Return to the Land of the Weeb

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

The second of March marked our return to Japan. Waking early, bleachpanda and I packed up our bags, made sure we hadn’t forgotten anything in our rooms, checked-out of the Asti Hotel in Busan and weaved through Busan station and head to the International Port Terminal not even a kilometre away. Today, we were to take the JR Queen Beetle back to Japan and continue our adventure.

Given it was departing at 9 AM sharp, bleachpanda and I had to hustle over, only stopping briefly to pick up breakfast at the local convenience stores at the terminal. Once we arrived at the terminal, we had little time to spare as we rushed through the check-in before going through immigration and security.

Unlike planes though, the security to get on a ferry was quite simple. Liquids weren’t limited to only 100ml with our luggage going through a cursory x-ray scan.

On the ferry, we had to stow our suitcases away near the back of the ferry before taking our seats as the JR Beetle left the port. As we unmoored, the trainee attendant came by and I encouraged bleachpanda to take a motion sickness tablet as the waves were a bit high. Unfortunately, she didn’t actually ingest the tablet because of an inability to swallow tablets without some food to help. As such, bleachpanda slept her way through the ferry ride while I snuck in some scenery shots and a few minutes of gaming before I, too, succumbed a little to the queasy sensation of being on a boat. So, instead of being on the lookout for Tsushima, which our ferry should have passed (and would have appeared to our right – we were sitting on the left), I also rested for an hour or so. When next I opened my eyes, we were out in the open sea with nothing but blue skies and white fluffy clouds.

Alas. Maybe one of these days, when I get the chance to revisit South Korea or Japan, I can try to go visit Tsushima and relive the feeling of what it was like to be Jin Sakai.

We docked at Hakata port in Fukuoka at 12:50 PM. After we had gone through customs, it was half past 1. Bleachpanda and I then hopped onto a BRT towards Hakata Station so we could pick up our JR passes and take a train down to Nagasaki.

Given bleachpanda had an over-sized suitcase, bleachpanda had to book two reserved tickets. Thankfully, there was plenty of seats available for us and we boarded our train with little hassle. Although, of course, bleachpanda was still a little queasy from the ferry ride.

As she rested, I took in the passing scenery and read a few more pages of I Am A Cat.

What I didn’t realise was that Hakata had a Pokemon Centre! And given we were in a rush to board the train to Nagasaki, I couldn’t walk the streets and soak in the Like a Dragon 5 ambiance when Kiryu Kazuma was working as a taxi-driver.

At Nagasaki, we took the streetcar down to our hotel in Shinchi Chinatown. After checking in at Candeo Hotel, we rested for an hour before venturing back out to grab some dinner. As we were staying in the Chinatown, we were able to snap a few shots of the Chinatown gate before we tried some delicious sushi at a nearby restaurant: Taichi before buying some castella at a place right next to our hotel.

After all, Nagasaki is known for their champon noodles, their meat buns and, of course, their castella. Heck, they even have souvenirs showcasing these foods!

As we strolled through Chinatown, bleachpanda and I spotted a Studio Ghibli store and stepped inside to take a gander at what was on sale. Inside, I was struck by the number of My Neighbour Totoro plushies. There were a few other cute plushies from other films like Princess Mononoke and Return of the Cat.

Bleachpanda and I didn’t buy anything while we looked around the store but we would return on orders from bleachpanda’s sister to buy a few things for their darling daughter. As the two of us were recovering from our exhausting day of transport, we decided to head back to the hotel to prepare for the day ahead.

There were numerous sights to see and we couldn’t waste a single moment. After all, that’s what one does when they go overseas, right? Have a strict schedule of which tourist attraction to go to! In any case, bleachpanda would be rewarded on the morrow with a visit to Don Quijote, her favourite multistorey variety store in Japan.

On an unrelated side note, our hotel has a spa and the two of us may try it out during our stay. I know I certainly will.

Before I forget, the safety instructions for the JR Beetle were also cute and adorable. They had two kid captains and everything was depicted in a school playground. All safety instructions should have such a video to showcase their requirements!

Behind the Scenes with The Little Prince

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

On our second day in Busan, bleachpanda and I headed to Gamcheon Culture Village. It is a place known for its twisting alleys and colourful houses and painted murals. Built on a steep mountain-side slope, it’s often been called Korea’s ‘Santorini’ or the ‘Machu Picchu’ of Busan. But the creation of Gamcheon Culture Village was due to a project to contribuet to the social, cultural and economic regeneration of an underprivileged village through culture and arts while also preserving the village’s original features and historic value.

Consequently, it was a must-see location for bleachpanda and I on our trip while we were in Busan.

Of course, getting to it was a trek and a half as bleachpanda and I took a local bus towards a stop nearby and climbing up a fairly steep hill. While there was another bus we could have changed to, the internet had told me the walk wasn’t too long.

What it didn’t tell me about were the changes in elevation!

At the very least, we didn’t explore the labyrinthine alleys running in and out of Gamcheon and kept to the main road whilst we were there. I don’t think our knees would have liked us for climbing up and down a series of stairs.

Still, given the brisk morning we endured on the first day of March, the climb up to Gamcheon served to warm us up before we entered the village proper. Bleachpanda, as always, immediately zeroed in on the first souvenir shop that caught our eye, buying up almost all of their stock of earrings and other goods supposedly for her family and friends. I tried valiantly to stop bleachpanda from spending more than her means but she would not be denied.

Wait. She’s telling me that’s not quite the full story and to stop spreading lies lest she murder me in my sleep.

Fine! Bleachpanda did buy a copious amounts of pins and a few other souvenirs for her friends (none for me though despite the fact I’m her best friend in the world), but it was not so much that it would break open her suitcase. I, on the other hand, picked up three pairs of socks and even nabbed a crocheted dragon keyring. It was a bit expensive but it was also very cute and adorable.

