Winter in Seoul

Jongmyo Shrine UNESCO World Heritage Site where Confucian rites have continued unbroken for over 600 years. The tablets and (I guess) remains of all the Joseon Kings are inside this mysterious building that looked so cool in the snow.

The King's Pagoda representing the openess to all sides and people, its in the womens palace Changyeungung right across from the above shrine in the Palace district of Seoul. All the wonderful wives and concubines lived here which was later partly destroyed (like everything!) by the Japanese and turned into a zoo for a while, now Korea are working on it to repair it back to its original gentle grandeur. The interesting thing here is that while all other palaces face south, this one faces east to see the mountain, view won over feng shui for once in ancient Korea. ^^

This guy was outside the Jongmyo park feeding the birds who obviously knew him quite well. The snow was deep and it was damn cold about -15 (brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!). Its getting colder now (-20) and is the coldest winter since 1930 with loads of snow, especially up in the mountains, kids in the city are skating on frozen lakes, and icicles hang from traffic lights -its nice to have 4 seasons!

Kid on the edge of his seat (his dad's shoulder) at the Seoul Snowboarding World Cup in Dec2009.

close-up of the action in the Snow Park with the Korean riders flickin some sick tricks. Stoked!

Graphic shot of Seoul Snowboard World Cup, (could be a Promo) Korean rider climbing back up the slope to blitz some more moves in the snow park. Infinitely yours, thats a typical korean slogan, bit OTT but I kind of like this one! ^^

This was a lot of fun shooting the riders, got some good portraits and action shots too, check flickr for more. www.flickr.com/r0r0planet

Seoul's snowy winter landscape by the light of the setting sun. January has been so white everyday (since christmas day we've been snowed in!). Super!

Hope you like these shots, just my selection of winter so far in Seoul -a few different perspectives on whats going on here, and trying to see the color through the white snow thats covering everything right now.^^

So far the seasons here are all so different, Spring has the amazing blossoms everywhere, Summer just heats up like an oven until the sun is so bright, the colors so vibrant and the bugs so numerous and loud, Autumn cools down and the color just gets better and better, especially in the mountains where its unbelievable! Winter, as you can see is fantastic, and cold -real cold, but with the snowboarding season, and the snowcapped mountains all around Seoul and in Gangwon-do looking more and  more like Alpine Peaks, tis the season to be merry and full of Jul mo tea (the best invention in liquid form-tea made from nuts of various trees-its a warmer and a filler-upper!)and cinnamon pancakes out taking in the frozen world of Korea (which actually has pretty clear night skies now too-in Seoul).

Awesome!

Ro

A Week in the Life: Shamans and Gangsters

A week in the life of me in Seoul: There’s a sound echoing all around the mountainside as the winter sun sets, casting an orange glow on everything. On weird rock formations that resemble people, mudang pray to the mountain gods. Their trance-like chanting is the sound I hear from far away, travelling on the wind from high rocky peaks. Here on Iwangsan (which translates as ‘Tiger Mountain’), you can see shamanist rituals, offerings at shrines to the spirits of nature, as well as amazing views of Seoul. Right smack in the city limits, this mountain rises up from a busy sea of concrete, but from up here it seems tranquil and the quiet is just what I need! Sadly there are no tigers, at least not anymore, but their images still decorate the sides of temples here. The aged and yet timeless mountain god is usually depicted on temples as an ancient man with a long white beard riding a tiger. I can’t help it, but when I see this I think of the lyrics of ‘Holy Diver’ by Ronnie James Dio, ‘Ride the Tiger!’ Old peaceful temples and Dio…a good mixture. Coming up here to one of the many mountains surrounding Seoul, you can really feel out on your own. Passing an ancient bronze bell about my height, I walk amid a complex of Buddhist temples perched on the hillside, in winding lanes wide enough for one person only, and up worn steps to the sound of shamanist ritual music. This place is a world away from the high-rise universe in the background, and yet the crisscrossing telephone cables overhead and satellite dishes fixed onto temple roofs, put this place square in the real world. I had read about this place and was hoping to see some shamanistic rituals taking place out in the open on this mountain. This is the oldest and still most mysterious religion in Korea. Based in the primeval belief in the power of nature, and the concept that by praying and giving offerings to the spirits, they will look after us in return, Similar beliefs exist all over the world, from the shamans of the Mongolian steppe who worship the Sky Father, Tengri, and the Earth Mother, to the Native Americans, shamanism is as alive today as it was thousands of years ago. The closest relation to Korean shamanism would probably be Japan and its Shinto faith in the gods, guardians and spirits of nature. It is truly amazing to see this way of life first-hand, people praying in the same way as the ancient people that walked the Earth.

