South Korea; The DMZ: National Day 2023

 And now for the main event!

No trip to Korea is complete without a day at the DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. This area has long been on my bucket list as it is just suck a strange concept to me. How has a military border become such a contested and politically important area?  And now that I have been there, I can safely say that I still do not understand but I found it fascinating. 

The only way to visit this area is as part of an organised tour from Seoul. I don't love taking these kind of trips but it actually wasn't that bad. The guide was very knowledgable and full of weird and wonderful stories and we really didn't have to wait about too long for anyone. 

The journey from the city was a little over an hour but quite comfortable and smooth. When we got to within 20km of the border, we stopped for our first passport check. Several military guys came on the bus with a list of all of our names and checked us off their long list. From there we drove into "the DMZ" which it turns out is a 20km wide stripe of land and not just a border as I was imagining. Our passports
were checked twice more before we got to a car park reception area to wait for our allowed time in the 'museum' zone. 

Within the 'museum zone' is a large area depicting the changes of the DMZ over the years, a few discovered tunnels into which you can walk and several commemorative gardens. The tunnels itself is small to the point that I was walking hunched over and it descends as a seriously alarming rate. It is slippery, dark, cramped and very tough to climb back out. Thoughtfully there is a seating area at the entrance to the tunnel so you can sit and relax after the ordeal. 

Around the back of the museums are several small gardens and sculpture areas. In one I found a point



from the political map of the area in which you can stand with one foot in South Korea and one foot in North Korea, so I had fun jumping from one to the other and sending the shark to the North. Easily entertained. 

From the museums, we went to the observation deck. which is literally a building facing the North with binoculars and viewing windows. According to our guide, the town on the other side of the border is completely fake and uninhabited. Completely for show and to try to confuse the South. He told us of a 'loud speaker war' in which the North played propaganda to the South and the South played kPop in return. If I didn't know it was between politically delicate countries that have fought wars against each other, I would have thought it was a childish neighbour spat. A truly weird but fascinating place. 

South Korea; Busan: National Day 2023

The train from Seoul to Busan takes approximately 3 hours and mercifully stayed zombie free for the whole journey. I splashed out a whopping $12 for the first class ticket and settled into my luxurious ride to the other side of the country. 

Busan is a small seaside city and so I found it very similar to Qingdao (where I now live) in its appearance and set up. What is different though is the

local artsy culture and the huge famous fish markets. I actually went for a walk and found both by accident as I was wandering about but both were fascinating. I have seen the green lights of the squid boats off the coast of Pau Quoc in Vietnam but never up close, or at least close enough to appreciate just how many lights are involved. I chatted with some fishermen who explained how everything worked and showed me around the market stalls, from which you can buy

straight from the daily catch on the boats. It was all very interesting but so damn smelly! Even with the nice open air market, it was still enough to make your eyes water. 

The art district, or culture zone (depending on who you asked) is about 4 km outside the town on the side of a small hill. It's amazingly beautiful but just SO MANY STAIRS!!!! In every direction at all times, there were stairs! Rather frustratingly, I don't remember going down any at any point. Only up! 

It made for some stunning pictures and a very nice, albeit shattering, afternoon wandering about the

alleyways of cafes and boutique shops. After my grotty hostel in Seoul, I thoroughly enjoyed my sea view hotel and comfy bed and was genuinely sad to leave the quaint little city. 

After a very quick two days in Busan I braved the train back to the city and to a different (nicer) hotel for my last few days of National Day. 

South Korea; Myeongdong: National Day 2023

From Qingdao, South Korea is the easiest and closest destinations outside of China. In less than 90 minutes I landed into Incheon Airport and found my way through a very confusing bus system into Seoul Myeongdong area. Google told me this was is one of the best areas for a newcomer to the city and that it was packed with food, night markets and shopping. My hostel itself was in a fantastic location right above a massive night market but the hostel itself was a tad unpleasant. 

Around the hostel was a maze of streets of restaurants and shops, all of which were filled with a night market as the sun went down. It's a fantastic area for wandering about but so easy to get disorientated and lost. I walked miles and every time I got lost, stopped for something to eat and studied a map to get back on track. 

From the shopping night market area into the palace area of town runs a canal/river walkway. It's below road level so nice and quiet and impeccably clean. The whole length runs for about 8km I think and takes you right through the heart of downtown Seoul. Under all of the bridges are displays of local art works from schools and artists alike. People play cards, chess, music, eat or nap. It was a blissful walk and very easy to forget that you are in the middle of a bustling city. 

The end of the river walk brings you out to in front of the imperial palace "Gyeongbokgung Palace" which is a huge royal palace that dates back to the 14th century. 

