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30 October 2004 (Saturday)

Tonight I am going to Ilona & Paul's Halloween party with, from what I hear, just about everyone else in Okpo! They live downstairs in the terrace apartments here, so I won't have to venture far. I am going as a burglar (black pants, long-sleeve shirt, gray knit cap)--not very inventive, but it will at least be comfortable! I can't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween, so it has been really hard coming up with ideas. The last time I really remember knowing what I wanted to go as, I wanted to be Casper the Friendly Ghost (who I thought was a girl, but it turns out Casper is a boy...)!

25 October 2004 (Monday)

We got up at 4:30 AM and meet Mr. Gao downstairs in the hotel lobby for him to take us to the airport. Our flight home was basically hassle-free except that I must note that I do not enjoy traveling with groups of Koreans--they can be so oblivious to their surroundings it drives me nuts. It's always nice to get back to Okpo and to relative calm after being in busy, crowded places for several days.

Overall, I am glad we used a tour guide for our trip, but mostly I was glad to have a driver. I think we did some things we might not have done (Hutong tour, tea house, silk factory, etc) without a guide, but I also think we would have enjoyed the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, etc. just as well paying for the audio tour at those places. I'm definitely glad we had a free day on the last day so we could have the experience of getting taxis, finding ATMs, etc. which is always a fun challenge when traveling in a new city.

24 October 2004 (Sunday)

Today was our free day in Beijing. We decided to go check out the electronics market and go back to the Pearl Market before we went to the Silk Market (to buy all of our fake North Face jackets, Oakley sunglasses, etc.). We took a taxi from our hotel to the electronics market. The stores were super crowded and although a few things caught Craig's eye, we didn't buy anything and we actually didn't spend much time there. The market was more like the one in Seoul than the one Craig liked in Japan so much (but I was too sick to really enjoy that market).

We got a taxi from the electronics market back to the pearl market with a little bit of hassle getting to the right spot. The ladies at the pearl market remembered us from the day before. We had decided to buy some gifts here since the pearls here are "guaranteed" by the government to be authentic and we didn't want to deal with trying to figure it out in the silk market.

We took a taxi from the pearl market to Tian'amen Square and hoped to find a western restaurant to eat at. We finally came upon McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Outback Steakhouse. We went for Outback so we could at least sit down for a while. Next we got a taxi to the silk market.

The silk market was insane and pretty much everything I don't enjoy about shopping in general. Totally crowded, all of the vendors pushing their merchandise on you, etc. Anyway, Craig got a couple of North Face jackets, I got a North Face backpack, a Gucci purse, and a Coach wallet all for about $70 USD. So cheap who cares if they're fake, I guess? I will have to have Minsue inspect my purse and wallet so she can tell me if they're even good fakes or not. I thought the purse was really cute and I needed a new wallet, so I guess it doesn't matter!

We found a Starbucks after we went to the market and then, after a bit of trouble, found a taxi to take us back to the hotel where we packed up our suitcases and went to bed exhausted again!

23 October 2004 (Saturday)

Craig & Simon, our guide, posing with Chairman Mao. View from Tian'amen Square. 10/23/2004

This morning we went straight to the Summer Palace (that's a picture of me with Simon, our guide, on the bottom right) where it was chilly by the large man-made lake and super crowded with tourists. The fact that the Summer Palace was so crowded really made me not enjoy the whole Summer Palace experience very much.

Once we escaped the Summer Palace madhouse, we walked across the street to the Pearl Market. Apparently they raise the oysters in the lake at the Summer Palace. I got a few cute pieces of jewelry here that I'm excited about. Next we went to the silk rug factory and saw the women working on these amazing rugs that they get paid $4 USD per day to do and it takes them 2-5 years to make each rug. I imagine there were hundreds of other women working on rugs somewhere else in the building since there was quite a stockpile of rugs for sale in the showroom. We didn't buy any rugs because they just aren't our style and way out of our price range.

After lunch (a good restaurant but we had the same dishes again: sweet & sour pork, spicy chicken, and broccoli in garlic sauce) we headed to Tian'amen Square and the Forbidden City. Tian'amen square is huge and this is where we really got hassled about every five feet to buy things from street vendors (Chairman Mao watches, postcards, kites, etc.). Also, I noticed here more than in Korea, people would actually stop to stare at Craig, not really at me, and it wasn't really friendly/unfriendly staring, just stopping walking/talking, etc. and staring--very strange.

We walked through the Forbidden City [Click to see photos page 1 & photos page 2.] which was huge and I really enjoyed seeing it. Simon had told us there is a Starbucks in the Forbidden City and although we told him we wanted to go there, he must have forgotten to point it out. We made a stop outside of the Forbidden City to see some calligraphy done by the Last Emperor's nephew (he was there reading a book). Side note: last week at my doctor's appointment, Dr. Lee told Craig that he looks like Bill Clinton so when we saw a photo of Clinton in this particular shop, I told Simon that there was a picture of Craig there--he thought it was hilarious and agreed that Craig looks like Clinton and told the other guy in the shop and they really think he does look like Clinton. Maybe that's why everyone was stopping to stare at Craig?