What stood out to me as bleachpanda and I explored Gamcheon, I couldn’t help but notice a strange obsession with Le Petit Prince everywhere I looked. As most people know, Le Petit Prince is a story written and illustrated by a French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery. According to Wikipedia (because, as we all know, it is a fount of knowledge that is, in no way, inaccurate and should always be everyone’s go-to place when it comes to information), it is the second most translated work ever published.

The story itself revolves around an aircraft pilot’s chance encounter with the little prince and his journey across the stars after feeling the need to expand his horizons after falling in love with the rose. After seeing so many different thing, taming a fox, and befriending the aircraft pilot, the little prince desires to return home and see the rose again. He does so by allowing a snake to bite him. When the pilot awakes the next morning, the prince’s body cannot be found.

While I haven’t read the book, I have attended a live stage show of it when it was hosted in the Sydney Opera House and watched a movie.

In any case, Gamcheon had plenty of murals of the Little Prince. There was even a sculpture of him staring out over Gamcheon with his fox companion that many tourists lined up to take photos with. Heck, there was even Little Prince bread filled with either custard cream or red bean paste!

Besides The Little Prince, there was also much love for the Korean boyband, BTS (short for Bangtan Sonyeondan). Though I don’t have an undying love for the group, I did remember hearing that BTS went on hiatus from recording and performing to focus on solo projects, and to also complete their military service.

Having missed our chance to rent out a hanbok while in Seoul, bleachpanda and I stumbled upon a rental store in the heart of Gamcheon. While I have never revealed my face here on my blog, I think it appropriate that I do a ‘back-of-the-head’ reveal. More importantly, I just wanted to show off the hanbok we rented because we could only wear it for an hour and it cost bleachpanda and I 15,000 Won each.

Still, although it was only for an hour, we had plenty of time to prance around Gamcheon village and take several photos in and around the nearby streets.

Once we had explored Gamcheon to our satisfaction, we decided to head to the beach. Yes, it was a blistering cold day and we were never going to head down into the water, but I had heard good things about Haeundae Beach, and my work friend had also recommended it. So, after taking a bus down from where Gamcheon Culture Village was located, we took the 1003 bus all the way to the other side of Busan.

At Haeundae Beach, we strolled down the promenade and took in the sights of the locals and tourists gathered there. Haeundae, according to hte internet, is South Korea’s most famous beach and is often filled to the brim with umbrellas during the peak August travel season.

Of course, since bleachpanda and I were there in March, there was hardly an umbrella in sight. Nor was there anyone in the water.

It was, after all, only 4 degrees Celsius.

Now, while Haeundae Beach is a popular destination for many, my work friend had also told me there were sky capsules that would allow tourists to get in an excellent view of the coastline.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived to book a sky capsule, a vast majority of the bookings had been taken. As bleachpanda and I had an early start tomorrow, we chose to forego the capsules and head back to Busan Station to grab an early dinner (as we had skipped lunch). This turned out to be Chinese dumplings at Maga Mandu. And what big dumplings they were – especially when bleachpanda ordered the steamed prawn dumblings!

Thus ended our second day in Busan!

And what a day it was! From a morning trek up to Gamcheon, putting on a hanbok and gallivanting around with The Little Prince, to taking in the sights and sounds of Haeundae Beach. All the while on a public holiday! The 1st of March is a national day to celebrate Korea’s independence from Japan.

But we also had an early start to the morning and so were quick to retire. After six days in Korea, we were returning back to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Train to Busan

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Unlike the movie of the same title as this post, my train ride down to Busan was uneventful. After a late night out in Myeongdong, bleachpanda and I arranged for a slightly later start to the day for our transit down to the famous port city. After enjoying a breakfast at Starbucks (there appear to be hundreds of them in the heart of Seoul, although there are also a ton of other coffee shops as well), we made our way towards Seoul Station and the KTX station within.

Let me tell you of the hassle it all was once we stepped out of the metro! Stairs everywhere the eye could see. And not a single escalator. Yes, there was a conveyor belt for luggage but it was limited to those who would be taking the airport line.

Thankfully, bleachpanda and I hadn’t bought too many souvenirs just yet and could still manage to lug our bags up and down the many flights of stairs taking us from the metro station to the KTX station.

As we waited for our designated train (bleachpanda and I had pre-purchased our Korail tickets online), we took a gander at the shops for those looking to take a high-speed cross-country train. Unlike Central Station in Sydney, there were numerous places to eat AND the entrance to a local department store. More importantly, there was a Kakao Friends store. It was here that bleachpanda went and bought Apeach (her constant companion for the rest of the trip and whom I said looked ugly). Given we couldn’t open up our luggage right there at the station with everyone watching, bleachpanda managed to cram her Apeach into her already bulging backpack.

On the train, bleachpanda slept through most of the ride, citing a headache which I doubted was authentic. I, on the other hand, eagerly looked out at the passing scenery before reading a few pages of I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki.

While I would like to sing the praises of this Japanese author, the truth is…I found the writing tedious. In fact, by page ten, I could barely keep my eyes open. So, I fiddled with my phone and looked out and resumed looking at the scenery. I may have even fell asleep myself although the ride wasn’t too long.

We pulled into Busan at around 2 PM and went for a quick bite to eat as we hadn’t had lunch (we did buy a few snacks at a convenience store but I needed something heavier). Once we were functioning human beings again, we braved the rain and headed to our hotel nearby: Asti Hotel Busan to check-in. After we offloaded our luggage in our room, we decided to cross off a few key tourist attractions close by despite the weather.

So, off we trotted back towards Busan Station and Texas Street right opposite it. Then it was down into the Busan metro system as we headed to Busan Tower, which is also commonly known as Diamond Tower. Due to the poor weather, it felt like we were the only ones there as we bought a ticket up to the observation deck.

But while I would have loved just seeing the city from on high, Busan Tower also had a lot of interactive activities inside. They even had a QR game (our end prize turned out to be a couple of pens), one needed to locate within and outside the Tower. This made our time there much more worthwhile after trekking to Yongdusan Park.

And despite the overcast day, bleachpanda and I were still able to see quite a bit of the city and get in our required bird’s eye view. I even bought a fridge magnet and another postcard to send to my friend. However, unlike N Seoul Tower, Busan Tower didn’t have the facility to mail off my postcard.