The shamanistic shrine here on the mountain was originally on Namsan ( the ‘South Mountain’), but it was leveled by the Japanese invasion forces. Soon after, it was rebuilt in secret where it stands today, and remained hidden on this mountain all this time, facing its original site and overlooking Seoul. As I came to the shrine there was a ceremony taking place. Loud cymbal crashes could be hear from way below, and as I got closer the music became more frantic. Drums, flutes, bells, all accompanied the ritual to the gods. I couldn’t see what was going on inside, it was closed to outsiders like me! As I walked past the door swung open for a moment, and a woman came out dressed in bright pink colors, inside was full of people similarily dressed in the brightest most garish colors. Food was piled in offering to the spirits that live on the mountain, and they danced to the tantric sounds. Overlooking the temples I found huge ghostly figures looking down on me, they are called Zen Rocks. Eroded by wind and rain for a thousand years they now look like weird faces, and one appears as if a giant tiger has scratched its massive paw along it. A Buddhist monk was explaining about it to two girls, as I gazed out across the horizon, the sun setting, a peaceful golden hue covering the city, and distant peaks standing guard over the people below. Walking along the granite rocks on a mountain path worn away by the elements, I came across one old woman, and two groups praying. In each group the woman took the lead beating the drum, or cymbal in a fast dance-like rhythm as she chanted. Women have a special role in shamanism, related to the idea of the Earth Mother, but men can also commune with these spirits The Mudang is a conduit for the spirits, which come to them and communicate through them, there are photographs of old Mudang dancing on the blade of a sword while chanting is a strange, otherworldy voice. Many use this power to tell the future, as they have done for centuries, and still do today in Korea. People go to the shamans to find out their destiny, and although in the predominantly Christian and Buddhist modern Korea they are viewed with mystery and seen as something best kept away from, they are becoming more and more popular with young people as fortune tellers. All along the streets, near Konkuk University for example, you’ll see queues of girls lined up waiting to hear about romance, exam results, and the unexpected at the semi-permanent red tents of the fortune tellers. In this way, the idea of the shaman fortune tellers is taking on a new and cool image for the 21st century. Less and less are they seen with fear or suspicion by the very devout Christian youths, going to the fortune teller is for fun, and not such a big deal anymore. That’s how traditions are transformed and kept alive down through the ages. Shamanism might go through a lot of changes, as well as a huge make-over to fit into the modern fast paced life of Seoul, but it seems like it can be easily adapted into life here.

Seoul has an incomparable variety, and living here shows that all the time. In one week I can be watching shamanist rituals on a mountain top, and then come face-to-face with a couple of gangsters. ‘Jo Pok’ are the Korean yakuza, and did I mention we were all naked at the time? Yeah, the public baths are an experience in Seoul, where you can bump into anyone. When in Korea, do like the Koreans! You have to get over any qualms about getting naked, so get over it strip down and jump in. The saunas, or public baths, are a great way to totally get away from the pace of the streets, or in cold weather like it is right now, it’s the best place to be! Warm, heated floors are the best Korean invention, and have been employed for a thousand years in the palaces and traditional houses. It worked by lighting a fire under the floor, in a stove that heated the entire house from underneath. This is much more sensible and works much better than how we do it at home. In the sauna, or jimjilbang, you can chill out in various hot baths and steam rooms, and even sleep there. And so it was, waking up early from a night there that I ran into two Korean gangters, the Jo Pok. One was sleeping like a baby, totally covered in tattoos. Like the Japanese yakuza, the Jo Pok are tattooed from head to foot, marking them out to all as people you don’t mess with. Everywhere but head, hands and feet is tattooed with intricate floral and animal designs. Unfortunately, my Korean isn’t up to scratch (apart from getting by in basic conversations involving food!), so we got by with a combination of gestures and broken Korean and English. He told me that he didn’t have to pay for the tattoos, I guess they come with the job! Jo Pok are really active in Korea, and their own brand of organized crime and violence has an edge, guns are illegal in Korea, so the gangsters stick to knives, and machetes. Having lived here, I know that Korea is one of the safest countries in the world, people here can park their motorbikes on the street with the keys left in, and even the engine running. Girls can leave laptops in a café without any worry that three hours later when they come back it won’t have run away! Of course, in every country there is an underworld, and in Korea it can be lethal to anyone that goes off the beaten track, even if they are friendly guys, you have to watch out!

