul for a daily average of $36.35. Since leaving Texas I have spent $370.73 over a total of 9 days for an average on the whole trip of $41.19 per day or $1235.70 per month.
_____
I've started reading Being Dead by Jim Crace. It is really different in the way he uses a biological approach to describe what is happening. The book starts with the brutal murder of a husband and wife. Then it works backwards to tell their life events leading to this moment and forward to describe what is happening in terms of their being missing. It's an honest, yet brutally clear scientific description of events. And it is very well written.
_____
I'm in Bangkok waiting at the airport for my bus. As usual, the one directly to my hotel has finished for the night. I'll have to walk to the hotel from a nearby stop.
I sat beside a nice Thai young man--an engineer who had been to Korea to learn about some new machine he will be using. He had a strong accent, but it was possible to understand him. And it was so nice to visit with someone for a while. We had a laugh when he said his watch cost only 1250 baht, and I responded that mine cost only 250 baht ($6)!
______
It was a fast bus trip to town. There were only three passengers. It was warm and humid, so I was sweating by the time I walked the half mile (1 km) to my hotel from Lumphini Park where I got off the bus. The walking route, however, was lined with rather nice upper-class prostitutes, since it was from the Patphong area. I don't recall prostitutes being there before.
Airport Bus 100 baht
Hotel Tip 20 baht
Total: 120 baht = $2.93
Sunday, Aug. 28, Bangkok
It didn't register in my mind until I walked off the plane last night, but the last time I was at the airport here was when I was changing planes to return Arne's remains to Denmark. Walking down the corridor to immigration was another one of those one-year-ago type experiences.
We had reservations to stay in the same hotel last year. Arne would have loved the buffet breakfast which I've just finished today. Buffets are so much more in Asia than they are elsewhere. From all the offerings, today I had: a rice noodle-celery-meat dish similar to Filipino pancit, scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon, croissants, butter, jam, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, and pineapple juice. There were far more choices, but I will be here a week.
This hotel is cheaper than the onbe in Seoul, and I get much more for my money--a bigger room, a better air conditioner, a better bed, a quieter room (better windows), a swimming pool, a better brakfast, etc. The only ways the Seoul hotel beat this one was its free Internet and maybe its more central location. But this hotel is near to where I need to be--my dental office.
_____
First days in new cities or countries always bring comparisons to mind. Seoul is so much better organized and so much cleaner than Bangkok. And S. Korea doesn't have as much poverty as Thailand. Of course, Thailand wins in the language category, since harly anyone in Korea speaks English and it seems like almost everyone does in Thailand. Thailand has cheaper food, too.
It's a HOT day here in Bangkok. I'm sitting in the shade of a tree in Chatuchak Park. There's a slight breeze, but it's a hot one. I've been next door to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. It's a huge Saturday-Sunday only makrket full of both locals and tourists. It has everything from beatle specimens to furniture (possibly beatle infested), souvenirs, pets, clothing, food, etc. There are even several people selling jello shots. (They know why most backpackers travel!) I saw a stall selling great woven leather bracelets with metal beads and tubes woven into them. When I couldn't find anything else similar, I tried to go back and get me one. I re-traced my steps, I thought, but I never found the stall again. The market is just too large and too much of a maze.
_____
I returned to the market and ate at a food stall I noticed had people waiting constantly for tables. I tried to order "grilled porkneck with spicy sauce" which looked like nice lean slices of meat in the photo, but they were out of it. Instead, I got what almost everyone else was eating--"fried chicken hips." It was a nice size filet of chicken battered and fried. It was crispy and delicious with a small dish of hot dipping sauce. I ordered a bowl of sticky rice and got a can of Chang beer to go with it. It was tasty, satisfying, and only $1.59.
The heat was bothering me. It just wasn't fun to be out in it. I decided to return to the hotel and stay inside the rest of the day. I stopped at 7-11 hoping to get a Diet Coke. I never remember which countries do have diet cola and which don't, but I guess Thailand is a don't country. It's too bad; cola would be so nice on these hot days, but not cola with all those calories.
Hotel (6 Nights) $138.00
Buses (2) 14 baht
Lunch 65 baht
Water (.6 l + 1.5 l) 23 baht
Totals: 102 baht = 2.49
Grand Total: $140.49
Notes: 1) My finger is not as bad as I expected. I have wrapped the bandage as tight as possible to try to avoid hitting more than one key at a time. If you see inappropriate letters, that may be the reason, however. 2) This is another strange keyboard--well worn. Sometimes letters just pop on the screen when pressing the shift key, so that could be another reason. I'm sure you can all read around any extra letters you see.
Saturday, Aug. 27, Seoul to Bangkok
I finished reading The Last Juror by John Grisham last night. I gave it 2 stars out of 4. It was much like a mainstream Hollywood film--no thinking necessary and rather fast-paced. I left it inb the breakfast room with a note for someone to take it, read it, and pass it on.
Today is a travel day. I'll leave the hotel around noon. The bus to the airport runs every 20-30 minutes, so I should get one around 12:30. It takes an hour to 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport, so I should be there by 2:00 for my flight--3 hours early. I'll arrive in Bangkok at 9:10 and will have to catch a bus there. It may be too late for the bus directly to my hotel. If so, I'll have to take the one to Lumphini Park and walk the half mile (1 km) from there to my hotel;. It's a procedure I know. I should be in the hotel by 11:00 p.m. or so.
_____
Because one of the zipper pieces broke on the main compartment of my suitcase on the flight to San Francisco, I've had to reorganize my luggage--moving anything valuable to my locked small pockets on the suitcase or to my carry-on bag. I moved my shaving kit and my metal box of emergency medical supplies to my backpack and moved books from it to the unloced suitcase. I moved sharp metal objects from my shaving kit to a locked small compartment of the suitcase. All I have to lose from my unlocked case now are clothes and books, but they are all the clothes and books I have with me!
_____
I ate lunch at the airport--noodles with black bean curd. It was tasty--a bowl of noodles covered with a brown sauce with onions and small chunks of beef and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was served with yellow pickled rounds of radish.
Bus to Airport 8000 won
Lunch 5000
Total: 13,000 won = $ 12.80
_____
Spending Update: I spent $181.73 in Seoul for a daily average of $36.35. Since leaving Texas I have spent $370.73 over a total of 9 days for an average on the whole trip of $41.19 per day or $1235.70 per month.
_____
I've started reading Being Dead by Jim Crace. It is really different in the way he uses a biological approach to describe what is happening. The book starts with the brutal murder of a husband and wife. Then it works backwards to tell their life events leading to this moment and forward to describe what is happening in terms of their being missing. It's an honest, yet brutally clear scientific description of events. And it is very well written.
_____
I'm in Bangkok waiting at the airport for my bus. As usual, the one directly to my hotel has finished for the night. I'll have to walk to the hotel from a nearby stop.
I sat beside a nice Thai young man--an engineer who had been to Korea to learn about some new machine he will be using. He had a strong accent, but it was possible to understand him. And it was so nice to visit with someone for a while. We had a laugh when he said his watch cost only 1250 baht, and I responded that mine cost only 250 baht ($6)!
______
It was a fast bus trip to town. There were only three passengers. It was warm and humid, so I was sweating by the time I walked the half mile (1 km) to my hotel from Lumphini Park where I got off the bus. The walking route, however, was lined with rather nice upper-class prostitutes, since it was from the Patphong area. I don't recall prostitutes being there before.
Airport Bus 100 baht
Hotel Tip 20 baht
Total: 120 baht = $2.93
Sunday, Aug. 28, Bangkok
It didn't register in my mind until I walked off the plane last night, but the last time I was at the airport here was when I was changing planes to return Arne's remains to Denmark. Walking down the corridor to immigration was another one of those one-year-ago type experiences.
We had reservations to stay in the same hotel last year. Arne would have loved the buffet breakfast which I've just finished today. Buffets are so much more in Asia than they are elsewhere. From all the offerings, today I had: a rice noodle-celery-meat dish similar to Filipino pancit, scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon, croissants, butter, jam, watermelon, pineapple, papaya, and pineapple juice. There were far more choices, but I will be here a week.
This hotel is cheaper than the onbe in Seoul, and I get much more for my money--a bigger room, a better air conditioner, a better bed, a quieter room (better windows), a swimming pool, a better brakfast, etc. The only ways the Seoul hotel beat this one was its free Internet and maybe its more central location. But this hotel is near to where I need to be--my dental office.
_____
First days in new cities or countries always bring comparisons to mind. Seoul is so much better organized and so much cleaner than Bangkok. And S. Korea doesn't have as much poverty as Thailand. Of course, Thailand wins in the language category, since harly anyone in Korea speaks English and it seems like almost everyone does in Thailand. Thailand has cheaper food, too.
