Yeah I'm lazy, I am like two months behind schedule on updating this stuff, so guess I better get cracking, but it has been a few busy weeks now in the US. So let's see if I can actually remember some of the stuff I've uploaded here.
Hong Kong
Just a cool shopping center or whatever.
The following three pictures are the view from the bay towards the Hong Kong island.
On the island I ate one star michelin soup for about 5$, quite okay price, and they are good!
them.
There are several cool buildings in Hong Kong, and this is one of
The following pictures are from the Victoria Peak, the lookout point on the island, Quite the magnificent view from there!
In the tower they also had this restaurant, I've seen Bubba Gump pop up everywhere I go!
So s long time ago I stumbled upon something called a Hang on the internet, it's a percussion instrument and I've always wanted to encounter one in the wild. And I did actually do that while in Hong Kong. This is another brand though called a spacedrum, but it's pretty much the same,
Have a look beneath for a video, sorry for the horizontal filming, I suck.
So in Hong Kong they have the equivalent of the Hollywood walk of fame, but for Asian movie stars so I found a few known ones, Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jackie Chan,
Bruce Lee even got his own statue.
Hong Kong bay by nightduring the light show.
I stayed at a place called Chung King mansion in HK, it is a huge building crammed with different hostels and shops. And it is the most shitty hostels I've stayed at. Rude people working, small rooms, no AC, and the pictures used on the site I booked is an outright lie. I had no place to put down my backpack, so I slept with that in the bunk bud, in the foot end of my bunk bed was also the rooms "AC" a giant ass fan. SO you know, good times, Not going back to that place. (HK downtown backpackers) it was the cheapest place however. In the picture you can see my green small backpack in the upper right, and the top of the fan in the upper middle of the picture.
Iron man is proud of me, patted me on the head!
Some of my fellow geeks might find this funny, all I'm going to say is SG-1.
In one of the museums they had this tower of buns that was used in festivals, but they had to ban the use of them because people got hurt trying to climb the towers and get the buns, this one has approximately 6000 buns! Oh yeah, you can read about it on the picture below!
In the museums they also had a lot of stuff from the early 1900s of how Hong Kong was at that time, quite interesting.
A diner.
Convenient store
Convenient store
South Korea
South Korea is awesome, at least, Seoul is, can't speak for the rest of the country but I am assuming it is just as good. It gave me such a good vibe, modern and vibrant and not as crazy as Japan, we'll get back to that in a later update haha. I spent about six days in Seoul I think, and saw a shit ton of temples, shrines etc. I stayed at a place called HEY backpackers, and this was actually an apartment with bunkbeds in the sleeping room, so we had a kitchen and a proper living room to chill out in, meet a lot of cool people I explored the city with. This hostel wasn't downtown but it was kinda in it's own city center, so we lived close to a street with entertainment all day long basically. Short way to get to the metro and easy to take the metro as well.
On the street I stumbled upon this, so he is "cooking ice-cream" well, freezing ice-cream liquid? Anyhow, he poured a liquid onto the plate and it froze while he shaped it like a pancake etc.
The finished product.
At one of the main palaces they had a reenactment of the guard change four times a day so I got there just as it started, quite many people participating in this. Not at all what I'm used to from back home haha.
The following pictures are from inside the palace grounds.
Throne room.
They also had a museum on the premises where you could see the old wooden pieces used for book printing.
Or alternative transportation for the rich people!
Ah yes, in the staircase to our hostel these fishheads were hanging, don't ask I don't know.
At the other places we visited as well they had a changing of the guards, with music and reenactments as well, good stuff. Swordplay, spears, shields etc.
From inside one of the art galleries.
Yeah, I'm going to let you guys decide what the two pictures beneath are supposed to be.
I think this was my favorite piece, it was called Ant.
Old rocketbattery!
Went to a market street as well, quite crowded!
Here they are steaming dumplings, so the steam goes through all of the different layers/drawers.
Some cuttlefish in a tank along the street.
While walking to one of the others shrines, I stumbled upon these guys sitting in a park playing chess/checkers etc, and some people meditating or doing tai chi.
We were not supposed to walk on the rock pavement, it was meant only for the spirits in the place so they could find their way to the next building.
Here as well you can see the spirit way.
Traditional dresses of emperors and empresses etc.
A library in the palace gardens.
They boasted they had a waterfall in the palace gardens, and I mean, they are right, it it just so small.
The houses in the garden had floor heating, they would burn wood under here to heat up the floors, and below you can see the chimney.
Yeah, just a random building :p
I don't know what happened to this tree but it is cool!
A pond from the garden.
Cool sculptures in the gardens.
The surface was covered with black and white photographs
And old greenhouse where they have bonsai trees etc.
In the middle of the city we found a shrine as well with some cool statues and decorations.
People singing karaoke!
In case of emergency? First time I've seen toilet paper here.
For the last few days in Seoul, I went to the DMZ between North Korea and SOuth Korea, quite the trip. Sadly I didn't get to go on the fullday trip to the actual border where you could "meet" north koreans. You need to book 48 hours in advanced so they can let the UN know etc, crazy stuff. And when there you have a marine guard etc. The full trip is about a 100$ I got away with half that ans saw a lot of cool stuff. Sadly though you are not allowed to take pictures from most of the places. The coolest I guess was one of the tunnels the North Koreans had been digging, which they had painted parts of the black to claim it was for coal mining and not for a sneak attack. But you could obviously see that it was paint and also see the holes for dynamite etc.
So yeah below follows some pictures from the DMZ.
Train into North Korea
"Coal miners"
The actual bordersite, with the blueroom where you can cross into North Korea while in that building.
Info about the tunnels.
How about some North Korean whiskey? Apparently in tasted sweet as opposed so sad and oppressed.
North Korea, barren, almost no vegetation, so it was easier to spot movement. Along the border as well they had miles upon miles with barbed wire and guard posts. Apparently they have the worlds thirds highest flagpole! So yeah, I spied into North Korea with binoculars!
I think the one thing I'm going to miss though is the high tech toilers, it's like taking a shit on the international space station haha! Warmed seats (this is heaven), you can spray yourself with water both from the front and behind, adjust pressure etc etc. I entered a bathroom in Japan, and the toilet was connected to the door or something so the lid opened when I entered, scared the living shit outta me haha. Anyhow, more about Japan in the next update!
