Is Lunar Eclipse an anagram for Cosmic Letdown?

I got all excited about viewing this damp squib.
Oh well, may the bad luck of the year go with it.
Roll on Twenty Ten - the correct reading.
Here's hoping it's a year of contentment and peace.

Starting a blissed out two weeks without work

I'm home - yay! On the way home I got paged at the airport for the
first time in my life. It was hilarious - she called my name on the PA
system just as I was walking past her. Spooky timing. The long and the
short of it was that I'd been checked in by a trainee and she had
forgotten to give me the boarding pass for my connecting flight. To my
shame, I'd never even noticed: I thought I was supposed to be a
seasoned traveller.

Anyway, this first hiccup did not bode well for my bags arriving
safely in Dublin. Was this going to be the third Christmas where my
suitcase got sent to Timbuktu instead of coming home at the same time
as me? Luckily, I fretted for nothing and all luggage arrived intact.
In fact, my bag was like the fourth one off the plane, so more
trainees in future, please.

Unfortunately, while everything up to London was smooth sailing,
Heathrow once again proved itself to be a pain of an airport. I have
consciously avoided making a connection through LHR for the last few
years as it always seems to be jammers. I don't know what I was
thinking this time around as it ended up being no different: a two
hour delay due to runway congestion and my poor sister left waiting on
the Dublin side with no notification of the delay from the airline. Oh
well, at least I got here.

And what were the first words that greeted me when I set foot back on
this emerald isle, this land of saints and scholars - F@&k Off! (said
by one airport attendant to another as I stepped off the plane and
onto the ramp to bring me to the airport terminal). Charming!

Anyway, I don't want to be the immigrant who comes back and tells
everyone how messed up their home country is and how great everything
is in their adopted land, but please allow me this one mini rant: what
is it with the service culture in this part of the world? "Customer is
King" - my giddy aunt! Both in London Heathrow and Dublin airports, I
could not get over how little attention workers paid to the customer.
The desk workers I encountered didn't even break off their chat about
their weekend conquests to acknowledge me as a customer, never mind
make eye contact or say thank you or any other form of politeness. And
the amount of slacking... The number of people I saw just huddled
around in groups just slacking off and not actually doing anything. I
know I am spoiled coming from the land of impeccable customer service
and a crazy work ethic, but come on people - have a little pride in
your jobs, please.

End of rant and apologies for any tedium induced. So now, to get down
to the serious business of enjoying my time off.

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Reason No. 2 why it doesn't pay to work for a medical company...

They go a bit OTT on the old blood tests.

So I got the results back of my health-check retest, and it turns out that my triglyceride levels were even lower the second time round: there is practically no fat in my body whatsoever. And that was with me eating crisps and chocolate and tempura and ice cream the night before the blood test. I am a freak of nature! And my company wants me to go back and have ANOTHER test in three months.

I say narks to that. I clearly have some terrible wasting disease that I'd really rather not know about.

In any case, in three months there'll probably be nothing left of me but a shrivelled piece of cartilage wrapped in some urine-soaked skin!

Sometimes I wish I didn't work for a pharmaceutical company

I just found out today that the main ingredient in most moisturizers
and hand creams is urea.

From now on, I'm going to cut out the middle man and start rubbing my
own urine directly into my skin. I'll save a tonne of money.

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お手(袋)洗い - Ote(bukuro)arai

My designer gloves - seriously, the only designer item I possess - just fell in the toilet bowl at work. And that wasn't even in the top 5 cruddy things that happened at work today: it's been a long and trying one.

But let's focus on happier toilet-related matters. The video below was taken in the Caretta Centre in Shiodome and is probably the best thing I have experienced in Japan since the musical coffee vending machine with internal camera. This toilet can do it all: here it is relaying some of the days news (those wanting to brush up their Japanese can look at the captions scrolling on the screen behind the loo). But more than that, it can update you on stock prices, the latest weather, play games, sing songs. It even has it's own live weblink. How many of you can say that?

If I were the boss of the Toto Toilet Company, I would so make this interactive talking functionality a standard spec. Can you imagine what a smile it would bring to your face to have this friendly guy welcome you every morning and suggest a game of rock paper scissors. Love it!

PS I think that, with this entry, my love of Japanese toilets has crossed the borderline from mild intersest into unhealthy obsession. But what are you gonna do - aside from work my life here is feeling kind of empty.