 Outside is a nice area with statues, water fountains and an outside reading library (although I don't know if this is a permanent feature or just for the holiday). 

I didn't explore inside properly as I was there at a very busy time but a quick wander about the museum and a  few pictures later, I left with a very general idea. Around the palace are hundreds of shops for renting the traditional dress 'hanbok' so that you can go and take pictures in the correct outfits. In my experiences in

China and Japan, the locals don't really love tourists wearing the traditional cloths for pictures as they feel it cheapens the experience or you aren't 'allowed' to wear something from a culture to which you do not belong. In Korea, it is encouraged and considered part of the experience of visiting the palace. I quite liked the open minded approach and generally agree with the Korean attitude. 

Cultures are there to be shared. 

From the palace, I jumped on the extensive yet quite simple bus system over to Gangnam shopping district to find some souvenirs and presents for the kids. 

Outside one of the largest shopping centers I have ever seen, I found the "GangNam Style" statue, complete with speaker system playing the title song on repeat and kids jumping about as parents took pictures. The shopping center itself was nothing special, other than being ginormous, but the atmosphere was chilled and fun for people watching. 

This was all in my first few days in the city. From here I jumped on a high speed train to a seaside city of Busan which had been recommended to me by a few people who had been and enjoyed it. All I knew about it was the movie. "Train to Busan" which if you are looking for a good violent zombie film, I recommend. If you are looking for information about how to travel by train within Korea, I do not recommend. 

Chaka Salt Plains: Qinghai Summer 2023

 

We left the lake after a windy and cold fifteen minutes and set off for the main event. Chaka Salt Lake!

The lake is about 300 km from Xining (number 4 on the map) and has only recently been opened to foreigners. Lots of Qinghai is blocked to foreign travelers for who knows what reason so there it is exciting that I could finally make it here. 

When we arrived, the weather was still a bit wet so my driver recommended I wait half hour and get some food, if it had not started to clear up, we would give up and I would go home very disappointed. 

Luckily for me, the rain stopped and the clouds began to clear so I went and bought tickets for the park

before I changed my mind. Once again buying tickets was amazingly complicated and I am still not convinced I actually bought and paid for the right thing but eventually I got on the bus to the park entrance. From the entrance there were a few different routes available. I chose the train and made my way to the tracks. As it had been raining earlier, I was quite lucky that I managed to beat the majority of the lines. Only had to queue for a few minutes before getting the train all the way to the end of the track, (the furthest point) so that I could walk back. 

I have a soft spot for trains so all of the tracks and old train cars made for a fun and very picturesque photo spot. The plains still supply huge amounts of salt and is still being used today. Google let me down when trying to find out exactly how much. 

The train track is about 1.5 kilometers long and heads right out into the middle of the plains. From the end point you can walk back along the track or do as many other people were doing and rend wells

to walk back through the water. I decided to stay on the path as there was basically no-one on it and i didn't fancy wading back even though it wasn't deep. 

The salt made the lake look like it was covered in snow and the shallow water made the water into a giant natural mirror. Often Chaka Lake is referred to as a sky mirror and it is easy to see why. 

As far as I am aware, the only other place to see something like this is in Bolivia and even then only a few months of the year. This place is granted much smaller and very Chinese tourist destination, but it is still incredibly beautiful. 

Qinghai Lake and Chaka Salt Lake: Qinghai Summer 2023

My reason for finally making it to Xining (number 4 on the map) is to visit the giant Qinghai Lake and Chaka Salt Plains. Of the two, the salt lake I have been trying to get to see for as long as I can remember.

Once again, the only way to see these places is to drive, so once again I found a driver and disappeared into the distance for the day. The weather to the lake was pretty miserable and so became a very fast stop at a small area to stand on the shore as it rained. Luckily for me, the drive was impressive and the rain did ease off. 

Had the weather been a little nicer I could have taken a boat trip but honest, a lake is a lake and this was not a hugely impressive one. The drive from the hotel to the lake was about 3 hours and for the most part was a pleasant and comfortable journey. My driver was pleasant albeit an aggressive driver, but given my latest experience he was fine. All I had to do was sit back and relax and try not to use the imaginary break too much. 

Xiahe (Gansu) to Xining (Qinghai): The journey from hell! Summer Qinghai 2023

After a truly disappointing time in Xiahe (number 3 on the map) I decided to just cut my loses and get

across to Xining (number 4 on the map) a day early. 