We had a little time before dinner so Simon suggested we hire a separate guide and ride in rickshaws to the Hutong and go see what "real Beijing" is like. This was pretty cool to see the area--these houses are all over 700 years old and are protected by the government as a historic district. The woman we met took us into her small home where we looked around and got to see what life for some Chinese people is like. You can see in the photo referred to above that there is one old, worn out door and one shiny, new door--apparently both upper and middle classes live in the Hutong and you can distinguish the type of person who lives behind each door by the door and the detail work outside. I know Simon said he lives in a more modern apartment and I'm sure most Beijing people live in apartments like his, but perhaps those Chinese people who don't live in a large city live more like this woman in the Hutong.

Last we went to dinner with Simon and then said goodbye to him. Sunday is our free day to do whatever we wish in Beijing!

22 October 2004 (Friday)

We saw a gorgeous sunrise each morning from our hotel window. 10/22/2004

Our first stop of the day was to a jade factory which was interesting to see, but we didn't love anything enough to buy anything (or apparently to take any pictures!). After that we headed to the Great Wall at Badaling [Click to see photos page 1 & photos page 2. Note: As always in our vacation photos, we both took pictures (and Simon took any that are of the two of us, so I haven't separated out Craig's from mine.] Simon said it would take about 1.5 hours to go up and back. It took us about one hour and forty minutes because I was taking it easy since the steps were very irregular and there weren't many places to take a break. It was really cool to go and I think it was one of the best parts of our trip even though it wasn't really how I had imagined it at all.

After the Great Wall, we went to lunch at a tourist trap that didn't have that great of food. Oh well, I got a really cool paper cut out from the store that I think made this stop worth it. Next, we headed to the Ming Tombs. Craig said he liked the tombs better in Gyeongju (that we saw with Anita, Corrine, Scott, Owen, & Raisa) and I agree, they had more artifacts there where this was more just like a monument. Still really cool to see, but maybe not so impressive as far as tombs go.

The next stop was the Chinese medicine clinic where we learned a little about Chinese/Eastern medicine. We were offered a massage and acupuncture but we declined and headed on to the silk factory to learn how silk comes from the cocoons and is then made into fabrics. We contemplated buying some silk comforters but decided to save our money for something else.

Next we went to dinner: Peking Duck (photo by Craig). I did not like this at all, the duck was way too oily. We did have spicy chicken again and some broccoli in garlic sauce so it's not like I missed out on a meal! After dinner we went to the Chinese Opera. Unfortunately I think the place we went wasn't really the highest quality opera--the actors and costumes just weren't that great. Of course it might have helped to have had some explanation behind the stories, but I was disappointed that we didn't get to see a better opera house (this was just a different theatre in the same building as the circus the night before and I think all of their budget went to the circus!).

21 October 2004 (Thursday)

Traveling in Asia and pregnancy don't mix well when you prefer the wester-style toilet to the "squatters"... for the record, I became quite used to the squatters on this trip! 10/21/2004 photo by Craig

We took the car ferry to Busan today and got our Air China flight to Beijing with relative ease. The Air China plane (a 737) was actually pretty nice and even had a first class which I was a little surprised to see. The plane was full with I imagine mostly Koreans but the crew only spoke Chinese and English which I found interesting because I expected that they would at least speak Korean since the flight originated there.

We got to Beijing on time (2 hour and 20 minute flight) and made our way through customs which was a little scary but for no good reason except that we were entering China. We looked for our tour guide as we walked out but didn't see anyone holding the sign "Martin/Craig Martin/Rebecca" so we milled around for a bit. I don't know how Craig and Simon (our guide) eventually met up because they found each other while I was getting some Chinese Yuan from the ATM. We walked right out to our van and met our driver, Mr. Gao (he didn't speak any English so we unfortunately didn't get to talk to him, but he was a really great driver and we were so glad he was there--Beijing drivers are crazier than anywhere else I've been).

We headed straight for the Temple of Heaven as Simon gave us a brief introduction on why China, and Beijing in particular, is such a great place and gave us a brief history on all of the great emperors and leaders from China's past. The weather was cool and fall-like which was very nice and we had sunny days (with the same crisp fall weather) for our whole trip.

After the Temple of Heaven, we stopped at a Tea House to taste five different teas. We tried oolong, jasmine, black tea with rose, and two others (Craig will have to remind me what the two other types were). It was pretty cool and the woman showed us how to prepare the tea--to first pour the hot water into the jasmine to open it up, dump out the water, and then let it steep with the second water. The jasmine was rolled rather than the straight leaves we have bought here.

We went to dinner and had spicy chicken and sweet & sour pork. It was really good and filling. Simon and Mr. Gao went somewhere else to eat and we didn't know how to order water (hot tea comes standard) so when Simon came back I made sure to find this out so we would be prepared for future meals.

