The Bali Retrospective.

I know it's been two weeks since I came back from Bali, and it seems a little weird to just now be writing about this, however, I have no excuses so just deal.  I think I am finally in a position to fully talk about my experiences in Bali.  It's not like they were bad, I just needed time to process my vacation.  I think the essential difference between this vacation, and so many of my other vacations was the intent with which I went.  My intentions were to relax and recharge.  Normally when I go traveling I plan on traveling hard.  I plan to see as much as possible in the least amount of time.  I plan on spending no more then 4 days in one place before I move onto the next.  This time, I spent 9 days in one place.  Not only that, but I spent those 9 days in a place where one of the primary things to do is sit around and relax.  However, I am only trying to give you all excuses for what seems like an out of the ordinary vacation experience for me. 

Enough of the time wasting, I guess I should get to the story.  Bali presented itself as a unique opportunity for me.  I had never before been to the Southern Hemisphere.  Not only that, but I've never traveled anywhere one could consider tropical.  Well, both of those things have changed now.  My friends and I arrived in Bali after a 7 hour flight from Seoul.  We arrived in Bali at 1 in the morning and proceeded to deal with obtaining our visas.  Most Southeast Asian countries require a full page visa to enter into the country, and Indonesia is no different.  Like most Southeast Asian countries, you can acquire this visa at the airport for the small price of 25 dollars.  After paying our fee to obtain our visa we waited in a rather long and warm line to get the visa placed into our passports and to be granted entry into the country.  This is where the adventure begins.  Tom and I had forgot/didn't know that the amendments pages at the back of our passport could not be used for visas.  I fully blame the Italian government for my misunderstanding because the airport in Palermo stamped the very last page of my passport which is for amendments.  However, being faced with the prospect of not being allowed into the country, our ever so nice immigration official informed us that for the small fee of 100,000 Indonesian Rupiah he would be willing to look the other way.  100,000 Rupiah roughly equals 11 dollars.  Now, myself being an upstanding citizen and world traveler was slightly taken aback at the thought of bribing my way into a country.  Well actually I wasn't, I was just surprised that in all of my travels this is the first time I've ever had to bribe an official.

With all of our bags collected and Tom and my bribes paid we walked out of the airport at 2:30 in the morning looking for our driver.  Our driver was standing outside for us and proceeded to drive us to our villa.  We arrived 45 minutes later and like the partial zombies we were randomly chose our rooms.  That night sleep came easily in my ridiculously awesome king sized bed.  The next morning we were treated to a welcome breakfast by our villa staff.  It was a simple meal, but after years of either no breakfasts or a quick breakfast, a simple continental breakfast was amazing.  After breakfast I decided that it was time for me to partake in one of my favorite vacation/summer activities.  I went for a swim in our private pool.  The plan for the day was simple: relax, do a little shopping, and then go to dinner.  The day was a success.  We went to a nearby supermarket to check on some things and managed to purchase some wonderful looking tropical fruit.  We purchased: mangoes, dragon fruit, durian, and several other interesting looking things.  When we returned I found myself back in the pool relaxing and spent the day swimming and reading.  For dinner we went down to the local beach and had a wonderful dinner. 

The fruit was the highlight of the day however.  Durian, for those that don't know is considered the king of fruits.  Either that or it's considered the most vile thing ever created.  I fall into the first category.  This fruit, while looking like something the cloud dude chucked at you in Mario Brothers, was awesome.  It did not smell bad, and the interior meat parts was a mix between custard and very ripe avocado.  It was simply wonderful.  I have to say that I was let down by the dragon fruit.  For something that is so colorful and awesome looking, it is rather bland tasting.  It tastes like a mix of banana and kiwi, but if you leeched all the flavor out.  It was ok, I was just expecting more.

