Revisiting Jeonju

Karena is in NYC this weekend to visit her sister and support Heidi through her first half marathon.  So, I thought I would hop on and write guest post for you readers out there.  Lucky for me there has been some interesting stuff in the blogs I follow.  Chris in South Korea has posted two concise and interesting posts about a weekend visit to Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do. 

Destination, Jeonju (Part 1)

Destination, Jeonju (Part 2)

I visited the city for a day during my brief TDY and enjoyed it very much.

source

That reminds me of something I was surprised to see as our bus pulled into the city last March.  I had forgotten Jeonju was one of the host cities for the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.

Check out the Jeonju Castle, home of the “dos a cero” US defeat of Mexico

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soju monster galbi

first off, i apologize for no pictures.  karena always harps on me for pictures in my posts, but the sad fact is that i have no pictures for the subject below.  if you want to see pictures of korean barbeque it is quite easy to run a google search.

i never imagined how difficult my korean food withdrawal would be now that i’m back in the states.  sure, i can find it in northern virginia, but somehow it doesn’t taste the same.  maybe some places hold back on the copious panchan.  maybe it is because a three-dollar dish in korea becomes an eight-dollar dish here.  maybe it is because the cabbage is not grown in the dirt patch between the restaurant and the road.  i dont know; there are probably lots of reasons.  luckily, i can fall back on the teachings of my subcontractors to get me through the serious cravings. 

you see, towards the end of my tdy at one base, the weather started getting nicer.  so my subs and i decided to start grilling for lunch.  we figured that since we humped through 83 inches of snow, negative temperatures, and double-digit wind speeds, we deserved some of the good life.  what did we do?  we grilled!!  i would usually buy some meat the day before and let my guys marinate it over night.  then we would find a nice grill overlooking the base and sit down for a nice lunch. 

i wish i could describe the mountains of beef and meat products that usually found their way to the table.  i remember one day i bought eight packs of hot dogs, seven steaks, about four pounds of short ribs, a box of potato chips, and two packs of soda.  that was just from me.  my guys brought fish, corn, kimchi, bean sprouts, and soup.  looking back on that afternoon, i’m not sure we were too productive.  haha.  whatever though, that was a delicious day.

i miss those barbeque afternoons, which is one reason i’m glad i had my soju monster scribble down his marinade.  my soju monster was a special sub.  the other guys didn’t hate working with him, but they didn’t particularly enjoy working with him.  he was an old, crusty, former korean marine.  crabby.  temperamental.  bossy.  short-tempered.  prone to yelling.  yes, soju monster was all of those, but we developed a great bond and were able to work together.  i quickly learned that i needed to entice him with coffee, cigarettes, and long nights of soju drinking.  when he realized i wanted to involve myself in the culture and experience korea, he opened things up for me. 

that is a round-about way of me getting to the point of this story.  my buddy, tater, and his wife have thrown a couple of grilling events since my return.  i want to share my experiences from korea with most people, so i always insist on brining my galbi.  it is always a hit, and today was no different.  someone said my galbi were the best ribs they’ve ever eaten.  right now i’m a little on cloud nine and wanted to share the soju monster’s recipe.

soju monster galbi

five pounds korean-style short ribs (also called l.a. cut)
1 3/4 cups of soy sauce (i use low-sodium)
1/2 can of dark soda (coke/pepsi/etc – use this to tenderize if ribs are a bit tough)
1/4 cup sesame oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
five to six cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
three to four scallions, washed and chopped  
one tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (use more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
two or three korean peppers, deseeded and chopped
two tbsp toasted sesame seeds

mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  taste and add extra seasoning as needed.  place one layer of ribs in 9x13 baking dish.  ladle an even amount of sauce over ribs.  place another layer of ribs in baking dish.  ladle sauce on top.  repeat until no ribs and no sauce remains.  place in refrigerator for one day.  on the second day, remove ribs from refrigerator and reverse order (i.e., place bottom ribs on top and top ribs on the bottom).  refrigerate one more night.  grill and serve.  you can cut between the joints for a more finger-friendly option as some people may not like ribs hanging out of their mouth.  serve with many cold bottles of jinro.

annyeonghi gyeseyo

I am coming back to the States on Tuesday.  This has been the longest three months (haha) of my life, but I have absolutely no regrets.  The Republic of Korea is a stunning, friendly, delicious, confusing, and sometimes frustrating country.  It is a weird feeling to leave the place I have called home for the past eight months.  It is hard to contain my excitement to get back stateside…but, at the same time I definitely have some sadness about leaving the ROK.  I guess you could say I have “gone bamboo” a little.  Maybe bamboo is the wrong term, “gone kimchi” or “gone garlic” is probably more applicable.  I have made some great friends at both bases and without them my time here would have been a fraction as enjoyable.  So with that I would like to say farewell to the ROK.  You will be missed, but don’t worry, I will see you next year :)

Some things I will miss:

• soju monster
• one dollar soju
• two litre bottles of beer
• korean food (lets be honest, korean food in the States is good but it can’t touch the real thing)
• konglish
• kunsan and songtan
• my subs and korean family
• panchan and self service
• amazing and efficient public transportation

Some things you may see me doing in the States:

• bowing
• eating communally (more than normal)
• making “x” signs with my fingers or hands
• saying “aahhhh” or grunting in acknowledgement
• using two hands to accept/hand things over
• asking for “changeee”
• speaking in korean accidently
• use of non-proper english (most already know my limited grasp on the american language)

Things I will not miss:

• kimchi blossoms
• wondering what i just ordered
• 83 inches of snow
• working in negative temperatures
• juicies

These lists are not complete at all.  I’m sure I could add tons more to all three.  The above items are just what came to mind as I typed this post up.  I hope you guys have enjoyed my reports on Korea.  I still have a couple of ideas up my sleeve and have to fill everyone in on the side trips I took once I moved up north (including a visit to the DMZ).

jeonju markets and banquets

Aha!  I am back posting to the blog and STILL living in Korea.  Since Karena had big news about her new job and move out west, I decided to hold off on posting so not to steal her thunder.  But, now that she’s in San Fran and settled, I can continue describing my adventures in the ROK.

