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Before it gets to be too far past the fact, I’d better do a post on Children’s Day, which was on Thursday, May 5th. There’s really no equivalent holiday in the U.S., particularly since it’s an official national holiday, an off day for government workers (and English teachers  ). That should tell you something about how most Koreans feel about their kids. That week was also the Turtle Ship Festival, which is held in conjunction with the holiday. The festival celebrates legendary Korean naval commander Admiral Yi Sun-shin, inventor of the turtle ship. I posted last year about Children’s Day and the Turtle Ship Festival.
It was a gorgeous day–warm, with brilliant sunshine and blue skies (no yellow dust blanketing the area). The festival area is located at the Jongpo Ocean Park Walkway, from where I’ve taken a number of photos, such as this one.
Last year’s festival was a bit on the small side, but this year’s was much, much larger, due to the upcoming 2012 Expo (May-Aug 2012), so one of my former advanced level English students informed me.
Naturally, there were kids with their parents everywhere you turned, playing games, having fun, enjoying the beautiful weather.
There were dozens of tents set up for food, cultural exhibits and local organizations, with a few surprises along the way.
Here’s a fellow demonstrating kitchen knives.
This guy was doing something with these hamsters (gerbils?); I’m not sure what, but they were rather indifferent to his efforts. They lay there, not moving, either tired or drugged. If the latter, the guy should be taken to the woodshed for mistreatment of animals.
Wanna buy a sword?
Small turtle ship replicas.
Korean junk food, with french fried sweet potatoes in the lower right corner.
This food vendor was pretty good at tossing and stretching his noodle dough.
You could also buy paintings depicting the defeat of the Japanese naval forces when they tried to invade Korea way back in the late 16th century.
And continuing to walk along, I ran into surprise #1–MontanaRon is shocked to see a Montana Native American!
Ok, not really. It was a Korean dressed in Native American garb, selling flutes. Pretty cool, though.
Just a few tents down from him, I stumbled onto surprise #2–schawarmas! A couple of Turkish fellows were selling lamb or chicken schawarmas (They had a couple of Turkish flags hanging in their tent, so I assume they’re from that country.)
Unfortunately, I had just eaten and wasn’t hungry at all. They were doing a booming business. It’s coincidental that a reader left a comment on the blog about schawarmas. (Alan, are you reading this?) And, while I’m at it, let me give a BIG SHOUT OUT to his website, which features tons of recipes for this fantastic mid-Eastern food. Check it out at ShawarmaRecipe.com I hope the Turkish guys are here to set up a schawarma restaurant–I’ll be one of their best customers. (Yeosu has very few options if you’re hungry for something other than Korean food.)
There were also a couple of stages set up for performances, but my timing was bad–nothing much going on in that respect, though this small group was hamming it up and playing music for the crowd. Check out the older Korean on the far right and the man kicking up his heels to the left of him.
This wasn’t too far from the new bridge, which still isn’t open.
Overall, it was a great afternoon out. I can hardly wait for the Expo next year when there will be dozens of international booths (along with their respective foods). Gotta go–gettin’ hungry for breakfast and gotta work soon. More later.
Yummm, what better than a big pot of red beans served over rice! Yeah, I’ve got some cooking right now. Here’s my recipe, sort of.
First, soak a pound, more or less, of medium red beans in water overnight.
At the moment, I’m sautéing a couple of links from a package of American-made Polish sausage (expensive) that I managed to find at E-Mart. Unfortunately, it’s not anything like that favorite of Cajun cooking, (my father’s side of the family is Cajun), Andouille sausage, but it’ll have to do. Added to that is a small, chopped ham steak and a couple of strips of chopped, Korean-made hickory-smoked bacon (supposedly) for that smoky, salty flavor. All in all, these three meats work pretty well.
When that’s about ready, I’m gonna throw in a couple of small chopped onions, a green, red and/or yellow bell pepper or two and cook until tender. Then I need to put in some garlic — I like lots — some Korean red pepper powder to taste, (cayenne is also good, but I don’t have any) and some Tabasco sauce, which is fairly prevalent here. Use your own judgment on that; I mainly add it for the special taste it provides, not especially for the heat factor. I also like to add a few chopped jalapenos (also easily found) for some extra kick — probably not really kosher Cajun, but to each his or her own.
