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Awesome – Boy was I glad I went. Check this out.

“Eating Pomegranates Naked” – Great Title – Wonderful piece of Theatre


The Black Theatre Workshop – also known as Theatre BTW for obvious reasons – traditionally offers a Discovery Series Performance – a one night a year in the spring ‘reading’ of a new play by an Afro-Canadian playwright. I’ve attended at least 3 of these – and found them consistently entertaining. They are always held in the cafe of the MAI building on Jeanne-Mance – a stone’s throw from McGill and St. Laurent.

I was quite thrilled to be attending another one of BTW’s public readings on April 15th. I was a bit concerned about the title – “Eating Pomegranates Naked” – but I will admit to being hard pressed to explain the title after having ‘heard’ the play. Perhaps I should have gotten up my courage and asked why “Pomegranates” and why “Naked” during the Q&A after the performance.

How does a ‘reading’ differ from a play I hear you mutter? Well, a reading – at least as interpreted by the folks at BTW – means limited reversal time, no need to memorize, no sets, no costumes, and an ‘up to the performer’ attitude towards the amount of ‘drama’. All this said – these are talented performers – and they aren’t going to just stand up there and read. Nope – these performances are very ‘theatrical’, which means that the lack of costumes and props focuses your attention on the facial expressions and nuances in the voices of the performers. The result is an intriguing performance blending low-tech with high drama.

The action starts at a dinner party thrown by 2 of the characters – and through their conversations, and through brief glimpses of their lives as couples and friends, throws a spot light on one of the key concerns of this group of 30 somethings – Having Children. To have or not to have – that is the key question, along with the complimentary concern – Can and Should you have children. Having listened to my kids explore exactly these same concerns – while slightly different in some of the details, I can feel for the conflict that the thoughts of children raise.

For one couple – the revealing discover that one of them can never parent a child is devastating, to another couple a series of mis-carriages has changed the meaning of parenthood completely, and to a third, the impossibility of finding a mate in order to have children has become emotionally overwhelming. As pairs of characters regroup to engage is one revealing conversation after another, their ‘woe’s’ mount up to insurmountable heights.

Fascinating.

Obviously – it is too late for you to hear the reading – it’s done. But the play is being produced as part of Toronto’s SummerWorks festival – and I suspect will end up on stage here in Montreal before long. Keep your eye’s peeled.

But more importantly – make it a promise to go to the next in the Discovery Series – sometime in April 2014. It’s a lot of fun – it’s generally well advertised – and if you visit the BTW website – you can even sign up to be notified by email.

http:www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca

Mise-en-Scene – a must see exhibit – coming to a museum near you!


While we were in Seoul, the LEEUM Museum was putting on what might be one of the best ‘special’ exhibits I’ve even seen. It’s too late to see it in Seoul – it’s gone as of June 2, 2013 – but something this good will surely be re-appearing at a Museum near you. Keep your eyes peeled!

The theme of ‘Mise-en-Scene’ is theatre – as it applies to moving images, stage sets and the like. Leaving aside the ‘blab blab’ of the curators – the resulting collection of works by assorted artists was both intriguing, unforgettable, and surprising.

The first major piece is a series of 12 video monitors by Adad Hannah – each showing a bit more of a scene. In the first – there is a simple close up of a woman’s face and a man’s hand. In the next monitor – the camera has pulled back just a bit, showing more of the man’s hand. As the camera apparently pulls back further and further, more of the scene is revealed – you gradually realize that the man is turned away from the woman, and is actually looking at another woman who has just entered the room. In the final monitor, you see that in fact the entire scene is a scene within a scene – there is another camera man, a prompter, sound crew, etc. At the end of the installation is the room itself. You are left wondering what you were thinking when you saw the first few monitors – thinking about thinking in the Buddhist vocabulary.