When I left off, my buddy and I were wandering around Jeonju.  We took a quick diversion down Nambu Market, which rambles along a side-street adjacent to the river.  At one point, before we turned into the market, we passed what had to be 75-100 old-timers who were all out playing some sort of Korean board game.  Nothing like Candy Land or Chutes & Ladders here.  Buddy and I stood around and watched and they watched us back…obviously not used to being surveyed by a couple of foreigners.  We left the old folks and turned down into Nambu, which wasn’t very busy.  It was afternoon and the shopping rush was over.  We walked down the aisles of fruits, veggies, plastic containers, shoes, clothes, fish, sticks, twigs, and herbs.  All of the stalls seemed to sell variations of the same thing unless they specialized in a particular item…say plastic bins…in which case the store would be overflowing with enough stock to equip a country the size of Brasil.  Getting hungry, Buddy and I turned into some of the covered stalls.  Here we started to see restaurants with one or two stools outside.  The food smelled pretty good, but the vibe we were getting from the gruff, seedy, and unusually well-dressed gentlemen was not too good.  Nothing better than being looked at like a handful of walking Won!! We decided to head out of the market to see what else we could stumble across.  After about 20 minutes of walking down Korean streets without sidewalks (surprised we made it out alive) we passed what we knew was a restaurant.  This place wasn’t in any guidebook and it wasn’t on any map distributed by the Jeonju City Government.  You may ask yourself “Jamie, you don’t read Hangul, how did you know it was a restaurant?”  Lucky for us there was a small, round sign posted outside that read “Number 1 Jeonju Restaurant.”  At this point we were just happy to find a place we could sit down and eat in…didn’t matter what cuisine it was, we couldn’t understand anyways. 

Buddy and I have adopted an interesting strategy for ordering food in Korean restaurants.  I know general Korean symbols for noodles, rice, kimchi, various soups, and other common items. A lot of times, however, there are additional characters which describe the name of the dish or the way a dish is prepared.  I can only look at a menu or board and say “Okay, those seven have rice in them, those three are cold noodle dishes, and those 12 are stews or soups.”  Buddy and I like to sit down like royalty of the old-days and motion for the wait staff to bring us food. 

 They say something in Korean and we nod back…”Yes, that is exactly what we want!”  Sometimes this works out and sometimes it doesn’t.  For instance, at one restaurant we ordered two set-meals designed to feed two people each.  So for the two of us we ordered enough food for four.  Using this technique, wait staff may also try to give you the most spendy menu options.  This has happened to us on a few occasions.  By all common sense, if an item is the most expensive thing on the menu, it must be the best thing the restaurant offers!  The wait staff assumes that we must have it immediately.  This also adds to the regal dining experience but can cause some shock to the wallet when the bill comes ($145 for two people, wha???).  If we know the name of something the restaurant serves we will say it, but this is not a common occurrence.  It only happens at places we frequent…like my favorite gamjatang restaurant in Gunsan.  I may devote an entire blog post to my love of gamjatang soon.  This is a dish I never tried or heard of back home.  Now I can’t get enough of it.  Anyways, another subject for another time.  We used our “bring us food” line and were presented with Hanjeongsik, a mind blowing 30-dish banquet for two.  It was a good thing we arrived hungry.  I’m not going to pretend like I knew what I was eating.  Yea, there were some identifiable participants: bulgogi, kimchi, steamed rice, acorn jelly, pickled radishes, and mackerel to name a few.  This is when I really wished I had a Korean with me to describe what the heck I was eating.  Here is someone’s nice “before” picture so yall can get an idea of some of the dishes:

And here is my “after” picture:

I really had problems standing up, walking, and functioning after that meal.  Can you tell?  In all honesty, we crushed most of the food in front of us along with two containers of barley tea and a bottle of Hite (ah, sweet sweet Hite).  We thought everything was brought out at once, but the nice waitresses kept piling things on our table.  Buddy and I had to eat as if our lives depended on it in order to make table space for all of the food.  It was all very delicious but we were worried that it was going to set us back 20000 to 30000KRW per person.  When we left our bill was only 9000KRW per person.  HAHA.  GLORIOUS.

After the banquet we stumbled back into the street and made our way back toward Pungnam-mun, the Hanok Village, and Gyeonggi-jeon.  Pungnam-mun is National Treasure 308-ho and is the only remaining city gate (I believe) in Jeonju:

“Pungnam-mun, the symbol of Jeonju, is the south gate of the four gates of Jeonju-Buseong. It was built by King Gongyang 1 (1389) in the Goryeo stage by Jeolla provincial governor, Choe Yugyeong. It has been well maintained as a gatehouse which is representative of a gatehouse from the end of the Joseon Dynasty. Jeonju Pungnam-mun is a symbol which represents jeonju for Jeonju citizens. Significantly, the name of the main ceremony of jeonju is the Pungnam ceremony.”*

Wandering around Gyeonggi-jeon was pretty interesting.  It is Historic Site 339-ho.  Different from a National Treasure, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

“Gyeonggi-jeon, the symbol of the Jeonju Hanok Villiage, was built during the 10th year of King Taejong’s reign (1410) to show honor to King Taejo’s portrait after the founding of Joseon. It had been destroyed during the 30th year of King Seonjo’s reign (1597) and was renovated in 1614.
There are two secrets in Gyeonggi-jeon. One is Hamabi, right by the entrance on the road, and the other one is the story of Jinjeon’s turtle. “Jichagaehama Japinmudukip” which is written on Hamabi. That means “You must get off from your horse no matter what your class is when you get here and no stranger is allowed in” because of King Taejo’s portrait. In Jinjeon there is a turtle attached to Jinjeon. It is told that the carpenter who built Gyeonggi-jeon put a couple of turtles on the roof to wish that Gyeonggi-jeon will last for eternity. It is a popular place for filming Korean movies and dramas because of its beautiful landscape, especially in autumn.”*

The main hall was undergoing some work, so the kind folks of Jeonju had this nice picture up to show us what the hall looked like.  Remarkable considering the last renovation was in 1614!

The place was actually a very large complex.  There were storage buildings for provincial and royal texts, a garden and small park, and rooms / houses for storage of all the servants, horses, food, weapons and tools.  This may also be the secret turtle from the above quote:

I decided to take a picture for good measure!