Now, drain the beans (I’ve read that draining the soak water cuts down on the flatulence factor) and add to the mixture, cover with fresh water, add some bay leaves and thyme or what-not, and simmer the whole mess for several days . . . ummm, . . . well, for a few hours, at least. Serve over freshly-cooked rice garnished with some parsley and you’ve got a real treat.
Anyway, it’s cooking now, and you should smell it! Can you smell it? Heaven. Enjoy.
P.S. If you’re ever in Bangkok, Thailand, and you’re hankerin’ for some real Cajun food, be sure to pop in to Bourbon Street, a superb Louisiana-style restaurant serving great Cajun cuisine.
What with all the teaching hours I’ve been doing, I don’t really have time to go to my dorm apartment and eat lunch. I’m off from noon until 2 p.m., but I use most of that time to do lesson plans. Still, because I eat only a small breakfast every day, I’m pretty hungry by lunch time. Luckily, one of the school cafeterias is just a short walk from my office, so I go there for a quick bite.
Like many institution eateries, the food isn’t all that great. It is, however, cheap (3,000 Korean won) and it’s pretty healthy. These 4 weeks of kids’ classes is about the only time I eat Korean food regularly. I’m glad it’s healthy, ‘cuz I’m not getting much exercise, except for on the weekends. Here’s a typical lunch.
From the top left, it’s tofu (or a variation thereof), the ubiquitous National Dish, kimchi (which is usually spicy fermented cabbage), a pasta of some kind, also spicy (I think it’s a rice-based pasta and very chewy), soup or broth, and rice. Not deliciously inviting, but, really, not all that bad, either. And, like I mentioned, healthy. Hasn’t stopped the weight from going up, though. Gotta get some regular exercise. One more week of kids’ classes to go, then back to the treadmill or outdoors, if the weather isn’t too cold or windy.
Here are a few more “theme” photos from walking and bicycling around Yeosu.
First, more chicken–”Mexican” chicken. No, it’s not Mexican food, unfortunately. It’s merely spicy, as in “hot.” Too bad. I can actually make my own Mexican food–it’s not too difficult to find, in larger cities, taco shells and taco and fajita mix, “real” cheese, nacho chips, jalapenos, etc. A few days ago I brewed up a nice big pot of chili to acknowledge the imminent coming of winter. As a matter of fact, I’m just about to go warm up the remainder of that delicious concoction–winter’s definitely on the way when I start percolating some batches of chili, and there has been a bit of a chill in the night air lately.
It’s a big thumbs up for chicken around here.
And how does all that chicken get here? Why, by truck, boat and train, of course. Here’s a shot I took of the “blue train,” cars that transport petrochemicals, I assume, from the gigantic industrial area located over the mountain just north of the university. One of these days, I promise to hike up that mountain and take some high-up shots of the complex. I’m pretty sure they don’t process chicken there. 
If you follow baseball, you probably know that the Yankees are on their last gasp for advancing to the World Series. They’ve been totally thrashed by the Texas Rangers, and tomorrow’s game is their last chance to continue in the American League Championship Series. If they lose, they’re out. A long winter for New York fans is in the offing. More games later, hopefully.
P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom, if you read this, and best wishes for many more to come.
My friend Nai said that “we have rain a lot last night,” so, hopefully, the drought over there will be ending soon, with the monsoon season approaching. I check the Vientiane weather report every day at Weather Underground, and I can’t begin to tell you how many days the temperature has been over 95 degrees F. the last month or two, with no rain. Recently, Nai said that there have been days when there’s not been enough water to take showers (they buy all their drinking water in bulk), and the crops are hurting. The Weather Underground site also reports that March was the hottest or 2nd hottest month on record globally (depending on which agency–NOAA or NASA–reported it). To top it all off, Nai’s mother has been ill for about 3 weeks now, so the recent Songkran Festival (Thai and Lao New Year Celebration) was dampened quite a bit, due to the weather and the sickness. If you’re interested, there’s a very cute animated music video on Youtube about Songkran. Check it out here; I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
As long as I’m on a Laos kick tonight, here’s an article about the French influence that’s still present in the former colony. Among other things, the author writes about the delicious baguettes, croissants and muffins, to which I’ll attest. It’s quite odd, but somehow satisfying, to see and smell the culinary relics of the French colonial era in this Communist relic.