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The next several pieces are works by Jung Yeondoo. In all of them – there is a trick – not everything you see in the final ‘photograph’ is real. For example – one image is of a woman apparently sitting in a boat on a lake. But alongside the final image is a photograph of how the first image was created – the lake is a backdrop, the lady is real, but the boat is a flat cut-out prop. In another series – the first photograph is a battle scene – an explosion with dirt flying, 3 men running for cover, a fourth man being blown away. But the reality is that only 2 men are real – the dirt is being spread from above, the rest of the scene – including the tank – are again cut-outs. These are so cool.

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We also got to see several of the works from the Feast of Trimalchio by AES+F. Check this out on the internet – these are huge format photographs with 20 or more people taking part. The final photographs are created by taking pictures of small groups of two to 6 people – then pasting the individual pictures together. The theme is also interesting – a decadent roman festival set in modern times. The background is a modern resort with a beach, housekeeping maids, golf pros, chaise lounges, and – true to the theme – decadent looking customers. The final pictures are replete with detail – the construction method intriguing.

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There were also 3 video sections.
The first by Eve Susman and the Rufus Corporation is an 89 second video that captures the action just before and just after the scene captured in Velazquez’s las Meninas. Look it up if you do not know the reference, but to help you out – here’s the picture. Now just imagine all those various characters – from the artist to the dwarfs – coming to life.

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The original painting shows a members of the Spanish Court – and dates from 1656. The painting shows people looking in different directions, some towards the artist, some away – and even shows the artist himself in front of the easel. What the video does is show all the same people – dressed exactly as they are in the painting – but moving around and interacting with each other. At one precise moment – it all snaps together into the painting – but then the performers continue to move – deconstructing just as the finished constructing the famous painting.

The 2nd video was even more intriguing. Done by Yang Fudong, it is 7 different movie screens – each showing a different view of a specific landscape with a cast of interesting characters. The characters move in and out of the different screens, things behind them change positions and travel also from screen to screen. Filmed in black and white, and completely open to any and all interpretation, it is again a challenge to your thought processes. What did you think was going on – did you expect what happened to happen. Are you predicting what will occur – or do you not see the screens as connected. Consider how interesting – art that makes you think about thinking.

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The final piece – by Zin Kijong – is the hardest to describe. The viewer is in a space between 2 parts of the installation. On one side is a series of models – dioramas that capture a single moment in time. In front of them is a track on which 2 cameras are placed, each one slowly moving past the models. On the other side of the space are 2 video monitors – each showing the ‘view’ of one of the cameras. The models have been designed to create a story in the mind of the watcher – again – making you think about what you are thinking.

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So – keep your eyes open for exhibits by any or all of these artists. There work is outstanding. I just can’t believe how fortunate the Intrepid Traveler and I were to wander into this Special Exhibit. And how glad we were that we did.

Signing off – The Soup Lady and the Intrepid Traveler.

Outstanding – the LEEUM Samsong Museum of Art


Contemporary Art Museums are always a bit of gamble. Sometimes you win – sometimes you lose. This one was a winner. One of the best Museums we’ve seen in Korea – and maybe one of the best I’ve ever seen. World Class in every respect. Like the grading system in Harry Potter – Exceeds Expectations.

The building – actual 3 different interlocking buildings – are worth a look-see just on their own. As you can see from the photograph that Jill is holding – on the left is a rectangular building with windows, in the middle ground is the brown building designed to remind viewers of a fort (on the left) and a pot (on the right). On the extreme right – labeled memories of the future, is the third part – a lopsided jigsaw of black walls. Under the green grass in the middle (behind Jill and the ‘silver’ ball sculpture) is the main lobby of the museum.Plus, inside the first building is a suspended concrete black box (apparently the first of its kind) that holds an entire traveling exhibit.

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What you can’t see in the photo Jill is holding – but you can see in my picture is the gigantic Hyatt that got built just behind the Museum, and literally dwarfs it.

Trust me – seeing is much better than trying to describe.

But it’s not about the outside of a museum – it’s about the inside – and this one has insides to die for! We got the digital guide – a Samsung smart tablet that allowed you to see videos of the objects and rotate them at will, link to further information, plus provided an audio guide – and a guide to the artist with a bit of their history. Bottom line – coolest guide I’ve ever used. And it was controlled wireless by the art work – you moved close to a piece – it began to talk to you. Move away – and the next piece started to ‘chat’. Way cool.

