Malaysia

The first stop on my wonderful world-wind adventure in February was Malaysia. I knew relatively little about the country before I visited so my expectations were low. I do like it when that happens because, more often than not, you end up having an amazing time and wonder how you didn't know more about such an incredible country before hand. Malaysia really is a great, diverse, culturally rich and ethnically enchanting country. An important thing to note is how welcome I felt there which after living away for so long is something that is particularly important to me when I travel. It's something that can determine your whole experience of that country! (Not to name names but... ahem... *CHINA!*) Malaysia is a country that I feel very lucky to have experienced and a country that I would jump at the chance of visiting again in the future.

Kuala Lumpur
My time in Malaysia began in KL with Melisa and Kasia. It was nice to start the trip with company. In fact, the trip as a whole worked out perfectly- with friends at the beginning and the end and a decent amount of alone time in the middle. It really was the perfect travel combination! I was only in KL for a couple of days but I saw some pretty awesome sights including the Petronas Towers and the Batu Caves but favourite part of KL was all the delicious Indian food. Nom, nom, nom. SO.GOOD.

One of the best meals I have ever eaten!

The Petronas Towers

The Batu Caves

More delicious Indian food! 

Langkawi 
I parted ways with my company and headed to Langkawi, "the Jewel of Kedah," next which is made up of 104 islands and situated off the coast of northwestern Malaysia and adjacent to the the Thai border. I took an overnight bus (which was an experience in itself!) from KL to Kuala Perlis- a port serving the largest of the Langkawi islands, Pulau Langkawi, and the common base for visits to this wonderful part of Malaysia. Highlights of my time in Langkawi include the Langkawi Cable Car, (the most vertical cable cars in the world! Not the faint hearted! It was bloody scary being alone in that thing and swaying from side to side in the wind overlooking the sea over 2km in the air!) making random friends on the street, randomly bumping into a couple of friends from Seoul, more great food, lots of relaxing beach time on a pretty, peaceful beach, a great island hopping tour and lots and lots of monkeys! Had a splendid old time in Langkawi. Would recommend it to anyone! :)

After my little, yet somewhat terrifying, cable car ride

The Lake of the Pregnant Maiden

Bumping into friends from Seoul :)

Cheeky monkeys 

Island hopping to beaches like this. Life could be worse. 

Langkawi sunset :)

Penang
The final stop on my Malaysian adventure was the fascinating little island of Penang: an island south of the Langkawi islands and easy to reach from there by ferry. Penang is extremely diverse in terms of ethnicity, religion and culture, yet it all seems to fit together perfectly creating a unique, harmonious feel.. This tied in with its strong colonial past makes Penang, and its capital, Georgetown, in particular, one of the most interesting places I have ever visited. To further prove my point, I managed to make it away from that island without one single visit to a beach! Me! Unfathomable, I know! There was just too much exploring to be done to justify any beach time.

One of my favourite times in Penang was walking around Georgetown on my first evening as the sun was going down and taking in all the diverseness; the close proximities, in particular, of the Islamic Mosque, the Christian Cathedral and Church, the Hindu Temple and the Buddhist Temple; it really was quite dissimilar to anything I've ever experienced before. Other favourite times in Penang include my journey up Penang Hill on the funicular railway, my henna tattoo, hanging ribbons on the wishing tree at Penang's largest Buddhist Temple- Kek Loc Si and learning more about Penang's colonial history at Fort Cornwallis. Oh, and not to forget all the AMAZING street-food! Yum! :) I really did have a great time losing myself in this unique, heart-warming, little place.       

Great hostel but the world's tiniest dorm room! 

St George's Church, Georgetown
The oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia

At Penang Hill

Having my henna done :)

May as well have pitched a tent outside this man's street food stall 

DMZ

While my mum was visiting me in Seoul we went on a day trip with Adventure Korea to the DMZ. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone

I'd been wanting to the DMZ for a while but a lot of my friends had gone early on and didn't really want to go alone. It worked out well to go while my mum was here as it's one of the top things to do in Korea so I'm glad she got to experience it too. 