After dinner we went to the circus. I was interested to see this because on our itinerary from the travel agent in Seoul, it said, "You will enjoy the circus." I thought that was pretty demanding! Anyway, it was similar to the show my mom & I saw at the Lotte Hotel in Busan in March, but I think a little better because it was shorter (just one hour long), the audience was bigger, the performers were slightly better, and there were no hand-shadow-puppets!

Exhausted after our long day, we finally checked into our hotel, the Yong Xing Garden Hotel which was OK (it was nice, but since virtually everyone in Beijing smokes, it seemed we couldn't escape the residual smoke anywhere).

20 October 2004 (Wednesday)

We went to Chicken on the Mountain for Brielle's goodbye dinner tonight. Brielle leaves in the morning for Houston where she'll have her second child next month (due November 26) and then early next year she and her family will move on to their next foreign assignment. They just found out they were leaving one week ago--I don't even want to imagine how tough this last week was for them getting everything ready on such short notice.

We leave for Beijing in the morning (not nearly as dramatic as going home (with one week's notice) to have a baby that is due in a month, but exciting all the same!). I will post photos and notes from our trip after we arrive back in Okpo on the 25th.

16 October 2004 (Saturday)

Last night was TKD Ladies Night--we started out at the "waterfall restaurant" (which I have yet to figure out why it's called that since I've never seen a waterfall there), then headed over to the Sky Lounge to wait for Mijung to finish shuttling the TKD kids around in the TKD van (Sabeamnim can't drive at night because his vision is horrible in the dark, so Mijung has to drop off all of the kids after the last class at 9 PM). I had a kiwi "health" drink at Sky Lounge but stuck to Cider (like Sprite) the rest of the night. Once we had Mijung with us, we went to Monkey Business for a while then to Hooligans to catch the Utter Gutter Band. We finished the night at karaoke and I went to bed at 3 AM--not a good thing and I didn't sleep well... I think late nights are out of my future for a long while now.

12 October 2004 (Tuesday)

Brandy and I went to water aerobics today at the Daewoo pool. The Daewoo pool is smaller than Jangseungpo and Samsung, but at least it is a lot closer! I got a good workout there too, and came home feeling exhausted!

11 October 2004 (Monday)

I walked into town today to meet my TKD friends at Davinci's (and to avoid hanging out with the cleaning ladies!). After coffee, Minsue, Erica, Kim, and I went to kimbap for lunch where we sat and talked for a while. Then I walked back home up the big hill. It was a good walk and I took it easy so I didn't overexert myself. It took about 25 minutes each way. Maybe I'll try to do that on Mondays now that I'm not in TKD and still need to keep exercising!

9 October 2004 (Saturday)

Erica & Joel were kind enough to let me join them at the Okpo International Festival tonight. Too bad we got there a little late (which is why people shouldn't work on Saturdays, if you ask me!) and missed all of the food. There were a lot of foreigners there and quite a few Koreans--overall, it looked like a successful festival. We ended up going to the Geoje Island Hotel for dinner though since we didn't get much at the festival.

Craig sent a couple of photos from his visit with his parents in San Diego.

8 October 2004 (Friday)

I pigged out at Chicken on the Mountain tonight (it's so great to finally have an appetite again!). A group of us went to surprise Darcie for her birthday--she didn't suspect it at all. We had a good time and some of the ladies went out after for drinks, but since I'm planning to go out next Friday with the TKD ladies I figured that would be enough smokey bars for me.

7 October 2004 (Thursday)

We got in trouble this morning at pottery: we were all talking non-stop for a long time and the pottery instructor was getting overwhelmed with all of the English being spoken--I don't think he could hear himself think! He laughed at us but we had a really hard time staying very quiet for long!

After class, we (Minsue, Mijung, Erica, Vanessa, Jean, and I) went to lunch in Gohyeon. I'll have to ask again what it was called, but it was thinly sliced beef that you put into a boiling broth and eat the slices of beef. After that you pour the knife-cut noodles into the broth and it eat. Finally, you empty most of the broth out with the noodles and fry rice in the bowl. It was all really tasty!

5 October 2004 (Tuesday)

Craig and I are talking each morning on the computer--he bought an iSight video camera when he got to Houston. (I imagine he walked off the plane, got his rental car, dropped his stuff at the hotel, then headed to Fry's for an electronics shopping spree!) Anyway, it's pretty cool and I'll get a second camera so when I'm in TX this winter and he's still here, we can talk and see each other on the camera phones each day!

4 October 2004 (Monday)

Craig left this morning for the US for two weeks. I can't believe he had the nerve to leave me here all by myself for that long! I actually thought about going with but didn't want to spend the $1800 that Northwest was asking for a ticket--and I didn't want to subject myself to the jet lag again!

I went to TKD this morning as Minsue and I were presented with our black belt certificates! It's pretty cool to have that, but Sabeamnim wouldn't let me sit in the dojang and watch the class because he worried about me getting cold so I went into the office with Mijung and used their foot massager--very relaxing!

1 October 2004 (Friday)

We had our book club meeting tonight on Pearl S. Buck's Pavilion of Women at Chil Sung Ru. Lots of good Chinese food and the book provided for interesting conversation.