Of the 5 distinct exhibits – 3 permanent, 2 temporary – two were completely outstanding – of the do not miss this – variety. The other 3 exhibits were good – just not amazingly awesome great. My plan – I’ll review the Permanent one in this blog – then cover the ‘traveling’ exhibit – which was amazing – in the next blog.

So – Outstanding Exhibit 1 – Permanent – “Modern Art”. This was 3 floors (80 pieces) of outstanding art, extremely well ‘curated’ in the audio guide – but clearly labeled by Artist, Date, and Title in the Museum itself. On the top floor were the works by the Korean contemporary Artists – names that I didn’t recognize of course – but art I won’t soon forget. There was a glorious scene of mountains that combined Korean Classical penmanship with modern sensitivities to create a scene full of movement and drama. I didn’t need the guide to tell me to admire the dramatic curves of the path, the stream with its nude bathers, the rocks, the fog, or the mountains. Stunning. Another favorite on the third floor was called something like ‘The Modern Woman’ in Korean. It featured a drawing of a very typical middle-aged Korean peasant woman showing the traditional effects of the hard life of a farmer (wrinkled skin, chunky body, thick muscular arms and legs) holding up a ‘modern’ dress about 6 sizes too small. East meets West, Expectation meets Reality. Traditional confronts the Future. Very powerful, very simple, unforgettable.

On the 2nd and first floor were a mix of works by international acclaimed artists and internationally known Korean artists. I only have time and space to describe a few of these amazing pieces.

There were 3 works by Mark Rothko, meaningful because I saw the play ‘Red’ (the story of Mark Rothko) in Montreal just before leaving the city. There was a wonderful series by a Korean artist who took clothes racks and decorated them to reflect the current state of Korean confusion – modern vs traditional, appealing junk vs ‘mom’s’ boring conservative tastes. Very interesting.

I also liked a gigantic cyborg woman, hung dramatically from the ceiling, and a simple piece of just a large rock and a sheet of iron. The contrast between natural and man-made – and your ability as the viewer to move around and within the piece made it very captivating – way more interesting than I can easily explain. I also liked a large pentagonal mirrored surface that fractured any image – creating an interesting play on the term – mirror.

The majority of the pieces were well-lit, easy to see and to enjoy. One exception, and I hate to be negative, was an installation called ‘Death’ that was composed of several thousand pills. The problem? To protect the installation, they had used several large sheets of glass. Since they were highly reflective – the result was the piece across was reflected so strongly that it was almost impossible to see the pills.

On the other hand – a pair of life-sized ‘models’, cunningly made by pasting photographs on the appropriate body part were so well position in a corner that it was hard to realize they weren’t alive. On top of these pieces, there was an Easter Egg by Jeff Koons, a statue by Alberto Giacometti and a piece by Andy Warhol.

I always think that if I see 2 or 3 pieces I enjoy – I’ve done well. But in this one part of this museum, at least 2/3rds of the art was if not wonderful, at least approachable. Having the audio guide helped of course.

Come back tomorrow to hear about an even more impressive part of the museum – a traveling exhibit called ‘Mise-en-Scene’.

Signing off – The Soup Lady and the Intrepid Traveler.

Enjoying the Flavors of north-east South Korea – The Jungang market of Sokcho


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Jungang market is described on the map as a ‘fairly famous conventional market’, but to my mind – it was the quintessential market of Korea. Just large enough to qualify as a market, but small enough to remember which stalls were where! I loved it.

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The market covers an area of roughly 4 city blocks – but it’s on 3 floors – we pretty much stuck to the main floor – which had at least one, and often 4 or more – examples of everything. For instance – there’s an awesomely delicious typical chicken dish here in Sokcho – Dak-gangleon – or deep-fried spicy chicken with a sweet sauce. It is finger-lick’n good. I’m no fan of KFC – but this stuff was amazing. The contrast between spicy and sweet was so good, I keep wondering how I can bring a box home to Montreal. There have to be at least two dozen stalls selling this stuff – each stall has it’s signature box, its deep fryers, its special sauce. But it doesn’t take a lot of mental effort to realize that the stall with the continuous lines is the one you want to buy from! We couldn’t figure out how the other guys stay in business, this one stall claimed so much of the ‘chicken’ shopping crowd!