It's a HOT day here in Bangkok. I'm sitting in the shade of a tree in Chatuchak Park. There's a slight breeze, but it's a hot one. I've been next door to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. It's a huge Saturday-Sunday only makrket full of both locals and tourists. It has everything from beatle specimens to furniture (possibly beatle infested), souvenirs, pets, clothing, food, etc. There are even several people selling jello shots. (They know why most backpackers travel!) I saw a stall selling great woven leather bracelets with metal beads and tubes woven into them. When I couldn't find anything else similar, I tried to go back and get me one. I re-traced my steps, I thought, but I never found the stall again. The market is just too large and too much of a maze.
_____
I returned to the market and ate at a food stall I noticed had people waiting constantly for tables. I tried to order "grilled porkneck with spicy sauce" which looked like nice lean slices of meat in the photo, but they were out of it. Instead, I got what almost everyone else was eating--"fried chicken hips." It was a nice size filet of chicken battered and fried. It was crispy and delicious with a small dish of hot dipping sauce. I ordered a bowl of sticky rice and got a can of Chang beer to go with it. It was tasty, satisfying, and only $1.59.
The heat was bothering me. It just wasn't fun to be out in it. I decided to return to the hotel and stay inside the rest of the day. I stopped at 7-11 hoping to get a Diet Coke. I never remember which countries do have diet cola and which don't, but I guess Thailand is a don't country. It's too bad; cola would be so nice on these hot days, but not cola with all those calories.
Hotel (6 Nights) $138.00
Buses (2) 14 baht
Lunch 65 baht
Water (.6 l + 1.5 l) 23 baht
Totals: 102 baht = 2.49
Grand Total: $140.49
Monday, August 29, 2005
Doctors Day in Bangkok
I am not going to be able to make a normal post. I do not have the use of my right index finger. I just left the dermatologist's office where I had another wart treatment on that finger--my fifth since March. I have been battling this wart for years and am determined to finally get rid of it. Today, I had a laser treatment to burn away what was there. The doctor was proud of his work and made me look at it. Cost of the treatment and office visit was less than $20--far less than my insurance co-pay!!
Before the dermotologist visit, I went to my dentist. She cleaned my teeth and put three fillings along the gum lines where the gums had been receding. There were no cavaties, so that was it for dental treatment for this year. The total for all that work was less than $60--about the cost of just the cleaning at home.
I will be in Bangkok the rest of this week. There us nothing special for me to do now. I will have to be careful with my finger and treat it day and night. I hope to be typing with it again before I leave.
Notice: I am leaving for Myanmar on Sarturday. There is no Internet access in Myanmar. Therefore, my blog will have to go silent during the 24 days I am there. I will be flying to Mumbai in India on Sept. 25, so after I leave here, the first possible blog entry will be on Sept. 26 or 27. I'll try to be on in a day or two from here in Bangkok, however.
I am not going to be able to make a normal post. I do not have the use of my right index finger. I just left the dermatologist's office where I had another wart treatment on that finger--my fifth since March. I have been battling this wart for years and am determined to finally get rid of it. Today, I had a laser treatment to burn away what was there. The doctor was proud of his work and made me look at it. Cost of the treatment and office visit was less than $20--far less than my insurance co-pay!!
Before the dermotologist visit, I went to my dentist. She cleaned my teeth and put three fillings along the gum lines where the gums had been receding. There were no cavaties, so that was it for dental treatment for this year. The total for all that work was less than $60--about the cost of just the cleaning at home.
I will be in Bangkok the rest of this week. There us nothing special for me to do now. I will have to be careful with my finger and treat it day and night. I hope to be typing with it again before I leave.
Notice: I am leaving for Myanmar on Sarturday. There is no Internet access in Myanmar. Therefore, my blog will have to go silent during the 24 days I am there. I will be flying to Mumbai in India on Sept. 25, so after I leave here, the first possible blog entry will be on Sept. 26 or 27. I'll try to be on in a day or two from here in Bangkok, however.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Flying to Bangkok
Saturday, Aug. 27, Seoul to Bangkok
I finished reading The Last Juror by John Grisham last night. I gave it 2 stars out of 4. It was much like a mainstream Hollywood so thinking necessary and rather fast-paced. I gave it 2 stars out of 4.
Today is a travel day. I'll leave the hotel around noon. The bus to the airport runs every 20-30 minutes, so I should get one around 12:30. It takes an hour to 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport, so I should be there by 2:00 for my flight--three hours early. I'll arrive in Bangkok at 9:10 p.m. and will have to catch a bus there, too. It may be too late for the bus directly to my hotel. If so, I'll take the one to Lumpini Park and walk the half mile (1 km) from there to my hotel. It's a procedure I know. I should be in the hotel by 11:00 or 11:30 p.m. You may go back to my entries in August (maybe in the archives by now) to find flight information and a link to my hotel.
Saturday, Aug. 27, Seoul to Bangkok
I finished reading The Last Juror by John Grisham last night. I gave it 2 stars out of 4. It was much like a mainstream Hollywood so thinking necessary and rather fast-paced. I gave it 2 stars out of 4.
Today is a travel day. I'll leave the hotel around noon. The bus to the airport runs every 20-30 minutes, so I should get one around 12:30. It takes an hour to 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport, so I should be there by 2:00 for my flight--three hours early. I'll arrive in Bangkok at 9:10 p.m. and will have to catch a bus there, too. It may be too late for the bus directly to my hotel. If so, I'll take the one to Lumpini Park and walk the half mile (1 km) from there to my hotel. It's a procedure I know. I should be in the hotel by 11:00 or 11:30 p.m. You may go back to my entries in August (maybe in the archives by now) to find flight information and a link to my hotel.
Long Day Walking
Friday, Aug. 26, Seoul
I've been surprised by how cool it has been while I've been here. I really haven't needed the air conditioner in the evening. And related to being cool, myd visits to the palaces have made me wonder how people stayed warm in previous centuries with only rice paper walls and windows. The tours have explained how they used fires underneath the stone floors to create warmth, but Seoul gets snow in the winter. I would imagine that the heated stone floors would have little effect in terms of providing real comfort.
It's sunny today, so it will be warm. I will make it a long walking day. Someone asked why my blog isn't including distances these days. It's because I need to replace the battery in my pedometer. I didn't check it before I left Texas. It was dead when I pulled it out of the suitcase here on Tuesday. It will be easier for me to replace the battery in Thailand where far more people speak English than here. I hope to start measuring my walks again next week. My guess is that I have been walking only 6-10 miles per day so far.
____
I'm sitting in a pagoda-like pavilion partially up the side of Namsan Hill. There is a nice panaramic view of northern Seoul and the mountains beyond. Just below me is Namsan Village, a collection of five traditional Korean homes that have been moved here to form a cultural museum. I've toured the homes which are furnished with antiques and traditional decor. It's been interesting seeing them. There are also cultural deomonstrations here, but all I saw this morning were a man doing calligraphy and a woman in a wedding dress. It's only 10:45--much too early for anything to be happening.
Before the village, I stopped at Korea House. I thought it would be similar, but it is strictly an entertainment complex (restaurant, theater, gift shop) with little to see. There are mostly night and weekend activities there.
_____
This turned out to definitely be the Big Walking Day in which I learned that my map is not to scale outside the downtown area. The only major tourist area of town I had not seen yet was Itaewon, and it is really just a shopping and night club district. Instead of going there, I decided to make a big loop to the southwest. I walked to Seoul Station and down to Gongdeok. From there, I continued to Sangsu, the location of Hongik University. The area had a wonderful student neighborhood feel to it. From there, I turned back to Sichon. It was 2:00 p.m. by then, and I was hungry and thirsty. I bought a 1.5 l Diet Coke at a convenience store, and I went to the food hall at Hyundia Department Store and got a steamed bun filled with a spicy meat mixture. Hyndia wasn't as nice a store as the two I had toured Tuesday, but neither was the neighborhood. I got the impression it had been one of the first suburban centers built during the expansion of Seould into a megacity in the 1970s or early 1980s. It's nice, but not new any longer. What seemed grand then does not seem so special today.
The long walk continued back into downtown where I stopped to tour the National History Museum (which should have its title extended with "of Seould" since it was almost exclusively about the city. The exhibits were interesting. I especially liked some films taken in the 1920s and 1930s. When I left the museum, I was tired, so I walked directly back to the hotel. Not counting a pause I had at Namsan Village this morning, I had been walking for 6 hours! It was nice, however, to get away into the suburban areas to get an idea of how most people in Seoul live.
Coments/Questions:
1. Where are all the American soldiers? Are they restricted from coming to Seoul? Do they find Seoul difficult with the language and stay near bases where the locals are more likely to speak English?
2. People here are a little disorganized. It's obvious from looking in shop windows. Except for stores catering to the upper crust, things are stacked here and there with a bit of a messy look.
3. Will I find it more difficult next year when I return for 9 days with plans to tour the rest of the country? Will it be a problem taking buses and trains and finding hotels? I don't think I've been to any country where people catering to budget tourists speak less English than here.
