South Korea - Crossing the cultural barrier ...

Here I am with another adventure to tell you… Although no one read this blog, I don’t care because I have fun writing it and remind me of my travels  ;)

Aqui estou eu com mais uma aventura para vos contar. Apesar de ninguém ler este blog, não me importo pois divirto-me a escrevê-lo e a relembrar-me das minhas viagens.

As usual, firstly I’m going to tell you why I decided to go to South Korea… Asia is a continent that fascinates me a lot, and after some efforts to save some money I thought that was time to put a foot on this continent. As I had been in a tourism fair where I found a nice Korean lady who told me some about her country, it was enough to convince me almost immediately. Then I persuaded a friend (Raquel - who also went with me to Geneva) to come with me and a few months later I was departing.

Como habitualmente, primeiro vou contar-vos porquê decidi ir até à Coreia do Sul…  A ásia é um continente que me fascina imenso, e depois de algum esforço para juntar algum dinheiro achei que estava na altura de pôr um pezinho neste continente. Como tinha estado numa feira de turismo e tinha encontrado uma senhora coreana simpática que me falou um pouco do seu país bastou para me convencer quase de imediato. Persuadi uma amiga (Raquel – que também foi comigo a Genebra) a vir comigo e uns meses depois estava eu de partida.

After two days in the capital of Britain it’s time to diving in the culture of South Korea, starting with its capital Seoul.

 Despois de 2 dias na capital britânia chegou a altura de mergulhar na cultura da Coreia do Sul, começando pela sua capital Seoul.

Despite being the 7th largest city in the world with a population over 22 million, is also one of the safest cities. In my subjective opinion this security is not due to law enforcement or policy measures, but for cultural reasons. These people are peaceful and friendly and extremely shy. Just ask some information (if they understand English) and emerge ashamed laughs, and when they hear a "gamsahabnida -감사 합니다 – thank you" appear bows and attitudes highly polished, almost happiness to help us. These people are able to leave everything they are doing to help us. Evidence of this was the first contact I had in Seoul when I asked for an address that would lead me to my guest house It was a girl who was on a bus and who spoke very good English. (I was lucky because it’s rare) and immediately took out phone from his his pocket acceded to the GPS and tried to show us the way. Not being sure if the GPS would tell the truth she asked two more people near there!
You could say that this capital is a reflection of the rest of South Korea Seoul has "soul", it manifests the contrast of the new technology united with the ancient traditions.
Apesar de ser a 7ª maior cidade do mundo e com uma população de mais de 22.000.000, é também uma das cidades mais seguras. Na minha mais subjectiva opinião esta segurança não é devido ao policiamento ou medidas políticas mas por razões culturais. Estas pessoas são pacíficas e amigáveis e de uma timidez extrema. Basta pedir alguma informação (no caso de entenderam inglês) surgem risos envergonhados ao ouvirem um “gamsahabnida – 감사합니다 - obrigado” surgem vénias e atitudes muito polidas, quase felicidade por nos ajudar. Estas pessoas são capazes de deixar tudo o que estão a fazer para nos ajudar. Foi prova disto o primeiro contacto que tive em Seoul quando perguntei por uma morada que me levaria a minha guest house. Foi a uma moça que e estava numa paragem de autocarro e que falava muito bem inglês (tive sorte porque é raro) e que imediatamente tirou o seu telemóvel do bolso, acedeu ao GPS e tentou indicar-nos o caminho. Não tendo a certeza se o GPS lhe diria a verdade perguntou a mais dois locais que ali que encontrava!

Pode-se dizer que esta capital é o reflexo do resto da Coreia do Sul. 
Seoul tem "alma"(o som da palavra seoul em inglês assemelha-se a "alma") , nela manifesta-se o contraste da nova tecnologia reunida com as tradições antigas.Por conselho de um local, decidimos apanhar um autocarro visitar uma pequena vila chamada Jeonju.

On the advice of a local, we decided to take a bus to visit a small village called Jeonju.

Por conselho de um local, decidimos apanhar um autocarro visitar uma pequena vila chamada Jeonju.

Known for its gastronomy this village is quiet and very traditional full of small tea houses with all its rules and precepts. It is a very welcoming place with an old architecture full of small houses with the traditional oriental style of our imaginary.This place is visited mainly by Koreans looking for a good place to spend a weekend,  meet with friends or family at the table to eat a good "bimbibap" (traditional dish of Jeonju).

Conhecida pela sua gastronomia, esta vila é pacata e muito tradicional cheia de pequenas casas de chá com todas as suas regras e preceitos. 
É um sitio muito acolhedor com uma arquitetura antiga cheia de pequenas casinhas com as tradicionais linhas orientais dos nosso imaginário. 
Este lugar é visitado essencialmente por coreanos que procuram um bom lugar para passar um fim-de-semana, reunir-se com amigos ou familia à mesa para comer um bom "bimbibap" (prato tradicional de jeonju)


3 hours by bus to get to the next destination: Gyeongju.This place was marked by a series of events. Since frozen noodles for lunch on a rainy morning, until looking up for the hostel with a nice lady and tree policemen.