But the Jungang Market isn’t just about chicken – it’s about fish and huge fruit and lots of other goodies!

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That’s a Giant Pacific Octopus – we saw live ones in the aquariums and in the fish tanks, and boxed ones like this one ready to be taken home for dinner. I can not even begin to imagine how they are caught – but they sure were huge!

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Speak of huge – look at the size of the apples (or is it a pear?). According to the son of the Intrepid Traveler, these fruits taste more like a pear than an apple – but regardless of taste – that’s a huge piece of fruit!

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That’s a chestnut – and yes – it’s the size of my fist. I tried some roasted from a vendor just inside the market gates – and they were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Fresh, no bad spots, super sweet. The son of the Intrepid Traveler admitted that they were so good – he might even revise his opinion of chestnuts.

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So – if you keep the fish alive and in a tank – if they don’t get sold – you can toss in fish food – and sell them tomorrow. We saw Squid (above), flat fish we think were in the flounder family (below), and two of the huge fish with giant mouths – your guess is as good as mine on what kind of fish that is. I really wonder who will be brave enough to buy him – or his brother in the same tank…

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There were also giant red snow crabs (I snapped a picture of one trying to make a get-away – going from the fire into the frypan I think!).

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I’ve yet to taste one – even though the lower part of the market features stalls with grills – and apparently they will cook up your fancy up for you – no charge!

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Couldn’t resist the sock display – aren’t they adorable?

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The hit of the market was clearly young Sophie – at 3 months old she looks a lot like a tiny Buddha – and we never passed a grannie that didn’t come over to pinch her cheeks. They would even take her away from Chris to get an extra cuddle.

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I think Sophie showed great style and grace here – never fussing, never complaining – just taking in the oohs and ahs like it was her due!

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The delicious food options were virtually unlimited – there were fried veggies and fish – including shrimp that were battered and deep-fried with not only their shells on – but their heads! So definitely munch carefully.

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And for those of you wondering if their were veggie options – of course there were! Here’s what we think might have been cucumbers – or maybe they are squashes?

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We tended to stick to tomatoes and bean sprouts – at least we know what those were! And for just $1 = you got enough for at least 2 meals. Such a deal.

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Just outside the market – marking the entrance are two bronze statues. I did not care for the one of the bull – but the one with the fish really spoke to me of Sokcho, Fishing, and the hard life people in the area have had.

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Its only in recent years that this area has economically taken off – and Korea is putting in big money in infrastructure here, from sidewalks to proper highways. So if you are coming – come soon – or even the Jungang Market will be changed beyond recognition.

Signing off – The Intrepid Traveler and the Soup Lady

Getting Grannie Time – Even if it means traveling to Korea!


Today’s reality is that families don’t live near each other. Well, some families are blessed by being close – but more and more families are dealing with long distance relationships, particularly grand-parents and grand-kids.

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I’m among the blessed – my grand-kids (2 so far – always routing for more of course) live relatively near by – a 30 minute drive. So we can get together for dinner and a home movie – even grab them for a ‘grannie’ weekend, without having to make serious arrangements. But not all families are so blessed, nor all kids so willing to share.

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My friend the Intrepid Traveler has 6 grand-kids, 2 of whom live near by but seldom visit, 2 of which live about 40 minutes from her house but she sees a lot and has a close relationship with – and 2 of which live in Tiawan. That’s 12,000 miles from her home. So spending quantity or quality time with them is near to impossible. That’s a large part of the reason we’re in Korea. It was easy for her kids and grand-kids to get to, and not insanely expensive for us. Plus we were able to score timeshare weeks at the Kensington Beach Resort. So we’ve spent the last 10 days living next door to her kids, and since they are not ‘at home’ either, they have had no distractions – no work, no other friends – just us, the kids, the grand-kids.