After we had drunk our view of the aerial view, we descended down into the bowels of Diamond Tower, hunting down QR codes and engaging in the game that had been organised. Once we had claimed our prize, bleachpanda and I headed to to Gwangbok-ro Fashion Street, which was just on the other side of the Yongdusan Park and down into BIFF (Busan International Film Festival) Square where there was a ton of street food.

Google tells me there are apparently handprints of famous Korean actors lining the streets but I didn’t notice. Alas, perhaps another visit is in order.

We did, however, stop at a sushi restaurant called Manatsu for dinner. Bleachpanda even got to enjoy her share of tuna while I revelled in eating something that didn’t have kimchi served on the side (something which I can’t eat because it’s gosh darn spicy)! Our appetites sated, we returned to our hotel to prepare for a busy day on the morrow as we would be heading to several destinations given we were only staying in Busan for only two nights.

Looking back, I can honestly say we should have stayed in Busan longer but alas, Japan was calling.

The Pursuit of Materialism

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After a day out at the DMZ, bleachpanda and I chose to start our last full day in Seoul with a gentle stroll through the National Museum of Korea. While I would have preferred to have done it on our first day, at the time, bleachpanda and I were still confused on the metro system. But by the third day, I’d taken a map at the confusing web of lines and had what many would describe as an epiphany.

With my guidance, for Google Maps would not plot out a route, bleachpanda and I managed to arrive at the National Museum unmolested. Better yet, admission was free!

So, off we trotted, coming to understand the history of Korea and how it came to be: from the Paleolithic period all the way to the Empire of Korea. Not an easy task, I assure you, but fascinating in how nation states come into being.

Fun fact: the first state ever to emerge on the Korean Peninsula was Gojoseon. It came to dominate the entire northwest region of the peninsula during the Bronze Age, even stretching as far as Laoning, China. When it fell around 108 BCE, several smaller states emerged including Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo and Dongye.

But what proved most fascinating to me was how Korea’s history was intricately connected with that of China including they myths. Of note were the Four Guardian Deities, which I only ever happened to discover from reading Fushigi Yuugi and later Kylie Chan’s novels: the White Tiger, the Red Phoenix, the Black Tortoise and the Azure/ Blue Dragon.

These Guardian Deities are often believed to be related to the four cardinal directions and were said to ward off evil influences to ensure harmony between yin and yang energies. And in 5th century Goguryeo tombs, they were portrayed as symbols of the afterlife.

As time went on, several dynasties rose and fell including Korea’s own version of the Three Kingdoms (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla). This came as a bit of a surprise to me considering every time the Three Kingdoms are ever mentions, they mean the tripartite divison among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu that occurred from 220 to 280 AD, and which became a historical novel: Romance of the Three Kingdoms were heroes such as Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu are known.

What became clear to me as bleachpanda and I wandered the halls of the museum was that Korea was steeped in a shared history with its neighbours, China and Japan. This was most evident in the realm of religion and the spread of Buddhism. At the National Museum, we saw many a scriptures and steles written in Chinese characters. I also noted the similarities between the attire worn by Korean nobility and traditional clothing for Chinese emperors. All of this, suffice it to say, was fascinating to see and read about.

Once we had travelled through the different eras of Korea, bleachpanda and I toured the third floor of the Museum and looked at the various artworks of other ancient cultures. These included Mesopotamia, China, Japan, Central Asia, Greece and Rome. As a student of ancient history back when I was in high school, I was disappointed to see no statue portraying Augustus. Marcus Aurelius, bless his heart, appeared twice!

And yet there was no love for Julius Caesar’s successor.

Unacceptable!

From the museum, bleachpanda and I took the metro to Hongdae Street and finally start on some much needed shopping – her words, not mine.

Our first stop after getting out of the metro station was Kakao Friends. It was here I that I swiftly learned the names of the cutesy characters on display and who were nearly everywhere in Seoul, if you simply knew where to look. After perusing the available merchandise, I quickly fell in love with Jordy while bleachpanda thought Apeach was the cutest character in the lineup.

As this was our first introduction to Kakao Friends, we didn’t purchase anything. Rather, bleachpanda had her sights on obtaining as much Korean skincare as possible and she quickly beelined for the closest Olive Young to hand over all her precious Korean won.

Once bleachpanda had bought out the whole shop, we refuelled at a local Korean barbeque restaurant where 27,800 Won was enough for an All-You-Can-Eat Beef set. Astoundingly cheap considering it can cost upwards of $60 AUD.

Filled to the brim with beef, bleachpanda and I strolled down Hongdae Street, stopping in at multiple shops to check out earrings (spoiler alert: we stopped at many a jewellery shop for bleachpanda to buy earrings. These were mostly for herself but she also bought some for friends and family) or whatever else that had caught bleachpanda’s eye (she bought a Nezuko figurine – which would end up taking up far too much space in her luggage). We also stopped at the Pop Mart flagship store where I purchased a few Disney blind box figurines, as well as one featuring Lord of the Rings (I got a Balrog).

We made our way back to our hotel at ENA Suite Namdaemun by 5:30 PM to recover from our shopping trip and to offload all the gear bleachpanda bought (including copious amounts of skincare). At 6 PM, we ventured out again, this time heading to the nearby Myeongdong, which is known for being one of Seoul’s main shopping districts. It was also where bleachpanda essentially spent all her Korean won on additional skincare products and more goddamn earrings (she probably has enough to open up her own store).

After I directed us to Myeongdong Cathedral, we also tried some of the street food available to us. This included an octopus skewer and various sweets.

As we were heading to Busan the next day, I managed to corral the two of us back to our hotel by 8:30 PM. Then it was a quick flurry to repack our luggage over all the purchases bleachpanda bought as we prepared for the train journey down to the second largest city in South Korea, and which has an established reputation as the city of film.