3 horas de autocarro para chegar ao proximo destino: Gyeongju. Este local ficou marcado por uma serie de acontecimentos, desde almoçar noodles congelados numa manhã chuvosa até andar à procura do hostel com uma senhora simpática e três policias.

This small town is big when it comes to cultural heritage of UNESCO. Filled with magnificent temples and palaces! Emphasize the palace "Anajip Pond" and the temples "Bulguksa," and "Seokgulam Grotto" which was those that I liked most. For this last prepare to climb over 2 km by dirt paths, or be smarter and take a bus that leaves her almost over (only discovered it later). 

 Esta pequena cidade é grande no que toca ao patrimonio cultural da UNESCO. Repleto de templos e palácios magnificos! Saliento o palacio "Anajip Pond" e os templos "Bulguksa" e "Seokgulam Grotto" que foi os que eu mais gostei. Para este ultimo preparem-se para subir mais de 2Km por caminhos de terra batida, ou ser mais inteligente e apanhar um autocarro que nos deixa quase la em cima (so o descobri depois).








Lastly (but not the list) this journey ended in Busan.

Por último esta jornada termina em Busan.

Busan is a big city with a large fishing industry and prepared for summer tourism. Technologically advanced as all major cities of Korea, is a city with a vast cultural agenda. For the tourist perhaps the easiest city to visit. Well organized and where people speak better English. Normally everything is translated into Japanese, Chinese and English.

Do not miss in this town, the temple "Samgwangsa" the bridge "Gwangan" where they do fireworks festivals (which I lost for a few days), and the fish markets where we can choose the fish that is still alive and they kill them in front of us and serve us right there in the market. cool!

Busan é uma cidade grande com grande industria pescatória e preparada para o turismo de verão. Tecnologicamente muito avançada como todas as grandes cidades da coreia, é uma cidade com uma vasta agenda cultural. Para o turista talvez a cidade mais facil de se visitar. Bem organizada e onde as pessoas falam melhor inglês. Normalmente está tudo traduzido em japonês, chinês e inglês.

A não perder nesta cidade, o templo de "Samgwangsa", a ponte de "Gwangan" onde fazem os festivais de fogo de artificio (que eu perdi por alguns dias), e os mercados de peixe, onde podemos escolher o peixe vivo que querermos comer, eles matam-no à nossa frente e servem-nos ali mesmo no mercado.

It was one of the best travels of my life! See you in my next adventure... maybe India!

01.11.2011 - 11.11.2011

Meeting with the Adriatic...

First of all, I would like to explain how this trip happened. I decided to do this journey in order to spend my first holidays since I’m working in my current job. So, I took some days on summer time just having in my mind two thoughts. First, I wanted to visit my friend Matteo who’s living in Bologna and second I wanted to go somewhere else where I could go to the beach and enjoy the summer.  As Italy is very close to Croatia and for a long time I wanted to visit this country with more than 1500 islands, I decided to break my trip into to parts.

Italy part: which included Bologna and Verona;

Croatia part: more specifically Dalmatia region, which include Zadar, Plitvice, Split and Dubrovnik.

ITALY PART

Here I go… flying directly to…

…BOLOGNA

What I have to say about this city… I think that Bologna is a lively city, but this life is not given by tourists but by the locals and the students living their regular lives. Despite of being an attractive city with a lot of history and culture, it’s still a non-touristic city. I realized that Bologna wasn’t made thinking about tourism, I mean, they don’t want to show that everything is perfect, clean and pretty for people notice, but they just want have a nice place to live an enjoyable life. A good thing of not being a too much touristic is the cost of living, I mean the regular prices in cafés, restaurants, stores, etc. is not too high compared with others Italian cities with identical size. It was a good choice for begin a journey.

About 1h30 by train I arrived in…

…VERONA

My second destination on this trip… actually was not planned since the beginning but I was relatively close of this city than I couldn’t miss the opportunity of visiting the place where “Juliet” lived in the romance written by William Shakespeare.

The precise details of Verona's early history remain a mystery. The origin of the name Verona is also unknown. One theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to cede it to the Cenomani (550 BC). With the conquest of the Vaecame Roman (about 300 BC). Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC; Verona had the franchise in 59.

Because of the value and importance of its many historical buildings, Verona has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For a list of landmarks in Verona, see Buildings and structures in Verona. Verona preserved many ancient Roman monuments, no longer in use, in the early Middle Ages, but much of this and much of its early medieval edifices were destroyed or heavily damaged by the earthquake of 3 January 1117, which led to a massive Romanesque rebuilding. The Carolingian period Versus de Verona contains an important description of Verona in the early medieval era.