The most heavily militarized border in the world, of the only divided country in the world, was as surreal an experience as you would imagine. We had a good day, it was an extremely interesting, thought provoking day but the place is heavily masked with an intense, on edge feel and such sad undertones as you begin to learn more about the broken relationship between the two countries and experience first hand the sad division. :( 

On the tour we visited Imjingak first. The Imjingak 'resort' is situated 7KM from the Military Demarcation Line and was built in 1972 to console those from either country who are unable to return to their homes or be with their families or friends and in the hope that unification would some day be possible between the two countries. Here we saw Unification Park, various monuments, the train line that was destroyed during the conflict in 1950 and Freedom Bridge which South Korean soldiers crossed when coming back from the North. We were also able to buy North Korean money here.  

Freedom Bridge

Unification Bridge

Our next stop on the tour was the Third Infiltration Tunnel but Imjingak is the furthest north you can go without special permission so we had to go through security checks at Unification Bridge where South Korean soldier got on the bus and checked everyone's passports. After that we were allowed to proceed.

Security checking zone

Lunch time

The North's Soju equivalent 

First we watched a video and went into a small museum here before going into the tunnel. Four tunnels in total have been discovered by the South (although it's believed there maybe many more) which were built by the North as a means of invasion and attack. They denied this and claimed they were built for coal mining. But this was proven false because there is no coal present in the tunnels.

The Third Tunnel was discovered in 1978 and tour groups are able to go down underneath the DMZ and close to the MDL. To get to the Third Tunnel you have to go down a ridiculously steep slope (it killed me coming back up!!) and when you're down there there isn't much to see except, well, a tunnel. A very low, narrow tunnel that has you bent over all the way through so you don't bang you head, which I still managed to do a few times. Thankfully you're provided with a helmet on the way down or it would be very dangerous!

I was actually dying at this moment after walking up that slope! 

After this was the bit we'd all be waiting for- the actual viewing of North Korea at the Dora Observatory. Seeing a country that you hear so much about yet know very little about and know that you will never visit with your own eyes is a strange experience. This area was very heavily patrolled and you can't stand past the 'white line' a couple of meters from the edge when taking pictures. But looking through the binoculars allows you to see the closest part of the North very clearly. I saw the brightly coloured buildings of the propaganda village and the North's famous, tall, retaliation flag.

Soldiers EVERYWHERE!

And there it is! North Korea! The closest I'm ever gonna get! 

The last part of the day was Dorasan Train Station; the last stop in South Korea before it crosses into the North. In 2007 trains began travelling through the station into North Korea taking materials and bringing back finished products from the industrial town in the North. However this was stopped less than a year later by the North Korean government. Now the station is just open for tourists. We could get a North Korean stamp and buy a train ticket.

Add caption

If the two countries were united, I'd be able to travel all the way home on land.  Not that I would like, but you know. 

For me, one of the most touching parts of the day was the little old lady I met at the beginning of the day at Imjingak who was clutching a little clip-board and begging every passer by in complete desperation to sign what appeared to be a petition. A petition for unification? I'm guessing so. Not sure what her story was; we obviously couldn't communicate but whatever it is, she was desperate for the two countries to be united as one. And I'm sure it's what most Korean people would want deep down despite the money they would lose or the troubles it would bring. That lady will stay with me for a long time. And I truly hope that one day, this country that I love, will be whole once again.

Boracay with Mum

Not everybody has the chance to experience paradise so I'm thrilled that I've been lucky enough to experience it twice. I'm talking about the magnificent island of Boracay. As part of my mum's trip over to see me we decided it would be nice to go on a little holiday together somewhere nice and hot for a break away from the dreadfully cold Korean winter. And where better than the beautiful little Filipino island of Boracay?!

I went there for the first time after my first six months in Korea, in February 2011 and I had a wonderful time. Afterwards, my mum saw the photos and suggested that we go there together on our trip. And of course, I didn't need any convincing! And I doubt anyone else would either!

It really is one of my favourite places, if not my MOST favourite place, in the world. The island is really small and can only be reached by boat. And I think that has a lot to do with the feel of the place. It makes it feel so remote. So far flung. So tropical. And the main beach, White Beach, (well it says it in the name doesn't it?!) is just out of this world. I've never been on a more beautiful beach in my life. And it's not just that's it's beautiful, it's absolutely perfect too. The pure white sand stays really cool despite the hot temperatures meaning you can walk on it freely without footwear and without looking like a completely lemon doing that runny jump type movement (you know what I mean, right? We've all been there!) down to the sea. Also the clear blue sea is just incredible with barely any waves. And my favourite thing is, something I'm particularly fussy about when it comes to beaches, the fact you can walk straight into the water without having to destroy your feet walking over loads of rocks and shells and other debris. It's just so simple and easy and perfect. One of those places you just wish you could stay forever.

