Friday, 25 May 2012

FINAL FLIGHT! On Sparrow Hills' last show.

My good friend Josh is departing these shores New York bound! His band On Sparrow Hills will be playing their final show on June 9th at DGBD in Hongdae, Seoul. They will be supported by Table People who I haven't seen in ages. I can't wait! I made this poster for them last night. If you're in Seoul you should definitely come along. Magpie Brewery will be keeping us well oiled all night long with some REAL ALE!!! That's right. Get a load their IPA. It packs a punch and has my seal of approval. Fine beer and good music: AWOOGA!

On Sparrow Hills

Wednesday, 2 May 2012

Boseong Green Tea Fields

Green tea, green tea noodles, green tea shakes, green tea ice creams, green tea jjigae and even GREEN TEA MAKKOLI! Boseong is famous for one thing - a one sided menu.

Green tea is the order of the day in this region of Korea. Boseong tea fields are quite a vision, not least for the bus loads of day-glo grannies, but also for it's beautiful vistas. Row after of green tea bushes climb all the way up to the top of a very steep hill with spectacular views all the way to the ocean.

Green Tea Fields Green Tea Fields Green Tea Fields Green Tea Fields Green Tea Fields
Unfortunately I accidentally switched on the date stamp and ruined some of these photos. Sorry!
Green Tea Fields Green Tea Fields colour
Okay, this isn't green tea, but it is very green. Spring just exploded in South Korea!
blooming trees Flowers Menu
So the menu reads...

Green Tea kimchi jjjigae (the pigs were fed green tea)
Green Tea Sujaebi
Green Tea Naengmyeon (cold noodles)
and...
Green Tea Makkoli!
GREEN TEA MAKKOLI!!!

I treated myself to a green tea milkshake which went down a treat on such a hot day. I also bought a couple of bottles of the Green Tea Makkoli which Sean and I later took a  for a spin. They were both scrumptious and potent!

The bus from Gwangju to Boseong cost 7,800 KRW and took about 1 hour 30 mins. From there you can get a local bus for 1,000 KRW or grab a cab. If you can, go on a week day because it can get very busy at the weekend.

East Coast Vacation part 3: Sokcho and Seoraksan

part one - part two - part three


SOKCHO:
Love Motel
We didn't stay in this motel in Sokcho. It's just a little taste of the classy architecture that Korea's booming motel industry has to offer. Barf!

We were right by the sea so we headed down to a rowdy pojang macha for some seafood. We ordered a big plate of shells and prawns.
Pojang Macha Pojang Macha Shrimp
Neon Prawns
worried!
Face of despair on the Samsung rice cooker. Never buy Samsung, even their appliances are unhappy.
Fire Escape
What's that stylish fire escape bag? This shot is for my friends back in the UK. Take a look at the photo below...
Fire Escape
That's right, the fire escape is IN the bag. You can climb down the side of the building with a rope. Oh Korea, you do try. I'd like to see a Granny trying to abseil down the side of a hotel from the 6th floor with nothing but a rope. Actually, sod that, I'd like to see anyone attempt that! Come on Korea, give us a chance at living!
Beach House
Beach House (Konglish)

SEORAKSAN:


Finally I made it back to Seoraksan after 3 years. I really wanted to hike the whole mountain this time round, but the tumble that I took in Gyeongju left my right knee really bruised. Once again I would have to take the bloody cable car. Well, at the the flowers were blooming and there was some visibility! On my previous visit the clouds were so thick that you couldn't see a thing.
Blossoms Blossoms Blossoms Seoraksan Seoraksan Seoraksan chipmunk
This chipmunk knew what it was doing - working for food. He was working the poses in return for snacks.
penis tree
Up on the mountain somebody carved a penis onto a tree branch, keeping the penis theme of this holiday alive. I spotted this on my last visit and it hasn't disappeared!
Seoraksan Seoraksan Seoraksan Seoraksan Seoraksan Monk Birdy thing Seoraksan Buddha fushing
I love this hat. It's pure redneck trash and it has a strange spelling error. At first glance it looks fine, but actually it says "fushing". Who ever designed this must have made the effort to place a dot over the "u". What a buy! The peak is so huge on this cap it almost rivals an ajumma visor.
Love Motel
That's all for my east coast vacation. I'll leave you with this daytime shot of Sokcho's finest architecture.

part one - part two - part three