laos (just a glimpse)

i was only in laos for about a week, but i'm so glad i made it across the border.  my friend, jason, and i spent 2 days going down the mekong river by slow boat, a coupla days in luang prabang (quite a lovely city) and a coupla days in vang vieng (one helluva tourist town surrounded by the most breathtaking landscape imaginable).  then we were back on the winding roads, through ventianne (the capital city) and then all the way to bangkok.

steps up to a temple

windows of an old temple

view from the temple in luang prabang

gold reclining buddha in l.p.

falls near luang prabang

young monks having fun

vang vieng

you can drink this stuff

passion fruit flower

landscape in vang vieng

a cave-dwelling buddha

temple in vang vieng

 

taro, rice, mountain, sky

longtail boats on the mekong

strolling down the mekong river

dugout canoes

thailand (in a nutshell)

you know what they say... "a picture says 1000 words."
well, here ya go. just a taste.

tuk tuks

temples

buddhas

amazing fruit

coconut curry

ruins

green papaya salad

happy monks

thai massage

hill tribe women

interesting street food

pink taxi cabs

beautiful detail

safety in style

rice fields

water buffalo encounters

bamboo huts

mayhem

and aloha!

after a year and a half away, i found my way back to the sandwich isles. where it's warm, but not sticky, where the ocean is alive, deep and blue..

where food is friggin' expensive, but the good beer is worth every penny.

i didn't even think about the chance of reverse culture shock this time around, but i feel it just a tinge. back to the "american dream" with all it's responsibilities, bills and high prices. i've been holing up on the farm for the first week and getting my hands dirty a bit. still trying to figure out how to work this system to my liking.

natural awapuhi shampoo is one ingredient.

goodbye korea

man...  it sure was one MARATHON goodbye from this place.  i have incredible friends, i must say, and i'm feeling the love.  first, it was the garden party.  then there was the beach campout at muuido, the farewell dinner / nite out in happy suwon, and the cupboard cleanout party, followed by a long weekend of hitting up all my favorite spots in the city for food, drinks, dancing, climbing, and karaoke with the best friends evah.  whew!  <3

strong hugs.  be well and keep in touch, seoulites. big love.   muah! xoxoxo

cupboard clean-out party

just 5 days before leaving korea and my closets & cupb0ards were somehow still full of crap. w/ dear friend, elisa's help, i organized a little shindig to both consume my food and pawn off my stuff.

so, straight after work on wednesday, i cracked a bottle of red wine and started cooking up random stuff: beans, grains, pasta, etc. then the guests started to trickle in w/ supplementary ingredients in hand. before long, my little apt was buzzing w/ beautiful chaos.

we tackled dinner family style; everyone offering ideas and taking a turn at the cutting board. w/ our powers combined, we managed to cook up a random, yet srumptious, feast. a tasty concoction of couscous, tomatoes, cucumbers, kidney beans, onions & garlic, all mixed up w/ tazziki and feta cheese. pesto pasta. red pepper hummus. seaweed salad w/ fresh tofu. mock chicken teriyaki. haagen dazs for dessert. everything was delicious. and, of course, there was no shortage of booze: wine, beer, makgeolli, black raspberry liquor.

after dinner, w/ full bellies & buzzes, the flea market began. the contents of my closets, drawers & shelves, heaped in the middle of the floor, soon became a number of smaller piles w/ different destinations. the remainder of the cupboards goods --spices, condiments, dishes, etc -- were then snatched up as quickly as i could pull them out.

once the frenzy died down, we took our drinks and relocated to the rooftop, where we sang hours of songs, accompanied by rosie, the little ukulele that could.

i went to sleep that night in a nearly empty apartment, my heart full-up on joy. best wednesday ever. :)

(if you have any photos from this evening, please share!)

WHAT I WON'T MISS (top 10)

i love knowing that most of the things i have enjoyed about my life here (such as: the rooster that lives across the street, growing a garden from seed, biking along rivers & streams, beach camping weekends, hiking trips, sand volleyball, culinary experiments, etc) i will also be able to enjoy --at least as much-- when i return to hawaii. damn, hawaii is a good place.

so, on top of that, there are some things that i simply will not miss at all about korea:

1. hocking ajosshis













2. mummified trees

(yes, that's an intravenous drip going in. i just don't get it)














3. riding the crowded subway (it takes years off your life, i swear)














4. masks & yellow dust













5. stare-downs













6. pushy ajummas
(well, i actually get a kick out of 'em)















7. avocado deprivation (among other fresh, tropical foods)












8. lack of individual expression (conformity bites!)













9. living anywhere near this guy




















....and all of these things take a big backseat to #10. the hagwon drama i've experienced. hahaha.

please note that i mention the negative only to make my departure seem sweeter. korea, thank you for being so good to me. maybe i'll come back one day. for now, PEACE OUT!

things i'll miss

2 weeks left in the land of the morning calm. with each thing i see, do and eat around the city of seoul, i now realize that it may be for the last time (until i feel like coming back, that is). don't get me wrong, though; i'm not the type to hold on to things and get all bent outta shape over them. hell, i'm going to hawaii. ha. but i do store such things away in a little mental file of cherished memories, waiting to be aroused months and years later by some distinct smell, or voice or..

indeed, there is a lot to be enjoyed here in korea.. and i feel like i've done my share of enjoying. however, here are some things that might not be so easy for me to find in a few weeks from now.

kimchi (the real deal. all the time. everywhere)











gochujang (it's what all good [spicy] things are made of)










bibimbap (the pic says it all)













street food (gimme ddeok bokki, twigim, hoddeok, red bean fish, corn on a stick...luv it all)











[my] isaac toast (1500 won very well spent :)











good public transit













open containers & convenient stores (where it's always happy hour :)












FREE housing (what, what?)














always having money in the bank














noraebang















being loved, constantly, by a small group of amazing 7 year-olds













the community garden (sigh..)














jimjilbang
korean bathhouses are just the bees knees.









the climbing wall at boramae park

















the kimchi mandu in my nabe

















and of course all of the great friends i've made here. it's been real.