After we finished at the shrine, Buddy and I decided to take one last walk up and down the village for trinket patrol.  I needed to buy some stuff for peeps back home…I couldn’t just leave with booze for myself!  Walking up and down the streets we soon found ourselves caught in a type of traditional dance and procession.  People were all dressed in white and colors with facny streamer hats.  They were banging on drums, tooting on horns, and waving the streamers attached to their hats.  The folks in charge of streamers had to tilt their heads from side to side to whip the streamers around in a circular pattern.

After the parade we walked further up the street and you know what…there was a film crew and some people making some sort of TV show or commercial.  People were ALL AROUND the set trying to catch a glimpse of the actresses.  I don’t know if someone famous was filming or what, but people were all taking their pictures to show friends and family they were near the set.  Buddy and I stood around long enough to watch one take.  The two women walked down the street for about 25 feet.  That was enough for us.

As we got back on the main street, we noticed a long line of people stopped at a corner stall getting this thick, grainy, somewhat purple-pinkish drink.  I walked by without giving it a second though, but Buddy decided that he wanted to try it.  I think he had read about it somewhere and he asked the vendor “Moju?”  Apparently, moju is some sort of slightly akaholic elixir.  It is given to people of all ages and we even saw babies and children drinking it.  Buddy asked for two servings but the vendor didn’t agree with that.  I think he thought we wouldn’t like it and he didn’t want to waste his livelihood on two foreigners who were gonna toss his moju away if they didn’t like it.  We split one serving.  It was okay.  I wasn’t hooked after half a serving, but at least I tried it.  The liquid did have an warm ginger-earthy taste.  It helped to fill the small pocket of emptiness left over from lunch, haha.

So with that we walked to the main street in hopes of finding a taxi to the bus station and a ride back to Gunsan.  Next up for you guys: Seonunsan Provincial Park.  Enjoy!

*All descriptions of local Jeonju monuments is taken from the Jeonju City Tour pamphlet, published by the Jeonju City Government*

korean tourist bug

Well folks, I am back with some updates from Korea.  Work has settled to the point where I do not find myself working seven days a week.  It is definitely a great change and now I’ll be able to explore some since I have rarely left Gunsan since November.  The weather has some part to play here.  It is cold, rainy, snowy, and windy here during December and January.  People in the DC area have complained to me about snow, BUT, we have received over 70 inches this winter…AND there is no sand, salt, or snowplows to be found in Korea-land.  At least I know when I come back to DC I will be a winter driving expert.  So, the past few weeks the weather has gotten quite better…days in the mid 50s to mid 40s.  It makes exploring much easier now that I don’t have to come home and defrost after spending eight hours in sub-zero temperatures and howling wind.

I have enlisted the help of another contractor on-base who is here on a year-long contract.  Together, we have explored Jeonju and Seonunsan Provincial Park in the last two weekends.  Next weekend we will probably go off somewhere else.  Right now I’m focusing my efforts on scenic tourism and visiting all of the parks I can.  K-land has some beautiful scenery that is a mix of forested mountains with fun rock formations, varying coast lines, and endless farm vistas. 

 The hiking in Seonunsan was very nice and added a different element of danger to my life.  Instead of worrying about airliners and military jets smooshing me, I had to worry about scurrying up and down slick rock-faces that were slick with water trickling downhill.  I’ll touch more on that later.

So first up last week was Jeonju.  I can’t believe that I hadn’t made it here sooner.  The city is only about an hour bus ride east of Gunsan.  I think the fare is somewhere between $2-$4.  Buddy and I decided to head out on a Sunday morning.  It was beautiful and sunny with not a hint of rain or fog or smoke or snow or any other pesky atmospheric nuisance.  We arrived at the Jeonju bus terminal and stepped out to grab a taxi.  Our destination: Jeonju Hanok Village.  The cab dropped us off in front of the main square; one one side you have a Jeondong Catholic Church and on the other side you have Gyeonggijeon.  When describing cultural assets, I’m going to try and quote the local pamphlets instead of trying to paraphrase stuff I have read.  I find the Konglish (Korean English) descriptions are sometimes funnier than straight English:

“the site consists of Gyeonggi Hall built up in 1410(10th year of king Taejong) to enshrine the royal portrait of Taejo Seonggae Lee, the king that found Joseon dynasty: Jogyeong Shrine built up in 1771(47th year of the king Youngjo) to enshrine the memorial tablet of Han Lee, the originator of the family name, Lee based in Jeonju and that of the originator’s wife: Jeonju historic minutes archive storage that stores Joseon dynasty kings’ minutes: and amnion monument of the king Yejong which was moved from Gui amnion section. With its surpassing scenic beauty nearby, the place is utilized as shooting siteof dramas.” *all text is taken from the Jeonju Tourist Map*

I mean, reading that back to myself, I could hardly do any better.  Actually now that I think about it, someone was shooting a film or TV show while we were visiting…there was a HUGE crowd surrounding the film location.  It worked out for us though.  As most of the Koreans were oogling the actors, the rest of the stores/museums were relatively empty.  That is unheard of in Asia!  So we wandered around the traditional Korean homes and small alleyways.  We stopped to buy a bag of hot pastries filled with sweet bean paste.  The pastries were hot off the grill, and the dough was a bit sticky and chewy.  They were a pretty good snack since we were holding out for some delicious Jeonju cuisine.  Jeonju crafts and artwork are centered around the production of hanji, or paper made from the bark of the Mulberry Tree. 

You can find all sorts of stuff made from this paper…wallets, clothes, ties, cards, notebooks, dolls, etc.  You can also find traditional Korean hand fans made from hanji.  Jeonju is especially recognized for these paper fans and dolls. 

Wandering around the small alleyways and winding courtyards reminds me of when Karena and I were lost in the crowded hutongs of Beijing.  The Hanok village is very similar and the Chinese should probably take note as they are continually tearing down traditional old-style neighborhoods for large apartment blocks and skyscrapers.