So – quality time to the max.

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Is 2 weeks enough time to really get to know your kids and grand-kids? Well, it can’t hurt of course. And it’s a ton better than nothing. For the Intrepid Traveler – it’s meant time for conversations with her son and daughter-in-law. Conversations that don’t get cut short by other friends calling, TV blaring, or the needs of husbands. Instead our focus has been on the kids – helping them color in pictures, cook, play in the playground or even just sit on the beach. It’s been amazing.

So why am I muttering? Well – as more families are separated by significant distance, the issue is – who makes the move to get together. I’m of the opinion that the responsibility – at least during the hardest child rearing years – is on the grand-parent. If you want quality time with your grand-kids – you need to make it a priority – or it won’t happen. It’s too much to expect kids to break their routine and drag themselves to you – so you have to go to them. It’s seriously nice of course that the kids of the Intrepid Traveler were willing to meet us part way – and more importantly – take 2 whole weeks off work to just relax with grannie.

Now I know all the excuses – I’m too busy, I have a job, the kids don’t like the way I treat their kids, the kids are worried I’ll spoil the grand-kids, my daughter (or daughter-in-law) doesn’t make me feel welcome. But these are excuses, not reasons. Anything can/should be worked out if it makes lives better for the kids – right?

Here’s another thought – what do the Grand-kids think? My daughter is just turning 30 so I asked her what her memories of her grand-mother (my mother) were. We lived 1000 miles apart – so time together was determined by us committing to visiting them rather than they visiting us. To my surprise – my daughters recollections were extremely strong and very positive. Granted we tried to make sure that my kids got time with their grand-parents – but we were rarely able to spend 2 weeks at a stretch together – even a week was a long time. So clearly it’s more about repetition in my daughter’s case.

An issue – there is only a few years when Grand-kids are even willing to spend that kind of time doing ‘nothing’. Once they hit age 13 – all bets are off on spending time with grannies. So – do it now – no one has ever been sorry they spent too much time getting to know their kids and grand-kids.

My questions to you – my readers – One – how far do you live from your parents/grand-parents/grand-kids. Two – what are your memories of your grand parents? and Three – do you try to get your kids together with your parents – or if you are a grand parent – do you try to get to spend time with your grand kids? Or – if you are the kid – have you called/talked/chatted with your grand-parents lately?

My challenge to you – In the next 12 months – get some quality time with your grand kids/grand-parents – and comment to me about it!

Signing off to spend more time with the grand-kids – The Soup lady and the Intrepid Traveler.

My Daughter is getting Married!


On Monday, May 20th, Jamin Treeby of London, England, knelt in front of my daughter, Adrienne Eiser, and presented her with a beautiful emerald ring.

He told her that he wanted to Make her feel better for the rest of his life.

My Daughter joyfully and Tearfully accepted.

A wedding celebration is planned for Montreal in 2014.

The Bride to be is Beautiful, the groom to be is Handsome, The Mother of the Bride is thrilled, the Father of the Bride is Delighted and Proud.

Health and Happiness to Family and Friends – and to the Engaged Couple! May their Joy spread around the world.

Leslie and Victor Eiser

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Korean Museum Smack-Down


The Intrepid Traveler and I love Museums – in fact that’s a big part of the reason we became Visitors instead of Tourists – guided tours never give you enough time in the Museums. We can easily spend 3 to 4 hours in a museum – we get the audio tour, we read every sign, we examine every display carefully. I mean – we love museums.

Now I know that not everyone likes museums the way we do, people don’t even like Aquariums the way we do. So instead of a blog on every museum we visited (it would take way too many days) – I’ve decided to rank them – from worst to best – and defend why.