Into the Breach

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On 25 June 1950, after the creation of two separate governments in Korea following the end of World War II, North Korea (also known as the Democratic Republic of Korea) launched an attack on its neighbour in order to subsume it. After fighting the South Koreans (Republic of Korea) down to Busan, the South Korean army rallied with the help of the United States. Their counteroffensive nearly pushed North Korean troops into China. With the aid of weapons and artillery bequeathed by the Soviets, China entered the Korean War. Following intense fighting, the front was stablised close to the 38th parallel with the final two years of the war becoming a war of attrition. An armistice was later signed in 1953.

The signing of the armistice paused hostilities on the Korean peninsula and created the Korean Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ (pronounced Dee-Em-Zed) for short.

On our second proper day in Seoul, bleachpanda and I joined a Seoul City Bus tour (paid through Klook) to scope it out. Having prebooked the tour, we were contacted the day before by one of the organisers to arrange a hotel pick-up. By 9:30 AM, bleachpanda and I were in the hotel lobby, waiting for the bus to come pick us up. Except, instead of a bus, a nondescript black van showed up.

Into it we climbed until we arrived at another hotel before piling into the coach that pulled up, and which would take us to the DMZ.

Our first stop, after driving about an hour from Seoul, was the Peace Park. During the drive, our tour guide Yeoni, explained the history of Seoul – from the Joseon Dynasty to the modern reiteration we now know today. At Peace Park, Yeoni pointed out several important monuments including a bunker, a comfort women statue, the Iron Horse train engine, the Peace Bell and the infamous ‘Cow Bridge’. Cow bridge is so named because a defector, and founder of Hyundai Groups, Chung Ju-yung sent over 1001 ‘unification’ cows over the border as a gift.

After Peace Park, we headed back onto the coach and was taken to Dora Observatory. As we went through a security checkpoint, our passports were checked. My picture, of course, is horrendous as I didn’t wear any make-up and the post office didn’t retake my photo despite my fringe blocking a part of my face. After we had gone through the checkpoint, Yeoni told us of how visitors could take a train to visit the DMZ prior to COVID-19. This was run twice a day during the weekends with the train stopping at Dorasan station.

Once at Dora Observatory, Yeoni provided us some additional information about the relationship between North and South Korea. And as we peered through the binoculars, she was quick to point out key areas of interest. Bleachpanda and I even caught glimpses of a North Korean guard standing outside their outpost!

From Dora Observatory, we then headed to the 3rd tunnel. During the drive, Yeoni told us that there were about 1,000 defectors from North Korea annually. Often, defectors would flee first into China and find alternate means to enter South Korea. Once in South Korea, they would be assessed to see if they’re spies sent from the north. If legitimate defectors, they are given free housing for a few years as well as a mentor to help them adjust to life outside of the communist state.

What was most telling to me was how these two nations, despite their differences, stilled hoped for unification and to once again be one people. Time will tell if it will come to pass but their stories of families being split apart reminded me of several other countries that endured such trauma including Partition and the ongoing challenges between China and Taiwan.

As for the 3rd tunnel, though reviews made it sound as if it was a claustrophobic spelunking crawl, it honestly felt like exploring a low-ceiling granite cave with sufficient space for two people to walk abreast. It certainly wasn’t as impressive as investigating the twisting labyrinthine tunnels of Cappadocia last year.

The 3rd tunnel was simply a very long tunnel with a sharp incline at its entrance. Once in the tunnel proper, it was flat although there were patches of water here and there. While taller people might accidentally hit their hard hats on the ceiling, I was short enough to get through unscathed. At the end of the tunnel was a metal barricade and a monitor with four video feeds showing what lay beyond.

Bleachpanda, fearing the 3rd tunnel experience after reading reviews of it online, did not descend. Which, honestly, might have been a good idea as she would have needed copious breaks on the way out given how steep the incline was.

From the tunnel, our last stop on the DMZ tour was the Unification Village. It was here that bleachpanda treated me to a lemon tea. Something I desperately needed after the slog of a climb back up to the surface and running out of my pre-boiled water.

So ended our visit to the DMZ, with the Seoul City Bus dropping us all at City Hall. As bleachpanda and I wandered back to our hotel, we stopped to visit the now open Deoksugung Palace. What made it stand out to the two of us was its very modern western-style garden and fountain, known as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Pictures are as below:

And while the visit to the DMZ was an eye-opening experience (my grandparents on my father’s side actually met during the conflict although neither were on the frontlines), I couldn’t help but feel I had missed an opportunity to chat with a few fellow Australians on the trip.

Still, I want to end his blog post by thanking Seoul City Tour, and Yeoni in particular, for taking us around the DMZ and safely getting us back to Seoul in one piece! You may have thought I was bleachpanda and the start but you certainly warmed to Kyndaris as the day went by. Even acknowledged us when we nearly missed the coach at the Peace Park because I had to search for a bin in order to throw the remains of my soy fried chicken away because the bus driver wouldn’t let bleachpanda and I bring it along.

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

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Our first proper day in Seoul had us running through the city using my highly advanced map-reading skills because Google Maps could not show even simple routes in and around the city except via public transport. This was due to the censorship laws of South Korea preventing the storage of map data on foreign server devices. As a consequence, Google cannot legally provide any real time navigation. Or so Google and Reddit tell me. Instead, locals rely on Naver and Kakao, but which do not always have English translations and thus tourists such as bleachpanda and myself are left fending for ourselves.

Still, after enjoying a ham and cheese ‘Dagel’ for breakfast at a local cafe, bleachpanda and I set out to Namsam Seoul Tower (or N Seoul Tower for short). Along the way, we stopped at the Namdaemun Market. There, we inspected the stalls to see what was on offer. Although we were both tempted to purchase souvenirs at this very first stop on our journey, we both resisted the urge.

We had, after all, not even properly seen the city!

Instead, bleachpanda and I purchased some egg tarts and a warm drink to drive away the wintry chill. While bleachpanda guzzled down her mocha, I was left disappointed by my ‘choco latte,’ which turned out to essentially be chocolate milk.