Everything else about Boracay is perfect in my opinion too. The middle part of the island is so narrow that you could walk from one coast to the the other in a  very short time. Maybe 15/20 minutes. Possibly less. The main road goes through the middle and this is where the vehicles stay meaning no cars or traffic anywhere near the beach, making it all the more beautiful. All the bars and restaurants are situated along the beach so it's so relaxing to stroll along at night, the sand beneath you feet, the breeze (that's another great thing! It's hot, as I like it, during the day then much cooler with a nice breeze at night! PERFECT!) in your hair while deciding on a place to eat. And there are loads of great places! A good variety too! And while Boracay is one of the priciest places in the Philippines, it's still very reasonable. On average we paid about P400-P500 per meal each night which is around £6/£7. And this was for good food in nice restaurants right on the beach. Expensive by Filipino standards but extremely cheap by Western standards.

Boracay is also great in that it really does cater for everyone. It's got quite the reputation as a party island which it definitely lives up to with all of its bars and clubs and young backpacking traveller types but it's also a great place for older people or families too (there were certainly more families there on my second visit. Don't think I saw a single child the first time! Bliss!) The two times I've been have been in very different contexts; the first a budget, backpacking type trip with friends and the second a more luxury holiday with my mum. And I've had a fantastic time both times proving it's a great island whatever your situation! It is somewhat touristy but the beach is quiet and relaxed during the day and but then comes alive in the evenings. Once again, a perfect combination.

Bit of a hassle to get to (ain't that right, Mother? Hehehe!) But TOTALLY worth it in the end...

Lunar New Year celebrations on the beach :)

I took advantage of the two-for-one cocktails...

...Mother being Mother had a coffee. HEHE.

Boracay sunset 

Pure white sand. Clear blue waters.
PARADISE.

My "happy" place. 

Mum visits Korea ♥

There aren't words to describe how wonderful it was for me to a) see my mum for the first time in a year and b) have her here with me in Seoul. It was incredible ♥ From start to finish. 

All in all, she was with me for four weeks. The first two in Seoul, the third in Boracay in the Philippines and the last week, back here in Seoul. Before she arrived I'd planned out a very tight itinerary so were really busy every day! This city is so huge and there is so much to see! I wanted to show her as much as I could so that's what I set out to do and that's what we did! By the time we left for Boracay we were both exhausted so that week in paradise came in very handy!!

I hope I gave her a good Korean experience incorporating the old traditions of Korean culture with modern day Korea. We visited a palace, parks, the main shopping districts and she also came to my school a couple of times. I took her to all my favourite places; down by the river, the old traditional part of Seoul and along the stream and of course, my favourite place of all; Hongdae! We even went to a beach on west coast and we took a day trip to the DMZ to see where north meets south. She experienced the noraebang (singing room) phenomenon and we even got to go to the cinema together which I've missed a lot. We ate all different types of cuisine, with lots of my Korean favourites and not so favourites- rice cake!!! Haha! And she tried kimchi and soju on her first night in Seoul. She never quite mastered the use of chopsicks but she definitely gave it a good go! As well as all of this she met so many of the people who are important to me here; my foreign friends, my Korean friends and colleagues and my students. All of these things meant she could really understand and appreciate my life here more thoroughly. She could really see how happy I am here and why I love this country, and what it's done for me, so much.     

Thinking back now, it kinda feels like a dream but while she was here it was very real. It was so lovely to walk through the door and have someone there to greet me, to have a cup of tea waiting for me when I got in from school, to have someone to say goodnight to as I rested my head on my pillow each night, to hear and say, "I love you," to show her around the amazing city that for now is my home and to see in her face how proud she is of me and possibly the most important of all, the thing I miss the most here, being able to have a hug, without asking, anytime time I wanted one :) 

It was wonderful and I cannot put into words how happy it made me. I will treasure those four very special weeks forever ♥