Diet Coke (1.5 l) 1900 won
Steamed Bun 1500
National Museum of History 700
Total: 4100 won = $4.04
Friday, Aug. 26, Seoul
I've been surprised by how cool it has been while I've been here. I really haven't needed the air conditioner in the evening. And related to being cool, myd visits to the palaces have made me wonder how people stayed warm in previous centuries with only rice paper walls and windows. The tours have explained how they used fires underneath the stone floors to create warmth, but Seoul gets snow in the winter. I would imagine that the heated stone floors would have little effect in terms of providing real comfort.
It's sunny today, so it will be warm. I will make it a long walking day. Someone asked why my blog isn't including distances these days. It's because I need to replace the battery in my pedometer. I didn't check it before I left Texas. It was dead when I pulled it out of the suitcase here on Tuesday. It will be easier for me to replace the battery in Thailand where far more people speak English than here. I hope to start measuring my walks again next week. My guess is that I have been walking only 6-10 miles per day so far.
____
I'm sitting in a pagoda-like pavilion partially up the side of Namsan Hill. There is a nice panaramic view of northern Seoul and the mountains beyond. Just below me is Namsan Village, a collection of five traditional Korean homes that have been moved here to form a cultural museum. I've toured the homes which are furnished with antiques and traditional decor. It's been interesting seeing them. There are also cultural deomonstrations here, but all I saw this morning were a man doing calligraphy and a woman in a wedding dress. It's only 10:45--much too early for anything to be happening.
Before the village, I stopped at Korea House. I thought it would be similar, but it is strictly an entertainment complex (restaurant, theater, gift shop) with little to see. There are mostly night and weekend activities there.
_____
This turned out to definitely be the Big Walking Day in which I learned that my map is not to scale outside the downtown area. The only major tourist area of town I had not seen yet was Itaewon, and it is really just a shopping and night club district. Instead of going there, I decided to make a big loop to the southwest. I walked to Seoul Station and down to Gongdeok. From there, I continued to Sangsu, the location of Hongik University. The area had a wonderful student neighborhood feel to it. From there, I turned back to Sichon. It was 2:00 p.m. by then, and I was hungry and thirsty. I bought a 1.5 l Diet Coke at a convenience store, and I went to the food hall at Hyundia Department Store and got a steamed bun filled with a spicy meat mixture. Hyndia wasn't as nice a store as the two I had toured Tuesday, but neither was the neighborhood. I got the impression it had been one of the first suburban centers built during the expansion of Seould into a megacity in the 1970s or early 1980s. It's nice, but not new any longer. What seemed grand then does not seem so special today.
The long walk continued back into downtown where I stopped to tour the National History Museum (which should have its title extended with "of Seould" since it was almost exclusively about the city. The exhibits were interesting. I especially liked some films taken in the 1920s and 1930s. When I left the museum, I was tired, so I walked directly back to the hotel. Not counting a pause I had at Namsan Village this morning, I had been walking for 6 hours! It was nice, however, to get away into the suburban areas to get an idea of how most people in Seoul live.
Coments/Questions:
1. Where are all the American soldiers? Are they restricted from coming to Seoul? Do they find Seoul difficult with the language and stay near bases where the locals are more likely to speak English?
2. People here are a little disorganized. It's obvious from looking in shop windows. Except for stores catering to the upper crust, things are stacked here and there with a bit of a messy look.
3. Will I find it more difficult next year when I return for 9 days with plans to tour the rest of the country? Will it be a problem taking buses and trains and finding hotels? I don't think I've been to any country where people catering to budget tourists speak less English than here.
Diet Coke (1.5 l) 1900 won
Steamed Bun 1500
National Museum of History 700
Total: 4100 won = $4.04
Final Days in Seoul
Thursday, Aug. 25 (Continued)
I went out about 10:45 while it was not raining and walked to Changgyeonggung Palace. It is not as imposrtant as the other palaces I have visited, but it was better in one respect. The main ceremonial building dates from 1616, whereas the buildings at the others were rebuilt in the 1800s and 1900s. There is a footbridge connecting this palace to Jongmyo Shrine, a set of buildings from the late 1300s/early 1400s holding Confucian spirit tabliets for former rulers. It began raining again soon after I arrived at the palace, so I toured the parklike grounds of it and the shrine while carrying my umbrella.
A large market area is east of the shrine, so I walked there. Kwangjung Market is clean with a wide walkway covered with a glass awning. As I walked along, I came to lots of food stalls in the centers of the aisles. I stopped to watch a woman frying large, flat patties. A man approached me and asked if I wanted a taste. he went to a platter of cut pieces, stuck a stick into one, handed it to me, and motioned that I should dip it in a soy sauce with chopped onions. It was delicious. I checked all the other stalls. Then I returned to there. A customer motioned for me to sit and told the woman to serve me. She put an 8-inch (20 cm) pattie on her griddle and browned it. She cut it into about 12 chunks, placed them on a foil-covered tray, and put it in front of me with a dish of the soy sauce with chopped onion. I'm not sure of everything that ws in the pancake. It had shredded potatoes, I think, and what looked like chopped chives. There were pink spots which may have been pork. It tasted much like the inside of Chinese pork dumplings. I ate it all, and paid her the 200 won ($1.97) she requested, and walked away ahppy and full.
I went further east to Dongdaemun Market, but there was nothing I wanted to really see. It was a market with specialty shops clustered together. Arne would have enjoyed the kitchen shops. One shop specialized only in inserts--shoe inserts and bra inserts!
I returned to the room and watched a film that had just started. It may have been entitled Alcatrez. It starred Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. It was another mainstream film I've missed in the past. As I have explained to friends before, one reason I tend to see only foreign and independent films at theaters is that I have plenty of opportunities to see mainstream films on TV in hotels while traveling.
_____
I went out again in the late afternoon. I walked down Insadong-Gil, a street with many art galleries. Because of the cloudy weather, it was easy to see inside the windows and enjoy the artwork. My favorites were some silk prints and some string art forming geometric shapes on the outside of a box frame that had geometric shapes painted on the inside canvas.
I also wandered some of the back streets there. They have very atmospheric restaurants, tea rooms, etc. Then I wandered westward to Jongyesa Temple, a Buddhist temple. It was completely covered in a steel-framed restoration protection, and the front courtyard is also under recnstruction. Entering, however, I could see the ornate woodwork of the exterior. And inside looked untouched for ages.
On the way back to the room, I bought a ham-onion-cheese pastry and an almond and cream filled ring pastry at a bakery in the underground station near my hotel. I took them back to the room for dinner.
Changgyeonggung Palace/Jongmyo Shrine 1000 won
Lunch 2000
Pastries 5300
Total: 8300 won = $8.18
Thursday, Aug. 25 (Continued)
I went out about 10:45 while it was not raining and walked to Changgyeonggung Palace. It is not as imposrtant as the other palaces I have visited, but it was better in one respect. The main ceremonial building dates from 1616, whereas the buildings at the others were rebuilt in the 1800s and 1900s. There is a footbridge connecting this palace to Jongmyo Shrine, a set of buildings from the late 1300s/early 1400s holding Confucian spirit tabliets for former rulers. It began raining again soon after I arrived at the palace, so I toured the parklike grounds of it and the shrine while carrying my umbrella.
A large market area is east of the shrine, so I walked there. Kwangjung Market is clean with a wide walkway covered with a glass awning. As I walked along, I came to lots of food stalls in the centers of the aisles. I stopped to watch a woman frying large, flat patties. A man approached me and asked if I wanted a taste. he went to a platter of cut pieces, stuck a stick into one, handed it to me, and motioned that I should dip it in a soy sauce with chopped onions. It was delicious. I checked all the other stalls. Then I returned to there. A customer motioned for me to sit and told the woman to serve me. She put an 8-inch (20 cm) pattie on her griddle and browned it. She cut it into about 12 chunks, placed them on a foil-covered tray, and put it in front of me with a dish of the soy sauce with chopped onion. I'm not sure of everything that ws in the pancake. It had shredded potatoes, I think, and what looked like chopped chives. There were pink spots which may have been pork. It tasted much like the inside of Chinese pork dumplings. I ate it all, and paid her the 200 won ($1.97) she requested, and walked away ahppy and full.
I went further east to Dongdaemun Market, but there was nothing I wanted to really see. It was a market with specialty shops clustered together. Arne would have enjoyed the kitchen shops. One shop specialized only in inserts--shoe inserts and bra inserts!
I returned to the room and watched a film that had just started. It may have been entitled Alcatrez. It starred Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. It was another mainstream film I've missed in the past. As I have explained to friends before, one reason I tend to see only foreign and independent films at theaters is that I have plenty of opportunities to see mainstream films on TV in hotels while traveling.
_____
I went out again in the late afternoon. I walked down Insadong-Gil, a street with many art galleries. Because of the cloudy weather, it was easy to see inside the windows and enjoy the artwork. My favorites were some silk prints and some string art forming geometric shapes on the outside of a box frame that had geometric shapes painted on the inside canvas.