Looking at the map, I saw something that jumped out and said “I am an essential Jamie experience!”  It was the Traditional Wine Museum.  We walked in the door and everything was closed.  I saw the tools to make traditional Korean homebrew…but I didn’t see anyone making anything.  I guess they don’t brew on the Lord’s day.  The description in the guide lured me in by saying that I could partake in the akahol-making experience.  I wanted to make my own hooch and drink it too.  I saw some water, some stills, and some tubs, but that is about it.  So we decided to peruse the gift shop.  Haha.  Bad idea.  I ended up walking out with three different bottles of Korean liquor.  The first is a type of rice wine, Jingyangju:

“Jingyangju is a kind of famous
Korean liquor which was made of 100%
of pure rice soft taste and fragrance.
You can enjoy the real taste of
Jingyangju of its special
flavour when you taste it at freezing temperature.”

The second is a type of wild field-berry wine, Bok bun ja ju:

“Korean wild field berry wine(Bok bun ja ju)is extracted from the native wild berries, growing spontaneously on the foot of MT.Nae jang-a mountain well known for its autumn maples and beautiful valleys. Korean wild field berry wine original taste and aroma, due to the mysterious method of brewing, handed down from generation to generation. This deep red wine is made within high standard, and of excellent quality.”

Here is a bonus, the story of Bok bun ja:

“Once upon a time, an old man ate the wild berries he had pickad from the mountains. Then he happily urinated, but his chamber pot cracked open immediately. From this time, these wild berries were named “Bok bun ja”.

The third is my pine pollen wine, Song Wha-Baekiljoo:

 “Transmission-A manufacturing technique-
The wine made from the pine pollen is brewed from glutinous rice, white rice and malted wheat mixed with the powder of the pine pollen. Then the three ingredients are distilled and proceeded with pine needles, mixed with honey. Finally, the wine is kept underground for 100days. The wine is the great one which has been made by a secret method for 1,000years.”

This stuff is great.  I don’t even want to taint the words above with my own descriptions.  Maybe I’ll report back on the taste in the future.  So after we were fully loaded with akahol in our bags, we began our search for some traditional Jeonju Bibimbap.  Now, readers of this blog should know that one of my favorite dishes in the world is bibimbap.  A very good friend introduced me to the crispy goodness a long time ago and I have been in love with the dish ever since.  Imagine my level of excitement now that I was in the home of bibimbap!!!  Budy and I wandered around in some of the less trafficked areas of the Hanok Village until we came across Jeonju Hyanggyo, a Confucian shrine and school:

“Though legend has it that Jeonju Confucianism Temple was built up in Goryo dynasty, it is said that the current building was built up during the reign of Seonjo, a king of Joseon dynasty. The Temple enshrines totally 51 individuals: 7 Chinese Confucianism scholars including the disciples of Confucius, and 18 Korean wise men just as they do in Seongyungwan in Seoul.”

I think there was maybe only one other person here, so buddy and I wandered the grounds and lingered for a while.  There wasn’t much to look at aside from the complex’s buildings.  The architectural details were amazing.  All the structures were constructed of wood and had tile roofs.  I looked at several close up, and did not see any nails.  Maybe they are cleverly hidden, but all I saw were either wooden dowels or wood resting on wood.  The painting and decoration of the eaves was especially fantastic.  I mean, I have seen structures like this in China and Japan, but I don’t remember the painting being so elaborate on the outside. 

Then we walked outside of the shrine…and ay kamote…was an entire, unpainted, 100% traditional wooden building.  It looked like they were adding some more structures to the shrine.   WOW.  It was impressive to see everything in its natural, unfinished and unpainted state.

So after a 45 minute diversion to wander around the temple and view the wooden buildings, buddy and I made it to where we thought we were going to eat lunch: The Jeonju Traditional Culture Center.  We walked up to the door and saw the place was packed with a western tour group.  Ahhhh, Lonely Planet is great for herding tourists together.  Buddy and I decided to skip the “traditional center” and find lunch on our own. 

Now I will leave you readers wondering what happened during our quest for lunch and what happened during the rest of the afternoon.  Yall will have to check in for another post soon!

finishing up okinawa….finally

Well.  I originally started this post two weeks ago.  Due to my job, I have not been able to finish it up.  Imagine the audacity that my job has to interfere with me posting about Okinawa.  Jeez.

So, my final day in Okinawa started out pretty much as normal as could be expected…with a can of Chu hi!  Haha, just kidding.  But since it is juice I think it could be placed in the category of breakfast cocktails.  However, I won’t be lying when I say lunch was spent at MOS Burger.  Heheheh.

I forgot to mention in previous postings how Mr./Mrs. Tater took me to the JUSCO that is located in Mihama American Village. 

I should say a little something about these hypermarkets.  Asians seem to have the right idea when it comes to shopping complexes.  In the States we tend to build a large strip mall that contains at least two of the following stores: Target, Best Buy, Office Depot, Home Depot, Borders, and a grocery store.  Sometimes there may be a movie theatre.  Usually there is a chain restaurant like Applebee’s or Don Pablo’s that is not connected to the strip, but within the same complex.  They take up a lot of space and look like concrete or brick warehouses with no character.  Over here, imagine all of those box stores in one five to seven story building.  The structure is operated by one company; JUSCO is Japanese and Korea we have Lotte and EMart.  Selection is the same as having seven different stores, but you have them all in one single building.  And quality is not something that is skimmed over…clothing, electronics, and household goods are all name brand.  Food and other grocery items are the same as what you would find in a Wegmans.  One delectable item that I picked up in the bakery section was a round pastry filled with mini sausages.  It was about the size of a small pizza.  I thing maybe 10 inches in diameter.  YUM.  Everything is located in one super convenient shopping complex that takes up less ground space.  Also, since the building is usually owned by the operating company, architectural design is sometimes opened up and can result in some pretty wacky creations.  I found out JUSCO also has something else that is not easily found in the states: Japanese-style crepes. 