So, between encounters with shamans on the tranquil mountain and gangsters in the sauna, this week in Seoul has been more than cool.

23 Nov 2009 Seoul

21st Century Pirate Radio

Here’s to the heroes of the waves, the eternally young of spirit, the rebels with a cause to say ‘F**k you!’ to the Man, and to live free for music. Where are they now? Go back to the 1960’s, to a place and time so far removed now from our lives on the verge of 2010 that it may as well be another world, existing only on movie screens and hidden dreams. Can you imagine a time when rock and roll was subversive, that even hearing it would make youths tear off their clothes, have sex with everyone while smoking Mary-Jane…all to the sweet quadraphonic sound of The Who, Hendrix, and the Stones. So the pirates took action, and the fate of free music for the world, into their own hands, and their voices rang out as a clear beacon in the long dark night of the soul. They broadcast symphonies of sound into the waves of silence, and opened the way for all of the freedom of music and choice of hundreds of radio stations we have today. Radio Luxembourg, Radio Scotland’s pirate ship, Radio Jackie, Radio Caroline, Radio Atlanta, and Denmark’s Radio Mercur. The boat did indeed rock, but will it rock no more? The valiant legends of those days in the long summer of love spoke out to the people. They said ‘open your knees and feel the breeze baby’, they asked, ;who out there will rock with me?, they preached ‘do not fear anything or anybody in this world!’ Just live for the day and for the purest soundtrack to life we could’ve been given! The people listened. But who do we listen to now? In this time of total individualism, where how you live and what you listen to are your choice, how do we create and keep our identity? I’m of the opinion that we don’t. That’s what is fundamentally wrong with the world today. We’re searchers without a goal without any idea of what we’re looking for, we want to be treasure hunters but forgot the map. There was no map to begin with. So we head out there into the world looking for ourselves, sure that one day we will find ‘truth’. There was a time when you could find it. The struggle against the status quo in the 1960’s and 70’s gave youth a purpose. The music defined them. Long hair and flares identified their cause like a flag of peace and love in face of the Vietnam War, and the oppressively controlling governments in both the US and Britain. Where do we find ourselves? The Beatles went to India, and came back transformed into tantric yogis treading barefoot on the virgin earth. Go there today and you’ll find a lot of other people with the same goal, but in this new crowded tourist trail to inner peace you’ll have to get in line and pay your entry fee to nirvana. Nepal was the great undiscovered kingdom of soaring peaks and spiritual enlightenment, now a hundred thousand trekkers fill the holy mountains and crowd Katmandu. As in the 1969 iconic film Easy Rider Peter Fonda and Denis Hopper set out on the road, like Jack Kerouac, across the US to discover the meaning that’s out there. What they find however is that they missed it, the summer of love was over. What are you left with? What do we fight against today that identifies us, or are we all so individualistic now that we’re far beyond this kind of soul-searching that defined the previous generations?




‘We may be gone! You may shut us down, but those songs will still be written, those songs will still be sung and it will be the wonder of the world’, Philip Seymour Hoffman says as their pirate radio ship sinks in the fantastic 2009 film The Boat that Rocked. (Go and watch this movie it will change your life!) Music is the wonder of the world, that’s the way it was and that’s how its going to stay. Given, the soundtrack to the 60’s was a different tempo, it struck a new chord in the hearts and minds of the world, and it had a different meaning: a celebration of the freedom they didn’t quite have yet, but were fighting for. It’s the self-same freedom of speech and music, of thought and lifestyle that we have today but don’t appreciate. We search for new enemies in the world, big countries seek terrorists and chase shadows to war across the globe, they fear economic Armageddon and epidemic flu’s, all to occupy our every waking thought, so we don’t quite realize how good we have it. Humans need something to fight against, we require combat, a threat to our survival, a restriction on our desired way of life so we can raise our voices in unison against our oppressors. It seems we don’t know what to do in peace-time, but we’re damn lucky our world has it for now, other places on the planet aren’t so lucky. We want that rebellious time of the 60’s, of love over war, where music conquers and gives hope to all, but I guess we are rebels without a cause. The world has grown for me, not become smaller as so many people say without thinking of the implications. In the past, radio gave the news from the world, but it was a smaller one. Today we can’t pretend our country is the only one, the world is a big, imperfect, and far from unified place. So do we take up the cause of others who can’t defend themselves? What place has music in this new bigger and more confusing world?