Autumn Leaves

It's become a bit of a tradition for me to keep my folks abreast of the changing of the seasons here in Japan - they're big gardeners and are interested in things green and leafy. And in the process, I have become as petal-obsessed as any Setagaya madam. I'll put one or two photos up here and the rest you can see on facebook at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=344703&id=858385093&l=da19bb1f7a

This is an emotional album for me as it was the last set to be taken on my beloved old camera before it finally gave out. Fear not - I am the proud owner (as of this afternoon) of a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 and will hopefully be astounding you all with beautiful images very soon.

Am I really so abnormally cold?

Okay, to give you some background: it is about 17 degrees today.
Admittedly, that's not cold - especially for November. But nor is it
midsummer.

So, I've spent the day in Hiroo and Ebisu - two areas of Tokyo well
known for their high concentrations of non-Japanese residents - and I
have been stunned by the numbers of these foreigners going around in
t- shirts. I've even seen a few pairs of shorts.

Now, I mean, I'm not exactly huddled by some fireplace with a hot
water bottle - I'm typing this on the terrace of a cafe with no Globe-
destroying gas heaters - but still, I have on a down jacket, a scarf
and a hat.

Which leads me to ask... A) What is it with these crazy gaijin? And B)
How will I survive the chills of Dublin's polar northside this chrimbo.

P.S. Less than one month till I get home. Woohoo!

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The Muppets kick ass

This made me so nostalgic for Saturday nights in front of the box. I fully approve the lyric change to "Nothing really matters but moi". Miss Piggy is my new life coach. Still loving the Fozzie. Wakka Wakka! So tragicomic with his fake nose, rubber chicken and pleading eyes.

The dooryway from (not to) he'll, I hope...

I am currently at war with the automatic door at the front of my
apartment building. It refuses to open for me when I am trying to
leave. Luckily, there are no security cameras down there (I think) or
there would be ample footage of me prizing the stubborn thing open
with my matchstick arms.

Could it be that I have become so manorexic that the sensor is just
missing me? Or is it that I have died and just haven't realized it
yet, a la sixth sense?

Anyway, if it happens again today, I guess it will be time to contact
either the landlord, a nutritionist or Hayley Joel Whatshisface.

Labouring for Labour Day

I am just finishing up a fairly tough business trip and, in the midst
of my morning blues, I had the best experince ever:

So I'm on the shinkansen; I'm pretty exhausted from only 4 hours of
disturbed sleep following the obligatory karaoke party till 1am to
wrap the training course; I've had no time to have brekkie in the
hotel; I know I have meetings all morning once I get back to head
office...

But, and here's the good part, I'm sitting here looking at the date
and I realize, "holy f&@kb&$ls, I have a three-day weekend thanks to
the national holiday on Monday!"

Is there any sweeter joy??? Thank you Labour Day for falling when you
do and for granting me the chance to catch up on life. Christmas cards
are getting sent out this weekend if it kills me!

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Fur Immer Banner

I made this for my little bro. His band has recently undergone a name change: Brian Cullen's Love Bullets is dead. Long live Fur Immer! (kind of literally, right?)

Anyway, I went around photographing signs from various locations that we met at, shopped at or ate at when he visited me.

Li'l bro, can you get them all? Some hints: Ducky Duck is in there, but not where you might think; so too is a certain burger chain you liked; there are a clothes shop, a mass transit system and an impressive super-modern location featured as well.

Think on it...

Peace out - P-bro

A fit of the blues

As you can see, Tokyo Tower was lit up blue for World Diabetes Day. I know I'm biased, but I think the green illumination on St Patrick's Day a few years ago was more impressive.

Working for a medical company, I felt I should come out and support this effort to raise diabetes awareness: lifestyle-related diseases and their diagnosis are my bread and butter, after all. So go get yourself tested every year and help put my non-existent kids through college.

Remember, prevention is better than cure, so please heed this often-repeated dictum that I live by:

Eat food. Not a lot. Mostly plants.

(Michael Pollan in In Defense of Food)

My Japanniversary

Been back in Japan exactly one year: yikes! It has flown.

Out and about in Tokyo

It makes me proud to be a Tokyoite that these brilliant decorations -
laid out on benches here in Marunouchi in the centre of the city - go
completely un-vandalized and un-stolen.

Hopefully in this making of a new 'New Ireland', Dublin will learn a
thing or two.

Anyway, Happy Halloween to one and all!