Thankfully, I have the next week off, our usual mid-semester break. I’ll try to get out and hunt down some interesting photo opportunites–I have a few in mind, including some night shots and photos of the western coastline of Yeosu. Unfortunately, the weather service is predicting rain through next Thursday and we’ve had a bit today. More later.
As promised, here are some photos from my recent trip to Laos. I guess we can call this the food-themed post. If you ever make it to Vientiane, one pleasurable thing to do is to eat at one of the many outdoor restaurants lining the Mekong and watch the sun slip below the Thailand horizon across the river. It’s quite laid back, though you’re right next to the main road along the Mekong, Fa Ngum Road. Along here you’ll find the Inter (City) Hotel and the Bor Penn Yang rooftop bar, from where I took the first photo below. There’s also a lot of construction going on; apparently, the authorities are building some flood protection devices, as well as creating a new park in this area. The first photo shows some of this construction. This is near quitting time, so a few of the restaurants set up some of their seating on a portion of the construction area that won’t be used again until the next morning. As you can see, you can sit at a table or sit down on floor mats, Lao style.
The menus in these eateries are quite extensive, featuring Lao, Thai and some Western food. Here’s a shot of a variety of fresh food waiting to be used in some mouth-watering delight.
Nai is preparing to wolf down a plate of Mekong clams.
My favorite dish is grilled Mekong river fish. Here are a couple of the restaurant workers (sons of the owner, I think) grilling a variety of fish, prawns, meat, chicken and other goodies. Ahhh, cripes, I wish I were there right now, out of this cold weather, chowing down on grilled fish, stir fried rice and spicy papaya salad.
And, of course, the aforementioned sunset.
I’ll get some more photos up soon, but this week marks the beginning of my 4-week schedule from hell, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post again There will definitely be more later.
Well, it was pretty quiet last night after the Laos-Malaysia soccer match. Yes, unfortunately, Laos got beat 3-1. Malaysia scored about 15 minutes into the game on a spectacular over-the-head scissors kick. It stayed that way until the second half, when Laos put on charge after charge toward the Malaysia goal. They finally broke through about halfway into the period, tieing the game at 1 apiece. It was bedlam when the goal was scored, with all the Laos fans (and yours truly) screaming and shouting with joy. Hope had been restored that the unexpected might happen–that Laos might play for the gold medal. Alas, Malaysia stormed back with 2 goals to win the game. Not all is lost, though–Laos still plays for the bronze against Singapore this coming Friday, I believe. Viet Nam squares off against Malaysia for the gold.
Below are some photos I’ve taken recently. None of them have been optimized and I won’t be able to do any postprocessing work on them until I return to Korea. But, I suppose they’ll do until then. Enjoy.
Here’s a shot from yesterday with a few of the Viet Nam fans sporting their colors. I took this from a tuk-tuk, so the sharpness isn’t probably all that great.
Here’s another shot taken last night while we watched the soccer match. We usually eat at one of the outdoor restaurants along the Mekong, and this one is our particular favorite. Here, a couple of the guys are busy cooking up some goodies. I love the big fish you can see on the grill. They’re stuffed with some kind of herb and coated with salt, which gives them their white color before they’re browned. Yummmm.
To continue with the food theme, here’s the view of the Hotel Lao’s charming courtyard, where breakfast is served. As you can see, there’s an empty chair at my table. Care to join me?
We’re heading out to Nai’s house today, so I’ll probably be out of contact for a while. But, as always, more later.
Here are some more shots from the field trip a few weekends back. After visiting Hyangiram, we ate lunch at a restaurant in the village below the temple. The main dish was a fish stew, known as may-oon-tahng, which, I was told, means . . . spicy fish stew, oddly enough.