I would call for a return of the pirates of the airwaves. Just because their battle with authorities won us all the stations we have today, many if not most are still controlled by the very Man the radio warrior disc jockeys of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s fought against. Ask yourself this, how many radio DJ’s have you heard say ‘F**K’ lately? Not many. Sure, its just a word, but in modern communication terms it’s the most powerful one we’ve got. That word is the bombshell. It deserves its due, and deserves to be used! That four-letter beloved word is a symbol of freedom to say whatever you like, about who you like, whenever you like! In a world where we are now going to war, supporting war, or just plain standing by and doing nothing, we need those heroes to speak out, through songs, literature, poetry, art, and all of it summed up in the words of our generation out of touch with itself and lost for new words to define ourselves, broadcast on the air for all to hear. Pirate radio will live on as long as there’s a will and as long as we don’t forget the rebels of the 60’s, the philosophers of rock and roll, the poets of song, the maestros of the waves on that open sea, the mean and women that would die for music. May we be so brave. May you throw yourself into this moment, the sunshine of your love, the true voice on the mic that whispers to the lost reaches of your heart, the music that takes you to a place undreamed of, and defines your soul in the search for the wonder of the world. Although the summer of 1967 saw pirate radio banned in the UK, that wasn’t even close to the end of the story. Dublin’s Phantom radio broadcast free metal and rock for years before finally hanging up their Jolly Roger headsets and turning legitimate. Pirate Cat in the US broadcasts freely as you read this, and the government cant stop them, as the law states that in times of war free radio is allowed. The US is now in an ‘unending war’. Digital radio pirates across the globe can now reach millions through the web and you can get their free music beamed straight on to your IPod. Free music and free speech can equal jail time even today. Pirates get caught, radio gets shut down, it goes with the territory, but there’ll always be more, that’s their legacy, to pass on the message, the inspiration, and courage to hoist the flag. Amen.





"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Article 19

Off the Beaten Track on The Great Wall of China!

Everyone knows what the Great Wall of China looks like right? It stretches for over 2500kms across China, originally built to keep out the Mongol Horde. Now it's one of the best known sights in the world, crowded with tourists, souvenir shops, nicely restored to it's previous imposing grandeur. This is true in many places along the Great Wall. On Badaling, Mutenyu, and lesser so on the impressive 14 km hike from Jinshaling to Simitai. But there is another Wall. We found it. Setting out 3 hours from Beijing we got two buses, then haggled with a 'taxi' man to bring us a few hundred kms out of his way to get us to Goubekou. This is where we would find ourselves walking along the oldest and not at all preserved part of the Great Wall. 2,500 years ago these stones were laid down, and today we can trek for miles, weeks and months in fact, along their trail. I wasn't prepared at all for how worn away the Wall would be in these parts. You see no-one really comes here, there are no tour buses, and thankfully, no tourists means no pedallers! This is a blessing. For anyone who has walked along the other more crowded parts of the Great Wall, where being harassed by 'mongolian farmer women' that follow you for 8kms to sell postcards, having the whole place to yourself is amazing. And peaceful. Here your imagination can soar. Mongols can be attacking, marching armies over the mountain passes to lay seige to your mighty Wall. You could be a Chinese soldier looking out on a clear day (before the current days of polution and progress) to distant mountains where gods and spirits live. Me, I brought my guitar. Heading up the trail on the 'Tiger', a 1,200mt. climb hauling a 10kg pack and a guitar was fun.

