Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jajdude]

Interesting to see the replies on "The Best place you've been" post. How about the worst, or if not worst, strangest? Anyone been to North Korea? I would guess that may be about as strange as it would get. The boonies are strange. In Korea and in Taiwan I have had a little experience with the countryside, and the scene is pretty weird and can be tough to take as a foreigner. But it's a mind-bender and I sort of like that aspect of it. You know these people would feel the same if ever they went to your hometown, that is if your hometwon is at all like mine, a homogenous little town in NFLD. where people think they are in touch with things but would be just as blown away as I have been at times in Asia. Well maybe they are in touch with local culture of course, but it is a big world, lots of diversity. I sometimes imagine how blown away some people would be if only they had the chance to go to a completely foreign place for more than a week or two I suppose. I know it would be a mind-bender for most people.

Another good question: Where would you like to go that you have never been? For me there are numerous places, but the finitude of life, time, money etc... makes it unlikely I will ever see much. Perhaps a bit though. Sometimes I think Korea is just a very limited experience, compared with that big ol' fascinating world out there.

[Bulsajo]

Strangest- A tie between the DMZ between NK-SK and the DMZ between Syria-Israel; not having to live in either one makes them just strange as opposed to worst. I feel for those guys 'In Front of Them All' and the ones stuck in Finbat, Canbat, and the various OPs. Glad they're doing it and not me.

Would like to visit before I croak- Belize, Yap, Palau, NZ, Aus, Fiji, Maldives, etc.

[Magog]

Australia, hands down.

[Zyzyfer]

Penang, Malaysia. And it was strange, strange indeed.

Another strange place is Alice Springs. But I was there for New Year's Eve 2000...quite a waste...-_-

[jajdude]

Hey I have also been to Penang, Malaysia. I didn't find it so strange. But it was kind of depressing to go to a bar there and see no women. (not into the muslim thing myself) The food was good though.

[Tiger Beer]

hmm.. Penang wouldn't make my list.. there are some good reggae bars and live muc.. its a nice place.. dirty yes.. and i did see a rat that i first assumed was a small dog.. but upon a double-take it did indeed turn out to be a rat.. but overall, a decent place to spend a few days..

worst places..

Barquisimeto Venezuela since i was pretty violently attacked from behind, strangled, beatup and left for dead.. so of course thats the worst place i've been.. but it wasn't really too bad of a place..

Tumbes, Peru.. is the biggest hellhole I've even been to.. its the Peru/Ecuador border city that everyone has to go through to get to the other one..

I better shift my focus to Asia here.. if there was any place i thought was kind of dirty and depressing it would have been Java in Indonesia.. i was looking for a good city to teach English.. but the cities are too dirty, too hot, and lacking things to do.. every Indonesian I met always wanted to head directly to the malls to escape the grime and heat.. i was protesting more mall ventures.. but when they brought me to the alternatives.. it made the malls pretty damn alluring afterall.. (everything is steamy sweaty hot, dirty and grimy, and people look at you like they are sizing you up to take you down)..

[Tiger Beer]

OH, Strangest places! I like this one even better!

One strange one for me was crossing the Vietnam border into China.. and right over the river sits a huge illuminated rubbick's cube.. it was an artpiece about 20 feet tall.. shining in its glory.. totally unexpected.. had to get a picture of me at the Chinese border with that one..

Japan is a strange place.. everything about it is strange.. small little houses, hightech bowling alleys, pachinko parlors, etc..

i find Korea, Japan, and China a little bit strange.. alot of strange stuff in Korea.. gigantic bowling pins on buildings is yet one of many in Korea..

anyhow, i guess thats why i like this region so much more than other places as well.. lots of strange little things everywhere.. pizza slice on a popscicle stick type stuff..

[Cabbit]

[sillywilly]

Manila was fun but kind of scary.. I could never vaccation there long though because it was depressing.. All the little kids, half dressed in rags begging at 3 in the morning broke my heart. Trans prostitutes in the next room of the hotel peering in on you might also be a deterant. Personally I found that part amusing.

[Ralph]

America. I have travelled a lot. Been to half of Europe. Been to Southeast Asia. All over North America. USA stands out as the worst. Fat people everywhere. I have never met as many fatsos anywhere else, asI would see in one day in the states. The people are just about themost ignorant people in the world. Most know nothing about the outside world unless they traveled outside of North America. They know what CNN tells them, nothing else. North Koreans are heavily indoctrinated, Americans are almost as heavily indoctrinated. Its not all bad. But more about the states is bad than is good.

[Zyzyfer]

[Tiger Beer]

[The Lemon]

[matko]

Vukovar, Croatia

I travelled through there about 2 years after the last Serbian bomb landed. EVERY single building had been hit and most were flattened. Pictures on television don't do it justice. It was the most devastating, eerie, heart wrenching thing I had ever seen. Like walking right into a movie about the seige of Stalingrad. Ever see Enemy at the Gate? Something like that.

To this day, my stomach gets queezy when I think about it and to be honest, hardly a day goes by that I don't.

[Zyzyfer]