This was a lightning trip we made to Tokyo a few weeks ago (yes, I know I keep without updating my blog, sorry…). For such a short time (we arrived on a friday night and came back to Seoul on sunday afternoon) we saw quite a bunch of places (Harajuku, Shibuya, Roppongi, Akihabara, Asakusa, etc.).
The big amount of bicycles you can see in Tokyo amazes me. Although it’s one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Tokyo has so many streets for pedestrians and many times reminds me of any European city.
We all know how much Japanese like fetishism. In Asakusa market you can buy college girls’ boobs that you can eat 😛
Finally, more than two years after I graduated from ISU, I met my friend Chiho again 😀
¿What the heck is a 2CV doing in Shibuya? They say in Tokyo you can expect to see anything 😀
Having dinner in Shibuya, from left to right, Harumi, Thanita, Pablo and Satomi. (Thanks to Thanita who spent hours looking for a restaurant with room enough for almost 20 people we were!)
At Asakusa Temple, from left to right, myself, Itzíar, Ciro, Alex, and Jairo.
Some days ago we went to Gyeongju (경주), the old capital of the Silla Kingdom. We went on a minivan that we rented between 8 people and travelled for three days and two nights.
On the way to Gyeongju, we drove by Pohang (포항)… where is all this? Right here:
In Pohang, we went to the Bogyeong Temple (보경사, Bogyeongsa) and spent the first night at a resort called Ocean Views at the Wolpo Beach.
Woman praying to Buddha at the Bogyeong Temple.
Coincidentally there was a Buddhist funeral going on at that moment. I was surprised to see a black hanbok as they are usually very bright and colorful.
Jairo, Alex, and Ciro at the river. There were also some waterfalls, but they were a little far, and it was getting dark:(
After visiting this temple, we went to eat raw fish. Being Pohang a coastal city, it is popular for its cheap and fresh raw fish. Next day, we left for Gyeongju:
Korean Countryman at work (what you can see on the background are rice fields).
At the beach you can buy fresh and cheap seaweed…
…and also dried squid (those things hanging).
These ayummas were having fun drinking soju and makgeolli.
Under these tumulus there are some old Korean kings (their corpses actually).
We also went to the Bulguk Temple (불국사, Bulguksa). These stone piles are supposed to be made by monks when they pray (I think they put one stone every time they pray). But being this such a tourist temple, tourists were the ones who put the stones.
After four kilometers climbing on foot from the Bulguksa, we arrived at the Seokguram. This is the view from the top.
Seokguram Buddha, one of the most popular buddhas in South Korea.
An this is where we stayed in Gyeongju, a mini-ville in the middle of nothing (this is their website).
Here are some pictures of our trip to Thailand. All of the ICEX interns in Seoul have spent six days relaxing in paradise-like beaches, from the pool to the beach and from the beach to the pool, drinking shakes for less than a dollar, and besides, Alex and I, got our diving license (the PADI Scuba Diver) 😀
Overall, the trip was great, although it was so hot and humid all the time. I imagined Thailand much more “Asian”. Sometimes I thought I was in South or Central America instead of in Asia.. I guess it must be because of the tropical weather;)
The six ICEX interns, on the Thai Airways airplane.
Shame on me for uploading the post with the trip to Shanghai with almost two months delay… but well, here is the result:D
We were lucky enough to visit Shanghai during Chinese New year, which is always celebrated some day between January 21st and February 21st (this year it was on februray 7th), depending on the lunisolar calendar.
The result was just awesome. Being the country of gunpowder you can imagine how Chinese celebrate their New Year… in China, not only can anybody buy a firecracker, but they can also buy true loads of gunpowder, children, adults… the point is to make noise, the more the better. As a sample of this, take a look at these videos, taken on New Year’s midnight in any street of Shanghai:
As for the city, Shanghai is full of contrasts, even more than Seoul. As soon as you leave the Bund, which is the “rich” area where all the skyscrapers are, the impression is sometimes that of going back in time like thirty years, poverty, ugly buildings, dirtiness…
Also, I could spend some days with Azusa, a friend from my American days with whom I also spent some days when I went to Japan, and who finally decided to join us in Shanghai. Tanja, also came with us from Seúl as part of her vacation period.
In the subway, from left to right, Alex, Ciro, Carlos, Itzíar, and Jairo.
The typical picture, with the Bund and its Pearl Tower on the background. It was a little cloudy, as it is usual in Shanghai (we were very lucky that it didn’t rain indeed).
One of the communist-oriented commercials that Adidas released for the Olimpic Games. (More of this series at el blog de chinochano.)
The almost-finished Shanghai World Financial Center on the left (492 m.) and the Jin Mao Tower on the right (421 m., although it looks taller becaouse of the perspective). Once finished, the first one will be the tallest building in the world (not including antennas).
Decorations for the New Year in the Old Town. Being New Year’s it was a national holiday, which explains why the lots of heads 🙂
Next to the Old Town, there was the Yuyuan Garden, one of the most popular gardens in China. This is one of its lakes.
The Old Town with lighting.
Having dinner with Azusa.
We also went to Zhouzhuang a city one hour by bus from Shanghai also known as the “Chinese Venice” (in spite of the evident differences…).
Azusa and Tanja. I like this pic:)
You can see all the (many) pictures from the trip here.