Comparing with Bologna, this city is a bit more touristic, but that doesn’t mean you have to walk pushing people between of a mass of people. Actually you can perfectly walk around in this city relaxed enjoying all the beauty that it has to show you. My favorite part is the boarders of the river… It’s really nice walk along the river on a sunny day.

 CROATIA PART

 By ferry I left Italy and arrived, during the sunrising time in…

…ZADAR

Well, my first stop in Croatia and for sure a good choice. This city on the Adriatic sea is the center of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatia region. The promontory on wich the old city stands used to be separated from the main land by a deep moat which has since become and landfill.

Sometimes, this city and region is described as a land of divine inspiration. I must agree with that. No one can deny that is a land of singular natural beauty. This claim is best borne out by its numerous national parks.

An amazing particularity of this city is the sea organ which is an architectural structure where the sea can play by itself. On sunset time, the orange sun gives your reflex to the sea while you can listen the music from the sea organ and enjoy the mix of colors becoming from a kind of lightly floor (similar to a dance floor from the 80’s). This was the main reason for Alfred Hicthcock once said that in Zadar you can enjoy the most beautiful sunset in the entire world. I haven’t been in the whole world, but until now I agree with you Alfred.

Apart of the natural beauty which this city has to show, it’s also full of history. Zadar gained its urban structure in Roman times. During the time of Julius Ceasar and Emperor  Augustus the town was fortified and the city walls with towers and gates were built. Inside the ancient town, a medieval town had developed with a series of churches and monasteries being built. During the middle ages, Zadar fully gained an urban aspect, which has been kept until today.

So, I fully consider that city as an romantic destination for couples in love. Sadly I went alone…

                             

By bus I went to…

…PLITVICE (Natural Park)

From Zadar I decided to go to the largest of Croatia’s eight national parks. Even if it was a bit far from Zadar and there weren’t so many buses to go there I don’t regret.

For natural lovers, it’s an obligation to visit this park with a surface area of 298 82Km². Plitvice Lakes National Park is  included in the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage sites and represents a phenomenon of Krast hydrography. The blue of the water is unmistakable and the location of the 16 lakes and thousands of waterfalls seems to have been designed with a ruler as setsquare. Framing this impressive picture is a dense and lush wood, home to bears, lynxes and other rare species.

The 16 lakes are known for their waterfalls and ongoing biodynamic process of tufa formation under specific ecological and hydrological conditions. This process consists in porous carbonate rock formation by the sedimentation of calcium carbonate from water. It builds barriers, sills and other forms in Karst rivers and streams. This process is constant, happening every time. Over time, the water changes its course, leaving some barriers dry but stimulating tufa growth in other places.

Around 4, 5 hours by bus I arrived in…

…SPLIT

Well, let’s talk about split. This city is the largest Dalmatian city and the second largest urban center in Croatia. It is said when, in the year 305, the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruled the entire world out that time, decided to built his leisure time abode (in which he intended to spend the rest of his life) he had no doubt as to exactly where built to it. In the very heart of Dalmatia, in the bay of Aspalathos (split).

And this is split! A city whose inhabitations  have built their homes  inside 1700years old walls of Diocletian’s palace and made it unique living monument in the world.

No one can deny that the historic center of this city is incredible and deserves to have been registered in the register of world’s cultural heritage and being under UNESCO protection from 1979.

But for being so amazing it’s also very touristic, so in every corners you can find pubs, cafes, restaurants and small markets. Personally I like to run away from the touristic mass, so I spent the most part of my time walking around where the locals are living. The streets are so small and cozy and everything is so quite. I had one of the most relaxed experiences in my life while I was walking around.

After 5 and half hours by bus, crossing a piece of Bosnia I arrived in my last destination on this journey…

…DUBROVNIK

Some people say that is the Monaco of the Croatian Riviera. This comparation has nothing to appearance of the city but rather its status as the proudest and most expensive city in the country. When most of Croatia was changing hands between invaders, Dubrovnik was an independent republic known as Ragusa that resisted many invasions and knew how to use diplomacy to ensure its own freedom.

Proud of its history, its monuments, its beaches and its hedonistic life style, ever since English invented tourism in the 18^th century, the city has been a meeting point for elites.

Todays the tourism increased a lot, maybe more than split, but even if you don’t like it, you can always run away from the entire tourist and get lost in small streets almost deserts. That’s what I did. When I was tired of walking, I spent my time in some pavement café, when I was bored I went to the beach swim a little, snorkeling, kayaking and so on. With thousands of things to do, I realized that I spent lots of money (more than I have predicted) But well… holidays are holidays.

oh well...

2.07.2011-13.07.2011