It's toilet time again

I haven't blogged about anything toilet-related in ages, and in fact
this little photo combines two of my great loves: japanese toilets and
japanese graphic arts.

I just love how the little angel is pushing the button to dispense the
cleansing spray with his butt!

Having typed that last sentence, I am now uncomfortably aware of the
fact that I probably need to sign up for some more therapy.

Back home now and I’ve just noticed how small the photo is - sorry, it's cause I took it on my phone camera. Anyway, if you click on the image, I think you'll be able to see what I'm talking about.

A new hobby?

'We' Japanese love our hobbies - free time is rarely spent chilling in front of the box and most people plan the activity-filled weekends with military precision.

And it was with such a mindset that some of my colleagues up north took us out sightseeing for the day. We did bowling (I SUCKED) and table tennis (I SEMI-SUCKED) and apple picking (NO REAL SKILL INVOLVED) and archery (I CRIED OFF DUE TO A VICIOUS LADYBIRD ATTACK MOMENTS BEFORE THE LESSON WHICH RESULTED IN A BITE THAT IS STILL RED AND ITCHY THESE 5 DAYS LATER).

But best of all, we got to try our hands at pottery. I loved it and it turns out I might actually have a bit of a Rainman-like gift for the craft: as you can see from the photo above, I made a fairly respectable looking mug for my first ever time to put finger to clay. I will get it back in about month when it's been fired and glazed and I'll try to remember to post an update at that time.

It was so relaxing, just working the clay in a state of zen-like meditation. And then there was something primeval and satisfying about creating something practical from a fairly base material. Needless to say, I am hooked and have already looked into taking some more lessons here in Tokyo. You can see further photos from my adventures here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=327300&id=858385093&l=35ea3225c9

City Slickers

...alternatively titled, “Why I shouldn't be allowed out of the greater Tokyo area!”

So I'm up in the mountainous north on business. The hotel we usually stay at has just gotten wifi so I feel way less cut off than I normally do when I come up to these wild parts – at previous times I couldn't even get mobile phone reception.

My colleague and I thought it would be a good idea to visit the local hot-spring. We've been there many times before, but we've always gone by taxi. We figured it couldn't be more than a 15 minute walk tops. We were well prepared, let me tell you: dressed head to toe in chic black - ideal on these dark and winding mountain roads; no light source except for our mobile phone screens (maybe 6cmx4cm: veritable spotlights); and having completely neglected to tell anyone at the hotel where we were going.

Cut to us 30 minutes later, climbing out of a two-metre roadside ditch, with a distinct smell of cow poo hanging in the air. Needless to say we cut our losses and eventually found our way home. We made a vow to keep this little adventure from our more rural colleagues. We don't need to be giving them any more ammunition against the crazy foreigners.

At least the stars looked really beautiful from the bottom of the ditch! I'm all about the positives, me.

For all the Japanese-speaking fans of Arrested Development out there...

What a great name for the soba shop at the end of my road. It makes me
think of Lucille Bluth every time I walk past. What's even better is
that they have a second shop under the same name nearby. So
technically I have Lucille and Lucille II within walking distance.
Truly, my life is turning into a one-man homage to the show.

For those of you who can't read Japanese, the shop is called "Gangee";
the Bluth kids' affectionate term for their grandmother.

I am a victim of Obamania

Okay, the Obama comparisons have got to stop. Since the election I have been told by several Japanese people how much I look like POTUS. I mean, what the rock!???

Full disclosure: the other day on Skype, my sister did say that she could kind of see what they were talking about - something about the low resolution, the skinny neck and the sticky-out ears. I don't know.

But today's little incident took the cake: I was up visiting our research centre in a little rural village a few hundred k's outside of Tokyo, waiting to cross the street at a pedestrian crossing. Opposite me stood a little group of junior-high-school kids (a clutch? a gaggle? a murder!) who looked over at me and gradually started nudging each other and suppressing little giggles. Kind of par for the course when you're a non-Japanese in these parts.

But then when the lights change and I walk past them, one of the little runts plucks up his courage and bold as brass declares, "Yes, we can!" much to the group's (murder's) delight.

I will grudgingly admit that his comic timing was perfect and my eye roll was accompanied by a healthy dose of lol's. But still, c'mon...

Learning my ABCD'S

I am going to be taking a CPR and first aid course next Sunday. I just received the pre-study materials for the course and it's like they were written just for me: I had only reached page five when I started to freak out. They were talking about defibrillation and spinal injury and the like and I was really beginning to think that it as all too much for me. What if I get something wrong and end up killing someone?People who know me well know that I'm not exactly the most dexterous, take-charge person in the world.