I went to the Great Wall with Joe (my guide on this one), Em and Spring (the coolest guy with the coolest name!). Joe was to blame for me bringing my guitar along, on leaving the hostel he said 'Hey bring your guitar!', I thought,'Won't it be too awkward on the way?'But no.  It was coming for sure. What I didn't count on was that I wouldn't be leaving it somewhere before we climbed until sunset...Oh no, I was bringing it all the way. The drive with the local guy was terrifying. Really. There were a couple of near misses with big trucks, and oncoming vehicles also careening down this dusty winding death track of doom. I was in the front seat so I got a full view of what was ahead as he overtook on sharp bends into traffic, and breaked so hard we were all flung forward stopping just short of collision. Still we made it! And wow were we happy to be there in one unbruised piece! So, Goubekou. It's basically in the middle of nowhere. Perfect. This was the plan. Going from Beijing to this quiet village in the mountains, surrounded by the Great Wall was a shock. In a good way. Goubekou is the kind of place where you walk down the main street and find three old guys are watching your every move, from their sentry positions. When you pass them they stare you down, the only way to break this Mexican Stand-Off is usually to draw your guns. Or you can try smiling at them and the old 'Ni hao!'. This works. They'll smile at the weird foreigner and wave you on. The funny thing is they go back to lookout duty, this is what they do. We met more people, female sentries, all sitting on the street chilling out, talking, checking out whats happening today. Then we walk past. They all stop what they're doing and watch us. We're bound to do something amazing. A dog followed us barking. That was it! Joe wanted to show us around some local houses. Outside one was a very old lady, sitting lookout. While Joe was talking to her, her neighbour comes across the street looking his best, walking tall (he was over 70 for sure) with a big pink flower for her from his garden. Sweet.

Trekking through corn fields, and looking out over an unspoilt vista of summer flowers, crops and green hills, where the Great Wall snaked its way up and up, I realized I was in a place that hadn't been wrecked yet by industry. As I travelled around China, out of the train window all I could see were pylons and factories pumping smoke and unkown pollutants out into the atmosphere. In Korea, there is a phenomenon called 'the Yellow Dust' which blows all the way down from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It wouldnt be that harmful normally, no more than a basic sandstorm, that obscures the sun at dusk giving an orange glow to everything. However, because the yellow sands also pass over China's industrial; wasteland on their way to Korea, Koreans are really worried about what toxins and heavy chemicals it could contain. Everyone has to wear masks on the streets, and many health problems are attributed to this kind of pollution. Way to go China.
With this in mind, hiking through the fields and hills around this small village, which could be anywhere in the world, I coud really appreciate the peace and quiet here. We climbed the Tiger, so named because it really does resemble a crouching tiger, the Wall leading up its steep slope. At sunset I was playing Jack Johnson songs on the Great Wall of China, with a perfect 360 degree panorama of mountains. Looking along the Wall's route we could see where we began near the village so far below, and how the Wall lead up to distant hills, and into the horizon as far as we could see. It would be nice to think that we had walked that far! But lugging a pack and a guitar this was ok. Back down to the village for the night. It turned out that Joe was searching for our accomodation for the night in all of these elderly people's houses. In the end we found one, the main guesthouse (and only one) in this village. We came across a river that was lit up by a glowworm, the first one I had ever seen, I carried it around for a while lighting up my palm, then put it back! They gace us enough food for an army and we got a good night's sleep with the sounds of the hillsides knocking me out like a light.