I also wandered some of the back streets there. They have very atmospheric restaurants, tea rooms, etc. Then I wandered westward to Jongyesa Temple, a Buddhist temple. It was completely covered in a steel-framed restoration protection, and the front courtyard is also under recnstruction. Entering, however, I could see the ornate woodwork of the exterior. And inside looked untouched for ages.
On the way back to the room, I bought a ham-onion-cheese pastry and an almond and cream filled ring pastry at a bakery in the underground station near my hotel. I took them back to the room for dinner.
Changgyeonggung Palace/Jongmyo Shrine 1000 won
Lunch 2000
Pastries 5300
Total: 8300 won = $8.18
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Rain in Seoul
Wednesday, Aug. 24 (Continued)
After breakfast, I walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It's a beautiful huge complex at the northern end of the boradest boulevard through downtown Seoul. It's also the location of a changing of the guard ceremony. The guard wears ancient costumes and artificial beards and moustaches. They are impressive. The complex, burned by the Japanese in 1592 and greatly dismantled by the Japanese again in WWII, has been mostly restored and is beautiful. There was even a special building to house a water clock that measured the hours, days, and seasons.
In the back gardens of the palace is the National Folk Museum of Korea. I spent another two hours touring its galleries to learn about the history and customs of Korea. It was very comprehensive and had signs in English for each display.
When I left the palace complex, I walked to Namdaemun Market. It is a huge traditional market with small stalls selling everything. I was hungry, so I wandered very narrow aisles looking for just the right restaurant within the market. I chose one with about 10 tables that was 2/3 full and showed the waitress my sentence in Korean asking her recommendation. She walked 3 tables away and said something. it was to a western lady who speaks Korean. She was finishing her meal there. After asking if I liked spicy food, she ordered for me. She said I came to the best place in the market for what I was going to eat. It was a pot of fish in a spicy broth with a type of cooked radish also in the pot. The lady showed me how to remove the innards, since the Koreans don't clean their fish before cooking them. She also warned me about the bones and pointed out that the radish looked horrible but was the best part of the dish. She was right. I struggled to get fish without bones, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole meal. There was a bowl of rice with a place of seaweed sheets for wrapping up the rice. There was a plate of cooked egg and a large, partitioned plate with five small dishes--kimchi (pickled cabbage), bean sprouts, shredded greens, and others I don't recall now. I ate it all except for the fish pieces I couldn't get off the bones. It was really a good meal.
One strange thing happened at the restaurant. All tables but mine had a bottle of cold water. I held my glass and asked for water. The waitress brought a bottle. Two minutes later, a couple sat at the table in front of mine. The waitress took my bottle and gave it to them. The glasses are tiny (about the size of a tea cup), so I asked for water again. She poured me a glass, but never brought me a bottle again.
On the backside of Namdaemun Market is Shinsegae Department Store. And up the street from it is Lotte Department Store. Both are huge shopping complexes with full-line luxury boutiques from designers all over the world, food halls with booths from world famous eating emporiums, etc. Each makes the typical U.S. department store look rather quaint and simple. And each department has employees bowing as one walks by.
It was beginning to sprinkle as I left Lotte. I headed back to my room. There was a message that someone had called. My guess is that it was Matt, a university professor in Inchon near here who is from Corpus Christi. The number wasn't well written and didn't match the one he had given me. I don't know how to place a long distance call here either. So I went downstairs to the computer here in the hotel and wrote him an e-mail telling him that if he was the one he should try to call back during the hours that I am normally in the hotel.
I've stayed in the room tonight. I watched The Green Mile on TV. It's a movie I had not seen before. I also listened to CNN News. The satellite TV has many channels, but CNN is one that is scrambled. I can hear it well, however, so it's not necessary to see the photos to learn what's happening.
Gyeongbokgung Palace/National Folk Museum 3,000
Lunch 5,000
Total: 8,000 won = $7.88
Thursday, Aug. 25
It rained lightly all night and is still raining lightly this morning. I can see some thinness in the cloulds, though. I am going out of the hotel about 11:00 and explore some area attractions--places close enough that if it begins to rain more I can get back to the hotel without it taking too much time and causing me to get too wet. The forecast is for sunshine no later than tomorrow afternoon. That's good, since it also calls for sunshine on Saturday when I have to get back to the airport for my flight to Bangkok.
Wednesday, Aug. 24 (Continued)
After breakfast, I walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). It's a beautiful huge complex at the northern end of the boradest boulevard through downtown Seoul. It's also the location of a changing of the guard ceremony. The guard wears ancient costumes and artificial beards and moustaches. They are impressive. The complex, burned by the Japanese in 1592 and greatly dismantled by the Japanese again in WWII, has been mostly restored and is beautiful. There was even a special building to house a water clock that measured the hours, days, and seasons.
In the back gardens of the palace is the National Folk Museum of Korea. I spent another two hours touring its galleries to learn about the history and customs of Korea. It was very comprehensive and had signs in English for each display.
When I left the palace complex, I walked to Namdaemun Market. It is a huge traditional market with small stalls selling everything. I was hungry, so I wandered very narrow aisles looking for just the right restaurant within the market. I chose one with about 10 tables that was 2/3 full and showed the waitress my sentence in Korean asking her recommendation. She walked 3 tables away and said something. it was to a western lady who speaks Korean. She was finishing her meal there. After asking if I liked spicy food, she ordered for me. She said I came to the best place in the market for what I was going to eat. It was a pot of fish in a spicy broth with a type of cooked radish also in the pot. The lady showed me how to remove the innards, since the Koreans don't clean their fish before cooking them. She also warned me about the bones and pointed out that the radish looked horrible but was the best part of the dish. She was right. I struggled to get fish without bones, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole meal. There was a bowl of rice with a place of seaweed sheets for wrapping up the rice. There was a plate of cooked egg and a large, partitioned plate with five small dishes--kimchi (pickled cabbage), bean sprouts, shredded greens, and others I don't recall now. I ate it all except for the fish pieces I couldn't get off the bones. It was really a good meal.
One strange thing happened at the restaurant. All tables but mine had a bottle of cold water. I held my glass and asked for water. The waitress brought a bottle. Two minutes later, a couple sat at the table in front of mine. The waitress took my bottle and gave it to them. The glasses are tiny (about the size of a tea cup), so I asked for water again. She poured me a glass, but never brought me a bottle again.
On the backside of Namdaemun Market is Shinsegae Department Store. And up the street from it is Lotte Department Store. Both are huge shopping complexes with full-line luxury boutiques from designers all over the world, food halls with booths from world famous eating emporiums, etc. Each makes the typical U.S. department store look rather quaint and simple. And each department has employees bowing as one walks by.
It was beginning to sprinkle as I left Lotte. I headed back to my room. There was a message that someone had called. My guess is that it was Matt, a university professor in Inchon near here who is from Corpus Christi. The number wasn't well written and didn't match the one he had given me. I don't know how to place a long distance call here either. So I went downstairs to the computer here in the hotel and wrote him an e-mail telling him that if he was the one he should try to call back during the hours that I am normally in the hotel.
I've stayed in the room tonight. I watched The Green Mile on TV. It's a movie I had not seen before. I also listened to CNN News. The satellite TV has many channels, but CNN is one that is scrambled. I can hear it well, however, so it's not necessary to see the photos to learn what's happening.
Gyeongbokgung Palace/National Folk Museum 3,000
Lunch 5,000
Total: 8,000 won = $7.88
Thursday, Aug. 25
It rained lightly all night and is still raining lightly this morning. I can see some thinness in the cloulds, though. I am going out of the hotel about 11:00 and explore some area attractions--places close enough that if it begins to rain more I can get back to the hotel without it taking too much time and causing me to get too wet. The forecast is for sunshine no later than tomorrow afternoon. That's good, since it also calls for sunshine on Saturday when I have to get back to the airport for my flight to Bangkok.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Continuing in Seoul
Tuesday, Aug. 23 (Continued)
This trip to Seoul was on the itinerary for Arne and me last year. He would have been comfortable here because of the many clean and free public toilets.
I've walked tothe for5mer site of Seoul National University. It's now a park with public entertainment, art galleries, theaters, etc. I'm sitting under a tall glass pavilion listening to a man sing and play a guitar. He's quite good. About 60 other people are sitting around and visiting while listening to the music. An elderly woman approached me twice begging. She finally left when I showed her I have no coins in my pocket (but not before flashing a bill in hopes I would give her one of those)!!
_____
I didn't eat lunch. My late breakfast combined with being on the palace tour until 1:15 made me decide to wait until tonight to eat. I was feeling hungry by 5:30, so I checked a street that was recommended by my guide as having lots of inexpensive restaurants. Most places were empty, but one was 2/3 full of diners at that hour. Nothing was written in English, but I could tell it was a cheap place from the prices on the Korean menu posted outside. When the waitress didn't speak English, I pointed to a statement written in my guidebook in Korean that meant, "What do you recomment?" When she started talking back, I used body motions to imply she should decide. I'm not sure of the name of what I got, but I have seen plastic versions of it in windows at other restaurants. I got a bowl of clear broth with green onions and herbs. There was a plate with a fried, battered filet of meat (much like wienersnitzel), rice, and shredded raw cabbage with sauce. On the side were three small dishes--mild, pickled eggplant; spicy, pickled cabbage leaves; and round yellow disks of some vegetable. It was good enough that I ate all of it except for two of the yellow disks. It was the first Korean meal I have ever eaten.
