Re-inventing My Soul in Seoul (South Korea, 13-17 July 2011)

Have you ever got really mad at you brother, so bad that you feel like strangling him? .... As the big sister to three brothers, I am used to that feeling. But as I grow, I realized that no matter how bad our families are, they are the people who will always stand beside you ... even kicking some ass for you. Some say that family is half of your soul. Well .....

So, if you have that urge of chasing them off your side, think again. Or, go visiting Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea. I did and found how lucky I am for still having my family around me, unlike some people in Korea.

*The DMZ is a strip of land 4km wide and 248km long, divides the South and North Korea and is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. About five millions Koreans has been separated from their family because of it.

I joined the tour to the DMZ when I visited South Korea with my kids.

We started at eight o’clock in the morning when the Tour picked us up from our guest house.

Then with the rest of the tourist, we ride a bus for one hour to Panmunjom.
Our first stop is Imjingak Park, this is where the Freedom Bridge is located. The Freedom bridge is a former railroad bridge which was used by repatriated prisoner of war or soldiers returning from the north.In this park we will found shrine and remains from the Korean War.But, what touched me the most is this photo.A photo of an old man crying. I was guessing that he had his family in the other side, maybe his brother or his sister. Or maybe his parents. How sad.
I can’t and I don’t want to imagine how it feels away from my love ones, unable to communicate and not knowing what happening to them.

No .....

After the park, we headed to Dora Observatory. On the way there, our tour guide asked us to follow the instructions especially regarding the cameras. There were many area where we were not allowed to take pictures.

Before we got to the destination, we passed ID Check Point. We had a soldier got on the bus checking our passport. He looked very serious, but once one of us said ‘kamsahamnida’, he smiled.

**‘Kamsahamnida’ means thank you in Korean.

After passing by the Unification Village, we arrive at the observatory.There, we could catch a glimpse of North Korea thru binoculars prepared there. But please note that we cannot take any picture there. There were many soldiers watching us.Unfortunately, that day was so cloudy, so we could not see anything in the north.

Spending half an hour in the observatory, we continued our tour to the 3rd Tunnel complex.***The third tunnel is a tunnel under the border between North Korea and South Korea, extending south of Panmunjom. It was the third tunnel to be discovered running under the border between the two Korea. The South believe it was dug by the North to use to get thru to the South for aggression later on, but the North denied the allegation saying it was an old underground mine.

The Third Tunnel complex include DMZ theater, exhibition hall and of course the tunnel itself. Visitors are allowed to walk down the tunnel however not allowed to take pictures.

The walk in the tunnel would take about 30 minutes. There are also a monorail, but not available when we were there.

For you tall people, please be careful with your head ... even the North cannot got their objective to attack the South thru the tunnel, at least they would be happy if knowing some visitors bump their heads cause not careful.

In the building, I saw many young soldiers. Young Korean male, once they reach their 20s, they are obliged to join the military otherwise they will be thrown to jail. So don’t be surprised to see many young soldiers everywhere.

Our last destination is Dorasan Station. Weird isn’t it? Why touring to a train station? Well, this station is a special one.****Dorasan Station is a railroad station once connected North and South Korea. However, it is not operating any more.
Not many train stations are fully guarded by soldiers ... friendly soldiers!The South said the station is their future. They still believe in the unification of the two Korea. They see it happens to the German, so it could happen to the Korean. Well, I hope so. And I hope the old man whose picture I saw in the Imjingak Park still have a chance to see his lost family.

Well, that's what I felt and saw in the DMZ. But there are more to see in Korea. Trust me when I tell you that I left the country with a smile in my heart.

Of course, because I re-invent my soul there.
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Wanna know how Korea fits for tourists in any age? Read my next posting 'Korea for Everyone' ......

Strolling Along the Legacy of British Empire in Mumbai (India; 26-30 March 2011)

When people asked me what's the biggest religion in India, I used to say "Hinduism."
Well, I was wrong. I should have said "Cricket".

Yep, I got that answer when I visited Mumbai last March. I have never seen so many cricket channels on TV ever. To make it even worse, it was the time when India was the host of Cricket World Cup. Not enough? ...... India went to the semi final! (Later they won the Cup). So you can imagine the euphoria. Hindus, Moslem, Buddhist, .... all praise for the game.

The rich and the poor. One taxi driver turned me down because “Sorry Madame, I have a big game to watch” ... it was time for India versus Pakistan.Thanks goodness I finally found a taxi who was willing to take me to the airport. However I had to be happy listening to the game from the taxi radio. Loud and clear .... all the way to the airport!

Not just that, when I stop at the ATM, the security was busy listening to the game too.Checked my way in and heading to the airport business lounge. There was many business men, with their ties and jackets, staring at the wide screen, jumping and screaming in excitement whenever the player hit the wicket ..... I guessed I just had to wait until arriving Singapore, didn’t I?