Day 2.
Next morning there was breakfast for an army. Then onto the Dragon. That is what this seciton of the Great Wall is called, as it twists and winds it's way through the interlocking hills. Making out way up broken dusty trails, and through fields of intenstly stinging plants, we and our burning legs made it to the crumbling remains of the oldest section of the Great Wall of China. We only saw one other person up there that day, a lone hiker way off in the distance. The magnitude of this structure is astounding. I had no trouble imagining the Mongols attacking the wall, seeing them coming across the hills from miles away and waiting, ready for the onslaught. The book I had with me on the trip was about Marco Polo, and although on his travels betweem 1271 and 1295 he never wrote about the Great Wall of China, probably because it wasn't  very important even to the Chinese just then, he most definately had seen it, and most likely walked where I did. Out in the open, with mountains all around, in the ruins of civilisation, I cn feel a strong affinity with Marco Polo, who at my age was travelling this same region of the world, exploring it for the first time. While I'm not the first person here, I can still feel the thrill of discovery, after all, its new to me. In life we should always seek new adventurous experiences, that's what life is made up of. Trekking along the Dragon we passed more than then towers, most in ruins, and one was a captains tower, much bigger than the others. This is where we took a break, on the roof looking out at the Wall stretching before us and behind. You really could keep going for years, saying to yourself, as I did, look one more tower on the horizon! The one on the horizon always looks more interesting, or maybe the view from there will beat the one you've got now! Its hard to go back. The spirit of adventure, of an intrepid 5 year old explorer had taken hold of me (in fact if you ask my parents they'll confirm that I've always been like this!) and I was going to go all the way! Very few people have completed the Great Wall hike, at more than 2,500 kms it is a serious walk. One Englishman has hiked most of it and many Chinese hikers have attempted it. It would take at least 2 years of hard slogging through broken rubble, overgrowth, precipitous falls and near-vertical climbs. But man, would it be worth it! True, you might get pretty tired of looking at the never-ending Wall ahead and behind, with so many towers to go, dotting the mountain tops and running along cliffs, into deep valleys, through towns and villages, desert terrain and open plains. It would be a good adventure, but I would prefer a more varied path, it would feel a bit like walking Route 66. So, looking back at the misty Tiger rising up, over the Dragon, we made the decision to go back to reality. I was out-voted! Coming here throughout the seasons would be fantastic, especially winter, which is harsh this far north. Snow covering the mountains and the Great Wall icy and treacherous winding its way through a frozen world. In spring the hillsides would be blossoming with every color, and autumn's transformation would explode across the countryside with everything turning red and orange. The Wall will be the same, more or less. If parts of it crumble anymore there won't be anything left of it! Thankfully some people are busy helping to keep it as is, and even better, William Lindesay started a group to protect, clean up, and perserve the Great Wall of China so it lasts another while. Its lasted this long without help, but the millions of tourists that pour onto it like invading tribes from the Steppe are wearing it down more than a thousand years of the elements, and so if no-one helps out, it will probably fall down pretty soon.

the ISLAND OF DESTINY!

On the way down to Mokpo from Seoul I looked at my two companions, Brad and Matt, and we realized that this was the spirit of true adventure. Without much of a 'plan' per se, we were heading to one the many island dotting the south coast of South Korea. This trip was an exercise in going with the flow and getting as far as you can for free! So here's how it went.

So, we had paid for the regular train, which is SLOW. It takes almost 6 hours, and costs around 20,000W. We hopped on the KTX for free (normally about 40,000), luckily the ticket girl was okay (or didn't want the trouble of kicking three free-loading foreigners off the train!) The KTX is a sweet ride, topping 300km/hr in straight stretches, and making it to Mokpo in under 3hrs. Awesome! We had planned to get the ferry from the Ferry Terminal, hoping there were some running in the evening. It was now about 6.30. Sunset was golden. There was no ferry. As we jumped out of the taxi and old guy cut us off with his rusty bike saying 'its closed! its closed! come to my hotel!' and gave us his card. But we wouldn't be so easily defeated. Nothing would stand in our way to THE ISLAND. I only found out about coming the night before, and as we had stayed out far too late we almost didn't even get going. But now we had, it was as if the ISLAND was calling us. We couldn't go back!

Plan B: Find a fisherman to take us there.

This would prove more difficult than we imagined. We went down to the dock but the only people there were not up for going back out tonight. Getting a taxi we ended up in Bukhan, and even though we were told this was the place to go for boats, it wasn't. It was empty. Sitting on the dock with Matt and Brad, things seemed bleak. Matt was losing all hope. Me and Brad were eating, distracting ourselves while we hoped a boat would arrive. Then low and behold! One did. A fisherman! With people on the boat!! He was landing!!! We asked him to take us out, how hard could it be? He was going there anyway. Just the three of us. No big deal. He said no. Our boat powered away into the night. We were truly stranded in Mokpo. Mokpo is actually quite beautiful, right on the sea, its mountains are lit by night and people are really friendly and warm. It's an okay place to be stranded... But NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had to get out of there!!!!!!!!!!

Plan C: Give up all hope. Camp in Mokpo.

NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!! There was suddenly and unexpectedly a...

Plan D: Go to the police for help!

Okay. This might not seem the first thing that would come to mind at this time, but the policestation was right in front of us. Crime is so low in Korea that these guys probably have nothing to do anyway, so maybe they could get us to the ISLAND OF DESTINY. They were very cool guys, and yeah, they had nothing to do. Soon, after chilling out in the policestation drinking free coffee and planning our route to the island, we had a boat. We had to pay 50,000W which was twice the price of the ferry, but hey, we were getting out there! Everyone told us it was impossible until the morning. Everything is possible. Funny thing is the boat we got was the same one that had turned us down earlier leaving us stranded on the dock.