I was tired from the time change, so I wandered back toward the hotel through narrow back streets and through the huge Seoul National University Medical School complex. I stopped at a park to read, but I was back in the room by 7:00.
Hotel (4 Nights) 108,000 won
Changdeokgong Palace 3,000
Dinner 3,000
Total: 114,000 won = $112.30
Wednesday, Aug. 24, Seoul
The air here is comfortable at night, so I left off the air conditioner and went to bed with the window open. Sometime during the night, however, I could hear people visiting on the patio below. I had to shut the window and turn on the a/c to get back to sleep.
The local radar shows a big round storm southeast of us. It is off the coast of southern Japan. I hope it isn't coming this way. At the least, it is a topical storm, and it couold be worse (although there was no evident eye). I just hope it isn't causing problems on Saturday when I am to fly to Bangkok.
Today is cloudy. I don't think rain is forecast. I've only seen one person carrying an umbrella. I'll pack my aluminun shorty in my shoulder bag just in case I need it, however.
I'm feeling lazy, but I'm going to push myself to get out. With rain possibly coming for afew days, I need to see some sites.
Tuesday, Aug. 23 (Continued)
This trip to Seoul was on the itinerary for Arne and me last year. He would have been comfortable here because of the many clean and free public toilets.
I've walked tothe for5mer site of Seoul National University. It's now a park with public entertainment, art galleries, theaters, etc. I'm sitting under a tall glass pavilion listening to a man sing and play a guitar. He's quite good. About 60 other people are sitting around and visiting while listening to the music. An elderly woman approached me twice begging. She finally left when I showed her I have no coins in my pocket (but not before flashing a bill in hopes I would give her one of those)!!
_____
I didn't eat lunch. My late breakfast combined with being on the palace tour until 1:15 made me decide to wait until tonight to eat. I was feeling hungry by 5:30, so I checked a street that was recommended by my guide as having lots of inexpensive restaurants. Most places were empty, but one was 2/3 full of diners at that hour. Nothing was written in English, but I could tell it was a cheap place from the prices on the Korean menu posted outside. When the waitress didn't speak English, I pointed to a statement written in my guidebook in Korean that meant, "What do you recomment?" When she started talking back, I used body motions to imply she should decide. I'm not sure of the name of what I got, but I have seen plastic versions of it in windows at other restaurants. I got a bowl of clear broth with green onions and herbs. There was a plate with a fried, battered filet of meat (much like wienersnitzel), rice, and shredded raw cabbage with sauce. On the side were three small dishes--mild, pickled eggplant; spicy, pickled cabbage leaves; and round yellow disks of some vegetable. It was good enough that I ate all of it except for two of the yellow disks. It was the first Korean meal I have ever eaten.
I was tired from the time change, so I wandered back toward the hotel through narrow back streets and through the huge Seoul National University Medical School complex. I stopped at a park to read, but I was back in the room by 7:00.
Hotel (4 Nights) 108,000 won
Changdeokgong Palace 3,000
Dinner 3,000
Total: 114,000 won = $112.30
Wednesday, Aug. 24, Seoul
The air here is comfortable at night, so I left off the air conditioner and went to bed with the window open. Sometime during the night, however, I could hear people visiting on the patio below. I had to shut the window and turn on the a/c to get back to sleep.
The local radar shows a big round storm southeast of us. It is off the coast of southern Japan. I hope it isn't coming this way. At the least, it is a topical storm, and it couold be worse (although there was no evident eye). I just hope it isn't causing problems on Saturday when I am to fly to Bangkok.
Today is cloudy. I don't think rain is forecast. I've only seen one person carrying an umbrella. I'll pack my aluminun shorty in my shoulder bag just in case I need it, however.
I'm feeling lazy, but I'm going to push myself to get out. With rain possibly coming for afew days, I need to see some sites.
Seoul
Sunday, Aug. 21
I asked Cort to take me to the airport early so I could get checked in and he could get on with his day. I got here at 11:00 to find that my plane is delayed and we will leave at 3:30 instead of 2:10. They are still predicting an on-time arrival in Seould. I'm glad.
I ate some pretty crummy Chinese food for lunch here at the airport. Now I'm reading and relaxing until my flight. It's still 2 1/2 hours away.
______
It was a long flight to Seoul, but it seemed to pass as quickly as it could under the circumstances. Several things helped. First, although Singapore Airlines does not have economy plus seating, their seats in economy are spaced apart as much as those in economy plus on other airlines. therefore, we all flew economy plus with extra leg room in regular economy class. Second, two interesting women sat beside me and involved me in conversations. Third, there were 60 movie selections on the entertainment program on the plane.
The women were from Corvalis, OR. Sherry works in health services at the university there, and Mirriamgives private violin lessons and has home schooled her children. They were on their way to India for two weeks to assist their church, Christian Healing Ministry (http://www.jglm.org). Fortunately, our conversations stayed within the rhealm of secular experiences they might have there and never moved to the topic of religion. They listened to stories of some of my experiences and precautions I recommended. They were so excited about the fact they would would have their own stories to tell after their trip.
I never caught the beginning of a film. I watched the last half of a French comedy with Thierry Lhermitte about a man falling in love again with his ex-wife. I tried to watch a Spanish comedy about a guy who had been called back to a soccer team just to perform a penalty kick, but I became bored. I watched most of a Korean teen fi9lm about a girl being chased by the two most popular boys before she discovers that one is really her half brother. Mostly, I napped off and own. The two meals were fine, but they weren't worth remembering.
We were 1 hour late landing. The airport was rather quiet and very clean and modern. Immigration went well for me, but many people were questioned for extended periods of time. There seemed to be concern about anyone not having a reservation for a place to stay.
The tourist desk gave me a map and literature, including a brochure for my hotel. They called my hotel which told them to have me go to a gas station at the bus stop and wave the brochure (which I thought meant that the station would call them to send someone to guide me, since they had told Kim they would do that when she called to make the reservation).
It was easy using the ATM to get 150,000 won (only about $150!) and to buy a bus ticket at the counter. I just missed a bus (#602-1) and had to wait about 20 minutes at the stop. A well-dressed young man approached me and talked to me. He said I looked concerned and he wanted to make sure I was in the right place. I think he must have gone to the side to watch to make sure I was okay, because he approached me again later and left after my assurance I would be fine.
There were only about 6 people on my bus. I had trouble hearing the stops as they were announced because of a radio the driver had playing, the communications radio between the driver and his base, and the ringing of cell phones. I showed my stop to a young man across the aisle from me, and he would look at me and make a downward hand motion (meaning keep seated) for each announcement until my stop when he shook his head yes.
The gas station didn't make a call. One of the five attendants spoke slowly and firmly in a strong accent, "This...way...one-a...block. Turn-a right. One-a block more." It was excactly what it looked like I should do according to the map, and I had no problem finding my way, arriving at the front dest at 9:50 p.m.
The room is simple, but fine. It hasone singlebed, a room air conditioning unit set in the wall, a mini-fridge, a 19-inch TV with satellite channels, a hair dryer, a tub-shower combination, and slippers. There is even a whole fresh tube of toothpaste. The floor is linoleum rather than carpeting. The bed has no top sheet. Instead, it has two light-weight cotton quilts.
ATM Charge at Airport 1080 won
Bus to Seoul 8000 won
Hotel 1 Night 28,000 won
Total 37,080 = $36.53
Tuesday, Aug. 23, Seoul
It's sunny today, and every one is commenting about it. The paper shows it has been cloudy lately. With the sun has come heat, but it doesn't affect me much. I saw a child being treated for heatstroke around noon, however, so it is hot.
Because of the napping I did on the plane and all of the time zones I passed switching my night body clock to daytime, I was surprised that I was able to sleep until 6:30 a.m. I got up and organized things, reviewed my guides, and bathed. I went to breakfast at 9:00 to find it is a do-it-yourself affair. There was a large bowl eggs, so I started the burner and fried two eggs while my bread toasted and my tea brewed. I had peatnut butter and jam on one piece of toast. It's rather nice to make what I want, but there is limited space. I hope I can always get downstairs while no others are there.
I decided just to wander the local streets to get a feel for the neighborhood. I was a little concerned about getting lost, since the narrow streets twist and wind, but I managed to keep my orientation. I'm still trying to figure out the walking patterns, however. Most people seem to walk to the left. Not all do, however, and double crosswalks have arrows promoting walking on the right. I've seen people almost walk into each other with confusion about whether they should go right or left.
