Tag Archives: south korea

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Smartphone Is Now Properly Dead

“It won’t switch on at all. It looks like a dog’s breakfast.”

PHOTO BY PIXABAY

March 15, 2024

Look, it held on for a good two years of bumps, bangs, falls into tiles, grubby little people‘s fingers, spilled tea, and even a bit of Bovril that someone had so kindly spilled and camouflaged on the granite countertop. It even hung on as the glass protector cracked, and chipped away and then the screen started to chip away, too. It’s a good thing not many people phone thanks to the invention of instant messaging because if they did, there was always a chance of getting glass pieces in my ear. Yes, it was that bad.

I’ve had a few phones I had to leave in rice overnight for leaked water bottles or similar things. I even had a joke about who fixed the phone while it lay in the rice all that time, but I was reprimanded about it not being PC and I won’t repeat it.

When I worked in South Korea, I ate rice every day at school. Kimchi, too, of which there are thousands of varieties. In my second year in the land of Samsung, I decided to get with the programme. Everyone has a smartphone! So, in 2013 I got one, too. A Galaxy S2 with a dark purple cover.

It was a whole new world, especially discovering the phenomenal camera (it was cutting edge at the time). We could travel just with a smartphone and still get amazing pictures of everything along the way! Who knew? So convenient. It seems so archaic a decade later. Now, you can probably just blink and your TokTik robot will automatically bedazzle it, turn it into a video, and post it for three million perfect strangers to put thumbs on.

My dying phone could do everything I needed it to, especially capture my babies’ funny faces, milestones, and everything else. Since my camera still worked and I didn’t have much free time on my hands, I held on. I also don’t like to waste good money on expensive things when it’s my fault they need replacing. It’s not even close to my birthday. So, I eked out every bit of battery life until the end and kept taking those pictures and videos of my sweet boys.

Now, though, it is dead. Properly dead. It won’t switch on at all. It looks like a dog’s breakfast. How lucky that Mom and Dad have a spare one I could use until I get my act together. I can keep taking pictures. I can keep writing silly stories with just my thumb.

Published here.

Oribi Mom, Travelinds

Oribi Mom: Escape the World – Read!

“Read wherever you can, even if it’s pouring with rain.”

The privilege of reading in a campsite next to Lake Navaisha, Kenya. Photo By: Heather Lind

 

November 2, 2023

There’s not much time to read these days. It used to be easy, grabbing a book in the evenings after a day of teaching or reading a quick few pages on the subway as we travelled up to Seoul or Pyeongtaek for various reasons. The ultimate relaxation was lying on a rickety lounger or a colourful towel with salt spray in my face. I’d fliick though an old, yellowed novel that I’d found on a resort’s shelf nearby or swapped with another traveller.

A Winter Escape With Piles of Books

There was one winter holiday where we had a few days off and couldn’t stand to be in -10 degrees for another second more than necessary. So, we hopped onto the cheapest flight we could find and headed south to The Philippines. In that case, it was to an island called Virac. The flights were cheap because it was the rainy season in that area, but who cares.

We took rain jackets, quick-drying shorts, and waterproof hand luggage. It absolutely poured when we arrived, and continued to do so for the whole week we were there. Since we needed rest more than adventure for those few days, we made full use of the hut on stilts we slept in with bamboo floors and a big mozzie net. And then we found the books.

Without much Wi-Fi around, even Oribi Dad got stuck into the whodunnits, corporate thrillers, and spies on offer. Days and days and days of reading, interspersed by meals of freshly caught crayfish… I mean who can really complain about a little bit of torrential rain?

Travelling To Tropical Islands Just To Read Books? Why Not

That happened to be a world-famous surfing beach with a festival of hundreds of people in July. But in January, we saw one other family arrive the entire time we were there.

The family who owned the five huts at our ‘resort’ seemed confused about why we were there. They kept apologising for the big box of books that were still wet from flooding before we arrived. We were glad that we could contribute to their income while getting a holiday out of it ourselves. And they made the most delicious crayfish and fresh fish meals for us every day.

When I pick up a book back at home, that’s the memory it triggers. Well, that, and the many other places I’ve been privileged enough to read books in. May there be many more in this lifetime!

Published here.

Oribi Mom, Travelinds

Oribi Mom: Great Memories Don’t Need a Shelf

“My expensive collectible 2012 Korean Grand Prix mug stared back at me.”

Heather and Robin Lind at the 2012 Korean Grand Prix.