Again the only way to do this was to find a car and so I was put in touch with a local driver who agreed to drive me the 6 hours into the neighbouring province. This sadly was another unlucky break as the woman who turned up did so with her 5 year old kid in the back. I don't mind kids but this one was rough to be around, especially for a 6 hour drive over the mountains. She was a rude and dangerous driver and made the journey very very unpleasant. I sent a complaint to the company when I arrived. Something I have never done before. Drivers in China are horrendous but she was the first to try to make a stupid "look at the foreigner" video for tiktok WHILE WE WERE DRIVING!!! I took her phone from her and shouted at her like a child. She didn't speak Mandarin so all of the Satnav apps were useless to her. She ended up having to get her 5 year old kid to translate which went about as well as you can imagine. 

The scenery along the journey was incredible but this was actually part of the problem, all mountains, steep cliffs, sharp drops and speeding cars of tourists. 

It really is a miracle I survived! 

I found an ATour hotel in Xining which is a chain hotel in China. They are all the same and are incredible value for money. I have stayed in them before and know that the beds are comfy, showers are powerful and the food not too bad. 

After the last place I was happy to have somewhere nice to stay. 

I arrived, checked in and immediately went to find food and a well deserved beer. 

Xining is obviously not a large city and so my high rise hotel did stand out a bit. It gave me some beautiful views. 

Xiahe: Labrang temple. Gansu Summer 2023

After arriving in the town of Xiahe (number 3 on the map), I checked into my hotel and then went for a wander about. I immediately did not like the place but did my best not to judge based on first impressions. Everything was brand new and in the characteristic "China trying to be old/traditional" generic style. It's a shame how gentrified and inauthentic tourist and places of interest in China have become, especially given

how far away from the big cities I was at the time. Every "old town" I have been to in recent years were all built within the last five years. It's so disappointing nowadays that I don't bother going to them anymore. I was lucky to see many of these places back when they were still interesting and actually had a slight feel of authenticity about them. 

The main attraction in this part of the province is Labrang Monastery which both Tim and Harry had previously recommended. The town was basically a car park and a load of restaurants surrounding the monastery and as so was quite expensive and a little unpleasant. 

Every restaurant was huge and designed for big groups of people traveling and eating together, yet more evidence of the recent change in domestic travel habits. It was immediately difficult to find somewhere that would allow one person to order there. 

Not loving town I decided to leave a day early and booked a car for the follow afternoon so I could visit the monastary in the next morning. 

Another hangover from COVID is that everything is cashless and most places you have to buy tickets on an app. I am yet to find one that will allow foreigners to buy tickets so there is always a bit more hassle for me before we finally work it out. In this case, I was taken to the police office and they ended up just taking some money from me and handing me a ticket. I have no faith it was at all official but it worked. Sometimes that's what you have to do in China. 

Once inside, I was shocked by how commercial the place was. The monks were selling cigarettes and charging people to pose with them for pictures. Hundreds of people were with professional photographers whilst being in "traditional clothing" so that they could take picture. As a result, it was impossible to stand anywhere without being shouted at for being in someone's picture. It was amazingly stressful and really quite unpleasant. 

Labrang monastery is the largest Buddhist temple in the country and was a complete zoo. So different from the equally busy Langmusi temple. 

Sadly this part of my trip turned out to be a complete bust from start to finish but that is the risk you take sometimes. Tim and Harry both expressed their shock and disappointment at how much it has changed. 

Hopefully the local government can step in and try to protect the area before the damage is irreversible. 

  

Grasslands and Ground Hogs: Gansu Summer 2023

After my couple of days in the monastery, I drove from Langmusi to Xiahe and Labrang Monastery. (Number 3 on the map above.)

The journey was about 4 hours and just as unpleasant as the journey to Langmusi. On the way, my driver showed me the progress on the upcoming high speed rail that should be ready in a few years. 

I was also lucky enough to have a moment of heroism! we were directly behind a taxi of monks who plowed into the bank of the truck in front of them. The whole front of their car crumpled and the monks in the back (were not wearing seatbelts) and were all sporting lovely broken noses. My driver, a few others and I managed to pull open the drivers door to get him out of the car. It was incredibly impressive and as it was on a single lane road, caused absolute chaos. We really were very lucky to be the first ones behind them as I can only imagine the traffic jam that was caused. 

My first night in Xiahe was actually in the grasslands just outside of town. Once again, the self drive craze was in full force and so all roads were very busy. 

I found a lovely cabin on a hill on which I decided to splurge for a night of peace and quiet. It turned out

to be a very good idea and was truly blissful. I was incredibly isolated and reveled in the silence. My cabin was the furthest from the main entrance and so had a completely unobstructed view of the grasslands below. I had a fantastic balcony. 

My beautiful silent isolated night was just what the doctor ordered after my hallowing few days in Langmusi and the horrendous journey to my bliss. Sadly, I only had one night in this slice of heaven but that was enough. 

