Bound for Asia!

Tangled Web

First stop, Seoul...

Our fist stop was Seoul, Korea.  My opinion of Seoul (and Korea in general) is a pretty high one.  The people are wonderful, the food is good, and though the population is 25% greater than that of New York City, the city was safe and relatively crime-free.  I could walk the streets at any hour of the night (or morning) and feel safe.  I found the indigenous language, Hongul, relatively easy to learn and not that difficult to pronounce.  Of course, like any language that doesn't get used, it tends to leak out.

Where the hell do I park???

I took this picture from my hotel window.  Next time you want to complain about the parking in your city, just remember this picture.  These people are definitely not afraid of committment!

Here's a picture of Seoul Tower as taken from the roof top of my hotel using an old-fashioned film camera (Minolta SRT-101) and a 300mm zoom lens with a doubler (in essence, creating a 600mm lens).  Years later when I was in Seoul on another tour with Ravin I rode my JD Razor to the tower and hung out in the observatory (about halfway up the tower).

Ask anyone who's been to Korea and they'll probably tell you that the Koreans are the king of reverse engineering.  You will see copies of everything there from Jeep CJ-5's to Rolex watches and everything in between.  The thing I found most ironic about Seoul was, despite their uncanny ability to copy, the motorcycle of choice for their police department was an American original.

Yep...you guessed it; In a city with a half dozen auto factories and just as many motorcycle factories, the chosen steed of the Korean Police Department is Harley-Davidson.  I've never seen a police Sportster before or since.

After seeing these bikes I felt compelled to Roller Blade to the nearest Harley-Davidson dealership to pick up a shirt.  As I recall the Harley shirt was quite expensive - 15,000 Won, I believe, which was like 25 bucks at the 1995 exchange rate, if memory serves.  I usually don't buy Harley-Davidson shirts unless I ride my Harley to the dealership, but I made a concession this one time.  If you ever go to Seoul, Roller Blading is an awesome way to get around.

For the love of God, how far do I have to travel to get away from these???

...and these???

I remember being put off because the folks at McDonald's wouldn't accept American currency....ironic.  God save us all when Wal-Mart starts spreading it's demon-seed all over the friggin' World.  I love America but let's keep America in America.

"One language, one culter" looks good on paper.  But in reality homogonizing World cultures just makes the World a less-intersting place to live.  I know, I've been there.

Here's a picture of Bat at the "porcelain temple."  He's demonstrating the "bombadier" method used by the locals.  Seems Korean people are blessed with the "good aim" gene.

(For taste's sake, this picture was contrived.  I didn't actually catch Bat "in the act," and he was wearing underwear...<:^)

Here's a picture of the Tangled Web "tour van."  By Korean standards this van was extremely roomy.  Our gear fit in the rear 3rd of the van while we rode in comfort and luxury up front.

Here's a picture of Tangled Web and our driver, Mr. Kim, in front of the "tour van."  Mr. Kim was a great driver.  He routinely ran red lights and lines in the road were, "decolation," according to him.

Here we are broken down on the way to a gig South of Seoul (note the antifreeze under the van).  As you can tell by the picture, Dorothy was a little fed up with my picture taking.

Here's a picture of Tangled Web at a Buddhist temple.

Here's a close-up of the little Buddahs behind us.

Our driver called these, "Korean Cadillac."

Here's Bat at the entrance of Kyongbukkung which means, "Kyongbuk Palace."