From Namdaemun Markets, we hiked towards Namsan Mountain, visiting a local 7-Eleven along the way to see if they shared any similarities to their counterparts in Japan or Australia (spoiler alert: they shared much more with their Asian cousins in Taiwan and Japan than those found out in the West).

Once at the start of the hiking trail up to Namsan, bleachpanda blanched at the prospect of climbing up to the tower. But with some gentle coaxing from me, she acquiesced. And so, we clambered up the mountain.

Bleachpanda, being the less fit of the two of us, required numerous stops to catch her breath. But these rests were also opportunities for us to take pictures of the scenery – capturing the early moments of spring peaking through as the snow began to melt.

By the way, did I mention there were love locks all around N Seoul Tower? Because that was a thing. As well as at the base of the mountain having a statue dedicated to the Comfort Women from the Second World War.

Still, it was aggravating to wait for her but it was the cross I had to bear as her travelling companion. Especially as we were nearing the tower and she vanished for nigh on eighty-four years because she ducked into a store to buy a fridge magnet.

At the tower, I purchased our entry tickets up and away we soared to the observation deck with a group of American tourists. Once at the observation deck, the entirety of Seoul was spread out before us. I used this chance to take copious amounts of pictures from this bird’s eye view of the city:

Bleachpanda and I even bought a few souvenirs, including postcards. While I sent mine to a good friend (here known as redoubt on the internet), as he has a penchant of posting postcards to me when travelling overseas, bleachpanda sent one to her sister and another to her future self.

Once we had drunk our fill at the tower, we took the cable car back down to civilisation (bleachpanda’s request) before heading to Deoksugung Palace. As I navigated our party towards our destination we refuelled at a Dunkin’ Donuts before continuing onward.

Unfortunately, once we arrived at Deoksugung Palace, it was closed (this was due to the fact this palace is closed on Mondays. Why? I’m not sure. We would revisit it later). Disappointed, bleachpanda and I trekked instead to Gyeongbokgung Palace where we managed to catch a changing of the royal guard. During the performance, an explanation was provided regarding the process and of the outfits worn by the performers, which were based on 15th century Joseon dynasty clothing.

Fun fact, Gyeongbokgung was the main royal palace of the Joseon palace and was built in 1395. Additionally, everywhere we looked, there were people dressed in hanboks because they allowed free entry!

Alas, bleachpanda and I were dressed in our thick entry gear. And so, we had to buy tickets to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. I also grabbed an audio gudie to provide some commentary of the historic site we were visiting, although I had to trade in my driver licence.

As we made our way through the Palace, I learned how the Palace served as the heart of the Joseon dynasty before it was razed to the ground when Japan invaded Korea back in 1592. This was later rebuilt in 1867. Within were several precincts and the living quarters for concubines and the royal family.

Of interest to me was how there were separate palaces for the King and the Queen.

I also learned how during the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century, Gyeongbokgung was used for their own headquarters, with the Government-General Building being built after the Palace was levelled. After the conclusion of the Second World War, however, much of Gyeongbokgung has been restored.

After we had wandered through to all the major sites, bleachpanda and I exited out near the National Folk Museum of Korea. Eager to have my driver licence returned, we headed back to the entrance and exchanged the audio guide for my Australian identity document.

From the palace, we then headed to Bukchon Hanok village and finally nabbed a late lunch of pork cutlet – elsewise I might have keeled over. After we were both full, we took a gander around Bukchon, stopping by Bukchon Yukgyeong to snap an iconic view of the city of the buildings there and the city of Seoul splayed out before us.

Once we had snagged the picture, bleachpanda and I headed back to our hotel after a long day out in the city of Seoul. We stopped briefly at Jogyesa Buddhist temple before purchasing a few souvenirs and snacks.

So ended our first proper day in Seoul! Join me for the next few weeks as I regale you, dear reader, of our further adventures! For tomorrow is when we head into the DMZ (the last letter pronounced as Zed for all you Americans out there).

Looking back on our journey though, I’m a little sad I couldn’t snag myself a hot CEO boyfriend after he hit me with his car. Still, there’s always next time!

Days of Transit and Films

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Living in Australia, the first day of travel is almost always the most uneventful. Why? Because in order to reach any other country (besides New Zealand) involves a bloody long flight. So, it was with my trip to Japan via ANA (which took about 9 hours and 45 minutes or so). It also didn’t help that there was congestion at Sydney airport, which delayed our departure time by upwards of thirty minutes. By the time we landed in Tokyo, it was nearly 9 PM local time and bleachpanda and I needed to go through customs, collect our baggage and check-in to our hotel.

Thankfully, getting through immigration didn’t take too long for either me or bleachpanda. With our luggage in tow, we breezed through quarantine and went about securing ourselves a taxi to take us to our hotel for the night: Toyoko Inn II in Haneda.

On the 9 hour flight over to Japan, I kept myself entertained with several films while bleachpanda battled with motion sickness. Still, she managed to watch Barbie despite sleeping for the majority of our time onboard. As for me, the films I watched included: The Marsh King’s Daughter, Puppy Love, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile and Dumb Money. An eclectic collection of films that started off strong in the psychological thriller genre before dovetailing into a lighthearted romantic comedy and animated child film. Then I finished it off by watching a meme-heavy film about gamers rising up and sticking it to the man.

Sadly, during my flight over to Japan, I didn’t get much reading done. Nor could bleachpanda and I have any riveting conversations given her proclivity for motion sickness and had her eyes closed every time our plane hit turbulence.

But what to say about the films I binged on the way to Japan? Well, The Marsh King’s Daughter was a movie that tickled my interest a few months back when I first saw the trailer. It starred Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn and so was immediately on my radar as a weighty exploration of the human condition. While it wasn’t exactly the most riveting watch, it still managed to capture my attention for the duration of its run-time.

After enjoying the tension-heavy film about family, love and toxic obsession, I decided to watch something I could completely shut my brain off. Enter: Puppy Love starring Lucy Hale and Grant Gustin (two actors who caught my eye back when they were starting out. One featured in a guilty pleasure show I watched back when I was in university – Pretty Little Liars – and the other started out as an antagonist in Glee before becoming the better version of the fastest man alive).