But then I turned the page and read what may become my mantra, not just for the course, but for life (to paraphrase):

Don't get caught in a trap of doing nothing for fear of not doing it perfectly - adequate care provided is better than perfect care withheld.

Shoot, years of expensive therapy could have been avoided if I'd only taken this course sooner. Procrastination is one of my biggest flaws, usually extending from an overblown fear of failure. I fully intend to begin implementing this new policy in all aspects of my life...

No more putting off cleaning the toilet because the living room hasn't been vacuumed and so the place won't look perfect in the end anyway!

(Well, such major spot-changing by this leopard might take a little time...)

P.S. Luckily they said the use of some light humour is a useful learning tool on the course: if there are going to be a lot of slides like the one above on the day, I may have trouble keeping it together.

Jet ski and the City

It got all Miami Vice on the river down the end of my road the other day. I didn't expect to see jet skis in such a city-centre location. With the sun shining and a slight breeze coming off the water, it looked like hella fun, I have to say. Maybe this can be one of my next challenges. It seemed like a club or something, because there were at least five or six people zipping around.

Any lepidopterists out there?

I was walking by a furniture shop today and saw this little guy on the window. I wonder if he was attracted there because the chairs match his own colour scheme? Still, pretty tropical for the streets of Tokyo, eh?

Mags ROTHARford

Leading on from the last entry, I started to wonder whether I had ever actually shown you Mags ROTHARford or not.

Well, here she is in all her glory. I think she still looks good as new almost one year later. That's because I take care of her - almost every week I oil her up and put it in her...

air, that is.

Don't you just love the basket! How long would you give her on the streets of Dublin? More importantly, how long would you give "me" on her on the streets of Dublin?

Oh dear, the photo doesn't seem to be uploading, so you'll just have to live in suspense a bit longer.

P.S. Success at last! I've had Mags every which way this weekend! But I've finally got the darn photo uploading right-side-up. Mam and Dad, I hope it was worth the wait - slightly too great a build up, methinks.

人種差別 － jinshu sabetsu; racial discrimation

I am feeling extremely chillaxed today. This is probably due to the fact that the last two days have been public holidays and I am writing this in a cafe in Odaiba (previously mentioned as being one of my favourite places in the city).

However, feeling good today was far from a foregone conclusion. In fact, I would go as far as to say that yesterday was pretty much a stinker. It was one of those days where one thing after another conspired against me, but it culminated in me getting racially profiled by the police.

This has not happened to me in years, yet it can be a fairly common occurrence on the streets of Tokyo. Long story short; I was riding my bicycle at night in my neighbourhood (heading out to the shop to get Apple Cider Vinegar to be precise - how very ghetto of me - practically a drug deal!!!) when a police car tailed me for two blocks and then pulled me over ａｔ the traffic lights to get my ID and bicycle registration . I'm used to the drill, so of course I had all the documents and was able to respond to his questions in perfect Japanese (they weren't difficult). But there was hate in my eyes and ice in my voice all through the exchange. More so because he didn't ask word one of the Japanese woman on the bike beside me. To be sure, she had never had such a thing happen to her because she even asked the cop what exactly he was checking for. His answer - right to my face, mind - was, "foreigners sometimes steal bicycles".

It was a crappy ending to a crappy day， and it was one of those times when I realise that, no matter how　well I speak the language， no matter how deeply I absorb the culture, no matter how much I contribute to ｔｈｅ economy and the social life of the place, the very fact of who I am and what I look like will single me out to be different, other, worthy of only suspicion.

I know that this is nothing compared to innocent Muslims not being allowed to board planes, or black male drivers being pulled over for driving nice cars on the streets of L.A., but when it happens to you, it still kinda sucks.

And with my day's perspective on the whole thing, I also recognise that it an entirely healthy thing for me as an educated, white, English-speaking male to get a taste of a little bit of discrimination...but I still ended the day hoping for the big one to come and flatten the city (preferably when I'm away on business)!

Seeing quintuple

Hey Big Sis, I finally got a snap of that crazy big group of identical dogs that get professionally walked in my neighbourhood. Would you say they're pretty old, or is that whiteness around their faces a feature of their breed?

