Seoul Diary #3 : Random people

  

Seoul Diary #2 : Cherry Blossom Festival

Seoul Diary #1 : Children in the sun

 

     

Korean Music : Kpop

Koreans wary of radioactive rain

Yesterday we experienced a king of a "big" environmental/human/ecological problem : Radioactive rainfalls all over Korea.

I was first ok with that, we just had to took an umbrella and stay under this umbrella everytime we went outside (the umbrella protected us against the radioactive raindrops). So basically that was ok, we were told not to go outside if we do not have something to do outside. But every worker worked, every shop was open, everything was still working.

The fact is now, this morning I'm thinking about something else : ok, individuals are safe, thanks to their umbrellas, but what about the the ground ? It was raining all day long ! the rain probably seeped into the soil. So now, what about the water pollution, what about the plantations ?

I mean, radish is one of the most common and popular side dish in Korea, and as you probably know, radish directly comes from the ground, so basically, from now, are we gonna have some radioactive radish as a side dish ?

This is kind of a big deal .... because as a french, I could not read well and guarantee the provenance of the products that I consume. Everything is written in Korean (when it's written, because sometimes, nothing indicates where do the product come from) so how to cope with it ? Good question ....

Did you Know ? ...

That Redbull comes from Thailand ?

Krating Daeng (Thai: กระทิงแดง)  was the basis for the creation of the best selling energy drink in the world, Red Bull.

Krating Daeng sales soared across Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, especially among truck drivers, construction workers and farmers. Truck drivers used to drink it to stay awake during the long late night drive. The working class image was boosted by sponsorship of Thai boxing matches, where the logo of two red bulls charging each other was often on display. The bulls pictured are gaurs, not cattle.

Yellow dust in Korea

Yellow dust (YD) or Asian dust originates from the desertification of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and North China. Intense sandstorms blow the dust over South Korea, conveniently picking up pollutants in the air from an industrializing China. The dust can cause respiratory problems and eye problems so it is advised to stay indoors during these storms. So if you have a respiratory problem, YD might not be the best thing for your lungs.

YD should come soon, like in the next days or weeks, so we have to be aware because apparently this winter was so dry that the storm is gonna be harder than expected.

On the following pictures, you can easily see the difference when the YD is coming whereas the pictures were taken exactly from the same point of view !

Ladyboys case in Thailand

Thai Ladyboys are basically transsexuals or transvestites. You do see a lot of more of ladyboys in Thailand then you would see in the west but I am not entirely sure why this is the case.

Even though Thai ladyboys are generally accepted in society more then is the case in Europe or America, many Thai ladyboys do have a problem finding a job which is why many currently work as sex workers in places such as Bangkok, Phuket, Samui and Pattaya.

Some ladyboys in Thailand have been completely changed by means of silicon implants and sex change surgery however most ladyboys in Thailand do not wish to remove their male genitalia. 

There are some ways how you can easily spot Thai ladyboys and this is by looking at the size of their feet and hands, by listening to their voice and by looking to see if they have an Adams apple.

The fact is seeing so many men turned into women is kind of awkward, I mean, in clubs (basically) boys should always be careful and check Adams apple, feet & hands to figure it out if it's a real real TRUE girl or just a former guy turned into a girl.

Bulk of the time, due to hormonal injections and treatments, you do not recognize ladyboys at the first glance, but if you look every single think of the body of the person you can figure it out. Anyway, if I would have been a boy in Bangkok, I would have been kind of disturbed by the idea of kissing (or something else, it's up to you guys!) a former guy

One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.

I'm still in Thailand now, but everyone has left Krabi this morning so I'm on my own, with a computer. When I look outside, blue sky, great sun, 30 degrees, I checked just before the weather in Seoul. Arf, what can I say, except maybe 20 degrees difference between Thailand and Korea .... but anyway let's talk about the trip

Day 1 to 4 : Bangkok

Bangkok is one of the most polluted city in the world and I swear you can feel/smell/see it everywhere. You can maybe wonder if it's really interesting to stay in Bangkok but the answer in definitely YES (but 4 days are widely sufficient). There are lots of really beautiful temples to visit with great Buddha statues but that's not it. I mean just walking in Bangkok makes you discover so many beautiful things that are not specially specified in guide books. For example everything seems to be beautiful and colorful, like there are thousands and thousands of taxis but they are pink, orange, blue, green and yellow, and the mix of all of them is so beautiful, and it lies beautiful even if you stay 30 minutes stuck in the traffic jams (which is quite usual by the way). 