The next day we started our sightseeing adventure with a trip to Tanah Lot temple.  This Hindu temple is located on rocks out in the ocean.  It is the most sacred sight in Bali and was epically beautiful.  The whole place was jet black volcanic rock and this temple was sitting on rocks jutting out of the ocean.  It's hard to describe the beauty of the area, luckily I have enough photos to do the hard work for me.  When we returned from visiting the temple we arrived with enough time for a quick soak in the pool before our massages arrived.  For ten dollars each we ordered our massages to our villa.  Well, all of us except for TC.  He decided to go run into Kuta to look for some things.  Our hour long massage was wonderful, and I could seriously get used to the Balinese style massage.  It is not so hard that it makes you squirm, but it is also not so soft you feel like you need another one.  After my massage at our villa my barber showed up to cut my hair.  I was rather shaggy and for 7 bucks I figured I'd let an Indonesian have a crack at my hair.  He couldn't do a worse job then the haircuts I get in Korea.  He honestly gave me the best haircut I've had since I left the states.  The only scary moment was when I realized that he was going to trim around my hairline and my ears by using a simple straight razor.  No, not the cool kind that barbers use, but the straight razors we use for opening boxes and stuff like that.  Talk about making you want to sit still. 

The next few days passed with several sight seeing/shopping trips around Bali.  We visited Ubud, which was about 1 1/2 hours away from our villa.  Ubud is known as the artists' colony of Bali, and it has honestly earned its reputation.  Everywhere you went were art galleries and shops selling artistic items.  There were also tons of shops and store which were selling tourist items, but hey, tourism is how Bali makes its money.  We came back to Ubud a second time to visit the Monkey Forest Sanctuary and to go to the nearby Elephant Safari park.  Ubud was a wonderful city, and if it were not so far away from the beaches and the waves then I would seriously consider staying there. 

On another one of the days TC, Nikki, Tom and I decided it was time to go get abused by the local waves.  Bali is known for surfing, and after fighting the waves where we went, I can see why.  We weren't even at a good surfing beach.  That however, didn't stop me from suffering the second worst wipe-out of my life while attempting to body surf.  Around noon the waves were breaking in should height water and were roughly 4-5 feet in size.  They were perfect for body boarding or body surfing, however, you couldn't get to them.  The reason you could not get to these waves was there was a secondary break at about stomach high water that took lots of effort to fight through.  It was really hard.  That afternoon as the tide went out, that secondary break became a knee high level break.  The water had retreated at least 100 yards.  While this made the primary break easily accessible, it also made it rather dangerous for those not used to being around waves.  The waves were still 4-5 feet, however now instead of being in relatively deep water, they were now coming in at waist height in sets of two.  You couldn't escape these things, and they dumped many people straight into the sand.  I was one of them, and while I was at no risk of drowning, it was still rather intense.  I saw one guy get dropped face first into the water from a height of about 7 feet.  My friend Tom also had this happen to him. 

On our last day of sight seeing we decided to go to another beach, however this one was known for snorkeling.  Sanur was a nice quiet little area that specialized in water sports that don't require or want waves.  Snorkeling, para-sailing, jet skis, wind surfing, etc.  We went there to snorkel.  Now, normally snorkeling would be lost on someone who is blind like me.  However, thanks to the wonderful refractive properties of both water and my mask, I could actually see quite well under the water.  There were fish everywhere, including a few things that I could not explain.  The puffer fish and clown fish were pretty awesome.  In all it was pretty great to go swimming around with the fishes.  It also serves as a nice reminder of just how magical the ocean can be.  With our time in the ocean coming to an end we went and visited a sea turtle sanctuary.  After lunch we decided to try and make our way to Uluwatu Temple to catch a Kecak dance.  Unfortunately the show was sold out when we got there.  We did however catch an absolutely stunning and wonderful sunset.  That and TC's glasses were stolen off of his face by a monkey which then proceeded to eat the soft plastic nose pieces.

