Korea + Taipei

Since the last post I've been to Seoul and Taipei, Taiwan. Here's a brief/boring recap:

I had 3 days in Seoul which was plenty given my complete lack of interest in going to any more temples. Yes, if your temple/shrine/palace is a UNESCO world heritage site I'll go to it but should I really feel obligated to see everyone? It's just like the churches in Europe... they all kind of blend together after a bit.

Well anyway. My hostel in Seoul was a bit weird but pretty nice. Met some good folks, especially the last night. Most fascinating was a 21 year old German guy who went to Australia 6 months ago with no money and left after 6 months with no money but still managed to travel around by working (shucking corn, picking mangoes, etc.) and hitchhiking. Also in our crew that night was a 27 year old Irishman who is a teacher. The Irishman was travelling with a full tennis bag and playing pick-up games when he could find a court.

Long story short: we all went out and were just drinking a few beers on the street when a Korean businessman came up to us and asked it we would like to have some drinks with him. Sounds shady I know but he seem legit. My statement to the Irish guy (John) was that "he could try to kill me and I'd still go into that bar." I was searching for a story I guess. The night turned out great since he bought all our beers. He ended up getting destroyed off of Budweiser and just kept proclaiming "WE ARE FRIENDS!!!" over and over and over.

Seoul was a good city but nothing mind-blowing. The neighborhood I stayed in though (Hongdae) was an amazing hipster/college area. I could people watch there all day long.

The original intention when leaving Seoul was to go to Taiwan but I began to question how much time I really want to spend in SE Asia (it's looking like it'll be around 7 weeks after Taiwan). After looking at flights out of Seoul I found that I could get to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia much cheaper by going through Taipei instead of flying directly since I can take Air Asia out of Taipei. That sealed it and here I am, the third night of 6 in Taiwan.

Tapei is amazing. It's really a first-rate city that is completely forgotten. It's about as cheap here as Korea (which is refreshing after the outrageous prices in Japan) and there is tons to do outside the main city. I went to Yellu on the coast yesterday and it's famous for the unique erosion to the shoreline. The photos will have to do it justice.

Last night and today I've ran around with a 28 year old Spanish guy named Jorge. He's been gone 7 months and has 5 left to go. He acrued so much overtime in one year that he could take a year off. Do the math, that's working two years in one and getting all the overtime as a vacation. Sweet.

The rest of his trip looks incredibly similar to mine so I'm sure well get into a few adventures together. We're heading down to Hualien tomorrow for two days. It's on the east coast which is pretty rural and we'll just rent scooters, head to the beach and do some hiking trails in the mountains.

Well that's the recap of what's going on. No major viewpoints on societies or the cultures. That'll be saved for another post. I know, I know... photos would be nice. Patience please.

Now... night market for some cheap street food!