Ah, Japanese-style crepes.  One of the greatest creations on Earth.  I was informed about these by a Japanese friend before Karena and I had a Tokyo stopover on the way home from China.  I pulled Karena’s arm off when I first noticed one while walking around in Shibuya.  You want ice cream, custard, and fruit?  Okay!  You want ice cream, cheese cake, and sprinkles?  Check!  You want a cutlet smothered in curry sauce?  Roger that!  How about tuna fish salad on lettuce?  Sounds fine!  You can get so many different sweet and savory combinations.  I think if there was a crepe stand in Gunsan I would stop there every night.  It is probably better that there isn’t one.  Check out the sample selection below:

Okay, back to my last day.  So we lounged around and entertained the idea of visiting another castle or temple.  Instead we decided on checking out the Ryukyu Glass Village (fun Okinawan website here).  It was an entertaining drive to the village.  We got to hop on the expressway.  The last time I was on the expressway, Tater and I accidently drove through the lane for pass-holders and didn’t get a toll ticket.  Whoops!  This time we didn’t make that mistake, however, we did exit off the expressway too early.  Time to break out the phonebook map.  Yes, the island map is in the phonebook.  And it is not the greatest map in the world.  First off, it is spread over 25 pages.  Second off, not all the roads are labeled…and when they are, it is inconsistently.  We had to pull about two U-turns before we figured out that we were headed in the right direction.  Also, the maps don’t give you an accurate gauge on the amount of time a drive will take.  A long portion on the map could only be five kilometers, depending on the scale.  So, once we ended up on the correct road we had no idea how long it would take.  The drive was fun though.  We went through some less-trafficked areas of southern Okinawa.  It was pretty cool driving down the two lane road and seeing farms and small homes dotting the landscape.

Arriving at the glass village, we were presented with a pottery center AND glass-making center.  There were some tours going on in Japanese and some people who were making their own Shisa.  I love these little things. 

It is such a fun activity to walk around and check out all the different designs that you see on people’s homes, shopping centers, businesses…everywhere.  They give people a chance to show some individual flair! I bought two the last time I was on-island to protect our home.  They now rest comfortably on a bookshelf.  Quite a nice life for a pair of Shisa.  Tater joked that we should have a Shisa-making contest, but he was vetoed on that one.  We walked down to the area where the magic happens.  There were a lot of people milling around and not a lot of glass-making happening.  We stood around for a bit and watched what we could. 

After that we got antsy and went into the gift shop.  IT WAS HUGE.  And there wasn’t just one.  There was THREE different galleries.  Pieces got increasingly expensive as you moved from gallery to gallery until you reached the shop where things cost into the millions of yen.  I won’t lie.  I was a bit nervous walking around this place with so much glass.  The message “You Break, You Buy” kept passing through my head.  I walked out of the shop only having purchased two glass cups made in the village, and a Okinawan talisman called a susuki.  It is basically a knot of grass.  I can’t help that I’m a sucker for things that are supposed to help my luck.  Sometimes you need the extra help!

We returned to “home, sweet Hamagawa” after a short detour through downtown Naha.  This time we picked up the expressway all the way to Kadena.  Much faster.  We decided to search for dinner options.  I don’t know how we go on the topic, but I started telling Mr/Mrs. Tater about Shabu-shabu.

I have been depressed ever since Bob’s 88 closed.  Karena and I have been searching for a good hot-pot place in DC ever since.  Anyways, I found this restaurant, Miruku (Japanese here), and insisted that we would be going there for my last dinner.  We geared up and took the best directions we could find (see the English link) and headed out.  I love driving directions in Okinawa.  Sometimes they crack me up.  You never get straight-forward directions.  They always involve navigation by landmarks which is sometimes difficult in unfamiliar areas…100m past CoCo (not Coco Curry, but the convenience store) turn left, continue until you see a sign for Highway 401, make a U-turn, drive 20m and turn right.  Look for a house with Japanese writing and Christmas lights on it.  Hilarious stuff.  It took us 20 minutes longer than it should have to find the restaurant.  We drove through a residential neighborhood because we kept miscounting the number of streets.  I’m sure this block is gorgeous during the day.  It is situated right on a bay in a quiet little area.  Arriving at the restaurant, we see it is closed.  SO SAD!  Now we are scrambling and decide to head back to the American Village.  There are tons of restaurants over there that we know would be open.  So, instead of shabu-shabu on my last night we settled for some delicious Thai food at a place Tater and I discovered last year.  The food made me happy, as did the cold Orion, and the fine company.  Besides, dinner in the American Village meant we could sneak over and have a couple of crepes for dessert!

I hope you guys have enjoyed my writings about Okinawa.  I know it seems like a lot, but I only included the highlights.  There is so much delicious food and the island is so beautiful.  It was real hard to leave the next morning.  I was helped by the fact that it was a rainy day.  The rain eased me back into realizing that I would be flying into the snow covered land of Korea.  Okinawa really is a wonderful island…great people…great food…and so much to do.  I can’t wait to go back.  And trust me when I say that it’s not “if,” but rather “when.”

yes, new year’s celebrations

Sorry for the delay in posting, but thinking about Oki makes me somewhat depressed in coooooold Gunsan. Ahhh…Okinawa. So the following day I woke up feeling better than expected. It has been a while since I found myself drinking and gorging on food at 400am. Luckily, It was New Year’s Eve and I had nothing better to do than take a leisurely tour of Tater’s neighborhood. We left around lunchtime because Tater and his wife had several restaurants that they wanted me to try. We strolled around the seawall north of Mihama American Village and there were so many little hotels and condos and fun places that it made me a little sad that I didn’t know about this area my first time on-island. It was a bit windy so there weren’t many people out. It was beautiful down by the seawall.

The water close to shore was clear like glass and then transformed to sky blue and then to a wonderful azure color. Tater told me that there were usually surfers out along the point, but not this time. I guess everyone was with their family celebrating the new year holiday. We soon found out that this holiday causes mass closure of tons of locally-operated establishments. First up was Transit Cafe….with a note on the door stating they would not be open until 3-Jan. Next was another local cafe/bar with the same type of note. We stopped at a good taco place next and were met with the same result. Finally, we staggered by Gordies Hamburgers AND IT WAS THE SAME NOTE!!!!! Tater and his wife kept joking about how I came back to Oki for all of the food and all of the restaurants that I wanted to visit were going to be shut down during my visit. This was not a laughing matter! A Korean BBQ joint was suggested and I agreed to take on grill master duties for lunch. The restaurant was tantalizingly close to MOS Burger and it was all I could do to stop myself from running back to my number two love. We dined. It was good. Here I am conducting my orchestra of BBQ. In honor of my subs I ordered up some soju. It was enjoyed only by me :) After lunch it was time to retire to the condo to watch TV, check up on emails, and rest for my triumphant return to Gate 2 Street.