I went to two tourist sites this morning. The first was Tapgol Park where the independence movement began and where a marble pagoda is located. The other was Changdeokgung Palace which is one of the major palaces and is a World Heritage Site with visitations only in groups. The lady who guided us wore a beautiful traditional dress of stiff gause-like silk and carried a matching orchid parasol. We saw the living quarters of the king and queen, the audience chamber, the private gardens, etc. It was a beautiful retreat within the city--only about 3 blocks from my hotel.
Sunday, Aug. 21
I asked Cort to take me to the airport early so I could get checked in and he could get on with his day. I got here at 11:00 to find that my plane is delayed and we will leave at 3:30 instead of 2:10. They are still predicting an on-time arrival in Seould. I'm glad.
I ate some pretty crummy Chinese food for lunch here at the airport. Now I'm reading and relaxing until my flight. It's still 2 1/2 hours away.
______
It was a long flight to Seoul, but it seemed to pass as quickly as it could under the circumstances. Several things helped. First, although Singapore Airlines does not have economy plus seating, their seats in economy are spaced apart as much as those in economy plus on other airlines. therefore, we all flew economy plus with extra leg room in regular economy class. Second, two interesting women sat beside me and involved me in conversations. Third, there were 60 movie selections on the entertainment program on the plane.
The women were from Corvalis, OR. Sherry works in health services at the university there, and Mirriamgives private violin lessons and has home schooled her children. They were on their way to India for two weeks to assist their church, Christian Healing Ministry (http://www.jglm.org). Fortunately, our conversations stayed within the rhealm of secular experiences they might have there and never moved to the topic of religion. They listened to stories of some of my experiences and precautions I recommended. They were so excited about the fact they would would have their own stories to tell after their trip.
I never caught the beginning of a film. I watched the last half of a French comedy with Thierry Lhermitte about a man falling in love again with his ex-wife. I tried to watch a Spanish comedy about a guy who had been called back to a soccer team just to perform a penalty kick, but I became bored. I watched most of a Korean teen fi9lm about a girl being chased by the two most popular boys before she discovers that one is really her half brother. Mostly, I napped off and own. The two meals were fine, but they weren't worth remembering.
We were 1 hour late landing. The airport was rather quiet and very clean and modern. Immigration went well for me, but many people were questioned for extended periods of time. There seemed to be concern about anyone not having a reservation for a place to stay.
The tourist desk gave me a map and literature, including a brochure for my hotel. They called my hotel which told them to have me go to a gas station at the bus stop and wave the brochure (which I thought meant that the station would call them to send someone to guide me, since they had told Kim they would do that when she called to make the reservation).
It was easy using the ATM to get 150,000 won (only about $150!) and to buy a bus ticket at the counter. I just missed a bus (#602-1) and had to wait about 20 minutes at the stop. A well-dressed young man approached me and talked to me. He said I looked concerned and he wanted to make sure I was in the right place. I think he must have gone to the side to watch to make sure I was okay, because he approached me again later and left after my assurance I would be fine.
There were only about 6 people on my bus. I had trouble hearing the stops as they were announced because of a radio the driver had playing, the communications radio between the driver and his base, and the ringing of cell phones. I showed my stop to a young man across the aisle from me, and he would look at me and make a downward hand motion (meaning keep seated) for each announcement until my stop when he shook his head yes.
The gas station didn't make a call. One of the five attendants spoke slowly and firmly in a strong accent, "This...way...one-a...block. Turn-a right. One-a block more." It was excactly what it looked like I should do according to the map, and I had no problem finding my way, arriving at the front dest at 9:50 p.m.
The room is simple, but fine. It hasone singlebed, a room air conditioning unit set in the wall, a mini-fridge, a 19-inch TV with satellite channels, a hair dryer, a tub-shower combination, and slippers. There is even a whole fresh tube of toothpaste. The floor is linoleum rather than carpeting. The bed has no top sheet. Instead, it has two light-weight cotton quilts.
ATM Charge at Airport 1080 won
Bus to Seoul 8000 won
Hotel 1 Night 28,000 won
Total 37,080 = $36.53
Tuesday, Aug. 23, Seoul
It's sunny today, and every one is commenting about it. The paper shows it has been cloudy lately. With the sun has come heat, but it doesn't affect me much. I saw a child being treated for heatstroke around noon, however, so it is hot.
Because of the napping I did on the plane and all of the time zones I passed switching my night body clock to daytime, I was surprised that I was able to sleep until 6:30 a.m. I got up and organized things, reviewed my guides, and bathed. I went to breakfast at 9:00 to find it is a do-it-yourself affair. There was a large bowl eggs, so I started the burner and fried two eggs while my bread toasted and my tea brewed. I had peatnut butter and jam on one piece of toast. It's rather nice to make what I want, but there is limited space. I hope I can always get downstairs while no others are there.
I decided just to wander the local streets to get a feel for the neighborhood. I was a little concerned about getting lost, since the narrow streets twist and wind, but I managed to keep my orientation. I'm still trying to figure out the walking patterns, however. Most people seem to walk to the left. Not all do, however, and double crosswalks have arrows promoting walking on the right. I've seen people almost walk into each other with confusion about whether they should go right or left.
I went to two tourist sites this morning. The first was Tapgol Park where the independence movement began and where a marble pagoda is located. The other was Changdeokgung Palace which is one of the major palaces and is a World Heritage Site with visitations only in groups. The lady who guided us wore a beautiful traditional dress of stiff gause-like silk and carried a matching orchid parasol. We saw the living quarters of the king and queen, the audience chamber, the private gardens, etc. It was a beautiful retreat within the city--only about 3 blocks from my hotel.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Wonderful Last Evening in San Francisco
Last night was my last evening here in San Francisco. Cort had a dinner party for 8 here at his home. Leslie, Dwayne, Carlos, Ki Ki, Leslie's mother Joyce, and her friend and former neighbor JoAnn from Monterrey were here with Cort and me. Cort served cheeses and grapes with slices of a French flute and white wine as we gathered in the living room and everyone was introduced. We talked about the events of the day and they caught up on the news about each other that had occurred since their last times together. Later, we moved to the dining table for salad with mixed greens and squash blossoms, more bread, and red wine. For the main course, he served butterfish with a special sauce he had prepared and with some wonderful tomatoes he had baked in the oven with herbs on them. The tomatoes looked dark like they had been burned, but they were juicy and oh so flavorful. Afterwards, we had a soy ice cream with slices of peaches and a sprig of mint. We had all drunk and eaten to our fill!!
There were interesting conversations throughout the evening. As with such a gathering, the topics jumped all over the map. My around-the-world travels were discussed. JoAnn took such a trip years ago before there were airline alliances and was interested in information about how they work now. We discussed Dwayne's TV program where he, as a carpenter, helps remedy problems people have identified. Joyce and JoAnn discussed their times as neighbors. Leslie discussed how boring it was to be a teenager in Monterrey. Ki Ki talked about his private schooling and various topics. Joyce, Leslie, and Dwayne discussed their upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Cort talked about a wonderful furniture sale which no longer exists since the company has moved its operations to the East Coast. We often fell into side conversation with people around us. I was disappointed that I was always far from Carlos and we didn't get more time to visit. The evening passed quickly, however, and everyone was soon leaving.
My flight to Seoul is this afternoon. I am packed and ready to go to the airport. Cort is getting ready. I've asked him to take me early. There is no need to wait around here. He can drop me off and go ahead with his plans for today. If I get there early, it should be nicer checking in. It will be a big plane, and I hate standing in line behind 200-300 other people to check in for a flight. I can read my book and get a snack at the airport.
It is going to be a long flight. I will be exhausted by the time we arrive. The nice thing is that it will be night when I get there, so I can go to the hotel and sleep. It's what has to happen between now and then that I wish there were a way to avoid.
Last night was my last evening here in San Francisco. Cort had a dinner party for 8 here at his home. Leslie, Dwayne, Carlos, Ki Ki, Leslie's mother Joyce, and her friend and former neighbor JoAnn from Monterrey were here with Cort and me. Cort served cheeses and grapes with slices of a French flute and white wine as we gathered in the living room and everyone was introduced. We talked about the events of the day and they caught up on the news about each other that had occurred since their last times together. Later, we moved to the dining table for salad with mixed greens and squash blossoms, more bread, and red wine. For the main course, he served butterfish with a special sauce he had prepared and with some wonderful tomatoes he had baked in the oven with herbs on them. The tomatoes looked dark like they had been burned, but they were juicy and oh so flavorful. Afterwards, we had a soy ice cream with slices of peaches and a sprig of mint. We had all drunk and eaten to our fill!!