Our last day found me laying around Nikki's mom's hotel room.  I had unfortunately fallen ill with a dreaded case of Bali Belly.  In simple terms I didn't want to be more then about 15 feet from a bathroom at any point and time.  I'll save you all the details, but that is part of the reason it took me so long to get this post up.  Our flight left Bali at 1 in the morning and we arrived in Korea at 9:30 in the morning.  After a bus ride which saw me spend most the time sleeping and praying my stomach would hold up I found myself back in my apartment.  August had arrived while I was gone, and I already missed the wonderful weather of Bali. 

Bali Hi!!!!

Welcome, my friends to a tropical wonderland of sun, surf, food, and cheap prices.  Welcome my friends to Bali, land of the hour massage for 10 dollars.  Bali is the first vacation that I have taken in Asia, and I must say that it has been absolutely awesome so far.  It starts with our awesome villa.  The villa comes fully equipped with a staff, a pool, a driver, chef, etc.  The villa is nestled amongst terraced rice paddies on some rather rough Indonesian roads.  I have been able to completely relax and just let got of life for a while.  On top of our awesome villa has been some spectacular culinary conquests.  Going beyond just traditional tropical fruit to the second best steak I've ever had, and a giant freaking lobster that only cost about 10 bucks.   The culinary side of this trip has been something entirely unplanned on.  I am eating at far better restaurants then someone on my pay check should be able to. 

The vacation has started slowly, with relaxation being the most important thing for me.  I need to de-stress and revitalize.  I have done that, while still managing to hit a couple of tourist spots.  The vacation is going to pick up in the next few days along with my sunburn, which is progressing nicely.  I just might make myself into a lobster by the time I get out of here.  The following days should see a few more massages, some excellent dining, and hopefully some more water sports.  I forgot how much I loved being in the water.  Alas, time is money as they say, and I have a lot more of Bali to go do.  I will try to write again.  Much love my peeps and I will see you when I see you.

How sweet it is.....

There are few things more anticipated amongst education professionals than two simple words we loved as children.  It turns out that summer vacation is not just something for students, but in reality is something that teachers need.  Anyone who has spent anytime in the field of education knows just how long and tiring the work truly is.  Summer vacation is a chance for the teachers to rest and recuperate just as much as it is for the students.  In fact I think that most teachers secretly look forward to vacation more than the students. 

I find myself here today on the cusp of my first Asian vacation.  I call it my first Asian vacation because for the first time since I left the United States I will be exploring another Asian country.  Ok, fine I'll be honest.  I'm going to go explore another Asian beach where I will probably get a sunburn and a hangover.  Tomorrow I will leave Korea behind for a 9 days to go explore around Bali, Indonesia.  I am actually really excited because I have little to no plans once we arrive there.  Our villa is going to have a chef, a pool, a driver if we want, and is located really close to some great beaches.  I have to be honest, I'm looking forward to doing nothing.  Most of the tourist things in Bali are relatively simple.  They revolve around mountains, temples, beaches, shopping, eating, and drinking.  There are the prerequisite elephant rides, traditional dances, tourist traps, and scammers.  However, with all that I am relatively unimpressed.  Yes, there will be snorkeling and swimming.  There is also the chance to eat and drink copious amounts.

Yet, with all that Bali entails and everything that it is promised to be, the thing that I am most looking forward to, is the simple chance to relax for several days on end.  I'm not looking for much, and I think that this place will be as good a place as any to rest and refit for the coming months.  I think the simple message behind all of this is that, everyone needs a break every now and then.  Sometimes we ignore it and plod through our lives.  For once, I'm not going to ignore it.  For once I'm going to embrace it, and we'll see where I end up at the end of it.  It'll probably be a sunburnt ending.

Some Awesome Shots of Korea

Ok, these shots I did not take.  They were taken by a professional photographer/poet here in Korea.  That being said these are some awesome pictures that I might be able to do if I had an awesome camera, and maybe some talent.  These are just some of the reasons I love it here.

So close....