Here's a little camera phone pic of the Sumida River at the end of my road. I grabbed this jogging there the other night. Tokyo Tower is the electric blue thing in the middle and on either side is East Ginza and Tsukiji (home of the famous fish market). Whenever I see the night cruise ships all lit up like the one in the photo, I really wish I was on one taking the tour. At this stage, though, I'm so comfortable in my surroundings that I could probably give a passable tour myself.

Devolution of a Beard

Don't say I never give you anything; here for your viewing pleasure(?), a collection of some of my worst ever self portraits...

The Blue Man Group in Tokyo

I went to see the Blue Man Group's show here in Tokyo a couple of weekends ago. They've had a permanent theatre in the city for ages, but they're going to be moving on in November, so I wanted to catch them before they left.

My sister pointed out that, having just gotten back from the land of anyongs (Anyong!), going to see the Blue Man Group made my life into one big 'Arrested Development' tribute. I can think of worse vocations to have.

So, the show: well, I loved and hated it in equal measure. It's quirky, original and entertaining, with some great music (especially from their DIY instruments), but they are all about the involuntary audience participation; I sat there in quaking terror at being called up to the stage.

Oh, and another thing: at one stage in the show, the three Blue Men walk on the backs of the seats up through the theatre, posing to rock out to the music along the way. As a result, I can now say that I have had both Cirque-du-Soleil clown crotch AND Blue-Man-Group man crotch shaken in my face in the same year.

Quite and achievement, I think you'll agree.

Pusan - this is the last one, I swear!

At the risk of boring you all to tears, there are just two more little things I wanted to tell you about the holiday in Korea.

First of all, Dad, you have got to move to Pusan and open a cupcake shop: I bought these little guys at a speciality baker near the hotel and they cost like 4 euro! You've been way ahead of the trend on this one making cupcakes all these years, so it's about time you made a bit of money of it. Please note that they have Smarties on them, so my opinionated aunt can take a running jump.



The other thing was about the room service. You see I almost never order room service, but when I do I feel it's really rude to leave the dishes there to be collected without saying a word. So I always leave a little note. This time, I found out how to write 'Thank you' in Korean and then added 'It was delicious', or something in English. I went about my day and came back to the room, and, for the first time ever, I'd gotten a little Post-it from the staff in return. I thought it was charming.

Pusan - randomness

I did lots of touristy things in Korea. I took a boat cruise around the outlying islands.





It was a lot of fun, but the weather was a little hazy, unfortunately. Also, the guide spoke Korean 95% of the time while occasionally playing an English pre-recorded soundtrack. I really felt my sister's pain from her time touring with me in Japan: when you don't understand the language, you really would prefer silence. Cue headachy frustration - especially when they kept going on about bloody hot springs!

I also hit up the local aquarium. I love aquariums as I find them really peaceful.




I also proved that you do learn by visiting such attractions. When I came back to Japan I was able to answer one of those impossible questions on the Stephen Fry quiz program 'QI': I knew that an octopus is a highly intelligent animal and can be taught to solve puzzles and even open jars and bottles.

On a holiday, though, the things which turn out to be the most fun are regularly the things that you don't plan at all. For me, this was ending up boogieing the night away at a beach dance party. I hadn't been dancing in years before this. While the sun was up the DJ played crowd-pleasing K-Pop (Korean Pop) music. It was funny how everyone at the beach totally got into the spirit. Lots of families with kids and older people were giving it welly. Worryingly, even some of the lifeguards (hopefully off-duty ones) came running up when a famous boy band made a special appearance.

Then, once the sun went down, it turned into a more adult crowd.

I think the DJ, DJ Koo, must have been about the same age as me because he played lots of classics from my uni days and early twenties when I would have been a regular at clubs. I loved it, though my stamina is not what it was. The great thing about being on a beach is that you just have to go down to the water and you have a natural chill-out room at your feet. Again, not speaking the language it seemed like this thing was some completely spontaneous event - "it's not a rave, it's a happening!" - which seemed to make it very special to me . However, there were probably posters for it up all over the place and I just didn't know.

Pusan - the food

Overall, the food in Pusan was really good. The service, while friendly, was a lot more slap dash and less ritualised than what I'm used to here in Japan. Korean people speak English with a different intonation to Japanese people. I could understand their English, all right, but just a half a bear later than what is socially acceptable. It made for some awkward exchanges. Just as Japanese people have difficulty distinguishing the English 'l' and 'r', Korean people struggle with 'f' and 'p'. And I can tell you that one of my greatest disappointments with the holiday was that the 'coppee' in Pusan is aboslutely 'awpul'! I think the staff are not taught how to use their expensive coffee machines properly, and no matter where I went, I ended up with a watery mug full of grinds and sediment. But back to what I ate...