April 15, 2021

I was washing my dishes in the outside sink (my kitchen renovation is three months overdue). The skittish lesser-striped swallow couple were feeding their cheeping babies above my head. Monkeys were starting to forage nearby. My fluffy, white bunnies were napping under the washing after a usual night of exploration and mayhem around the yard.

I reached past the terrifying earwig that appears on my sponge each morning, and picked up an item from the soapy water. Confused, I did a double take as my collector’s mug emerged with bubbles and coffee stains.

My expensive collectible 2012 Korean Grand Prix mug stared back at me.

The Mug Was a Genuine Collectible From Not So Long Ago

I could not believe this heirloom had been used for coffee. But I remembered that it had been a crazy week with too much work, too little sleep, and no energy for regular dishwashing in my scenic scullery. It had been sick babies juggled with looming deadlines. It has also been a month of several power outages, including a five-day streak after some lightning.

That mug represented all that came before this chaos, when we still contemplated having an adult display shelf instead of only toddler-friendly zones. It told tales of calm and adventurous years of travel, extended honeymoons, and lots of sleep. It was a different life stage; not better, just different.

That Time That Felt Like Another Lifetime Now

It was a time when it was the two of us taking a last-minute road trip in a foreign country to see a real Grand Prix, an event we only dreamed about attending during our lifetime. Vettel fans, we put the track into our Korean-speaking GPS – no small feat, I promise you.

In a comedy of errors that we laughed about afterwards, there was no room at the hotel. There was also no way to park at the track without a permit. Luckily, we chose a hotel that was full of press for the Grand Prix. Two kind French journalists overheard our predicament and shoved two press parking passes into my husband’s hand, saying, “Follow me,” just like that little shrimp in Finding Nemo.

Our borrowed Matiz kept up with their Mercedes as if its life depended on it.  It was living up to its local reputation as the mosquito of the highway.

Follow the Adventure and Don’t Get Pushed Off the Road By a Celebrity

The journalists told us explicitly to zoom through the checkpoints as if we belonged there, so we did. Before one of these obstacles, we were almost shoved off the road by a pompous black sports car carrying none other than Heikki Kovalainen.

Still, we found our seats in time for the parade. Those F1 drivers waved right at us as the thunderous Korean air force formation zoomed overhead, more deafening than anything that raced around the track that day. Even when my broken collector’s mug is a mosaic on an old pot plant in fifty years’ time, it will still be true that we raced our Matiz against an F1 legend.

Great memories don’t need a shelf. Oh, and Vettel won.

Published here.

South Korea, Travelinds

The Nutcracker

26 December 2015

Travelinds enjoyed a festive evening out at the ballet on Boxing Day.  The Nutcracker Suite is an old favourite and the Universal Arts Centre in Seoul did not disappoint.  There are shows here all year round so book your tickets next time you’re coming to Seoul.

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South Korea, Travelinds

Jeju Ferry

South Korea, July 2014

Having a week off before summer camps, we decided to roadtrip down to Jeju Island using the car ferry.  We took an early morning drive down to the south coast city of Mokpo and headed to the ferry terminal. Since it was a last minute decision to make the trip, we had not been able to get hold of the reservations office (by phone) and so were just going to wing it and hope for the best.

Jeju Ferry
The ferry is huge and loading starts two hours before departure. There was even a truck of cattle on the trip back.

Consequently, when we arrived at the ferry dock at 8am (the ferry leaves at 9am), we were denied access and told to book a week in advance – First Problem. So, like the good waygooks (foreigners) we are, we made sad faces and asked way too many questions and begged and pleaded with the stern looking gate man… It worked! He allowed us to drive on the ferry (the  last car!) and we had about twenty minutes to park, walk off the ferry, pay at the car office, run across to the passenger terminal, pay for the passengers tickets and then run on to the ferry from the passenger entrance. Rather stressful! But we made it.

In all the rush in leaving our apartment at 3 a.m. I had forgotten to take my passport or Alien Registration Card with me (idiot!) – Second Problem – so I used my Korean driver’s licence as my identification and thankfully there were no issues both to and from Jeju.

The ferry left promptly at 9a.m. and arrived four and a half hours later in Jeju City. We drove off the ferry and straight to the ticket office to check if we would be able to get home a few a days later – third problem. The helpful assistant provided me with a number (with an English-speaking operator) which I phoned immediately to reserve our place on the ferry back to Mokpo. I was given a reference number (via text) and told to arrive at 3 p.m. to load the car. Finally, we were ready to go and explore Jeju Island!

 

Jeju Ferry
Economy class – about fifteen people, the floor and a tv.

