Vietnam – The Middle

My journey continued, this time heading north. To what I think is the best place in Vietnam – Hoi An. This tiny town is located smack dab in the center of Vietnam by the coast, only a short taxi ride from bustling Da Nang. Now, Hoi An is most famous for the multitude of high-quality yet inexpensive custom tailors. You could have a suit made there in two days. And it would probably be one of the best suits you’d ever wear. But that wasn’t the draw. Not for me.

Hoi An is brimming with history, and it shows. Originally a stop-off point for sea merchants dating back to the 16th century, the town’s architecture is influenced by the various occupants at the time – Portuguese, Chinese, and later, the Japanese. There’s a timelessness that permeates the walls, the streets, the people. Most of the town is preserved as it was back in the day, as the town has strict building codes and doesn’t allow motor vehicle access into the historic center (which is pretty much the whole town) for most of the day. So you have to walk or ride a bicycle, and as a result, time slows down. The locals all of a sudden start to appear more approachable, like you’ve lived there your entire life. Sipping a cup of coffee takes hours.

I found myself meandering through tiny alleyways, encased by the bright yellow paint slathered across countless buildings. I would get lost, wandering around in circles, only to find myself back at the same place I started. And it was awesome.

Oh, and the food. THE FOOD! Rather than describe it, I suggest you book a plane ticket down there ASAP. It’s something you have to experience for yourself.

And if you get bored of the town (which I don’t imagine will happen), you can bike on east for about 15 minutes through the countryside to a beautiful beach with endless sand.  There’s also the My Son ruins about an hour away by van, remnants of the Cham civilization that occupied the area during the first millennia.

If I could pick one place to retire to, it would be Hoi An. Hands down. Here’s a few images to help convince you.

Coming soon – the North.

More after the jump.

This Is What Happens When People Take Your Camera

Wednesday night. Woodstock Wednesday. I bring my camera. And of the 328 photos from that night, I take only 15 frames. What happened?

Someone took my camera from me.

It’s a strange feeling being on the receiving end of a lens. I’m so used to being the one who takes pictures. So when people start taking pictures of me, I get nervous. It’s not because I’m shy or anything. All I can think about is if they got the exposure correct, the white balance on point, the subject in focus. You know, stupid photographer stuff.

That, and I know the pictures will always be of me doing something ridiculous.

Also, I think there were more photos taken of me that night than in my entire time in Korea combined.

So when I looked at the pictures on the big screen earlier today, I was pleasantly surprised. While a lot of the pictures weren’t technically perfect (in fact, some of them were downright horrible), the people who used my camera captured a lot. Serious faces. Happy faces. Personalities. And Seabolt attempting to slap me in the face.

There’s something about the photos that I haven’t been able to bring myself to do in a long time. Whenever I go out to shoot, I always have a goal in mind. A specific way for my images to look. These photographers had no agenda. No real motive, other than to capture the evening. And I think that purity comes out in their pictures.

Of the 26 photographs posted here, only the last two were taken by me. The rest were taken by Alan, Brian, Yuri, Liam, and I’m sure some other people that I couldn’t see from my alcohol-blurred vision.

Just know that I am very proud of all of you.

Enjoy, and see you in a few weeks – off to Cambodia and Thailand.

More after the jump.

November

Been a while. Photos from November. Gangnam, transportation, Thanksgiving, bowling, school, and other random musings. December photos will be up in a week. For now, enjoy, leave a comment, yada yada. (26 images)

-Phil

More after the jump.

Chuseok Pt 1 – Noryangjin Fish Market

So two weeks back, Korea celebrated Chuseok (추억), which is kind of the equivalent of American Thanksgiving Day, except a little more intense. The holiday is one of many harvest festivals celebrated in Asia, except in Korea it is also a day for paying respects to family ancestors.

Anyway, while Koreans were celebrating Chuseok, all the teachers had a week-long vacation – three weeks into the start of the semester! Score!

So what did I do? Lots of things. I decided to be all touristy and visit the major attractions in Seoul for the week. The next few posts will be dedicated to pictures and stories from Chuseok, albeit out of chronological order. First up – Noryangjin Fish Market.

This place was intense. The largest fish market in Seoul, it’s a seafood lover’s dream come true – and boy do I love seafood. Live fish, shellfish, crabs, sharks; you name it, they have it. And the best part is you can have your purchases cooked ASAP at any of the restaurants in the complex. We ended up eating – twice. That good. So enough babbling, here are the pictures! Stay tuned throughout the week for more Chuseok holiday posts!

Footbridge to the fish market, with the 63 Building in the background.

I met the “Deadliest Catch.” This crab is enormous, and a few tried climbing out of their water tanks.

Twenty-something more pictures after the jump.

First Days In Seoul

A few snapshots from my first week in Seoul. First impressions? There are a lot of hills here. It’s no wonder Koreans are skinny, they get a work out every time the go somewhere. The hills here aren’t like they are back home – they are STEEP, or at least they are in my area of Seoul, Gwanak-gu.

Korean food is incredible. My co-teachers and the head of my department took me out for dinner the other night. I’ve never seen so many small plates on one table in my life. Many of the dishes were banchan (pronounced PAN-chan), or side dishes. Kimchi, pickled yellow radishes, spicy mini squid, etc.

There were also more adventurous dishes, such as live octopus (weird sensation and chewy, but very good) and my personal favorite, fermented sea ray fin. Not unlike the more famous Icelandic Hákarl (fermented shark), the sea ray has a very, very ammonia tinge to it. It tasted and smelled like rotting cheese. You are supposed to layer it with kimchi and cured pork and eat it all at once. The flavors are more balanced and you don’t get much of the rotting flesh taste.

Oops.

I made the mistake of eating the ray fin by itself. My Korean co-teachers were surprised, as none of them dared eat it that way. They called me “brave teacher.” Win? I think so.

So I live near Seoul National University, which is the Harvard of Korea. Lots of smart, young college age kids around. Hopefully they speak English and are willing to practice with me. Ok, enough words, on to the pictures!

Mi apartamento.

Stream/park right next to my apartment.

John and his Korean co-teacher Claire at the immigration office. We had to wait a long time to get things done there. I think they ended up waiting 2-3 hours just to submit paperwork.

LOTS more after the jump.