There were interesting conversations throughout the evening. As with such a gathering, the topics jumped all over the map. My around-the-world travels were discussed. JoAnn took such a trip years ago before there were airline alliances and was interested in information about how they work now. We discussed Dwayne's TV program where he, as a carpenter, helps remedy problems people have identified. Joyce and JoAnn discussed their times as neighbors. Leslie discussed how boring it was to be a teenager in Monterrey. Ki Ki talked about his private schooling and various topics. Joyce, Leslie, and Dwayne discussed their upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Cort talked about a wonderful furniture sale which no longer exists since the company has moved its operations to the East Coast. We often fell into side conversation with people around us. I was disappointed that I was always far from Carlos and we didn't get more time to visit. The evening passed quickly, however, and everyone was soon leaving.
My flight to Seoul is this afternoon. I am packed and ready to go to the airport. Cort is getting ready. I've asked him to take me early. There is no need to wait around here. He can drop me off and go ahead with his plans for today. If I get there early, it should be nicer checking in. It will be a big plane, and I hate standing in line behind 200-300 other people to check in for a flight. I can read my book and get a snack at the airport.
It is going to be a long flight. I will be exhausted by the time we arrive. The nice thing is that it will be night when I get there, so I can go to the hotel and sleep. It's what has to happen between now and then that I wish there were a way to avoid.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Another Day in San Francisco
I began reading a book yesterday afternoon while we waited to go out with friends in the evening. I have never read a Grisham novel before. This one was given to me. I figured I would read it first, because it should be a rather fast read--allowing me to get rid of the wait of it. The book is The Last Jurer. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the first 75 pages which I read yesterday. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Cort and I met 4 of his friends at a nearby bar--Mecca--at 7:00 p.m. We had a drink there. Then we walked a few blocks away for dinner at Pauline's. It's a pizza place. We ordered 3 large pizzas and a couple of bottles of wine. The pizzas were very flavorfull. We got one with goat cheese and artichokes, since Cort is lactose intolerant. The other two were a peperoni with garlic and artichokes, and a proscuito with vegetables. We were there until 10:30 or so. It was an interesting group. There was a young married couple who live two doors down from Cort. He is from South Africa and she is a 5th generation San Franciscan. The other two are a couple of guys, an Indonesian and a Pennsylvanian who live here now. All of them are coming here tonight for a dinner Cort is cooking.
Cort and I were up a while talking, but we were both very tired. We intended to get up this morning to go to a market at 8:00. Instead, he forgot to set the alarm and we slept until 8:30. It was 9:00 by the time we got away to go to the market at the Ferry Building downtown at the end of Market Street. He shopped for items for the dinner tonight--peaches, grapes, leeks, salad, tomatoes, squash, bread, etc.
I wanted to explore town some, and Cort was going to the gym and dealing with other matters, so we split at 10:30 after shopping at the market. I walked down to see a large sculpture of a bow and arrow (which Cort says is to represent "I left my heart in San Francisco"). I returned to the market and bought a coconut cherry ginger scone as a snack. Then I walked toward the shopping district around Union Square. I stopped in Gumps, a store I have visited every time I have come to San Francisco, and saw an excellent exhibit of glasswork. I walked by the area where there was an underground explosion yesterday that blew off sidewalk covers and the front of the Ralph Lauren Polo Shop. I sat on Union Square for a while and watched people and rested. Then I headed back down to Market Street. I walked the rest of its distance down to Castro Street. I explored Castro, then I walked over to Haight Street and found a Mediteranean restaurant for lunch.
I bought a lamb shawerma sandwhich which surprised me with its size. It was a wrap sandwhich which was 12 inches long. It was enough for two persons! I ate most of it and then dug the goodies (chunks of lamb, cucumber, fried potatoes, sauce and herbs) out of the rest of the wrap and ate them.
There was some excitement when I returned to Cort's apartment. He wasn't here, and he had set the alarm out of habit. Once I had opened the door, there was nothing to do but wait for the alarm to go off. It was LOUD. After about 10 minutes, it stopped. I assumed that the alarm company had called Cort and they had turned it off. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and the neighbor Leslie who had gone to dinner last night was there. Cort had called her. Opening the door for her had activated the alarm again, but she had a remote control to cancel it. About 20 minutes later as I was reading the paper, someone tried to open the door. I looked around, and a policeman was trying to peek in and to open a window. I went to the door and explained what happened. He asked for my ID and asked me to show him the key I have for the door. There were two of them and they were very nice. They were impressed with Cort's home.
Tomorrow I leave for Seoul. My flight is about 2:00 p.m., but I will have to be at the airport at noon. I don't know if Cort has anything planned, but there won't really be much time. It would be best just to eat a snack around 10:00 and head to the airport. I will spend 12 hours flying to Seoul, never see a sunset, and arrive there on Monday because of passing the International Date Line. I should be very tired by the time I get a bus into town and get checked into my hotel. This may be my last entry until I am there in Seoul. I'll see if I have time for another entry tomorrow morning.
I began reading a book yesterday afternoon while we waited to go out with friends in the evening. I have never read a Grisham novel before. This one was given to me. I figured I would read it first, because it should be a rather fast read--allowing me to get rid of the wait of it. The book is The Last Jurer. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the first 75 pages which I read yesterday. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.
Cort and I met 4 of his friends at a nearby bar--Mecca--at 7:00 p.m. We had a drink there. Then we walked a few blocks away for dinner at Pauline's. It's a pizza place. We ordered 3 large pizzas and a couple of bottles of wine. The pizzas were very flavorfull. We got one with goat cheese and artichokes, since Cort is lactose intolerant. The other two were a peperoni with garlic and artichokes, and a proscuito with vegetables. We were there until 10:30 or so. It was an interesting group. There was a young married couple who live two doors down from Cort. He is from South Africa and she is a 5th generation San Franciscan. The other two are a couple of guys, an Indonesian and a Pennsylvanian who live here now. All of them are coming here tonight for a dinner Cort is cooking.
Cort and I were up a while talking, but we were both very tired. We intended to get up this morning to go to a market at 8:00. Instead, he forgot to set the alarm and we slept until 8:30. It was 9:00 by the time we got away to go to the market at the Ferry Building downtown at the end of Market Street. He shopped for items for the dinner tonight--peaches, grapes, leeks, salad, tomatoes, squash, bread, etc.
I wanted to explore town some, and Cort was going to the gym and dealing with other matters, so we split at 10:30 after shopping at the market. I walked down to see a large sculpture of a bow and arrow (which Cort says is to represent "I left my heart in San Francisco"). I returned to the market and bought a coconut cherry ginger scone as a snack. Then I walked toward the shopping district around Union Square. I stopped in Gumps, a store I have visited every time I have come to San Francisco, and saw an excellent exhibit of glasswork. I walked by the area where there was an underground explosion yesterday that blew off sidewalk covers and the front of the Ralph Lauren Polo Shop. I sat on Union Square for a while and watched people and rested. Then I headed back down to Market Street. I walked the rest of its distance down to Castro Street. I explored Castro, then I walked over to Haight Street and found a Mediteranean restaurant for lunch.
I bought a lamb shawerma sandwhich which surprised me with its size. It was a wrap sandwhich which was 12 inches long. It was enough for two persons! I ate most of it and then dug the goodies (chunks of lamb, cucumber, fried potatoes, sauce and herbs) out of the rest of the wrap and ate them.
There was some excitement when I returned to Cort's apartment. He wasn't here, and he had set the alarm out of habit. Once I had opened the door, there was nothing to do but wait for the alarm to go off. It was LOUD. After about 10 minutes, it stopped. I assumed that the alarm company had called Cort and they had turned it off. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and the neighbor Leslie who had gone to dinner last night was there. Cort had called her. Opening the door for her had activated the alarm again, but she had a remote control to cancel it. About 20 minutes later as I was reading the paper, someone tried to open the door. I looked around, and a policeman was trying to peek in and to open a window. I went to the door and explained what happened. He asked for my ID and asked me to show him the key I have for the door. There were two of them and they were very nice. They were impressed with Cort's home.
Tomorrow I leave for Seoul. My flight is about 2:00 p.m., but I will have to be at the airport at noon. I don't know if Cort has anything planned, but there won't really be much time. It would be best just to eat a snack around 10:00 and head to the airport. I will spend 12 hours flying to Seoul, never see a sunset, and arrive there on Monday because of passing the International Date Line. I should be very tired by the time I get a bus into town and get checked into my hotel. This may be my last entry until I am there in Seoul. I'll see if I have time for another entry tomorrow morning.
Friday, August 19, 2005
In San Franciso
I arrived in San Franciso yesterday afternoon after uneventful flights from San Antonio to Denver and Denver to here. Cort, a long-time friend from Corpus Christi who lives here, was at the airport to meet me. We haven't seen each other in about 6 years, so it was fun to catch up on things last night.
I met Cort when he was 19 and I was 38. For some reason, we clicked as friends. Over time, I felt like our relationship involved me in the roll of mentor. To a certain extent, I came to feel as if he were the son I would never have--someone close to me who looked to me at times for guidance and someone I looked at with pride as I saw him accomplishing so much in his life. We have always managed to keep in touch and to share the events in our lives with each other. I am now 60 and he is 42, so there have been many changes through the years.
