Ramada Plaza Gwangju

... with different bamboo types. I saw how an edible winter bamboo shoot only took days to grow. We walked around Gwang Han Ru with Chunyang's memorial. We then ended up in Mt. Jiri where there was a buddhist temple.After visiting the compounds, we were told to wait 45 minutes. By that time, it was raining cats and dogs. All of our raingear was wet. Thank goodness I came fully equipped with a poncho, umbrella, and ...

... that hard work would take you where you wanted to go. He became a successor to a small company through his hard work and then he expanded his company from there on. He was involved in many community works with a hospital dedicated to him. Now his shipyard is the largest exporter in the world. Definatly a man to remember. Now it was time to eat, and we ate plenty at the Hyundai Hotel at ...

... between the North and the South. I joined an American army tour (a tour is the only way to go here) to Panmunjom. Just before entering the DMZ (demilitarized zone - absolutely no pictures!) we crossed a bridge which the bus had to zigzag across, because the bridge was littered with randomly placed military road barriers. We then drove through an anti-tank wall and then we arrived at Camp Bonifas, where western (mostly Americans) and South Korean troops are ...

On continue le tour du monde des lieux symboles de la democratie. Apres le Tlatelolco a Mexico (400 etudiants tues par l'armee en 68 parce qu;ils demandaient plus de liberte d'expression), la Plaza des Mayo a Buenos Aires et les meres et grand meres qui demandent toujours des nouvelles de leurs fils et filles enleves par la dictature il a 30 ans, la cite rebelle de Gwanju, a l'histoire incroyable. 1980, coup d'etat ...

... without the intent to buy." The train to Gwangju was 4 hours 30 minutes. We found a cheap motel near the train station (W30,000) and it was totally decked out -- full bathroom, watercooler/fridge, AC & fan, spacious, and had a computer with internet access in the room. Definitely a good deal overall. We rested a bit, then wandered around the city for the rest of the evening. Dinner was at Lotteria again (we ate there ...

... anden maade fik sagt til mig a jeg skulle tage hendes halskaede af ( det tog lidt tid foer jeg fattede hvad det var hun ville mig ) saa fortsatte hun at snakke koreansk til mig, og jeg maatte forklare hende at jeg var fra Denmarke - saa begyndte hun at nusse mig....grin, det er altsaa noget saert noget. Paa et tidspunkt tog jeg nogle moenter op fra min lomme, og saa begyndte hun fandme at be' om penge !!!!! Jeg var ...

... My grandfather is buried on a small hill nearby his farmland, and on those same grounds are buried the remains of his father and those of his father's father. Twice a year, Koreans traditionally head to their family burial grounds to pay their respect to their ancestors with offerings of fruits and wine. This was the first time that I had seen these burial grounds, and to see them with my grandmother was moving. That evening we dropped off my ...

... and by all accounts everyone had a great time, though I (Mathew) am very happy I am not teaching little kids. The soccer game Koreans are soccer mad and with the world cup only a few weeks away we were taken to the world cup stadium (i.e. 2002) and saw the local teams play. It is a weird feeling to be in a 40,000 seat stadium, with only 500 people. However, this meant it was a good chance the cluster of white people would get on the big screen and we ...

... orientation co-ordinators and made our way to the Hotel...What a taxi ride it was...OMIGOD! "Red Light?, what red light" - we are in a taxi, you just beep your horn and drive on through the busy intersection...!! or..merging traffic "I am a taxi - as if I would let cars in ", we cut off soo many people, drove way too fast all this added to the fact that we were driving on the RIGHT which is really hard to get use to...but we made it in one piece. The hotel was great - during the ...

while I do reccomend Hanjin Hostel, all travelers should be warned that the owner, Mr. Kwon is caring in the way I imagine an incestuous uncle to be. the main touristy spots in Kwongju/Gyeongu (depending on how your guide romanizes the Korean) are fabulous. the day was finished off with a "traditional Korean folk dance" put on by one of the snazzy hotels and lit -fabulously- with blacklight