From Puppy Love, I hopped over to watch a film about a singing crocodile and the wacky plot shenanigans that come from a half-animated, half live-action musical starring the likes of Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem and Constance Wu. Is it strange that there’s a singing crocodile whose exact origins were never exactly explained? Yes, but the songs are catchy and it’s a nice feel-good film.

And even though Lyle doesn’t speak, he can readily communicate through song – which, admittedly, beggars belief but these aren’t things one should think too hard about.

Then finally, after nearly nine hours in the air, and fully from a sandwich dinner, I settled the headphones back onto my ears to watch Dumb Money. Though I never did watch it in cinemas, I did read about how people were using the RobinHood app to hold the line against The Man when it came to the shorting of the GameStop stock back in 2021.

At 8:57 PM, we landed at Haneda airport. After our plane taxied to its designated spot, we traipsed down a set of stairs for the waiting shuttles that took us to the terminal proper. Due to the late hour, we were the only flight going through immigration and customs, smoothing exiting the airport about twenty minutes to ten.

One short taxi ride later took us to our hotel close by. I, of course, managed to embarrass myself by trying to close the automatic door of the cab. It was only when I heard the driver tell me twice to stop that I realised the error of my ways. Still, we managed to check-in to the hotel only a few minutes past 10 PM. Once inside, bleachpanda and I dumped our gear and flopped onto the bed, exhausted from a day on the plane.

The next day, I woke up early and puttered around our shared room as bleachpanda snored away. At 7 AM, bleachpanda’s alarm went off and after spending 45 getting ready, the two of us headed down for breakfast. Once full, we visited a local shrine nearby as well as a 7-Eleven wherein I bought a banana and milk.

Returning to our hotel at around 9:30, it was back on the road for the two of us as we headed to Narita airport for our flight to Seoul. We arrived with barely any time to spare as we checked-in for our flight and sped through security. Still, we managed to try out Japan McDonald’s. I picked a Teriyaki Pork Burger (which was mildly disappointing because of how dense the sauce was) and bleachpanda enjoyed an Ebi Burger. Full, we boarded our flight to Seoul, wherein we were treated with another heavy meal.

At 4:30 PM, we landed at Incheon International. On the flight, I watched Venom: Let There Be Carnage while belachpanda slept on, too ill from the turbulent start to our flight. The sequel to Sony’s Venom was a fun watch, even if it didn’t win any awards. Tom Hardy, I can most assuredly say, is living his best Eddie Brock life, given the banter between our two protagonists.

In fact, it reminded me of my relationship with bleachpanda during the trip. I’d tease and aggravate her, she’d threaten to murder me in my sleep…

And yet she’d still comply with all my walking demands as we managed to rack up a 14,500 step count average over the three weeks we were out and about on our overseas trip.

Once we grabbed our luggage and went through South Korea immigration, we took a taxi to our hotel in the heart of Seoul. After wechecked in to our hotel in South Korea: ENA Suite Namdaemun, bleachpanda and I ventured out to enjoy a nice meal out at Michelin Star winner: Korea Ginseng Chicken Soup.

Supreme Leader of the Exaltants

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Right before my trip to South Korea and Japan, I managed to polish off one more short indie game. Keeping with the theme of cults and the supernatural, I went with Australian darling: Cult of the Lamb. It’s not every day that an Australia based studio makes it big when it comes to gaming. But when they do, it’s a huge splash! Look no further than Hollow Knight. Similarly, Cult of the Lamb scratches an itch I didn’t realise I wanted when it came to a roguelite video game with cult-builder hidden inside.

The game starts off with a sacrifice of the player-character, the lamb. They are saved by death by The One Who Waits and are then expected to create a loyal following in its name. So begins a game where one is forced to gather resources to build up the cult, ensure their followers are happy, and go on crusades to take down the four Bishops plaguing the land.

While I have mostly shied away from rogue-likes with base-building elements, for example, Don’t Starve, there was something oddly charming about Cult of the Lamb. It also helped that the game wasn’t very long or very difficult. The controls, in particular, never much deviated from how it was originally introduced. I was dodging past attacks and hacking away at them with ease.

As the game went on, however, heavy attacks were introduced along with curses and relics. These added new strategy to the battles by giving players something more to play around with such as long-ranged barrage of spells at the enemy. While good against bosses, in normal encounters, I still favoured getting up and personal to my enemies. Mostly because the use of curses were limited.

The weapons and abilities were always randomised at the start of each dungeon run, allowing players to experiment with what they liked and what they didn’t. However, it also ran the risk of locking players into picking between two weapons they didn’t much like.

It soon became clear to me my favourite weapon were the daggers, despite their short range, or the blunderbuss. The hammer and the sword weren’t as much fun – the sword because it lacked quite a bit in damage, and the hammer because it was unwieldy and slow.

The format for the crusades, though, keeps it simple. There are multiple dungeons, which one has to run through four times before they reach one of the Bishops. Each of the dungeons have their own theme. This, in turn, impacts the resources one can find inside, as well as provide a different customisable skin for any followers the Lamb recruits inside.

These roguelite elements were balanced by the base-building elements. And I found myself quickly getting sucked into managing the life of my followers by giving sermons, ensuring they were praying to me or gathering resources for further expansion. By the end of the game, I had a self-sufficient farm and my followers were decently satisfied with how I was running things.

Story-wise, Cult of the Lamb relies primarily on exposition from the Bishops as you travel through their region and take them down. This reveals the backstory for The One Who Waits and its connection to the other Bishops of the Old Faith. Once all four are taken down, the chains to The One Who Waits are broken and the Lamb can return the demonic crown they were gifted and be sacrificed in their name. However, it is clear from the reactions of the followers they do not want you to go.

As such, the Lamb can choose to rise up against The One Who Waits. Doing so means doing battle with Baal and Aym. Once these two are waited, The One Who Waits attempts to kill the Lamb themself. However, I was able to pull through and defeat the one who saved me. Doing so, I was able to spare The One Who Waits and indoctrinate them into my cult as a follower.

