Cat Café

Our last stop in South Korea was Busan, the country's second biggest city. It's a young, modern town by the sea, with great beaches, good night life and a lot of other fun things to do. If you happen to go here and you like cats, go drink a coffee at the Cat Cafe. The idea is as simple as the name, it's a coffee place full of cats; not some ordinary street cats but beautiful Persians and awesome Sphynx cats!  We were thinking this could be a great idea for Europe (maybe it already exists?) but not quite sure if customers would behave the same way as Koreans. We were looking at the kids and they are really nice and sweet, no tale pulling, no screaming when the cat runs away. Not quite sure if this would work for European kids:-)

Most awesome cat in the world! When I'm back in Europe, it's gonna be mine!

Skyping mom!

The Penis Park

Ha, I am sure to have all of your attention with a title like that. So this post is not for prudish readers and when you're viewing this at work, better don't click on the pictures, okay:-)

We spent one day in Samcheok, a medium-sized city on the east coast of South Korea.

There is not much going on in this place except for one special attraction: Haesindang Park also known as Penis Park. When we heard about the existence of such a place in rather conservative Korea, we just had to see it. We didn't read much about it before going there, we just knew it's a park full of phallic statues. 

There are really hundreds of them and it was very... euhm...special to walk from one penis to the other. Unfortunately, all the info provided was in Korean, so we had no clue what it was all about or why we were watching those monsters.

Later that day, we googled the Haesindang Park and found out that there's a myth explaining the origin of these statues close to the sea. So here it goes: 

Once upon a time, there was a young couple living in the fishing village of Samcheok. The day before their wedding, they went for a walk along the shore but a giant wave swept the girl away. Without having consumed the relationship, the girl became a frustrated, nymphomaniac ghost. The next day, as usual, the fishermen of the village went to sea but came back without fish. The day after, same thing happened. Nobody knew where the fish had gone to. Then one night, a drunk fisherman relieved himself in the sea. The next morning all the fish were back in the waters of Samcheok. So the fishermen started to believe that the nymphomaniac ghost had taken their fish as reprisal for her sudden death, but upon seeing the drunk fisherman's penis, she had released the fish again. So that's why they started the build larger than life penises to satisfy the ghost and keep the fish in their waters.

The Outdoor Craze

Korea is the ideal country for people who love hiking. It has a lot of national parks with excellent and adventurous trails. But Koreans are avid hikers and we got quite intimidated by them.

The first time we went for a hike, was in the mountains around Seoul. Only 30 minutes by metro from the heart of the city, you'll find great hiking opportunities and stunning landscapes. Already on the subway, we were joined by a dozen of scary looking Koreans. But once we arrived at the entrance of the park, there were hundreds of them...And every single one looked like he (or she) was ready to conquer the Everest. Dressed, from head to toe, in the most expensive outdoor gear, walking poles in hand, gloves, jackets, rain pants, impressive backpacks and some of them were even wearing face masks (to protect them from the sun?).  I wasn't really envying them, by 28 degrees:-) But my Converse shoes got me a little worried, I'll admit.


Anyway, we had come to hike, so we hiked. It was tough and we had some difficulties finding the right tracks, with everything indicated in Korean, but it was worth it! We didn't expect to find so many temples so high up in the mountains. Also the views on Seoul were quite spectacular!


Next day, we decided to rent bicycles in Seoul and again, similar scenario. Koreans are riding brand new 3000euro mountain bikes on the flattest cycling routes you'll ever find. Equipped with the fanciest cycling outfits of course!


The last 5 pictures are taken in Seoroksan National Park, our destination after Seoul. It is one of Korea's biggest national parks, on the east coast of the country. We only stayed one day but could have hiked longer because it's very beautiful and peaceful.

Lotus Lantern Festival

On the 28th of May, South Koreans are celebrating Buddha's birthday, but a lot of festivities already commence a week ahead of this day. We were very lucky to take part in one of them, the Lotus Lantern Festival. The streets of Seoul were decorated with the most beautiful lanterns and on Saturday and Sunday evening, there were impressive light parades. During the day, a lot of streets were closed to traffic and we enjoyed Korean dance and singing performances. On Sunday, we went hiking in the mountains around Seoul and even there, lanterns all around. 

Hello Korea!

Arriving in Seoul, the contrast with Manila couldn't be bigger. Everything here is clean, well organized and safe. No hassle to go from the airport to the city, not trouble to travel around in the city even though it's a megalopolis with more than 10 million inhabitants. Their metro system definitely deserves an award; it brings you anywhere in no time, everything is announced in Korean and English and it is so clean! No rubbish, no graffiti, no funny smells...