Blasting our way along at top speed, we were finally on the way to the ISLAND! We had a private boat and a whole island to ourselves to explore. First thing we needed to do was find a good beach to camp on. That was easy, the island is really small! We got a big fire going, fuelled by satan, and cooked some spagetti. Playing guitar under the big bright moon, while Matt and Brad aided erosion by throwing bigger and bigger rocks into the sea, I thought: Yeah man this is it! Beach life. Cooking over the fire was great too, everything was charred in seconds!

We had big plans for this island. It would be OWNED! In our bags we had a mini arsenal, air rifles and roman candles. When combined? Prepare for AWESOMENESS! Matt took off into the darkness and we hunted him around the beach. The tide decided that was the perfect time to come in, so we had to rescue our camp and abandon the area! The water had come up really far, and we had managed to pick the one area hemmed in by cliffs, so we had climb the rocks. With all the gear. A LOT of gear! Brad fell off the cliff. It was okay he landed on me...and the food bag...mostly on the eggs (the only breakable thing we brought...apart from Brad's butt). We moved on to the new and improved campsite! Then went to explore with our heavy firepower. The trek through the woods at 3am was like LOST. But we were by far the most dangerous thing out there! I saw forest crabs for the first time in my life. I guess they just made it up from the beach. But it looked weird!

Sleeping on the rocks at the lighthouse, the moon was setting. I've never watched the moon for the whole night, from moon-up to sun-up. It was really clear and lit up the whole sky. Heading back to the beach we crashed out for a few hours in the sunshine, then cooked breakfast, swam, got incredibly sunburned (the heat was intense!), and explored the island some more before we got ready to go back to Mokpo!

The way back was cool too, we managed to hop on the train for free again but this time we got stuck with the 6hr option. It was rough! We were very sunburned at this stage and having not slept at all really for two days, we were much in need of some well deserved rest! Arriving back in Seoul i would sleep most of the next day! We had answered the call of THE ISLAND OF DESTINY, and we ROCKED IT'S SOCKS OFF! Three good amigos, some good beach-food, air-soft guns duck tape and fireworks, sunshine and freedom...perfect combination.

A photo expedition into Mao's underground city, Beijing

So who would've thought that under the entire center of Beijing, underneath the peaceful Hutong streets and even stretching to Tianemen Square, there is a whole underground city? In the 1960's, while the ever star -reaching west  was building space shuttles, Mao came up with the idea that the future lay underground. It was a time of fear of nuclear war, and he planned for it. The result is that today in Beijing there are tunnels all over the narrow streets surrounding the Forbidden City and Tianemen Square. Secret entrances in people's houses that lead down into a network of passage ways leading eventually to a complex of subterranean buildings said to include: a hospital, storerooms, safe houses for officials, and an entire 4-lane highway leading from the government buildings to the outskirts of the city! And walking around Beijing, you would have no idea it was even there. With a friend writing an article on this amazing piece of Communist engineering, we went down into the tunnels. Whatever was down there my camera was ready! While we couldn't take photographs of the outside of the building, we could do what we liked once we got down there. It was a bit like entering the hatch in LOST.

My friend Alex had gotten in touch with Time Out magazine to find out how they got down there fro their article. It turned out there was a guy who worked on this street who knew a place we could get in. I'll call him the Lego Man. I'm not sure if he paid a bribe to whoever guarded this house, but he lead to through the Hutong on our mission. There was a soldier at the door who made a big deal out of not looking at us at all as we passed, and then we were descending steps into the basement of this normal house. We were in.

I mentioned LOST, it really was like that, but with no lights in a tunnel knee deep in water. Directions to different rooms were printed in red chinese letters on the once-white walls. There were quotes celebrating the 'Great Leader' and the Communist Party. We expected DHARMA signs everywhere and a computer we'd have to enter codes to save the world! And a monster or two. Torches cast eerie disorientating light across everything, reflecting off the water at our feet, and at weird angles off the walls. Lego Man held a lighter to the wall to see what was written there, the flame dancing in a warm glow compared to the dark and the white torch beams. Zebra light. Off the main tunnel were maybe ten storerooms, some empty, one full of old rusted bicycles from the 60's, one with fire extinguishers. Some old posters were peeling off the wall, from more recently though, these tunnels were used as a hang out in the past for kids. Certain sections of the tunnels were open to the public for a time, but have been closed (permanently?) for over one year. It could be that they are dangerous and unstable as a result of the subway lines cutting through them.