So let us fast forward to the nighttime. It is 900pm. We are getting fashioned up for a night out in Oki. This means changing from thongs to normal shoes. I also put on a button-down shirt since it is my special night. Tater comes running in as I’m in mid iron and says “I have a taxi downstairs and the meter is on.” This throws us all into overdrive and we zip out the door. We arrive at Gate 2 Street 20 minutes later and the Air Force personnel are already making their presence felt. We see a boyfriend/girlfriend arguing in the middle of the street. Three airmen,in their finest striped shirts, are dancing around a homeless man who is playing the guitar. “Gentlemen” are walking up and down the street with their “buy-me drinkie” for the night. For those not in the know, Gate 2 Street has a seedy reputation to is. But for Tater and me, it holds some special memories. We made some good friends at one western/cowboy bar that has no name. It became our nightly watering hole as we tried to escape certain people on-base. We ate delicious yakitori and yakisoba at a small little restaurant (if you want to call it that) called Lucky. One of our new bartender friends told us about Lucky and we’re glad they did.

I’m going to fast-forward over the details of NYE. Let me just tell you that it was a lot of fun. I’m glad to have spent it in such a special place. WE tried a new bar out that only had locals in it. The beer was cold and the proprietors nice. They chased out any people they didn’t like. Funny enough, a lot of military folk were trying to use the bar as a bathroom pit stop. One bar tender was like a junkyard dog…harassing these fools into buying drinks or food so that they could use the facilities. It was great. Some of them she actually chased out. After the new bar we went to ‘Ol Reliable and I was happy to see one of our former bartenders slinging drinks. Highlights of the night were ringing in the New Year (obviously), calling Ms. Karena when it was my birthday, and setting the bar on fire! Yes. We ordered flaming shots and I got to light them up. Except the bartender spilled some 151 on the bar and I lit it on fire. Whoops!! Luckily the owner was there with a wet rag. Calling Karena was hilarious because all I talked about was yakitori and how I wanted to eat all the delicious parts of the chicken that you can’t eat back in the states. It also took Tater and me about 15 minutes to figure out how to call using the calling card. OH, and did I also mention that it was a normal workday for Beana? Hahaha. Happy New Year’s and Happy Birthday to me and my brother from another mother who happens to share the same B-Day. Details are fuzzy on how we got home. I know we stopped at the USO and were turned down for a cab. We also stopped at the Shogun and no cabs wanted us there. Finally Tater flagged one down in the street (he has really gotten the hang of hailing a taxi) and we made it back to home, sweet, Hamagawa.

The next day started off with a fine visit to MOS Burger. Tater’s wife had been reading about New Years celebrations in Okinawa so we decided to head off to Naritasan Temple to participate in the first shrine visit of the year (also known as Hatsumode). Getting to the temple was a trip. We had to sit in a line of traffic for about 45 minutes.

But because it is Oki, everyone was very pleasant about it. Imagine sitting for 45 minutes to get into Pentagon City Mall back home. PANDEMONIUM. We got to the temple and bought our fortunes. Tater and his wife opened theirs and I opened mine. My fortune said a lot of funny things, but it also said that this year was going to be “good.” Tater and Mrs. Tater’s fortunes said “exceptional” and “very good” which left me a little displeased with mine. Luckily, you can tie your fortune onto something one the temple grounds with the hope that things do not come true. You know the awesome thing about participating in this tradition?…Carnival style food. You know I had to buy some takoyaki. I make Karena cook a traditional Danish dish (go figure) called aebleskiver that is similar, but sweet instead of savory. They had some other delicious looking dishes (like a half-rack of deep fried pork ribs). After that we decided to hit up Nakagusuku Castle ruins and roam around for a bit. Let me tell you, whoever decided to build that castle picked an excellent location. Fabulous views of Okinawa and the ocean. I actually liked it better than Shuri castle because I could imagine what it must of looked like. That and it was cheaper to get and and a ton less tourists. Don’t get me wrong though…Shuri is very impressive and beautiful but I liked to walk around without the hordes of people pushing their way through the grounds.

Dinner was at Ono Kau Kau, a Hawaiian joint popular with military folk on island. Before I even arrived Tater had been talking about the garlic chicken. So for a rather modest price, I decided to go with a pork cutlet, garlic chicken, and braised pork belly. I do love my pork. The dish came with a large serving of rice and a modest bit of macaroni salad. It is similar to the picture below, but this was not my meal

I found this picture on the internets. Pork Cutlet is top, garlic chicken is middle, and I’m not sure what is on the bottom. Everything was delicious and very filling. I only wish this place was open at 200am because it would be perfect after a night New Year’s celebrating. It was a good end to a nice day enjoying the “island life” on Okinawa.

Next up will be crepes, glass making, attempts at shabu-shabu, and notes about driving in Okinawa. Enjoy!

okinawan arrival

Hello all. I am going to help Karena out here since her little laptop has imploded. This is going to be all about my time in Okinawa over the New Year’s holiday. There will probably be two to three more posts about my trip.

My close friend (aka Tater) is currently working at Kadena Air Base. He really lucked out with his posting because he doesn’t have to work in the snow, wind, and frigid temperatures that I work in. His workload is about ten times mine…so I guess it evens out. Most of yall already know that we were both TDY Kadena last year. We had a great time and got to explore a bit of the island. I have been trying to figure out a way back ever since I returned to the States. The food is excellent (lots of pork and seafood), the people are very friendly and helpful, AND it is a nice tropical island with mountains and beaches.

PERFECT!!!!!

It has all of the necessities for the type of place I could see myself living. Ahhh….daydreams are nice :)

My trip from Gunsan to Inchon Airport was a little nerve-racking. I got on the airport bus (it is about a 3.5 hour ride to the airport) and within one hour we had hit the mountains and a nasty snow storm. We’re talking four-ways on, single lane, 25 mile-per-hour slog through snow and ice. It was very depressing as we continued on and on and thoughts crept into my head about how the airport would be shut down. I really thought I wouldn’t be able to leave Korea and visit Tater and his wife in sunny Okinawa. Luckily, about 45 minutes outside of the airport, the snow stopped and the sun came out. WHEW. Crisis one avoided. I got inside the terminal, walked around, ate some dolsot bibimbap, and took a two-hour nap since I was a bit hungover from my night out with the subs.By the way, Inchon Airport is absolutely beautiful inside and out…there is also tons of shopping and places to eat inside. It was easy to spend an hour just cruising around and window shopping. Once I woke up from my nap it was time to board my Asiana flight to Fukuoka, Japan.