The World Cup for Korea and for the United States has ended.  They ended in the first round of the knockout stage.  While the Korean loss ends the three week party that has been happening here in Seoul, I know the American loss is being greeted with the normal "meh".  The American side failed to live up to expectations again.  However, this time I feel like more people have noticed in the United States, due to the fact we almost didn't qualify.  It's funny how American's won't care about something until they think the team has been robbed.  Honestly, those two horrible ref decisions might just be the best thing to happen to American soccer.  It sparked outrage amongst people who might not have known the World Cup was being held.  It created interest in these men who were playing a good game and yet somehow, due to bad reffing, still not coming away with the victory they deserved.  I can only hope that this World Cup has helped fuel the fire that is starting to grow in America around soccer and the World Cup. 

For the this World Cup and the previous one, I have been on foreign soil.  I have been in countries with glorious Football histories, Germany, Italy, and England.  I have also been in a country that is struggling to create its identity and history.  South Korea has never won the World Cup.  Throughout its history it has only qualified for the knockout stage twice.  The first was in 2002 when they rode maniacal support from their fans as a host nation.  The second time is the current World Cup.  They advanced on foreign soil for the first time ever.  They also did it with a Korean coach at the helm.  In 2002 Gus Hiddink, he of Chelsea and Russia fame. coached the Korean side to the semifinals.  Korea is struggling to place themselves as the powerhouse of Asian football.  They currently are the best team in Asia, but it is very close between themselves and Japan.  Korea's place amongst the elite nations of Football is possibly close at hand.  I expect great things from them at the next few World Cups. 

With that over I guess I should tell you how I spent my last weekend of intense World Cup watching.  In truth, the World Cup had completely screwed up my sleeping schedule.  Do or die games were being played live at 3:00 AM, and I am just crazy enough to wake up and watch.  The final day came on a gloomy Saturday.  Rain was forecast throughout Korea, but that did not stop 50,000 people from gathering at Seoul City Hall.  Amongst those 50,000 were myself and several friends.  We came decked out in red to support the Red Devils (Korea's team nickname).  We arrived three hours early, and there was already 30,000 people sitting on the street.  The party atmosphere was entirely unique.  In the United States you could not find 50,000 people this orderly.  It was ridiculous.  The only time any chaos reigned was when the downpours began about an hour before the game.  Apparently some people forgot to check the forecast and even though the sky was gray and threatening, decided not to purchase a poncho for 1,000 Won (80 cents). 

The party started long before the game, and honestly, had the game started at 3:00 AM the party still would have started in the afternoon.  Luckily the game was held at 11:00 PM.  Uruguay, while good at football, is not a dominant team.  However, the team had just enough to beat Korea 2-1.  It was a great game, and the second goal came on an absolutely brilliant and lucky shot.  The player who made the goal even admitted it was lucky.  He shot the ball across the goal and curved it just enough to hit the upright and in.  It was something to see.  Sadly, it had not be done by a Korean player.  Oh well.  The party was over with the final whistle and the 50,000 fans, now subdued by the loss filed down to the subway to leave. 

I wish I could claim this was the end of my night, but sometimes in Korea, 1 AM is just the beginning.  This was one of those nights because the USA was playing Ghana at 3:30 in the morning.  This match I had to see.  My friends and I filed down onto the subway and began reveling in our American fandom.  Chants of USA echoed up and down the subway, and even an ad-libbed soccer song came out of us.  Of course in true American style it had nothing to do with soccer and more about proclaiming the fact that we were drunk.  Now I feel the need to state that while I was intoxicated, I was not drunk.  Needless to say it was a great subway ride to Hongdae.  We may have annoyed the Koreans a little bit, but I think the fact that all of us were still wearing our Korea gear helped. 

Upon arriving in Hongdae we found a bar that was going to show the America match and sat down to drink and pass the few hours.  Well during that time, Jake was challenged to a rap battle.  Yes, I know what you are thinking.  Rap battle, what is this 8 mile?  Well, honestly the answer is yes.  Jake is an Englishman from Liverpool, and apparently has quite the reputation in Hongdae as a freestyle rapper.  We walked over to Hongdae park, which at 2:45 in the morning was full of young people singing, playing guitar, and drinking.  There was one enterprising Korean who had set up a cocktail bar in the park.  The Korean who challenged Jake had spent a lot of time living in Virginia and spoke fluent English.  The rap battle was interesting to watch, being that this was the first one I had ever experienced.  Jake stumbled some out the gates, but quickly recovered to win the battle.

