Seoul Dae Take-away

Most days I can't be bothered to cook. My kitchen to really small and ingredients for food that I know how to cook are either unavailable or very pricey. So I often get take away to eat at my apartment. Here are a couple of note near my house in Seoul Dae.

I'm so pleased I found out the Indian restaurant near me offers take away. It's really popular so when I went to get mine one a friday night, the restaurant was completely full!

They gave me a strawberry lassi while I chose my order

Chicken Tikka Masala, butter naan and a glass of red wine. Friday night in bliss!

Yummy yummy

I really like the Fry pan chicken restaurant and they offer take-away too which I've got on a number of occations. I found another chicken places round the back of my apartment building which offers chicken with wedges (Fry Pan has chicken with crisps [potato chips]). It's 17,000 won from Kkanbu chicken and 14,500 from Fry pan. Fry pan is boneless fillets while Kkanbu had some bones. Both good value and tasty though.

Go out of exit 4, walk stright and turn at the first left turn. Walk past the PC bang and 'Seoul Motel' second right Kkanbu Chicken is on the corner.

Itaewon

When I came to Itaewon with Stuart I couldn't wait to get to a Mexican restaurant for some food. We'd been in China for 6 months, with varying quality of western food on offer. But what I hadn't had was Mexican. I love Mexican food, and you couldn't really find anything like that in Suzhou, or even Shanghai or Beijing... When I moved here to live I got a greater impression of Itaewon, and here's what I've realised...

Namsam Tower at night

I hate Itaewon. I hate it because it's not like being in Korea. It's a trip into a dirty, seedy part of Seoul.
The streets aren't as clean as everywhere else in the city. There's a whole street known locally as Hooker Hill. The shops spill their goods out onto the pavement - sequinned sparkly (tacky) dresses, football, baseball, basketball shirts of any country but Korea (we tried and failed to buy a Seoul FC shirt here once). Men pester passers by on the street to buy tailor-made suits, of large sizes of everything, or knock-off sunglasses. At night some of the rowdier military personnel from the nearby US army base cut an intimidating figure on the streets or in the bars with slight young Korean girls. Military police patrol the bars checking for signs of trouble or any guys in uniform up to no good. Prices are a lot higher than anywhere else in the city and mostly, I dislike that I have to take 3 different trains to get there.

 Having said that however...





I love Itaewon. I love it because it's not like being in Korea. Walking down the street I see faces of different colours, all races and nationalities. I'm no longer an unusual white face and therefore attract no unwelcome, uncomfortable stares. The staff who serve you, do so in English, they're polite and friendly. I am not pushed and shoved about wherever I go. In fact the streets are a lot quieter than anywhere else in Seoul (except perhaps Yeoiudo). The concept of queueing isn't alien here. It's ok to be gay in Itaewon and, sexual preference aside, a night out in Homo hill is a proper giggle. I can eat my way around the world; Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, British, American, Canadian, Greek, Italian, Turkish, aforementioned Mexican, the lady with the sexy roast potatoes (I do actually love her!), and the amazing Moroccan sandwich man... I'm sure there are many more besides.

I can sit in a pub, watch football and sip on a cider (a proper alcoholic cider, not lemonade). I can sit on a roof terrace bar munching on humous, I can wander around the biggest English language bookshop in Korea, I can sit on the swings and dig my toes into the sand at Bungalow bar and satisfy my cheese cravings at the foreign supermarket.

Fish and chips, Yum!

In short, I can scratch together a little piece of home, to satisfy the homesickness that living abroad can inflict...


Oh Itaewon, I wouldn't have you any other way!

Taipei Memorials

There are many meorials in Taipei, dedicated to the two most important figures in their modern history, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (SYS) and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS), despite neither of them being born here, SYS is buried in Nanjing, and CKS only buried in Taiwan until China and Taiwan are reunited (if that ever happens). Wandering the streets, and exploring by subway is really simple here so that's what took up most of my time visiting Taipei. The first was Sun Yat-Sen's 'house'. It's not one he actually lived in, like the one in Macau, but actually a Japanese style Inn he stayed in when he visited the Island of Formosa. There was also the SYS memorial, CKS Memorial building, 2-28 memorial museum and Presidential palace all to be visited in Taipei city, and the Official presidential residence just outside the centre.

Small but peaceful garden surrounding the house

It's a little known site, so there were not many visitors

The Sun Yat-Sen house is near to Taipei Main Station. Walk along the road from the Station towards zhongshan Temple. You should come accross it just as I did.

History of the republic of China

Sun Yat-Sen with Chiang Kai-Shek by his side

Laid out in exactly the same way as when Dr SYS visited

Sun Yat-Sen memorial and Taipei 101 in the background

The main man outside

The main man inside

The honour guards, which I thought were manequins

Before he fled to Taiwan he was a celebrated figure in Mainland China

Incase they join the circus after war has ended?

Primative warning techniques

The changing of the guard

This was so choreographed it was almost a dance

You can catch the changing of the guards at both SYS and CKS memorial halls every hour on the hour. The SYS hall is distinctly nicer to watch in hot weather as it is inside the air conditioned hall.

Gate of Intergrity in Liberty square

National Concert Hall

Gate of Integrity and Chiang Kai-Shek memorial in the background

The presidential building

Presidential building from another angle

The view from the front of the Presidential building. I got told off for taking this picture.

Unusual architechture of the Judicial Yuan

The 2-28 memorial museum

On the 28th February 1947, after a dispute between a tobacco vendor and a government officer the people of Taipei began a protest against the government, ignited by the tobacco murder case, but with wider greivences against what they saw of their government's nepotism and corruption. The KMT supressed the protests and uprising with a heavily violent hand and over three years inhabitants vanished, died or were imprisoned. This incident and its concequences were officially ignored and denied for decades (Tiananmen anyone?!), but in more recent times (1995) the then President broke the silence and publically acknowledged this period of Taiwan history. This lead to the building of memorials and establishment of commemorative ceremonies. Each martyr, or wrongly accusted victim was absolved of any crime and the President now officially recognised and pays his respects to those familys involved. The National 2-28 Memorial Museum is a small exhibition almost completely in Chinese, and I have only found out exactly what happened on the 28th Feb 1947 since leaving the museum. But it was still an interesting place to wander around and I did leave with a leaflet in English which gives some explaination of the exhibitions in English (perhaps a good idea to pick this up when you enter!). The 2-28 Museum is 10 minutes walk from the presidential building, walk along the front of the Presidential building, and carry on past the left side across the road. This street is called Chongqing Nan lu (south road).

Taiwan looks like a sweet potato

A place to experience imprisonment and a space for people to leave messages

The KMT flag and flag of the ROC

I gave a speech while I was there...ㅋㅋㅋ