We arrived at Fukuoka early, so I had an additional hour between my flights. This extra hour proved useful as I was about to be faced with crisis two. After I came out of Customs & Immigrations in Japan, I entered what I thought was the airport at Fukuoka. I had to check into ANA to continue on to Okinawa so I wandered over to the check-in terminals…all of them were down :( and there was nobody at the ANA desk. I thought “this could be normal. when flying abroad in other countries, they sometimes don’t open ticket counters until two hours before the flight.” So I decided to wander around the shops and see if I could find an information kiosk. Well, an hour went by and I decided to try the ANA counter again. Same deal as before, but at least there was a counter representative. So, I pushed aside the metal barrier meant to keep people like me away from the check-in counter and walked up to inquire about my flight. I pointed to the portion of itinerary that said FUK – OKA, 30-DEC-09, 2030. The ANA rep just gave me a confused look. I said “Check in?” Another confused look. I said “cancelled…delayed?” Nothing. Finally, he came around the counter and motioned for me to go with him. He took me over to a door where he had to swipe his ID and punch in an access code. I remembered now how I thought it was weird there were no flights listed for Naha on the Arrivals/Departures board. At this point, I started thinking that Okinawa was having some bad weather and my flight was cancelled…depression struck again.

A nice lady came out and asked to see my itinerary. I handed it over and she read through it and asked if I was going to Okinawa. There was a slight bit of disbelief in her voice, like “haha, this guy has another thing coming if he thinks he will be in Naha tonight.” She thought for a while and said “this is the international terminal, you need to go to the domestic terminal.” I felt like such a bonehead. I had no idea that there were two terminals. I had only seen one when we landed. Of course, that makes sense. That is why Okinawa was not listed on the Arrivals/Departures board and places like Seoul, Beijing, and Hong Kong were. She said that all I had to do was catch a bus to the Domestic terminal. They were on the first floor and outside of the door. So with time ticking down, I dashed out the door and managed to catch a bus that was loaded up with people. After about a 15 minute ride, we arrived at the Domestic Terminal. I hopped out and wandered off to find the ANA counter. Like anywhere else in Asia, there was a line to check in. I waited and waited and finally got up to the counter. Everything was smooth sailing after that. I made it to the gate about 15 minutes prior to boarding. This gave me time to chug a nice hot can of coffee and ponder downing a chu-hi. Ahhh chu-hi a vice of mine that, luckily, can not be found outside of Japan. Who else would think of mixing akahol and fruit juice into such a delicious can of happiness that you can buy anywhere…restaurants, gas stations, corner stores, etc. It is like drinking a Snapple that has an alcohol content of 5%.

I arrived into Naha Airport on time. It felt like I was coming home. There was a smile on my face from ear to ear. I reached the baggage claim and there was a gaggle of angry looking Marines that must have landed just before me. They were all waiting on their bags. The carousel wasn’t even moving. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait at the same baggage carousel and big red soon popped up on the conveyor belt. I was done and out the door and Tater was waiting in the lobby for me. Ah, there is almost nothing better than good friends being reunited. I was very happy to be in a place that I love with my good buddy. The weather was about 60 degrees and misty at about 1000pm. Better than 16 degrees and snow at 300pm! I was immediately reminded of the challenges of driving in Oki as I went to open the driver’s side door (on the right side of the car). Hahaha…I thought I was getting in the passenger’s side. Then we started driving on the wrong side of the road, up one-way streets, and towards oncoming traffic. We also had a nice cabbie start yelling at us in Japanese. We had no idea what he was saying as he made hand gestures for us to pull over. So we did just that and don’t you know, he sped right by us. We had to turn around to get our bearings set and head out of the airport.

It took about 45 minutes to reach “home, sweet, Hamagawa” the lodging facility where Tater and his wife are living. It took me 46 minutes to crack a chu-hi and ask about dinner. Let me tell you, that Tater, he is a lucky man. He has his wife living with him, is within a five minute walk to MOS Burger and has a steady supply of tasty foods at his disposal. I was very excited to return to MOS Burger, a place that will put any burger chain back home to shame (this Singapore site has some menu items in English). Just look at that menu; hamburgers, hot dogs, soups and stews. They also serve fresh milk and fresh, healthy juices (orange, mango, guava, etc) for the little ones. Trust me when I say it is all good! My personal favorites are the shrimp cutlet burger and the original MOS Burger. The shrimp cutlet is served piping hot and is a fried patty of diced whole shrimpies (you can actually see them) topped with shredded lettuce and tartar sauce.

It is about the size of a hamburger or cheeseburger at McDonalds. The MOS Burger is a purely decadent combination of a hamburger patty, cheese, diced onions, chili, and a thick slice of tomato. Oh. My. Goodness. Prepare your eyes!!!!

You need about five napkins to keep yourself clean but you will still find little bits of chili somewhere on you. You’ll also find yourself licking the wrapper to get the bits that may have fallen off the sandwich. Of course, I guess that is why you can also order fries or onion rings (good – but not MOSB’s strong suit). After that delicious dinner Tater and I headed back to the Hamagawa to catch up on old times and chu-hi. Around 300am we got another hankering for food and decided to wander around his neighborhood looking for dining options. Well, none were open. Actually, we did stumble into one spot and were told that it was for locals only. Okay. We got the message. Tater and I entertained the idea of catching a cab to Gate 2 Street, but decided against it (wisely). Walking home we decided to stop at the all night soba hut that is on the side of the street. These places sell up some good Okinawa Soba at all hours of the night. I decided on the soki soba and a side order of fried gyoza.

Of course we also had some Orion’s. It was very delicious and I had to add some splashes of awamori infused with hot chili peppers to clear my head from those flights. It was the perfect end to a long day.

christmas in korea

WOW it has been a long time for an update from me in Korea. I thought that I would throw my two won up here since Karena has been having some computer difficulties. Hopefully all of yall that follow her blog for running and eating enjoy this little tangent.

