In South Korea - Completely and utterly lost in translation

Of all the places, I never once imagined that I would come to South Korea. Not even as a tourist. But, here I am for the past 3 months, living in "Asia's Best Kept Secret" as they call it. I would have thought as an Asian, it can't be that hard to live here. Right? Wrong! I mean its not like the hardest thing on the planet. But this is the farthest from my culture, language and normal living that I have ever been.

I am here for work, living in this crowded section of a city called Suwon. Not to the extent that I would have prefered but we Indians as ever, have managed to establish some presence here as well. Proof? 3 Indian restaurants, 10 minutes from the hotel I stay in :-). Well here are a bunch of things I oberved:

1. South Korea is super modernized. It is almost like any western country (by which I actually mean the US). Especially the cities. One would be amazed to see the number of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts here.

2. Fasshhhiiiooon! I have to say the people here are perhaps among the best dressed in the world. The women are super petite and have such beautiful skin. I am pushed to XL size here. Booohoooo! There is a craze for well manicured and fancy decorated nails. I hear that Seoul is also very famous for plastic surgery :|

3. Finding vegetarian food here is literally like finding a needle in a haystack. Vegetable bibimbap (some kind of semi boiled long strips of vegetables with rice) and Sundubu (dubu for tofu) are the few I have tried. Gob bless my furnished apartment with kitchen. Almost every meal in some small way involves meat. They find it incredible that I am a vegetarian and my patience ebbs aways each time I desperately do some hand gestures and try to explain - no meat, no fish and no egg.

4. The people here are nice. When lost, they literally take your hand and lead you to the right way. Its heart warming when they do that!

5. Samsung, the company has a HuuuGE presence here. Going in, you feel like you are entering a town in itself. It is a unique experience to enter their fabs. The security is no less than that of an airport, with passport checks, metal detectors and what not. I must be the only or among the very few who sneaked in with Sambar rice lunch box. :-D. I really have huge food woes in the cafeteria they have.

6. People brush their teeth after lunch. They have huge toothbrush stands in washrooms and office goers diligently brush after lunch.

7. The taxi drivers are a scary lot. They have a GPS plus small television in front of them which they mostly use to watch TV (duh!) while driving!!!! at 130km/hr!!!!!!!!

8. Seoul is simply fantastic. It is a beautiful blend of east and west. Filled with quaint streets with nick nacks, cozy coffee shops and restaurants. Charming is the word.

9. Speaking of coffee shops, there is a plethora of them. Prices could be on par with Starbucks. There is also a craze for bakeries. You would find a "Paris Baguette"on every street corner.

10. "Omma" = mother, "Appa" = father. Two Korean words are almost the same as in my language (Tamil).

What has been the best part of my stay here so far? I have never in my entire life been complimented so often for being beautiful! One lady at the Ginseng shop told me in the same breath - "Indian women very beautiful. Big eyes..."and gesturing towards my middle section "....big hips." I am still confused whether she actually complimented me or not.

Pennsylvania

The trip to Harrisburg in Pennsylvania was also during the Memorial Day weekend (May, 2011). We went off to meet my husband's university buddy and his wife, a couple full of fun and life. Unfortunately for us, both me and hubby fell a bit sick while in Pennsylvania. So our outing was a bit toned down. The highlight of this trip for me was the butterfly garden in Hersey Park. I waited and waited quietly for a butterfly to come and sit on me. But just one came and sat on my finger for a second and immediately flew away. My husband on the other hand had to shoo them away to continue walking. I hope this is not synonymous to those "white dangly" things in "Avatar" movie that sit on only good people. boohoo...Here are some pictures:

Pennsylvania State Capitol building at Harrisburg

A lot of these green colored parts of some old buildings are made of copper which are allowed to then rust to give a green shade! 