With the deleted scene from 8 Mile over we headed back to the bar and sat down to watch the USA game.  I wish I could say things ended well for us, but we fell asleep on defense one too many times.  With the USA out, and it also being 6:00 in the morning I headed back to Central City Bus Terminal.  I was going to catch an early bus back to Seosan.  I arrived back in Seosan at 8:00 in the morning and proceeded to walk to my apt and go to sleep.  The World Cup and all the wonderful things it brought to Korea was over.  It is sad, but I am glad I was here to fully experience it. 

Seoul Celebration

I feel the need to warn you now that the 2010 World Cup is going to be a running dialog for most of the next month on this blog.  In my last post I tried to explain, probably with very little success, the reason for my enjoyment of the World Cup.  Besides the fact that this is the world's biggest sporting event, the atmosphere, and the pride it creates are second to none in the sporting world.  This weekend marked the start of World Cup.  All the pageantry and hope that marks the open week were on display across the world.  It all started with South Africa feeding off of 85,000 Vuvuzela blowing fans which inspired them to an 1-1 tie with Mexico.  No host nation has ever failed to advance out of the group stage.  Critics point to South Africa potentially being the first nation never to advance.



After the first day which saw little notable matches (except for every match played), my true experience began for the first time.  When I last experienced the World Cup I was an outsider marveled by everything.  This time, I know how important this is, and I know just how much it means to the countries playing.  Saturday June 12, 2010 is a day that I will remember for a long time.  Myself, along with several of my friends found our way up to Seoul.  We were determined to experience the World Cup in a way that many of us never have been able to before.  We went ready to cheer for South Korea, our adopted home.  Across the country Koreans assembled in public spaces to cheer for their country.  Everywhere you went in the country the game was being displayed.  If there was school during the game, they would have stopped teaching so everyone could watch the game.



In Seoul, the largest street parties could be found to watch the game.  All across the city, even in the stadiums people were gathering to watch the game.  The two largest street gatherings were located at Seoul City Hall and COEX mall.  At Seoul City Hall 40,000 people gathered to watch the game in a drizzling rain.  At COEX mall there was probably 30,000 people in the rain.  My friends arrived at COEX about an hour before the game an in a steady downpour of rain.  After purchasing a few parkas we meandered out to find a screen to watch the game.  All over the street different companies had set up huge HD televisions to watch the game.  We chose one television set up and procured our spot to watch the game from.  Now, normally in the United States the people would stand and watch the screen.  However, this being Asia, we were in for a special treat, sitting.  The reason I call this a special treat is because the screens were set up on a closed road much like a street fair.  It was just expected that everyone would show up and sit down to watch the game.  Now normally I'm not to wary about sitting on the ground, but when you take an asphalt street, add rain, trash, and grime, I'm not super motivated to sit down.  Luckily we were located just at the outer edge and I was able to stand for most of the match.



Once the match started, there was hushed anticipation across the crowd.  This was their countries first match, and the expectations were exceptionally high.  Then 7 minutes in, South Korea stuck for a goal against Greece.  The sheer sound of cheering was deafening.  I have been in stadiums of 60,000+ people cheering for a game winning homerun or touchdown.  They held nothing to the sheer elation of a goal scored halfway across the world.  It was amazing.  The rest of the first half went on with moments of joy, panic, and near ecstasy.  The spectrum of emotion on display was quite fascinating.  When the whistle blew for the start of the second half, the Koreans were ready to continue cheering for their team.  Chants of DaeHan MinGuk reverberated throughout the air.  Then suddenly Park Ji Sung, the captian/national soccer hero of Korea, stole the ball and struck it home for a second goal.  The sound was deafening.  Take the winning shot in an world championship, and maybe you'll come close to the sound of an entire nation screaming their heads off.  They were ecstatic, and nothing was going to stop Korea.  As the game wound down and finally ended, the party truly began.  Songs of celebration and parties sprung up simultaneously across the country.  People were driving around cheering and chanting and everywhere people were in the mood to party.