For those of you who take this trip, you should know:

  1. We travelled on Sea World Express Ferry (Mokpo-Jeju) on SeaStar Cruise.
  2. The number to book the car ferry from Jeju to Mokpo is 064-7584234 (The other number (which I never did get through to) for Mokpo to Jeju is 1-577-3567).
  3. If you travel in economy class, take something to lie on/sit on and a good book.  It is just a room allocation with no seating – everybody in your room (about 15 – 20 people) sleeps on the floor Korean style and there is a TV. There was no cellphone signal for most of the way so internet surfing is not an option.
  4. On the ferry there were bathrooms, a cafeteria, a convenience store, a Paris Baguette, a place to sit and eat in the center court, decks to walk out around the boat, arcade-type video games, a noraebang (karaoke bar), a room full of massage chairs and a helpful information desk.
  5. We had to be at the pier 2 hours before leaving (Pier 6 at the Jeju Port). After loading the car, you walk back out on to the pier and go around to the passenger entrance to buy a ticket and board through the security gate.

Bon Voyage!

P.S. Yes, we did travel by ferry to Jeju Island, South Korea in the wake of the tragic April 2014 ferry disaster in South Korea. No, we didn’t have any safety issues and emergency procedures seemed to be firmly in place.

South Korea, Travelinds

Jeju-do Roadtrip – Part 3

27 July 2014

Jeju Island, South Korea

Geumneung Beach
Geumneung Beach

Our last full day we headed up towards the north western corner of the island, hoping to catch a bit of sun and find a place to settle down for the last evening on Jeju island.

Circumnavigating Jeju, you can catch a glimpse of Hallasan (the prominent volcano mountain in the centre of the island) when the clouds aren’t covering it like a fluffy white beanie.

 

Geumneung Beach

Our first stop for the day was at Geumneung Beach, the quieter, neighbouring beach to Jeju’s most famous one – Hyeopjae Beach.

We found a spot of sand (between the ‘for hire’ umbrellas) and enjoyed the hike across the bay to get to the water deep enough for swimming.  As with most beaches in Korea, it wasn’t more than chest deep and you have to just pretend to be really swiming.

Windhill Hotel and Resort, Aewol.
Windhill Hotel and Resort, Aewol.

After a couple of hours, we washed off and headed up towards Aewol where we had seen a hotel online that looked like a winner.

 

Windhill Hotel and Resort

Windhill Hotel&Resort turned out to be quite difficult to find (through winding little alleys and one car wide farm roads our GPS directed us, when it would have been so much easier to come in from the other side on the coastal road through Aewol) @_@

It was a nice little hotel though and we had a comfortable stay in a clean, airconditioned room.

Cafe Uncle Tony’s

We found a small restaurant down the road, Uncle Tony’s Cafe, where we had the most delicious fish and chips we’ve found in Korea. Thank you, Britain.

Cafe Uncle Tony's, Aewol
Cafe Uncle Tony’s, Aewol

We enjoyed it so much we came back again the next day for brunch. And had fish and chips again! With vinegar! This place has a great vibe and mouth-wateringly good food.

Back to Jeju City

The last day we headed back in to Jeju City to get ready to board the ferry again.

With about an hour and a half extra, we decided to do at least one cultural activity and settled on an interesting visit to the Natural History and Folklore museum.

Heading back down to the dock was bittersweet, but Jeju is a truly beautiful place and it’s easy to see why it is held so dear in the hearts of the Korean people.

 

Memories

Favourite memories for the trip included hallabong, beaches, local hospitality and the mysterious volcanic rocks that line the turquoise bays. Goodbye, Jeju Grandfathers, and keep watch until next time.

Mount Hallasan hiding in the clouds
Mount Hallasan hiding in the clouds
South Korea, Travelinds

Jeju-do Roadtrip – Part 2

26 July 2014

Jeju Island, South Korea

tumblr_inline_nclsgwf0tT1rg4d7lThe second night of our road trip, we stayed at a pension on the West Coast of the island – in Korea, ‘pension’ refers to a self-catering holiday flat or room, usually with a kitchenette.  We had almost driven right around the island from Woljeong-ri in the northeastern corner, past some stunning ocean views, to the southwestern corner of the island.

Travelinds found a pension called Madangdol Pension and booked in for a night. It looked out over the dark blue ocean crashing on to volcanic black rocks – amazing!

There was a Heuk Dweji (Black Pig) restaurant down the road from the pension and enjoyed a scrumptious Korean-style braai, seated on the floor of a restaurant whose only other customers were some rough looking fisherman and farmers from the area. If the owners were surprised to find two random waygooks in their establishment, they didn’t show it.