We are all kids at heart! The Hershey Gardens

These kids seem to fit in with the background really well

I was trying out the focus some - defocus the rest technique here...:)

Beautiful pathways

and then the butterflies

Notice how the rose alone has a tinge of red

Hershey Chocolate World - absolutely kiddish but is free and worth the sample choclate :D

These three cows sang and explained to us how chocolates are made! :) 

I have visited 4 chocolate factories yet I think. One in Cologne - Germany, one in Bruges - Belgium, one here and one in Antwerp - Belgium. And all of these after I turned 25. :). Yup! Chocoholic of sorts. I love the dark chocolate varieties more though. After some strong doses of cacao, we were actually feeling better by the end of the day. 

Washington DC

This one was a wonderful trip with my cousins whom I was meeting after a loooooong time in Virginia (around the Memorial Day long weekend in May 2011). We spoke until the wee hours of the morning, reminiscing and sharing some of our new stories. The next day we headed to the capital of the USA, Washington DC. DC was super crowded --> good weather (bordering giving heat strokes to some people) + long weekend craze, but by downing ourselves with icy versions of all sorts of drinks, we made it through.

Taking a train ride from Virginia as we approached DC, the whole place seemed to be engulfed with regal looking buildings. The highlight of the day though was a picnic lunch we had at a random park gobbling up home made food. Here are some photos:

The US Capitol Building far far ahead

The White House: Can you spot the president? 

The Washington Monument: the pyramid like top has Egyptian architecture's influence apparently

National World War II Memorial 

Paying special tribute to the soldiers

Yeaaaaah!!! Go Feminism! 

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

And there we met some of our favorite ancestors :) 

Fatigued by all the heat, we wondered how we had actually spent majority of our lives in a tropical country. We headed back home after watching (dozing off to) the "Born to be Wild" 3D movie in the IMAX theater at the museum narrated oh! so soothingly by Morgan Freeman. 

P.S.1 - Does cold coffee mean dumping lot of ice cubes into black coffee?? I paid $3.50 for that crap in the museum. Isn't it supposed to be this blended, creamy, sugary delight? 

P.S.2 - If you are still staring at the White House picture searching for someone, I was seriously kidding. :) 

Keukenhof - the blossoming paradise (almost)

Since I have been in the Netherlands, a lot of people have asked me if I have visited the tulip gardens. Last year somehow I missed out, so this year I wanted badly to visit this place. A couple of weekends before two of my college friends from India had visited me. Meeting them after several years this trip was very special to me. I was not exactly sure if it was the right time to visit Keukenhof yet (1st week of April), but being among the only 5 people traveling in the bus from Schipol to Keukenhof, it didn't take long to figure out that we were rather off.

But here is the funny thing with trips. You can be travelling on a cloudy/rainy/moody weather which decides to get sunny while on your bus trip back home, with barely few flowers in a garden which is supposed to be world famous for the same, and still have a great time. I hadn't laughed so hard and so much in a loong time. :) Catching up with old silly stories from the past and pulling each other's legs was absolutely great.

Pictures of the few flowers that got lucky to see me ;) -

The gardens are open 8:00 - 19:30 everyday from 18th March to 16th May. The entrance tickets are 14 euro and do take the bike ride around the fields. Totally worth when you will visit the place at the right time (which is now!). Visit the website for more information.

Bruges in a day

Bruges is one of the most favorite west European tourist spots with a medieval outlook. So keeping that in mind, after traveling for over 4 hours by train, we were quite surprised to find the place so serene and barely crowded. A perfect spot for a weekend and bit of a stretch for a day trip (which is what we did). What is great about the place is that once you reach the city center, you can see quite a bit without walking to the extreme ends of the city.

We began with the Onze Lieve Vrowekerk (there seems to be one in every major city in Europe!), which has one of Michaelangelo's pieces - >Madonna and Child.

Before the weather got fussy, we got into a Canal cruise, my very first after coming to Europe. It is indeed a relaxing way to see things.

At the absolute center of the city is the Markt, a large square flanked with huge monuments on all sides.