The first two nights we stayed in the flat of Kevin, an English teacher. He left us his place while he stayed over at his girlfriend's studio. We hadn't planned on staying too long in Seoul but from the first moments, we were in love with the place, so we booked 3 additional nights in a hostel. On day 1, we visited the recommended tourist spots, being the Gyengbok palace and the hanok area.

Gyengbok palace is South Korea's most famous royal palace. It had been first constructed in the 14th century but the Japanese destroyed almost all of it in the early 20th century. Luckily the Koreans restored the whole complex to its original form. The palace also has a magnificent park, called 'The Secret Garden'. It's a real shame you can only visit this on a guided tour because it's so beautiful and you'll want to spend several hours there, just to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

The first two pictures are taken in the Bukchon Hanok Village. Hanok refers to the traditional Korean house and in the neighborhood of Bukchon, you'll still find several of them, most of them which are converted into art galleries and guest houses.

(the colors in the pictures are quite autumn like, but it's the end of spring in Korea, we're having great weather, around 25 degrees with a little breeze...Perfect travel weather!)

It's more fun in the Philippines!

Traveling means meeting lots of people but most of the time other backpackers. In the Philippines, we weren't very focused on getting to know the locals, to be honest...We came here for the sun, the island, beaches and some snorkeling. But we soon found out it's impossible not to meet them. Every time we went to a bar or restaurant, Filipinos spontaneously start talking to you, they are not shy at all, always smiling and full of jokes. They don't take themselves too seriously and they just love to sing! To promote tourism in his country, the Filipino secretary of tourism came up with the slogan: It's more fun in the Philippines! (because of the people) and we confirm he isn't lying! (you'll see this slogan everywhere, at airports, in malls...)

In Manilla, we met Winston. He's a friend of a Belgian friend of mine and as soon as he heard we were coming to his city, he decided to pick us up at he airport. We're still very grateful for that because Manilla's airport is the most chaotic we've ever experienced.  He took us to the city and kept us company for a couple of hours. That's when we learned that he is a chef, working 7 to 10 months a year on a cargo ship, either in Europe, South America or Australia. With the money he makes, he soon wants to buy himself a house in a nice condo in Manilla. He told us that conditions on these ships are extremely hard, being away from your family for 10 months, working 7 days a week, no days off. Once his ship got attacked by pirates and the whole crew was hiding for more than 36 hours. But Filipinos are famous for being tough workers who don't complain and that's why they are really liked for the job.

The next evening, he took us for dinner to one of his favorite places in Manilla. Food was good and cheap and the live music even better. Not to forget the amazing view on Manilla by night. The singer at this place was one of Winston's friend and she sang just anything we requested.

Although we weren't planning any couch surfing in the Philippines, other travelers told us it is fairly easy. So in Palawan, we sent a couple of request to other surfers. Immediately, we received an email from Jonathan saying that, even though he was on holidays, we could sleep in house, the neighbor would let us in. Needless to say we were very impressed by so much generosity! Funny enough, Jonathan was vacationing at El Nido, the place we stayed at when we mailed him, so we got to meet him for a couple of drinks and a couple of songs! He started jamming with the band that was playing that night and entertained us with his versions of Adele and the Beatles.

Jonathan is a lieutenant in the Philippine Navy, so the next day we slept at his house in Navy Village. We've never felt more safe, surrounded by hundreds of marine officers:-) Pity I found the most ugly tarantula on his doorstep that evening, which forced me to stay up all night to check door and window posts every 15 minutes:-)

In Cebu, our stopover to Bohol and Panglao island, we couch surfed Raymond's place and he couldn't have hosted us any better. He took us to a great restaurant, to a (way too difficult) pub quiz and later we had more drinks and made more friends in another bar. Just a very cool night out. The next day, he dropped us off at the port and when we came back from our island trip, he was again patiently waiting in his Chery car, then brought us to Jollibee (the Philippine McDonalds). Thanks again Ray, for turning us into the most lazy travelers ever! :-)

One of Benoit's former bosses and his wife now lives in Manilla and also he invited us for dinner and offered to host Sophie, Benoit's sister, to stay at their place for one night when she had to take the plane back to Paris, early in the morning.

All of these people made our stay in the Philippines unforgettable. Even though temperatures were sometimes killing us, food was so-so, I ended up in the hospital and Benoit stepped on a sea urchin and had 50 needles in his foot, we loved this country and its people and hope to return one day.

With Raymund at Jollibee's, Cebu.

Relaxing on Jonathan's porch, having drinks with Winston.

Preparing the tricycle for our trip to the port.

Where we stayed on Panglao.

Chocolate Hills

On Bohol, not far from the tarsier sanctuary, you can find the chocolate hills. The more than 1700 hills in this area are named after a Philippine chocolate candy. Great views (and funny pictures) guaranteed if you're on a high enough viewing site.