Well, I might not get cricket, however there were many heritages from the British Empire that I enjoyed during my stay in Mumbai. I had one day free only, so I decided to stroll along the Colaba area and catch a bajaj to take to Victoria Terminus (Also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus).

I started my day very early to see the sunset at the Gateway of India which located near the hotel where I stayed.
Gateway of India was built to celebrate the arrival of King George V. You know, he was the father of Colin Firth, whoops ... I mean King George VI.

In the opposite of the Gateway, there stood Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.In 2008, some terrorist attacked the hotel causing many victims.Then I walked back to the hotel for breakfast. I stayed at Gordon house, a small boutique hotel. Very nice and I loved it more as there was an Asian restaurant in its ground floor. Kind of healing my appetite after three days of curry! ... (I like curry, but for three days in a row is too much for me. My great grandpa may came from India, but my tongue is very much Indonesian ... :) )

On the way back I took some nice pics. The water next to the Gateway.An old building.After breakfast, I took a ride to Victoria Terminus.I could not believe that the beautiful building was actually a train station!The sun rose up and I could see how crowded Mumbai traffic was.Everybody was busy...Even the bulls .....I continued my journey to the Old Mumbai University.After a quick lunch, I went to the Prince of Wales Museum (Also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya). Many artifact from Mohenjo Daro times to and traditional art works were displayed there.

Carving of Brahma at the museum.From the museum, it took only five minutes walk to Colaba Causeway. We could find many souvenirs stalls and shops in cheap price.I checked the time and realized that I had been traveling for over eight hours. Nothing can’t beat a cold drink and a slice of apple pie! Yup, I got them in Leopold Café. So yummy!Leopold Café was an early site of gunfire and grenade explosions during the 2008 Mumbai attacks by terrorists. The restaurant was extensively damaged during the attacks.* However, I did not see any remains of such devastation. In contrary, it was pact with guests and serving good food.

Well, I just have a day free in Mumbai, so that was all I could see. I am sure there are more in India than just cricket and old buildings from the British era. Of course, India is a huge country!

*)Wikipedia

Hit the Dance Floor in Pampang Village, Samarinda - Indonesia (October 2010)

Have you heard of Pampang Village (or Desa Pampang)? This is the closest Dayak village from Samarinda. For some of you who don’t know, Dayak is one of the native ethnic of Kalimantan (Borneo). The Dayak who live in Pampang is Dayak Kenyah.

To get to Pampang, just drive north from Samarinda (Same direction to Bontang). After about 45 minutes driving you will reach Pampang.

For many years, every Sunday, Pampang Village has been performing a culture show.

That day, I went there with my family. It was Sunday, not many people on the village street.Maybe people are still at church.Or already gather at the Lamin (Dayak’s traditional long house) for the show? So we kept driving and arrived at the Lamin.

But the Lamin was empty too.Well, it was at ten in the morning. A little kid told us that the show will start at two in the afternoon. So, we decided to go back to Samarinda for lunch.

However, before we left, we had time to take pictures of the interior decoration,and the village kids.After lunch, we returned to Pampang. We got there right on time, at two o’clock. After paying entrance fee of 15,000 Rupiah per person, we rushed into the Lamin as we heard the traditional music was played.

We watched some girls dancing.Also men playing Dayak traditional ‘guitar.’There also some elderly, one of them had long ears.While I was busy taking picture, someone came to me and asking me to pay for using a big camera. He said I have to pay 25,000 Rupiah for camera entrance fee. What?? I had no choice but paying him.

Then the dancers put out some bamboos and did the bamboo dance.They also asked the audience to join the dance.Later, all the dancers including the men who I thought have not performed, joint together, make the circle and danced in the circle with the audience.I was a bit confused, because this dance is usually done at the end of the show and it was still 02.30. The show just started for half an hour.

I asked the guest sat next to me, and she said it has been an hour. The show started at 01.30. Shoot … I missed half of the show!

After taking some pictures of the dancers, I went to the Lamin wing. There were some souvenir stalls selling Dayak handicraft.There was still a bit of disappointment in me when leaving the village ....I missed half of the performance. But I would be back, after all it was only less than an hour away from Samarinda.

So guys, to avoid some unwanted surprises, here are some notes you have to remember if you want to visit the village:
1) The culture show starts at 02.00 PM, but be there an hour earlier.
2) Entrance fee per guest is 15,000 Rupiah even the ticket says 5,000 
3) Big camera must pay 25,000 Rupiah, free for pocket camera.
4) Posing with dancers or elderly will cost 20,000 Rupiah each pose. But we can negotiate if we want to take a lot of pictures (I did that and it worked).