On arrival I was famished, completely shaky with the hunger, so I ordered up some room service.


It was such fun opening up all those little side dishes and trying to guess what I was eating. It had been entered in the menu as 'Korean bean paste hotpot with vegetables' , but there were definitely some funky and unidentifiable items in there, too. Don't get me wrong - it was delicious. But I had vivid, vivid dreams that night. And then on my morning walks I would often see wild turtles washed up onto the shore like this little guy,

and what with all the statues of them about the place, I'm guessing the area is pretty famous for them,

and well I'm just saying... there may have been more than kimchi and tofu to my first dinner.

Of course I ate lots of Korean dishes during the course of my stay. And this inculded a pretty swanky bibimbap. I'm used to the counter-restaurant style. It was really good but a little too spicy in the end. The overall experience became just one of chillis rather than the individual ingredients. Plus the background music was 'Stairway to Heaven' played using traditional Korean instruments, so I guess that didn't exactly aid digestion.



I branched out a couple of times, too, and had Italian. One of the great joys for me was to rediscover al fresco dining. It's much too humid in Tokyo for outdoor dining right now, but Pusan was dry with a light sea breeze so I could really enjoy the food, the sea air and the view of that massive bridge.


I was also happy to be able to get a photo of the side dish of pickles that Italian restaurants in Korea always seem to serve - I had told someone about this before and they didn't believe me but now I have the proof.


Occasionally I went somewhere more for the atmos than the food itself. The interior of this waterfront bar was attracted me first (my flashless photo doesn't do it justice),

but when I saw that patrons were treated to a cellist who happened to be playing some of my favourite music, I was sold. To be honest, the food was pretentious and overpriced (truffle and rocket pizza???) but it actually tasted pretty good.

When speaking of holiday food, I must say that nothing makes me happier than a buffet breakfast and this was one of the best I've seen. A wide selection of foods from all over the world and so fresh! I think my face pretty much says it - I could have stayed there all day every day and the holiday would have been a success.

When I came back to Tokyo, it was such a shock that first morning. I was bereft. How are you supposed to survive without a smorgasbord of treats prepared and waiting for you and your morning paper. I am so weak that the following morning I headed to the hotel down my road and ponied up for the full buffet just to keep that holiday mood going. I think this may become my weekly treat.

Pusan - the beach

Coming from the airport, Pusan reminded me of Hong Kong. From the bus, you are met with row after row of high-rise apartments, which show you how densely populated the city is. But once you get to Haeundae Beach, it's much more like Dubai. There are lots of gleaming skyscrapers and almost as many cranes,

and all the guides proclaim that the city has 'the world's biggest department store'

or "Korea's longest bridge'.

I guess the heat and multi-lane highways with out-of-control bad driving also add to the distinctly Emirati impression.

When I arrived at my hotel, I was well pleased. It was definitely five star, but the staff could not have been more relaxed or friendlier.

And best of all was the view of the beach from my room and the sound of the waves lapping against the shore below.

Now it is a very much a city beach - think Sitges outside Barcelona or Manly in Sydney - and as a result it is fairly black with people of a weekend.

But during the week, and especially in the early mornings, you could really have a good stretch of the sand and sea to yourself. Luckily I am now an old man and, thus, a very early riser: even on holidays I woke before the alarm very day about 5.45 to yoga and then an hour's walk on the beach and around the headland.



Haeundae is definitely a tale of two beaches. The end where I was had the yacht club and the marina, and smelled of rich people (Aveda white tea and aloe shower gel mixed with money, in case you didn't know), while the far end had some dodgy looking motels, a few nightclubs and smelled of stale beer and fish. Needless to say, I spent most of my time as an impostor in the land of plenty.

A brief beery aside: Korean people are known as the Irish of Asia, and I can see why. On my aforementioned early morning constitutionals - we're talking 7am here people - it was not unusual for me to see young and old alike knocking back some beers or chu hai as they saluted the sun. To be fair, these serious party people were far outnumbered by the healthy types who were out swimming and jogging and power walking along the strand. Even people in electric wheelchairs were out keeping pace with the joggers. It also heartened me to see the volunteers out every morning cleaning the beach and taking pride in their surroundings and keeping things nice for everyone.