Of course, as with every Korean meal, the main course comes with lots of side dishes–kimchi, assorted vegetables, pickled garlic and mushrooms, dried fish, rice and other goodies. No one should leave the table still feeling hungry.
Then it was off to Jinnamgwan, the largest single story wooden structure in Korea. Here the students are enjoying the trip before some of them had to give a presentation about the site. The kids were split into groups that had to make a presentation after each stop. Most of them did very well.
On the small island of Odong, we stopped to admire the fountain that erupts a few times an hour, water gushing in time to various musical selections. Not exactly the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, but still interesting. It’s lit at night, so I’ll have to try getting there some evening for some shots.
Some of the girls are taking a break here. This was our final stop and folks were starting to get a bit tired. We started at 10 in the morning and didn’t get back to the university until around 6:30 p.m.
Finally, here’s the Odong Lighthouse. As you’ll recall from an earlier post, my students and I were trying to emulate its logo. (See the photo in the previous post.) Oh, by the way, our group actually won the funny picture contest with the photo of the four of us together in the parking lot.
I’m posting these photos and some others to the Photo Gallery, so check ‘em out when you can. More later.
Yesterday, the 11th, was Pepero Day in Korea. It’s akin to Valentine’s Day, which is also celebrated here, with young people and couples exchanging candy, mainly the Lotte Corporation’s Pepero brand. The 11th is Pepero Day because, according to this article, the date 11/11 resembles four sticks of Pepero. However, the name Pepero in Korean, which you can see on the product box below, also resembles 11/11. At any rate, some of my students gave me several boxes of the treat, which makes for good munchies. (Reminder to self: jog an extra half hour next time out.)
I was out walking around a few weekends ago and took the following shot from near the Soho Yacht Marina area, along the sidewalk back toward the main part of town. Yeosu is quite pretty at nighttime, as you can see from the photo. I took a bus there and back. The bus system in town is very extensive and you can travel almost anywhere for 1,000 won (about 85 cents), unless you have to make some transfers. It doesn’t run like clockwork, though, because you might have to wait 30 minutes for a specific bus to come along and then 2 or 3 of them show up within 5 minutes of each other. There are no timed stops, so it’s kind of hit and miss as far as timeliness. More later.
Ahhhh, it’s that time of the year when we English teachers get a week off: no more classes until the 26th. I’m going to Seoul sometime next week to stock up on stuff that I can’t get in Yeosu, but other than that I’m just gonna hang out here, hopefully take a lot of photos and definitely take in the Yankee post-season games.
I hate to even mention that the Yanks are playing well: I’m afraid I’ll put a jinx on them. I just finished watching the first game against the Angels and they looked great. As I said earlier in the season, they seem like a special team, with a group chemistry not unlike that of the great Yankee teams of the late 90s. I hope they can go all the way to take their 27th World Series title.
Well, motorbike guy has done it again. The 4th or 5th time in a couple of years. Yup, my Laos friend Nai had ANOTHER accident riding his unworthy steed. He’s in the hospital in Vientiane after suffering a back and face injury while wrecking on his way to the market in his village. He told me that it had been raining and the road conditions were bad, which I can believe, having traveled on the slippery, muddy, pothole-laden road that runs through his village. It’s almost inevitable that you’re going to lose your balance in these conditions. He did. He has paid the price again. I phoned him today and he’s recuperating in the hospital in Vientiane. I told him that the next time I return to Laos, I’m going to take the ‘bike and toss it in the Mekong. Sheesh.
The weather in Yeosu is definitely starting to remind me that winter is not that far away, with the nights turning chilly, the wind kicking up and the leaves on the trees putting on their autumn show. We’ve actually had gorgeous weather during the day lately–sharp blue skies and mild temperatures. But the nights, and the trees, have been telling a different tale. It’s definitely fall.
This evening sure feels like a harbinger of my least favorite season, so I’m making a big batch of chili. I cut up some spicy, green, Korean chili peppers earlier to add to my somewhat culturally mixed concoction, but I made the mistake of rubbing my eyelid with my hand. For about 10 minutes I thought the burn was going to go straight through to my eyeball! 
Tip: Wash hands after preparing chili peppers.
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