Our adventure was cut short though. At the end of the tunnel we looked up to see that there was a way to the top from here, and in front of us the roof had caved in. It was full of debris, so there was no way we could go any further. The experience of going down there was amazing, it is something that is about as far from the tourist trail as you can get! We hoped to get a bit further into the tunnels but we had to go back. A lot of people have never heard about this place and most Beijingers have never gone down here. I didn't know anything about it until I met Alex and we were lucky to get the chance to go down there.

We had only 20 minutes to get out of there before the people that owned the house came back so we had to run. I took so many pictures in that short time, just kept on clicking for all I was worth! But the total darkness lit from torches made it no easy task!
Still we got a good look at the underworld of Beijing, and I came away with some good photographs. job done.

So in theory if you found the right entrance you could follow these tunnels all the way to Tianemen Square. But they are cut across all over by subway lines, and many have been blocked off on purpose by the military. The reason could be two-fold. For safety. Or to keep whatever is under the Government buildings secret. China from my experience is touchy about things like this, even a 40 year old tunnel system. The Communist Party rules. Mao is alive and well in some ways, still given his 'due respect' from everyone too scared to say otherwise. I was told from one person who would say what was on his mind that people are  embarrassed by that whole period, but can't say it because of two reasons: they love China, and there still isn't any true freedom of speech there. I went busking on Tianemen Square that same week in front of Mao and although the police came, they just watched from a distance, to make sure I wasn't starting a riot! I was starting to think China was actually cool, when two days later the last person to speak out against the government in China, the famous artist Ai Weiwei was detained. He was trying to testify on behalf of his friend, writer Tan Zuoren, on trial for subversion. Ai Weiwei was beaten and arrested. He designed the bird's nest for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and he was the only person to openly criticize China in his blog. It makes me appreciate coming from an open free country where I can say what I want, where people cue up everyday to shout at the government! We don't have to worry about the police breaking down our doors and dragging us away for writing a blog like this one!

FACT FILE:

Beijing’s Underground City was open to the public from the year 2000 but have since been closed to the public as of 2002.



The tunnels were built from 1969 to 1979 by more than 300,000 locals and even school children, they extend for over 30 kms covering an area of 85sq kms, 8 to 18metres underground.



There are more than 1000 anti-air raid structures in place.



Most of the ancient city walls of Beijing were leveled for building materials.



It was planned that the tunnels could house 40% of Beijing’s population in case of nuclear attack. Luckily it was never used!



For those interested in seeing the Underground City, the address is 62 West Damochang Street, Qianmen, tel. 6702-2657. Apparently, there is another site in Beijing Qianmen Carpet Factory at 44 Xingfu Dajie, Chongwen District, tel. 6701-5079 and a lesser known one at 18 Dazhalan Jie in Qianmen. (at the time of writing, the access to the underground city is by unofficial means only)


Published in the November College Tribune UCD. See www.ucd.ie/tribune for online edition every month.
Thanks to Cathy for all her help!

tibetan temple photo gallery

DSC_0540
Originally uploaded by Roro amuigh san Ais!!!

Om Mani Padme Hum

Compassion
Generosity
Patience
Kindness
Perseverence
Wisdom

Going here was a great experience, its a truly peaceful place full of people in a city of 4 million! You can feel on your own.

Of course its totally what you create, and feel from somewhere.

Tibet is a country. Freedom is a right. This temple stands in the center of Beijing, what does it symbolize? Tibetan culture is treasured as a part of China, but Tibet is one of the most avoided questions there, several people told me this: 'Tibetans were slaves to the Lama, now they are free and have TV!' Ok thats what they learn in China. Theres not a big demand to tell it like it is.


I'm not sure what more to say for now, this temple is there and it is amazing, but represents a contradiction that it is a place of freedom but in a place where none exists.

here's the photos

Tibetan Lamasery Temple, Beijing, the largest outside of Tibet. Free Tibet!


OM MANI PADME HUM

www.flickr.com/photos/r0r0planet