Jeju Island Black Pig
Jeju Black Pig Barbcue

At the pension, there were only three other guests (a mother and daughter who were on vacation with the daughter’s new boyfriend who was a university professor and the designated barbecue chef for the family).

Travelinds shared some South African biltong and cider with them, they shared some of their barbecue with us; and the evening ended with us teaching them how to play a couple of card games and chatting about life and travel dreams. What fun!

The morning came too soon and we were on our way once more. Heading back up north towards Jeju City.

Jeju

South Korea, Travelinds

Culture Shock South Korea

10 June 2014

As an English teacher in South Korea, my South African brain has had to deal with major culture shock the last two years; some things more mind-blowing than others:

1. Confused borrowed etiquette. Coffee is generally served in tea cups and tea served in coffee mugs.

2. All meals must be eaten in exactly 15 minutes or less. And no talking. Also, cut your food with scissors.

3. Slurping noodles is considered rude by “traditional etiquette standards”, but is widely practiced and grating “shlurp” sounds should always be expected. Same goes for chewing with your mouth open.

4. A popped “personal space bubble” – especially on public transport where you are surrounded by countless other bodies, touching arms or shoulders is really no biggie. Oh, and don’t expect an apology if someone bumps into you.

5. Konglish e.g. SF (sci-fi movie), eye-shopping (window shopping), arbeit (part time job), apart (apartment), heart-a-beat-a (nerves/fear), fry (fried egg), fat size (clothing sizes for larger-than-Korean people)… and the list goes on.

6. Feet. DO NOT expose your toes to your students or colleagues, EVER! Wear socks, even those semi-transparent nylon socks. Unless you don’t mind the looks and whispers.

7. Elevators. DO NOT speak while inside an elevator. Just don’t. Stare only at the wall, the mirror, the floor or the ceiling.  No eye-contact is allowed.

8. Driving. Drive faster than the speed limit at all times, but break hard before every speed camera (the GPS already knows the location of all the speed cameras).  Also, hoot while the traffic light is still red to make sure the cars in front of you are ready to screech out of the starting position when the light turns green. Or just ignore red lights altogether and just drive around the pole to avoid the cameras.

9. Ajummas (old women). If you are an old woman, you may walk wherever you please, including in the middle of the road. You may also push anyone out of the way, skip queues, bump violently into any people who don’t move out of your way and always stare openly at foreigners (with your mouth wide open for better effect).

And these are only the tip of the iceberg… I haven’t even mentioned the Darth-Vader-style sun visors, the very mini skirts, the perms (from toddlers to pop stars), the rice fascination, the obsession with all things “pamous” (famous) and the skin-whitening suncream.  Come for a visit, I’m sure you’ll soon discover a whole lot more South Korean charm.

South Korea, Travelinds

Love-Hate Small Town Korea

02 June 2014

This is why I both love and hate living in a small town in South Korea:

  1. I have more chance of being hit by flying clay from a passing tractor than being hit by a car.
  2. Summer brings with it a green blanket of natural goodness, as well as the lingering smell of manure and mud.
  3. Our apartment is so small, I can clean it quite effectively by extending the broom outwards and spinning around once or twice in only three different spots.
  4. As a foreigner, I am subjected to at least three good, long, blatant, shameless, piercing stares from “friendly” locals every day.  Can you say celebrity!
  5. Birds, snakes, wild strawberries, pheasants, centipedes and ducks make my walks to and from school all the more exciting. Likewise for unplanned, unavoidable bum-sliding on the icy roads and pavements during Winter.
  6. 4-wheelers (quad bikes), electronic wheelchairs and baby tractors with trailers are all quite acceptable forms of transport on even the busiest roads in town.
  7. Walking from one end of town to the other never takes more than twenty minutes and there are sure to be at least 100 students greeting us along the way, as between us, we teach at the only elementary, middle and high school in the town.
  8. The ancient old lady collecting trash provides endless entertainment for passing pedestrians (and endless frustration for hurried motorists) as she pushes her cardboard collection trailor around town, in the middle of the road, oblivious to the traffic jams and horns blaring all around her.
  9. No matter which secret alleyway I choose to take (for exploration purposes), all ways eventually lead to the main street in town.
  10. The mandu (Korean dumpling) shop owner greets me with a friendly smile and courteous bow every single day.  Even when I don’t buy mandu from her for a couple of weeks.

Aaaaah, Korean life.

P.S. Did I mention that I have only been asked if I’m “Russian” (code for ‘lady of the night’) four times in three months. No, no I’m not Russian. Not available, sorry. This is awkward. I’m leaving now…