Also tuk-tuk are one of the funniest thing I've ever seen and experienced : a small taxi, opened, with like a motorbike front. You're seating on the rear and you can (easily or not) be 5 there. Tuk-tuk are usually more expensive than usual taxis and they ALWAYS want rip you off because you're a tourist but that's kind of really funny.

 

Concerning temples, I have to say that I take so many pictures ... I mean everything was so beautiful, so aesthetic (even with a cloudy weather/rainy trend) that I literally shot every single thing which belongs to theses temples, from hundreds of Buddha statues to roofs, from vegetables to monks ect ....

Also, Nightlife in Bangkok is quite exciting, lots of bars, unfortunately they all close at 2AM so basically you have to move to other clubs (few of them) which are opened till late in the night.

Talking about Thai food ..... probably the best ever (after french food obviously), but what is Thai food exactly ? 

• Any kind of rice : steamed rice, fired rice with chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, shrimps ...
• Noodles : Pad Thai noodles in soup, in salad, or warm with meat or vegetables
• Lots of seafood, shrimps, prawns, fishes
• But also great choice of meat
• Lots of fruits, (mainly pineapple, mango, banana, watermelon, papaya) that you can buy to street sellers (they put the cut fruit in a bag and you eat it with a toothpick), you can also order to these street sellers fresh coconut juice (still in the coconut) that's so yummy. I also discover later lassi (yogurt with fruits like banana or pineapple) but mainly BANANA PANCAKES. I now figure it out why Jack Johnson wrote an entire song dedicated to banana pancakes .... my god one of the 7 wonders of the world or something like that ... this is kind of like a pancake but with little pieces of banana in (obviously) and then you can poor honey on it and that so fuckin' delicious !

What was striking for me was the fact that every hostel offers English/American/Continental breakfast with toasts or even baguettes !  with butter and jam .... my god 3 months in Korea without toast and there it is ! Also, compared to other Asian countries, when you eat you do not use chopsticks every time like in Korea for instance.

Day 5 : Elephant ride & Tiger Temple

We took a day trip to Kanchanaburi, 2 hours from Bangkok to visit the tiger temple (worldwide famous because tigers are tamed by monks). We were just walking trough the tigers, accompanied by some volunteers, that was quite exciting.

And first, we had an elephant ride, in a kind of "jungle" and I really like it !

Day 6 & 7: Flying to Krabi & Discovering rainfalls shit

 

 

Day 8 : Ko Phi Phi

Ko Phi Phi is one small island lost somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, 2 hours of boat from the shore. Ko Phi Phi is so small that any car is present. To supply hotels, restaurants and shops, people here use carts... That's ... mhhh let's say different ! On the island, I think there is probably twice more tourists than inhabitants. I just saw so many white people ! Besides, on the island you just find hotels, restaurants and tourism shops, and also I forgot it loots of travel agencies offering scuba diving tours ect ....

And also for the anecdote, the island used in the James Bond film : The Man with the Gold Gun is just located few kilometers from Ko Phi Phi (just to help you figure out how beautiful can be that island ...

Day 9 : Ko Lanta

Nothing to say, I think the following pictures will speak about it better that I can do ... Oh yeah, I know what to talk about : as you may see on the map just before, Ko Lanta a big big island, so we decided to rent 3 motorbikes to visit the island and find the most beautiful beach ! Here everything is commuting with motorbike and 4 wheels engines are pretty rare. I mean almost everybody get his own motorbike, from the 13-years-old veiled girl to the 75-years-old retired guy. Beaches were - as expected - so beautiful ... If heaven would be on earth, I barely think it would be here ... no kiding !