Christmas was pretty much a blur here in Gunsan. My crew and I worked up until 23-Dec. Since it was the season of giving, I presented each one with a nice plastic bottle of Jinro Chamisul sojo.Now these bottles cost me about 3000KRW (18000KRW total, or about 15.73USD) and is enough akahol to get you feeling good. The look on the GS25 cashier's face was priceless as I plopped my overflowing basket of soju on the counter. With six bottles in tow, she probably thought that I was out for a long night drinkin. My guys loved the soju and I had to keep them from twisting the caps off the bottles that morning...haha...that would have led to an unproductive day of work. I also decided to let the guys all knock off for the weekend at around 300pm. They all had to travel back home (most are from the Seoul area) so I knew that they had a long drive ahead. As for me, I had a nice day of work to look forward to the next day.

Christmas Eve was nice. I spent it in the office doing laundry, shopping at the commissary, and eating a nice Popeye's three-piece dinner for lunch. For Christmas, I decided to venture out into the wild and explore the town some more. I figured that with the holiday there would not be much traffic on the roads so it would be okay for me to look and drive at the same time. I drove down to the beginning of the Saemangeum Seawall, which starts just northwest of base. The South Korean Government is in the midst of creating a free trade zone and "green city" around the new port area. There is a ton of construction in the area and even a new fish market. That place was packed on Christmas. There were also a few restaurants that looked open and had fish tanks in front. I wanted to stop and have a look, but it was coooooold, windy, and rainy. So I did not stop the car to wander around. The cold has been one unfortunate part of Korea that I have had to experience. It prevents me from actually getting out of my car, walking around, and exploring. After all, I spend eight hours a day outside during the week...I think I deserve a little holiday from the cold. So, I kept driving until I got to the Alice Hotel. This place was on the recommended lodging list from base, so I knew about it, but I didn't know they had a restaurant inside. So I parked in the garage and wandered up to find an empty restaurant overlooking the water. I could see maybe 200 yards, which was enough to see fishing boats bob up and down in the waves and watch sea birds dive underwater and surface with their meals. For Christmas lunch, I decided on a bottle of OB and the fried pork cutlet topped with fried kimchi and diced seafood. The cutlet was smothered in Japanese curry sauce and was exceptionally delicious. I liked how the tangy and spicy kimchi was pan fried with the little bits of squid and shrimp and then placed on top of the large pork cutlet. To round off the meal, the chef topped the whole thing with some sort of cheese. I probably could have eaten two! Sorry that I don't have pictures of the meal, but that is Karena's job and I'm not yet used to eating and clicking. The rest of Christmas holiday was spent talking to family and exploring the city via car. When my subs came back on Monday, they had a great surprise for me....they wanted to treat me to dinner for my birthday. Well thank you guys. I had a choice of Korean BBQ, Korean-style seafood and one last choice that I can't remember now. Growing up near Annandale, VA I am well aware of Korean BBQ, but I have never tried Korean-style seafood. Boy was I in for a treat. On Tuesday night, before I left for Okinawa, my guys picked me up and took me took me to the famed Gunsan Seafood hotjip. There, I was treated to a raw seafood feast of royal proportions. The place is great and I will probably go back once more before I leave. You walk into the first floor (the restaurant is seven stories tall) and all you see are fish tanks storing all the tasty (and non-tasty) seafood items you can eat. There are fish of all types, crabs, mussels, shrimp, prawns, lobsters, clams, squid, octopus, etc, etc. When we got to our table my guys decided on a mix of cooked and raw preparations. The first presentation was two types of raw crab. One in a soy-garlic marinate and another, I believe, was yangnyeom gejang (which you can see in the wikipedia link). There was also raw sliced prawn marinated in a warm oil/curry powder mixture (I think) and raw sea squirt, and raw sea cucumber. Instead of eating the fish raw like sashimi, my subs showed me to wrap it in a cabbage leaf with a bit of red bean paste, chili paste, or other condiment of my choice. We also had raw skate which I knew enough to stay away from (skates are chock full of uric acid which turns to ammonia almost immediately upon death). There was salted and dried mackerel and these delicious mussels that were covered in some sort of cheese/crumb mixture. We also had raw tuna, salmon, and a grilled herring. All were delicious though I had trouble with these skinny metal chopsticks that we use over here. Every once in a while the waitress would come by and present us with individually made clams or mussels that were stuffed with kimchi or other delicious toppings. We also had two plates of raw fish that easily numbered over 100 pieces. Then at the end the waitress brought out two soups, one mild and one spicy, made from the leftovers of both fish. I really am doing a disservice to the food here. This post should be accompanied by pictures of everything that I am describing because Google is not helping me much right now. I did manage to capture one of the stars of the meal: Sannakji. Ah yes, raw wiggling octopus served in sesame oil and sliced hot peppers.The dancing octopus is in the center. The chili crabs are in the front, and moving clockwise we have the cheese topped mussels, soy crabs, and sea cucumber (orange/yellow) and sea squirt (clear). I was very excited to try the octopus dish, but it proved especially hard to grab with my chopsticks. Those darn suction cups kept sticking to the plate. Even the Koreans were having a hard time with them. In the end, I had to resort to pushing the octopus to the edge of the plate with chopsticks and then grabbing it with my fingers. It was a fun food to eat...not much taste except for the sesame and peppers. Everyone got a good laugh as I tried to down one and a little suction cup held on to my tooth. There I was, sitting at the table with a tentacle flopping about. Eventually I won my battle with the tentacle and it went down the hatch. It is a unique experience to consume something that is still functioning. The sensation of the little suction cups on my throat and mouth were fun. If any didn't accept their fate, well then we raised our glasses of soju and gave them a shot of liquor. Ah yes, there was tons of soju, I think we each emptied a bottle and a half. Good stuff and I think I impressed my guys that I was able to handle it so well. I'm sure they expected to have to carry me out. NOPE! It was a great dining experience and I was glad to share it with the people who I have worked so closely with over the past two months. We have even agreed to start going to dinners once or twice a week since their hotel is around the corner from mine. I am glad for this because now I won't have to rely on pointing to pictures and hoping for the best. For now I will leave yall with a shot of us taken right in front of the in-floor fish tanks. In the next couple of days I will write about my triumphant return to Okinawa. My buddy and his wife were gracious enough to take me in for a nice four-day vacation from the cold.