Cult of the Lamb is not a complex game. It has many fun elements to it that make it a worthwhile purchase. What made it stand out to me, though, was its unique cutesy art style which juxtaposed the themes within the game. I mean, yes, I’m building up a cult for a demonic overlord but at the very least, I can look adorable doing it. And honestly, when I’m playing a game, that’s the thing I’m looking out for.

Hello Madness, My Old Friend

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From Octopath Traveler 2, I decided to keep with the theme of hidden cults and try my hand at the remake Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. With only a few short weeks before my trip overseas, I didn’t want to get sucked into a lengthy role-playing game and leave it unfinished while I was overseas. Which was why I chose to play games that wouldn’t take too long but could still tell a compelling story. So, after enjoying the new direction of Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, I was eager to see what Frogwares would do to change of their first Sherlock Holmes games. Coupled with my obsession with the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Cthulhu mythos, my excitement was tangible.

Unfortunately, The Awakened did not live up to the lofty expectations set by the predecessor. Still, given the developer is headquartered in Ukraine and the game entered production soon after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I can forgive its many foibles.

Besides, Frogwares has never been a triple-A studio.

As such, I struggled with the stripped back gameplay and the jankiness of the game models. There were also several moments when the lighting, especially for hats, looked terribly strange and pulled me from the scene.

Faults aside, there were also many elements I loved about the game. Namely the story and the callbacks to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. This, more than anything else, made the two games feel connected. What’s more, the backstory in Chapter One also felt conducive to the descent into madness that was Sherlock’s story arc throughout the game. Yes, I would have liked some more backstory on the ultimate villain, with perhaps a nice tantalising story connection to our characters beyond a reference to the previous game of the same title, but alas.

Now, if you’ve ever played a Frogware Sherlock Holmes game, there isn’t many surprises. In fact, I felt there were fewer instances for minigames. Gone is the combat and chemical mixing introduced in Chapter One. Sherlock is wholly dependent on the power of investigation and the occasional use of his extensive archives (which he seems to carry with him). This meant the story flowed better as Sherlock and John traipsed to several corners of the world in order to unravel the mystery of a missing Maori servant in the employ of the bullish Captain Stenwick.

It isn’t long before Sherlock and John stumble upon their first major clue: The Black Edelweiss Institute. There, they unravel the mystery of the mental institution, including how the previous director was disposed and taken over by the distasteful Professor Gygax who brutalises the patients and uses the Institute as a cover to procure sacrifices for an unknown ritual.

Despite a brief encounter with the unknowable, Sherlock and Holmes find letters pointing them to New Orleans. So, off they trot across the Atlantic where they learn details about an auction selling precious black opals and journey into the bayou to save Mr Arneson, a local man. There, they retrieve an ancient book.

Returning to London, the local bookseller is manages to decipher the unknown language, which points to a mythical sea god that looks very much like everyone’s favourite eldritch being. With the help of maps at the bookstore, Watson is able to pinpoint the location for this grand ritual. Everything culminates in a ‘battle’ atop a lighthouse on the Scottish coastline, with the duo putting a stop to the summoning of Cthulhu to our plane of existence.

Riveting stuff, I must say! Although, as I’ve stated before, it would have been interesting to have had some more focus on the villain and their underlying motivations. Still, the relationship between Sherlock and John was compelling. Especially as they were still finding their feet as flatmates at 221B Baker Street and had yet to establish the strong rapport they would come to develop in the latter games.

As I’ve stated above, the gameplay itself isn’t as good as its predecessor. No longer are there multiple cases to solve. The Awakened is primarily focused on the one major mystery of a disappearing manservant, which dovetails into a world of secret cults and their attempts to ritual summon something beyond human ken. Of course, in so saying, the case does come to a proper conclusion instead of leaving it open-ended to the player. No longer did I have to ponder if I made the right choice when it came to the cases Sherlock closed as I interpreted the evidence to their logical conclusions.

And because of this the game is also much shorter.

I finished The Awakened in only a few short hours and Howlongtobeat.com seems to indicate it’s about 9 hours at most. That isn’t to say short games are bad, and I’m thankful I didn’t have to pay an exorbitant amount for it.

Another gripe I had were the mechanics themselves, such as the map not providing an indicator for where Sherlock was located. Thankfully, though, each of the sets were quite insular and there wasn’t any significant fear one would get lost. Although, I’m sure if I had my direction challenged friends play, they might still lose their way.

Yet, I must confess I was still hoping for a meatier experience. Time will tell what the next Sherlock Holmes game will be or if there might be any new changes implemented to the pre-existing formula. I, for one, would be keen to see a slew of quality investigative games for my favourite detective. But for now, I will continue to wait even as madness beckons to me.

Re: Connect

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Ever since the disaster that was COVID-19, I’ve slowly begun to renew my relationships with a lot of people from the past. Most have been simple catch-up dinners/ lunches here and there. We talk about lives since we last saw each other and see where the other is at on this journey called life. After all, when you finish university and move into the workforce, life just becomes…well…busy. And you begin to lose touch. No longer is it so easy to arrange a quick catch-up during the week or on weekends. Especially if you live in a city as big as Sydney.

But since I’ve lived in this fair city since birth, it should also come as no surprise that I’ve also met a colourful cast of individuals across the many stages of my life. Be they old work colleagues, friends from high school, or heck, even the odd acquaintance!

If you are a regular reader of this here blog, you’ll know I’ve talked about some of the reunions in the last two or so years. But I have to say, the start of 2024 was a rush of old familiar faces I didn’t quite expect.

Story time!

Now, as you, dear reader, know, I’ve always expressed an interest in finding a group to play a tabletop role-playing game with. Of course, I didn’t expect that to come via my favourite chinchilla. This old uni friend of mine, whom I entertain with many a statement of their grisly demise (it’s a complicated relationship. Suffice it to say, they have consented to me using analogies from the TV show You and Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series to conjure up fanciful imagery. None of which actually eventuates. It’s a running joke. Chinchilla is perfectly safe in my hands), reached out to me in November 2023. It was the first time in years I’d received a message from them despite constantly wishing them a ‘Happy Birthday.’