The problem of the self driving crazy reappeared the next morning as I was trying to leave the cabin and head into town. As everyone now drives here, there are very few taxis and drivers and lots more traffic, so finding a car was tricky. In the end, the manager of the hotel gave me a lift in his beautiful and not too uncomfortable sidecar through the grasslands to the main road. The thinking being that I could catch a passing bus or taxi into town from there. The slight hiccup being I had to wade across a "narrow stream" which was more of a small river by the time I got there before taking on a very wobbly bridge to the main road. Once on the road I just had to hope someone came alone soon ish. 

Soon ish turned out to be an about half an hour but did eventually happen. A taxi stopped and dropped me near my hotel half an hour later. I walked into the town from the main road and quickly discovered that at lunch time just everything was packed with cars as all the hotels kicked out the tourists. 

Langmusi: Gansu Summer 2023

After my quick trip out of the country I decided to tick a few more places off the remaining China bucket list. 

Gansu has long been on my radar but from Kunming it was always just too far. From Qingdao though, it is  much more manageable journey. I flew to Lanzhou, number one on the picture above, and then found transport for the 8 hour drive to Langmusi, number 2. The road was small, bumpy, slow, unpleasant and very very long. But once we got into the mountains it was actually quite pretty. 

The town itself is more of a tourist road on the way to the monastery. There were a few restaurants, shops a supermarket and plenty of souverir spots. As a result of COVID lockdowns, self driving tours and holidays have had a bit of a surge in popularity and so has this part of the country. The upshot being, it was a very busy and bustling place to be and a usual I caused quite a distraction. A foreigner speaking Chinese in the middle of nowhere does seem to stand out. For the most part, it was fine, but I got a fair amount of angry people personally offended by my presence in their holiday destination. Business as usual. 

The first day I was feeling a little under the weather, combination of being exhausted and a drastic change in altitude, so I took it easy. It was fine, the weather was not great so a slow wander about town was fine. 

The second morning the weather was much better so  I went up to the monastery. The entry and ticket gates were packed with people but once inside it was OK. Bottle necked in places but nothing I couldn't handle. The majority of the monastery is open to the public with only a few section off limits. The monks were happy to explain anything and were generally quite chatty and friendly. To be honest they asked me more questions that I asked them but as I was in no rush, I didn't mind answering them. 

The most impressive part in my opinion was one of the "look out" spots up on a small hill. On the one side you could look over the monastery itself with some stunning and dramatic mountain scenery behind you. Just stunning! 

Escape from China post COVID: Kanchanaburi (Bridge over the River Kwai) Summer 2023

As the title says, Kanchanaburi is where the Bridge over the River Kwai is located. It's about a three hour drive from Bangkok and with information about trains being really hard to come by, we opted to just get a grab taxi to the next hotel. It worked wonderfully and the driver was lovely. 

We could find nothing online about the town as it seems everyone goes just for a day trip from Bangkok and doesn't stay. 

Dan found us a lovely hotel by the river. I somehow got a room with direct access to the pool so I was able to walk straight from my room into a small wet room and then into the pool. It was bliss. 

Our first night, we went to see what there is in the town. Very quickly we discovered, basically nothing. Its tiny. A small street of about 20 bars/restaurants and shops and that's about it. 

We had a fantastic meal in an Aussie bar and then a few beers before getting an early night. What we hadn't realized was that as soon as the sun went down, this sleep little town took on a bit of a seedy feel. Suddenly every bar was full of old western guys with young girls on their knee. It was such a shock as it was so different and family friendly in the day. 

Oh well, live and learn. This is a side to Thailand that is completely accepted and expected but always makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Especially when I see some of the age differences involved. One of the nights Dan wasn't feeling well so he and JiaXin had a night in, I went off to do some laundry and was approached by someone asking me "what do you want; men, women, boys, girls? Give me an hour and I can find it" It was quite an eye opening conversation. She then went on to offer me all sorts of drugs. All of this at about 7pm in a launderette. 

Anyway, that aside, we went down to the bridge area and went around the museums. There wasn't actually much in the way of information, it was more a collection of things from the time and that had been used by the prisoners. 

There were however some seriously sobering facts, for example, over 100,000 people including 13,000 POWs died in the construction of the railway. This is why it got the name "Death Railway." Roughly, someone died for every 5 meters of the railway that was completed. 

It's a fascinating place and many people go out of their way to make sure tourists know that the film from 1957 is nearly a complete fiction that is very loosely based on real events. 

The bridge itself is beautiful and the trains were a lot of fun (I like trains) but sadly we were not able to go on the track itself. There were very few running and we couldn't get tickets.