8. Our least favorite Museum – The Sokcho Beach Nature Museum (Walking distance from the Express Bus Station). Size matters – and this one was a single large room on the 3rd floor of a building full of restaurants. The stellar attraction was a model of a dinosaur that was sensitive to movement. When you got close – the jaws moved. Marcel (age 5) loved it. The rest of the museum was a taxidermist dream come true. There was a mock-up of an aquarium – poorly preserved fish with a paper ‘sea’ background, no explanation in English, I’m not even sure there was an explanation in Korean. Most of the ‘fish’ were plaster models – I think. The next big section was a series of land animals – lions, tigers, wolves, coyotes, polar bears (?), and the like – again – either poorly done plaster models or really badly done taxidermy. The highlight, besides the view and the moving dinosaur, were a series of animal skeletons and 3 large models of sailing ships. I didn’t get the shell collection at all. For free – it was a fun way to entertain a 5-year-old, if I’d had to pay – it would have been a complete waste. Lots less fun than building sand castles – trust me.

7. Busan – Museum of Art (Modern/Contemporary) – Free. (Has its own subway stop) Modern art is always a challenge to the viewer – and while I always enter museums like this with a feeling of excitement, I often walk out wondering what the world is coming to. The current exhibit contained some really interesting pieces, and some really strange stuff. Highlight – art that ‘stripped’ the clothes off the people in the paintings when you stood in the right place. Bottom line – the price is right, and if you never go – you’ll never find out how artists are seeing the world we live in.

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6. Busan – Museum – Free. (Ask for directions – its right next to the UN Cemetery – and not hard to reach.). Best parts of this museum were the life-sized re-creations – including a street from 1900 (when they first had barber shops in Korea – before that men wore their hair long and never cut it), the amazing video footage of the aftermath of the war, and some of the displays from earlier periods. Free Audio tour is a must of course. I liked the use of walk over displays too. In one, the first street car in Busan drives down the road. This museum is a must on the school tour circuit – and I got trapped between an exhibit and a stream of about 300 3rd and 4th graders walking through the museum. Trust me – I’m not sure they stopped anywhere – they just walked straight from the entrance to the exit. Tour Done. But then there was this foreign lady to see – I got hi, hello, hi from about 80% of the kids – so not only was this my personal highlight – I think I was theirs!

5. Seoul – National Korean Folk Museum – Free. (Close to the Gyeongbok Palace – walk around the outside of the Palace keeping the wall to your left – you won’t have to pay to enter) This was the very first museum we saw in Seoul, and what I remember most were two sections – a life-size traditional home, furnished as if the family had just gone out. You could see the kitchen area, and imagine the bustle as food was being prepared. The other part I thought was neat was the Children’s Museum – basically a space attached to the main museum but kept for just parents and young children. There were holes to stick your hand in, there was a large egg that you sawed in half to reveal a treasure (I’m guessing this is a Korean Fairy Tale). The kids got extremely excited to have the opportunity to do the sawing. We plan to go back with Marcel (age 5) to check this out.

4. Gyeongiu – National Museum – Free – (Ask for directions) (in 3 parts – Shilla History, Stuff found at the Anapji Pond Historic site, and Buddhist Collection). We opted for the Audio Tour (1000 Won = $1) and it was well worth it. Even though they had moved the collection into a smaller building while they ‘earth-quake proofed’ the larger museum, seeing how seriously old the culture in Korea is was stunning. On one wall is a timeline of what was happening in Korea vs what was happening in the world – puts things into perspective fast. I also particularly loved the Buddhist collection – which since we saw this following our temple stay at Haein-sa – made a lot more sense. This is also the place we met the ‘English’ Teacher/Tour guide who confused rice and lice. But the collection of Silla remains is worth seeing. Over 1000 years old and still so beautiful.

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3. Busam – Maritime Museum – Free (Getting there – take the 66 bus from the Nampo-dogg subway stop). The building is worth the visit – a gigantic stainless steel Ship sailing off into the future. The exhibits were excellent as well – including a full-sized mock-up of one of the ships that the Josen rulers sent to Japan to try to keep peace – in the 1600’s. There’s a huge walk thru sea tanks – this one had a very friendly turtle. The video footage of the port of Busan in operation is definitely worth seeing as well.