I’m sure, dear reader, you can imagine my surprise.

Thankfully, we easily fell back into old habits. As if the distance of time had barely impeded our friendship.

As we ate sushi together, chinchilla provided me with updates on their life. From their marriage to subsequent divorce, and then to an ADHD diagnosis. They also told me of their harrowing mental health journey in the decade or so since we last met, and how they emerged from it.

In between our more serious chats, I regaled my dear sweet chinchilla with my nerdy exploits and my failed attempts at trying to play D&D. It was then that chinchilla advised they still had some sway with their circle of friends back in high school and could pull some strings to potentially get me an audience to show off my tabletop role-playing chops.

I didn’t hear back from chinchilla until sometime in December. And as the clock ticked in 2024, I finally mustered up the courage to message one of the core members: a friend I used to know back in primary school. In fact, he’s actually the inspiration for a short story I wrote on nostalgia. Alas, after building things up in my head, reality, unfortunately, did not love up to my lofty expectations.

Over the years, we had changed far too much. And it was disappointing to see how much he wanted to forget the person he had been in those formative years. True, he still loved anime but he was also a respected doctor/ radiologist. No longer did he have set of UNO cards readily on hand to play a game or five. High school and the passage of time had stripped away most of what I remembered of him.

Still, he was my gateway to a one-off game of Every Day Heroes, with many a person I knew. None of which I was super familiar with but I, at least, could hold some semblance of a conversation with. While I would have liked to continue playing with them, the fact they held their sessions on a weekday, with many of them playing late into the night, the house being on the opposite side of Sydney to my own, and my growing responsibilities when it came to my grandma, I couldn’t quite justify making this a weekly occurrence.

Besides, I was also soon to be jetting off to Japan and South Korea for a long awaited holiday (I say the week before my trip. Although, when this post comes out, I will have returned).

Still, I managed to bumble my way through what would turn out to be a very chaotic group of players.

But they were not the only ones I managed to reconnect with in the first of the year. Oh no.

Even as I was plugging away at Octopath Traveler 2, I was reviewing possible future love interests on Hinge (I know, poor phrasing. But as we all know, love’s just a game) and stumbled upon the profile of a girl I’d befriended back in my high school days despite the fact they were in the grade below mine. Immediately, I sent her a rose and messaged them on Facebook (because, you know, Millennial. I’ll use another social media app over my dying body!)

Because we already knew each other, I wasn’t as hesitant to meet up. Nor was there much need for numerous texts to feel out the other person’s interest. So, we quickly arranged for a meet-up and off we trotted to an Italian restaurant in Darling Harbour. There, we caught up on life, including what we both did for work (she’s in academic research, which for all intents and purposes is NOT a real job. A real job is a 9 to 5 office job where we have NO clue what we’re doing). Then, of course, the conversation turned towards our love lives. After all, we were both on Hinge. As such, I shared some of my dating experiences and so did she. And as we chatted about our friendship circles, she was keen to have me meet up with another old friend as she found us entirely too similar.

As the calendar moved from January to February, I then caught up with another face from my past. For ease of reference, and to cut down on all the ambiguous pronoun usage, I’ll call them Sorrengail (because they hate Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros with a passion. And well, the only way I can show affection is through light teasing). Now, Sorrengail and I met on the school bus back in ye olden days of high school and I distinctly remember she was intrigued by me playing Apollo Justice. Somehow, it kicked off a friendship between like-minded individuals and it would later spur her on to become a senior graphic designer for a small game studio right at the heart of Sydney.

Sorrengail and I arranged to meet up for some branch on a grey and brooding Saturday. While we didn’t have a cafe in mind, we managed to find one in close proximity to the train station. As we ate our food, we discussed our lives up to that point – commiserating over not being able to keep up with the ever evolving lexicon Gen Z had adopted, being ace, and well being curmudgeon wordsmiths. A conversation with us is like cracking open a thesaurus midway through as we toss out all the words we’ve picked up from reading far too many novels (something that was pointed out to me by a manager when I used the phrase ‘ lickety-split.’).

Of course, I was also quick to correct Sorrengail on trying to bond with her Gen Z colleagues by informing them that Skibidi Toilet was NOT Gen Z but rather a viral phenomenon of Gen Alpha (thanks Matthew Patrick. I’ll certainly miss you dishing out all the theories on your channels).

And she later told me how she was learning to become a better team leader at her workplace. But also wanted to be seen as approachable (even as she dominated them on the Super Smash field).

After we had finished off brunch, Sorrengail and I headed to the heart of the city. We continued to chat about our lives, and I shared with her a link to my stories (she’s actually managed to read most of them although has given me the feedback that most of my short stories might be a little niche in their themes and topics), even as we perused Kinokuniya. Neither of us, of course, bought anything though Sorrengail was tempted on several occasions.

As our little catch-up came to an end, Sorrengail and I promised to keep in touch. I even snapped a photo of her Switch friend code so I could add it when I got home.

So ended my very busy first two months of 2024 and their host of catch-ups with friends, new and old. As with all things, it takes time to foster these relationships. But I certainly do find them engaging.

And, if I may be frank, Sorrengail has much more in common with me than the ex-friend ever did. And more of a worldly understanding that I can get behind. They aren’t terrified to try something new and they aren’t content with living their life forever in the same old trappings.

Yes. I know it’s a little harsh but it’s difficult to converse with someone who spends their entire time on the internet, focused solely on the ethereal you-I conceit of sociology except they’ve mangled it all in Jungian philosophy without truly understanding how it applies to the wider world.

Anyways, I’ll stop griping. After all, reconnecting with old friends should be a celebration. One of new beginnings! The problem, of course, will be in maintaining these relationships. These are two way streets. And the best way to deepen these friendships is to keep wearing in the groove!

They’ll all fall for my Kyndaris charm sooner or later!