Around the Markt area lies several important places. Belfort, a world heritage site is a 366 steps, squeezy climb up a tower. The view from the top is worth the effort. Just around the corner are also Gotische Zaal, a hall with carvings and murals depicting the city's history and Brugse Vrije, containing an immense chimney piece.

We next visited the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (Basilica of the Holy Blood), getting its name from a relic containing Christ's blood.

We took a break at the highly recommended Craenenburg Cafe for cappuccino and waffles. A much deserved break! At last we visited a chocolate museum Choco Story. I just sat down watching a demo of how to make chocolates mostly! :D

Oh and did I mention plenty and plenty of chocolate stores, all over the place! Simply the best I have had so far!

For the rest of the evening we sat down at a corner, watched the people buzz by and relaxed! We wanted to somehow get to this highly recommended restaurant for dinner and got lost a bit. After going a complete circle, it turned out the place was just behind the corner bench we were sitting on :). And as we happily set two steps into the place, the waitress came to us to tell us that the place was fully booked! We walked back to the station and on the way spotted a Thai restaurant. The food in the end turned out to be just fine.

I slept most of the way back home. Even with 8 hours of travel, I had a grand time.

And I love Chennai...

I just cannot continue with my other posts without completing my India series..

Home is where the heart is and no matter where it is and how it is, there is something that draws you towards home. Well, these are a few of my favorite things...

1. Filter coffee: I know how picky everybody is about coffee, but I have almost quit coffee since I left Chennai. It has to be this good else no thank you! :) Served traditionally in a steel 'tumbler' and a 'dabara' bottom.

**

2. Tender coconut: You get this about everywhere in south India. The refreshing sweet water in a tender coconut makes it a health and useful drink in summer (which is what Chennai weather consists of all year! :))

3. Food: A traditional meal on the banana leaf to its modern version on plate, I love them all. This could be a typical lunch or dinner. Our breakfast is only slightly less complicated!

4. Mehendi: Ok I cheated, this is typically not from Chennai, but I still get the henna tattoo done every time I am there. I did this design on a friend's palm.

5. Knick- knack shopping: The perfect place to shop those tiny things you always wanted but could never find. Ah! the joy of shopping on small alleys and the art of bargaining (or the lack there of :)).

6. Movies: There are more movies released in India per year than in the rest of the world. Oh no! I am not even trying to compare their qualities, but we Indians loove to watch movies. Chennai has several multiplexes and theaters for such crazy people. I watched this amazing movie called "3-Idiots" this time with 9 of my family members.

7. Marina beach: One of the best places to hang out in Chennai for free. Preferably in the mornings, to watch the glorious sun rise before the city awakes. This place has just so many memories.

8. Nature: The Vedanthangal bird sanctuary is a much needed breather. About two hours from our home you reach this wonderful gift of nature where birds from all over the world migrate to, during the winter.

9. Silk sarees: These drape around piece of cloth is among the most prestigious possessions of a women. The grand onces are worn for special occasions, but simple ones are worn everyday. You must try wearing one! They are one of the most elegant pieces of garment for a women.

***

10. More elephants: I just love them..:)

Picture Courtesy:

** www.wikipedia.org

***www.bharanipattu.in

Bandipur to Mysore

Continuing on my vacation in India, from the serene Bandipur forest lodge, we moved on to Mysore for 3 days. We visited sooo many places in this wonderful city that I am just going to pick the pictures that I loved the best from every place.

Nanjundeshwar temple

Brindavan Gardens

Chamundeshwari temple

Nandi: the bull

The Mysore zoo: two of my favorite animals :)

Mysore Palace: one of the most famous tourist spots

St Philomena's Church

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

Tipu Sultan, one of south India's famous and powerful emperors; his summer palace

Gumbaz, the tomb of Tipu Sultan

Sangama - meeting of 3 rivers: Kapila, Kabini & Kaveri

The city had such variety to offer in terms of food, places to visit, shopping, and what is best is that the cost of living here is much lesser than the metropolitan cities. Mysore, a good trip.