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2. Seoul – Women’s Rights Museum – Charge. (Getting there – it’s walking distance – sort of – from the Hongik University subway stop) This is a small, but extremely interesting museum devoted to the ‘comfort’ women (starting at age 11!) effectively imprisoned by the Japanese to ‘service’ their soldiers during the occupation from 1905 to 1945. What is most interesting is the amount of ‘evidence’ they have collected about what was happening, including numerous stories by ‘comfort’ women who have openly and painfully revealed their past. The history is shameful, but the effort put into this tiny museum is worth seeing. Highly recommended. Picture below shows the ‘memory’ or ‘butterfly’ wall outside the museum – visitors were encouraged to sign a ‘butterfly’ dedicated to the memory of one of the ‘comfort’ women and pin it to the wall. Lovely thought, eh?

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1. Busam – Fisheries Museum – Free (Getting there – walk 2 minutes from the Haedong Yonggung Temple – makes it definitely worth visiting the Temple. They are connected by a red bridge and a seaside path. To get to the Temple – take the 181 bus from Haeundae Beach Station.). I liked this Museum for several reasons – there were lots of fish in tanks to look at – they made the path ‘up’ to the main area look like you were swimming thru an underwater cave, and the exhibits were very good at explaining the different types of fishing nets – without a word of English. There was even an entire section devoted to how pearls are made in oysters, another about women breathe-hold divers, and another one on harvesting abalone. Plus there were 2 interactive sections that were quite unique – one showed you the nutritional values of different foods on thermometers – the other allowed you to spin a dial and point and ‘shoot’ a fishing area off the coast of Korea. Your reward for hitting the target – a picture and description of the type of fish you’d find there. Fun museum – great location – and you can easily walk from there to one of the top temples of Busan – the Haedong Yonggung Temple. Plus – if you like fish – there were several quite reasonable restaurants nearby. A win, win, win!

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The picture above is taken from the highest point in the temple – looking towards the fisheries Museum – that blue wall you can see in the middle distance. All the lanterns are strung to celebrate Buddha’s birthday – which was the day after our visit. Lovely, eh? Very peaceful scene, wonderful temple, great museum.

But it’s not all about Museums! Check out my next blog for our ratings of ‘Not a Museum’ must see attractions in Korea. Our favorite…. well you’ll just have to wait to see

Korean Fireworks are the best!


And on top of that – they have Floor Heating.

Koreans don’t heat their homes – they heat their floors! And they’ve been doing that since around 71 AD – so it’s not exactly a new technology – but it sure is an effective one. Basically the system is very simple – either hot water or hot air is circulated thru pipes under the floors of the living space – not the bathroom, and often not the kitchen’s – and the rest is high efficiency heating and a cozy warm living space. Got to Korean creativity.

On the other hand – we are currently at a resort on the beach – and fireworks are a huge thing here. I love setting off fireworks on the beach in Maine – but we’re not talking sparklers here. Oh no – we’re talking rockets that fire 30 separate shots out of one tube, and depending on the price – you either just get a series of flying sparks and a bang – or you actually get a flowering display. I’ve even seen colored bursts. It’s way cool.

But people here go crazy. In the states and Canada there are really strict rules about lighting fireworks – here it’s a free for all. Last night a family was literally standing next to the resort sending off their fireworks – which go at least 60 to 100 feet in the air – with no idea where the sparks were flying! And another family stood on their 5th floor balcony – and just held the firing sticks in the hands – pointed out from the building at least.

Every morning you can see the remains of at least 5 dozen fireworks – just from the night before.

All this said – We absolutely love it. And of course I had to go buy a box – $10 (10,000 Won) at EMart will buy you a box with 17 different fireworks – 5 of the 30+ shooting stars, plus a series of smaller ones including fountains that shoot up about 8 feet high.

I keep trying to think of a way to bring a box home – but I think the custom agents would have a field day – not in a good way either.

Signing off – The Fireworks Madame…

Thinking about Thinking – more info about Korean Buddhism


Before you read this blog – be sure you’ve read my blogs about the temple stay at Haein-sa – this blog will make a lot more sense then.