The Biggest Sporting Event.

In the United States, we very often claim that we have the biggest sporting events in the world outside of the Olympics.  Even with the Olympics some think that the Super Bowl is still a larger event.  However, this view, while prevalent in the United States, is also entirely an ethnocentric view.  No offense America, but it's true.  I used to be one of the people who thought that the Super Bowl was watched across the world.  I used to think that the same mentality we approached Super Bowl Sunday with was replicated across the civilized world with us.  However, having spent the last two Super Bowls in a foreign land, I have come to realize the error of my ways.  The Super Bowl, even the one two years ago that Hines Ward (Korean-American and a Korean hero of sorts) played in was not that important.  It was broadcast, but it wasn't important.

Enter an event that happens every 4 years except in America.  Well, ok, it happens in America too, it's just that almost nobody notices it.  The World Cup, is truly the largest sporting event in the world.  Entire countries come to a standstill for the qualifying  rounds.  Civil wars in Africa are suspended until their countries team is eliminated.  Sorry Football, but you've got nothing on the World Cup.  I will be one of the first people to admit that for the longest time I didn't understand the World Cup.  It was soccer, who cared about soccer.  Who in America even played soccer?  David Beckham in all his manly glory couldn't even get America to care about soccer.

All of that changed in the summer of 2006.  After graduation my friend John and I found ourselves on a plane bound for Europe.  We found ourselves in Berlin on week before the 2006 World Cup kicked off.  The World Cup which Germany just happened to be hosting.  A week before the World Cup, and the excitement in the air around Germany was palpable.  Everywhere you looked you saw signs, fans, and soccer stuff.  However, even this was not enough to make me respect soccer.  It was Italy, more importantly, it was Florence that finally sold me on how huge soccer was.  I was in Italy for two weeks of their magical (see dive) run in the world cup. 

Every place in Italy was cheering their heads off.  I saw entire cities mobilized to cheer for a team that wasn't even playing in the same country that night.  The entire city of Florence shut down for a game.  After Italy won there was a city wide celebration.  This game wasn't the final, it was just another game, and still after the victory, the entire city celebrated.  Every park was full of huge projections of the game and lots of cheering fans.  It was a sight to behold.  After returning to America I realized just how important soccer is to the rest of the world.  I saw the sheer ecstasy of a win, and the utter-disillusionment of a loss.  It was one entire month of Super Bowls.  Every nation cheered for their team with passion reserved for only the die-hard fans of America.  Instead of one crazy cheesehead, it was millions.

This year, the World Cup has found its way to South Africa.  This is the first time that the World Cup has ever been held in Africa.  Yet, I find myself here in South Korea.  South Korea, which, just happens to have probably the best Asian team in the tournament.  The expectations here are huge.  In 2002 South Korea made an improbable run to the semi-finals.  I think it should also be mentioned that South Korea co-hosted the World Cup in 2002 with Japan.  In 2006 South Korea failed to make it out of the group stage (1st round).  This year, thanks in part to being placed in one of the easier groups, the expectations are that South Korea emerges from the group stage.  Not only are the expected to advance past the group stage, they are expected to win a few games once they get there also.  Anything less would be a huge disappointment.  South Korean fans are also fanatical when it comes to the World Cup.  In Seoul, there will be several parties where people will gather outside to watch the world cup.  Some of these parties will have more then 50,000 people in attendance.  No, I'm not making this up.  Still don't believe me.  Watch the video.

I for one, seek to embrace this rare chance to participate in the World Cup.  I find myself in a country that cares about it, and I have an adopted team to root for.  While I will always root for the United States to do well, I will be cheering for South Korea.  Here is to World Cup fever.