Cort owns his own home in San Francisco. He bought an older place and has completely remodeled the top floor to be a showplace like one sees in designer magazines. There are beautiful hardwood floors with elegant rugs in strategic places. The kitchen is of Euro design with lots of stainless steel and white marble. The general decor of the home is elegant and spare with white walls, orchid plants, contemporary paintings and photography, and furniture of modern classic design. Everything is elegant and perfect. Downstairs is an area still to be remodeled. It is just one big room that includes parking for the car. Eventually, it will be a two-car garage (a luxury in SF) and a guest bedroom and bath. The back lawn is paved with stones, lined with bamboo for privacy, and further landscaped in an Oriental fashion with a quiet fountain and other plants. The whole place is truly a fashion home.
Last night, we walked to the nearby Castro district. Then we ate dinner at a restaurant near here. Cort is at work today, and I will go out walking in town. There is fog and the temperatures are in the 60s. It's not too bad for being out, however. Cort has loaned me a fleece pullover to help keep me warm while I am here.
The zipper on the main section of my suitcase broke due to baggage handing yesterday. There were two zipper pulls. One of them got crushed and broke. What it means is that I can still zip the bag shut, but I cannot lock it. I will continue traveling with it and decide what to do along the way. I might get a new zipper installed somewhere like Thailand or Burma where it shouldn't be too expensive to do so. Or I might start shopping for a replacement suitcase. In the meantime, I will just have to trust that no one will try to steel from me when the suitcase is out of my sight. I will transfer the most important things to the pocks that can be locked and to my backpack which I can also lock.
I called SBC Yahoo this morning. When I tried to log onto my regular Yahoo mail account, it forced me into SBC Yahoo. I began to worry that there would be a problem getting my e-mail once the SBC Yahoo service is disconnected sometime today. The assured me that the regular Yahoo mail account would continue to be active once they disconnect my service, but they only told me that after first telling me that I had to go into my account and direct it to unbundle the regular Yahoo mail account from the SBC Yahoo service. I am hoping they are now right and that everything will work okay once they disconnect SBC Yahoo. But I will test it again tomorrow to see what happens. There are always little things like that to create a hassle and confusion when traveling!!
I arrived in San Franciso yesterday afternoon after uneventful flights from San Antonio to Denver and Denver to here. Cort, a long-time friend from Corpus Christi who lives here, was at the airport to meet me. We haven't seen each other in about 6 years, so it was fun to catch up on things last night.
I met Cort when he was 19 and I was 38. For some reason, we clicked as friends. Over time, I felt like our relationship involved me in the roll of mentor. To a certain extent, I came to feel as if he were the son I would never have--someone close to me who looked to me at times for guidance and someone I looked at with pride as I saw him accomplishing so much in his life. We have always managed to keep in touch and to share the events in our lives with each other. I am now 60 and he is 42, so there have been many changes through the years.
Cort owns his own home in San Francisco. He bought an older place and has completely remodeled the top floor to be a showplace like one sees in designer magazines. There are beautiful hardwood floors with elegant rugs in strategic places. The kitchen is of Euro design with lots of stainless steel and white marble. The general decor of the home is elegant and spare with white walls, orchid plants, contemporary paintings and photography, and furniture of modern classic design. Everything is elegant and perfect. Downstairs is an area still to be remodeled. It is just one big room that includes parking for the car. Eventually, it will be a two-car garage (a luxury in SF) and a guest bedroom and bath. The back lawn is paved with stones, lined with bamboo for privacy, and further landscaped in an Oriental fashion with a quiet fountain and other plants. The whole place is truly a fashion home.
Last night, we walked to the nearby Castro district. Then we ate dinner at a restaurant near here. Cort is at work today, and I will go out walking in town. There is fog and the temperatures are in the 60s. It's not too bad for being out, however. Cort has loaned me a fleece pullover to help keep me warm while I am here.
The zipper on the main section of my suitcase broke due to baggage handing yesterday. There were two zipper pulls. One of them got crushed and broke. What it means is that I can still zip the bag shut, but I cannot lock it. I will continue traveling with it and decide what to do along the way. I might get a new zipper installed somewhere like Thailand or Burma where it shouldn't be too expensive to do so. Or I might start shopping for a replacement suitcase. In the meantime, I will just have to trust that no one will try to steel from me when the suitcase is out of my sight. I will transfer the most important things to the pocks that can be locked and to my backpack which I can also lock.
I called SBC Yahoo this morning. When I tried to log onto my regular Yahoo mail account, it forced me into SBC Yahoo. I began to worry that there would be a problem getting my e-mail once the SBC Yahoo service is disconnected sometime today. The assured me that the regular Yahoo mail account would continue to be active once they disconnect my service, but they only told me that after first telling me that I had to go into my account and direct it to unbundle the regular Yahoo mail account from the SBC Yahoo service. I am hoping they are now right and that everything will work okay once they disconnect SBC Yahoo. But I will test it again tomorrow to see what happens. There are always little things like that to create a hassle and confusion when traveling!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
Reading List for Travels
Each year I purchase books to take with me during my travels. I may not be able to pack all of these, but here is the list of books that I have for my 2005-2007 travels:
Amis, Kingsley, The Old Devils http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060971460/qid=1122937404/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Barrett, Andrea, Ship Fever http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393316009/qid=1122937339/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Brookner, Anita, Hotel Du Lac http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679759328/qid=1122936866/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Byatt, A. S., Possession, A Romance http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679735909/qid=1122936803/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Crace, Jim, Being Dead http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312275420/qid=1122937815/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Eugenides, Jeffrey, Middlesex http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312422156/qid=1122938096/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Gurganus, Allan, The Practical Heard: Four Novelas http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375727639/qid=1122937969/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/067976402X/qid=1122936237/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Hulme, Keri, The Bone People http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140089225/qid=1122937665/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Jharvala, Ruth Prawer, Out of India: Selected Stories http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1582430527/qid=1122936733/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Jones, Edward P., The Known World http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060557559/qid=1122937017/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Lahiri, Jhumpa, Interpreter of Maladies http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/039592720X/qid=1122936366/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Lethem, Jonathan, Motherless Brooklyn http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375724834/qid=1122937160/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Munro, Alice, The Love of a Good Woman: Stories http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375703632/qid=1122937746/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Nafisi, Azar, Reading Lolita in Tehran http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081297106X/qid=1122937891/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Naipaul, V. S., A Way in the World http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679761667/qid=1122937280/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Pierre, DBC, Vernon God Little http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156029987/qid=1122936956/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Sebald, W. G., Austerlitz http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375756566/qid=1122937597/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Slaughter, Carolyn, A Black Englishman http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374113998/qid=1122938160/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Sontag, Susan, In America http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312273207/qid=1122937517/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_2/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Tóibín, Colm, The Master http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743250419/qid=1122936529/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_2/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Truang, Monique, The Book of Salt http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618446885/qid=1122936633/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Tuck, Lily, The News from Paraguay http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060934867/qid=1122937084/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Each year I purchase books to take with me during my travels. I may not be able to pack all of these, but here is the list of books that I have for my 2005-2007 travels:
Amis, Kingsley, The Old Devils http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060971460/qid=1122937404/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Barrett, Andrea, Ship Fever http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393316009/qid=1122937339/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Brookner, Anita, Hotel Du Lac http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679759328/qid=1122936866/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Byatt, A. S., Possession, A Romance http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679735909/qid=1122936803/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Crace, Jim, Being Dead http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312275420/qid=1122937815/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Eugenides, Jeffrey, Middlesex http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312422156/qid=1122938096/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Gurganus, Allan, The Practical Heard: Four Novelas http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375727639/qid=1122937969/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/067976402X/qid=1122936237/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Hulme, Keri, The Bone People http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140089225/qid=1122937665/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Jharvala, Ruth Prawer, Out of India: Selected Stories http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1582430527/qid=1122936733/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Jones, Edward P., The Known World http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060557559/qid=1122937017/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Lahiri, Jhumpa, Interpreter of Maladies http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/039592720X/qid=1122936366/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Lethem, Jonathan, Motherless Brooklyn http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375724834/qid=1122937160/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Munro, Alice, The Love of a Good Woman: Stories http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375703632/qid=1122937746/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Nafisi, Azar, Reading Lolita in Tehran http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081297106X/qid=1122937891/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Naipaul, V. S., A Way in the World http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679761667/qid=1122937280/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Pierre, DBC, Vernon God Little http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156029987/qid=1122936956/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Sebald, W. G., Austerlitz http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375756566/qid=1122937597/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Slaughter, Carolyn, A Black Englishman http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374113998/qid=1122938160/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Sontag, Susan, In America http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312273207/qid=1122937517/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_2/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Tóibín, Colm, The Master http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743250419/qid=1122936529/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_2/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Truang, Monique, The Book of Salt http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618446885/qid=1122936633/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
Tuck, Lily, The News from Paraguay http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060934867/qid=1122937084/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_sbs_1/103-4152169-1263830?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
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