One of our guides at Haein-sa summarized Buddhism into 3 rules.
1. Do not do all evil things
2. Do do all good things
3. Clear your mind

Our Monk suggested the following mantras:
1. Think about thinking
2. Share your thinking with others – not what you know or have read – but what you think
3. Walk slowly and be silent. It is in being silent that you can hear yourself thinking.
4. Focus on this moment. On Now. Only what you do now affects your future. The past is gone, the future yet to be written. Only Now counts.

At one of the temples I visited it was suggested that to be a Buddha you must eliminate 3 things:
1. Greed
2. Anger
3. Foolishness

Heady stuff, eh? How often do we just stop and think about thinking unless forced to by some outside force. Even today – Buddha’s Birthday here in Korea, people are consumed with material things – selling their apples or onions or cakes, playing their computer games , or in my case – writing my blog. Are any of us thinking about thinking? Is even thinking about this wasting time?

It’s hard to say from my perspective – I love wandering around markets, if every one was doing mediation, what fun would that be? Maybe it’s enough to know that there are people out there – Priests, Monks, Rabbis, Imams – who ‘job’ it is to think about thinking so we don’t have to.

Signing off so she can do some thinking – the Soup Lady.

Are you a Tourist, a Visitor, or a Traveller?


At Kim’s House in Busan, South Korea, the Intrepid Traveller and I met up with Alfonso – a young (36) Doctor from Spain who asked us if we were Tourists, Visitors or Travellers? When pressed further, the discussion got very interesting.

Tourists have plans, they know where they will be every evening, they know what they will see every day. They join tour groups, eat in ‘safe’ restaurants with English Menus and familiar foods, and they stay in ‘comfortable’ surroundings. You see them at all the major attractions, but rarely at the minor ones – not enough time in their schedules. They arrive in a city in the morning, and leave the next evening, enabling them to check that one-off their list. If there’s an important festival – they plan to attend. They prefer to talk to other foreigners, or among themselves. They often either ignore, or never learn any words in the language of the country they are visiting, again – not enough time.

I think we have all been tourists – sometimes in our own home towns We structure our day to be sure to capture the important ‘stuff’, leaving no time and no room for chance.

Visitors spend more time in each place they go. Because they have more time, they can afford to take a chance on different kinds of food – street food or meals in local restaurants. They may hit all the ‘top’ attractions, but they will also visit lesser known temples, museums, shopping areas, sections of town. Having more time means seeing fewer destinations, but makes it easier to see more of the ones you do land in.

The Intrepid Traveler and I are visitors. We chat up locals – even if only a few words, we exchange favorite foods on the metros with our seat mates. we spend time in religious meeting places, letting our feet relax, and our minds wander. We accept gifts from strangers – a taste of ginseng from a lady on the subway, cookies from a vendor on the street, a cake from our seat-mate at the bus station. We smile and wave at everyone – and get rewarded by becoming the ‘mission’ for a group of Korean School kids – asked by their teacher to talk to a foreigner. We are Visitors.

Tourists take Cruises – visitors take boats.
Tourists fly – Visitors take trains or Buses.
Tourists make plans – Visitors rely on the kindness of strangers.
Tourists and Visitors stay in all kinds of lodging – it’s not the lodging that makes the difference – it’s the time, the need for planning, the openness to adventure that makes the difference.

But what is a traveller. Alfonso was basically referring to himself. He is extremely fortunate to have the ability to work, and earn a very good income, any time he feels the need. So instead of taking a long-term position, he takes short-term contracts when he runs out of money, and otherwise – he travels. Many times his destination is unknown, even to him. The wind of chance blows him as it will, allowing him the opportunity to wander the streets of a district without a plan, without a goal, just the desire to experience the life there before he moves on.

To me – being a traveller sounds wonderful on the surface, but consider the downside. Like a rolling stone, a traveller by Alfonso’s definition will never get married, have kids, have grand kids. They will never have a place to call ‘home’, a garden to worry about missing the azalea blooms, friends to see month after month.

Nope – I don’t want to be a traveller – being a visitor is good enough for me.

Signing off – Korean Visitors – the Intrepid Traveller and the Soup Lady.